CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 61: PIG-BUTCHERING SCAM

Since the monkeys are still watching, this chicken must be slaughtered.

But who is the chicken, and how to kill it is quite particular.

If you get pecked by the chicken or splattered with blood while killing it, that would be rude.

Roland handed the question to Sif, and the impromptu test began.

Sif pondered for a long time, slightly lowering her head with some embarrassment, "Roland, there’s too little information available. I’m a bit at a loss. Do you have any tips?"

Roland raised an eyebrow slightly, and slammed his palm heavily on the table, the loud sound startled Sif.

She instinctively stood up, murmuring softly, "Did I say something wrong again?"

"No, you didn’t, you’re absolutely right."

Roland gestured for Sif to sit down with a single hand, smiling as he said, "Congratulations, you’ve realized the importance of intelligence."

"Without intelligence, it is indeed difficult to make an accurate judgment," he added with a smile.

Sif breathed a sigh of relief, sat back down with a smile, and maintained a posture of listening.

"Without intelligence, what should we do?" Teacher Roland gently guided her.

"Find a way to get intelligence!" Sif answered instantly.

"For example?" Teacher Roland continued to guide her.

"Look for the Military Int... Forget it, pretend I didn’t say that."

For the Empress, who hasn’t yet ascended to the throne and wields no real power, to ask a Military Intelligence Bureau infiltrated by external forces for information on the Imperial Knight Order?

This is Hell, more so it’s a joke.

After a brief thought, Sif’s beautiful eyes lit up, "Since we have already reached a consensus with Alben, we should be able to ask him for intelligence, and even evidence of Warden and others’ crimes!"

Roland looked at Sif with ambivalence, not responding.

Sif secretly observed Roland with her lips clenched, obviously, this answer didn’t score high.

"Forget it, exposing our relationship with Alben for such a trivial matter is not worth it."

Roland’s gaze towards Sif softened gradually.

Sif felt a bit uncomfortable under Roland’s gaze and instinctively touched her face.

"Is there dirt on my face?"

The kids surrounding her earlier were a bit many, it would be disastrous if there’s a smudge of mud.

"Of course not, it’s just that today you are a bit different, sparkling with the beauty of wisdom."

Sif’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she quickly reacted. The beauty of wisdom today meant that usually, there wasn’t?

She lifted her head, about to argue, suddenly recalling the moment Teacher Wald fainted and Alben’s shocked expression, her puffed-up expression deflated instantly.

Roland wasn’t wrong.

But she had something to say too, she hadn’t been exposed to this before.

She bit her lip, continuing to think. She didn’t want Roland to think of her as just a pretty face.

Since the Military Intelligence Bureau is unreliable, Alben can’t be approached, and Teacher Wald is recuperating, then...

Her eyes lit up again.

"Got it, we shall approach Alina!"

Roland: "..."

The two stared at each other for a while, and Roland softly asked, "Do you know her true identity?"

"I know. Known as an envoy, she’s actually the head of spies, all diplomats are like this."

Sif quickly finished her sentence, hastily explaining, "I’ve been reading diplomatic declassified materials recently."

Roland looked at Sif with relief, her thoughts were a bit lively but fundamentally correct.

Though relieved, he still rejected the proposal, "I can find her, but you can’t go."

Sif didn’t argue, her identity was special, and a rash encounter with Alina was indeed improper.

She didn’t want Roland to seek out a foreign woman, so she had to keep racking her brains.

In a moment, she dejectedly murmured, "I really can’t think of a channel, I can’t possibly go to the Adventurer Guild to buy information, right?"

Roland smilingly reminded, "You’ve forgotten someone."

Sif’s eyes sparkled with a happy smile, "It’s great to have you, Roland! Please take care of the intelligence matters."

Roland shook his head with a smile, "Besides looking for Alina, my channels aren’t much more than yours."

"Then who else? Teacher Wald doesn’t have an intelligence network, and I wouldn’t bear to disturb him." Sif was at a complete loss.

"Warden."

Roland calmly revealed the answer.

Sif froze instantly.

She didn’t rush to speak but continued contemplating, tentatively saying, "Bribe him to betray others?"

"The idea is correct, but Warden is hard to bribe. This kind of thing involves group action, they must have mutual interdiction and constraint methods, and they are a community of interests."

Sif blinked, lightly complaining, "It would be nice if this guy exposed himself voluntarily."

"Bang!"

Roland slammed his palm heavily on the table, causing the tea cup to bounce.

Sif was terrified, quickly standing up, her lips trembling slightly.

Warden dared to deceive and keep secrets while the Late Emperor was in power, how would he easily expose himself? Indeed, she shouldn’t have talked nonsense. Now, Teacher Roland is angry.

Just as Sif was mulling over how to explain without losing face, Roland couldn’t help laughing, repeatedly saying "good" several times.

Roland’s laughter made Sif even more dejected.

Oh no, this time Roland is really angry, he’s starting to talk nonsense.

Just when she was trying to be sweet and cute to ease the atmosphere, Roland’s joyful voice came through.

"You’re right, Warden and Stanley and others have deducted salaries and even falsely claimed payments in the past three years, there must be a tight organization and counter-surveillance methods."

"We need to make them voluntarily expose their flaws."

Roland calmly said, "They dared to deceive even the Late Emperor, how would they fear His Majesty Sylph? Give them a chance, and they will still dare to cut corners."

He gestured for Sif to come closer, explaining the next steps in her ear in detail.

The warm breeze brushed past her ear, making Sif’s auricle slightly tingle.

She listened with sparkling eyes, nodding frequently.

After hearing Roland’s action plan, she couldn’t help but marvel.

When it comes to playing dirty, Roland is indeed the best.

According to Roland’s plan, give this money to Warden for distribution to the Knights.

She and Roland just need to act out a play.

Act like incompetent nobility would do.

Does that require acting? She could totally play it naturally.

Sif confidently smiled.

But she quickly stopped smiling.

Being adept at playing a fool isn’t something to be proud of.

Looking at Sif’s smiling lips and disappointed eyes, Roland knew what she was thinking.

He softly comforted the emotionally injured Countess.

"Sif, you’ve never received education in this area, so not understanding is normal. But you’re different from others, you learn very diligently."

"Politics is complicated, yet simple. Ultimately, it’s all about competing for interests. In the future, when you can’t figure out things, think more about what the other party’s interest demands are."

Roland calmly said, "If we had an army of a million, a gold coin reserve of tens of millions of pounds, and a developed intelligence network, dealing with Warden would be like crushing a stinking bug."

"But we don’t, so we have to carefully understand the enemy’s character weaknesses, utilize their desires, set traps, and wait for them to jump in."

"Sif, have you seen a wild boar hunting trap?"

Sif nodded slightly, "I’ve participated in the Royal Hunt, but only as a spectator."

"Does the wild boar know there’s a net above the food? Maybe it knows, maybe it doesn’t, but the fragrant corn placed before it, they can’t resist."

"Warden is that pig."

Roland snapped his fingers, smiling with a hint of mockery, "Let’s go, it’s time to meet Mr. Stupid Pig."