"Get him!" The man in black shouted to his henchmen. Unlike the typical rush seen in hero movies, his henchmen approached me gradually as if weighed down by a heavy burden. They were terrified of my red eyes, my intimidation. It seemed they were not special forces, just your regular henchmen.

I looked at them and smirked, eager to test my new weapon—a push dagger known as a katar. Its use resembled boxing; one would punch towards the enemy's neck, driving the blade in to deliver a fatal blow.

"Argh!!"

"Watch out, spread out!" the men screamed. But it was too late; my dark tentacles had already ensnared them, tripping them up. I moved in swiftly, jabbing them in the neck. I killed another one. I giggled in ecstasy. There are still more than seven men to kill. I shall savor every last one of them.

The hooded man didn't retreat. It was a commendable attribute, but his skill didn't match up with his loyalty. Using his falchion, he slashed at me. It was monotonous. I don't even want to compare it with RGB musketeers. Even Ludwin's personal guard was better than them, even though they were still students.

"Damn it! Reapers! This empire is already infested with them!" the man in black cursed just before I slit his throat. The katar went in through his artery vein and stabbed into his spinal cord.

"Wahh!! Run! He will kill us all!" The small fry ran away after I killed their boss.

Silence ensued. Even after all this ruckus, the slum people didn't even bat an eye as people in their houses closed their windows. I rummage through the man's body to find Claire's letter.

"So, what's the letter about?" R25B rang me through my earclip after I held the aforementioned letter in my hand. Upon opening one, it burst into light particles and vanished. The light shone through my eyes, blinding me for a moment.

"Ah! The letter!"

"Huh? What happened to the letter? Are you okay, R666?"

"The letter vanished!" I exclaimed, rubbing my eyes after being momentarily blinded by the unexpected flash. "It burst up into light."

"Huh? Wait a minute, Manager, R666 reported that the letter vanished. Huh? I see. The letter was trapped. He said we will need to consult the middleman. You're still young, so he'll send a more experienced interrogator. You can hand the middleman over to him." R25B replied to me after talking to somebody else. Is his manager with him on his desk right now?

"Uh… the middleman was…"

"Hmm? What is it? Tie him up, and we will send people on your way."

"Can your interrogator read the minds of the dead?"

"Of course not… wait. Dead? Why? You should have captured him, not killed him! He was alone; there was no need for violence!" R25B exclaimed, his voice filled with frustration.

"Well, he resisted. And he wasn't alone; he brought like ten goons with him into the slums."

"Ugh… I see. So, our line was cut off then. Well, screw-ups like this happen from time to time. Ugh, well, as you have heard, manager. She was surrounded by them. Apparently, our target was cautious; they managed to ambush R666. Alright! Good work, R666. You may return home now. See you!" R25B ended the call, leaving me alone with 4 bodies in the slums. Doors were shut, and lights turned off, as no one had screamed, even when I had just eliminated four individuals. It truly highlighted how what I had done wasn't seen as out of the ordinary here. I had to admire their resilience.

An idea struck me upon viewing the corpses. I decided to employ my new skill on them. However, I dragged them inside an abandoned house with my tentacle, preferring to keep my actions hidden from any prying eyes. When I activated my skill, a tentacle made of darkness latched onto one of the corpses and penetrated it. I severed the connection quickly, realizing it would consume too much of my mana, and instead focused on the middleman corpse. He should have the most information.

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My hypothesis was accurate. The Necromancy technique drained a significant amount of my mana. I had only experienced such exhaustion once before, during a desperate attempt to gather over 100 feystones in four hours for money. This necromancy technique proved just as costly before it elicited any response. The corpse of the middleman stirred and rose, its movements shaky as it staggered toward me.

"Ghaaa…" I slit his throat cleanly, So he still appeared human. However, my black tentacles emerged from him, binding him and lending an ominous air to the scene. Even though the body was immobilized, the tentacles constricted around and wiggled inside him, making his body twitch and undulate.

"Help... me..." He groaned. Desperation tinged his strained voice. My incision at his neck was precise, aimed at either the jugular vein or carotid artery, sparing his windpipe. Yet, he struggled immensely to speak.

