Lucy Perhela
A status window rose before him, this time framed in a blood-red border unlike the usual one.
<Lucy Perhela> ★★★★
[ STAT | GRADE | BASE VALUE ~ MAX VALUE ]
Strength B : 61 ~ 66 (Not a warrior, but as an elf her specs are still strong.)
Intelligence A : 73 ~ 87
Magic Power A : 80 ~ 82 (She makes use of a ring enchanted with a spell.)
Divine Power A : 74 ~ 85
Charm A : 77 ~ 79
Leadership B : 72 ~ 75
Mental Strength C : 52 ~ 68 (Quirk: So steeped in supremacist ideology that she looks down on every race except elves.)
Edification FFF : -100 (She’s been thoroughly brainwashed, so conversion is effectively impossible. That said, she doesn’t hold any personal grudge against you, Master. Still, it won’t do to keep needling her forever, so try not to provoke her too much.)
*Background*
She was originally a mage, but for some reason or other she underwent a “baptism” in the secret society that followed the Angel of Purification, Cliad, and became one of its members.
When she wandered the western lands posing as an adventurer, she used the alias Ringring. She disliked the nickname, but used it anyway to hide her real name.
Edification FFF. That’s pretty damn impressive. So it means I can’t cheese this with conversion.
A new quest appeared along with it.
Sub Quest Issued! <Learn the True Nature of the Cliad Sect>
📍 Location: —
🎁 Reward: ???
[Tip]
- The more important information you uncover through bold conversational events, the better you’ll be able to deal with hostile NPC factions later.
- Try to get Lucy herself to reveal information. Lucy Perhela is intelligent, but she tends to get carried away by her emotions, so use that to your advantage.
- Elves cannot lie. That said, it doesn’t mean elves can’t deceive others, or that they never do.
“So elves truly never lie.”
After the party led by Founder King Kain left Gipeum Hill, the high-ranking angels who watched over the Western Continent each used the soil of life to mold new races.
The Angel of Vitality, Maliad, created orcs.
The Angel of Courage, Galliad, created dwarves.
The Angel of Abundance, Talliad, created half-beasts.
And the Angel of Wisdom, Saliad, disappointed by the many failings of humankind, created elves—beings superior to humans in every respect, so that they might lead humanity onto the proper path.
“More precisely, they’d be unable to lie.”
Saliad had considered falsehood the greatest sin of all and had made the elves so they could never speak a lie, but…
“That’s right. I have never lied to you. Only—”
“If you’re about to start babbling some crap about how you merely left out the truth, you can stop right there.”
“…Babbled? I may be a rootless swordsman, but your vocabulary is remarkably vulgar.”
“Calling the people who’ve treated you well bugs and pests sure sounds refined, doesn’t it?”
As Lucy trembled with rage, Ho-yeong hit her with a heavy dose of fact-based violence.
“You predicted the monster attack to build trust with the people around here. That was probably real enough. But saying trolls would appear in three villages to the south? That’s a different story.”
“Why? I was exact about where, when, and how many trolls would appear.”
“Because you arranged for them to be summoned that way. I know all about it, so quit with the pathetic little performance.”
“You know all about it… Then tell me what you know.”
Now certain of it, Ho-yeong laid bare Lucy’s scheme without hesitation.
“You left out the part about the trolls appearing in the north, didn’t you? Because you meant to send the troublesome guards south and evacuate the villagers to the north. You were planning to use the moment they thought the north was safe to kidnap the children, while the rest of the people got slaughtered by the trolls.”
“Ohhh, very impressive. For a rude and lowborn manner of speech, your wits seem to work fairly well. But how did you uncover my plan?”
“How, you ask? I just used my brain, like you said.”
“That doesn’t explain it. Fine, perhaps you sensed that I had a plan, but how did you figure out the time and direction of the trolls’ appearance? And the way you commanded the battle… It was almost as if you knew a variant troll would show up in advance. What method did you use?”
Lucy shot him a sharp look, then glanced toward the magic circle around the relay station.
“Hm? I’d rather not tell someone who doesn’t know manners.”
Ho-yeong sent back the same words she had thrown at him earlier.
“Why don’t you lower that stiff little neck of yours?”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed slightly, but soon she was smiling again.
“You’re more interesting than you look. An elf like me bowing my head to the likes of you vermin? That’ll never happen, even if Hariat were raised from the dead.”
“I don’t believe there’s such a thing as ‘never.’ If that ever did happen, what would you do?”
“I’ll give you my most precious artifact. I swear it on the fate of an elf who does not speak falsehood. Though I do wonder whether such a day will ever come, and whether you’ll still be alive by then even if it does. Hoho.”
A mindset dripping with arrogance.
