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Soon, following Sophia’s instructions, all the personnel stationed in the mansion were brought out to the front yard. There wasn’t much commotion during the process. Although some resisted, Sophia and Conra’s martial prowess easily crushed their half-hearted attempts, so it wasn’t even worth calling it a disturbance.

Sophia stood before them, arms crossed, assessing their merits, truths, and flaws. Conra, standing beside her, held various documents swept from the mansion and reported their contents. Sophia immediately pointed out the authenticity, errors, and defects in the documents, and each time, the relevant individuals were promptly summoned.

Before interrogating the individuals, Sophia activated the inherited blessings of “The Wisdom of the Present King,” “The Judgment of the Magistrate,” and “The Deduction of the Detective.” She then memorized and cast her original spell, “Polygraph (Lie Detection),” on the spot.

The Polygraph spell comprehensively recorded the target’s blood pressure, pulse, palm sweat, saliva under the tongue, pupil movement, and brainwave changes to determine the truthfulness of their words. Naturally, given its mechanism, it wasn’t an entirely reliable spell, but it could still serve as partial evidence.

And what complemented this was Sophia’s own interrogation skills and deductive intuition. With the support of the inherited blessings, her judgment process was smooth and seamless.

She classified people based on their merits, then by how cooperative they were during the interrogation, and finally by their practical abilities. As a result, those interrogated by Sophia were divided into two groups: those on the right and those on the left.

“That’s enough! From now on, those on the right, return to your workplaces and prepare for the Bhyumat Territory to be officially incorporated into the King’s direct jurisdiction!”

“What about those on the left?”

“Just lock them up and give them only water for a few days. They’ll become docile soon enough. Once the people we’re expecting arrive, we’ll hand things over and leave. The rest will handle it themselves.”

Sophia guarded against unnecessary involvement in worldly affairs and chose her words carefully.

In fact, Sophia felt she had been somewhat overly involved in this matter. If it hadn’t been for Gabrielle’s guidance and the lord’s overstepping actions catching her attention, she would have adhered to her principle of non-interference.

Her swift and decisive handling of everything was also because she wanted to avoid being tied down for too long. She aimed to wrap things up quickly and leave without lingering.

A few days after Sophia finished everything, the administrative personnel dispatched from the King’s direct jurisdiction and the diocese finally arrived. Sophia welcomed them warmly and proceeded with the handover. The arriving personnel couldn’t help but marvel at her work.

“The documentation is incredibly neat and intuitive. At this rate, the handover won’t even take half a day.”

“It’s clear at a glance where the problems were in the previous administration, with no leaks.”

“I knew about double-entry bookkeeping, but it was considered something only merchants used, so we never adopted it. But here, it’s used so comfortably. And these graphs are such a creative idea.”

If Sophia had seen this, she might have thought, “Hey, Earthling, what’s this?” or “Ah, this is modern administrative paperwork,” as scenes reminiscent of such jokes played out everywhere.

Regardless, Sophia and Conra packed their belongings and prepared to leave the next day after the handover was completed.

While checking their bedding, camping gear, dry rations, first aid supplies, weapons, and harnesses, Sophia let out a troubled sigh.

“Ah…”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Master?”

“The blade’s chipped quite a bit.”

Sophia showed her longsword. Indeed, Conra saw that Sophia’s longsword had several chips along its edge. Conra immediately realized the cause: the fight with that knight a few days ago.

“Was he that strong?”

“Yes. He was a man who had trained to a rare level. He could almost rival the Paladin Knights. He must have had considerable talent and effort.”

“How does he compare to me?”

At Conra’s question, Sophia paused. Then, with a mischievous smile like a cat, she looked at her disciple.

“Oh-ho, feeling competitive, are we?”

“Isn’t it natural for a boy to feel that way? A man who can leave such marks on Master’s blade seems like a worthy goal.”

“Hmph, but he still lost to me. Wouldn’t I be a better goal?”

Despite Sophia’s subtle pressure, Conra stood firm and shared his thoughts.

“Of course, my ultimate goal is to surpass even you, Master. But I need a more immediate goal to aim for first.”

“Kuku, you’re quite the bold one.”

Sophia chuckled and roughly ruffled Conra’s hair. The boy protested, “Ah, Master! Stop it!” and struggled to escape, but of course, he failed.

After a moment of thought, Sophia suddenly spoke.

“Five years.”

“Huh?”

“Assuming you faithfully follow my teachings, I’ll make you surpass him within five years.”

Sophia stopped ruffling his hair and grabbed Conra’s shoulders. The boy felt as if flames were blazing in his master’s eyes as she looked at him.

“I can’t have my disciple getting beaten up out there. If anyone’s going to beat you, it’ll be me. I’ll make you strong. Understood?”

Under Sophia’s intense pressure, Conra couldn’t shake the feeling that he might have said something wrong.

+++++

The man, Karl Hector Meyer, opened his eyes as the sun set and stars began to shine in the night sky.

Lying in a dim room, he assessed his battered state and compared it to his memories before losing consciousness. He soon realized his situation and let out a bitter smile.

“So, I lost after all.”

His father, who had gone into debt to make his son a master swordsman, had been helped by the previous lord of Bhyumat. In return, the lord had asked him to raise his son to be a great swordsman.

Holding onto that memory, Karl’s father had worked hard to make him the finest swordsman in the borderlands. As a result, Karl had won numerous duels against renowned swordsmen, etching his name in history.

Confident in his skills, Karl decided it was time to repay the debt to the previous lord. His family’s stability and ability to focus on swordsmanship were entirely due to the previous lord’s generosity.

However, when Karl met the current lord of Bhyumat, Louis Bergson de-Bhyumat, he was deeply disappointed. Unlike the kind, fair, and stern previous lord, the current lord was narrow-minded, short-sighted, and irresponsible.

Nevertheless, Karl decided to offer his sword to the current lord, believing his martial prowess could compensate for the lord’s shortcomings.

He soon realized the world didn’t work as he thought.

When a dispute over territory succession arose between the neighboring territories of Agnon and Baden-Baden, the lord, fearing conflict, ordered a moat to be dug around the keep.

At first, this seemed manageable. However, the castle’s construction expert, who had some knowledge of alchemy, advised against it, warning that the Bhyumat keep’s location was unsuitable for a moat and that digging one risked contaminating the underground water veins.

Karl, too, had concerns and knelt before the lord to advise caution.

“I can handle any external threats, so please heed the architect’s advice.”

But the lord, consumed by his own safety, ignored their counsel and ordered the moat to be dug.

As predicted, the underground veins were contaminated, and a plague spread throughout the territory. The lord lacked the will and ability to handle the crisis, retreating to safety and waiting for others to solve the problem.

“And I, in my foolishness, took up my sword to protect such a lord.”

Karl mocked himself, recalling his defeat.

He suddenly remembered the nun knight he had crossed swords with. A beautiful, elegant woman radiating absolute confidence and an unknown depth of experience. She had overwhelmed him in strength, skill, and experience.

Especially the final strike that had defeated him—it was something Karl had never experienced before.

A cold smile formed on Karl’s lips, mocking his own naivety and arrogance. Yet, it didn’t mean his spirit as a swordsman was broken. Instead, he felt a burning desire and excitement at having found a wall to overcome.

“I want to move right now.”

But he couldn’t. He was a defeated general, a collaborator with the impeached lord of Bhyumat. As he tried to calm his mind, the door to his room suddenly burst open.

“Hey, you’re finally awake? Good timing. Come out for a moment.”

Bewildered, Karl saw the nun knight Sophia and her young squire standing at the door.

 

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