"Heh, Lord Levi, if I am not mistaken, you are not a native of the Empire at all, are you?"
Fíliya gazed at the commander of the Shadow Warriors, suddenly steering the conversation in a different direction.
Levi's eyebrows twitched slightly. Although his expression still appeared incredibly calm, a flaw had clearly appeared in his perfect poker face.
"Why would you think that?" Levi asked softly.
"Heh, who do you think I am? Let me tell you, besides the identity of a[First-Class Mage], the person standing before you is also a scholar who has read extensively on ancient and modern history."
Fíliya crossed her arms over her chest, her expression growing increasingly frivolous.
"This brownish-gold hair of yours... and this very distinct eye color... Even with half your face burned and wearing an eyepatch, I can still see those traits belonging to the ethnic groups of the southern continent. Therefore, you are not an imperial citizen at all."
Fíliya spoke slowly. Although Levi maintained his expression perfectly while she stated her case—truly worthy of the phrase 'unflappable in the face of the unexpected'—Fíliya had already learned from her emotional scoring feedback that her guess was indeed correct.
"Impressive. Lady Fíliya, your performance has exceeded my expectations."
After listening to Fíliya's words, Levi smiled, slowly placed his wine glass on the bar counter, and even applauded her.
"I am indeed not a native of the Empire, but rest assured, Lady Fíliya, the current me is truly a part of the Empire. As you know, as long as one can demonstrate their value to the Empire, the Empire does not mind anyone's origins. Even someone like me, who wandered all the way from the Southern Nations to the north, can be highly regarded by the Empire... Thus, all the promises I made to you earlier were not falsehoods either."
"Is that so."
Fíliya curled her lips, not planning to linger on this topic. She asked instead, "You just said that you have already prepared the means to assassinate Serie? Could you disclose a little?"
"Of course, no problem. As long as Lady Fíliya is willing to join our side, the plan can be shared with you immediately."
The smile on Levi's face remained unchanged.
Tch... It really isn't that simple, huh.
Fíliya's heart sank. Logically speaking, her best course of action right now would naturally be to pretend to agree to join and then probe for some intelligence, but deep down, Fíliya truly did not want to do that.
For one, she highly suspected that the moment she nodded in agreement, the other party might just put some magical tool similar to the[Command Bracelet] on her to ensure her 'loyalty'.
Secondly, she intensely detested the guy in front of her. Even if it was to extract information, she adamantly refused to spout nonsense like 'I want to join'.
"Heh... then you have to prove something to me at least. The price of betraying the Magic Association is incredibly steep. You aren't planning to rope me in without proving anything, are you?"
Fíliya looked at Levi with a helpless expression.
"That is only natural. Since our side is the one proactively inviting you, we naturally must prove our strength... Hmm, have you heard of the [Witch of War]?"
Levi spoke slowly.
The Witch of War? Fíliya certainly knew what kind of figure this was.
There were only three [Great Mages] currently alive in this world.
The first was the supreme leader of the Magic Association, the [God of Magic], Serie.
The second was that unreliable, white-haired twintail, Frieren.
And the [Witch of War] was the third Great Mage in this world.
These three actually shared a common trait... Hmm, they were all Elves.
Although all three were [Great Mages], they couldn't actually be evaluated on the same level.
To give an analogy, Frieren and the [Witch of War], Minuse, probably scored a hundred points on a test paper, and thus were respectfully called Great Mages.
As for Serie... it was because the test paper could only have a maximum of a hundred points, so she condescended to be a [Great Mage].
...
"I know, and then what?"
Fíliya asked in confusion, though a trace of a bad premonition had already ignited in her heart.
"The [Witch of War], Minuse, has already been executed."
Levi's words were simple, but the sheer volume of information revealed was nothing short of astonishing.
"I see... No wonder you have the guts to make a move on Serie. So you already have experience assassinating a Great Mage."
"Oh? You don't seem very surprised?"
Fíliya's nonchalant appearance instead sparked more curiosity in Levi.
"Heh... for an Elf who is passionate about interfering in human conflicts to end up with such a fate is nothing surprising at all. The hatred she radiated and attracted was simply too much..."
Fíliya shook her head as if lamenting; these were her true thoughts.
She had long heard of this Witch of War, but she didn't expect to hear the news of her death before they even had a chance to cross paths.
From this perspective, Miss Solitär's survival strategy truly possessed remarkable foresight. No matter how powerful one was, as long as they were targeted by human malice, they would eventually meet their demise.
"Did you specifically choose Minuse?"
Fíliya asked in a low voice.
"Specifically? That phrasing is somewhat incorrect, Lady Fíliya."
"Our goal is to eradicate all magic in the world, so all three living Great Mages are our targets. We will eliminate them one by one."
Is that so... In other words, not just Serie, but even Frieren is a target on their menu. What a bunch of lunatics.
Fíliya sneered coldly in her heart.
"Of course, whether it's a Great Mage, a First-Class Mage, or Second and Third-Class Mages, we will not let any of them off."
"Oh? Now that's interesting. Aren't I a mage as well? What, you mean if I cooperate with you, you'll let me off?"
Fíliya stared into the other party's eyes, feeling both angry and amused.
"That is only natural. We would not lay a hand on our partners... Moreover, you seem to possess transcendent talent in the way of martial arts... This is my judgment as a warrior."
"Once our plan succeeds, magic will no longer exist in this world. At that time, Lady Fíliya, you can survive through the way of a warrior... Of course, that includes your Demon Race friends; they can also survive in that world."
"Is that so... Sounds pretty good? However, what I'm most curious about is... why do you hold such deep-seated hatred towards [Magic]?"
Fíliya demanded.
"Hatred? No, Lady Fíliya, you misunderstand. Everything we do is to pave the way to a beautiful world without magic..."
"Alright, stop acting."
Fíliya interrupted his statement with extreme impatience.
"I can see through other people's emotions, so performing in front of me is meaningless. Every time you talk about eradicating magic, an inexplicable fanaticism and hatred ignite in your heart... This is not something you can explain away under the guise of 'a righteous cause'."
Upon hearing Fíliya's words, Levi fell into a brief silence for the first time.
"Is that so... I didn't expect Lady Fíliya to possess such an ability... Is this also a convenience brought about by reading extensively?"
He asked with a calm expression.
"Heh, take a guess?"
Fíliya snapped back at him in a foul mood.
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