Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 112: Infiltrating the Vaynes (1)

"Huh? What is that?"

The woman got curious. The stone in Riku’s hands was emitting a faint yellow glow. However, just as she had fixated her eyes on the stone, Riku shouted.

Explode! (-10 Goodwill Points)

A dazzling, searing burst of white light erupted from the stone as it exploded. The High Archon cried out, momentarily blinded, stumbling back onto a rooftop.

By the time her vision cleared, Riku was gone. He had used the flash as cover to dive and had long gone away. There was no way for her to find him again.

She recalled Riku’s words silently.

Look within? Of course, it is from within. By now, it is clear that this plague cannot be spread via air or touch. If it had not been spread in collaboration with other people, there would have been no way for it to spread so fast.

"Damn it! You bastard. I will see how far you will run. The next time, I will get the truth out of you."

-------------------

Riku continued his flight and reached his target location, landing silently in the deep shadows of the Vayne manor’s gardens. There, he recast the invisibility spell and moved around the mansion silently.

It did not take long before he was able to find Alaric. He was accompanied by two of his guards. After tailing him for a bit, Riku saw Alaric enter a room with the guards staying behind to guard the door.

Riku waited a bit more, but there was no further development. So he decided to act.

Sleep [-10 Goodwill Points]

He cast the non-lethal spell with a subtle gesture. The two guards slumped against the wall, their snores soft and immediate. Then he cast an invisibility spell on the guards as well, so that no one would find them sleeping and make a commotion.

Finally, Riku stepped past them and pushed open the heavy oak door.

Silence Ward [-10 Goodwill Points]

The moment he was inside, he sealed the room with a soundproof barrier.

Lord Alaric, who had been pacing back and forth in his study, whirled around, his face a mask of shock and alarm. "Who—?! Warden, what is the meaning of this?!"

Riku had let go of the invisibility spell as he approached the warden.

"Lord Alaric," Riku said, his voice quiet in the magically silenced room. "I believe you and I have some things to discuss."

’What do you mean..."

Riku finally let his Capital Warden disguise melt away, his own features returning. He offered a small, chilling smile.

Alaric stared, his face draining of color as he recognized the ’commoner’ from his uncle’s manor. He instinctively reached for a decorative letter opener on his desk, but before his fingers could even touch the hilt, Riku was across the room.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you," Riku advised, his tone dangerously calm. Alaric froze, terror finally taking over all other expressions on his face.

"What... what do you want?" Alaric stammered, his face a mask of pale terror. "Gold? Take it! Take anything you want, just... just don’t hurt me!"

"I’m not here for your gold, Lord Alaric," Riku said, his voice dangerously soft in the magically silenced room. He took another slow step forward. "I’m here for answers."

Alaric lunged sideways, not for the letter opener, but for a silk rope hanging by the wall—an emergency bell pull to summon the household guard. Riku sighed. With a flick of his wrist, the rope flew out of Alaric’s grasp and tied itself into a neat, tight knot far above his reach.

"Let’s not make this difficult," Riku advised. He raised a hand, his palm glowing with a faint, silvery light.

Whispers of Unvarnished Truth [-50 Goodwill Points] freewebnσvel.cѳm

The light flowed from his hand and settled over Alaric like a fine mist. The lord shuddered, his eyes going glassy for a moment, the fight draining out of him. The spell didn’t compel him to speak, but it made lying an impossibility.

"What do you know about the Crimson Creep?" Riku asked his first question.

"I have no idea, "Alaric shook his head desperately. "All I know is that it can spread an illness that cannot be cured by magic."

"Then, how did you get the stone that you planted in the Hummer’s manor?"

"I didn’t. My mother got it and asked me to find someone to plant it in the manor. I really have no idea."

Sigh, It looked like Alaric was just someone being used by the others as a pawn.

"The meeting," Riku began, his tone now sharp and clinical. "The one with Lord Malakor. Tell me everything."

Alaric’s jaw worked, his pride fighting a losing battle against the truth-compelling magic. "How... how do you know that name?" he whispered, horrified.

"When is it?" Riku pressed, ignoring the question.

"In two days," Alaric admitted, the words spilling out against his will. "At the stroke of midnight."

"Where?"

"The Alchemist’s Quarter... there’s an old, sealed sewer grate in the Shadow-Vein Alley. That’s the entrance to the Sunken Cistern." Alaric’s face was contorted in a grimace, as if each truthful word was a physical blow.

"How do you gain entry?"

"It’s a closed group meeting only," Alaric spat, the words tasting like ash in his mouth. "Only a select few people can attend. In fact, I was not even allowed to attend earlier meetings. This time, however, I am being called so that I can tell them more about how Gregor Hummer recovered from the Creep. Turns out that there is a mysterious person who has been going about helping people deal with the creep, making it a thorn in the plans of the higher-ups."

"So... you were going to rat on me, eh?" Riku asked, a crafty glint in his eyes as he came real close to Alaric.

"No... I would not dare... Please, I have told you everything." Tears started to flow freely from Alaric’s eyes.

However, Riku now had everything he needed. "Thank you for your cooperation, Lord Alaric. You’ve been most helpful."

He raised his hand again, but this time, the magic that flowed was different.

Cell of Unseen Walls [-50 Goodwill Points]