Starting the Strategy from Frieren

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When Evan arrived at Shattered Leaf City, the council members, who had received the king's orders in advance, were already prepared for a grand welcoming ceremony at the city gates.

Not only was there a ceremonial guard and a band, but many townspeople had also gathered to watch the spectacle. In terms of scale, it was undoubtedly impressive, and it made Evan feel an impulse to step forward and give a speech.

For example: "I have come to Shattered Leaf City to accomplish three things: fairness, fairness, and more fairness."

But such words were merely thoughts; if he actually said them, even Evan wouldn't believe it.

Whether in this otherworldly era or in modern Blue Star times, or even in a future cyberpunk era, fairness has never been equally distributed to everyone. Some people would always receive more fairness than others.

Take Evan now; after stepping into the noble class, he had become one of those who received more fairness—compared to ordinary commoners, the gap was even larger than that between humans and dogs.

After verifying Evan's identity, the council members became even more enthusiastic, as if Evan were their long-lost father returning home.

"Viscount Evan! You've worked hard on your journey here! Please come into the castle; we have replaced all the furniture and servants to ensure you can enjoy every day comfortably!"

There were six council members in total: a representative of merchants, a representative of freemen, a representative of the church, the chief administrative officer, the chief tax officer, and the chief judge.

The most enthusiastic among them was the chief tax officer. While others treated Evan as a long-lost father, his attitude was more like that of a long-lost grandfather.

Along with the messenger, they formed a duo of flattery as they wildly praised how accomplished and charming Evan was and how limitless his future potential seemed.

Evan took all these words with a grain of salt as he rode a snow-white steed down the city streets. People from all directions came to observe this new lord.

The attitude of the common folk wasn't exactly welcoming; for them, this unfamiliar new noble brought with it fear of the unknown. After all, this was a world full of chaos—being among the lower classes meant they could never know whether their rulers were foolish or even more foolish, cruel or even more cruel.

So throughout his ride, Evan did his best to express goodwill by responding to them with an innocent and bright smile.

This tactic seemed particularly effective with young women; many who had only peeked at him through windows were now willing to show their entire faces. Some even boldly stepped out onto the street to observe him directly.

The effect of his handsome appearance was now fully evident. If Evan were a middle-aged man with a fat face and greasy skin, no matter how brightly he smiled, it wouldn't have any effect.

Thus, there is some truth to the saying that one's worldview often follows their appearance.

"Here we are! Viscount Evan! This will be your castle from now on," one of the council members announced.

Evan's companions included only Frieren as they entered the main part of the castle. The others were settled in accommodations outside the castle walls—this was where guards and servants would reside. Even so, living conditions there were exceptionally good; thus, neither adventurers nor villagers expressed any dissatisfaction.

"This castle has a long history…"

"Monty," Evan interrupted him mid-sentence as he began an overly lengthy brag about the castle. "I want to ask how the previous lord's assets were distributed."

"Well…" Monty hesitated immediately but didn't dare defy Evan's command. "All shops' deeds and easily transportable antiques and artworks have been taken by Lady Tulip. The rest that can't be moved along with this year's collected taxes are still within the castle."

"When did she leave? Which direction did she go?"

"Two hours ago, toward Flower City."

If traveling by carriage at full speed from Shattered Leaf City to Flower City takes three days, there would be plenty of time to intercept her.

Evan immediately instructed the chief administrative officer: "Mr. Edward! Please take some guards and go intercept her."

Edward frowned. "Viscount Evan! What charges should we use to intercept Lady Tulip?"

"Of course! Suspected collusion with demons requires us to investigate for now. Once Lady Tulip is proven innocent, she will naturally be allowed to leave."

Suspected.

That word is quite peculiar; it can imply guilt or innocence depending on context. Using it in conjunction with "suspected collusion with demons" makes it even more intriguing.

"Evan," Frieren suddenly tugged at his sleeve. "I sensed traces of demon energy nearby; it's very weak—like a candle about to extinguish."

There really is one?!

Evan's magical perception wasn't particularly sharp—especially when dealing with weak or concealed presences—but thankfully Frieren was by his side to help make up for that shortcoming.

With several skeptical council members in tow, Frieren and Evan ascended stairs before turning left twice until they reached what appeared to be an office room.

"The arrangement of these bookshelves seems systematic; perhaps there's a code for opening a hidden door? If we move them in the correct order…"

"It should be right here."

Frieren pulled out her wand and pointed it at one of the shelves against the wall. She first used magic to remove all books from it before casting an explosion spell that blew it apart.

"Just as I thought… inside is a hidden room."

Everyone entered through the opening into the hidden chamber. What greeted their eyes shocked them all—a small girl with horns on her head who clearly belonged to a demon race was bound naked by chains.

"Her shackles… are embedded with anti-magic stones?" As Frieren approached the demon girl and felt her own magic becoming uncontrollable and unusable due to proximity to those stones, she immediately recalled what she had read about anti-magic stones.

Anti-magic stones are extremely rare and have such high hardness that they cannot be processed at all; thus they are exceedingly scarce and worth their weight in gold.

This was also why they are so expensive.

Seeing so many strangers approaching her made the demon girl plead: "Please don't kill me! Let me go…"

Although her tone lacked inflection, several council members showed sympathetic expressions. However, before they could offer any comforting words, a flash of sword light cut through the air and severed her head from her body.

With an expressionless face, Frieren sheathed her holy sword back into Evan's scabbard. In situations where magic couldn't be used—while damage caused purely through magical power could still kill—the effort wasn't worth it for Frieren.

Using her sword for such clean execution felt much more efficient; however, it startled the council members enough that they instinctively moved away from Frieren slightly.

"Monty! You just witnessed that there was indeed a demon being kept by the former lord within this castle! The evidence is clear—aren't you going to take action?"

This time Monty nodded in agreement: "Yes, Viscount Evan."

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