Chapter 173 I Watch On

I found myself back in the hotel room that Delta had rented out for us. The walk back was enlightening, I did not know what Delta had done but the nobles were tense and the regular citizens seemed to have sensed something.

And it was no doubt Delta's fault, I could tell by the way the situation had felt to me. The way that the guards seemed to be tensed at any stranger, how the spies had been taken toward more important duties. Every little thing about the interactions between these people had Delta's handiwork written all over it. Although I had no idea how she had done it I was still impressed, in the time that Aiof and I were on our date Delta had set the dominos so that they had fallen in just the right way to create the opportunity for her to take what she needed and to seed doubt and fear into the populace.

All just to get some information. On one hand I was impressed and on the other I wondered how Delta had done it, to be able to cause all of this confusion and chaos while making it so that we were still an unknown quantity in the grand scheme of things. It was awe inspiring how she had manipulated everyone and everything that she had come across that would be relevant into her own little scheme. Not to mention the time frame in which Delta had done this, how she had manipulated this entire city into this in but hours with little to no preparation. When I had looked around, my head turned this way and that on my way home, I had found the aftereffects of what she had done even more significant than my first thoughts on them.

When a guard passed me no longer did they look as relaxed and assured in their actions as they had when we had entered this city, now they looked hurried and haggard as if they had the weight of the world suddenly thrown upon their backs. That wasn't the only example, no, their were nobles that had seemed so cruel and gossipy that I had and still decided to ignore them and keep interactions to a minimum but now they looked haggard. Their eyes were constantly spinning in this and that direction with any direct eye contact making them flinch back in fear.

It was honestly awe inspiring the amount of planning and steps that must have gone through and been executed to cause all of this. The only way that I think that I could have done something like this was the Assassination of a major political figure in public but even then I would have to reveal myself as the perpetrator. To start I would kill if the spies then make my way over to the figure that I had chosen and kill them. Even if I covered all of my tracks the lack of that specific spy would have tipped them off that I was the culprit or at least put multiple eyes on me.

"What now?" I ask the room, my eyes wandering to the ceiling as I wait for a reply.

"We lay low, stay a couple days in here and sell some manufactured goods to keep a trail and move into the next kingdom and do the same. Though next time we shouldn't need to cause so much chaos as we'll be a known quantity" Delta responded, her voice echoed in from the kitchen where it seemed she was cooking something judging by the sounds of oil on fire.

"What products are you thinking of selling then?" I ask.

"Jewelry, though I'm not selling it you are"

"Hm…" I hummed, "Why?"

"You and Aoif have done nothing yet but go on a date" Delta responded, her voice tinged with sarcasm.

"Fair," I responded, "Where and when should we sell?"

"Tomorrow, I'll have everything set up by then."

I nod my head in response, my body dragged into an upright position as I see Aoif enter the room. Her hair was still slightly wet, the shower that she had taken on her lonesome giving her hair and extra sheen of beauty. I smiled when I saw her enter the room, her presence lit my mood from the hours of boredom I would have to go through in the future. Though if it was with Aoif it could be days and I would still be happy.

"What happened?" Aoif asked, her eyes turning from mine to Delta's and back to mine.

…

I sat back on the couch, Aoif's back leaning onto my chest as I laid back on the back of the couch as I watched the window.

Outside was dark, the streetlights were off as the natural darkness of the cavern we were situated in took hold of the city. Though that didn't mean that the streets were empty, all around there were tiny flickering lights that seemed to go this way and that. As the day fell and night began the soldiers started to act more rapidly as the ordinary citizens were all asleep some sort of mass spell cast to pacify them.

Though there was no such thing in the hotel that we resided in I could still feel the residual effects weigh down upon my body, even now I felt like falling asleep but I knew that was of my own choice not whatever that spell was doing.

I knew this because this spell could only affect people of low tier 9, what most of the citizens are. There may have been a lucky few that were powerful enough to resist the effects but that would only damn them to a fate of servitude and watchfulness as they were forced into the military.

Or that was what I assumed would happen if they were discovered, if it was me I would capture and instill loyalty to those people as they would hold potential that could be exploited.

yawn

A yawn fell through my mouth as I felt the tiredness of the day fall onto me, though I resisted it as I wanted to watch. Even if Aoif had already fallen asleep I was not going to join her instead I would stand guard and watch and see their plans.