■ 32 Ways to Corrupt a Hero □
“…Grand Mage Caldlasth?”
Her expression clearly showed that she had never heard of me.
Apparently, she doesn’t know anything about me at all.
…I sounded so confident before, but now I feel a bit awkward with this reaction.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I scratched my head and said,
“If you don’t know, it’s fine. Sorry for bringing it up.”
This is what they call a generation gap.
True, unless someone’s specifically interested in the hero herself, most people rarely pay attention to every member of the hero’s party.
And since I was active two years ago, it makes sense she wouldn’t recognize me.
I placed my hands on my waist and looked at Sophia tied to the bed.
“Anyway, now that you’re in my grasp, you should probably prepare yourself for some rough treatment.”
“What do you plan to do?”
She stared at me with a tense expression.
It seems she thinks I might torture her because of the grim atmosphere in the room.
While I won’t deny using torture if necessary, my first attempt will be persuasion.
I pulled out a single sheet of paper from my robes.
“Don’t worry too much. If you sign this willingly, I’ll let you go.”
What I pulled out was a standard Gears Scroll used by mages.
Contracts made through the Gears Scroll must be honored under all circumstances, making it perfect for negotiations like this.
After reading each clause of the Gears Scroll I held in front of her face, Sophia asked suspiciously,
“What’s your real intention?”
I shrugged and replied,
“As you can see, I’m trying to recruit you. Heroes are rare and valuable assets.”
The Demon King’s Army right now is weak.
Of course, this is a very relative concept; compared to the elf forces living beyond the Great Forest, we’re weaker.
But compared to the advanced engineering dwarves of Nídavellir, our army’s power and size are roughly equal. And compared to the half-collapsed Kingdom Army, we are definitely superior.
We’re currently working hard to fully take control of the remaining Kingdom Army by the end of the year.
“I was originally on the side of humans. But the previous Hero’s actions were so ridiculous that I switched sides to the Demon King’s Army. So, unlike other demons, I don’t hate humans indiscriminately.”
If I summarize the key points of the contract I showed Sophia:
“Hero Sophia becomes the slave of Mage Caldlasth.”
“In return, Caldlasth offers Sophia the position of Chief of Police.”
“Slave Sophia cannot die without her master’s permission and must assist him until a certain condition is met.”
“The specific condition is ‘world domination,’ after which the contract becomes null and void.”
There are several more detailed clauses, but they’re not particularly important, so I’ve omitted them.
“How did you find the situation in the capital over the past two years? Do you really think Oz will fall just because demons rule it? Honestly, you know as well as I do that life in Oz has improved compared to before.”
“…”
Sophia, bound to the iron bed, couldn’t refute my words.
I thought deeply about why she chose to become a thief instead of joining the Resistance.
From the start, she could have openly joined the Resistance. With her title as a hero, she would have likely garnered significant support.
However, instead of operating in the shadows as part of the Resistance for Oz’s independence, she opted to steal money from corrupt nobles and demons to distribute to commoners, acting as a Robin Hood figure.
Even though she could have collaborated with the nobility to create chaos within the Governor’s Office, she didn’t. Clearly, she viewed the current demon rule in Oz as more rational than the old aristocracy regaining power.
My proposal takes this one step further.
“You didn’t want to do the typical hero stuff and preferred being a thief, right? How about changing Oz with your own hands this time? Wouldn’t it be more fun to wear an official hat and go around punishing those you dislike rather than just stealing from innocent people?”
Sophia remained silent.
So, I continued with my tempting offer.
“The old Oz was an abnormal country. People could survive comfortably based solely on their lineage, regardless of ability, all thanks to exploiting the commoners’ blood and sweat.”
“Come join me, and you can be part of this transformation. Don’t leave everything to others; change it with your own hands.”
“And I’ll provide you with the strength to do it.”
Saying that, I extended my hand to Sophia.
Then, Sophia stared at my hand for a moment before saying with a look of disdain,
“Liar.”
Though it was only one word, her gaze already told me that she knew everything. I couldn’t maintain my poker face anymore. [[#]] I stepped out of the solitary confinement cell briefly with Barnetta.
