I had just finished teaching my nightly class to the Elders and was in the middle of walking in the rain over to the abandoned material research facility. My work on them was going well. Onvima has grown close to me and has been doing more than just asking questions now. He'll engage in actual conversation, talking about all the interesting things he's been learning from both me and the books I've recommended to him. Of course, I also participate in the conversation, but my goal isn't to get emotional substance of out it. I focus on driving as much information out of him as possible while seeming like I'm just participating in the conversation. If he mistakes it for friendliness, that's his fault.
As for Culdia, everything was going smoothly. Our private sessions consisted of, on top of answering her questions about my daily and nightly lessons, talking about Mountain Mythology, and a lot of other Mountain Region related subjects. Turns out she's very interested in the Mountain Region. The Mountain Region has two big ideas it specializes in: philosophy and war. Knowing which one drew her attention wasn't hard to figure out. In fact, her affinity for the strategic side of the war was surprisingly high. It reinforced my want to steal these Elders from Medisma. It seemed like she never properly used her manpower, so I would for her.
Pulchra was also warming up to me. She's essentially gotten over the incident at the coliseum, actually talking to me out of want instead of need. My time with her has been mostly spent finding a passion for her other than lazing around. It was fine and all to want to do that, but you needed a good enough position to be able to do that without worry. A great way to get to a position of safety is to concentrate your focus on one subject until that subject is mastered, and then use that subject to get you to where you want. And to do that, you're going to need the fire of passion to push you. Of course, cultivation was a surefire way for that, but Pulchra was already at her maximum in that aspect, so she needed something else. That was still being worked on, but at least this way we were growing closer.
Her other side though, Fragitus, wasn't doing as well. Just recently I've finally had a conversation with her that didn't end in her trying to kill me, but I seriously needed to speed that process up. It was the same for Iraspisit. He was a hard one to change. Although he's been able to control his anger more, he still has his outbursts, and our relationship hasn't progressed at all. To herd those two onto my side I would have to step up my game and change my tactics.
I needed to get all of this done before midterms when I'd make my first big move. It had to be midterms because of the eyes attached to that time of year. It was when the sect really measured the cream of the year's crop, so it would be the best time to make a true public appearance. Then there was also the fact that my burns were starting to heal, and it'll probably be done a bit before midterms, so that was as far as the act could go on. Then there was also Vernam.
I opened the door of the building and took a step inside, but was immediately stopped, "Dad, you're home!"
I was welcomed into the building by a much more nourished Vernam, who embraced me and rubbed her face into my chest. I rubbed her head and after she let me go, reprimanded her, "I thought I told you to call me Quis, I'm not your dad."
She just childishly shook her head and, as if a kid throwing a fit, pouted, "I just can't do that! I don't care if you're not my real dad, that's who you are to me now! I don't care what you have to say about it!"
I replied while chopping a loaf of bread into slices, "Well if I'm your dad then shouldn't you be a good girl and listen to my requests?"
She sat down in the chair that she claimed as her own and was at a loss for words, "Well... I... I mean... It just doesn't work that way, ok!? I'm going to call you dad whether you like it or not!"
I placed down the sandwiches I just prepared in front of both of our seats before sitting down myself. I was able to get some money out of Hasrem and Beulus, so these expenses weren't a problem anymore. Turns out teachers are actually supposed to make a whole lot. Plus Hasrem was now an official Elder of the sect, so there was also that.
"Then at least call me by my name when other people are around, alright? It'll arouse suspicion around me, and you don't want to hurt me, do you?"
She feverishly shook her head as she chewed on the sandwich bite in her mouth, letting me get a good look at her. Her cheeks had swollen back up, and she no longer looked like a human skeleton. She also changed her hairstyle, opting for simple long black hair, though most of the time it was disheveled because of how much she messed around. Her lips regained their color, and her eyes also had a sparkle in them, bursting with life. It was a stark difference to how she was when we first entered the facility.
Over the past two weeks, she slowly grew more talkative and lively. At first, it was just a few nervous words. Then it turned into sentences. And once she grew the courage, she asked me, "Why did you save me?" I responded simply, "Because you are precious to me." Ever since then, she's been acting very childlike. The torture must've done something to her head other than breaking it completely that spawned such a reaction. But she was still able to answer questions that only Vernam would know, like, "Who is Culdia?" She would give a reply that was up to date, just before the night that she followed me into the tree. She even recognized me as Igmor.
I've made sure to avoid any talk that might bring up past traumas, as I needed a solid foundation to make sure she wouldn't run out on me. But now that a while has passed, I figured that it was enough and that it was time to put my work to use. I needed to get information out of her.
While we were in the middle of eating and talking about various things, I dropped subtlety and asked her straightly, "Hey, Vernam, what was your reason for spying on me before this?" It wasn't like I said this bluntly, but I also didn't say it suspiciously. I just said it as if I were asking her how the weather was.
She swallowed the bite of food in her mouth and put her sandwich down. She looked pensive, like a child who broke their mom's vase and was confronted with the option of admitting their fault or pretending that they didn't do anything.
