Vale sat in his throne as the smoky Demon appeared before him.

"I have something to report, Master Vale."

Vale, who'd been busy playing around with the blueprint, looked up from the screen and at Mias.

"What is it?"

Mias had an odd look about him, like his mind was torn in two, but eventually, he said:

"Ophelia… she somehow knew who I was and that I was watching. Currently, she's trying to win me over to her side. I'm still speaking with her even at this moment."

Vale's eyes widened in surprise.

'Mias got caught?'

Also…

'How did she know who he was?'

Other than that, the implications behind what was happening scared him.

Mias was still new, an existence Vale knew little about in the grad scheme of everything. His Loyalty was still at 50, but Vale could never glean what was going on in the scholar's mind.

Vale would have loved to be able to trust him, but he didn't know him well enough. But what he did know was his curious mind and dangerous intelligence. Vale was not going to throw out the idea that Mias could figure out a way to rebel without him finding out. Or that Mias would figure out a way to negate his dependence on Vale.

Not that he was going to make such a hasty conclusion and label the man a traitor. But, he wasn't going to trust Mias completely just because he told him of Ophelia's plot. As the revelation to Vale of the offer might have been part of the plot.

"What is she offering you?"

Mias said evenly:

"Knowledge."

Vale sighed.

"Knowledge, huh? She knows you well."

Mias looked away, remaining silent for a moment, before he said:

"That's what I don't understand. If she knew me at all, she would never have revealed that she had the knowledge I was after. Especially not when alone and in a situation where she'd have little chance to defend herself."

A sinister look and quiet smile crept onto his face after he said that.

'Scary…'

Vale shuddered internally as he thought back to the scholar's Title. A Title that he very well understood the reason for by this point.

"What knowledge is she offering, anyway?"

Mias laughed:

"Knowledge that I doubt she actually has… but what has gripped my mind more is that she knows what I want. She offered to tell me where Carver is, among other things."

Mias smiled wildly, an expression Vale had never seen on the smoky man.

"Too bad for her, that very sentence was all the proof I needed that Carver is indeed here, and that I wasn't wrong to accept the voice's offer. Don't fret, I'm not so low that I would rely on petty betrayal when I could easily find it out myself once I'm strong enough. Besides, the pursuit of knowledge is as rapturous as the acquisition of knowledge."

Vale gave his Champion a confident smile, holding back a world of doubts.

"What is your plan?"

Mias's eyes looked empty.

"Why, I am quite curious about how she knows what she does, so I accepted her offer. On the surface at least."

Vale's gaze narrowed:

'Surface, huh…'

Just what was lying below the surface of Mias's mind? What was truth and what was fiction?

Vale, still looking down at Mias in front of him, summoned the man's status page and double-checked that his Loyalty was still 50/100.

He'd thought it before, and he'd forever think it again: 'Loyalty cannot be quantified…'

So, what did that number even mean?

And was there a way for the number to lie…

Either way, trusting Mias on account of the number was as foolish as trusting Salome if she said she'd save Ximena.

"Alright, keep me updated on how it evolves… but while you're here, I did want to ask you what you think will be the forces needed to take over the village."

Mias looked confused, as if he'd heard something wild, perhaps from Ophelia, before he looked up at Vale and said:

"They number 2,958. A number we'd typically have no chance of defeating. But there are only 1,243 potential combatants, assuming everyone who could fight was brave enough to do so. Also, you have Salome on your side, a force perfectly suited for a lopsided brawl of one strong versus many."

Mias paused for a moment, then continued evenly:

"Naturally, even Salome wouldn't be able to win alone. She'd need to have a force with her."

Vale added:

"But we can't leave the dungeon undefended."

Mias held out his hand and let it transform into smoke, then he began to form something out of the ashen particles

"Correct…"

Vale looked down on the short scholar who'd gotten even shorter after sending half of himself away.

"I don't suppose you have an estimate on the forces we'd need?"

Mias laughed gingerly as miniature smoke figurines formed on the ground in front of him.

"An estimate? Heavens, no. I have an exact number. You'd have to send half of me, Toy, 42 warriors, and 12 archers. That force is enough to grant victory, while leaving a defensible force here in case of emergencies, assuming we use the terrain and element of surprise to the best of our advantage…"

Though his smoky face grew stern as he said the last phrase.

"But that would be the number assuming we have the element of surprise."

Mias paused, then added candidly:

"I've come to the conclusion that unless Salome is a traitor, they have a soothsayer on their side."

Vale's eyes narrowed…

As much as he didn't want to think it, he had considered both possibilities. Both dreadful…

How was he supposed to fight a battle if his greatest warrior was a traitor? Vale didn't think that would be the case, especially now, since he knew more about her.

However, he may have preferred that over facing someone who could see the future. How was beating someone like that even possible?! It would have to be done with overwhelming strength, which Vale simply didn't have!

The only other way he saw it being possible was if he had an oracle on his side as well to counter the other…

'Wait…'

There was one oracle he knew, and she'd already given him a prophecy. How did the beginning of that go?

'The woman of the waterfall awaits…'

Sadly, that didn't help at all, and he wasn't allowed to consult Mias about it or else Sloth would gut him. Nor was he going to make the dreadful trip to that waterfall at a time like this to check it out.

He could send Mias, but that would create its own complications, as he'd have to do it without an explanation, and the smart scholar might figure out why he sent him. Plus, there was the factor that Vale didn't know if he could completely trust him.

What did matter was the next Council of Vice in a couple of days…

Depending on his bravery, he could ask Sloth for help.

'Though Wrath did warn me not to fuck with her, and the one time I tried to talk to her, she tried to kill me.'

And now that he pissed Wrath off, who would protect him from the terrifying bastard!

Vale asked the scholar:

"Do you have any idea about the next step?"

Mias spoke evenly:

"Until all dependent variables have been discovered, victory cannot be absolutely guaranteed; but from what I know at the moment, the forces of the village grow stronger by the day, so an attack sooner than later is still the best, else we will need to grow our strength proportionally."

"Even with an oracle on their side?"

Mias's face split into a wicked grin.

"Oracles are not as absolute as they seem… I've killed enough to know. But they are annoying."

Vale leaned back in his throne and pondered.

He pondered how much trust he would put in Mias. How much trust would he put in the Loyalty number the system had written? How much trust would he place in a man known as the Reaper of Knowledge, whom he'd met approximately three weeks ago?

His answer?

'Very little…'

On the flip side, he hadn't been given reason to doubt the scholar other than fear of the unknown.

But, at the same time, he also had his own offers of knowledge that the Reaper would find most interesting.

Vale already knew Mias had figured out his woes long ago, the moment the conversation started, so there was no reason to hide it. Why not reveal his doubts straight up?

"Mias, even in the short time you've been here, you are invaluable to the Dungeon of Lust… Yet, I know very little about you or your priorities. However, if you ever feel enticed to betray me for real on grounds of knowledge, just know that I have tales of history and inventions from a whole different world I've yet to tell."

Mias smiled sadistically, his pale face nearly reflecting the aura of Vale's eyes.

"Of course… I already eavesdropped on your childish argument with the Queen of Ruin. And I do admit I am quite curious to hear more about the world you came from. Not just Aleyrac and the zealots your dad fought as a detective, or the story of a naive kid raised in a brothel. I want to hear the story of the rise and fall of kingdoms I've never heard of. Legends of conquerors and tales of heroes and the villains they fought."

"That…" Vale smiled. "That is something I can very much do."

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