Chapter 101

“High Priest.”40d76fd132176f9c

As the man hurried into 2a5ac790c3 the orphanage director’s office, Ismail d8d9e192a3 tensed up.280303ff9ff14a0d

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“Ah, Logan.”74a1ef11092bab25

For forty minutes, d62b833ffd Magnus had simply b79bd5698b sat staring blankly 1a5ec0dd32 after sending the 18170fb66a urgent letter.cf74e3822499cc16

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Now, he suddenly 6c00d1a1f7 lifted his head 8d9b7b973c to greet his 72636f84a2 guest.9fcb4efd8e7ff27b

“You’re finally here.”ae96df4a0efb0ff8

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“Why did you call me? You’ve never contacted me like this before—”4cdc6fe341fa5fdf

Logan spoke quickly, but e325e6f4af his voice halted when ed2adc3f59 he noticed Ismail.98fdc2f309a21110

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His eyebrows twitched as he 2038d2e4c6 asked,49d2df187dd0dcdd

“And who’s this?”973446409f508a15

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“Just a child I was privately counseling. Introduce yourself, Ismail. This is my long-time friend, Logan—”b9d696fddee17309

“This isn’t the time for polite introductions. You’re acting strange today, High Priest.”8c8f396cd649ae97

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Logan sharply cut him off.f1add9299851341f

“…!”e59209d1bff553aa

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At those words, Magnus’ eyes 8f29293be8 flickered with uncertainty.bd16c18b2bfc5f3c

Ismail quickly reached under aa363b8796 the table and grasped 3fb5a35f96 Magnus’ sleeve.098afa65f73bea1c

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The moment their eyes met—82aa96ad1702c55e

Fwoosh—!2e2e3e93c8005e1d

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The wavering uncertainty b457d50b24 in Magnus’ gaze d039e1defe disappeared, replaced by 2eb6acc347 an eerily artificial 31d3468b78 smile.1af39c9d4fc0ac67

“It’s been a while, and yet you seem so rushed, my friend. Sit down first.”d4c3d8f8373cb78d

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“High Priest.”5dcc7e606a46bc15

“Have some tea and take a moment to relax.”70b53ab7abadec62

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“That’s unnecessary. We don’t have time for—High Priest!”ba4c351b3828271f

Logan tried to d282b5ffc3 stop him, but 2db2703365 Magnus acted as ec64b45331 though he hadn’t e2576d0e9e heard a word.b2315fb72d966d44

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He stood up and f732635b10 walked over to the 6c508c98c8 tea set, beginning to 191a5780b0 brew the tea himself.6b3625bc73ff381d

Logan, clearly confused, aa4e86f4bd scowled as he 867460cbca watched him.0c3404616c130e3d

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But after a 9578214103 moment, he let 677a36950c out a deep 13e833ab48 sigh and collapsed 894fcdabdc onto the sofa.6a4fff2d8c17341e

Sitting across from him, cb220ff8fd Ismail secretly exhaled in 64089792da relief, pressing a hand f94726c462 to his racing heart.aaa812f18d85c4c9

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‘That was close. The hypnosis almost broke.’0c6f805c9c8993ce

Commanding someone to 5c6edd4d54 stall another person d8f9ab21e2 required far more 770a7045e8 precision than he ab2eb6e2fb had expected.40815c4a7450717b

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When controlling someone for 34f64ebda9 an extended period, he 9f7775280d had to leave part 7c317fa2a2 of their consciousness intact 0995a35cc1 to prevent their interactions adb6ee4912 from feeling unnatural.ed2e099785e15e25

His blessing, the 40d37e74f9 power to command, 8d5beaaaad was a form c35b39f170 of suggestion-based hypnosis.76d7e024c74e4234

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By channeling divine fd24c8ab8e power into his 809961e937 words, the target 19acf514b3 would follow his 9f4ee6d9bb instructions without question.02bffa39f9f309a6

Orders like “wet your 6383f1be2f pants” or “steal something” 60f54cec89 were relatively easy—77f9e6269996f06f

