Noel looked at the map with several pieces on it. He was contemplating hard, making one simulation after another in his head.
"You should take a rest." Rose came while bringing tea.
Noel let out a long sigh. "To think that we would be losing this much. The situation is actually much more dangerous than I originally thought."
Rose tilted her head in confusion. "To be honest, I don't really understand the entire kingdom's situation."
"First of all, we have to consider that there will be no help from the Tower Association. In fact, they might be the ones striking our back. We still need to confirm the Demon Banner Army's stance. Right now, we have no way to determine whether they have been taken out or not.
"Last but not least, there might already be some demons within the northern alliance. They're trying to benefit from us while sending all that benefits to the royal family."
Rose paused for a moment. "Does that mean we should find a method that can determine whether they are a demon or not?"
"I have a way, but it's not reliable." Noel thought the Affection Medal could do it since demons would be hating him. However, not only did he need to see them directly, but he couldn't scan all strangers.
That was why this method was unreliable.
"That does sound horrible. Without being able to know whether they are a demon or not, we won't be able to trust anyone. Still, I have sent the news to Duke Lorelei and Marquis Stargaze, our closest allies in this situation."
"Send another one to Layla. Having the temple with us will definitely lift up some burden." Noel contemplated. "Tell the merchants that we'll be moving up the schedule for our trade. We don't know how many people have been controlled, but I assume the longer we wait, the more people will be controlled.
"Hence, it's better if the trade starts faster, allowing us to get as much money as possible. Also, tell Harley to sneak in some people to monitor them. If they are making any suspicious moves, report them to me immediately.
"Last but not least, you are to go to Roel and ask him whether there is a tool that can find one's spirit or something. If not, go to Livia. That genius prince might have something like that. Anyway, we need such a thing immediately."
Rose nodded. "Understood."
As soon as Rose left, Noel's gaze returned to the map.
...
"What is the topic all about?" Oscar asked.
"A demon in human clothing."
Oscar's expression darkened. "Take a seat, Milfa."
Milfa didn't understand what was going on. "Should I make tea first?"
"No. I'd rather not drink anything right now." Anna waved her hand, closing the windows with her spiritual energy.
Milfa was surprised that Anna's way of controlling spiritual energy had reached such a high level. She could feel that Anna was a spirit grandmaster, but the way she did things surpassed it. "Are you approaching the transcendence rank?"
"She has already reached it." Oscar took his seat and asked with a cold tone. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
"Do you know anything about the demonic humans?" Anna also ignored Milfa's reaction and continued the conversation.
"I have heard some rumors, but no confirmation yet."
"That makes it easier for me to explain. Also, I don't know if you remember this, but I and Noel once took a mission to find out about the plants that were supposed to be extinct."
"Isn't that Fagant Leaf? When I was studying your track record, I came across it." Milfa was the first one to react.
Meanwhile, Oscar understood why she didn't want to drink anything. Oscar asked, "So the Fagant Leaf has fallen to the Supreme Devil Organization? Now that I think about it, it's indeed possible. The one causing it was the Plant Lord, who had been eliminated, but the record about the plant cultivation was there.
The Supreme Devil Organization would definitely have that if they had been working together from the start."
"The Gem Lord and his disciple had fallen due to that leaf. They had also been demonized against their will."
"!!!" Oscar widened his eyes in shock. Once he got the picture of the situation, his expression turned dark. "What do you want?"
"Your help."