Bait

Sven tightened his grip on the hilt of the witch-dagger at his waist, barely suppressing the urge to pummel the two of them, a vein throbbing at his temple. "Gloria, stop this nonsense!"

The witch-sandglass in the corner of the office whispered as sand fell, casting shifting shadows on his face.

After reprimanding Gloria, Sven spread his hands and turned to explain to Lizer:

"Our operational funds are tight too; there's no bonus. However, as an auxiliary member, I can apply for 1 Merit Point for you."

He took out a Merit Exchange Catalog, listing the requirements for exchanging various witch-artifacts.

Seeing Lizer scratch his head with a look of disdain, Sven patiently explained:

"Don't underestimate 1 Merit Point. It's already enough to exchange for some low-level witch-artifacts.

For example, an Energy Detector only requires 3 points. After all, you're not taking any real risks."

He picked up the Energy Detector on the desk and shook it, the runes on it flickering briefly.

After the explanation, Sven pointed at the glowing Duchy Witch-Terrain Map on the wall and continued:

"Now Rice's whereabouts can no longer be determined. It seems the Fatin Federation's infiltration of Gele City is already severe!

The only ones who have seen him recently are you, Lizer, and Felina.

What's fortunate is that the other side doesn't yet know of our involvement."

The Gele City area on the map was marked with red runes indicating points of suspicion.

Pausing here, Sven's eyes lit up slightly as he said with some excitement:

"If we can use this information to set a trap and capture Rice this time, we might be able to plant a nail among Fatin's 'Sleepers.'

So Gloria, Lizer, we must give this our all."

He tapped the desk, causing the communication node on it to emit a faint hum.

Gloria nodded in agreement, but Lizer frowned in confusion:

"I thought I just needed to play dead? What else do you need me to do?"

He felt the silver coins in his pocket, a sense of unease growing.

Sven glanced at Gloria, who, seeing this, leaned close to Lizer with a mysterious smile:

"We interrogated Felina overnight. You might not believe it, but Felina never intended to kill you from the start."

"What!?"

He slapped his forehead, feeling confused.

Lizer's mind raced. Some puzzles were solved, such as:

If Felina wanted to kill him, then her action of going to his home under the guise of a mentor to discuss equipment procurement made no sense; the logic simply didn't close.

But if she wasn't planning to kill him, then it all made sense.

He looked out the window, where the light from witch-streetlamps filtered through the glass.

Yet the fact remained that Felina had attacked him twice, causing Lizer's brow to furrow deeply.

Giving up on thinking it through, he looked at Gloria, who clearly already knew the correct answer.

Gloria, dressed in her fiery red uniform, took out a scroll made of ancient beast-hide. A large rune for "Slave" was etched on it:

"This is a Slave Scroll. She planned to knock you out and force a slave contract with you." The runes on the scroll glowed faintly with a dark light.

Gloria then explained the slave contract to Lizer. It was a type of witch-artifact banned from public circulation; every scroll had to be registered with the Civil Affairs Bureau.

A slave contract could forcibly establish a master-slave relationship between beings.

The enslaved would have their thinking twisted by the runic power on the scroll, becoming utterly obedient to their master, even to the point of suicide if ordered. The Civil Affairs Bureau listed price: 1 gold coin.

She pointed at the forbidden runes on the scroll, reminding Lizer to take note.

Hearing this, Lizer's expression turned complex. The general outline of the whole affair was now clear. Combined with Gloria's psychological profile of Felina, everything made sense:

He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Felina's younger sister had a congenital heart disease, her life nearing its end...

Through multiple connections, Felina found a high-level Necromancy Apprentice skilled in human body research.

The other party could use stem cells from Felina's spinal cord to induce and cultivate a healthy heart organ and had successful organ transplant cases. The fee: 100 gold coins.

He remembered Felina mentioning her sister before and felt a pang of sympathy.

Given enough time, Felina's status as a medium-grade Witch Apprentice might have allowed her to slowly save up 100 gold.

Unfortunately, after examining Felina's sister's condition, that high-level Necromancy Apprentice stated bluntly:

Her heart failure was in its final stages; it would inevitably fail within ten years, with five years being the maximum window for a transplant.

Beyond five years, her sister's bodily functions would no longer support the surgery.

And using Felina's spinal cord stem cells to induce a heart organ wasn't simple either. If things went smoothly, it would take 3 years.

"If things don't go smoothly, it would take 4 years to cultivate a heart organ compatible with her sister,"

Sven added, his voice somewhat low.

In short, 100 gold had to be paid in installments within five years, or her sister was doomed.

Felina initially considered selling her body for the 100 gold:

She was young, beautiful, and a medium-grade Witch Apprentice. Many were watching her, harboring ill intentions.

Many wealthy, portly men thought their chance had come, but balked at the 100 gold price.

However, the news spread in wealthy circles and finally reached the ears of Rice, who had just arrived in Gele City.

100 gold was indeed expensive.

But for Rice:

Felina was a medium-grade Witch Apprentice, an academy instructor, with extensive connections—undoubtedly a perfect candidate for espionage recruitment.

Lizer nodded, agreeing with this assessment.

Eager to establish himself locally, Rice secured 100 gold in witch-operation funds over five years to recruit Felina. Cornered and desperate, Felina fell into Rice's clutches.