"Can you hear me? Who sent you?" I began my interrogation. I could sense my tentacle taking hold of his soul. He moaned and grieved as I refused to let him pass to the afterlife.

"Claire Lustria…" He moaned. "Please…"

"What is your goal?"

"Unification…"

"Does Claire want to rule the entire continent?"

"No… she is an oracle… the prophecy... the world will be doomed…"

"Ah, the demonic cultists?" I suddenly recalled an antagonist from the fourth book—a cultist who summoned a demon. I had thought they were akin to Elidranthia, a Volume 1 book boss monster, merely a temporary threat. I haven't read past the fifth volume, as it hasn't come out yet during my short life on Earth. It was mentioned in the novel that the cultists wanted to destroy the world. However, Claire and the Heracles managed to subdue them. It appears they have significant backing, more so than what the novel entailed.

"More than that… I don't know…"

"What was in the letter?"

"Proposals for peace talks…"

"What do they want? What are their demands?"

"I don't know…"

"Okay. Thank you. Bye-bye." I severed the mana supply, and the dark bindings dissipated, leaving the twisted corpse of the middleman behind. I had always thought necromancy involved controlling the undead and using them as immortal soldiers. I hadn't anticipated it could be applied in this manner.

Reflecting on it, during the Middle Ages, people sought necromancers to uncover hidden treasures or to communicate the will of the deceased, not to raise an undead army. This skill proved to be a valuable discovery, albeit a mana-intensive one. Even as a level 8 mage, casting this spell was a challenge. Estimating my remaining mana after this usage, I deduced I could only perform this spell twice or thrice daily.

"Hm… R25B wouldn't believe me if I mentioned something about demonic cultists," I mused. Should I confront Claire directly? She seems to harbor many secrets behind that innocent smile.

The following day brought news of the empire's retaliation. A formidable force of ten thousand soldiers was set to march to County Shadowstep, aiming to occupy the Elderan empire. Should Elderan fall, the western front would be compromised, likely leading to a pincer attack from us and the theocracy.

"Will they succeed?" I inquired of R25B.

"Occupying the whole of Elderan with just ten thousand troops will be challenging, but reinforcements will arrive later. The greedy nobles are sure to seize any opportunity to grab land. They'll send their soldiers to plunder whatever can be taken."

"Ugh... no wonder Claire has so many supporters." I was disgusted by my own nation's ideology and code of conduct.

"Ah... about Princess Claire. Could you try to befriend her? It would be invaluable to understand her ultimate objectives. Our manager would greatly appreciate as much information about her as possible. She may appear innocent, but she has been a source of headaches for our managers in the past."

"Did she manage to escape some assassination attempts through sheer luck, I presume?"

"...How did you know that?"

"I saw Claire meeting with the middleman. I was about to intervene, but Claire seemed wary of being followed."

"Yes, that's essentially it. She may seem innocent, but she's knowledgeable in counter-assassination techniques. Be careful not to arouse her suspicions."

"Okay."

Days passed, and the ten thousand-strong army from various noble houses set forth from the capital's gates. It was a magnificent sight: hundreds of soldiers marching in well-ordered lines, each battalion carrying the flag of its noble house with pride. Captains rode their armored war horses at the forefront, their shining armor gleaming under the sun. Many students from the royal academy watched from the sidelines as the army surged down the noble street towards my county, resembling an endless wave. However, their excitement seemed to wash over me without leaving a mark.

The current world diverges significantly from that of a novel. What would happen if the empire successfully occupied the Western nation? Such a victory would completely disrupt the original story's plot. If the empire succeeds, there would be no peace talks. Without peace talks, Claire would lose her influence here, preventing a civil war from occurring and leaving the peasants to continue suffering under their hardships.

"Lady Eli, what's wrong? You seem so forlorn. Didn't the sight of the soldiers marching interest you?"

"No, they are boring. Let's return." I decided to head back to the dormitory halfway through. Opting to sleep instead, the days passed until I received a notification from the school regarding our graduation.

"Alicia, what's happening with our graduation?" I wondered about the details.

"Sadly, Count Shadowstep and Zach won't be able to attend," Alicia informed me.

"Are they participating in the war?"

"No, they're not. They've been assigned to guard the border."

"I see. Thank you." I leave the noble street alone and head back to my dorm.