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Because they were clear, aa3c3838a6 direct commands.1185baac82b15118

But keeping someone engaged d7729a6d7b in a conversation, adapting 8c3fcda09f commands in real-time while 0b2f847562 making sure they sounded 2782bd43f9 natural,f7a7dd558bc51e06

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And on top 405a7065a5 of that—maintaining his b72f341f8a cover as a 6b5d4c0d00 mute…fbb27c94bb04971f

It was absolutely exhausting.6500651dbd5f6f7d

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‘Why did I agree to this in the first place…?’3f2224e70045748c

As cold sweat dripped down 55defdf3f4 his back, Ismail deeply regretted 382787aa8f ever telling Belze,4f6de95523963c48

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“Got it.”2c488ef189914540

“You’ll have to control the headmaster again—make him send an urgent letter to Logan for a meeting. And after that…”540aa806339ff959

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“Can you stall him for as long as possible? So he can’t leave right away?”cbf43427f9935403

Making the headmaster 1502d0d41f write the letter 037ef883d0 was one thing—but dc3f14fcb1 now, he also 215c230a91 had to control 8f0f79084b him to keep 20921a1b07 a visitor from 284bcab508 leaving?4b3415b09595a8de

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That was a 2d086ed1ec level of command ed3225fbdd he had never 687f09fd59 attempted before.9db2be4a5d1232ff

To be honest, it was dcaeff46e8 nearly impossible.0b8a810948132a42

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And regardless of 0e9c897937 whether he could f175cbed92 or couldn’t do 030ab7d82c it, controlling the e955a1aed9 orphanage director was bef6da1fe3 a huge risk.e5ba3c705794ab10

A few days ago, the f6e19965b0 director had personally taken two 433af04dba children with abilities to the 84ba2905d1 temple.c39ccc539805dde6

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The official reason was c9c9f91e0d that a patron had 923f3a92c8 come forward to sponsor 3adf5710f4 them—59c9404503877630

But Ismail didn’t 25eecef7c0 believe that for d6a6935117 a second.1eb98f9082330936

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If the children really had 6199a674b5 received noble sponsorship, the orphanage d9b4c58ae6 would have been informed.8b6f46f6cbdaf6a8

And if the sponsorship 66a415f26a fell through, they should 414a035ac3 have returned to the 3533857ace orphanage.38b13d65b172d32f

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But instead, their whereabouts remained e0d99cdbcb unknown.af88e9febd71bb42

Living every day anxiously, 4c1efb5005 pretending to be mute, 302a1fa2f5 Ismail knew that the b49a82d7d7 smartest choice was to a063ff9246 refuse Belze’s request.ed77944f637bc260

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And yet—ebaf405a980c0d5e

“Teddy-teddy bear! BEATDOWN MODE—!”56500134e7305d63

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At that moment, the memory 3b5a84d095 of Belze throwing herself into 33a61ab7ba danger without hesitation for his 2f7ec5e81b sake flashed through his mind.c9f9321af9b4ab79

And he just couldn’t c2e98e5c86 bring himself to say b68346ce46 no.106d9e8d4a385382

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“Logan just went to see the Duke. You heard Magnus, right? He called him his ‘friend’!”b6149d3acc4ae47b

“Logan seems like a bad guy! Help me out 9f3fd9bc04 a little, okay?”3c5c9f7ad160669a

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Even a five-year-old was struggling to do something, trying desperately to make a difference. I couldn’t just keep hiding, waiting for Belze to figure out an escape plan.9eb370bf35a2cd02

Unlike Belze, Ismail’s divine power was released through his eyes. Fortunately, aside from the initial command, all he had to do was occasionally make eye contact and reinforce the suggestion with minimal divine power.a50456f68e84b0e4

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However, he wasn’t sure if he could truly meet Belze’s request to “stall Logan for as long as possible.”ada3a5dc5dc17621

Only twenty minutes remained.5458066c1aaab85a

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The hypnosis lasted one hour.385b151e9560e49e

