After hearing Ayanokouji introduce himself, Beatrice's cheeks turned slightly red. She proudly lifted her chin, her eyes sweeping over the people in front of her.
"Furthermore, Emilia's supporter, Roswaal, has some business to attend to and isn't here yet, but don't forget his identity as the Head Court Mage." Ayanokouji said calmly.
His purpose was very simple: to fully showcase the strength of Emilia's faction in front of everyone.
Displaying this power would most likely make Emilia's faction a thorn in the eyes of others, and it might even be considered the number one competitor by other throne candidates. However, this was still a necessary relationship.
Only by showing that they were strong enough might others be attracted to Emilia's camp and join them.
And if someone needed to join another faction in the future, only if they were strong enough could they have the leverage to negotiate with the other party.
If Emilia's camp never showed its strength, then people from other camps would most likely continue to oppress Emilia, and other noble officials wouldn't choose to stand in her camp, even if Ayanokouji had a hold on them and also failed to pose a sufficient threat.
Just like in the previous world, various countries conducted military exercises. Their goal was, of course, not just to perform a 'drill,' but to show their strength to the opposing countries and let them know they couldn't be taken lightly.
And now, this was a military exercise by Ayanokouji.
"There are actually two Great Spirits..."
"I never thought that the Half-Elf Emilia's camp would have such strong power."
"And this Ayanokouji is clearly no ordinary person..."
People around them whispered, and their attitudes had significantly changed. From the previous disdain to the current realization that Emilia's camp wasn't as simple as they had thought.
In this world, there were Spirits, and Great Spirits were the strongest among them. Having a Great Spirit meant having a power almost equivalent to an army. Very few people could sign a contract with a Great Spirit.
Emilia herself was a powerful mage, and she was also aided by Roswaal, the strongest mage in the kingdom. She already had the strength to rival an army, and now with two Great Spirits, her combat power was terrifying—perhaps only Crusch could compare.
Most importantly, Emilia's camp now not only had terrifying combat power but also an extraordinary mind—Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
Everyone had seen his methods. As the first visitor to the palace, facing high officials and even members of the Council of Wise Men, he not only didn't experience stage fright but also turned against the guests and took the initiative here.
Ayanokouji slightly squinted his eyes. The appearance of everyone below him was clear in his eyes. He could immediately tell who could be utilized and who might defect to Emilia's camp. These nobles and officials lacked planning and governance; their thoughts and emotions were revealed to everyone.
As long as there are emotions, there will be flaws. This is a truth he has always believed in.
He turned and saw the three other throne candidates all looking at him.
Priscilla held a folding fan in front of her, still looking very arrogant, but her eyes were fixed on him.
"Lady, it seems you care a little about Ayanokouji!"
Aldebaran touched the armor on his head with his hand and said with a smile.
"Shut up, Al, I don't care about ordinary people!" Priscilla still spoke arrogantly, but her half-eye, like a flame, was fixed on Ayanokouji again, "But this man named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka might be a little extraordinary among ordinary people."
"An extraordinary ability to perform on the spot. If Emilia's speech content was also prepared by him beforehand, then this person is undoubtedly talented." Crusch said slowly to Felix.
As for Anastasia, she gave a curious look and landed on Ayanokouji. As an elite businesswoman, she could be said to be the smartest among the throne candidates. She could learn from all kinds of small details.
She could also deduce information from expressions, movements, clothes, etc. She used this method to accurately find business opportunities and become rich.
But now, she hadn't obtained any information from him.
His expression hadn't changed from beginning to end. Even when the nobles mocked him, there were no emotional fluctuations. His whole being seemed to lack emotion. This made Anastasia unable to find any flaws in Ayanokouji.
She recalled the interaction between Ayanokouji and the members of the Council of Wise Men. At that time, only Anastasia noticed the fleeting fear on the bald man's face, which clearly wasn't the expression of someone who had defeated the Witch Cult as he claimed, but rather understanding something about the Council of Wise Men, so the other party's attitude changed 180 degrees later.
No one expected that Ayanokouji would dare to directly threaten a member of the Council of Wise Men in the palace, which also piqued Anastasia's interest in Ayanokouji.
Standing next to Ayanokouji, Emilia looked at him with slight confusion.
If it were her, facing the difficulties and insults thrown by other officials just now, she feared she would only be in an embarrassing situation.
But Ayanokouji turned the current situation around and even seemed to convince other officials to take the initiative.
Even when Ayanokouji said he was her supporter, her heartbeat slightly increased, and her cheeks turned red.
She looked at his side profile and felt that the other party was a very reliable existence. She unconsciously began to rely on him. Whenever she encountered a problem, she would immediately think that if Ayanokouji were here, he would be able to solve it smoothly.
