When I opened the door, I was surprised to notice that there was only one visitor, a blonde girl whose body was hidden under a practical thick linen shirt and loose leather pants combo, like she was another craftsman. A figure I had seen from the distance as they were leaving the princess' cart, though that time, she was wearing a fancy dress.

One of the handmaidens.

A moment of silence stretched as we both processed the unexpected scene. She was clearly expecting to meet with Oeyne, and I was expecting to find a bigger procession than just one of the handmaidens, carrying a wrapped bundle. "I'm here for a meeting," she said, trying to look unperturbed.

"She's out for an emergency, but she should be back in a few minutes," I said even as I stepped to the side, allowing her to pass uninterrupted. "And I can help if it's an emergency."

"No, it can wait," she said. She stepped inside, her eyes examining the room in a systematic manner, but she managed to hide that behind a casual glance. That glance alone was enough to tell me that I was dealing with another infiltration expert. Her choice of clothing, clearly prepared to impress Oeyne at first glance, showing they had done their homework.

Too bad for them that my presence was not something they could have prepared for, which meant that they were playing from a significantly disadvantageous position. Just by sending an agent with such extensive preparation, they had given me one critical piece of information. Whatever they want Oeyne repairing was not just an excuse for them to bring an army to the school, but something they genuinely wanted to achieve.

It was critical information for me to determine my next steps.

Well, considering they came with a small army, and my attention was split between two other critical projects, the game board was already weighing toward their side, so I was happy to get every scrap of advantage I could.

While she prioritized examining the room first, I decided on a temporary personality to pick up, so, when she turned to face me once more, she caught me looking at her ass, only to jump back to her face with a blush, giving the impression that I could be easily manipulated through seduction.

It was intentional. I wanted to enjoy passively as a sexy blonde tried to manipulate me through seduction. It would be a nice change of pace.

She proved that she was a professional when it came to the game when she looked deeply into my eyes even as her posture shifted. It wasn't a major shift, but she leaned forward a bit more, her neck tilted vulnerably, one of her hands on her hips to accentuate the curves of her otherwise lithe body. With her blonde hair beautifully circling her innocent yet beautiful face, she was truly a perfect weapon.

"So, who exactly are you?" she said with a tingly tone even as she took a step forward, cutting the distance just a bit.

"I'm one of the special blacksmiths of the headmistress," I said even as I puffed my chest pridefully, giving the impression that I was trying to impress her. "She had decided that a task assigned by the princess deserves the best attention."

"Oh, really?" she said, failing to hide a calculative flash going through her expression, and a slight amount of panic. They clearly didn't appreciate the headmistress knowing about the task, which was why I decided to steal another shy glance of her tits, selling the idea that I was easy to manipulate.

[+1 Subterfuge]

She might be good, but I was better, so it wasn't entirely surprising when, after sending a thoughtful glance toward the door, she decided to stay inside. "Of course," I said proudly, puffing my chest. "I'm the strongest mage when it comes to magical analysis and mana capacity."

"How impressive," she murmured, even as she relaxed even more. She wasn't completely convinced yet, but my excessive mana capability and magical analysis not only served their needs perfectly —their own capabilities in the area were clearly a mess— but also reduced the chance of having other abilities to trick her.

Too bad for her that I was playing in a completely different class.

"Thanks," I murmured even as I looked shyly. "And may I learn the name of such a beautiful lady?"

"It's Delia," she said, then continued without taking a break. "I have been fascinated by forging since I was a child. Would you mind showing me an example of your skills?"

"It would be my pleasure," I said with an enthusiastic smile as I walked toward the other side of the forge, where Oeyne was still trapped in a cabinet, suffering under the tyrannical grasp of the buzzing spell. "Any preference?"

"Maybe a dagger," she said.

"As you wish, milady," I said even as I grabbed an ingot, a magically-treated steel block that represented a small fortune, showing that just how my poor decision-making had become as I was grasped by the desire to impress her. Then, I flared my mana, saturating the steel with my magic, the excess enough to blanket the room.

[-698 Mana]

Her eyes widened as the mana filled the room. The mana I had just burst out was enough to make someone a valuable mage, and I was clearly not near my limits. My hammer danced on the surface of the forge for the next few minutes, giving an impression that I was stretching both my mana manipulation and forging abilities to the limit.

Of course, it was impossible for her to know that my expression was less about the dagger I was forging, and more about the little game I was playing with Oeyne.

