"We won't become your vassals, Earl. At most, we'll use your lands to take on apprentices or something."
"Sure, no problem."
"Of course, if Ramanque City is attacked from our direction, we'll help defend it."
"Th-that's wonderful."
"My master also said we might not stay here for long. Three years at most, then we'll have to leave. But we'll do our best to let you know before we go."
"W-well, all right."
After a round of negotiations, Earl Ramanque almost felt as though he'd become a yes-man construct that could only nod and say, "Right, right, right."
As a shrewd lord, Earl Ramanque naturally knew that he couldn't afford to support a big shot like this. Compared to providing for a High-Level Mage with boundless prospects, this kind of partnership would be much easier for him.
He could easily imagine the scene after word got out that they were taking on apprentices: magic students from every province and even other countries, along with their attendants, would swarm his city and trample the drawbridge.
Even if the Mage Tower wouldn't stay here permanently, he could still make a fortune if he managed things well.
As for safety... Ha! They had a Legendary Archmage stationed there. What was there to worry about?
Even if the gods came knocking, the Archmage would be the one to face them first.
At that moment, Earl Ramanque hardly dared look in a mirror. He was afraid his ecstatic expression would scare even him.
Meanwhile, Lein felt at ease. He knew it was time for him to take on new apprentices.
For a professional to advance from High-Level to Master Level, the time required was usually measured in years.
Even if Downs was a true genius, it wouldn't happen anytime soon.
Besides, using the Spatial Magic Academy as a front had another advantage: if the worst came to pass, Lein could simply take the Mage Tower and run, returning to the school's main campus.
Whatever happened, this was at least a fresh start.
While Lein was thinking about how to write the enrollment notice, silence had fallen over the royal palace of Cervantes.
When the legendary Archmage had cleared the area on this side of the portal, the king took quite some time to react.
If, a day earlier, King Cervantes XIII had learned that the Mage Tower that had plagued his royal family for generations could finally be removed, he would have been so happy he'd jumped for joy.
Now the Mage Tower was gone, but it had moved to one of his vassal's lands. The smile that should have been on his face had vanished completely.
It went just like the saying: "A smile doesn't disappear; it simply moves from one person's face to another."
Earl Ramanque was over the moon. His Majesty the King, meanwhile, was utterly miserable.
This was the classic predicament of "fearing your vassals will be too poor, but fearing even more that they'll suddenly strike it rich!"
If a vassal lacked ability, then when the king needed help in a crisis, he might find no one to call on.
But if a vassal was too capable, the king might lose sleep.
A weak ruler and powerful ministers had been a great taboo throughout history.
In any case, whether the King of Cervantes had come out ahead was a matter of opinion.
Lein only knew that some dungeon had taken a huge loss.
A certain Drow Matron Mother named Shambala was on the verge of madness. The world she perceived was collapsing layer by layer.
The divine spells she relied on were completely useless in this bizarre space.
Everywhere she looked, there were only long corridors.
These deep passageways were sealed by a law so powerful it was absurd. The only way forward was to answer, one by one, the questions brightly displayed on the glowing doors in the corridors.
In truth, the questions weren't difficult.
Right beside her was a strange book called Middle School Political Ideology. Every question on the glowing doors could be answered using it.
But she refused to use the answers in the book.
It was simple!
The knowledge in the book was the greatest upheaval and blasphemy against her faith and worldview!
What kind of nonsense was this?
Female Dark Elves were supposed to be supreme. As long as they could climb higher, any means were acceptable: assassination, poison, sabotage, stirring up conflict...
And you were telling her to govern the country according to the law?
I—female Drow—am the greatest law in this world!
What I say goes. That is the supreme principle!
Shambala instinctively decided that this [knowledge] being forced into her mind, flickering in and out, was the most evil kind of brainwashing.
So every time she answered a question, she stayed true to herself and gave the most Drow-like answer she could.
At last, after failing ten tests in a row, she met her end.
"Bang!"
In the real world, her hideous head burst like a rotten watermelon.
That day, the dark underground city witnessed a horror film called The Headless Mermaid.
In the Drow World, whose people survived through cunning, treachery, and shamelessness, it was exceedingly rare for a Matron Mother to die from a mysterious spell that required a [Willpower Check].
Dark Elves, after all, were a typical matriarchal society that placed women above men. The [Matron Mothers] were the leaders who ruled the entire race. Although different Matron Mothers might rule different Drow families within a city or a vast community, there were absolutely no weaklings among them, let alone anyone with a low Willpower score.
Dark Elves lived in a typical slave society. Matron Mothers often used all sorts of evil magic to dominate their enemies directly, controlling them and reducing them to slaves.
Every last one of the Matron Mothers had strong willpower.
Those with weak wills couldn't become Matron Mothers.
So what did it mean?
When someone's head couldn't withstand the other party's Mental Impact and exploded from the backlash, it meant there was an enormous gap between their Willpower scores—so great that one side had completely crushed the other.
That was bizarre.
The Matron Mothers from the other families gathered around the headless corpse of Lisangquesi Shambala, staring at one another in bewilderment.
Of course, when a rival Matron Mother died in such a ridiculous way, there was never a shortage of people who took pleasure in her misfortune.
"Oh, ho, ho, ho! The other party was human, right? The spellcasting gesture she made before she died was [Charm Person]."
"Human? Where would a human with such powerful Mental Power come from?"
"Was it a Mind Flayer? Or a brain worm?"
"No! Look at her hand!"
Lisangquesi was indeed dead, but in the final moment before her life and will collapsed, she used a divine spell to control her own limbs. Thin white spider silk wound around the index finger of her right hand, and with her last breath, she wrote the name of the culprit:
[Political Commissar]!
"Hiss—" The Drow Matron Mothers all sucked in a breath.
What kind of powerful enemy was this?
One Matron Mother ventured, "It wouldn't be hard to find out what's happening in the human world. I'm just afraid this was all a scheme by the devils, carried out through human hands."
The Drow had done so many bad things that whenever something bizarre happened, they had to work out every possible angle before they could sleep at night.
Elsewhere, when Lein heard about it, he couldn't help remarking, "Could the answer be right there in the question?"
He honestly had no idea why the system had dragged him into this.
Wasn't he supposed to make a name for himself in another world through [physics]? Why had it given him [Political Ideology] and even conjured up a [Political Commissar]? What was that supposed to mean?
Unexpectedly, when he had the thought, the system actually responded.
[When an evil Foreign race recklessly invades the host's mind, it must be met with a decisive counterattack. Since the host also serves as (Director of Teaching), after examining the host's memories, this system has determined that the most suitable figure to carry out a punishment based on ideological instruction is the (Political Commissar). Host, do you consider this system's actions reasonable?]
"Uh, that's 'hare-brained,' all right..."
What else could Lein say?
That black carriage had just been unlucky.
Before you continue