Elder

"Be honest, Stern, did you know?"

The ink couldn't dry on his promotion yet, and the purple-haired man sweated a lot. His beard had more gray than black in it, whatever he did on his last patrol took a toll on him. I didn't want to chew him out, the prisoners he brought to me were valuable, but it made me curious.

"I knew something was up with them, Lady Saint." He gulped, standing at attention at the library's entrance. "I couldn't put my finger on it though. When we got ambushed, the kid fought almost better than me, but to think he was a goblin in disguise."

"His name didn't ring a bell?" I asked although it was common in the West. He shook his head, and I didn't want to tease him too much. "You brought the chief of staff of the Demon Lord's army to me, so I'm grateful. But don't expect another promotion or a medal for it."

"I wouldn't, after introducing them to the King and using their report to convince him. I can't fathom why the human traveled with him though." He waved off my notion fast. It meant the promise of power didn't cloud his mind. "If anything, I'd be in trouble for such a blunder."

"True, but you did well in the end." I praised him with a smile. "You completed your task, returned with some extra gifts, and even used them to further our plans. You worked hard for your promotion, Major Stern, and your earlier plans turned out great too."

His suggestion lured the nobles into a trap with the King, and now they no longer threatened my claim to power. I didn't even have to destroy them. My near-century-old negative image disappeared from people's minds in a single day.

"Thank you, Lady Saint, your praise is the greatest honor." He bowed, but his official tone irritated me. Not like his flirting was acceptable, but what brought on this sudden change? His mistake, or me reaching the level of a saint while he was away?

"Stern, drop that crap," A warning couldn't hurt. I had plans for him, and if he became this irritating, that wouldn't do. "It's not like you to be this polite. Unless you plot something behind my back. You saw my new torture method, don't make me use it on you, and out with it."

After uncovering the goblin's disguise, I tortured him inside the doors of the Main Temple. Although, it was more of a tricky interrogation without tools, nor did I touch him. No questions asked either, but it told me everything to know. It scared and impressed Stern.

"I would never try to cross you, Lady Ghisella!" He protested, turning pale. It was the first he used my name, but until recently, almost nobody knew about it. He hesitated to continue though, changing the subject instead. "Did you always read people's minds like that?"

He was fast on the uptake. I didn't explain it since telling him I could read Dio's mind while torturing him would defeat the purpose. But he put the pieces together without my aid too. I still couldn't understand how he could go from smart to dumb in seconds.

"No, it's a difficult method, but some secrets worth the effort." I suppressed a grin, realizing what bothered him. It was obvious without reading his mind what kind of foul thoughts he could harbor. But that was one of the reasons I decided to use him instead of other bastards.

He sighed as if a weight fell off his shoulder, and laid out the map he brought earlier. We held a strategic meeting to decide the future of Nordhaben, the New Order, and this Neutral League. What were these savages thinking, standing against me?

If only they stood behind the New Order, and asked for their protection, but no. They fought me back and refused to work with the other monsters too. They had to be confident to stay neutral. And with that Goddess, I couldn't understand what gave them courage.

Still, we had to deal with the New Order first. My humiliating defeats at the hands of this third party were too fresh in my memories. They weren't that important anyway. The monster army was on the move though, and I could justify any actions against them.

"Since the chief of staff enjoys our hospitality, the Demon Lord could do something stupid. I learned he marched his army on the western shores, trying to catch my lizards near Baran." I dragged my finger along the map, explaining the situation to Stern. "What do you think?"

He wasn't a legendary warrior, he couldn't cast magic. While he had royal blood coursing through his veins, he was only a bastard of an earlier petty king. The one thing he excelled at was intrigue. But the strategy was a close second, and he saw through the situation fast.

"They march through Lansum with a battalion-size monster army? That is quite bold." He nodded, pondering a bit. I had a vague idea of how to respond but wanted to hear his opinion first. "Do they have friendly relations with the humans there, or plan to fight their way?"

"I don't know about them, but the Land of the Summer likes the Lesser Races more than the other human kingdoms. Especially Cranta and us," I noted, pointing at the vast highlands in the middle of the map. "It seems much safer for them to travel there than through Draconia."