And all this was in his plan. He gradually gained control over Emilia without her realizing it.
The scene changed. The meeting about the throne candidates had ended. Ayanokouji, Emilia, and the others had left the palace. Before leaving, many nobles came to flatter them...
"What will we do next?"
Walking down the street, Emilia, wearing a cloak that concealed her identity, turned and asked.
"After the meeting, there's nothing else to do, so let's stay in the royal capital for the next few days to deal with the nobles and see if they can be won over." Ayanokouji said slowly.
He planned to carefully screen some nobles who might be useful to him in the past few days.
As for the nobles who were useless and might even be a threat to them, he would eliminate them without hesitation.
Not only that, but he also planned to gather more information about the other throne candidates while he was still in the royal capital.
Priscilla had an arrogant personality, but the nobles behind her couldn't be ignored.
Anastasia's Chamber of Commerce had good value for utilization. Currently, he could temporarily consider the possibility of cooperating with the other party. However, she should be the smartest among the throne candidates when she was in the palace; Ayanokouji felt Anastasia watching him.
Both parties were observing each other, but it was clear that Ayanokouji was better. Anastasia never obtained useful information from him, whereas he was the opposite.
If he only considered it from a personal point of view, Anastasia should be the most troublesome existence among the throne candidates, but her difficulty should be almost the same as conquering Horikita Suzune and using Ichinose Honami.
❀❀❀
"Ayanokouji!"
In the classroom, Horikita turned around, puffed her cheeks slightly, and glared at Ayanokouji with a pouting expression.
It was now the second day, but this strange video was still being played, and Advanced Nurturing High School had oddly paused classes, allowing students to watch this video in the classroom.
Ayanokouji just pretended to be helpless and shrugged:
"Sorry, the person in the video isn't me—I remember saying it many times yesterday."
In Class B of the first year, Honami's face turned red after seeing the scene on the screen.
"Ayanokouji-kun!"
Yesterday, she laughed a little seeing Horikita's excitement after watching the video, but today she finally felt the same.
And in the school's director's office, a middle-aged man with deep eyes was holding a phone, and soon an unknown number called. This phone had a special design and wouldn't be monitored or tapped.
"Hello, Ayanokouji-sensei, yes, this is Sakayanagi."
This man was Sakayanagi Arisu's father and the Chairman of Advanced Nurturing High School.
The man he was talking to on the phone was his former friend and the biological father of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
Chairman Sakayanagi had once taken Arisu to witness the operation of the White Room, and it was also where Arisu first met Ayanokouji.
However, the Sakayanagi family didn't approve of Ayanokouji's father's experiment.
"Sakayanagi, do you know what this video is about?"
From the other end of the phone, a deep and majestic voice was heard.
"Sorry, Ayanokouji-sensei, I don't know either. I'm also investigating this matter."
Chairman Sakayanagi replied that although they had different thoughts, they still had great trust in each other.
"The White Room plan has been exposed."
Ayanokouji's father said, but there was no panic in his words.
"Some meddling families have already started investigating this matter, but we have destroyed all traces here, and those people won't be able to find anything. If anyone else continues to interfere, special measures will be required."
"I see."
Chairman Sakayanagi nodded.
"Also, has my 'work' produced anything unusual during this period?"
Ayanokouji's father asked, as if Kiyotaka was not his son but his property.
In fact, this was the truth. To him, Ayanokouji was merely his most successful test subject.
As a father, he subjected his own son to inhumane experiments, proving he was not a good person.
To achieve his goals, he was even willing to sacrifice his own son.
"Sorry, I cannot disclose anything about my school."
Chairman Sakayanagi said slowly, that although he greatly respected the other party, he did not actually agree with the so-called White Room Plan. After seeing the inside of the White Room Plan, he felt very conflicted, and his feelings towards Arius were very caring, which was very different from Ayanokouji's experience.
"Hm?"
There was a meaningful smile on the other end of the phone, followed by a beeping tone.
Chairman Sakayanagi shook his head. He knew that although he and the other party had once been friends, the other party would point fingers at him if necessary.
❰❱SKY SCREEN❰❱
"While I'm dealing with those nobles lately, I happen to be taking Betty around." Ayanokouji held Beatrice's hand and said.
"There's nothing fun in the capital!"
Although Beatrice said this, her eyes still sparkled. She had stayed in Roswaal's mansion for a long time, and deep down, she naturally longed to stay outside for a while, "But if you want to stay here for a while... it's not impossible."
Ayanokouji held her hand with one hand, and Emilia stood on the other side. Their bodies sometimes touched inadvertently, but they looked like a young family.
"These parents are still very young."
Many passersby sighed as they passed by.
And after hearing their words, Emilia's face turned red and she quickly denied it.