Chapter 250: Spy Repellants Chapter 250: Spy Repellants "Just this much? Which family are they from?" Leo asked. "They said their family is from an inner city," Lily replied, her brows knitting together. "They haven’t been recognised by the Emperor yet. Apparently, these three were sent here to make a name for themselves... and to form connections with people who have the potential to be strong in the future." Leo fell into thought, his gaze unfocused. "And what was their intent in approaching us?" he asked after a moment. "Like they said," Lily answered, shrugging slightly, "to form a connection with people who could be strong in the future." "That still doesn’t explain why they would just throw their bodies away," Leo said, his voice sharpening. Lily frowned. "That’s exactly what I asked," she said. "They claimed they had no choice. Their family has them on a leash, and they believe getting into a man’s heart is easy if they’re willing to give their bodies. And since I’m with you, getting close to you would mean getting close to me." Leo sneered, his expression darkening. What do they take me for? "How did they even find us?" he asked. "They had basic descriptions of us from the trial city and from our home city, Kendru," Lily explained. "And because of my beautiful hair..." She gestured vaguely toward her head. "Once they realised there’s only one person in the 1st term with pink hair at Aurelius Beast Academy, it wasn’t hard." "I don’t believe this is all," Leo said, his eyes narrowing. "They’re hiding something." Lily’s eyes lit up at that. "Give me a few more hours with them," she said eagerly, a sharp smile forming. "I’ll make them vomit everything." Leo nodded. "Make sure they open their mouths," he said firmly. "We’ve already had more than enough trouble. I don’t want more piling on." Lily nodded back, but just as they were about to turn away, Leon stepped forward and gestured for them to come aside. He lowered his voice as they moved a little distance away. "I think we should keep them in the territory," Leon said. Leo paused, then looked at him in surprise. "Huh? Why?" he asked. To him, allowing potential spies to remain inside friendly territory sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. "Simple," Leon said calmly. "If the Emperor or any King-level authority hasn’t recognised their family, it means one of two things. Either they don’t have a commander-level powerhouse(5-stars) or they’ve done nothing noteworthy despite being 4-star or below. Either way, their family isn’t strong." Leo frowned. "That still doesn’t explain why we should keep them here." "Think about it," Leon continued. "They already have a shit load of wrong information about you. If you keep them under watch, you can feed them even more false information while hiding your true strength. But if you throw them out with just a warning, that family—or other families—will simply use different methods to dig into you." He continued. "An 8-star talent isn’t a joke. People would be willing to throw away everything just to have her conceive their children and start a new bloodline." Lily’s face twisted in disgust, and even Leo’s expression hardened at the words. "But how do we make sure they spread wrong information?" Leo asked. "And how does keeping them here stop others from coming after us?" "Have them sign a mana contract," Leon said without hesitation. "But even if they still risk everything and pass along information, they won’t know the specifics of your strength. I’ve been with you for a long time now, and even I don’t know everything, especially her. She had an 8-star talent? Wow. You both are way too good at hiding things" He continued, his gaze steady. "You could also let them perceive wrong information on their own. From what I’ve seen, you have a lot of abilities—just reveal part of them. As for others, a spy is often the best tool for identifying other spies. And don’t forget, they have mind interference skills. That could be useful if they’re using it on our enemies instead." "As for protection," he added, "a moderate mana contract will be enough." Leo fell silent, deep in thought. He still disliked the idea of having enemies inside his territory. But this wasn’t his previous world, where hiding military strength was very difficult. This was a magical world, and the rules were far looser. From another angle, the plan was... workable. Especially the part about feeding false information. Having enemies underestimate you was always an advantage. As if sensing his hesitation, Leon added one more thing. "And just so you know, by joining the academy, you already have their backing. No noble house would even consider harming you while a king-level powerhouse serves as the principal. Especially when you’re such an important student." Leo nodded, then asked another question. "You said their family doesn’t have power above 4-star since they haven’t been recognised. But couldn’t they just refuse recognition? What if they have the strength but don’t want the spotlight?" Leon shook his head. "Inner city, right?" he said. "The nobles there are starving for recognition. And even if that somehow isn’t the case, like I said, they still wouldn’t dare to harm you or her." He paused briefly before adding, "And as for truly powerful families targeting you... that’s simply impossible. No high-level professional would bother with something this petty unless there’s a personal vendetta." Leo nodded in understanding. Since they came from a small outskirts city and had few enemies, the risk was minimal. "If we use their mind-affecting skills on newly recruited people," Leo said slowly, "we could easily deter any more spies from entering the territory. But keeping them here still risks exposure—especially during training. They could gather intel then." Leon thought for a moment before responding. "Then let’s restructure the territory now," he said. "Regular members will live further down, not even at the base of the plateau. Core members—like you, Lily, and Miho—will stay on the plateau itself. That establishes a clear hierarchy." Leo liked the idea and nodded. "That way, we can train on the plateau without worrying about prying eyes," he said, then paused. "But wait—why didn’t you include yourself as a core member?" Leon blinked, clearly taken aback. "Me?" he asked. "I’ve only recently come to know you guys. How could I be a core member? Even if you did make me squad leader of your choice." Leo waved a hand dismissively. "You’ll be living on the plateau," he said. "Now, as for them—" Before Leon could respond, Leo turned and headed toward the girls, leaving Leon standing there, momentarily dumbfounded.