Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

"What are you talking about? Just recount what we discussed before..."

"Amelia! Do you remember what we were talking about!"

“You’ve been complaining to me about how the tasks Her Majesty the Queen gave us were like a girl’s crush on someone. You also said that the Queen’s attitude when assigning tasks to us was strange, as if she wanted the other person to notice her but didn’t want to be disliked, like she was observing her own treasure. I think Bella’s observation is very sharp, and what you said makes a lot of sense.”

"Never say that I said that!"

"Why?" Amelia tilted her head in surprise.

"Just imagine what would happen if Flora heard us say that! She would tear us apart!"

"But I think Lord Aaron is a very good person..."

"Absolutely not! Think about what Her Majesty the Queen holds in our hearts! And think about it carefully, how could Her Majesty the Queen possibly like a mere mortal from the Kingdom of Dok? They've never even met! Do you think that's possible?"

Amelia's pupils swirled with golden light: "But looking at the Queen, I always felt she was very lonely. And although this is illogical, Bella, your analysis makes a lot of sense. I think it's not impossible."

"In short! We absolutely must not say anything like Her Majesty the Empress might like the other person!"

After they finished their discussion, they faced Flora again.

Flora also had a question she wanted to ask them: "What do you think of him?"

"My opinion? Hmm... let me think..."

“I think Aaron is a very good person,” Amelia said.

“But when we revealed our identities to him, his first reaction was to call the police… We all thought we were doomed, and it took a lot of persuasion to stop him…” Bella seemed to have a different opinion.

Is there anything noteworthy about his past?

"Although it's strange that he suddenly gained superhuman powers, we went through his past records and couldn't find anything special. If we had to say something special, it's that he seems to be quite popular with girls and attracted the daughter of the Iron Earl, which is absolutely true."

“Since he has strategic significance for the Empire, although we don’t yet know what it is, perhaps we can try to win him over to our side,” Flora said.

"To win over...? But what do we have to win over...? Lord Aaron doesn't seem to lack anything..."

“Indeed, he doesn’t seem to be short of money. After becoming a judge, his power system is different from that of ordinary people. So we only have one option left,” Flora concluded.

Bella realized something was wrong: "Wait, Lady Flora, although it might be bragging, if neither Amelia nor I can win him over, this method might not work..."

“You’re wrong about that, Bella. It’s an instinct ingrained in men’s genes to want to mate with more outstanding women. In other words, no man would complain about having too many women who like him. I remember this was taught in the MI7 course. Didn’t you learn that?” Flora said.

"No...we just feel..."

Flora shook her head: "You will fail, probably because you haven't mastered the method and haven't exuded enough charm."

"What do you mean..." Bella was bewildered.

“If you can’t do it, I’ll do it myself,” Flora said calmly.

Bella had no doubt that Flora was doing this for the mission, but at this moment Amelia's hypothesis came to Bella's mind, making her feel that things were developing in a bad direction.

Prior to this, Her Majesty the Queen had warned them that only she and Amelia were allowed to know about Aaron Brandon's existence.

But they have now told Flora about this task, even though they don’t see anything wrong with doing so.

But what if Amelia's hypothesis is true...?

What if it's true, and Her Majesty the Queen knows they've done this...

Wouldn't that mean they're undermining the Queen?!

The thought of this possibility sent a chill down Bella's spine: "But...but..."

"But what?"

“We think… Her Majesty the Queen… may have… may have special feelings for Mr. Aaron…” Bella finally went all out.

"Special feelings?" Flora frowned.

"No, no, we were just guessing. We think Her Majesty the Queen values ​​Lord Aaron so much, perhaps for some other reason."

“It’s alright. What you’re saying is just making me more and more interested in Mr. Aaron,” Flora said calmly. “We can meet him alone later.”

*

The case of Martin the Elder was solved, and it ended with Martin the Younger deciding to live in St. Anne's Church for a period of time and hold his father's funeral there.

According to Theo later, Martin Jr. had decided to donate a considerable sum to the Church of St. Anne, and Aaron would also receive a share of the bonus for his contribution.

It was good news for Aaron that the first case after his confinement ended could be solved successfully, but his attention wasn't on it.

Late at night, Aaron stood on the rooftop gazing at the starry sky, a peculiar coin between his fingers.

A moment later, a shadow slowly appeared behind him. "It's not a good habit to always meet at murder scenes."

"I have something else to discuss with you."

Have you thought about the wish you want to fulfill?

"I want to know the truth."

"What truth?"

"I've thought a lot about the truth of what happened back then over the years, and I've gotten some clues about what happened back then. Depending on the value of the information you provide, I can consider whether or not to use this promise." Aaron took out the coin.

“You’re still as greedy as ever.” Brand wasn’t buying Aaron’s act, but he still said, “Alright, I can remind you of something.”

