Chapter 61: The Empire's Transaction

Vivian was, after all, blasted out of the mage tower by Wiegraf.

Of course, the most miserable one was Roan.

Eighty percent of Wiegraf's magical power had focused entirely on him.

Who could blame Roan for failing to make the Demon King cat manage her expressions properly upon hearing the word "Iris"? As a result, he became the primary target of the deeply embarrassed and furious Wiegraf's sanctions.

Regardless, Vivian had successfully tested the exact number of cyclone phantoms she could control, and her disguise plan was officially underway!

The first thing she needed to do, naturally, was to complete her meeting with Dylan and then turn around to stir up chaos within the barbarian territory.

[Vivian bids everyone farewell.]

[With this departure, she had no idea when she would be able to return.]

[Grella cried as she shoved various magical items into Vivian's hands, looking precisely like an elderly grandmother reluctant to see her granddaughter leave.]

[Loli also provided Vivian with quite a few potions.]

[Vivian arrived at Wiegraf's room.]

[By this time, Wiegraf's anger had mostly subsided.]

[As one of the few great mages in the city of Paravi, Wiegraf's mage tower would undoubtedly be subjected to heavy surveillance.]

[To be safe, Vivian decided to teleport out of Paravi.]

[Wiegraf gave you a disgruntled glare before raising the staff in her hand.]

[“So, do you really have no idea where Estelle is?” you asked softly, standing on Wiegraf's shoulder.]

[“You can look for her in Alokasa.” Wiegraf did not elaborate.]

[The next second, you and Vivian had already been teleported away.]

[You stared blankly for a few seconds at the suddenly unfamiliar surroundings before starting to urge Vivian to begin her disguise.]

[You had previously seen the location of this meeting from that fellow, Samun.]

[Unfortunately, the information visible through the Demon King's Eyes was simply too limited, meaning you had no idea about the specific details of the meeting.]

[This would rely entirely on Vivian's resourcefulness and quick thinking.]

[Vivian summoned eight cyclones using a storm spell and used her disguise powers to dress up these phantoms.]

[Her memory was exceptionally good.]

[Although she had only caught a fleeting glimpse of them when falling from the sky, Vivian still remembered the appearances of quite a few barbarian warriors.]

[After finishing the disguise of these cyclones, Vivian took the opportunity to dress you up as a white fox—a very popular pet within the barbarian tribes.]

[Ah... a fox, huh...]

Stop letting your imagination run wild, dammit!

Roan cursed fiercely in his heart, finally putting a stop to his own meaningless reverie.

[The meeting between the barbarians and the Empire was a secret gathering.]

[Dylan's ostensible purpose for leaving was to take Princess Sophia out on a journey.]

[Therefore, the meeting location was actually extremely covert.]

[Vivian arrived at the designated meeting place at the appointed time.]

[By then, Dylan had been waiting here for quite a while.]

[He sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly closed, a purple crystal floating in the air before him, vibrating slightly in tune with the disturbances of magical power.]

The act of meditating cross-legged seemed to be something he had taught them himself.

Just as Roan was thinking this, Dylan took the initiative to speak.

[“I've already arranged the border matters; I hope you will keep your end of the bargain.” As soon as Dylan spoke, it completely baffled Vivian.]

[Arranged? How had it been arranged?]

[Nevertheless, Vivian showed no trace of panic: “As long as you keep your promise, we naturally will too.”]

[“There is a great mage named Wiegraf in Paravi; she isn't very easy to deal with,” Dylan continued. “Surely you aren't incapable of handling even a single great mage, are you?”]

[Pausing for a moment, Dylan added: “She carries the residual soul of the Mad Demon King and likely possesses teleportation-related abilities. Do not let her escape.”]

[The Empire had no desire to fight a war on two fronts.]

[If the southern border was lost, so be it.]

[The collapse of the Paravi Magic Association would also conveniently provide them with a plausible excuse for the fall of the southern territory.]

Holy crap... These guys were selling out the country!

Seeing Dylan's thoughts, Roan almost cursed aloud.

Although he lacked morals himself, this sort of betrayal was something he despised the most.

[“You might as well just kill her yourselves, which would save us so much trouble,” you piped up.]

[Dylan finally opened his eyes, seeming to find it slightly strange that a fox could speak, but he still provided an answer: “If you want the south, we simply won't resist. Doing anything more would easily provoke a civil uprising.”]

Roan finally understood the core theme of this meeting.

The Empire was already bogged down in the northern battlefield, and an invasion by the southern barbarians was practically a certainty.

The upper echelons of the Empire wanted to sell out the southern territories to avoid fighting a war on two fronts.

However, simply handing over the south outright would undoubtedly cause domestic shockwaves.

Therefore, they chose the approach of inaction, allowing the barbarians to take it themselves.

Coming to this meeting was meant to keep the barbarian invasion within a reasonable scope so as not to infringe upon the core interests of the Empire's ruling class.

From the Empire's perspective, this kind of behavior could always be glossed over with rationalizing rhetoric.

But what about the people of the entire southern territory?

[Vivian had already pieced together the general situation from these stray remarks.]

[She clenched her fists slightly, but quickly steadied her emotions.]

[With the corners of her lips curling up in a disdainful smile, Vivian said, “A great mage—we naturally have plenty of ways to deal with one... However, if we only secure the city of Paravi, I'm afraid our warriors won't be very happy. How about Tech?”]

The city of Tech was located north of Paravi and served as the gateway to the Empire's Rockdal Plain.

[Dylan's expression changed drastically: “Is this your idea, or the High Priest's?!”]

[Dylan seemed shocked that Samun would raise the price on the spot.]

[Internally, he was also shaken that Tier (the High Priest) would suddenly go back on his word.]

[Vivian adapted on the fly: “Everyone needs to eat, and once the feast begins, someone is bound to steal an extra bite. Why don't you offer a bit more?”]

[“Tech is out of the question; that is the territory of Duke Burton. At most, Scott.”]

[Whenever a noble's territory was involved, Dylan's attitude became exceptionally rigid.]

[This made Vivian even more displeased.]

[It was a good thing she hadn't agreed to go to the Imperial Magic Academy.]

[If she had known her dean was of this caliber, she would have plucked every single hair off this bastard's beard sooner or later!]

[“Scott, huh? I suppose that will do...”]

[Vivian sneered inwardly.]

[With just a few words, fifty square kilometers of the Empire's territory had been sold out.]

[His Majesty Roland truly was generous.]

[“So, how are we to know if you actually have the sincerity to do this?” Vivian seemed to want more.]

Damn it, if he hadn't known Vivian's true intentions, even Roan would have thought she was genuinely working for the benefit of the barbarians.

You wouldn't actually plan on becoming a traitor to the Empire, would you?

[Dylan seemed to have anticipated that Vivian would say this.]

[He rubbed the ring on his finger, and Sophia walked out from the woods behind him.]

[The moment she saw Sophia, Vivian's heart skipped a beat.]

[“Princess Sophia will accompany you to Alokasa and, in accordance with our agreement, become the wife of High Priest Tier,” Dylan said in a flat tone.]

[Sophia bit her lip, desperately holding back her emotions.]

For a moment, Roan genuinely couldn't tell who the true traitor of the Empire was.