Clauffer Von Verse

“Sir Verse, please wake up.” A crude man called for me, awakening me.

“You dare wake me from my slumber?” I asked, angered that some lowly peasant had thought this to be the right course of action.

“I’m sorry sir, it's just that I have an urgent report.”

“Well, hurry up and spit it out.”

“Right! We have reports from one of the local villages that an unknown mage was able to take down the legendary Chimera effortlessly.”

“What!? The Chimera was killed? There’s no way someone could possess this amount of power. Quick, go get the mage from the village!”

“I’m sorry sir, but the mage left the village. She was driven out after the Chimera had hurt one of the people.”

“THOSE STUPID PEASANTS!” The outburst visibly shook the other guards around me. “What! Do you have something to say?”

“No sir!” One of the guards who had been shaking a second ago, quickly adjusted his posture and responded.

Those idiots. I pay my precious money to keep their village afloat with the crippling tax the king and queen are charging and they do this to me. God damn it! I should’ve just let their village burn. There’s no point in taking them into my domain. They can’t do anything.

“You! Did you get descriptions of what the mage looked like?” I questioned the guard who initially brought me the information.

“Yes sir! The mage was described to be a woman with silky purple hair, a black sundress, fair skin, sea blue eyes, and was fairly tall as well. In fact, I think she was described to be taller than you.” He responded to my question.

“OI!” My teeth grit against one another at the statement.

“Ah! I’m sorry, sir. I meant she was pretty tall for a woman.”

“Damn coward. Do you know where she was going?”

“The villagers said they didn’t keep track of which direction she had been heading.”

“Again with these people. Did you punish the cur who said that?”

“No sir! I came here as quickly as possible with the information, so I didn’t get the chance.”

“Pathetic! Get out of my sight!”

“Wait sir! The villagers didn’t know where she was going but they still gave us a lead. The mage had told them she would come back when she had figured out how to fully restore removed limbs. We could just wait in the village for her to come back.”

“You bloody idiot! No one has been able to solve that problem since the discovery of healing magic! It’s been two decades and no one, not even the kingdom’s finest scholars, have figured it out!”

“Sir! The existence of magic has only started to become common knowledge as of recently. This means it could accelerate the speed of solving the problem.”

“You dare argue with me!” I respond to his idea with a harsh tone. He makes a fair point, but there’s not a chance in hell I’ll agree with him out loud.

Well, whatever. We should station a few more guards in the village. Even if she doesn’t find what she’s looking for, she may at least come back to apologize for her failure. With a mage that powerful, I should be able to easily use her to take far more power than the other nobles. Yes! With her under my control I may even be able to gain the king's favour.

“Hahaha!” I chuckled aloud at the thought.

“Sir?” The lowly guard asked out of concern, but the laugh caused the others to freeze up with concerned looks.

“You’re still here?”

“Yes sir!”

“You have done excellent to bring me this information.”

“Thank you sir! It wasn’t easy to find all of this.”

“Oh I see, what complaints do you have?”

“Oh well the long walk was a real probl--- I mean nothing!”

“Would you like a horse then?”

“Yes Sir! I would love to have a horse!”

“All right, get out of here and tell the stableman I agreed to give you a horse.”

“Thank you sir!” The guard showed his appreciation for my graciousness, and with a pep in his step, left my presence.

“Oi, you.” I turned my attention to one of my attendants. “Go capture the cur I just dismissed and have him trampled by horses.”

“Y-yes.” He responded, with a momentary horror on his face.

“Oi, do you want to be trampled next? Respond properly!”

“Yes sir!” he replied in the proper manner and took off quickly in order to carry out the execution I had just ordered.

Ugh, all these people around me are so stupid. They can’t even get one thing right, and when I ask them to carry out a fairly standard request, they hesitate. Where can I get some proper help? Seriously, I don’t pay all of you to question my orders, filthy mutts.

