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They considered themselves slaves as a matter of course. Humans are inherently governed by their environment. When the entire world around them insists they are slaves, they cannot dare imagine themselves as anything else.

“So, I have done some preliminary work.”

The method seemed somewhat absurd from the perspective of Repenhardt or Siris. Siris, in disbelief, asked again.

“Fairy tales?”

“Yes, Miss Siris. Fairy tales.”

“The ones that children read, those fairy tales?”

Karl smiled triumphantly.

“Of course, they are not just any fairy tales. I have restored the old, distorted folktales and stories as they were originally told by the different races and distributed them.”

Siris was well aware that the existing folktales and fairy tales had been altered to center around humans. However, she did not understand what significance it had to revert them to their original versions.

Seeing Siris’s puzzled expression, Karl continued.

“It may not seem like it matters, but in fact, it has quite an impact.”

What Karl distributed were the original versions of all the fairy tales, featuring the various races in their true roles.

“Although everyone knows these stories, there were always some awkward points in the fairy tales we had. Even I felt puzzled when hearing them as a child.”

The seven children guarding the sleeping princess properly became dwarves. The idea of young children mining in the mines and living on their own did not make sense. If they were made into adult humans, the story of the princess sleeping in seven beds pushed together also didn’t make sense.

But if they were dwarves, the whole story became plausible. If the beautiful priestess was an elf, it made sense. The story of a brave warrior who recovers from severe injuries overnight also made sense if the protagonist was a troll. Stories of barbarians who revered only muscle made much more sense if they were orcs.

“No one pays attention to fairy tales. In fact, none of you did either, because fairy tales are just for children.”

“But do they really have an effect?”

“They do on the elves. It’s adults who read fairy tales to children.”

Most elves were used as maids or sex slaves. They were also used as nannies to care for children.

Therefore, elves must also diligently memorize the fairy tales to tell children. They need to soothe and put the children to sleep.

“I have already slipped these fairy tales into all the elf slave auctions in Zeppelin. Of course, I hid them among fairy tales where cows sing and donkeys play the violin, to avoid suspicion.”

There is little difference between anthropomorphizing livestock and slaves. As expected of fairy tales for children, they are dismissed as childish. This is the mindset of humans in this era.

“Humans might not feel much even if they read them…”

Karl smiled with satisfaction.

“But it will feel quite different to the actual subjects.”

* * *

The largest commercial city on the continent, known even as the “City that Never Sleeps,” Zeppelin.

However, even Zeppelin is not truly devoid of night.

Unlike other cities, where the city’s functions cease with the setting sun, Zeppelin bustles with merchants and a transient population all night long. But even so, past midnight, darkness indeed begins to cover various parts of Zeppelin.

Especially in the narrow alleys between buildings, the darkness is so thick that without a torch, one cannot see an inch ahead. The streetlights and moonlight are insufficient to navigate the spaces between the complex buildings of this city.

The shadows between the intricate buildings create perfect blind spots, where one cannot see what is happening even a few steps in. It is such thick darkness that one could pass by a person dying next to them without realizing it if no screams were heard.

In the deep of night, Repenhardt, Russ, and Sillan swiftly traversed Zeppelin, following the darkness of these alleys. Night patrols and a few vendors, who had not yet found their lodging, wandered along the main roads, but no one noticed the group moving shrouded in darkness. They navigated without any source of light.

For Repenhardt and Russ, who had the sensory perception of aura users, moving in the dark was not particularly difficult. However, even Sillan now ran naturally through the dark alleys as if it were broad daylight, without stumbling once.

Sillan suddenly brushed her hand against her eyes and clicked her tongue.

“This magic is truly fascinating. To distinguish objects so clearly without any light.”

To compensate for Sillan’s poor night vision—or rather, his normal human night vision—Repenhardt had cast a special spell on him. Usually, magic to illuminate the darkness was limited to lighting spells, but the spell Repenhardt cast uniquely allowed him to see through the darkness itself.

“I’ve known quite a few mages, but I’ve never heard of such a spell.”

“Infra Vision originally belonged to the elves, so human mages aren’t familiar with the concept.”

Repenhardt replied softly as he led the way. Sillan glanced around.

“It’s definitely the best magic for covert actions. But seeing everything in red is a bit uncomfortable.”

“That’s the nature of infrared vision. That’s why I avoid using it in combat if I can help it.”

“…Infrared?”

“Just think of it as seeing the temperature of objects. Ah, I used an ancient term again.”

“…Seeing temperature?”

“Just think of it as a good spell, then.”

Repenhardt cut off the conversation with a slight chuckle. It wasn’t the right time to be leisurely lecturing about magic.

After running for a while, hiding in the darkness, Repenhardt’s group gradually slowed their pace. They had passed through the district and reached the central street of Zeppelin.

Hiding in the shadows of the alley, Russ surveyed the main street.

“It’s getting harder to move covertly, brother.”

Across the street, they could faintly see a large palace—Chatan Palace. They had crossed from the northern gate district through the commercial district and arrived at the noble district.

Unlike the chaotic and densely built northern gate and commercial districts, the area around the palace was meticulously planned.

