Chapter 24
The afternoon sun hung high over the Imperial Capital.
Inside a quiet inn room, Ryo was lazily lying on a chair while eating peanuts.
One peanut.
Two peanuts.
Three peanuts.
Then suddenly—
"System."
System immediately became alert.
"Yes, Host?"
Ryo tossed another peanut into his mouth.
"Tell me. Who saw my original examination paper?"
System didn't understand why he suddenly asked such a strange question, but it quickly began listing names.
The blue panel flashed.
"Host, according to my records, your original paper was seen by sixty-nine examiners, thirteen tea-serving errand boys, five eunuchs, the Emperor, and Prime Minister Yan Pei."
Ryo nodded.
"Good."
The System became suspicious.
Whenever Ryo said "good," innocent people usually suffered.
Whenever Ryo smiled while saying "good," entire families suffered.
Today he was smiling.
The System silently observed one minute of mourning for unknown victims.
"Host, why are you asking?"
Ryo casually sipped tea.
"Nothing important. I'm just planning to use the Emperor and Yan Pei to suppress the Dong and Dugu families."
The tea in System's imaginary mouth nearly came out.
"Host, WHAT?"
Ryo looked disappointed.
"System, your memory really is poor."
"What does that have to do with memory?!"
"Do you know why I created the Illusory Writing Technique?"
System immediately replied,
"Obviously. To cheat in examinations. That was literally the first thing you used it for."
"..."
Ryo stared at the panel.
The panel stared back.
Neither moved.
Finally Ryo sighed.
"Your IQ is truly a tragic story."
System became angry.
"My IQ is perfectly normal!"
"You thought I spent years developing an illusion technique solely to avoid studying and CHEAT in exam."
"..."
"..."
After a long silence, the System reluctantly admitted,
"Actually, that does sound like something you would do."
Ryo nodded.
"Fair point."
Then he explained.
"The true purpose of Illusory Writing isn't merely making people believe what is written."
"It can subtly guide thoughts."
"It can strengthen existing opinions."
"It can create suggestions."
"It can make people think an idea is their own."
The System froze.
Ryo continued calmly.
"If I write that the sky is green, no one, not even fools will believe it."
"But if I write something reasonable, then leave small suggestions hidden inside..."
"They'll gradually accept it."
"Like, if you see the sky from green colour glasses, the sky will be green."
"They believe not because they're controlled."
"But because they convince themselves."
The System felt cold.
Very cold.
It suddenly remembered why most villains preferred poison.
Because Ryo's methods were terrifying.
"Host..."
"Hm?"
"Are you sure you aren't the reincarnation of a Devil King?"
Ryo thought seriously.
Then he nodded.
"Pretty sure."
The System was not convinced.
That same night.
Inside the Imperial Palace.
The Emperor was reviewing memorials.
His expression grew uglier with each scroll.
Dong Family.
Dugu Family.
Dong Family this.
Dugu Family that.
Dong Family that.
Dugu Family this.
By the twentieth memorial, he wanted to throw both families into a volcano.
By the twentyth, he wanted to jump into the volcano himself.
Finally he slammed a scroll shut.
"Damn it!"
A nearby eunuch immediately knelt.
"This servant deserves death!"
The Emperor blinked.
"I wasn't talking about you."
"This servant deserves death anyway!"
"..."
The Emperor ignored him.
His thoughts drifted elsewhere.
For years he had been a puppet.
The Dong Family controlled one side.
The Dugu Family controlled another.
Prime Minister Yan Pei controlled the third.
Meanwhile he controlled absolutely nothing.
Then suddenly a thought appeared in his mind.
It felt natural.
Reasonable.
Obvious.
Why fight Yan Pei?
The real problem was the Dong and Dugu families.
Yan Pei had also become their enemy.
If the two worked together...
Wouldn't things become easier?
The more he thought about it, the more correct it seemed.
Soon he was nodding to himself.
"Yes."
"Exactly."
"Why didn't I think of this sooner?"
Meanwhile.
Prime Minister Yan Pei was also suffering.
Several ledgers sat on his table.
Each one represented money.
Lost money.
His least favorite kind.
The old minister rubbed his forehead.
"Dong Family."
"Dugu Family."
"Two groups of brainless pigs."
Just then a guard entered.
"Prime Minister, His Majesty requests your presence."
Yan Pei's heart skipped a beat.
The Emperor?
At this hour?
Had something happened?
Was the Emperor angry?
Had the Dong Family accused him again?
Was he finally getting executed and by that puppet emperor?
Within three seconds Yan Pei imagined seven possible political disasters and three assassination attempts.
Then he entered the palace.
One hour later—
The Emperor and Yan Pei were happily drinking wine together.
Both looked delighted.
Both believed the alliance was their own brilliant idea.
Neither realized an Uchiha several kilometers away was responsible.
The next morning.
The successful examinees gathered at the Magistrate Office.
Hundreds of scholars stood proudly.
Many had not slept all night.
Some were excited.
Some were nervous.
One scholar had already planned names for his future grandchildren.
The official began announcing appointments.
"Tenth place!"
"Ninth place!"
"Eighth place!"
Positions were distributed one after another.
Then came the top three.
"Third place, An Jin!"
The crowd immediately looked over.
An Jin's reputation had already spread across the capital.
The legendary madman who scored an unknown number.
The scholar whose paper nearly killed the examiners.
The man who supposedly received two hundred and forty-seven points out of one hundred.
The official continued.
"Reward: fifteen taels of silver."
Polite applause followed.
Then—
"Position: Seventh-Rank Historian."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the birds stopped singing.
A scholar in the crowd counted on his fingers.
Then counted again.
Then counted a third time.
"No."
"That's impossible."
Even first place only received an Eighth-Rank position.
Yet third place received Seventh Rank.
What kind of promotion was this?
Had the Emperor gone mad?
Had the examiners gone mad?
Had everyone gone mad?
Ryo calmly accepted the appointment.
The System immediately asked,
"Host, why Historian?"
"You literally had the Emperor under your influence."
"You could've requested something better."
Ryo shrugged.
"An Jin got lucky."
The System nearly crashed.
LUCKY?
This was the result of manipulation, conspiracies, illusions, assassinations, political warfare, and enough schemes to make devils take notes.
And he called it luck?
Ryo continued,
"I passed his exam."
"I healed his mother."
"I solved the Dong Ji problem."
"I gave him a government position."
"Honestly, I'm already overqualified as a charity organization."
The System couldn't argue.
Because somehow that was true.
Ryo smiled.
"Besides, Historian is easy."
"Write things."
"Read things."
"Record things."
"Occasionally watch important people embarrass themselves."
"If An Jin works hard, he can live comfortably."
The System nodded.
That made sense.
Then Ryo added,
"And if he doesn't work hard, he can simply write that history remembers him as hardworking."
"..."
"..."
The System stared.
Ryo stared back.
Finally the System sighed.
"Host."
"Hm?"
"I've traveled across countless worlds."
"And every day I discover a new reason why you shouldn't be allowed near civilization."
Ryo grinned.
"Thank you."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"I know."
Which somehow made the System feel even worse.
Chapter End