Ah, maybe my new mage will be of far more help than these idiots. Thinking about all she could do for me in my quest for power was starting to make me more and more excited. She’d be able to heal the spies I have held prisoner. We’ll finally get past the annoying part of torturing them in a way where we don’t scar the face. To further my profits, we can even heal the scars on their body to make them more desirable.

Maybe I’ll even have her deal with that Leviral nation. No disgusting monsters should ever be allowed to think of themselves as a nation. With the destruction of that nation, I should be able to get so many more resources. After that, we can take care of that stupid Pieron. Those snowed-in mutts are always looking to expand into this nation. This time around, they seemed to have sent in far too many spies. They must be thinking of making a move.

In this batch of caught spies, there was even one from Lores. I never thought those cowards would ever try making a move, but it seems like they got overconfident. Seriously, a spy wearing purple and blue, get real! No one at the border would ever wear such noble colours. They really have to spend more time researching.

With my new mage, I should be able to destroy all those pesky thorns before they start drawing blood. Once I systematically dismantle those threats, the king will have no choice but to grant me even further power, exceeding that of a mere noble. It’s almost too good to be true! But thinking about it, a mage of this caliber could easily be nothing more than rumour.

If she does exist, how can I control such a powerful asset? If she's as strong as described, none of the mutts I pay to protect me will be able to do their job. I’ll have to find something that I can use to get the upper hand. Maybe I can find something out about her that would allow me to bargain with her.

Hmm. It seems simply waiting for her to show won’t be an option at this rate. If she does exist, and she wants to attain knowledge in how to fix healing magic, she must be someone who likes to help others. That would be a troublesome type to deal with. If she doesn’t agree with my plan, I may even be vaporized in a matter of minutes.

No stupid low born should be allowed to have that much power! It should be me, me damn it! Damn it! Whatever. I can’t do anything about it now that it’s happened. This wildcard can’t be allowed to stay wild for too long. If she wants to help people, then I just need to offer a way for her to obtain more knowledge if she helps me.

Yes, that must be right! There’s no way I could be wrong. But I should also be careful, there’s no point in dying for a simple chance. I can easily make sure of this if I can just figure out where she went. Let’s see. If she's looking for more knowledge, then there’s only one place I know where you can get a far greater amount of knowledge than anywhere else.

“Idiot!” I called the remaining guard in my chambers.

“Me?” He asked.

“Obviously. Do you see any other idiots here?”

“Uh, n-n-no sir!”

“Good. Now that I have your attention, I need you to station one of the curs I pay at the capital.”

“Why sir?”

“Now you’re questioning me as well. Whatever, I need them there to look for the mage. If they see her there, I want them to trail her and see what she does. If she is found using the library at all, be sure to have them bring her here once she exits the capital.”

“I see sir. I will order it immediately.”

“Well start going!”

“Yes sir!” He quickly pivoted and started running out.

“Oh, and raise the tax on those villagers. They must be punished for their shortcomings!”

“Yes sir!”

Hahaha, things are working out in my favour like usual. Manipulating people is so simple. It boils down to what they want. Whatever they want, I can always provide, and then they just start listening to me as if they were mind controlled. Hahaha! At least you could try thinking for yourself!

“Sir!” Another worm came into my chambers and spoke.

“Now what?” I replied, annoyed by the amount of people so casually entering my chambers.

“I’ve brought the reward for the slaves we were able to sell. Most of them made quite a bit of money. Almost all five of them brought in a fortune, except the spy from Lores.”

“Five? We sent out thirty to be sold.”

“Only five made the trek.”

“What do I even pay the escort for! Idiot!”

“One more thing sir! The family of the child who was injured by the mage is requesting for you to help them. “

“CUR! They ask for pity after what they have done. Cut the child’s other arm and send them off. I’m feeling awfully merciful today.”

“Yes sir!”

“Now hurry up and get out of my sight! It’s time for my 4:00 pm nap. Also, keep everyone out of my chambers for the next three hours. Leave any new important matters to my secretary. I pay them for a reason.”