"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? We should be able to leave together."
"Why are you going to my kingdom?"
"Why are you pretending to be ignorant? Obviously, it's because you gave me a mission."
"Why are you accusing me? Do you have any proof?"
"Why are you dodging? Just admit it."
A maid who had been observing the conversation between Amon and Ariel thought to herself, 'Why do you both keep starting sentences with 'why'?'
"Why—never mind, let's just end this."
"Why are you ending it?"
"Why do you want this?"
"Why does it matter? Isn't this funny?"
"Enough, I'm sick of the word 'why.'"
Ariel then entered her carriage as Amon chuckled while watching her.
Today was the day of Ariel's return to her kingdom.
Amon escorted her to the gate.
"I'm leaving now," she said through the window.
"Yeah, see you again," Amon replied, waving his hand.
Ariel's carriage departed, and a new carriage arrived at the gate of Amon's palace before he could lift his foot.
A man dressed as a servant stepped out.
"Starheir Amon, you are summoned to the main palace by the Patriarch."
"Alright, let's go."
Amon entered the carriage, and they headed to the main palace.
Upon arrival, he was directly guided to Arthur's study.
This room is very luxurious, decorated with antiques of great historical significance. Arthur was behind his desk, which was piled with documents, and the morning light bathed him from the window behind.
"There's a mission for you from the Arcilla Kingdom."
In the novel, Amon also received this mission even though he had been kicked out of the clan. The reward for completing it was being accepted back into the clan. However, of course, he couldn't do it. Instead of trying to complete the mission, he attempted to rape Ariel.
"I refuse."
This was definitely a trap, so he wanted to refuse it.
"You have no right to refuse."
Amon could only sigh in resignation.
"This must be a trap."
"Why do you say that?"
"A few days ago, Ariel asked to break off the engagement. She said it wasn't just her decision, but that many people wanted it too. The Arcilla Kingdom also wants to break away from us."
"So what's the connection to a trap?"
"They will probably kill me to sever the relationship."
"I don't get it. Even if you die, our relationship with them will remain. Ariel would just be engaged to another man."
"Arcilla has a strange culture. For them, the bond between two families is based on the engagement. However, it's taboo for them to break off an engagement. So, the way they sever ties between families is by killing one of the engaged parties."
Though not everyone adheres to this culture, like Ariel, many Arcilla nobles still follow it.
Arthur tapped the desk with his fingers while listening. "I remember, they do have that strange culture. Don't they know how to use their mouths and ears?"
"Lord Lucerion, can't you summon the King of Arcilla here to talk?"
"Even if I did that, they would still want to separate from us."
"Then just let them go. After all, they're only a Vassal State."
There were many kingdoms and empires under the Lucerion Clan. They were divided into two:
Conquered States were those conquered by the clan through force and war. They wouldn't be allowed to gain independence. If a rebellion occurred, it would lead to slaughter.
The second group was the Vassal States. These were nations that voluntarily submitted to the clan in exchange for protection and other benefits. They should be easier to let go.
Arcilla was a Vassal.
"Are you stupid? How could we let them go freely? The tribute they give every year is enormous."
'This is a conglomerate clan, so selfish.'
"I have a better idea. Your main mission is to defeat the demon. But I will give you an additional mission: cause chaos in Arcilla. It doesn't matter in what form, whether it's rebellion or disaster, you can do it, right?"
"Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?" Amon couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
"You can, right?"
'What a bother.'
"You can, right?"
"Sorry, but—"
"You can, right?"
'This will go on until I say yes.'
"Don't stay silent. You can, right?"
In the end, Amon could only click his tongue before saying, "yeah, I'll try."
When the Patriarch spoke like that, there was no room for him to refuse.
"By the way, about the palace…"
"There's no new palace for you. Even though you're now Starheir, you've been a lazy bum who's never contributed."
'The lazy one was the original Amon!'
"I'll give you a new palace after you complete both missions."
"Alright, at least there's some motivation. Even if it's little."
"You have only a month to prepare. That's all. You may go."
But Amon remained standing in front of Arthur as if something was bothering him.
"What is it?"
"I'm a genius, right? I can create techniques. Shouldn't the clan treat me better? I mean, am I really going alone into the lion's den?"
"Precisely because you're a genius, I'm letting you go alone. This is a light matter for a genius like you."
"A light matter?! Which part is light?"
"This is just a mission to eliminate a demon and cause chaos in a country. I'm not asking you to conquer a nation by yourself."
Amon was dumbfounded by Arthur's standards. But that's how he was. Even at Amon's age, Arthur had been tasked with conquering a country.
"Okay, fine. I'm going."
He then left. But as he opened the door, Arthur called out to him.
"Amon, don't take too long completing this mission. Soon, you'll have to enter the academy."
'So many demands!'
"Alright, I understand."
Shaking his head in exhaustion, Amon left the room.
Amon was restless on his way back.
Even though his mission was to eliminate the demon, it wasn't certain that he'd face a demon. It could very well be a human.
That wasn't a problem for Amon. With his speed and the Demon God Sword, he was confident in handling it.
The real problem was how to cause chaos.
"Somehow, I feel like I've been given homework, but the teacher hasn't explained the topic."
Creating a natural disaster was out of the question. He was a martial artist, not a mage. He wasn't omnipotent.
His only option was to manipulate the people of Arcilla into starting a rebellion.
"But how?" Amon scratched his head.
In both his first and second lives, he wasn't a manipulator. He'd never manipulated people before.
All he could think of was magic.
There was a spell that could be used to manipulate others.
But that spell was far from his reach. With only a month's time, there was no way he could obtain it. He also doubted the clan had a manipulation spell.
"Maybe I should create a technique that looks like a spell."
Techniques were based on the body. You couldn't unleash an ice slash if your body didn't have organs related to ice.
But the brain was part of the body. He might be able to create a technique to manipulate the brain.
"No, that's impossible. Techniques only work on the body and things you touch, like a sword. I can't just hold someone's brain and manipulate it, and there's a skull protecting it. No… there's still a trick."
Amon's eyes widened as an idea popped into his head.
"Blood is part of my body. If I put my blood into someone else's body, eventually my blood will circulate to their brain. That means I'm touching their brain."
Amon then laughed maniacally, as if he was the most brilliant person in the world.
But if Arthur or the Elders were here to see him, they would probably think Amon had gone mad.
The idea was good. But it was too complex and difficult to realize. For instance, the immune system could destroy his blood once it entered someone else's body.
However, Amon still had the Miracle Cube to help him.
"Damn it, I haven't even reviewed my new techniques yet. But now I have to create another new one."