"Which batch is this now?"
Fíliya looked at the group of people she had personally hung from the tree branches, her face wearing an expression that was a mix of anger and amusement.
After leaving Weise, they had intentionally increased the pace of their travel. The only thing she regretted was that small wooden cabin by the lake. She had built it with her own hands and even went out of her way to dig up quite a few favorite plants from the surroundings, yet she had to embark on the journey again before she even had time to tend to them.
Mm, after the dust settles, that would be a good place to live.
Fíliya ended her brief internal reverie and projected her spirit back to reality.
"It's already the third batch. With things like this, are you still going to the Imperial Capital? I can see you are quite unpopular."
Solitär looked at Fíliya's profile with a deadpan expression.
"Of course I'm going. If I don't go, how will I know why I'm being hated? Besides, having been ambushed three times already, not claiming a little interest isn't my style."
Fíliya chuckled softly, then looked toward the group of people hung on the tree.
"Say, what exactly did I do? Is there not a single person willing to talk? Umu... I did cause a bit of trouble in the Imperial Capital back when I was studying, but surely not enough to get on a hit list, right?"
Fíliya curiously tried to strike up a conversation with the other party, but the five opponents before her, bound by magical ropes and suspended high in the air, all chose to shut their mouths in unison. Their eyes even held a look of regarding death as a return home.
"What is the background of these guys? Their mouths are so stiff; we can't pry them open at all."
Miss Aura, standing beside her, also couldn't understand. After all, in her life as a demon, she had indeed never seen humans who, after being captured, neither resisted nor spoke, but simply sought death like rotten mud.
"The Imperial Magic Special Forces. The elites among them have strength comparable to a First-Class Mage, but the majority are still third-rate fellows like this. After all, their selection standard... the most important thing isn't strength, but loyalty... or perhaps [Zeal]."
"Tsk."
Aura immediately revealed a disdainful expression upon hearing this, then used mana to conjure a whip. It seemed that compared to things like [Ordinary Attack Magic], she still preferred attack methods with a bit more 'texture'.
Aura lashed the guys on the tree several times with the mana whip, yet she failed to harvest even a single pleasant scream. Consequently, she became somewhat bored.
"Alright, venting a few times is enough. Torturing people like them is meaningless, as you can see."
"Then what about mental magic? Read their memories directly to see if we can get any intelligence," Aura proposed again.
"That's useless too. The brains of the people in the Magic Special Forces have all been set with a restriction. Once they detect the possibility of their minds being read... they will self-destruct on the spot. Yes, literally self-destruct."
"Whether torturing them or reading their memories, it's all meaningless. Let's go."
As Fíliya spoke, she intended to signal the group to leave directly, but Aura expressed that she didn't want to just walk away like this.
"Hah? You can tolerate this? Once or twice was fine, but now getting ambushed every few days like this... even flies are annoying, okay? In my opinion, we might as well just kill them."
Aura's outcry made Fíliya stop in her tracks. She slowly turned her head, revealing a thoughtful expression.
"Mm... what you say does make some sense. If I don't do something, it'll make it seem like I really have no temper... Let me think."
Fíliya held her chin, thinking rapidly. Very quickly, she thought of a way to play that was much more interesting than killing them.
She was seen slowly floating beneath one of the men using magic. First, she removed the identity badges of these Imperial Magic Special Forces members one by one. Then, she injected a tiny bit of mana into each of their bodies—just enough to help her tamper with them.
"! What did you do to us!"
The squad leader of this Magic Special Forces unit finally reacted, looking at Fíliya's side profile with a face full of resentment.
"Oh? Finally a reaction. I thought you guys were truly made of wood."
Fíliya covered her mouth and laughed softly, then headed straight back to Solitär's side.
Then, she swiftly led her people away, completely ignoring the ear-piercing curses from behind.
...
After rushing along the road for another stretch of time, Miss Aura naturally couldn't hold back her curiosity and spoke up to ask.
"Say, what exactly did you do to them earlier? That guy who looked ready to die suddenly had a reaction."
"Mm... really nothing much, but that is exactly the effect I wanted."
Fíliya exchanged a glance with Aura using a look of deep mystery.
"I don't understand!"
Miss Aura widened her curious eyes.
"I simply injected a type of mana adhesion that they cannot dispel no matter how they try. This way, they will think they have definitely been tampered with... Not just them, but when they return to their organization, their superiors will think so too... What do you think will happen then?"
"Heh heh... For people who dedicate their lives and faith entirely to their organization and country, the suspicion of colleagues and the distrust of superiors are things far more terrifying than death. When they are squeezed out and marginalized, I'm afraid they will all develop thoughts of ending themselves... It's quite pitiful when you think about it."
Fíliya's words made Aura involuntarily suck in a breath of cold air.
"Hiss... You fellow, others still say you [Love Life], but I see what you did is even crueler than killing them... You actually utilized human malice to punish the opponent."
"Hm? I do love life very much. I've never killed anyone, you know? My hands are very clean. Didn't I let the first and second squads of these Magic Special Forces guys go as well? For this third squad, I only applied a slight punishment. I hope they can learn a lesson and not keep coming to disturb us."
"But... doesn't this make us completely hostile to The Empire? Didn't you want to settle in The Empire? How can you go now that things have become like this?" Aura continued to press.
"Hm? Aura, your understanding of [The Empire] is still far from sufficient. A mere [Magic Special Forces] cannot represent [The Empire]. If they need sorting out, then I'll sort them out. And..."
"Even if we really become enemies with the entire Empire... it doesn't seem like a big deal."
Fíliya spoke calmly, and by the end of her sentence, she even wore a sneer of ridicule.
Hah?!
Hearing Fíliya's answer, Aura froze instantly. This was indeed an answer she had completely not expected.
"Aura, you have to know, this fellow's base color is [Arrogance]. Three years ago, when she was still very weak, she already didn't put us Great Demons in her eyes... let alone now."
Seeing Aura standing dumbfounded in place, Solitär couldn't help but shake her head.
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