"So, when exactly can we be let out?" Aske asked.

Inside the prison, the Maya Queen sat on a chair next to him, answering Aske's question through the iron bars:

"We cannot do that now. The security situation in the city is not very stable. Letting you out could easily cause unnecessary trouble. You should understand that this is for your own protection."

With that, she calmly took a sip of tea and continued,

"Of course, if our contract is executed successfully, then soon the Conservative Party will lose its capacity to stir up trouble, and I will be able to issue a public pardon for you."

The implication was clear: they intended to drain all value from them before considering release.

"However," the Maya put down her teacup and asked somewhat curiously, "Aren't you the Squad Leader of The Azure Longsword? Why do you stay behind while letting your subordinates do the work?"

"They are not my subordinates," Aske explained, "Strictly speaking, our relationship is more akin to colleagues and mentor-mentee. They follow my commands, and I am responsible for teaching them to enhance their strength."

"I see, I initially thought you were using your authority to create a harem while making them work and earn money for you. It seems I was mistaken," the Maya nodded.

Aske: ??

"You've greatly misunderstood," he said helplessly. "Not all male-led groups with many women are harems."

"Even if all the girls like you, doesn't that count?" the Maya blinked.

"Not all the girls…" Aske sighed.

"Alright, then most of the girls," the Maya laughed, "Are you telling me not a single one tempts you?"

"This is my personal affair. Didn't you come here to discuss political matters with me?" Aske again employed the Topic Shifting Technique, reminding her, "You mentioned that there are external forces influencing the upper echelons of the half-elves, or the higher-ups in the Aragon-Castilla Kingdom. What exactly is going on?"

"Ah, right," the Maya indeed shifted her focus, sighing as she spoke, "Squad Leader Aske, have you heard of the Wizard Stone?"

"The Wizard Stone?" Aske paused for a moment before asking, "Does Lusitania have veins of Wizard Stone?"

The so-called Wizard Stone is a mineral that allows Transcendents to recover their spirituality when crushed. Even the Magic Tide that encircles the entire planet is essentially a periodic change in the magnetic field caused by a large amount of Wizard Stone in the mantle layer.

Because of this, the Wizard Stone has extraordinary strategic significance for Extraordinary Forces. The world's two largest veins are located in the Peloponnesus region of the Sirius Peninsula and on the Cairo Plain in the South Continent, but it was unexpected that Lusitania would also have them.

"Our veins, compared to those on the Sirius Peninsula and South Continent, have smaller reserves and are buried deeper; hence, they have always been kept a strict secret," the Maya Queen continued. "Apart from a few high-ranking Half-elves, only the Royal Family of Aragon-Castilla knows."

"Wait, why the Royal Family of Aragon-Castilla . . . ?" Aske spoke, instantly realizing.

Smuggling.

If Lusitania were to try to sell Wizard Stones abroad, they would certainly require a human sales channel. The Kingdom of Aragon-Castilla, being nearest, first learned of this.

They then reached an agreement with Lusitania to "buy out" this information.

"You guessed right." The Maya Queen sighed, "Aragon-Castilla secretly purchases Wizard Stones from us then sells them in limited quantities at a price tenfold higher. Of course, they don't say they obtained them from the Lucitania Great Forest. The official claim is that they were transported along the Mediterranean route from Cairo."

"If it truly were long-distance seaworthy transport, then the steep price would make sense; but, in reality, it's transported overland from Lusitania resulting in rather astonishing profits." Aske pondered a moment, then realized, "So, the Undead Kingdom found out about this too?"

"The southern Mediterranean route, except for the sections controlled by Seljuk Empire and Mamluk, is mostly monitored by the Hafsi Dynasty," the Maya Queen snickered coldly. "The excuse of Aragon-Castilla can deceive other nations but not the Undead Kingdom, as they can access actual shipping information."

"So, the Undead Kingdom suspects that in reality, the Kingdom of Aragon-Castilla secretly controls a vein of Wizard Stones, which is why they have launched an attack on the Iberian Peninsula?" Aske speculated.

"I'm not sure of that; I tend to think there's a possibility." The Maya Queen sighed deeply, looking earnestly at Aske, "So, you should understand."

"Once the Kingdom of Aragon-Castilla cannot withstand the onslaught of the Undead, they will surely reveal this information to the Undead Kingdom."

"By then, Lusitania will inevitably be unable to protect itself. Even though we are surrounded by the Morena Mountains and the Doniana Swamp, the Undead would absolutely not hesitate to bear these costs for Wizard Stones."

"So, what the Half-elves need to do is to quickly disclose the information about the veins, thereby seeking shelter from other nations on the continent." Aske concluded, "As long as the presence of Wizard Stones here is confirmed, even those who were initially unwilling to send troops like Divine Luo, West Francia, and Anjou, under pressure from the Church Court, will swiftly dispatch military aid."

"After all, the Church Court will never allow the Wizard Stones to be controlled by the Undead Kingdom. Otherwise, given time, the Undead could follow in the footsteps of the Seljuks and establish their own Extraordinary Empire."

"You're right," Queen Maya shook her head, "but the Kingdom of Aragon-Castilla doesn't see it that way."

"Could they still be deluding themselves that they can privately negotiate with the Undead Kingdom and thus share the revenues from the Wizard Stones?" Aske asked incredulously.

"Sharing profits with the Undead is better than having other countries on the continent intervene, according to the Royal Family of Aragon-Castilla's anticipation of the current situation," Queen Maya scoffed coldly. "Of course, since the veins aren't theirs to claim, they can afford to gamble."

"For them, the worst consequence after losing the bet is merely ceding Lusitania and the veins, or even all of Castilia, retaining only the region near the Pyrenees in Aragon, as West Francia and the Church Court would never allow the Undead to invade there. As long as the Undead cannot achieve an absolute advantage in the war, they can take the opportunity to negotiate with the Undead."

Queen Maya's expression darkened, continuing, "However, for the Lucitania Great Forest, the worst outcome is being defeated by the Undead; the forest burned, all Half-elves slaughtered."

"Because the stake is all of Lusitania, the people of Aragon dare to gamble; we do not, so if they try to use our lives as chips on the gambling table, we must save ourselves."

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