“Why do you think you were found out?”
Barnett then responded seriously,
“Caldlasth, you give yourself away too easily when lying. Talking with such a soulless voice will make anyone, even non-heroes, realize you’re lying.”
…Apparently, it was a problem with my acting skills.
Feeling somewhat sheepish, I shifted my gaze and looked toward the far side of the underground prison.
I had underestimated the task of persuading a hero.
“So, what now? Should we force her to stamp the contract?”
“It’s fine if you want to do that, but you won’t be able to use the hero in the way you hope. She’ll likely pick the bare minimum responsibilities from the contract’s toxic clauses. You don’t want that, do you?”
Indeed, as Barnetta said, I needed an active and capable subordinate, not a passive one.
“Then there’s no other choice but to use that method.”
“What method?”
I informed Barnett, who tilted her head in confusion, that I would go home for a moment. This was because I had prepared something beforehand from my Master’s library. [[#]]
“…You also believe in 32 Magical Hypnotic Techniques?”
Barnett read the cover of the book I brought and gave me a skeptical look.
“Do you really believe in hypnosis?”
“Yeah.”
I was serious.
Had it been any other hypnotism book, I might have dismissed it with a scoff, but this book contains various hypnotic techniques that directly manipulate the brain and memories, which is why it was classified as forbidden literature long ago.
Due to its immediate recall and destruction after publication, only a few copies remain, yet my Master’s library somehow housed three versions—reading edition, collection edition, and limited collection edition.
And this was the borrowed reading edition.
“Since verbal persuasion failed, shouldn’t we try hypnosis now?”
“…Wouldn’t torture be faster in that time?”
“Hey, trust me on this.”
With that, I lightly hit Barnett on the head for thinking too violently and returned to the solitary confinement cell.
Sophia, still tied to the bed, glared at me.
Ignoring her glare, I confidently smiled and showed her the book in my right hand.
“Do you know what this is?”
“No.”
“A spellbook to corrupt you.”
After saying that, I momentarily placed the book on the shelf and approached her again.
“If you change your mind now, I won’t use this book. Surrender peacefully, Sophia.”
In response, Sophia declared with a resolute expression,
“Even though my body is captured here, my soul will not bow to the minions of the Demon King. My answer remains unchanged. Kill me if you must, Partarth.”
Anyone watching might mistake her for an independence fighter.
I clicked my tongue in frustration, feeling like I wasted my breath, and stepped back.
“Don’t regret this.”
Saying that, I opened the hypnotism book placed on the shelf.
Among the 32 hypnotic techniques written inside, the strongest one directly interferes with the brain.
This method allows me to manipulate the subject’s perception freely, making it highly dangerous.
It can alter common sense, increase sensitivity by 3,000 times, or even implant specific commands—all depending on success.
Of course, that’s assuming success.
I drew a large magic circle on the floor of the solitary confinement cell with chalk and positioned the bed where the hero was tied into the center.
Since this was quite an intricate magical ritual, even without knowledge, Sophia seemed to sense the danger as a Grand Mage and struggled fiercely to break free of her shackles.
“Kk! Let me go!”
But how could Adamantium, known as the hardest material in the world, be broken so easily?
I took a few steps back with the hypnotism book in hand and raised my right hand.
“O Mnesmosyne, bring forth memories. O Lethe, raise the tides of forgetfulness.”
As I began chanting, the magic circle beneath my feet lit up brightly.
“Four rivers crossed, memory fades. Remembrance dissipates.”
The brighter the magic circle shone as the magic progressed.
“Hereby, I declare. To bestow upon the living soul before me the blessings of memory and forgetfulness.”
Eventually, the duplicated mana caused a glowing circle to rise, and the struggling hero lying on the bed closed her eyes due to the intense light.
“Great Goddesses, grant me the power!”
At the moment the incantation ended, the previously restless hero became completely still, like a mouse trapped in silence.
“…”
Since this was my first time using this magic, I cautiously approached the hero and waved my hand in front of her.
“Excuse me?”
No matter how loudly I spoke, there was no reaction.
Her vacant eyes resembled an empty shell, suggesting the hypnosis was successful.
