Zeke stared at the man in front of him. So far, everything had gone according to plan. Even Lara had unknowingly become an accomplice. Countless hours of research and analysis had gone into the preparation for this meeting.
With as much confidence as he could muster, he made the suggestion. "Truthseeker," he said. "Isn't that what you truly came for?"
The mention of the name brought forth an immediate reaction. Yet, it was not visible on the man's face, which remained as serene as a placid lake. Even Zeke was impressed by the control the man had over his expression. In this area alone, Albert Thorsten was a master. However, the rest of his body was a different story.
A dozen signals were showing how astounded the man truly was. His heartbeat had sped up, and his back was covered in sweat, to name a few. Mind Mages, for all their intellect, were just as easily fooled as everyone else — easier still, in some cases. Albert had come to rely so much on his flawless poker face and impenetrable mind, that he probably wasn't able to fathom how Zeke could see through him.
To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. This was the same situation. Mind Mages would always assume that their mind was being tricked in some way. Zeke doubted that Albert had even begun to consider that he was using Space Magic. Through this lack of understanding, the man left himself wide open.
"It seems you know a lot about me," Albert stated.
"I know a lot about everybody," Zeke countered nonchalantly. He didn't want Albert to realize how much time he had put into the preparation for today. Thankfully, Lara backed him up.
"He really does, Albert," she said, butting into the conversation. "You should have seen him at the auction — he knows everybody. I've lived here for decades and I didn't know half the people there. It was something else. Sooner or later, I'm gonna find out how he does it."
Zeke was grateful for Lara's words. She made him out to be competent, resourceful, and mysterious. Today, he wanted nothing more than to be perceived as somebody like that. His entire plan depended on it.
Albert deeply gazed at him. "You truly are full of surprises, Zeke." And after a brief pause, he added, "Yes, you are right. I truly wish to use Truthseer… but only with your consent."
"You have it," Zeke said immediately.
"Give me a moment," Albert said, as he started to gather ambient mana.
Zeke nodded, his gaze fixed on Albert's outstretched hand. There, the man was guiding all the Mana. From his glowing hand, a pulsating outline emerged. It was about the length of a forearm, growing more distinct with every shift. The once shapeless blob transformed over the course of the next few beats. After a final flash of light, the shape turned corporeal.
With white feathers and big round eyes, a chubby owl sat on the outstretched limb. Without even a moment's delay, it hopped up Albert's arm and perched itself on his shoulder, glancing at Zeke. Unlike any animal Zeke had ever seen, there was a glint of intelligence in its eyes. He cautioned himself not to be fooled by the owl's adorable form. This was no dumb beast, but a summon — a Mind Affinity summon.
"Marvelous," Zeke said after scanning the chubby bird with all his senses.
To the naked eye, it appeared no different than a flesh and blood being. However, in his sphere of awareness, he could clearly see that the owl's entire body was made up entirely of mana. All the hallmarks of a living being were absent, there was no blood, bones, skin, feathers, or even a brain anywhere inside that body. This was merely an approximation of life, a constructed avatar to be controlled.
If Albert hadn't been a Mind Mage, Zeke would have loved to use his Soul Sight to inspect the creature. He was burning with curiosity for what he would find. However, the risk was too great. The memory of what had happened with the spy was still fresh in his mind. This was once again a reminder that he needed to search for a solution. He needed to find a safe way to use his Soul Sight, without exposing himself to danger.
While Zeke examined the creature, the owl inspected him in turn. Its intelligent eyes gleamed with a crafty spark. Compared to its animal counterpart, there was one notable difference: the bluish-green crystal between its eyes. Zeke knew its purpose, of course. It was the very instrument the bird was named after — The Truthseeker crystal. According to the description he had read, the gem would change color if the bird detected a lie. Despite using Mind Magic, there was no counter. It was completely unknown how the bird did it.
Zeke had hoped to be able to learn the spell today. However, the chances of that happening were slim now that he knew that the bird had no real body. Likely it was also using a completely different form of magic. Same as with dragons, its approach to Mind Magic would most likely be wholly incompatible with human spellcasting.
"Are you ready for the questions?" Albert inquired after giving Zeke a couple of moments.
"Go ahead."
"Well, the first thing I need to know is this: Where did you obtain the information in the document you gave me?"
Zeke thought about the choice of words for his answer. One of his goals for today was to find out how effective Truthseeker truly was. He knew that it would be able to detect an outright lie, but what about a lie by omission? For future reference, it might be important to know how far he could bend the truth when questioned.
"Most of the information is from my mentor," Zeke said. Immediately, the crystal on the owl's forehead changed color, from a vibrant green it shifted to a murky orange.
Albert waited for the crystal to settle, before raising a single brow. "That's not quite true, is it?"
"I might need to clarify that statement…" Zeke said. "It is true that most of the information is based on old documents from my mentor's time in the military. However, I then combined all this old data with a multitude of variables to make a prediction about the current situation."
This time, the crystal turned bright green — Interesting. Zeke had indeed said the truth but didn't specify any of the many variables. So, there was a certain amount of leeway.
"What variables did you use in your predictions?" Albert followed up.
"The information comes from numerous sources. It would take a while to name them all, but the most important ones are rumors, gossip, changes to the power dynamic, and personal observation."
The crystal remained green, eliciting a small smile on Zeke's face.
"Can you tell me what you mean by 'changes to the power dynamic'?"
Zeke nodded. "As I'm sure you are aware, there are many Mage families in the empire. Four among them stand above all others. Those are the Feuerkranz, Windtänzer, Wellenrufer, and Steiner families. However, their positions are not set in stone. Theoretically, those four could be replaced at any time. The last such instance happened when the Wellenrufer family came to power. They replaced the Regenmacher family 234 years ago when the Regenmacher's three strongest Arch Mages were all killed simultaneously."