Ho-yeong made no pledge in return. If she wanted to make a bet that would only cost herself, there was no reason to stop her.
“Setting that aside, let’s at least introduce ourselves properly. I’m Joren Tamer. I’d like to hear the noble lady’s name.”
“I haven’t properly introduced myself yet. A pleasure.”
She bowed with exaggerated grace.
“You may have heard of me as Ringring, but the truth is, I am—”
“Lucy Perhela.”
Lucy Perhela’s golden eyes turned pitch black.
“How did you know my name…?”
“I know who you are well enough. The identity of Ringring, the mage-adventurer, is fake. The real you is Lucy Perhela, priest of Cliad, the Angel of Purification.”
Not only Lucy, but the holy knights around her began to murmur as well.
“An elf serving Cliad instead of Saliad?”
“And she’s a mage—how can she wield divine power too? There’s never been a case like this before….”
Ho-yeong answered for Lucy with a brief explanation.
“She wasn’t a priest to begin with; she changed jobs. She says it’s thanks to something called a ‘baptism,’ so that’s probably where the secret lies. And humans lose magic power if they take on divine power, but elves are born superior, so maybe it works differently for them.”
Sub Quest Progress! <Learn the True Nature of the Cliad Sect> has advanced from 0% to 10%.
“To know even that much….”
Lucy couldn’t hide her shock.
By moving first, Ho-yeong had seized the initiative in the conversation and made Lucy hesitate to throw up a hasty smokescreen.
“Just how much do you know about our order?”
She watched Ho-yeong’s ring intently as she waited for an answer.
“Hm? How much do you think I know?”
Of course, Ho-yeong didn’t kindly add, Only what I just said.
Lucy didn’t show much on her face, but inside she was growing anxious.
This bastard… just how much does he know? This is not good. If I’m careless, he might ruin our great plan. Should I deal with him right now? I need to find an opening somehow… Damn it, there isn’t one.
Seeing the holy knights and mages surrounding and watching her, Lucy decided to give up on assassination for the moment.
“Still, that must have been difficult for you. A noble elf forced to go around with a ridiculous nickname like Ringring. Ah, you said you were baptized, so is that like a baptismal name? I don’t know who gave it to you, but they had terrible taste and no sense at all. Naming you Ringring just because you wear rings and trinkets everywhere. Tsk tsk.”
“Mind your tongue!”
Lucy suddenly flared up at Ho-yeong’s casual attempt to change the subject.
“How dare you speak so carelessly of our venerable lord! You filthy earthworm, crawling only so far and no farther—are you trying to reach a summit you could never even hope to behold?”
From her seething words, Ho-yeong caught something important.
So that’s how it is. There really is a boss above them. And the way she’s this quick to explode just because I put down their so-called lord means she’s truly loyal. If Edification is FFF, then the opposite must mean her loyalty to the sect is SSS.
Sub Quest Progress! <Learn the True Nature of the Cliad Sect> has advanced from 10% to 30%.
Congratulations on coaxing Lucy into exposing Cliad’s powers herself.
Rather than thanking her for revealing something he hadn’t known, Ho-yeong chose to apologize on the surface.
“Sorry. I just thought a remarkable strategist like you deserved a more impressive title.”
Ho-yeong was not lying.
If she’s an important character in this hostile NPC faction, she’s definitely got a proper title. If I can figure that out, the quest progress should jump quite a bit.
And his guess was right. Lucy was still holding herself back for the time being, but that was all.
“A remarkable strategist? Hah, are you mocking me because you figured out my plan?”
“No, I mean it. Your plan was excellent. Truth be told, what I spotted was more a stroke of luck than anything else. That was almost really dangerous.”
“Luck, was it? So you’re making excuses to keep from giving me any real information?”
“No. I’m serious.”
Lucy, who was keeping an eye on the Ring of Truth, looked mildly surprised. The ring was holding the sunlight inside it with crystal clarity.
“In the end, though, it was nothing but good luck this time.”
Of course, he had received help from several abilities and from the status window, but he wasn’t hiding that fact on purpose. Ho-yeong truly believed he’d been lucky, and he was only saying exactly what he thought.
The Ring of Truth only told whether the wearer’s words were sincere; it did not judge whether those words were factual. And Lucy had walked straight into that blind spot.
He doesn’t seem to be lying. Then was it really just coincidence?
Strictly speaking, preventing Lucy’s scheme had not been the result of coincidence or luck, but a “result” created by Ho-yeong’s choices.
If I hadn’t built a friendly relationship with the gnolls, I wouldn’t have known about the troll raid. In other words, this event happened because a bunch of coincidences lined up.