She looked around, kicked her feet, and took another rushed bite of her sandwich until she finally breathed out a sigh and answered my question, "Well... I'm sorry dad, but I really didn't know you well enough back then... I'll just tell you it all so that it makes more sense. When I was a kid, I was raised by my mom because my dad was killed by a Wild Beast while protecting us. My mom and I lived independently of a sect, opting to live on our own in the jungle. Long story short, she died, I got lucky and ended up here, and turns out I was pretty good at being sneaky. So that's what I was trained for. Since six years old I was trained to be a spy by Tempinis L'Amour, Grand Elder of the sect. Then I was asked to get in the good graces of Medisma, so I started that when I went to school. And then you can along and beat us all up. Medisma informed us of what was going to happen and we were drugged. When I woke up I found a note in my pocket from Tempinis telling me to keep tabs on you... and if I discover a window to capture you, then I was ordered to take it."
She then hurriedly crossed her forearms creating an "X" and shook her head, "But I would never do that now! I've changed, and I would never hurt someone I love like you dad! Trust me! In fact, I should get back at those degenerates for asking me to even try to harm you!"
Her anxiety turned into resentment and motivation, but it's not like I was actually worried about her tattling on me. I already knew she wouldn't betray me, as this confirmed that my brainwashing was successful. It wasn't anything crazy like hypnosis, but just basic psychological theory. Break someone's brain, reprogram them to only take orders from you, and tada! You have yourself a slave.
This information, however, was very telling. I didn't expect Vernam's rabbit hole to go so deep. It was a good thing that I didn't act assuming that Medisma was behind her or things could have turned for the worse. Grand Elder's were a force I couldn't afford to mess with. I would be destroyed by their influence alone, let alone their own actual strength. A Grand Elder was leagues stronger than a normal Elder because of one main difference: they had a Spell they could use or a Machine that they made. It didn't seem like much, but it was the line between a common C-graded Coal Class Cultivator who had been cultivating for ten years or more and got to the Class through perseverance and someone who had the chance to become an Iron Class Cultivator.
To put it into perspective, the switch from Stone Class to Coal Class was transformative, an incredible upgrade in strength. If you had a Spell or Machine in Coal Class though, worst case scenario, it would be five times as strong an upgrade. And to get to Iron Class was an even bigger achievement. The true line between average and above average in the world of cultivation was Iron Class. With enough struggle and a high enough Grade, anyone could become a Coal Class Cultivator. Hell, if you are lucky enough, you can even get a spell or machine without any true work. But Iron Class was different. Even if you were an A+ grade Talent, it didn't mean you would make it to Iron Class.
I don't know much about the details, but from what I've read, it all has to do with making a spell and machine that is unique to you. Something the world has never seen before. But I'm not sure about the validity of those words, as I haven't had any actual confirmation. It could be true, it could be false, but all I needed to know was that it was incredibly difficult to get to Iron Class.
That was made it possible for the Sect Leader to turn the sect into a clan. But he received incredible backlash from this notion. And he couldn't just openly kill those who opposed him or he would be branded a Devil and hunted to his death. Such was the way of the Righteous Philosophy. Bound so deeply by the entrails of society that no level of strength will let you do what you wish without the sumptuous dance of truths and lies. Some are even so deeply engraved into the philosophy that they believe it to be the moral way of life when it really is just a more complicated way to exploit others around you.
I'm also playing the game of righteousness, but the difference is that I'm not bound to it like others. I need to borrow the righteous knife for my own gain, but once it doesn't benefit me any longer, I won't hesitate to drop it for a sharper blade. To play this game though, I need information. At first, I was expecting a load of information from Medisma, but now that I would be able to learn the struggles of the L'Amour Family, I was much more excited. After all, I already knew a lot about Convir thanks to Hasrem and I was currently learning more about Medisma from the five Elders. The only thing I was missing was the L'Amour Family, but that wouldn't be the case anymore.
So I opened my mouth and said to Vernam, "Well in that case, how about you get your temporary vengeance and tell me everything you know about the L'Amour Family."
She suddenly lifted her head, her gloomy expression following suit, and ecstatically said to me, "That's a great idea! Oh, where should I begin!... There's just so much to talk about!"
I pressed my hand onto her shoulder to calm her down and worriedly whispered to her, "How about we start with internal turmoil?"
With my recommendation, she nodded her head and began to speak with a sparkle in her eyes, "Well let me tell you! Grand Elder L'Amour and Sect Leader L'Amour may be brothers, but they absolutely do not see eye-to-eye when it comes to methods. It's not uncommon to hear them bickering over even the most common matters..."
Vernam ended up talking the whole night away, telling me everything I could ever want to know until she fell asleep. After she fell asleep, I took a step outside and observed the dark clouds paired with heavy rain.
It was strange.
The clouds blocked my vision of the sky, and the rain created mini-quagmires to bog my travel. But with this new information I have gained...
It felt like I could see through the heavy clouds.
It felt like I could walk through the muddy quagmires.
It felt like everything was now in the palm of my hand.
All uncertainty disappeared, leaving me as the puppeteer of this show.
It left me with one strong, prevailing emotion.
Anticipation.