The Smile Won't Disappear

"We won't become your vassals, Earl. At most, we'll use your territory to recruit apprentices."

"Fine, no problem."

"Of course, if Ramanque City is attacked in our direction, we'll help defend the city."

"Th-that's great."

"Master also instructed that we might not stay here for too long, leaving within three years at most. However, we'll notify you before we go."

"Alright, then."

After a round of negotiations, Earl of Ramanque almost felt like he had become a "yes-man" automaton who could only nod.

As a shrewd lord, Earl of Ramanque naturally knew he couldn't afford to support such a powerful figure. Compared to supporting a High-Level Mage with boundless potential, this form of cooperation was much easier for him.

He could perfectly imagine the scene when the news of apprentice recruitment spread, with magic apprentices and their retinues from various provinces and even countries flocking to the city gates and drawbridges.

Even if the Mage Tower wasn't permanently stationed here, it could still bring him a hefty profit if managed properly.

As for safety... Hah! With a Legendary Archmage holding the fort, what was there to fear!

Even if the gods themselves attacked, the Archmage would be the one to face them first.

At this moment, Earl of Ramanque dared not look in a mirror, fearing his ecstatic expression would frighten himself.

Meanwhile, Lein felt at ease, knowing it was time to take new apprentices.

The time it took for a professional to advance from high-level to Master Level was often measured in years.

Even if Downs was a true genius, this wouldn't be a short process.

Furthermore, using the Mage Tower as a front had another advantage: if something went wrong, Lein could directly take the Mage Tower and flee back to the school headquarters.

Regardless, this was at least a new beginning.

Just as Lein was contemplating how to write the recruitment brochure, the royal palace of Cervantes was eerily silent.

When a legendary Legendary Archmage cleared the vision on this side of the teleportation gate, the King couldn't react for a long time.

If, one day prior, King Cervantes XIII had known that the Mage Tower, which had troubled his royal family for generations, could finally be cleared, he would have been overjoyed.

Now, the Mage Tower was gone, but it had gone to his vassal's territory, causing the smile that should have been on his face to completely vanish.

This was just like the saying, 'A smile doesn't disappear, it just moves from one person's face to another's.'

However much Earl of Ramanque was happy, King was miserable.

This mindset was typical of 'fearing both that his vassals suffer and that they become nouveau riche!'

If his vassals were incompetent, the King couldn't call for help when in an emergency.

If his vassals were too capable, the King would lose sleep.

The situation of a weak ruler and strong subjects had always been a major taboo throughout history.

In any case, whether Cervantes had lost or not was a matter of opinion.

Lein only knew that a certain underground city had suffered a great loss.

A certain Drow Matron Mother named Shambala was going mad. The world within her perception was collapsing layer by layer.

The Divine Art she relied on was useless in this bizarre space.

All she could see were long corridors.

These deep passageways were sealed by a ridiculously powerful law. Only by answering the questions highlighted on the light gates in the corridors could she advance step by step.

In fact, the questions weren't difficult.

She had a strange book titled [Junior High School Ideological and Political Education] right beside her, and the answers to every question on the light gates could be found within it.

However, she refused to use the answers from the book.

It was simple!

The Knowledge in the book was the greatest subversion and blasphemy to her faith and worldview!

What a joke!

Female dark elves were meant to be supreme beings. As long as they could climb higher, any means were permissible, be it assassination, poisoning, scheming, or instigation...

And you're telling me about ruling by law?

I—I, the female Drow, am the greatest law in this world!

My word is final, that is the supreme ideology!

Shambala instinctively believed that this flickering [Knowledge] forcefully entering her mind was the most evil form of brainwashing.

Therefore, every time she answered a question, she adhered to her principles and gave the most Drow-style answer.

Finally, after failing ten times in a row, she met her end.

"Bang!"

In reality, her ugly head exploded like a rotten watermelon.

On this day, a horror film titled [The Headless Mermaid] was staged in the dark underground city.

In the world of Drow, which survives through treachery, cunning, and utter shamelessness, an unprecedented event occurred in the last century: a Matron Mother-level existence died from a mysterious magic requiring a [Willpower Check].

One must understand that the Drow are a matriarchal society, revering female elves. Among them, the [Matron Mother] rules the entire clan as its leader. While a city or a vast clan may have different Matron Mother ruling various Drow families, there are absolutely no weaklings among the Matron Mother, let alone those with excessively low willpower.

The Drow are a typical slave society. Matron Mother often need to use all sorts of evil magic to directly dominate the minds of certain enemies, controlling them and degrading them into slaves.

Every single Matron Mother possesses formidable willpower.

Those with weak willpower cannot become Matron Mother.

And then?

The situation where one's mind couldn't withstand the opponent's mental shock, suffering a backlash and exploding, signifies an overwhelming difference in willpower between the two parties, to the point of crushing superiority.

This is truly bizarre.

The Matron Mother from other families gathered around Lisanthrope *Shambala's headless corpse, exchanging bewildered glances.

Of course, when an adversary Matron Mother dies inexplicably, there are never any shortage of schadenfreude-seekers.

"Oh, hahaha! The perpetrator must be a human. Her casting gesture before death was [Charm Human]."

"Human? Where would a human possess such formidable mental strength?"

"Is it a Mind Flayer? Or a Brain Worm?"

"No! Look beside her!"

Lisanthrope was indeed dead, but in the final moments of her life and the collapse of her will, she used a Divine Art to control her limbs. Tiny white silk threads wound around her right index finger. With her last breath, she wrote the killer's name:

[Political Commissar]!

"Hiss—" A collective gasp escaped the DrowMatron Mother.

What kind of formidable enemy is this?

One Matron Mother tentatively spoke, "It's not difficult to gather information about the human world. I fear this might just be a scheme orchestrated by devils through human hands."

The Drow have committed too many wicked deeds; they can never sleep soundly without calculating at least five layers deep for any bizarre event.

Meanwhile, Lein, upon learning of this matter, couldn't help but muse, "Is it possible the answer is right there on the surface?"

He genuinely had no idea why the System would involve him in such a crossover.

Wasn't he supposed to establish himself in this other world through [Physics]? Why was he being given [Ideological and Political Education], and even a [Political Commissar]? What was the meaning of all this?

Unexpectedly, with a mere thought, the System actually responded.

[For evil foreign races that wantonly invade the host's mind, a resolute counterattack must be launched. As the host also holds the position of (Director of Teaching), and after the System has reviewed the host's memories, the most suitable role for carrying out ideological punishment is (Political Commissar). May I ask the host, is the System's operation reasonable?]

"Uh, this is very 'reasonable'..."

What else could Lein say?

That black carriage was just unlucky, wasn't it?