"Excellent! I won't strip you of your position, but I need you to mobilize every resource at your disposal to assist me!"
Leilin looked down at the Pleasure Devil kneeling before him and nodded calmly.
With Belusebub's divine power and her True Name in his grasp, even if Leilin declared himself the reincarnation of the
Under the threat of death, asking her to do a few things was hardly a problem.
"How extensive is your network of contacts? Can you influence the King?"
Leilin asked directly.
"Master, your servant has secretly amassed over a thousand followers, including two counts and five viscounts… and can indirectly influence two marquises and a duke…"
Madame Delai, the Pleasure Devil, immediately began her report. As for the hapless Belusebub, both of them had deliberately ignored him — that was the fate of a loser.
"If you're talking about influencing the King, then only Marquise Louisa would suffice. She is the King's lover and current favorite…"
Delai bit her lip, looking very **.
To survive and climb even higher in power, she had no qualms about selling her own body. So after the initial terror faded, she subtly began showcasing her beauty in front of Leilin once more.
On this front, she had absolute confidence. No matter how virtuous a human might be, none could resist her body's **.
"Marquise Louisa?"
Leilin was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected this devil's methods to be so impressive — she had genuinely expanded her influence to the highest echelons of the Kingdom.
Through Delai's explanation, Leilin gradually came to understand her approach.
Like any devil, she had initially used her entertainment venues to attract nobles, seizing the opportunity to lure their souls into corruption.
Through various other dark means, Delai had also gotten her hands on control of a large number of noble ladies and young misses.
Relying on this circle of high-born socialites, and frequently hosting decadent banquets, she had drawn in even more powerful nobles.
The network had grown like a virus, expanding ever wider.
Recently, Delai had personally taken action, guiding Marquise Louisa to experience certain forbidden pleasures, and had successfully captured her — turning her into a devil's follower and even placing her in the King's **.
Delai's true form was that of a devil, which couldn't fool the court mages and detection methods within the royal palace. But a perfectly ordinary human posed no such problem.
"I still have a number of devout noble young ladies under my control. All devoted followers of my master. If you're interested…"
Delai licked her lips and issued a tempting invitation.
"If I have time in the future, I'll come by and try it out…" Leilin swallowed this sugar-coated bullet without the slightest hesitation. After all, he had his own needs.
"Hehe… Our services will certainly satisfy you, Master…"
After receiving Leilin's assurance, Delai seemed to relax considerably. At the very least, as long as she still had value, Leilin wouldn't simply eliminate her. That mental ease caused her entire body to loosen, making her appear even more alluring.
After learning the extent of Delai's resources, Leilin nodded and walked over to a lounge chair, settling down.
"Viscount Dim from the Bodi Archipelago — have you heard of him?"
"Him?" Delai shot a subtle glance at Leilin, apparently trying to gauge the relationship between the two.
"I have. Originally a bastard son of the Golden Thorn Family. Now he's scheming to seize the marquis title and the territory…"
"What do you think are his chances of success?" Leilin interlaced his fingers.
"Many parties hope to acquire the Bodi Archipelago, led by one marquis. But after all, he is the King's nephew. While his territory was breached by pirates and he showed some dereliction of duty, that was the previous marquis's affair. His sympathetic narrative has won him considerable sympathy, so he should ultimately get what he wants. The question is how much he'll have to give up in exchange…"
Delai was a devil after all, and having competed for years in the Dambres royal capital, she was so experienced in power struggles that she could predict developments with her eyes closed.
"Does Master wish to help him?"
"No! First, send our people to make contact with him, but don't offer anything too substantial… This should be right up your alley…"
Leilin stroked his chin.
"Like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey? He can see it but can't reach it, yet it drives him to work desperately? Hehe… Master, you're so wicked!"
Madame Delai's face blossomed into a radiant smile. In truth, when it came to tempting humans with sweet promises while gradually tightening the noose around their necks until they were forced to sell their souls, no one surpassed a devil.
"As long as you understand. Do this first, and I'll notify you about what comes next…"
Leilin rose to his feet, seemingly oblivious to her staggering beauty, and made as if to leave.
"Master? You're not staying?" Delai was genuinely surprised this time.
