The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 406: Chapter 401 — Boxed

”Wha—what in the Breath is wrong with you, Lariat?!”

”What does it look like? I’m testing that ridiculous claim of yours.” Lariat took a step towards Zephyrion, her eyes narrowing with interest.

”Interesting. That was enough to injure a mark one, yet you dispersed it with nothing but your physical strength. You’re certainly no weakling.” She tilted her head slightly, studying him with renewed curiosity.

”Though I must admit, I’ve never heard of a Gular possessing such strength before. But there’s something else I’m curious about. Why didn’t you use air?”

”...There was no need.”

”Hmm... or perhaps your air control isn’t quite up to par, so you’ve been compensating by strengthening your body instead...”

She was clearly wrong, but it was still an intelligent deduction given how little information she had to work with. It would be unwise to give her any more.

”Then again, I suppose there’s no point guessing. I can find out for myself.” She stepped closer, stopping directly in front of him and meeting his gaze.

”I’ve heard quite a bit about the Gular, you know. Proud warriors, never ones to turn down a challenge. Surely those aren’t just empty rumors, hm? How about we find out? You and me. A little spar.”

Zephyrion glanced at Nourald, whose expression had darkened considerably, and finally understood what was happening.

’She’s trying to use me to get to him.’

For some reason, she was determined to fight Nourald, but since he kept refusing her challenges, she’d decided to use Zephyrion to provoke him instead.

Even worse, she’d deliberately targeted his supposed identity. Though he’d never actually admitted it, every Aerelith here had already accepted that he was a Gular. In truth, it was practically the only explanation for his extraordinary strength and build, which made the misunderstanding rather convenient for him.

Unfortunately, from what he could gather, the Gular were indeed a prideful and egotistical bunch, the sort who would rather die than back down from a challenge. Now, accepting her challenge would risk revealing more than he wanted, while refusing would contradict his supposed identity and potentially arouse suspicion.

’Fight and risk exposing myself, or refuse and raise suspicion. Wonderful.’

”So, what do you say?” Lariat smiled, looking almost certain of his answer. ”Surely a proud Gular like yourself wouldn’t turn down a simple challenge?”

The crowd around them had nearly tripled in size, with several Aerelith watching in eager anticipation. Even Nourald had fallen silent, a deep frown on his face as he waited for Zephyrion’s response. Apparently, he was curious to see what he would do as well.

A moment later, Zephyrion chose the third option. He took a step back, his face scrunching up in apparent disgust.

”Could you step back a little? Your breath stinks.”

A deathlike silence descended upon the crowd, every eye widening in disbelief.

Lariat froze, her face turning as red as a tomato as she stared at him with her mouth hanging open. Then, as though suddenly becoming conscious of her own breath, she hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes darting from side to side.

”Pfft!” Nourald was the first to break the silence, bursting into a fit of laughter. ”Hahahaha! Brother! By the Breath, you actually said it! Look at her! Hahaha! Even she’s checking if it’s true!”

Several chuckles erupted from the crowd, with more than a few Aerelith openly staring at Lariat in amusement. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, though she still seemed reluctant to remove the hand covering her mouth.

”You...” She glared at Zephyrion, her cheeks still burning. ”You’d better enjoy that little joke while you can. By the Breath, this isn’t over.”

With that, she spun on her heel and stormed off, shooting murderous glares at anyone unfortunate enough to meet her eyes.

”Brother, that was priceless!” Nourald threw an arm around his shoulders, still laughing. ”Hahaha! Who knew you had such a wicked tongue? I’ve known that witch for years, and I’ve never seen anyone shut her up so quickly! Did you see her face? Hahaha!”

”I was merely stating a fact.”

”Hahaha! That’s what makes it even funnier! After that humiliation, I bet she’ll think twice before opening that foul mouth of hers around us again!”

The third option had simply been to shift the attention to something else entirely, catching her off guard and forcing her to back down. Unfortunately, while he’d managed to escape scrutiny this time, he’d also clearly earned her ire. If there had been a better way to handle the situation, he would have taken it.

Still, what was done was done. For now, it was more important to find out exactly who he was dealing with.

”You seem to know her quite well. What do you think she’ll do now?”

Nourald gave a wry smile. ”Lariat’s... ah, how do I put this nicely? Completely out of her mind. Stubborn as a mule, too. She’s been pestering me for a fight for over a decade now, and would you believe it? The damn woman still hasn’t given up! Honestly, that little stunt she pulled with you was probably just another one of her schemes to get under my skin.”

’So he’s not completely clueless.’

”But after what you just did, I can guarantee she’ll be coming after you next,” Nourald continued. ”You see, because of my... circumstances, she can’t exactly force me into a fight. She needs me to agree first. But you, on the other hand...” He gave Zephyrion a rather sympathetic look. ”Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if that witch jumped out of a bush and attacked you tonight.”

Zephyrion tensed slightly.

That was... bad.

Nourald mistook his reaction for fear and chuckled reassuringly. ”Hahaha! Relax, brother! Why the long face? You’ve got me, remember? I’ll watch your back. That witch will have to get through me before she lays a finger on you!” He gave Zephyrion’s shoulder a friendly pat before gesturing ahead. ”Anyway, enough about that crazy woman. We’ve got a tour to finish! Now, where was I? Ah, right...”

Zephyrion’s expression remained grim as Nourald cheerfully resumed his tour, seemingly having forgotten the entire encounter already.

If Lariat was truly the sort to attack him without warning, then he was in far more danger than he’d initially thought. He could fend off her attacks with his physical strength, of course, but how long could he keep doing that before someone started asking questions? Even worse, what if she launched an attack so dangerous that he instinctively resorted to using metal?

Then he could kiss his cover goodbye. He would be exposed as a Ferran, surrounded by more than a hundred Aerelith Heralds.

’I can’t afford to wait any longer.’

Zephyrion’s eyes slowly grew cold.

There was no doubt about it. If he didn’t get his hands on some air scrolls soon, it was only a matter of time before his cover was blown.