"I remember that," Lara chimed in. She had a wicked smile on her face. "…What a glorious day it was."
"Anyway," Zeke said before Lara could derail his explanation any further. "Because of that possibility, every family keeps track of the strength of any other family. According to the quality of their Mages, they neatly fall into a sort of hierarchy. When a new talent rises, the family rises with them. Using that metric, a keen observer would be able to determine the relative strength of any family."
Albert nodded thoughtfully. "Do you believe yourself to be such a person?"
"I have yet to meet my equal," Zeke said without a moment's delay, his eyes brimming with confidence.
Albert glanced at the owl on his shoulder. The crystal on its forehead had not shifted again from the pure green color after that first instance. The bird tilted its head to one side, unsure of what Albert wanted. His brows were furrowed as he asked his next question. "Do you believe your information to be accurate?"
"I have neither held anything back nor knowingly falsified anything. To my knowledge, everything in those documents is accurate."
The crystal remained green. "Is it possible that you have been deliberately fed false information?"
"Sure, that's always a possibility. I would never claim to be infallible," Zeke admitted. "However, I am sure that you would agree with me that I am not somebody who is easily tricked."
Albert nodded. After Zeke's earlier display of wit, he would naturally not doubt his cunning. "Last question. What are your intentions in giving this information to the alliance?"
"I believe you'll need any help you can get," Zeke replied. "When I met Otto Geistreich I was able to confirm something…"
Albert's eyes gleamed as he leaned forward. "What did you learn?"
"…He was too confident," Zeke said after a short pause. "He didn't appear like a man who was on the brink of an all-out war. He seemed more concerned with his paperwork than the outcome of the upcoming offensive. I would never claim to be able to see through a man like him completely. But what I am is a very thorough observer, and Otto Geistreich was completely relaxed during our meeting."
"What do you think it means?" Albert questioned and Zeke noticed the man's heartbeat speed up.
"Those estimated numbers in my documents…" Zeke said slowly. "I would take them as the absolute minimum of what the empire is going to field. The chancellor didn't seem to be the type to be needlessly confident. This leads me to believe they have some sort of hidden trump card."
Albert remained silent, his face once again giving nothing away. But Zeke wasn't fooled by the stoic facade. He could clearly see how the man's brain was working overtime. This was a good sign; it seemed his tactic had worked. Albert was clearly taking the warning seriously. This was one of the reasons Zeke had tried so hard to appear competent today. As for the other one…
"You have given me a lot to think about," Albert eventually said. With a flash of light, the bird on his shoulder dissipated into glowing particles. "Thank you for your cooperation, Zeke. It could not have been easy to compile all those documents. I will make sure to inform the council of your assistance."
Zeke dismissed the praise with a casual wave of his hand. "Think nothing of it. I am more invested in the downfall of the empire than most. I am even planning to invest a significant amount of money toward that goal…"
"Give it to me!" Lara exclaimed. "If you want to hurt the empire, there is nobody who would put that money to better use than me."
"Noted," Zeke said. "But even though you are a strong contender, Lara, I am still undecided. Your country of Equinox is one of the three primary forces standing against the empire, that is true. But I am meeting with Tristan Bloodsword in a week's time. There, I hope to learn more about their situation and plans."
Albert licked his lips. Hesitantly, he spoke up, "Have you considered Invocatia? Surely, someone with as much foresight as you would see the merit in doing so."
Zeke frowned slightly. However, inwardly, he was jubilant. "…Invocatia, huh?" he said, rolling the word on his tongue as if appraising its taste. "That might also work…" he said slowly, causing Albert's face to light up. It seemed money was his weakness.
"However," Zeke said thoughtfully, "I don't have any connections to your country. Compared to Equinox and Valor, I would have to entrust my money to strangers. Surely, you see how that would be a problem."
"Certainly," Albert agreed, his brain working in overdrive. "If you would like, I could arrange a meeting with some of our leaders. Some of our leaders are going to meet in Tradespire in a month's time-"
"Too long," Zeke cut him off. "I was hoping to move faster than that. I am very concerned about the empire's movements, you understand."
Albert gnashed his teeth. At this moment, the man was so unguarded that Zeke could read his thoughts on his face. Finally, he arrived at the only solution that was left to him. "How about… two weeks?"
Zeke pretended to think about it for a moment before slowly nodding. "For you, I could delay my decision for that long."
"Excellent!" Albert exclaimed. "We are going to hold a very important event in two weeks' time. Usually, outsiders wouldn't be invited, but I can't think of a better way to convince you of our potential. Also, my aunt is going to be there as well."
"Ohh?" Zeke said. "Lady Eternexus is going to be there as well? You've made me curious. What sort of event is it?"
Albert smiled proudly. "You probably haven't heard yet, but a genius has emerged in my Thorsten family. She recently awakened with a perfect lightning affinity. As is tradition, the girl will go through the Spirit Summoning Ritual in two weeks' time. For reasons I'm not allowed to disclose, the ritual is going to be held in Tradespire."
"Isn't it just so you can brag?" Lara scoffed. "Didn't your family invite all the big shots of the alliance for that reason?"
Albert cleared his throat, completely ignoring Lara's words. "What do you say, Zeke? As a young genius yourself, this might be a good opportunity for the both of you."
A wide smile spread across Zeke's face. For anyone who knew him well, it would have been obvious how smug he looked at this moment. However, to Albert, it looked like the normal smile of a delighted teenager.
"It will be my honor."