"No. I have much to attend to in the royal capital. When I have time in the future, I'll naturally come here to unwind…"
Leilin had always maintained a clear boundary between serious business and pleasure.
Seeing this, a disappointed Delai could only see Leilin out. It wasn't until his figure had completely vanished that her expression turned dark as storm clouds. "Damn it! How can he wield my master's power and hold my True Name? A man like this — one look tells you he's a monster with an iron will who would never show mercy because of a subordinate's beauty…"
For a Pleasure Devil, being bound to such a master was the greatest misfortune imaginable. But with her True Name in his grasp, Delai had no other choice.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
All Delai could do was curse in bitter frustration.
The other attendants and dancers watched their boss with timid apprehension. Only they knew what cruelty and darkness lay beneath that impossibly beautiful face. They wished they could bury their heads in their chests like ostriches.
"You miserable dwarfs and pigs! Get back to work, now! Do you want the whip?!"
Delai roared at them even more furiously…
Several days later, Leilin — now dressed in noble attire — emerged from the gates of the Temple of Wealth.
Through the temple's transfer services, he had received a large gold coin remittance sent from Faolan Island. With the decline of the Bodi Archipelago, the family's trade profits had been climbing steadily, providing Leilin with even more ample funds.
A wizard's cultivation could not be sustained without the support of mundane power — whether for expensive experimental materials or spell books.
"Dim has also capitulated. Everything is proceeding smoothly. In that case, perhaps I should spend some time studying here in the royal capital. After all, materials for wizards below the high-ranking level can be made available to me through the
Leilin gazed at the wizard towers piercing the clouds in the distance, and a gleam flashed through his eyes.
His plan was progressing beautifully. After witnessing the power Leilin had demonstrated, Dim had readily agreed to the deal.
After all, compared to the profits other nobles demanded, Leilin only wanted a single statement from him — the lowest asking price imaginable. Walking away was out of the question; Leilin still held evidence of Dim's murder of the old marquis! Furthermore, as long as Dim continued to operate in the outer seas, he could never afford to disregard Leilin's stance. After weighing everything, Dim naturally knew what to choose.
With the victim's statement in hand, and once a royal decree was secured through pillow talk to the King — formalized and stamped as an official document — what more could the Church of the God of Justice possibly say?
"And even if the King later learns the truth, he will adamantly deny it! Stubbornly defend the decree's legality! Because it represents the Kingdom's prestige. How could a royal decree ever be wrong? To endure absurdity for the sake of appearances — that is the tragedy of those in power…"
A cold smirk crept onto Leilin's lips.
And to offend a King over the son of a mere baron, on charges of piracy — crimes far less severe than those of demons and devils? Was it worth it? He imagined the priests of the God of Justice would think long and hard about that.
With these matters settled and his name cleared of suspicion, Leilin could boldly walk the streets in his true appearance without a care.
After all, he had never actually been charged with anything — at most, it was mere suspicion.
"Now that I've shown my face at the Temple of Wealth, the others should be jumping out any moment now, shouldn't they?"
Leilin had no doubts about the communication capabilities and information flow among the major powers. After all, even Madame Delai possessed an enormous intelligence network — temples and the like were far more formidable.
The moment he used the temple's transfer service, his location and identity had been fully exposed.
"I'm waiting for them!"
Leilin smiled and strode into the Wizard Guild.
Compared to the Thief and Warrior Guilds he had visited before, the Wizard Guild was somewhat quieter, yet it radiated an air of solemnity and gravitas.
Flanking the entrance, two magical constructs stood guard with unwavering忠诚. The surfaces of the buildings within even emitted faint glimmers of spell light — clearly the work of permanent enchantments.
"With this kind of deep wealth and extravagant spending, it's no wonder the entire Dambres Kingdom only has one Wizard Guild, here in the royal capital…"
"Hello! How may I be of service?"
A Wizard Apprentice stepped forward to greet him, performing a wizard's salute.
"I am Leilin Faolan from Faolan Island! I'd like to undergo the wizard rank assessment!"
A brilliant smile spread across Leilin's face.
If he intended to study at the Wizard Guild, a rank certification was essential — and its rigor far surpassed that of the Warrior Guild or anything similar.
They would even require a full accounting of his lineage and master — wizards were simply that kind of exacting people.
But Leilin had come fully prepared and feared none of it.