“I-I was just having a little bit of fun!” Josan was struggling to get his words out, because my iron grip had left his throat temporary injured.

“No you weren’t! You came out of nowhere and pinned me against the wall!” the girl yelled, still exhausted from the struggle. “If this man hadn’t saved me, who knew what you would have done to me!” The girl tidied up her blonde hair as she nervously looked at me with her ocean blue eyes. I had time to get a closer view of her, her clothes were dirtied but that couldn’t hide the fact that her clothes were still high class. An elegant, white one piece dress that was laced with gold and looked to be made of silk.

“Thank you for saving me, could I get your name?” the girl asked before realizing her mistake and introducing herself first. . “My name is Ciarah Casvat

{Ciarah Volsat}

[Title] Human

[Power Level] 143

[Threat] Very Tiny

A human that comes from a noble family in the Southern Kingdom

I was confused when I looked at her stats though, so I didn’t answer. She had a power level of 143 so how come she didn’t defend herself earlier? Along with the high power level, she even lied about her last name! Something fishy is definitely going on here. I gave Ciarah a quick discreet glance before turning away.

Hm, maybe she doesn’t want others to know and is purposely concealing it? If that’s the case, I won’t speak any more about the topic. She was also from a noble family, but since I didn’t know anything more about them, I would only be wasting time digging into the matter. On the bright side, I think I may have found another contestant for the tournament! Plus, I had some blackmail material now since exposure of this assault could ruin Josan’s chances of becoming the next King.

“You can go now, I have some business with this guy,” I said nicely to the girl.

“But I have to repay you somehow!” the girl practically begged. “I can’t leave without rewarding my saviour!”

“Then enter the dueling competition that rewards a position in the King’s royal guard tomorrow,” I proposed. “Participating in that will be you returning the favour.”

The moment I mentioned a dueling competition and the king, I felt a slight change in the vibe the girl was giving off. It had been all cheery and thankful before, but then it changed to a suspicious and cautious one. I even thought I sensed some killing intent, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

“Is that so,” the girl pondered. “I’m probably too weak to even participate though, I can’t even beat an average man so the chances of me winning are next to none.”

I don’t know why she kept up the act of remaining powerless and weak, but who was I to judge. Maybe she just wanted a vacation from all the complicated things just like me.

“You can do what you want, but I suggest you at least try,” I advised.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” With a somewhat dissatisfied expression on her face, she gave Josan one last disgusted look before turning around and leaving. I had tried to persuade her to join because my plan was to gather many participants as I could for this tournament. The more the merrier, because there were more chances for there to be a suitable subordinate.

Before I started interrogating Josan, I had a weird thought. Could that boy from before be related to Ciarah Volsat? I thought back to the encounter and something instantly stood out, he had the same blue eyes as her and even though I didn’t catch his name. In the brief moment I looked at his stat page to see his power level, I had seen a V at the beginning of his last name They both had irregular power levels, the same ocean coloured blue eyes, and possibly even the same last name. Plus, their reactions when I mentioned the King were unordinary. There was no doubt, relations between the two. But I had no time to solve this mystery at the moment, so I’d deal with it later.

“Well Josan, I’ll be straightforward and direct with you,” I whispered into his ear. He was pinned against the wall and had no way to resist, but I left him enough movement so that he could talk. “I need you to hold a tournament for me. If you do it, not only will I not expose your bad deeds but also reward you with this.”

I brought out the Fire Gem that sparkled in the dim lighting. Josan immediately showed a bewildered expression, his eyes were wide open in shock and even his mouth was agape. It seemed like this Fire Gem really was a rare and precious gem in the human realm.

“W-Where did you get that from!” Josan struggled quickly stammered, struggling to speak.