Too much time 1ad385450d had been wasted 5e3c395511 between sending the 66950ca562 urgent letter and dfd5ac6a39 Logan’s arrival.3c2bdc0630968e11

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As Ismail bit his f532fe696e lip anxiously, he heard 44be62a15a a soft click.847a6c99a312a759

Magnus, having finished brewing 1776472a43 the tea, placed two 07e4575713 steaming cups on the c0bf95f069 table.e2b41568a87d9c9c

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“Please, drink.”b6ac87de2313d8a1

“Wouldn’t it be better to send the child away first?”9706dcb2b823fbce

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Logan didn’t even glance at the tea, his impatience clear.7dbb51a2120cb37b

“Oh, there’s no need to worry about that.”428c4e2883e3d352

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Returning to his seat, Magnus 2b24789f21 gestured toward Ismail with a dba267c145 calm expression.ad3dd780784f9e57

“This child is mute. He won’t be able to repeat anything he hears.”23246146358cb11b

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“…What the hell is wrong with you today?”91a564899f2be16a

Logan, finally unable to 94e7496965 hold back, dropped his 046e6937c4 formal tone and shouted.ae5af79b482e4273

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“That’s not the issue here!”baa6cece79d05400

“…”54ca7b0f58905c61

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“Sigh… So what was so urgent? I don’t have time for this—just say it.”878077c3c5355954

“Well…”964151c760a2b730

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Despite Logan’s pressing demands, Magnus only smiled vaguely, avoiding the question.1797d0d21c81f820

Of course.3ab2bae558bf64ee

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Ismail was controlling him, and he hadn’t come up with an excuse yet.8642193fea515b80

If he were d42a168930 a few years 7c9d0344cf older, he might 90502ab34f have been able 4496e7ff58 to steer the 0d0672f053 conversation with small 650b62f242 talk.607782c6f8106176

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Unfortunately, Ismail was only eight 718c4f77e3 years old.258227c4947345d8

“You…”3245e08062712dcf

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Logan’s expression grew darker as Magnus, who had summoned him, remained silent.a48d03d2a34bd23f

Staring suspiciously at Magnus, Logan 5cab686b46 suddenly let out a low e819d3a603 hum.07c705f289c59521

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“Is this about the material supply?”29239ea4a4189a0e

“Material supply?”a4a645be0ad090b6

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“Yeah. The stuff you sent last time wasn’t very effective. Lord Ursis was furious.”2bad3f2f2e3a7a36

Deciding that Ismail wasn’t 06e4f9b1dd a concern, Logan spoke b2f06666ab freely.a66e97de295378f5

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“So, you’ve finally decided to use that brat, Belze?”fc3717860841179b

The familiar name made ad57d18e53 Ismail freeze.41f07f1c7c262621

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“…And what if I have?”0c484719dffb1d79

“Tch.”8b2a1a29af362a59

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Magnus replied exactly 11e4dceb5f as Ismail wanted, 3fd7d9002c but Logan just c2e3edfff3 scoffed.0ba7d0da038dad8f

“It’s too late. I don’t know what she did, but that girl made the Duke’s second son walk again. Damn it, how does a kid on the brink of death suddenly become perfectly fine?”060fd7410f1df484

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“…”a6c6beaebeee48f1

“And recently, she even sweet-talked the Duke into giving her a blank check. That damned brat.”918e5733463b6f9a

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Logan cursed under 62b20d0939 his breath, glaring 36d5b1a422 at Magnus.fe0a5d5688f7627b

“This is why I told you from the start to use that girl. If you and that idiot Dunkeski hadn’t opposed me, by now—!”5d00e9bc7f7f4fd1

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Then, suddenly—4cd15e3b0bed71ac

His eyes widened, 4e50e95bdb and he stopped d692ab06d2 speaking.60504d686d794ae6

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“What’s wrong?”2904c08a20d4007f

Magnus asked, his voice neutral.47f6083d325ab860

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It was because 0f167c2056 of Ismail’s control.c6777dcc1b197f02

