Chapter 399: Chapter 399: A Great Teacher Produces Outstanding Students_1
Rose Iron Prison Library, Asenna’s laboratory, Aiden was sitting here having a private conversation with Asenna.
Sera stayed in the library to take over Asenna’s work, Veronica was on duty here today, so Aiden felt fairly at ease.
"Warden, didn’t you say before that you would use a simpler and more direct method to solve this?" Asenna said while flipping through a book, "You’ve suddenly changed your mind."
"It’s just an alternative. Simple and direct doesn’t mean easy, and there are potential problems later on." Aiden replied calmly, "If possible, I still prefer to make things easier in the future."
"Looks like you’re the type who prefers stories with a grand happy ending, aren’t you?" Asenna suddenly threw in a comment.
"Well... I suppose so." Aiden nodded, "A tragic ending, if it’s not reasonable or clever, just turns into a clumsy mess, better to be cliché and go with a grand happy ending."
When he played games, he also preferred those that could be completed perfectly.
"I pointed her to that path, but she herself doesn’t believe she can do it," Asenna answered, "In this regard, I think she’s quite self-aware. Such a foolish girl playing political games can only be the lamb on the altar."
"Not necessarily, if her boyfriend, who is most familiar with the dark side of politics, truly has unfinished feelings for her and is willing to stand by her side, she might have a chance," Aiden folded his arms, "And once she’s made her own choice, whether she becomes a political sacrifice is her own business, not mine. I just don’t want my prison to become the focus of political struggle."
"I want to retract my previous statement, do you really like grand endings, Warden?" Asenna suddenly looked up at Aiden, "I feel like you’ve become more formidable than before."
"What do you mean?" Aiden was taken aback.
"Warden, you say it so nonchalantly, but when you think about it, your plan is actually interfering with the internal political situation of a kingdom," Asenna said slowly, "If I were to assess it, you were very professional in your work before, adept at managing the prison, but not really skilled in devising strategies. Think about when that witch took Ophelia to escape from prison... You didn’t manage to take additional precautionary measures in time, it was thanks to me and Daili switching sides just in time."
"So, what’s different about me now?" Aiden asked.
"To put it simply, it’s like you’ve gotten better at orchestrating things than before, and your courage has grown," Asenna considered, "It’s that kind of feeling, like a chess player setting up the board... you should understand what I mean, last time during the jailbreak, you solved it all by yourself without even needing to involve us, I still can’t figure out how you pulled that off. Did you find a good teacher to show you?"
Aiden fell silent for a moment, then shrugged, "You could say that, but that guy can hardly be considered a good teacher."
As for his changes, he probably couldn’t perceive them much himself, but Asenna, as a bystander, could likely see more clearly than he could.
He was originally just an ordinary prison guard, managing the prison and prisoners, occasionally using a bit of cleverness was sufficient, but speaking of strategy, there was something lacking. Sometimes when he hit a dead end, he would turn to Melifilia for advice.
Looking back now, Melifilia’s subtle influence on him had indeed made an impact, and after he stepped into the world of power and received the guidance of the Goddess of Conspiracy, that influence had further deepened.
In fact, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, just as Melifilia herself said, whether clandestine or overt, schemes were merely a means; the end goal itself was the most important.
As long as he didn’t waver from his principles to do things he detested, that was enough.
"But this time, it won’t be so easy to arrange things. Changing someone’s mind is not that simple, and I’m no expert in psychology. You’ve said before she’s just an ordinary person," Asenna said.
"In desperate situations, people can grow overnight."
"Not everyone can do that, and do you consider her current situation as desperate?" Asenna gestured toward the door, "These days this gal has been well-fed and watered in the cell, her only job is cleaning the library... Don’t you think she’s living too comfortably?"
"You have the same treatment, and you have some privileges as well..." Aiden replied.
"What I mean is, she doesn’t feel endangered enough. Generally, people will avoid the most pressing issues when allowed," Asenna said, "I think you should really make her feel that you have the power to kill her boyfriend."
"What, should I hold a gun to her boyfriend’s head in front of her to force her to make a decision?" Aiden asked.
"That would definitely work. You could even make her do anything in front of her boyfriend," Asenna nodded expressionlessly, with a hint of admiration in her eyes, "It sounds thrilling, doesn’t it? ’Ah, my master, your cold ruthlessness has completely conquered my body and shattered my heart. From today on, I love no one but you, I’ll do whatever you say’..."
"Stop acting if you can’t act. I’m being serious here!" Aiden emphasized by rapping on the table.
"Then just put her under mind control, a perfect hypnosis, a snap of your fingers and she’ll follow your every command." Asenna made a snapping gesture.
"Enough with the jokes! What kind of nonsense have you been reading in the library every day?" Aiden suddenly felt he should increase the scrutiny on the prison library’s books more.
Asenna raised her hands in surrender.
But after contemplating deeply, Aiden suddenly came up with a new idea, "However, what you suggested is not entirely without merit."
"Warden, you’re not seriously interested in that sort of thing, are you..." Asenna tilted her head slightly.
"I mean, instead of amateur psychological guidance, why not go straight for hypnosis," Aiden said quietly, "After all, we do have a top talent in this prison, don’t we?"
"But spirit-based dark magic is not that refined. Even if hypnosis could work, its effects would be very short-lived..." Asenna calmly analyzed.
Aiden was aware of that as well. Manipulating a specific aspect of someone’s "desire" with the precision of Melissa, and altering a person’s behavior pattern accurately and long-term, was difficult to achieve with dark magic. The power of gods was not only stronger than dark magic but also more refined and omnipotent.
"Anyway, trying it won’t cost us anything, and she must have studied psychology," Aiden said, "Let’s consult her first."
Asenna stared at Aiden for a while before suddenly remarking, "Warden, this is what I was talking about earlier, you really do have a touch of the conspirator."
Aiden just smiled at the comment.
After all, the "Teacher" was that goddess of schemes.
