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Casual though she sounded, Hector had to take pause at what she was doing here. It looked harmless enough, he supposed, but this was also the first time he was seeing a Sparrow using their mind powers to manipulate a person's body. "Is that... just your normal telekinesis?" he asked. "Or are you actually manipulating their brains in order to make their limbs move?" Perhaps that was a distinction without a difference, but to him, the latter seemed far scarier than the former.

Pauline tilted her head at him, taking a moment to deliberate. 'It's telekinesis. I don't think taking over the brain in such a way is even possible.'

Hector doubted that. Not her word but her opinion. Impossible? Unlikely. Such a power was far too similar to that of Geoffrey Rofal. Maybe he was mistaken and aberration abilities were not really comparable, but he had a feeling that there weren't many things that were truly impossible in this world.


Chapter Two Hundred Seventy-Seven: 'O, pernicious Weasel...'
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Boy, these Vantalayans were a real mess. Both politically and psychologically, they were all over the place. Saying one thing, doing the opposite. Arguing over minutiae and trivialities for hours. Perceiving slights left and right. Reading the absolute worst into every single person who didn't share their heady opinions about how their government should function.

Vanderberk found them hilarious.

So easy to provoke. One little word, one little idea floated in their direction--that was all it took to set some of these people off.

He had to give them credit, though. They weren't cowards. They spoke their minds, even to their bosses. Even to their bosses' bosses.

Even to him.

Granted, the latter was none too smart on their part, but Vanderberk could respect it. Not enough to let the ones who annoyed him live, but he could respect it. He made sure they were properly buried afterward, at least. Courage deserved some kind of reward, after all.

This whole war front was quite the shit show. The Vantalayan borders were a constant battleground in both the east and west. Vantalay, alone, was fighting four separate nations in this war. Lyste in the west, and Naos, Yena Maria, and Czacoa in the east. Thankfully, those last three were tiny countries with scarcely enough independent military power to take down a few violent smugglers, let alone the Vantalayan Armed Forces.