“You can have it, I just need you to do one thing for me and it's all yours,” I persuaded, hoping that my passive skill was working. Before long, Josan accepted without any difficulties or unnecessary question and we discussed the details. Depending on how many people participated, there would be a set amount of duels to start for the first level. Whoever won those matches would move on to the next level and fight with others that won their first match as well in a duel. Whoever won their second match would move on to the third level and do the same thing. This process would be repeated until there was one winner. It just happened that Josan and the King had been talking about their personal guards a few days ago and the King had an extra position available. This was perfect, with Josan’s authority I could get the approval of the King with a false cover while not acting suspicious. The King thought the tournament was for him when it was actually for me. The winner would become my subordinate, not the King’s.

Now all I had to do was wait for Josan to get back to me with the location and time for the tournament. Hopefully, it didn’t take too long since my vacation was too short but I trusted that Josan wouldn’t disappoint. There was a presence behind me, I had noticed it in the middle of my conversation with Josan. I debated if I should confront them or just leave it alone, but I ended up choosing the lazy option and letting the spy go. Little did I know, that presence with stunning blonde hair had only stumbled into the conversation, she had only been curious about what would happen to her assaulter but accidentally heard vital information instead.

***

The next day, after hours sitting in that alley with no one to talk to except for Othidas, Josan had finally sent a subordinate to provide my with the news I wanted to hear. The tournament had been announced and would take place the day after tomorrow. The location would be the Official Tournament Arena where all sorts of tournaments were held yearly and it would start at noon.

Satisfied, I decided that I would pay that boy from before a visit and try to confirm my suspicions about his relations to Ciarah. Also, I would remember to try to persuade instead of order him this time to make sure my worked. hasn’t shown any noticeable effects so far, but it hasn’t have any opportunities to shine lately. Perhaps it would aid me in the future when I had to convince more people to do favours for me or just talking to others in general.

Focusing back onto the relationship between the girl I had saved and the boy from the alley, if they really were siblings, why was one living lavishly while the other suffered from harsh living conditions everyday? Was he disowned or something?

I used my enhanced vision to find the boy and before long I spotted him in another alley. This time, he was by himself since I had slaughtered his gang and that would make it easier for me to hold a conversation with him. Making my way towards his highlighted figure, another person suddenly came into view. It was Ciarah! She looked around to make sure no one was looking at her before ducking into the alley and making her way towards the boy.

Today, she wore a plain white coat and grey pants—probably an attempt to disguise herself. I knew it! I knew she was related to that boy somehow! I decided to just stay hidden and listen in on the conversation, maybe I could gather some more clues about them if I simply stay hidden. Soon enough, Ciarah greeted the boy rather intimately and begun talking in a hushed and nervous voice.

“Be careful Sefton!” Ciarah said, looking concerned. “You know that tournament you told be about yesterday? You won’t become part of the King’s personal guard, you’ll become some man’s subordinate instead!”

“And how do you know this?” Sefton, which I found out was the boy’s name, chuckled. “This is the only way for me to redeem myself, even if it means I’ll end up working for my father.”

“Not your father! A freak with too much strength for his own good!” Ciarah openly insulted me. “He could’ve killed you!”

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you about that last night,” Sefton grumbled. “I know you care a lot for me dear sister, but there’s no need. I can handle it by myself, and the chances of me winning are slim anyways.”

“But that’s a chance that is highly likely!” Ciarah retorted. “We both know we’re practically unmatched here in Cliffin, you beat the Captain of the Knight’s Order when you were 15!”

Aha, so they were indeed siblings. But not ordinary siblings, they were the son and daughter of the king! Which meant they were princes and princesses, but it seemed the boy, Sefton, didn’t have a good relationship with his family. I should’ve noticed sooner, after all the King’s name is known by everyone. If only I tried matching their last names up earlier.

“I’m telling you! You will become a slave of that man!” Ciarah shouted, she even started tearing up. “I will not allow my brother to suffer like this!”

I sensed a great opening, it was about time to make my presence known to the two siblings. I wasn’t about to emphasize or act friendly. This was for my own sake and I didn’t care what others felt, so long as I got a good subordinate.

“Then why don’t you win instead?” I declared charismatically. The two jumped in fright when I seemingly walked out of a wall. “You’ll save your brother by taking his place and I still get a decent subordinate in the end. Everyone wins!”