Myths Reawakened

Living room.

Wayne sat on the sofa alone, going through documents and making marks on a map with a red ink pen. Senna had delivered the blackmail materials against the Pope and the three other Oracle High Reverends. Once exposed, the reputation of all of the Church of Nature’s leadership would crumble.

Though they were never that well regarded to begin with, the veneer of dignity remained. To the general followers, the Pope and the Oracle High Reverends were all superior and untouchable disciples with noble causes.

Senna returned to the church’s headquarters with the Elemental Mantra, keeping in contact with Wayne through her thoughts and awaiting his next order.

In theory, the Nature Knight had no right to interfere with the Church of Nature, and Wayne was only the successor rather than the one and only chosen knight. What was forbidden on paper wasn’t necessarily forbidden, though. Wayne simply didn’t want to create an exception.

The higher-ups of the church had too many skeletons in their closets, and a simple search would find many bones. There was no need to use force to strip them of their statuses. Confronting them with evidence was effective enough.

Only when they refused to cooperate would Wayne roll up his sleeves and turn to force.

Since you won’t listen to reason, it’s on you that I’m resorting to the physical method!

In a corner of the living room, Regina and Nilsson huddled together, daring not to raise their voice above a whisper. Due to the label of the Nature Knight, Nilsson’s impression of Wayne changed for the better. She stopped trying to persuade her younger sister to return home and take over their family business.

To mages, the chosen knights held an unchallengeable status. Many would beg to work for the Nature Knight. If Wayne weren’t surrounded by women and hadn’t been flirting with a charismatic lady, showing his messy private life, Nilsson would’ve asked Regina to get her a job.

“Have you found something, Boss?” Ottilia came over with a pot of black tea, poured him half a cup, and sat beside him to help him compile the information. She was sitting quite close, showing more initiative than usual. It seemed that she was getting competitive.

“These documents can’t be used as evidence, and the map shows nothing,” Wayne said without looking up. “I’m heading out tonight for concrete evidence.”

Ottilia adjusted her glasses before shifting closer to him, surrounding him with her unique fragrance. Before Wayne even showed any reactions, her face had already become flushed.

“Just be yourself and don’t compare yourself with Senna. She’s a legendary mage and a Dragonblood. She’s not normal.” Wayne glanced at Ottilia, petting her head.

Ottilia pouted. Ever since their relationship changed, Wayne had been accommodating and gentlemanly with her, never showing his shameless side. It was embarrassing to admit, but she preferred the bad boy.

She knew that Wayne was trying to be considerate, but the more considerate he was, the more distant he felt. She mustered her courage to say, “Boss, I’m not comparing myself with Master Senna. I’m your secretary, and Miss Mona is, too. I’m comparing myself to her.”

“That’s not a good comparison. You’re also my girlfriend.”

Then we should be closer. How am I any different from Regina now?

Ottilia batted her eyelashes at him. “Boss, there are many locations marked on the map. Do you need me to go on a mission tonight?”

“Mission!” Regina rushed over. “Boss, any missions for me?”

Among the fourteen vengeful spirits that Wayne had taken under his wing, Regina was the most passionate about work. She was self-disciplined, serious, and conscientious. If something could be done by working overtime, she would never leave the task to the next day. She fit Wayne’s stereotypes for Prussians to a T.

“I do have a mission for you...” Wayne stroked his chin, pointing at the map. “Investigate these locations in the city. Be careful not to expose yourself. It doesn’t matter that you can’t find anything, but make sure not to alert the targets.”

“Consider it done.”

“I’ll buy a new purse for you once we’re in Londan.” Wayne made a cheap promise before turning to Ottilia. “Beautiful lady, fancy a date tonight?”

Of course.

Ottilia was just about to say yes when she saw Regina and her visible enthusiasm for work. She adjusted her glasses and said, “Boss, we’re at work. Please don’t bring our personal relationships into the workplace. It’s troublesome.”

Fine, you’re playing it like that, too?

Wayne almost laughed out loud. He pulled a long face and said, “My bad, secretary. Tonight, you’re following me on the mission. Do well, or I’ll deduct your salary.”

“Don’t worry.” Ottilia stood up. “I won’t disappoint you.”

Regina looked at them in confusion, not understanding what they were doing. Didn’t Ottilia always want to get closer to their boss? Why was she creating distance between them now?

Were they going to break up?

Wayne had Regina memorize the marked locations on the map before leaving with Ottilia. At the door, Regina was intercepted by Nilsson.

“I need to go to work, Nilsson. Stay at home and wait for me. I’ll hang out with you once I come home.”

“Is this how you talk to your older sister?”

“There’s no older sister and younger sister in the world of magic, only the strong and the weak. You taught me that.”

