CHAPTER 20

SURPRISED?

When do you think it was?

The moment my plan started ...

After discovering infiltrators in Galia?

No. I already suspected that, seeing them only confirmed my fears.

Maybe when Ryuuji and his escort arrived?

Neither, although it was illustrative.

Was it when I learned about Galatea's fall down. The day I met the director?

No. That day maybe I formed my final plan, including Iren's attack. But the plan began much earlier.

Was it perhaps when I got all that information in the academy library?

No. To begin with one of the reasons for seeking that information was to be able to carry out my plan.

If I had to look for the moment when my plan was born, it would be after my first night in Galia, after talking with the bartender.

From my first days in Galia, I questioned my own safety. People in Galia perhaps had weapons, but they were cheerful and confident. One of the reasons I discovered Iren's intentions quickly was that I had already thought the same. Galia could be taken if enough people infiltrated.

It could happen little by little. After a while, entering one or two at a time, easily enough people would enter. Or something could happen that would allow many to enter at once. Being refugees from a neighboring town asking for asylum was one of the methods I thought at the time.

Including Iren in my plan was not easy, in fact it was the most risky part, I had to put myself in danger. However, I would have the desired result with the greatest chance of success among the dozen plans I had during my first conversation with the director.

Of course, I couldn't execute my plan without first prioritizing my own security. The Half proved a good option in that. If at any time something went wrong and it was necessary to flee to save my life, I could do it.

I could also save Ryuuji, as I made sure he was in a remote area of the city. Personally, the best option was to save them all, since they could be very useful and would have good impressions of me, and Zera has been an excellent servant, but convincing him that it was necessary to leave others would be more annoying than beneficial. Ryuuji wouldn't even need to know the fate of his guards.

If the worst happens, everyone else is expendable.

Even if I didn't get the help of the Half, if it was me alone I could run away using the hang glider that was among the artifacts of the academy.

According to the information I obtained from the books. The people of Iren have a great sense of honor. But in turn they openly discriminate against the weak and inferior. Only the strong matter. I found then that they despise even the nobles, with the exception of those of Iren and the Aristoi. That was an advantage.

I had to make sure not to be underestimated, otherwise my offer would not be taken into account and negotiations would be impossible.

My acting skills are impeccable, but I had to cover a somewhat new aspect for me. I needed to look strong and powerful. That's why I ordered that two armors be manufactured.

The golden armor would serve, both to be very flashy and thus make sure that the guards in the watchtowers noticed and remembered me, pretending that my strength was enormous.

The key in all this, is that nobody outside the ones close to me knew about my item bag, even they don't know their capacity. Here it was very important that the information of the academy stopped leaking, luckily I got it done by making everyone reside in the cave.

The armors must appear to be incredibly luxurious and ostentatious, as well as formidable. But one would only be appearance and in fact it would be made of light materials bathed in a thin layer of gold. The other would be made of pure gold, to make it extremely heavy.

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When I went to the smith and handed him a small mountain of gold coins, it was hard for me to keep him from passing out. For a moment he complained that melting coins was prohibited, although telling him that my payment would be as many of those coins as they could fit in his two hands convinced him in the act.

During my journey down and up the mountain I used the fake armor. Once up, before the commander reached us (here the slope of the mountain helped), I put the false armor in my item bag and took out the real one, then I left it on the floor and offered it as a gift.

Woala! Fake super strength.

I must say that it was important to get all that explosive mineral. When I learned that it was volatile and could explode, I knew I could do it. Before that, I simply thought of burning the academy and trying to make the chemicals in the laboratories cause the explosion, although I doubt it would have been a powerful one.

Although at first I wondered how to make it explode at the exact moment, having the Flying Half was a great help. While everyone was looking towards the arena, I arranged for one of them to go to the academy and start the fire that would cause the explosion. With the help of the siren they could hypnotize the guard if he had not left his post to see me fight.

It was very important that the explosion occurred at the right time, so in advance I asked Zera to announce the start of the fight and wait for my signal to do so. When I saw that the Half flew out of the academy I knew it was time.

Without the explosion, they could have discovered my trick.

The "Spears" were actually simple wooden sticks with rubber at the tips. Obviously I wasn't going to fight someone with a real weapon, that could kill me. Although a blow with that could hurt, I don't think it hurt me badly.

I used the rubber that made by the black machine that Zera called Kalasta.

It was one of the many things I commissioned to the artisans of the city, along with the platforms and reflectors to place the light mineral. So that there were no major suspicions about the origin of the explosion.

Making Zera deliver them would increase credibility, since he is shy and would undoubtedly get nervous, it would seem that he was afraid to touch the rubber of the spears.

And it was important that they were not weapons, since my ability << What's mine is mine >> doesn't work on equipment.

When the explosion happened. The toy spear that I "lent" to Jemur returned to its owner at the same moment I wanted it.

Surprised?

I'm sure that cocky soldier was. Since I spoke with him for the first time, I knew he was an egocentric with an air of superiority, without a doubt he would not reject any request for "equality". He had lost before we started.

This is something that nobody else knows, and they don't need to know.

Those who believe that strength can defeat intelligence ... Live deceived in their ignorance. This world, like the earth, is the world of the clever. To begin with, the human is not even close to being the strongest species, let alone in this world. But anyway it is the dominant race.

Intelligence and creativity, as well as information management. These are the weapons of we which have no strength.

Intelligence created the artifacts protected in the academy. That was surely something Iren wanted. So it was important that they believe they were destroyed.

The director took out the small artifacts long before the explosion. What he doesn't know is that I took out the rest of the artifacts, as well as the books from the libraries. After all, they are very valuable to get lost.

From the first time I had access to the interior library, I realized that the information in those books was valuable, especially since the books were covered with so much dust, which certainly had not been read in decades, perhaps more.

I spent many days and nights reading them, but even with my reading speed, they were too many. So I began to store them in my item bag, those that would be obvious I replaced with books I bought in the library open to the public, so as to save time. As both libraries burned and the cave collapsed, there is no evidence of my actions.

This is undoubtedly an appropriate payment for saving the city.

These artifacts and books will be very useful for me to climb to the top of this world. But to achieve that I need to leave Galia, I can't meet my goal from a remote city like this. My next goal is Jagheb, apparently the most civilized kingdom in this area. The bartender spoke wonders of its capital city and the advanced technology it possesses ... I must have it.

As for Galia. Well, maybe they can get the academy running again. But that Iren isn't going to attack them doesn't change the fact that they are isolated.

In an isolation situation like this, money is food, all those coins that I have given as payment to the people of Galia will lose their value when they realize that they cannot trade.

At that time, those who will have the power will be the ones who provide the food, and will not want to sell it for pieces of metal that they cannot eat or spend.

The internal market of Galia will collapse, among the first businesses to fall there will be weapons stores, since there are no enemies and everyone already possessing one or two weapons to defend themselves, they will not need new ones in the short term.

Perhaps there would be no major problems if they had a strong leader, but that unusable mayor who had no role in any of this, unable to recognize the weaknesses of a fortress city, and unable to do anything other than watch me fight. There is no way he can avoid chaos.

Many will probably die, but when their numbers are reduced and things calm down, they will be fine, since the city is self-sufficient. Of course, they will no longer hope to progress. But that doesn't affect me, from the beginning I knew that I should leave this stuck in time city.

I just hope that academics survive all that, and keep working for me, paying their debt of gratitude. From time to time I will send a Harp to monitor their progress and claim the progress they make on my behalf. If they manage to do something of value, in addition to what I have already taken, then I will reward them for their effort.