The ritual would happen in a ''sacred ce'' far from the city, and Niki had to visit it beforehand. So, he left the mansion and looked around for a carriage that belonged to the royal family. Niki found a few waiting beside the stables.


    "Hey, I want a carriage to take me somewhere outside the city," Niki found a group of people working inside, either repairing their carriages or cleaning them.


    "These are carriages belong to the Rosian Royal Family, not your bestial race," one of the drivers sneered as he looked at Niki. "Even if you try to hide your head, I can tell you''re a beastman with a nce."


    "Calm down, detective of the century," Niki took out the badge and showed it to them. "I am a human, and I carry the badge of the royal family."


    "I.... have never seen you here," the man stared at the badge with wide eyes. "We''ll need to ask her highness for permission before we allow you to take one of the carriages."


    "Is that a part of the procedure?" Niki squinted his eyes. "Then, I guess this badge is useless."


    "That is..." the driver grew more hesitant about the matter until some old driver stepped forward. It was a hunched man with a beard and an ugly crooked nose.


    "I will take him," the old driver said before he started walking to his carriage. "He has the badge, after all. Do you want to be punished by her highness? Let''s go, good sir."


    Niki squinted his eyes at the man before following after him. The rest of the drivers didn''t say anything, but everyone knew that the princess was too kind to punish them severely. However, if Master Edward learned of their disrespect, he might even skin them alive.


    The carriage was quite luxurious, and it had a small sliding window that opened to the driver''s seat. As the carriage took the streets, Niki opened it and leaned back on the chair.


    "You found yourself quite the disguise, Master Edward. Are you also interested in the Vyxas Ritual?" Niki said as he looked at the driver with a smile.


    The hunched man didn''t reply but simply turned to look at Niki. His closed eyes parted to reveal the eerie blueness of Master Edward''s eyes. His mouth revealed a creepy smile.


    "You are sharper than I would have liked, boy," Master Edward''s voice came from the man, grumbling. As he said that, the man disappeared into red smoke that got into the carriage and manifested into Master Edward. "Don''t worry," he said as he cleaned his sses. "I''m controlling the horses using my mana."


    "You have quite the elements, Master Edward," Niki nced at the horses and saw red marks on them that kept them in line. "Why would a man, as busy as you, work as a driver?"


    "I have many upations and a lot of identities," Master Edward wore his sses and adjusted them. "I never thought that a tiny shrimp would see through one of them."


    "Her Highness told me about your hobbies, and I concluded the rest when you stepped up to help me. Are you also interested in the ritual?"


    "No, it''s a boring one. I just want to see what you are going to do without being watched, but you ruined that for me."


    "It won''t be any different," Niki said with a smile. "Are you still going to apany me to the ritual?"


    "I''m not that interested anymore," Master Edward yawned, and Niki almost showed his relief. "However, I''ll do it as a punishment for ruining my fun."


    Niki stared silently at the bored strategist before he let out a genuinely tired sigh. The strategist seemed pleased with his attitude and began whistling his happy tunes.


    "Answer a question of mine, Master Edward. If I stayed quiet when the princess asked me, would you have threatened me to stay?"


    "That''s such a rude thing to say. What would others think if they hear you?" Master Edward raised his hands in an innocent act. "I never threatened you. However, if you are mean convincing you to serve my disciple, then the answer is no."


    "No?"


    "I knew you were interesting the moment I saw you on the roadside because I could feel the residue of chaotic mana around you. You were fighting something powerful, and I suspect that it''s the sea serpent that was in a few days ago."


    "As a strategist, you should know that strength ismon, not a rarity."


    "You look seventeen," the king''s brother judged correctly once again. "If you were indeed that powerful, then you''d make a fine personal knight for my disciple. But then I got to see that you were more than stats," Edward smiled. "You are what my disciplecks."


    "And what am I?"


    "An embodiment of ruthlessness."


    ***


    After the carriage stopped, the horses didn''t even neigh. Instead, they stood still as if they were puppets, and maybe that was another face of a strategist: a puppeteer.


    Master Edward changed his clothes into a brown suit with a monocle on his eye. As he stared at the giant forest in front of them surrounded by high walls, the sunlight made his hair look on fire.


    Niki ignored the master and walked toward the gate that had giant armored bears protecting it. When he was near, the bears bared their fangs at him.


    "Who goes there?" a voice came from behind one giant bear, and a short figure emerged. Niki turned to see a beastman with dominant human traits, looking like a short young man with fangs and fur on the sides of his face.


    "I am the retainer of her highness, Princess Maria, Lyle," Niki took out his badge and showed it to the young man. After studying it closely, the man looked at him defiantly.


    "And?"


    "I''m here to learn about the ritual, answering to her highness''s wishes."


    "The sacred grounds are closed to outsiders until the day of the ritual, so return at once," the beastman red at Niki with his ears rising in a fight-or-flight response.


    "I have the master war strategist here with me," Niki revealed as soon as Master Edward was near them. The man in question blinked, and his identity made the beastmen tremble.


    "Edward Ver Rosia?" they retreated backward with fear as they red at the monster with the long ck and red hair. Edward looked at Niki with annoyance for revealing his identity.


    Even if he was famous, Edward was someone who worked from behind the scenes. The nearby kingdoms feared his cunning methods, but not all knew his appearance.


    "I am indeed at your service," Edward greeted them. "This youngster is indeed his highness''s retainer, and his words are the truth. Can I ask for your cooperation?"


    The beastman gulped and looked at the rest of the giant bears before gesturing for them to open the gates. Niki watched with a smile as the doors for the ritual were opened for them, and his expression seemed to annoy the master further.


    "Using me as a shortcut isn''t going to earn you point in my books," Edward looked at him with disgust. "At least try to use something smarter."


    "There is nothing smarter than winning without doing anything," Niki walked into the grounds under the eyes of the armored bears, and the beastman followed closely behind them as the doors closed.


    What was behind the door was a path in a forest. The trees on both sides were lush, and their branches intertwined with one another, letting nothing get through them. As Niki stepped into the sacred grounds, he could feel the power of Celestia.


    ''Oh, loathsome divinity, when are you going to disappear from this world?'' Niki thought to himself as he rubbed his nose. His expression was apathetic, even a bit at ease because he knew Master Edward noticed everything.


    "The Vyxas Ritual is an important annual ritual where we give offerings to the God of Protection, Vyxas. The offerings are meant to seek the god''s blessing to deter away monsters from our kingdom, and they have been ongoing for thousands of years."


    Niki was sickened by the deep devotion the beastman had for Vyxas, who was by no means the God of Protection. On the contrary, the ritual was meant to appease the god lest he wrecks thend with his wrath.


    "Interesting," Edward nodded as he looked around the forest. The young beastman looks at him with apprehension before walking a bit faster.


    They reached a white stairway that led them into a temple full of tress. The giant temple was filled with statues and sunlight, making it truly a sacred ce. The temple stretched wide, and there was a massive dome in the middle, with a tform beneath it.


    However, the statues made Niki creep out because he saw their eyes move toward him. It seems that he was the only one to feel rejected by this temple, as the others seemed unaffected. Then, Niki got a notification from his system.