They stared at each other for a moment. With a shrug, Regina said, “The mission is dangerous. I can’t take you with me. Believe me, you’ve learned too much today. It’s bad for your safety.”

Nilsson was both envious and happy for her sister when she saw how much stronger Regina had become, but realizing how she had been stagnating, she couldn’t help but feel conflicted. She wanted to be an older sister who could protect her sister again.

“Regina, does your current power have something to do with your knight boss?” Nilsson said through clenched teeth.

“Yes, he gave it to me,” Regina answered readily. Everything she had was a gift from Wayne. He satisfied her daily needs and gave her her life, greater power, and succubus form. She didn’t have to think since she could just do what Wayne told her to do, certain that it would be the right thing.

“Then, could you introduce me?” Nilsson said hesitantly. Aside from his messy private life, perhaps Wayne was a good boss. Besides, his messy private life had nothing to do with his employees. It might just provide the employees with entertainment in their dull lives, which was a good thing!

Nilsson found an excuse for herself and looked at Regina imploringly, hoping that her sister would get her a job. When Regina said nothing, she hurriedly said, “You know me, Regina. I’m competent.”

“It’s not about competence...” Regina shook her head. To work for Wayne, one would have to die with powerful resentment. Her sister looked too hopeful, though, so she said, “I’ll put in a good word for you once Boss is back, but there’s nothing I can do if he says no.”

“Are you saying that he’ll reject me?”

“Most likely...”

“I’ll help you with the mission. If I perform well, it’ll make me a more attractive hire.”

“No. If you dare step out of the door, I won’t ever consider you my sister!”

***

Wien was once Ostarrichi’s capital. Ever since it became part of Prussia, the city had stripped itself of its status. With dense forest surrounding it on three fronts and many a river running across the land, it was a romantic city of greenery and music.

Wayne’s target tonight was away from the downtown area. Following the Seinube River and entering the rarely-traversed forest, one could still hear the meandering waltz under the starry night sky, accompanied by a pleasant breeze.

The city was rich in music. If that failed artist had pursued music rather than art, perhaps... Well, he would face greater competition and fail again. That wasn’t going to save Prussia!

Wayne quickly crossed the forest shrouded by the darkness of the night, with Ottilia following right behind him. She had gotten stronger as he progressed, growing so dramatically that even she found it frightening.

They marched for ten minutes. As if he had a built-in radar, Wayne moved across hills and peaks and found his way to a hidden mountainous path.

He stepped on the ground. “Nice load capacity. It’s a shame that only the private sector uses it. Besides, it’s such a remote location in the mountains...”

This is the right place!

His first target led him to a great find. How lucky. He gestured at Ottilia to tell her that they would continue their communication with their thoughts going forward.

They resumed their advance and soon reached a restricted military base, with searchlights scanning the shadows in the forest. There were also armed soldiers stationed at different checkpoints.

Wayne considered whether he should infiltrate the base now. He didn’t plan to wrap up the investigation tonight, and he didn’t want to alert the enemies. Since he was here already, though, he wouldn’t let a few Prussian soldiers scare him away. He wasn’t going to cower under Prussia’s warnings like Francan people.

“Come on. Let’s go look.”

Avoiding the searchlights, Wayne approached the military base. As powerful as his thoughts were, the entire base and the underground bunker were under his influence. He could twist the soldiers’ senses so that they wouldn’t notice him even if they were looking right at him.

To be safe, Wayne didn’t blatantly show himself, avoiding detection as well as he could and sneaking through the checkpoints perfectly. He only needed to obscure the guards’ senses at the entrance to the bunker.

The bunker was on the other side of a thick metal door, the crisscrossing corridors forming a large maze. The moment Wayne stepped in, he felt a wave of chill and faintly heard the rumbles of large machinery. It seemed that construction work had continued throughout the night, digging something.

Before his transmigration, Wayne had heard much about the fringe technology in his world’s Prussia, as well as black magic like the study of Hell and alchemy. The rumors ran so rampant that it would seem like the Axis powers could’ve won the war if the nation of the starred and striped flag hadn’t been an even more absurd force.

He digressed.

Extending his senses, Wayne crawled along the walls of the bunker and created a three-dimensional map of the complex layout in his head. It was a massive underground base with numerous large laboratories. Some of the research being conducted here greatly interested Wayne.

“Astral life...”

“Vessels for Hell...”

“Mass-produced magical soldiers. Prussia indeed has a hold of a lot of fringe technologies...”

Wayne opened his eyes, leading Ottilia to the first laboratory with anticipation. Research data enriched his evolution. The bunker was a treasure trove of knowledge for him.

This trip hadn’t been in vain. Prussia was a lamb he could keep exploiting for wool.