"However, it's useless for us to say some depressing words here, right?" Aldrich suddenly shook his head and asked in a normal manner, "By the way, Master Benjamin, didn't you say you are from Icol?" A mage? Where is your hometown?"
Do you want to start checking your household registration book
Benjamin didn't know what the other party's intention was, but he couldn't let it go.
"Huck Town in the south was originally an inconspicuous town in the mountains, but due to some changes during the split of the empire, it... no longer exists."
As he spoke, he showed a slightly sad expression, remembering the hometown that did not exist.
"Sorry for bringing up your sadness." Aldrich was a little surprised and said quickly, "However, you have grown into an excellent mage now. I believe your dead folks will be proud of you."
Hearing this, Benjamin frowned.
"No, they're not dead, they just moved away."
“…”
Aldrich choked up at this answer, looked embarrassed and was speechless.
When Benjamin saw this, he also smiled secretly in his heart.
Although it was just a verbal showdown with his acting skills, he was still happy as long as he could defeat his opponent in the process. What's more, his story has been carefully revised so many times, how can others see the flaws
In fact, Benjamin also planned to start a counterattack.
"Master Aldrich, can you tell me about the Master Freemasonry?" He also asked in the other party's chatty tone, "I used to live in Ikol. Since the empire split, the people here have Nothing is clear about the matter. How was the Master Freemasonry established?"
Aldrich hesitated and said, "Well... that's a long story."
Benjamin said with a friendly face: "It doesn't matter, it will be better if it takes a little longer. Don't you still have to wait for the results of His Majesty's interrogation? I have nothing to do, so I will wait here with you."
"Then...since you insist so much, well, what do you want to hear?"
Benjamin immediately asked: "How was the original Freemasonry established?"
Excluding the acting elements, in fact, this was really something he wanted to know.
"The original words... were caused by the split of the empire. It can also be said that it was caused by me." Aldrich sighed and looked into the distance, as if he was recalling something. "At that time, the president of the Mages Guild brought a large number of mages with him. , supported the princess and established Icol. Their departure also took away most of the wealth of the entire Mage Guild, and the remaining mages were at a loss. I was also at a loss, not knowing why the president would do this, but As the vice-president, I have to stand up and do something.”
"At that time, I had contact with His Royal Highness the First Prince and His Highness the Second Prince, and wanted to reorganize the Mages Guild. His Highness the First Prince did not show any interest in my proposal, but the Second Prince, who is also the national majesty of Freden, But he was very supportive of my idea, and even gave me a lot of help. He came up with the idea of 'Freemasonry', which sounded quite high-sounding. Master Freemasonry always claims not to participate in worldly struggles, but in fact, you also Knowing which side we will take when disagreements arise.”
Hearing this, Benjamin was a little surprised.
The establishment of the Master Freemasonry was actually promoted by the King of Freeden.
Then... when the king heard that the Freemasons had betrayed him, Benjamin was a little hard to imagine. What kind of mood did he feel despite his not too big reaction at the time
"The Mage Freemasonry was established with the help of His Majesty, but now there is a traitor. Your Majesty must be feeling very heavy." Finally, Benjamin spoke, trying to figure out the current incident.
"Yes." Aldrich nodded and said, "I didn't expect that the assassin tonight was actually one of our own."
… You really didn’t expect that
However, facing this kind of person who is who knows how many years older than him, Benjamin feels that he can't seem to see any flaws.
From the moment Aldridge appeared until now, throughout his performance, he has presented a state of innocence and that he had no knowledge of tonight's attack. Just looking at it like this, Benjamin couldn't help but believe him.
only…
"It may be rude to say this, but the internal management of the Master Freemasonry is too loose." Thinking of this, Benjamin said in a tone that hates iron and steel, "This operation was planned for three months, but no one Discover the clues in advance. Master Aldrich, you must strengthen your management!"
Hearing this, Aldrich nodded and said, "Yes, I will definitely do it in the future."
After saying that, he looked distressed, but had no intention of explaining any more.
“…”
Benjamin couldn't help but frown.
… Then what
If you say that you will improve in the future, even if you turn the page? Shouldn't we explain why those people have been preparing for three months, but as the president, he doesn't know anything
Aldrich, however, wasn't about to explain.
Because of this, Benjamin's somewhat wavering thoughts were confirmed again.
There is no doubt that it's not that he doesn't want to explain, but that he can't. The entire Freemasonry is under his nose. How could he not know if something really happened? Maybe he was the one who planned tonight's incident.
Yes, Aldrich, or rather the entire Order of Mages and Freemasons, is the traitor.
Realizing this, Benjamin could only be more vigilant in his heart.
He couldn't let Aldrich discover his little thoughts.
Therefore, the next conversation between the two of them turned into a real chat. Benjamin showed a "although I don't want to join you, but I think you are great" attitude, showing respect for the Masters and Freemasons, while carefully hiding his hostility in his heart.
In this way, an hour later, the king seemed to have finished interrogating the prisoners and returned to the meeting hall with a heavy face.
Benjamin and the two also stopped chatting.
"Your Majesty, what did you find?" Aldrich saluted and asked.
The king shook his head.
"You have a very tough mouth, and you probably won't speak for a while. Leave it to the interrogator to grind it out, and it will eventually come out." He seemed unhappy, and suddenly said, "Master Aldrich, what on earth did you do? What's going on? There's such a big mess within the Master Freemasonry, and you didn't even notice it before?"
Although his tone of voice was not strong, the sense of questioning from a superior person was deeply revealed.
Benjamin was also a little surprised.
The king is... going to raise an army to investigate
And Aldrich actually bowed his head obediently and said: "It was my incompetence and failure to manage the Master Freemasonry that led to all this. Please forgive me."
"Since you also know, then why did you ignore the mages under you before?" The king showed no intention of stopping. "Three months of planning was right under your nose, but you didn't find anything. Audrey Master Qi, you have disappointed me..."
As soon as the king began to scold him, he even felt like he was talking endlessly. There was anger in his voice, which was completely different from before, and he just kept scolding.
And Aldrich, an old man in his sixties or seventies, just stood there with his head lowered like a primary school boy, obediently being scolded.
Benjamin was stunned.
Seriously, if Aldrich wanted to kill the king, he wouldn't even need a second, right
Yet there he stood, bearing all the king's wrath without saying a word.
At that moment, Benjamin suddenly understood - this was probably the profound meaning behind the simple word "king".
Yes, Aldrich could kill the king, but it would do him no good at all.
Although Benjamin still couldn't see through Aldrich's plan, he gradually realized in his heart that what this old mage wanted might be to steal the huge power contained in the name "King Freden". Whether he steals for himself or for someone else.
The scene before us is an epitome of abiding by the rules of the game in the power dispute.