:::[Adam's POV]:::
Thinking back about what happened, breaching that barrier was not an absolute necessity, but still, I managed to take advantage of the situation.
The whole Holy Academy business was not the main focus of my plans for the time being, but depending on the evolution of the situation things might change.
As such, I couldn't let anyone treat me as a mere student. After all, that could lead me to be involved in various forms of annoying things.
'Still, I am quite curious about that princess. She didn't appear to be that surprised even after seeing my power. As expected, an elite would never let anyone read their intention easily.'
Well, compared to the brainless kids, Neige's presence was more impactful despite not doing anything much. It might be because of her status and background, but she could be considered an elite.
The difference between her and me was her status and fame, but it was still significant.
'I need to accomplish something that will go down in the Empire's history,' or so I concluded.
My plan was divided into three main parts and I had to create three different characters to fully take control of the Empire.
My status as an elite and a rising star that would impact the future of the Empire was one thing, but there was also another aspect that I needed to deal with.
"Where are we going?" Blanca asked, looking like she began to feel annoyed.
After reaching the Holy Academy's gate, Cristal was already waiting for Blanca and me, so she might have thought we would finally rest for the day.
"Don't worry, we will go have some fun tonight," I said with a smile on my face.
"Fun? When you say something with that smile on your face, it is never a good thing," Blanca mumbled. I wondered why she disliked my charming smile.
"What are talking about? A lot of money is a good thing, right?" I answered.
"What does money have to do with good things? Most of the time, greed only leads to destruction."
"Mmm? I didn't expect to hear such a line from you," I said, wondering about what Blanca thought about the concept of money and wealth.
Nonetheless, her opinion didn't have anything to do with the progression of the plan.
"How exactly do you picture me in your head? I feel like sometimes your comments are extremely irritating," Blanca complained.
"Well, anyway, it's time for us to make some money. Whatever you think about money is okay, but for the sake of the plan, a lot of money is needed. To be precise, we need the status of an influential man who is cunning and wealthy. This is the second part of the plan," I explained.
Even though I was an elite in the eyes of the public, that status alone wouldn't enough to take control of the underground or dark side of the Empire.
Consequently, I would need to deal with the dark side simultaneously as I made progress on growing my influence within the Empire.
Doing so would give me more perspective on what was happening within the Empire from every side and would help me to bring further adjustments to my plan when needed.
"Okay, put this on and change your clothes," I said.
"What? I-"
I didn't say anything and just looked at Blanca in the eyes, seeing how she was about to complain after I gave her new instructions.
After seeing my expression, it seemed like she understood the situation and decided to cooperate.
"I am glad that you understand that we are not playing around. I am just making it sound funny because I don't want it to sound boring, but what we are doing now is something of extreme importance," or so I said, but I also knew that what was important for me might not be so important for others.
Saving the world? Getting a loving wife? Spending time with a wonderful family? Is a mind free of anxiety? Not everyone wanted those things.
"I know, but I still find your methods quite annoying sometimes," Blanca replied.
From her reply, I wouldn't be surprised if she was thinking about barging into the Emperor's room and forcing him to tell her everything she needed to know.
Well, she might not be that stupid, or so I hoped, but everyone had their mindset so I wasn't blaming her. I just found her reaction quite annoying too.
"Well, you need to learn to bear with it from now on. Anyway, I will explain the plan now," I said.
Then, I begin to give Blanca the simplified version of the second part of the plan.
"Our destination is an undercover auction," I began.
The Empire might look like a city of hope and freedom, as well as a Holy Land, but this was just a part of what made the Empire what it truly was, and who was rotting from inside.
"Auction?"
"Yes, we will auction this," I said, showing Blanca an item that I asked Cristal to put inside of a safe container.
The plan was simple, and some people would think that it was too simple and likely to fail. However, there was a difference between thinking about a plan and having the ability to execute it perfectly.
Taking control of the Empire by controlling its dark side. Anyone would find that silly or extremely delusional, but that was only because they thought that something like that was possible never cross their mind. Well, even if they did, they weren't me, so it wasn't possible for them.
"Don't tell me…" Looking at the item, Blanca reacted as if she understood something but I knew that her guess was probably wrong so I continued my explanation.
"This auction would serve as the starting ground for this new character. Nonetheless, we need a certain intelligence to keep acting like two different personalities. I am sure you can do it though," I said, knowing that Blanca wouldn't need to act at all in this second part.
The questions that the people lurking in the dark would want to know whether saw a newcomer were, from which family was this person? In other words their origin? What were their total assets? What kind of network where they connected to, or who backed them? How could I take advantage of him, and if they pose a threat, how to make sure that they disappear?
Thus, it would be hard for normal people to reach a certain influence within with underground community as they would be exploited before they could even manage to make profits from the vast resources that the dark side of the Empire had to offer.
Nonetheless, an individual could do anything they wanted as long as they were beyond the rules. After all, even though there were unwritten rules that were respected in this community, the existing community itself was against the rule.
As such, no matter what happens, no one could complain, and if someone had the power to do whatever they want, whenever they want, another unwritten rule would be created. A rule that would warn anyone from messing with this individual.
In this community, an individual could do whatever they wanted if they had a lot of money, a lot of power individuals under their command, and a vast network of information.
Therefore, it was easy for me to become an individual that could create a new rule.
Money wasn't a problem. Cristal could hack the Imperial bank if that was needed, but I could probably make more money than the Imperial Bank by myself if that was the goal.
Moreover, Cristal's ability to collect and analyze information was something that even I couldn't part with. I was trying to find a way to make up for this in case something happened to Cristal, but I didn't find a better alternative yet.
In addition to these, Blanca was enough to take care of any threat at Linda's level, at least he was she was now, so I wasn't concerned about that aspect.
Considering all of that, the only thing that needed to be taken care of was my image and first impression.
"What is that look?" Blanca remarked seeing that my appearance and my face had completely changed.
"This is something that I recently created for the sake of this plan. You might not be familiar with nanotechnology and hologram but this technology makes use of these two elements to create a completely new appearance. I even enhanced it to make it feel like human skin," I explained.
"The blonde hair is too much though… It looks cheap," Blanca commented.
"That's just your personal opinion. You are so used to seeing my handsome face and my back hair. Still, I needed to adjust my appearance according to the age of this character that we will call Johnny Sylvester," I said.
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