[You have successfully joined Princess Krinhild's faction, Stage 1 mission complete.]
[Trust system activated, Princess Krinhild's current trust level: 20%]
[Trust level must reach 100% to complete all stage missions.]
(Deceiving trust? I'm good at that!)
Siegfried's eyes lit up; this was right up his alley.
[Warning! Princess Krinhild is under the protection of the Sun God; deception is very ineffective against her.]
(Oh, never mind…)
Siegfried tapped his finger on the long table, gathering everyone's attention. There were a few things he had to say beforehand:
"I will help you, but I have two conditions."
Catalina swallowed, remembering Siegfried's jest from last night.
(Is he going to ask for me?)
Siegfried noticed Catalina's unusual reaction, but he ignored the knight's erratic thoughts and continued:
"First, I will not offer help in the identity of Melanthe; to be precise, I generally won't even show my face."
Mainly because he was cowardly; he was afraid that the real Melanthe family would send people to kill him, the imposter.
"Second, I will not directly intervene in any wars; I will only provide advice behind the scenes."
Mainly because he was weak. Now that his holy sword was broken, his skills were probably not even enough to defeat Roland's horse.
"The reasons… you all understand, right?"
Siegfried's expression was unusually serious, as if hinting at a great secret.
"Yes, we understand."
To be honest, Siegfried didn't know what they understood. But one of the great advantages of strong people is that as long as they maintain an enigmatic demeanor, those below will start to overthink.
Now it's time to think about how to increase Krinhild's trust level.
Siegfried deeply regretted not following his sister's advice to play more dating sims; maybe he could have learned some tricks to win over a character like Krinhild. Now he could only rely on the hard way – work hard, make contributions, and the boss will naturally trust him over time.
After the meal, Roland rode his nightmare steed to the cave where they had originally hidden; there were the rest of their luggage and a ten-person rearguard.
Among them was Krinhild's other childhood friend, the magician Darren.
According to everyone, Darren's magical talent was unparalleled, especially in wind magic. He was the youngest in the team, only 15 years old, but his strength was comparable to Catalina's.
Based on the description, Siegfried pictured Darren in his mind – a proud and arrogant teenage genius who looked down on everyone.
Children of this age are usually a bit edgy, thinking they are the most special; if they also happen to be talented, it's even worse – their eyes could reach the ceiling.
This stereotype came from Siegfried himself; before he was beaten down by society, he was the type who thought he was the best in the world.
So when this genius boy, who was less than five feet tall, appeared before Siegfried, he was quite surprised.
"You are Darren?"
"Um, I've met the Hero. Uh? Not yet a hero, I'm very sorry. How should I address you, Siegfried? No, no, no, that's too presumptuous. How can someone like me address the future hero by their name? Um, I'm so rude."
This genius boy, who looked more delicate than a girl, was flustered because he didn't know how to address Siegfried.
Siegfried turned to Roland, his expression quite interesting.
"Are you sure… he's a boy?"
Darren had soft, light green shoulder-length hair, with bangs covering his left eye. His features were exquisite, no less than Krinhild's, and even more delicate, and would definitely attract a large number of mothers fans in China.
"Yes, Darren's father is human and his mother is an elf; he has half-elf blood."
Siegfried then noticed that Darren's ears were pointed but about the same size as a human's; indeed, a mixture of human and elf characteristics.
So he's a half-elf shota.
"Ahem, anyway, now that everyone's here, let's begin."
Siegfried had called everyone to the Wind Peach Village for his first task in this team – weeding out traitors.
......
A dimly lit room with a wooden table and two chairs.
Siegfried specially chose two of the worst-lit wooden houses in the village and turned them into makeshift interrogation rooms. Currently, a nervous soldier was sitting there.
Asche had been waiting for almost four hours.
Four hours ago, the Melanthe adult had only asked his name and origin and a few simple questions before leaving. Since then, no one had come to the room.
Asche knew that the adults were pulling out nails; this wasn't a secret. Siegfried had called everyone to the square before the operation and directly announced that there was an insider in the team.
Therefore, Asche had made thorough preparations; he had fabricated sufficiently realistic lies to conceal his identity.
However, the interrogation process was completely different from what he had expected. Siegfried didn't ask any sensitive or difficult questions; he didn't seem to suspect him at all.
But he hadn't been allowed to leave the room, indicating that the interrogation hadn't ended; he could only continue to wait anxiously in the interrogation room.
In contrast to the quiet here, the other interrogation room next door was quite lively.
Asche could occasionally hear violent fighting and screams from next door.
Almost four hours of waiting and the dark, stuffy atmosphere, coupled with the constant screams, had almost driven Asche to the brink of collapse.
"Damn it, what's going on?"
Asche nervously paced the narrow room; he desperately wanted to rush out and see what was going on.
At that moment, a heart-wrenching scream came from outside:
"Your Highness! Your Highness, I'm sorry, I dare not do it again, please spare me, Your Highness! Your Highness! Aaaaaah!"
Then, the distinctive crisp sound of a blade cutting into flesh, which was exceptionally clear even through the walls.
Asche's face instantly turned pale; he ran to the door, just about to peek through the crack.
The door opened.
Siegfried, in a black robe, stood outside, his expression amiable and smiling:
"Soldier Asche, come out. The interrogation is over. Congratulations."
Asche was stunned for a moment before finally coming to his senses; he breathed a sigh of relief:
"It's finally over, haha. You've all worked hard. Then I'll return to my unit."
"Return to your unit?" Asche saw a hint of doubt on the black-robed man's face, thought for a moment, then showed an understanding expression: "No, you misunderstood me. I mean, soldier Asche, congratulations, you can choose your own way to die."