There were no narrow alleys in the large and luxurious residential area. All the roads were wide and well-lit. There was no darkness to hide in. Every sightline was clear, allowing no blind spots.

Repenhardt carefully surveyed the palace street.

“Indeed, the security is tight here.”

Given that this was where the royal palace was located, the security and vigilance were incomparable to the northern gate district they had passed through. Armed soldiers patrolled in groups of three on every road, and at every intersection, guards were stationed, clearly determined to prevent any possible miscreants.

Each guard was heavily armed, and though they weren’t as formidable as the Chatan Knights, they seemed to possess some level of magical equipment. Only the elite were deployed to guard the vicinity of the palace.

Compared to the chaotic northern gate guards, the difference was stark and quite serious.

Sillan clicked his tongue in frustration.

“If they took even a tenth of these troops and deployed them elsewhere, the security in Zeppelin would be twice as good.”

“Instead, the security here would become a bit more precarious. It’s only natural for those who have wealth to prioritize their own security over doubling the security for those who have nothing.”

Repenhardt replied in a flat tone and gave Russ a signal.

Stealthy approach ends here.

Now, force would be necessary.

Russ nodded and loosened his hands.

“Shall we go right away, brother?”

Repenhardt shook his head, stopping him.

“Not yet. If those guards fall, an automatic signal will be sent.”

Among the magical tools the guards were wearing, there were items designed to send a signal if the guard fell unconscious before they could alert others. Russ, familiar with similar security systems in other royal palaces, immediately understood.

“A modified alarm spell. So what do we do?”

“I’ll handle it.”

Repenhardt raised his right hand and slowly began to form a seal. Sillan asked curiously.

“You’re going to use magic? The royal palace will surely have detection barriers for magic use. Won’t you get caught?”

To prevent assassinations by magic, every royal palace has detection barriers that sense magic use. As a high-ranking priest, Sillan was well aware of this. The Chatan Palace would be no exception.

But Repenhardt didn’t seem concerned at all.

“I won’t get caught.”

After completing the hand seals, Repenhardt began to quietly prepare an incantation. Sillan pouted.

“You’re quite confident.”

Sillan knew well by now that Repenhardt was as knowledgeable in magic as he was in aura, so it wasn’t a matter of disbelief. But…

“Aren’t you worried you might mess up again by showing off?”

It wouldn’t be the first time that guy caused trouble by showing off, would it? Repenhardt felt a bit indignant at Sillan’s skeptical look.

‘Despite how I appear, I was once a 10-circle grand mage who shook the continent!’

He then subtly reviewed the situation.

‘…Though, considering how often I’ve made mistakes, I should double-check.’

After a moment, Repenhardt nodded again.

“Yes, I’m sure. I won’t get caught.”

An invisible field of magical energy began to rise like mist around Repenhardt’s body. It was an interference magic field designed to disrupt the flow of other magical energies.

If it blatantly blocked the flow, someone would notice something was wrong once the communication was cut off. However, the method Repenhardt used involved carefully inserting junk signals into the existing magic circuits of the Chatan Palace. This required intricate knowledge of the magic barriers installed in the area, something even the best grand mages would struggle with…

‘There’s no magic barrier in any royal palace on the continent that I don’t know about.’

In his previous life, he had collected information on every royal palace. Moreover, he had done this before.

‘Of course, back then, I covered the entire city of Zeppelin with an interference field, but I don’t have nearly enough power to do that now.’

Still, covering a radius of about ten meters was no big deal.

The magic field slowly engulfed the main road in front of the palace. The guards standing watch felt nothing and continued to diligently patrol their assigned areas with steadfast expressions. These were indeed elite soldiers with impeccable discipline, but they were not mages—they only used magical tools. They could not sense the interference field.

Repenhardt gave a nod.

“Let’s go, Russ.”

“Yes, brother!”

The two men dashed out of the alley like leopards. Clad in black robes, they swiftly crossed the main road. Seeing them close the distance in leaps of about ten meters each, the guards and sentinels tensed up and pointed their spears.

“Who, who goes there?”

“Identify yourselves!”

Even in their surprise, the three-person guard unit responded quickly. Two immediately moved to attack the intruders, while the third reached into his coat to ignite a signaling firework.

But the two were much faster.

“Hup!”

With a short breath, Russ closed the distance and threw a light punch. It was a simple jab, but being an aura user’s punch, it was entirely different. The guard’s consciousness flew away with a single blow.

“Guh…”

Following that, Russ silenced the remaining guards with a double hit of an elbow strike and a knee kick. When he looked to the side, Repenhardt was already laying the unconscious sentinels against the wall of the outpost with care. In that brief moment, all six guards and sentinels had been taken down.

These guards were undoubtedly elite among elites. They maintained proper vigilance, were never complacent, and responded swiftly to sudden attacks. Compared to the local guards who dozed off with their spears, these men were true professionals.

But such professionalism was meaningless before an overwhelming difference in skill. There is a significant gap between an aura user and a regular soldier.

Neutralizing the sentries, Repenhardt and his party advanced towards the palace. After repeating similar maneuvers a few more times, they finally reached the base of the massive walls of Chatan Palace.