By crossing between the Podwor Highway and the plains, he had encountered a gnoll pack. By showing mercy to one of them, he had turned them into a neutral friendly faction. And with the reward he had gained, he had properly used his newly learned skill, Negotiation.
There’s no guarantee that luck like this will keep happening. I need to get even more serious.
Still, he never claimed the achievement as his own.
Confidence, yes. Arrogance, no. That was his greatest strength.
From now on, I need to prepare with a more reliable scouting network and system.
The kind of man who never let his guard down, even when things were going well: Bang Ho-yeong.
“I had thought you possessed some other power or artifact besides the ability to command monsters. I assumed you used that to uncover my plan, but to think it was merely the product of luck… How disappointing.”
“…My abilities?”
Ho-yeong stiffened.
Did she know about Edification? Worse, had she even guessed that he had other abilities or items?
Stay calm. Right, I know their information too, so there’s nothing strange about them knowing mine. Anyway, this confirms it. I’d wondered why they kept arranging dimensional rifts and black mist as if they were using anti-conversion measures, and now it turns out that was exactly what they were doing. They know about Edification, so they were trying to block it.
Sub Quest Progress! <Learn the True Nature of the Cliad Sect> has advanced from 30% to 40%.
“What’s not to believe? If someone like you could figure out my move, there’s no reason I couldn’t figure out the cards you so clearly laid on the table.”
Seeing the frozen look on Ho-yeong’s face, Lucy looked rather pleased. The corners of her mouth lifted again.
No, this is even better. I’ll use this chance to press on Edification. Then I can probably skate right over the rest of his abilities and items with some vague nonsense.
Ho-yeong decided to throw up a smokescreen on the spot.
“Commanding monsters… I’m just a knight. There’s no way I’d have a power like that.”
As someone who wasn’t good at lying to begin with, the performance was awful.
But right now, that terrible acting actually helped. To Lucy, it looked as though he was merely trying to hide his Edification ability.
“Hahaha. If you’re going to tell such flimsy lies, at least cover your mouth with your hand while you do it.”
Seeing the Ring of Truth turn a deep gray, Lucy laughed in triumph.
“Th-that’s just a ploy to throw us into confusion with useless talk! It’s meant to disrupt the people who trust and follow me!”
Ho-yeong made an exaggerated show of looking around wildly. The act was so obvious it was practically glowing.
“Commanding monsters? Such absurd nonsense… Do you have any proof at all?!”
The Count of Eolid deftly took the baton from him. Lucy was pleased by the trembling in his voice and the way he gripped his staff; to her, the scheme seemed to be working beautifully.
With the Lord of the Mage Tower here, this might be the perfect chance. Nothing like stirring up some Discord.
It seemed the humans gathered here knew little about Joren Tamer’s true abilities.
Yes, that’s why he disguised those monsters as ridiculous-looking cattle and horses.
Lucy smirked as she looked at the Minocentaurs.
“Proof? If you want it, I’ll show you myself. Enough to satisfy even a mage like you.”
With that, she extended one hand.
“What are you up to?”
The holy knights immediately went on alert.
“No need to worry. I don’t intend to harm any of you. Unfortunately for you, I’m an elf who cannot speak falsehood. You can trust me, yes?”
Silver light gathered in Lucy’s outstretched hand.
“Purify.”
In an instant, the silver radiance spread outward and washed over the Minocentaurs.
- Minooh?!
- Minoho?!
At once, the mana clay spread over their bodies crumbled away, and the illusion-distortion spell was undone.
“People of the human race, behold this clearly! Joren Tamer is a spellcaster who controls monsters. Hahaha. He cleverly changed the appearance of those Minocentaurs, whose magical resistance is high, but alas, it’s no use now.”
Lucy laughed fiercely, pointing at Mino and Eollugi as their true forms—neither horse nor cow—were revealed.
“Joren Tamer disguised those dangerous monsters as cattle and horses to conceal his power over them. He even moved through the wasteland instead of the highway so they wouldn’t be discovered. Do you understand now what sort of wicked scheme this man has been plotting?”
Now in high spirits, she went on and on.
“……”
“……”
For a moment, silence fell.
“So what?”
“Who didn’t know they were Minocentaurs?”
“Anyone around here who doesn’t know about the Border Count’s conversion is basically a spy.”
But the soldiers only reacted with indifference.
“…What?”
As Lucy stood there blankly, Ho-yeong smiled faintly.
“You said Cliad was the Angel of Purification. So I suppose the priests’ powers are specialized for purification too. They really do live up to the name, don’t they? Physical removal and spell dispelling, all in one.”
Sub Quest Progress! <Learn the True Nature of the Cliad Sect> has advanced from 40% to 60%.
A round of applause for the feat of provoking Lucy into exposing Cliad’s powers herself!