Supreme Magus

Chapter 4428: Change the Board (Part 2)

"I can still buy you enough time to change the board so much that when I leave Ghishal and your opponent crawls out of their hiding place, they will discover you have changed the rules of the game." Lith said.

"And that assuming you and Kamila won’t discover anything useful nor dismantle a single gang." Keyla nodded. "As the Countess of the Ghishal County, I approve of your plan, Lith."

***

Verhen Mansion, a few hours later.

"That’s not what I meant when I said I wanted to spend a bit of time outside the Mansion, Lith." Kamila said after Lith explained the situation to her. "I wanted to go out on a date, not conduct a field investigation."

"Dade! Dade!" Elysia cheered, still believing that romantic dates revolved around her.

"Are you saying you don’t want to get involved?" Lith asked as he shared a family-friendly version of his plans with the kids via the Dragon Scales.

"Of course, I will." Kamila replied. "Jadon and Keyla are our friends, and the people of Ghishal need our help. It’s just that this isn’t what I expected when you told me you had big news for us."

"I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, Kami, but I need your help." He took her hands into his. "Keyla is right. If I act alone, the bandits go into hiding, and I won’t have anyone to interrogate.

"I need someone to dig for information and draw the public attention away from me."

"I have only one question." She said. "You need to move around freely to keep an eye on the caravans, yet you are also supposed to be my bodyguard. How do you plan to disappear long enough to patrol the trading routes without blowing our cover?"

"That’s a good question." Lith pondered. "One for which I still have no answer."

"But I do." Jirni said, conjuring a life-sized construct identical to Lith down to the smallest detail. "The Royals have been badgering me for months to resume my duty, and a minor case like this is a perfect opportunity for me to stretch my legs after a year of inactivity.

"Also, since the phenomenon is widespread and you want to keep the Larks out of it, I suggest setting our base of operation in Esha County. We’ll start our investigation from there and conveniently expand it to Ghishal once we find a lead.

"It will show the Royals my goodwill and draw the attention of the Royal Court away from your friends, Lith."

"It’s an excellent idea, Jirni, but are you sure you want to leave the Mansion?" He asked. "Isn’t it too dangerous?"

"Not at all." Jirni shook her head. "I know I’m just a bright green-cored Awakened, Lith, but I never planned on disappearing from the face of Mogar until I became a bright violet.

"Even at that point, I would still be an easy prey for an entire Awakened bloodline. I asked asylum in your home only to buy myself the time to become strong enough to defend myself, and that’s what I did.

"If the Gernoffs decide to come after me, they will find me ready."

"And me right behind her." Orion grunted. "Unlike you, I won’t leave Kamila’s side for a single moment, Lith."

"That’s quite the construct, Jirni, and it would be useful to cover for my absence, but I can’t bring two figures of your caliber around and not expect a second criminal exodus." Lith replied. "I want to solve the problem, not pass it on to someone else."

"Sure, but how did you become so skilled in Light Mastery?" Kamila chimed in. "I can only conjure holograms at best."

"Nalrond gave me a crash course." Jirni replied. "I’m not ashamed to say that I asked him to teach me everything and leave out nothing. When you know all the answers, Light Mastery is not much more difficult than any other branch of magic.

"As for your objection, Lith, Orion and I would come undercover as well. I only need to inform the Royals about my involvement in the case, and only because I need any merits this mission might earn us.

"Also, I bet that the Gernoffs will follow you around and recognize me from my energy signature as soon as we reach our destination. I get the Royal Court off my back for a while and throw a juicy bait at the Gernoffs. Two birds with one stone."

"They will also recognize the construct for what it is and know I’m not with you." Lith replied. "What if they attack you while I’m away?"

"They won’t." Jirni shook her head. "Put yourself in their shoes. Kami will be there with the kids, and I’ll stick to her under the guise of her personal assistant. Even an idiot wouldn’t make a move against me as long as I’m with her.

"The Gernoffs are no idiots, and they won’t make any move at all. They will just watch me from a safe distance and try to figure out where the trap is. They’ve already failed to kill me when they believed me helpless. They won’t repeat the same mistake twice."

"But there will be one, right?" Kamila asked. "Please, tell me it’s not just a big bluff."

"Of course I’ll set a trap for the Gernoffs, silly girl." Jirni lied through her teeth. "I’ve prepared several contingency plans to cover for every scenario. Yet I can’t share them with you.

"I need you to play your role and act surprised when the moment is right, or everything will be for naught." Lith knew Jirni enough to doubt her words, but that was it.

’The help request came through Locrias, and I had no intention of leaving the Verhen Mansion until a while ago.’ He thought. ’It’s unlikely that Jirni has prepared something on such short notice, but she’s still Jirni.

’Everything is possible with her. She might have planned for her return to active service months ago and just has to make a few adjustments to prepare the field. The only thing I can say for certain is that if I’m confused, the Gernoffs won’t be able to make heads or tails of this.’

Jirni hadn’t lied about her contingency measures, but the absence of traps was a trap of itself. After being fooled once already, the Gernoffs were bound to play their hand close to the vest.

They would study their opponent and the playfield carefully, and when they found nothing, they would only look deeper.

’If we never stay in the same location for too long, the Gernoffs will not have the time to perform a full recon, and doubt will tie their hands.’ Jirni thought. ’They will keep looking for something they cannot find, and once I notice their scouts have gotten complacent, that’s when I’ll lay my trap.’

"What about Orion?" Lith asked.

"A Constable always moves accompanied by a member of the Knight’s Guard." He shrugged. "Since you are supposed to stay with Kamila, the high command will assign her a perfunctory detail of a single man. Me.

"I’ll shapeshift into a low-ranked cadet who’s your big fan. Nobody but the Gernoffs will recognize me, and with you standing by Kamila’s side, no one will pay a nameless member of the Knight Guard a second glance."