"You have always known that the Kingdom of Lucerne possesses the Book of Omniscience. But have you ever considered that if the Kingdom of Lucerne has the Book of Omniscience, then other countries don't have their own abilities?"

Aaron's pupils slowly dilated in the darkness: "This is indeed information worth mentioning. Can you tell me about their abilities?"

"This is top-level intelligence, but I can tell you that it does exist. However, unlike the Book of Omniscience, it is a trump card for each country, and it will not be used unless absolutely necessary."

"Wasn't the War of the Seven Kingdoms a last resort?"

"It's far from that. Although the Seven Kingdoms War resulted in the loss of several sword-level experts, causing each country to suffer, and requiring the seven kingdoms to recuperate for more than a decade, it is not as important as what I'm talking about."

"Is that what the Mad King is chasing?"

Brand paused, then scrutinized Aaron intently: "How did you know?"

"I've said it before, I've lived for so many years and thought about a lot of things."

“That’s right, the Mad King is indeed chasing that thing, but I advise you not to meddle. Just by looking at the outcome of that matter, you can see how dangerous it is to chase that thing. Even the Kingdom of Lucerne was destroyed because of it.”

"Was the war caused by the pursuit of that thing by various countries?"

"Part of the reason is that they may believe that whoever gets that thing will gain an absolute advantage, and therefore they are willing to start a war to stop the other side."

"There is still a lot of struggle involved, and it hasn't stopped even today, but one thing remains unchanged: everything about that thing is extremely dangerous."

“You’ve been chasing that kind of thing all along.”

“Yes, if you have any information about that thing, please tell me. I can grant any wish you desire, without any restrictions,” Brand said.

"I see."

"Although it has nothing to do with that thing, traces of the little book have appeared in Birmingham."

"Little book?"

"That thing cannot be compared to the Book of Omniscience; it is only a second-rate thing, but even a second-rate thing is powerful enough."

"Think about it, they can wage a war to get 'that' kind of thing, but destroying a city is nothing to them for something less."

"Is the whole of Birmingham in danger?" Aaron said.

"Fortunately, Claire is in Birmingham, which is why they haven't made a move yet. But they won't give up; they'll just focus on clearing away obstacles," Brand said calmly.

"Have you seen them?" Aaron asked.

"They want me to kill Claire."

"You agreed?"

"I gave them a quote, and today is the day they're supposed to give me their response."

Aaron had a sudden inspiration: "Let me go with them."

"Okay, but I have one condition."

"This small request isn't worth a promise, is it?" Aaron raised an eyebrow.

"You are now the judge; you can give me other valuables."

"what would you like?"

"It's not too late to talk about it after it's done."

“Alright.” Aaron gritted his teeth and agreed. Although the price they asked for would be extremely high, because the Red God Church was a group of people who would never lose out, Aaron reluctantly agreed due to the importance of the information.

Late at night, in the parish pub.

The pub is located on the outskirts of Esgard. It's a two-story building with no sign, situated on a dirt road. There are many roads leading into Birmingham from other places, and this pub is located on one of them. It doesn't have much inside; it sells a little bit of beer to quench thirst, and some ham and salted meat to go with the beer. It mainly caters to the locals who come into Birmingham.

It was nighttime, and there were only a few customers in the shop. The owner, who looked like a bartender, was wiping glasses at the counter. There was only one table of customers near the bar.

"So this is how easy it is for you to make contact."

Aaron sat opposite Brand, looking around with great interest.

After all, he was also a judge, so before coming he changed into the same black robe as Brand, with a hood over his head and scars painted on his face, looking like Brand's henchman.

"Do you usually introduce people to others?" Aaron asked.

"No, I mostly work alone."

"Won't we be easily exposed?"

"They've arrived."

Before Aaron could prepare, he heard heavy footsteps at the door. Aaron's heart sank. Who could be the person capable of destroying Birmingham?

"Boss, a beer, please."

A boisterous voice came from behind him. Aaron turned around casually, but was stunned when he saw who it was.

Standing at the entrance of the tavern was a cute, big-eyed girl. She wore a pointed hat that little girls usually wear during holidays and a black magician's robe, dressed like a nineteen-year-old girl performing on stage.

"Meta! Beer again! I don't care if you're drunk!" Another voice came from behind the girl. Aaron glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw a girl with shoulder-length chestnut hair standing at the store entrance. She was standing with her hands on her hips, looking sullen, her expression somewhere between the Magician Girl's older sister and mother.

Her attire differed slightly from the other girl's, but they were of the same style. If Meta dressed like a magician, she dressed like a circus medium, wearing red gloves and a short cape, and looked as imposing as if she were performing on stage when she stood at the tavern entrance.

Had they mistaken someone else for someone else? Did they really want to kill Claire? Just as Aaron thought this, someone slammed a beer bottle onto the table in front of them. "Brand, sorry to have kept you waiting!"

The girl plopped down in the seat in front of them, revealing a hearty expression.