"You sent Mandhaila to Princess Castle?"
Angel nodded.
Iron Armor Granny sipped her tea and pondered for several seconds before slowly saying, "Mandhaila, the Guman King's thirteenth daughter—used properly, she could make quite a fine chess piece."
"Still, she is your person. How to use her is yours to decide. If you wish to meddle in the murky waters of the Guman Kingdom, I can teach you how to use this piece."
After a pause, Iron Armor Granny looked seriously at Angel. "But I must solemnly advise you: if you can avoid getting involved, then it is best not to involve yourself in the Guman Kingdom's affairs. There are indeed profits to be made there, but the greatest profit within—lust for power—is not suited to you. As for the other benefits, with this Dream Wilderness, I doubt you would think much of them."
Angel said, "Lust for power means the desire to hold power?"
Iron Armor Granny said, "You could understand it that way, but it is more than merely the desire to wield power. There are deeper stakes involved, related to certain ancient secret rites of the Abyss. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the Guman King to carve out a territory and crown himself king."
Angel froze. He had never expected the Guman King's lust for power to be connected to Abyssal secret rites. That was quite a startling secret.
Secret rites were, in truth, "hidden rituals"—a category of ancient and primitive rituals.
Ancient did not mean more effective. It meant that the ritual process was more cumbersome and lengthy than those of the present day. Still, they had their merits—for example, they were very difficult to break.
Primitive did not mean simple and unadorned either. It meant they contained no moral sentiment, no civilized ceremony,