I had flipped open the cabinet door, and slipped my foot between Oeyne's chained legs, drenching the top of my foot with her wetness as I caressed, turning her already difficult ordeal into the torture of pleasure. She groaned and moaned despite the gag, forcing me to establish a subtle silencing ward —which also confirmed that my current opponent might have some interesting subterfuge skills, but her magical abilities were clearly lacking.

Which meant the chances of her being the thief was very low.

With that, I split my attention between sending her lovesick glares and teasing Oeyne under the cabinet, sometimes directly through my foot, sometimes using a mage hand to caress her tits, turning her into a volcano ready to explode.

Five minutes later, I raised the dagger with a proud yet exhausted expression, having spent almost as much as mana I had spent in the beginning, giving her an idea about my mana capacity —a false one, of course.

[+1 Subterfuge]

From her expression, carrying a subtle tone of smugness, I was sure that she was completely sold on my personality, just as I desired. "Such an impressive work," she said as she walked to my side of the forge, forcing me to cast a quick spell to erase any possible smell. She grabbed the dagger —an elegant piece that would be perfect for a lady like her to carry— dragging her finger over its edge suggestively. "It will be a true masterpiece after it's sharpened and polished," she said. Her fascinated gaze dancing on the dagger was clearly begging me to offer to her —exaggerated to make sure I understood her intent.

"Oh, yes," I said pridefully. "Just let me catch my breath for a moment, and your gift will be ready."

"A gift, for me!" she said, her eyes far too wide to be a natural reaction as she put her hand on my forearm, squeezing my muscles. "You're amazing!"

"It's nothing much," I said, shyly rubbing my head as I moved toward the large couch on the corner, far away from the forge. She walked along with me, keeping her hand around my arm, even after I had sat down.

"You must have a lot of stories about forging," she suggested enthusiastically.

"Of course, like the time I was repairing a magical spear that was about to explode due to an unstable matrix…" I said before spinning a completely imaginary story that presented myself as an obsessive blacksmith whose attention split between his work and making sure he looked heroic, with a weak spot for beauties —though the last part was only implied to make it believable.

Thirty minutes, and two stories later, she was confident enough that she had deciphered my personality as an easy-to-manipulate blacksmith whose connection to the headmistress was through his production capabilities rather than any sensitive stuff. As a nice bonus, stretching my abilities in front of a diplomacy expert finally allowed me to completely mature my last remaining skill.

[+4 Speech]

"You're so impressive," she said as she continued to caress my arm, clearly not intending to do anything other than that. "Since you're the magical expert, would you mind examining it first," she said, before adding hurriedly. "Unless it would be a problem with Oeyne, of course. She's the owner of the forge, after all."

"Not at all," I said quickly, too quickly even, showing that I didn't appreciate Oeyne's implied authority, giving the princess' side an illusionary chance to play us against each other while we worked on their mysterious artifact.

"If you're sure," she said. "I wouldn't want such a handsome man like you to get into trouble, after all," she said, easily removing the sting of her earlier doubt.

With my control over my body, fake-blushing was a trivial achievement. She passed me the bundle, which had a broken spear, one that was clearly ancient. While she continued to caress my arm, I flared my mana, examining the structure of the spear.

However, before the spear, I used the flare of magic to disguise a small slip of mana, exploring her soul space to make sure her magical capabilities were indeed limited. My earlier assumptions turned out to be true. She completely lacked any kind of magical capability. Even her combat-related skills were extremely limited. Other than a dagger skill, her stats were split between observational skills and speech skills, creating a truly impressive mixture of diplomat and spy. If our stats were equal, she probably could run circles around my attempts to be clever. Overall, she was slightly below level twenty, making her a dangerous powerhouse in the general standards of the world, especially with her interesting focus.

Too bad for her that even my lowest stat doubled her highest stat, making her hopelessly outmatched.

With the shadow of being noticed resolved, I finally turned my attention to the broken remains of the rusty spear, curious about its value…

—

[Level: 30 Experience: 447193 / 465000

Strength: 41 Charisma: 53

Precision: 35 Perception: 37

Agility: 35 Manipulation: 40

Speed: 34 Intelligence: 44

Endurance: 34 Wisdom: 46

HP: 5370 / 5370 Mana: 6600 / 6600 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Master Arcana [100/100]

Master Subterfuge [100/100]

Expert Speech [75/75]

Advanced Craft [50/50]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share

Empowerment (1/1)

Teleportation

COMPANIONS

[Cornelia - Level 21/25]

[Helga - Level 17/21]