“The way to lure the sea dragon is to choose the most beautiful person in the city, bathe them cleanly, sprinkle them with rosewater and perfume, decorate them, then tie them to a pillar near the seashore on the night of the full moon.”
“You speak well.”
Johan marveled. If there was a mercenary next to him wielding a whip, Jyanina’s glib tongue would spin incredibly.
‘𝘐𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯?’
At first he didn’t know, but as the opponent became scared, the unique pupils and split tongue of the snake people revealed themselves.
“Then does it come out? Can I whip her if it doesn’t come out?”
“. . .Of course.”
Jyanina was about to say “No” but seeing the whip about to lash out, he affirmed. If it doesn’t work out, she can think about the aftermath then.
“All good, but. . . Your Excellency. How can we know who is the most beautiful person in the city?”
“You’re right. I would have asked Iselia if she was here.”
“??”
“??”
The knight and Jyanina thought it was nonsense, but they quietly closed their mouths. Johan had a sword at his waist, and even without pulling out the sword, he could break a neck.
“Isn’t Jyanina here conspicuously beautiful? Can’t she be used as bait? She is also well versed in magic. . .”
‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘦.’
“I. . .I’m very lacking!”
“Don’t you look too skinny and unattractive?”
“. . . . . .”
“No? Well, if you are that confident in yourself. . .”
“Ah, no, you’re right!”
Johan thought about using Jyanina as bait if the knights and Jyanina agreed.
Of course Jyanina was disgusted. It was better to be uglier than bait.
“In the end, magic is more about belief than truth. If you can create that belief, the objective truth may not matter.”
“?!”
Johan said something so wizard-like that Jyanina was surprised. It wasn’t something an outsider nobleman could say.
Did he learn it from Caenerna?
No, if Caenerna didn’t get shot in the head with an arrow, she wouldn’t have done that. . .?
“Gather the city people and give them pottery shards. Tell them to write the name of the person they think is the most beautiful in the city on it.”
“That’s. . .that’s a really good idea!”
“. . .?”
For a moment Johan thought Fahid was making fun of him. But Fahid was speaking sincerely.
Which nobleman would ask the people directly and decide?
Of course as a nobleman he would decide himself, or at most, ask a priest if he makes a lot of concessions.
Who would divide his authority and honor and give it to others. Choosing that was also authority and honor.
‘𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.’
Asking the city people now wasn’t flattering them. . .
But Fahid’s innocent pupils were telling the truth. Even Jyanina there was surprised. She didn’t know it could be resolved so easily.
“While I didn’t know, Your Excellency has the wisdom of a philosopher.”
“Do as you’re told.”
“?!”
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
̇ȧ̇𝕨𝙚𝘣sᴛ𝘰𝚛𝕚𝚎s.ᴄ𝙤𝕞
“Congratulations, Ariku. You are the most beautiful person.”
“This is a misunderstanding, Your Excellency! This is a misunderstanding! The citizens must have misunderstood something!”
“We don’t have time to explain again since the full moon is near. We need to resolve this quickly as the damage piles up day by day.”
The head of the Masons’ Guild, Ariku, resisted violently, but the servants’ hands relentlessly washed and stripped him.
“I didn’t know well either, but I guess that’s the aesthetic standard of the city.”
“No! No!”
Ariku was old with wrinkles on him face and rough skin, but the city people took this as a kind of test.
They chose Ariku thinking that if the harshest, most vengeful master among the guilds was selected, there would be no repercussions.
“Your Excellency. I’m in tears seeing such a sight.”
Seeing the dolled up Ariku, Partutti was overjoyed.
“He’s just bait, not a sacrifice, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
“Can’t he unfortunately die?”
“Don’t say unlucky things and did you bring what I asked for?”
“Yes.”
There was a clinking sound. It was the sound of a viscous black liquid sloshing around in a jar.
“I didn’t know you knew how to make fire with demon blood, Your Excellency.”
Outstanding alchemists knew how to make flammable substances using petroleum. The liquid made this way would not easily go out once lit, and continued to burn.
Johan originally wanted to brainstorm with Partutti and the craftsmen’s guilds to find a combination using petroleum for a long burning fire. It was a matter of finding a composition that would burn for a long time.
Surprisingly, however, Partutti and the craftsmen already knew this method. They just didn’t use it. It was an unwelcome item, deemed sinister.
Johan felt like a fool. They even told him the composition.
It was originally a secret that should not have been divulged, but Partutti told without a moment’s hesitation, a true representative of the Guild.
‘𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴.’
From the failures of the city people, Johan learned a lesson. In the parts where several traps all failed, Johan felt the sensitivity of its senses.
Siege weapons were inevitably conspicuous if placed nearby, no matter how small. Beasts could be deceived but monsters were impossible.
But the sealed jars filled with quenchless fire were not suspicious at all when sealed. There was nothing strange about being nearby.
━It’s out!
With a clanking sound, a huge creature crawled out from the water. It was definitely the water dragon.
Everyone present was relieved. Everyone had been worried about the same thing.
━𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘪𝘵?
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