“…Someone broke into my room.”327d105befc46636

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Logan’s face twisted viciously.cfa62c16adce7612

“They triggered the sealing magic by touching the prayer scroll. Damn it, who dared to enter my room…?”338f62d13625a393

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As he hastily stood d6df1788e0 to leave, his gaze d1238f6c45 suddenly snapped back to aa38576fb6 Magnus, his eyes narrowing ec88bbe036 in suspicion.10ffd9a6f3dd9e29

“Magnus.”1461de2c458bc954

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“Yes?”66a37004cc0a75a4

“You reek of something disgusting.”af1ce6d66c5ae9fb

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Taking slow, deliberate 089410719c steps, Logan moved 4c64fc1571 toward Magnus.4e097c1712e8db06

“I noticed it when I first walked in, but I assumed it was just because we were near the temple.”a230f81178df33fd

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“…”907afc7aa3bc81e7

“But now…”7c19c2d13db78d5b

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Thud.180c52559d212095

Logan finally reached 4d31e69090 Magnus—and suddenly, his d320307327 hand shot out.5792e5bf0b7c0825

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“Guh—!”32fa3145bd4ab429

But instead of grabbing Magnus—49728a1fd26cc2e0

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He grabbed Ismail baa5bbe79e by the collar.18cadff7c83ab9dd

The sudden force a651facd28 lifted Ismail off c1ad1ca3ac the ground, and 0db3f19445 a small gasp 5703153697 of pain escaped 3a286cff37 his lips.c1377133ff9bdaab

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Fwoosh—!98f5cdb65857cb36

At that moment, the 1d7026fcd0 eerie glow in his 1c58c3ba1b eyes vanished.2a63ed164c456340

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As the divine 1d19dac84a energy dissipated, the a6f0acdf4a subtle hypnosis controlling 1bc3647f19 Magnus shattered.2a0051be255b8c79

Magnus, who had a9048ef71b seemed hazy and 89e4dcd70c unfocused, suddenly blinked 2c94fa4641 as his eyes 26d7275bda regained sharpness.882286aa18caedad

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“Logan?”d2148f43d579225a

“…”f4054d219310de97

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“What are you doing here…? Ismail?”cac286e635eaf35b

His confusion was 732b72cc45 evident as he 3cb208a4be looked between Logan 9ea0879b82 and the young d428649dac boy.4db28ca626dac1c9

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“This little rat… It’s him, isn’t it?”d1aae28d30451e36

Logan’s sharp gaze flickered between Ismail and Magnus.80d82b88aa85bf5e

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Realizing he had been caught, Ismail’s face turned pale.d1a488f1f0edb658

“No wonder you were acting weird today.”e86ee9fd4fba3fb6

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Logan let out 476c55164d a dry chuckle.0fd948b6734400d9

“You were being controlled by this brat.”d0e184e6d79d6e88

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“What…?”fbb9377afc6aab52

“Pathetic. Letting a kid manipulate you.”05d9568f4cdd2b5a

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Logan tossed Ismail onto the 65d1f282d4 sofa like a rag doll.6f338d1a790cc64c

The impact sent another wave 6bfc2ca711 of pain through him.2c23a6b04ef7ca50

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“…”2832ccfb40b63539

This time, he e9ba2beedf barely managed to 73fd511822 suppress a cry, b99265c4ab but—8ce2a90143bf6703

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That moment was enough for fbcf2c7664 Magnus to fully regain his c4e73ecf4d senses.a223e226a1664f0a

“Ismail, what the… what is going on?!”c8887f5176368ffa

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Logan, his voice 770018718b dangerously low, muttered,c11ca72860d029b0

“Well, at least we were running low on material. And this one’s ability seems to be intact.”2c76ffe44eb80a4c

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A dark shadow d341e605e7 fell over Ismail’s 2283d92431 fear-stricken brown eyes.e623df49e12514d7

“Sorry, kid.”657f5e0f44da6856

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“You’re coming back to the temple with me.”1c209ce125b98d02