[You have successfully joined Princess Kriemhild's faction. Stage One Mission completed.]

[Trust System activated. Princess Kriemhild's current trust level: 20%]

[Complete all stage missions when trust level reaches 100%.]

(Gaining trust? That's my forte!)

Siegfried's eyes lit up - this was exactly his area of expertise.

[Warning! Princess Kriemhild is blessed by the Sun God. Deception will have very limited effect on her.]

(Oh, never mind then...)

Siegfried drummed his fingers on the long table to draw everyone's attention. There were some things he needed to make clear upfront:

"I'll help you, but under two conditions."

Catalina gulped, recalling Siegfried's jest from the previous night.

(He's not going to ask for me, is he?)

Though Siegfried noticed Catalina's unease, he ignored the overthinking female knight and continued:

"First, I won't provide assistance under the Meilan identity. In fact, I'll generally remain behind the scenes."

Mainly because he was afraid - he feared the real Meilan family would send someone to eliminate him for being an impostor.

"Second, I won't directly participate in any battles. I'll only offer strategic counsel from behind the scenes."

Mainly because he was weak - with his skills, he probably couldn't even defeat Roland's horse in combat.

"The reasons... you all understand, right?"

Siegfried's expression turned unusually grave, as if hinting at some profound secret.

Everyone nodded. "Yes, we understand."

To be honest, Siegfried had no idea what they thought they understood. But one advantage of being perceived as powerful was that subordinates would fill in the blanks themselves once you put on a mysterious act.

Though in Siegfried's case, his "power" existed purely in others' imagination.

Now he needed to figure out how to increase Kriemhild's trust level.

Siegfried deeply regretted not taking his sister's advice to play more dating sims - he might have learned some techniques for winning over characters like Kriemhild. Now he could only do it the hard way: work diligently and contribute more, and the boss would naturally trust you over time.

After the meal, Roland rode his nightmare steed back to the cave where they had been hiding. Their luggage was still there, along with a garrison of about ten soldiers.

Among them was Kriemhild's other childhood friend, the mage Darren.

According to everyone, Darren was a genius among geniuses in magic, especially proficient in wind element magic. He was the youngest in the team at only 15 years old, but his abilities could rival Catalina's.

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Based on the description, Siegfried had pictured Darren in his mind - an arrogant young prodigy who looked down on everyone.

Children that age tended to be chuunibyou anyway, always thinking they were special. And if they happened to have some talent, it would really go to their heads.

Actually, this stereotype came from Siegfried himself - he used to be the "I'm invincible" type before life humbled him.

So when this genius mage who stood less than 160cm appeared before him, Siegfried was genuinely taken aback.

"You're Darren?"

"Um, greetings, Sir Hero. Oh? You're not the Hero yet, I'm so sorry. How should I address you... Siegfried? No no no, that would be too presumptuous, how could someone like me address the future Hero so casually? Oh, I'm being terribly rude."

This young prodigy, who looked more delicate than most girls, was flustered over how to address Siegfried.

Siegfried turned to Roland with an interesting expression.

"Are you certain... he's male?"

Darren had shoulder-length, smooth light green hair with bangs covering his left eye. His features were as delicate as Kriemhild's, perhaps even more fragile-looking. In modern times, he would definitely attract a huge following of maternal fans.

"Yes, Darren's father is human and his mother is an elf. He's half-elven."

Siegfried then noticed that Darren's ears were pointed but about the same size as a human's - indeed showing mixed traits from both humans and elves.

So he's a half-elf shota.

"Ahem, well, now that everyone's here, let's begin."

Siegfried had gathered everyone in Wind Peach Village for his first task with the team - rooting out the traitor.

......

A wooden table and two chairs sat in the dim room.

Siegfried had specifically chosen two of the darkest houses in the village and converted them into simple interrogation rooms. Currently, a nervous soldier sat inside one of them.

Asher had been waiting for almost four hours.

Four hours ago, Lord Meilan had only asked him some basic questions about his name and background before leaving. No one had entered the room since then.

Asher knew they were hunting for spies - it wasn't a secret, as Siegfried had gathered everyone in the square beforehand to announce there were traitors in their ranks.

Asher had prepared thoroughly for this, crafting believable lies to conceal his identity.

However, the interrogation was completely different from what he'd expected. Siegfried hadn't asked any sensitive or tricky questions, as if he didn't suspect him at all.

Yet he hadn't been given permission to leave, indicating the interrogation wasn't over. He could only continue waiting anxiously in the interrogation room.

In stark contrast to the silence here, the other interrogation room next door was quite lively.

Asher frequently heard intense fighting sounds and screams coming from next door.

The nearly four-hour wait in the dark, oppressive atmosphere combined with the constant screams had pushed Asher to the brink of mental collapse.

"Damn it, what's going on?"

Asher paced nervously in the narrow room, desperately wanting to rush out and see what was happening.

Just then, a heart-rending scream came from outside:

"Your Highness! I was wrong, Your Highness, I'll never dare again, please spare me! Your Highness! Ahhh!"

Then came the distinctive crisp sound of a blade cutting into flesh, unnaturally clear despite the walls between them.

Asher's face turned deathly pale. He ran to the door, desperately trying to peek through the gap.

At that moment, the door opened.

Siegfried stood in the doorway in black robes, wearing a kind and gentle smile:

"Soldier Asher, come out. The interrogation is over. Congratulations."

Asher stared blankly for a while before coming to his senses. He let out a relieved sigh:

"Finally over, haha. Thank you for your hard work, my lords. I'll return to my unit now."

"Return to your unit?" Asher saw confusion flash across the black-robed man's face. After pondering for a moment, he showed a look of realization: "No, you misunderstood me. What I meant was, Soldier Asher, congratulations,

You can choose how you die."