Leon remained in Mondstadt for a while longer.
Most of the time, she taught Jean how to be a competent ruler and how to handle the city's affairs, then spent warm and affectionate nights with her and her sister.
It could be said that her life was fulfilled and happy.
However, as time passed, a great deal of good news arrived regarding her arrangements in Sumeru.
Alpha came personally to report the situation to her.
Sumeru was a nation of wisdom.
At present, the king was a king in name only. The one who truly held power was the Grand Sage—equivalent to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sumeru—followed by the Sages beneath him.
Leon initially felt it was somewhat excessive to reach the position of third-in-command in a kingdom in such a short period of time.
But after hearing that the person in question was Eta,
Leon immediately found it reasonable.
Eta served as the seventh seat of Night Raid.
What she inherited was Leon's knowledge from her previous life.
On top of that, she was also a genius—a true prodigy. She was the queen of inventions within Night Raid, and her talent even surpassed that of Anis.
Placing an unparalleled scientific genius into a kingdom like Sumeru, where intelligence was valued above all else—
That was nothing short of a massacre.
If that girl were allowed to stay a little longer, Leon felt that the position of Grand Sage would inevitably belong to her.
It was a pity that the "Sabzeruz Festival" was still some time away.
Leon planned to take Sumeru before that day arrived; otherwise, she would genuinely have let Eta continue her rise there.
Moreover, the other talents she had planted had also reached high positions.
For example, Sherry and Faruzan.
Both were immediately recognized as rare geniuses in Sumeru and were regarded as candidates for future Sages.
Leon: "I always feel like infiltration is far easier than I expected. They're even dumber than I thought…"
Compared to other nations, Sumeru's defenses were extremely weak. As rumored, it was merely a country devoted entirely to academic research. One could say it knew nothing about anything beyond scholarly pursuits.
Sumeru did not even possess a standing army.
The country was guarded only by a group of mercenaries.
Leon was shocked when she learned this.
No matter how large or powerful a mercenary group might be, a nation that didn't even have its own army and relied on mercenaries for protection was simply absurd.
Leon was extremely curious. She had heard that this kingdom had a very long history—so how had it managed to survive until now?
How could a country that was so weak in military terms yet so powerful intellectually continue to exist… It seemed that any medium-sized kingdom, or even a small country, could conquer it with ease.
Alpha shrugged.
"Although Sumeru's national defense is very weak, its international status remains high because it produces a large number of scholars every year."
"Oh, I see. So this is a country that relies on exporting talent to gain status and peace… It's strange, but acceptable. I've finally found its value."
Leon nodded, finally understanding the benefits she could gain after conquering Sumeru.
She had previously learned that Sumeru was a land where rainforests and deserts coexisted. It had no particularly striking specialties, and even its material supplies were rather scarce.
For a long time, Leon hadn't understood what practical use conquering Sumeru would have. Aside from acquiring land and population, what else could she gain?
Now, she finally had the answer.
"In the future, it will be transformed into an academic nation. There are very few schools in this world—so let Sumeru become the exclusive cradle of talent."
Talent had always been a rare resource.
Leon had long wanted to popularize education, but progress had always been slow and unsuccessful.
Even now, despite her overwhelming power, she still couldn't build enough schools across the country.
The reason was simple: it was impossible to get nobles everywhere to cooperate.
In their words—
Commoners only needed to obediently work in the fields. There was no need for them to become intelligent, or even literate.
But now, as long as she had Sumeru, the problem of education could be easily solved.
After all, the most important thing in that country was knowledge.
Its scale was large enough to accommodate hundreds of millions of people attending school.
"It's truly a blind spot. Since we can't build enough schools in Palettia, all we need to do is conquer a kingdom so that everyone can study…"
"However, that would introduce other problems. The scale is sufficient, but the distance is far too great. If an ordinary person travels in a hurry, it could take several months just to reach Sumeru. In that case, they might only be able to attend classes for three or four days a year."
Transportation was an even greater issue.
Not to mention that Sumeru's population would increase explosively, and most parents would never agree to send their children on such a long journey—while many families wouldn't even be able to afford the travel expenses.
"But there is a solution."
The impact would be enormous.
It could even be said to change the world.
Leon could use spatial magic to create portals.
"Well, let's think about the perfect countermeasures after we take Sumeru. It doesn't matter. Nothing in this world is impossible for me anymore." Leon said excitedly.
In any case, she was now almost powerful enough to challenge everything. If anyone dared to harbor ill intentions toward her—
She could randomly select a 'lucky' kingdom and wipe it out as a warning.
This world was complex, yet simple.
As long as you displayed sufficient strength, no one would dare provoke you.
"By the way, how has Lumine been lately?"
Leon suddenly thought of the blonde traveler.
"She's doing well. She has already established connections with many forces in Sumeru that oppose the sages of the Akademiya, and she's also planning to rescue the king," Alpha replied immediately.
"Excellent. Then, Alpha, remember to assist from within. When the time comes, we'll bring Sumeru down in one strike—both from the surface and from the shadows," Leon said enthusiastically.
"Understood. Leave it to us." Alpha nodded with anticipation.
This time, she would finally be able to conquer a major nation without relying solely on Leon's raw power. She was finally confident that she could truly help her beloved.
Well, even if the opponent was a bit weak—
The land area was still there, after all.
No matter what, it was still a massive achievement.
"By the way, there's another intelligence report worth paying attention to. We've discovered that the sister of Lesser Lord Kusanali—Greater Lord Rukkhadevata—appears to still be alive."
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(End of Chapter)