At the dining table, Ram looked at the man she had a contract with, no, she should say the Sin Archbishop. "How did you do it? Ram is an Oni. This shouldn't be possible."
This wasn't a matter of knowing or not knowing—it was like a Westerner suddenly Lording chopsticks without ever having used them, even to the point of catching a fly. It seemed impossible.
"You now carry a witch's aura second only to mine. Do you understand now?"
"The Witch Cult is really strong. What am I supposed to do next?" Ram thought about the way the witch cultists acted. They were a group of lunatics. She hadn't expected that, in order to survive, she had become one of them.
"Do nothing special. Just do whatever you like." Ren gestured for the two of them to eat.
After the three finished their meal, Ren went to the small courtyard and lay down. This outing lasted a full day.
In truth, Ren was still getting used to the functions of his high-tech glasses. To prepare for the possibility of no electricity in this world, the clever Detective Ren had even equipped the glasses with a solar charger.
Rem, listening to Ren's description, could indeed sense the strong witch aura on Ram, confirming that he had used some method to heal her.
In the following days, the twins noticed that everything about Ren seemed strange. Despite owning a large castle in the metropolitan Priestella, no one seemed aware of it. Meals were delivered daily, but the delivery people only appeared at mealtimes.
A week later.
Ram couldn't help asking, "What am I supposed to do?"
"Do nothing." Ren's answer remained the same.
"Is the Witch Cult really this idle?" Ram couldn't resist complaining.
"Do you know the relationship between a witch in the Witch Cult and a Sin Archbishop?"
"Superior and subordinate?"
"No. We all receive Witch factors, which grant us power. No one is higher than another. It depends on whose factors are more compatible and whose power is stronger." Ren explained to Ram.
"I see."
"Each Sin Archbishop lives freely. Some work for the Cult, some act out of their own desire for power."
After hearing Ren, Ram understood. They were completely idle, doing nothing, utterly free.
Among all the Sin Archbishop, Ren inspired little fear, but his danger was extreme. This was the judgment of a certain red-haired man.
Priestella was an important trade hub, surrounded by several powerful nations. Its geographic location gave it great advantages for foreign trade, but entering Priestella was not easy.
"Lord Ren, Ram is back."
Hearing the voices of the two girls, Ren shifted his gaze from the tech-enhanced glasses to the twin sisters. They were wearing maid outfits as instructed. Ren nodded in approval and snapped a photo with his glasses.
"Lord Ren, it seems like people outside are talking about something important." Ram had not forgotten her contract; she still owed him twenty years of service.
"What are they talking about?"
"It seems they are discussing the upcoming royal selection and how the nobles plan to align themselves," Ram said, recalling the conversation as best she could.
"Oh, it's almost that time, huh? We should start preparing," Ren said knowingly. He already knew who the royal candidates were.
"Lord Ren, are you planning to participate in this royal selection?"
"Participate? Something like that… but it will be even more fun than that," Ren said with a rare smile, the first change of expression in a century.
All he had known in the past hundred years was that Pandora had started the Permafrost of Elior Forest.
That smiling woman had left no trace in history, yet her ability to cause trouble was unparalleled. Nearly every major event bore her shadow.
And in this century, Ren had his own methods.
All he needed was to lie, make his opponents deny it, and spread the falsehood across the land. He wanted to orchestrate a grand deception that everyone would reject.
If he could pull off such a scheme, he would be second to no one—or perhaps even surpass that dangerous woman.
"Fun…" Ram truly could not understand the mindset of the Witch Cult. She quickly returned to the castle with Rem and began to… watch Rem do housework.
Meanwhile, Ren rose and left, making his way through the streets of Priestella. The people ignored him as he passed, and he entered one of the massive buildings.
"Lord Ren," a guard at the door said respectfully, looking at the languid figure before him. It had been a long time since the city lord had appeared.
Ren walked in without hesitation. Unlike Pandora, who caused chaos everywhere she went, he preferred to secretly seize control of the city. He would use his authority to bypass the upper echelons and set the rules himself.
Compared to indiscriminate destruction, Ren found this far more interesting. The difficulty of using rules to provoke conflict felt like a wasted opportunity to him if not executed properly.
"City Lord, you've finally arrived. News from the royal capital has come. How should we take sides?"
"Has the candidate for the royal selection appeared?"
"Uh… no." The man shook his head.
"Then why are you worrying?" Ren looked at him.
The man felt uneasy under his gaze. That look was hollow, colorless, as if nothing could affect him.
Ren withdrew his eyes. "How is the city's development?"
"Thanks to your negotiations, Lord, many merchants from Kararagi have opened shops here." The man quickly flattered him. This was a great achievement, as merchants would surely boost the economy.
"Did you find the one with many women? The one with a childlike spirit? That man actually dared to spread panic here." Ren looked at the man.
"Yes, found him. He is Regulus, in a castle not far from Priestella. He is the Sin Archbishop of Greed of the Witch Cult." The man replied, mainly because the other party was too flashy, talking endlessly and introducing himself immediately.
"What actions has he taken?"
"Lord Ren, it's better not to investigate him further." The man sighed.
"What happened?"
"That man… I don't know what kind of ability he has. Swords, magic, even powerful spells cannot harm him, but the sand he casually throws can kill guards." The man sounded fearful.
"He's just a twisted, underdeveloped child. What's there to fear? Alright, you may leave." Ren signaled for the man to go.
Soon, another man entered. "Lord Ren, because the royal capital is about to start the royal selection, many nobles have gone there, and tourism revenue has dropped by 20%."
"Tourism has its peak season and off-season. We just earned a little less, it's fine." Ren said casually.
A soldier came in and saluted Ren. "Sir, the gunpowder firearms have been developed."
"Good." Ren nodded. The defense forces of Priestella were finally showing some progress. He then handed the soldier the blueprints and principles.
"This is..."
"Various extensions for the future development of firearms." This, of course, came from the high-tech glasses Ren had obtained.
But in this world, it was extremely difficult to develop. Being able to produce this was already the result of him using his powers.
Soon, Ren had basically confirmed the development status of Priestella with the local leaders. This city had been stolen by him. As the saying goes, nothing comes perfectly easy.
His power was limited to speech, but words were deadly. In any world, having the ability to make words reality was lethal.
That he could live for over a hundred years and change the fate of the Oni tribe was proof enough.
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