Lizer accidentally witnessing their meeting last time wasn't in itself a major issue.

But to test and warp Felina's mind, Rice ordered Lizer's elimination to prevent his information from leaking, also serving as Felina's act of commitment.

Lizer clenched his fist, angered by Rice's methods.

Having just come into contact with Rice, Felina still felt resistant to killing an innocent student, especially her own.

But Rice's test had to be completed. After much thought, she decided to simply use a slave contract.

This way, she would still achieve the goal of preventing the secret from leaking, and perhaps she could explain it to Rice.

After hearing the whole story, Lizer's feelings grew even more complex...

He couldn't help but picture Felina's pitiful, tearful face when she was arrested. For a moment, he couldn't decide which fate was worse: becoming her slave or being killed.

He rubbed his eyes, feeling weary.

Of course, according to Gloria's explanation, under Duchy law, if it was only forced enslavement, given her status as a Witch Apprentice, the maximum sentence would be 10 years imprisonment.

"From a legal perspective, forced enslavement is clearly a lesser crime than murder,"

Gloria explained, spreading her hands.

From another angle, this was also Felina's desperate attempt at self-redemption, driven by circumstance. Her situation was pitiable, but her actions were unforgivable.

Lizer sighed, acknowledging this point.

Gloria took it upon herself to sell this Slave Scroll to Lizer at a discounted price of 60 silver.

On one hand, Lizer was about to receive over ten gold coins, giving him the purchasing power. On the other hand, such 'tools of the crime' were either to be handed over or destroyed; it was better to treat it as victim compensation.

She patted the scroll, and the runes on it dimmed slightly.

Lizer thought for a moment and decided to buy it on credit. After all, this was a high-quality item unavailable on the open market.

Although the Duchy had usage restrictions, in reasonable scenarios involving similar unregistered individuals, one could bypass the Duchy's legal oversight.

He nodded, making his decision.

He tentatively asked a question:

"If in a similar situation, I used a slave scroll in justified self-defense to contract Felina instead, would that be illegal?"

He looked at Gloria, waiting for an answer.

Gloria rolled her eyes at Lizer but still promptly gave him a legal briefing:

"According to the right of proportionate self-defense, there would be no issue.

Your mentor is so pitiful, don't you feel any sympathy for her?"

She pointed in Felina's direction, her tone softening a bit.

Sven also intervened at the right moment. To dissuade Lizer from certain undesirable thoughts that were sprouting, he shook his head and said:

"She is a member of the upcoming 'Counter-Intelligence' plan. Individuals bound by slave contracts are not permitted to become covert agents. You should abandon that idea.

However, she is also deeply sorry for the harm she caused you. She promised both Gloria and me that she would offer you compensation and assistance in the future and would never harm you again."

He pushed his glasses up and added.

Although it was hard to accept that an enemy would go unpunished, the current Lizer simply had no power to choose and could only remain silent.

Moreover, for the sake of his own life and safety, he had to cooperate fully with the [Internal Affairs Department] in setting a trap to capture Rice.

He clenched his fist, feeling somewhat resentful inside.

Sven's plan was to continue Felina's original scheme:

Using the premise that Felina had successfully enslaved Lizer to complete the mission, they would invite Rice to discuss the next steps and demand the first payment of 20 gold coins.

Now, Felina was an operative of the Internal Affairs Department. Not only could she use the mission as a pretext to swindle funds from the Fetin Federation for her sister's treatment,

but she could also clear her criminal record through this task, avoiding charges of treason. For her, this was already a nearly perfect outcome.

Of course, becoming a mole embedded within the enemy ranks, having to face various sorcerous tests and extreme missions, was no easy feat either.

Lizer stroked the stubble just emerging on his chin, muttering to himself:

This young girl, can she handle a mission that requires constantly facing such risks?

Lizer scratched his head, still unable to figure it out:

Why did he have to be involved, and what exactly did he need to do to cooperate?

Sven pointed at the glowing sorcery map on the wall, where red runes circled the areas where Rice might appear, and explained:

"You and Felina are both the bait.

Because Rice's side is extremely cautious and is pressing quite urgently regarding the matter of 'eliminating you.'

To keep Rice steady, Felina already sent a message the day before through the sorcery communication node Rice left behind.

It said she had successfully enslaved you, so we suspect Rice will appear very soon.

And given his cautious nature, he might first use a sorcery-invisibility cloak to observe you and Felina covertly, confirming there's no anomaly before showing himself."

His finger lightly tapped a spot on the map where the runes were, causing them to flicker immediately.

Gloria scoffed, patting the sorcery interrogation record scroll on the table, its runes still slightly warm:

"Who would have thought Felina could falsify a mission report.

Of course, normally, dealing with an ordinary person should have been a simple task for Felina. Who would have guessed she'd unexpectedly fail so spectacularly."

She rolled her eyes, remembering the failed binding sorcery Felina had used earlier.

Lizer spread his hands, looking helplessly at Sven and Gloria, having roughly pieced the whole thing together:

"So, I don't need to play dead now, but instead, I have to act as Felina's slave?

And I need to cooperate with her, performing actions befitting a slave, like serving her and such?"

His tone carried a hint of reluctance.