Through the domination crystals, I learned what happened when they attempted that. They had a potent witch traveling with the orcs. Through fierce battle and heavy losses, they reached Cranta Proper, but at a great cost. I met them at the crossroads.

"Right. Now that they know you don't control all the lizardmen, cutting through there would be too costly." Stern evaluated the situation, and I hoped he could devise a plan to deal with it. "They stretched their logistics thin, and they might not realize."

"Alpha spent most of the last decade holed up beyond the Gates of Hell. He has no idea how to run an army," I said, a bit more than wishful thinking. I filled his head with fears, but they wouldn't hold him back anymore, and that was Dioneras' fault.

"His goblin captain could warn him, but he's not there. If he could send him a message, the Demon Lord might launch a relief effort, that we could exploit..." The cogwheels turned fast in his brain, and I liked how his first thought was to take advantage of the situation.

"I can also disperse the tribes they try to catch. Or send them back to the south on a different route," I claimed, pulling my finger across the highlands again. "They won't get attacked by the other tribes, and can always hunt or forage to sort out their logistics. And then your men..."

"Don't say you want me to ride out again and engage them!" He yelled, dropping that official tone at last. "I only got back with my life from the previous mission, and those were small tribes, not a well-organized army. We don't have enough men for this."

"Hah, where is your eagerness now?" I teased him, brushing against the shorelines on the map. "I thought about a small force that would harass their logistics along the sea. You could say it's to protect the humans from their onslaught, and you don't need to lead them."

"Ah, that could work." He sighed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. His last outing did take a toll on him. He wasn't as capable as I thought, and couldn't take the harsh treatment, but it didn't matter. Sanctuary needed him anyway. "I'll set up a task force for that, but the lizards..."

"They won't be a problem. I'll send them to the east before your men get there. Will have them drive out the other tribes along the way," I promised, looking into his eyes. "Send your best men, cause as much damage as possible, and appoint someone who brings them back."

"Aye, My Lady." He bowed and was about to leave, but didn't let me finish. I reached for his hand, and he recoiled.

"The prisoners will attempt to escape," I told him, nodding towards the window. "They can go, but make them pay for it. And I'll be grateful if you send someone to follow them. I can't let them reunite with their Demon Lord, but it's better if they leave my dungeon."

"W-why is that?" I never saw him this confused.

"Do you want the King to find out about them?" I asked the rhetorical question and didn't have to wait for his answer. "I already know what I wanted to learn from them. Killing them is an option too, but there is a hunch that following them would yield the best results."

"Well, as you wish, Lady Saint." He bowed again, then stopped to ponder. "I can hire an assassin to shadow them, but that Hakim guy could be problematic. If he can turn himself invisible, or change the other's looks, it would be easy to lose their track."

"Good point, not everyone has my magic sense," I noted, rolling up the map, and handing it back to him. "What do you reckon, Stern? Can you deal with it, or do you want me to do something instead?"

"I um, wouldn't want to bother you with such trivialities, Your Grace. I will figure something out." He promised, taking the map, and backed towards the exit. "I could kill him in his cell, but if you think letting them go would benefit us more, we need to be more subtle about it."

"As long as the King won't realize what kind of people influenced him to set up a standing army... I don't mind what method you use." I waved him off, returning to my books. This time it wasn't about lands and cultivation, but spells my saint-level mana could cast.

I realized too late what else was on the goblin's mind, distracting me from reading. Stern left but talked about his report before, making me curious. They found that dungeon when the goblin and the bard joined them. And the Goddess also investigated one.

They descended in Baran, into a well-known and old dungeon. But what about the ones they found in the middle of nowhere? Why would they exist where no concentration of mana was before? Could it be the same thing? I could accept that the goblin stumbled on it by accident.

But why would he think about it so much when I tortured him? They had to be important and made me curious. I could call the Major back, but what could he do about it anyway? This called for an investigation too, and what faster way to do it than to fly there on a gargoyle?

Learning these new spells could wait, but if I can gain even more power in a dungeon, get my hands on the core, or get my revenge on the Goddess of Luck... I packed my things up fast and rushed to the courtyard.