Chapter 215
Edward laid down in the hastily built campground, and with his cheerful demeanor, he skillfully kept his voice down as he began to take charge in this place.
They were able to confirm that the Korato forces were taken over and currently occupied by some mysterious force, but the identity of the other party and Korato’s response to them were still mysteries. It would be far too insufficient information to send back to Arkrest Kingdom.
「Now then, about our goals from now on, and what we should do to achieve them, let us discuss it again. A shared sense of purpose is the most basic element of good teamwork, after all」
As Edward kneeled on the ground, and continued to speak while meeting the eyes of everyone there, Lynette shyly raised her hand and asked for permission to speak.
「The objective is to infiltrate and uncover the identity of the occupying force, if possible. Is that correct?」
「Yes, if possible, that is. There is no need for us to take back control over the Tenkeiki, or for us to destroy the occupying force. Not many days have passed since the Tenkeiki’s defection, and Korato is probably still in the process of gathering information within their own country.
And since Dran entrusted me with Lynette, I don’t want to do anything reckless, but personally, I do have some concerns about the Tenkeiki’s defection. As long as the ruins are still intact, I’d like to make contact with the information terminal and extract some info from it」
The look of anguish on Edward’s face, which was rare to see on him, was because Lynette was someone who must be brought back home safely, no matter what, but this was preventing him from working as recklessly or excessively as he usually did.
Although Lynette was still in the middle of developing her emotions, she could sense Edward’s consideration and his sense of responsibility toward her, but she wasn’t able to say what she thought would be the appropriate words, even though she wished she could.
Instead, what came out of Lynette’s mouth was a question about the origins of Edward’s worries.
「Professor, what do you have questions about?」
「Well, probably, they’re the same questions you and Dran and Korato’s Lord Kyoukaikun have. Despite how long it took Korato to gain control and authority over the Tenkeiki that they discovered, the ones who forced them to defect were able to do so too quickly.
Even if the one behind this was someone from Todorokuni, it’s hard to imagine that there’s this much of a difference between them and Korato, even if Todorokuni is the best nation in the world at researching the Celestial Beings.
Well, it’s also possible that Todorokuni’s research has advanced dramatically, or they just happened to have done a lot of research on the Tenkeiki already, and I just don’t know about it」
「I see, I think Master Dran would agree, while saying “fumu” to you. After listening to your explanation, I was convinced, but I also have new questions as well.
If the Tenkeiki’s defection was caused by Todorokuni, the composition of the opposition has not changed, so although this may sound imprudent, this means the simple composition of the enemy also remains the same. But, if, by chance this was the work of some force outside of Todorokuni, then…」
「Yes, that would be a problem. Because it would mean there is a third party interfering in the war between Korato’s Three-Nation Alliance and Todorokuni. But looking around at the surrounding countries, I can’t really see any of them doing that.
Romal should be putting all of their energy into eliminating and resolving their own internal issues, Arkrest Kingdom should profit from remaining as a spectator, and the southern nations would benefit more from helping Korato, rather than Todorokuni」
Edward was right again, and Lynette silently nodded in affirmation.
If she analyzed the maps in her mind of the surrounding countries, she knew they would probably be happier to see Todorokuni, the largest and most powerful country in the southern part of the continent, decline and shrink, rather than prosper and expand.
The fact that Arkrest Kingdom wasn’t the only one silently supporting the Three-Nation Alliance of Gandula, Mashur, and Korato, was proof of that.
If the countries to the south and west of Todorokuni aren’t involved in the defection of the Tenkeiki, they would have to look elsewhere for answers.
「Then, what about Akitsukuni, to the east of Korato?」
For Yachiyo, going undercover as “Wan-Wan,” and Fuuko as “Kon-Kon,” Akitsukuni was their homeland. It was a unique nation with an original culture of magic and a deep connection to a vast number of gods.
They have a long history of interactions with Todorokuni, sometimes friendly, and sometimes clashing blades and spilling blood, but right now, they are currently in a truce. Could the current situation be a result of a secret feud with Akitsukuni?
「Hmm, I wonder about that. It’s not clear how much that country knows about Celestial-related things. Besides, the main part of Akitsukuni is too far away, and as long as they are on the side against Todorokuni, there is little incentive for them to cause a situation like this」
「In that case, then who could it be…?」
「We have no choice but to conclude that there’s no way for us to know for sure」
Edward shrugged his shoulders helplessly, but since they were going to have to go in and confirm things by themselves, there is no doubt that there will be many more hardships waiting for them.
However, the ruins naturally had solid defenses, so they couldn’t just walk right in through the entrance.
If there are people patrolling around the mountain, they might be able to attack and strip them of their equipment, and use it to infiltrate, but since there weren’t a whole lot of guards patrolling, they might notice any unfamiliar faces immediately.
In that case, they could use magic to become invisible or block their presence from others’ awareness, or they could hide among supply shipments to get inside, but then Eliza, who had remained silent until now, suggested a way that could work for their current group.
「If we have to infiltrate inside, then we can use Koura’s Perfect World」
To Lynette, Eliza’s voice sounded similar to Diadora’s when she was bragging about Lynette.
Ever since Zephyranthus and the others were left in Edward and Eliza’s care, it was easy to imagine them accompanying Edward on his adventures, but Lynette suddenly realized that she had a strong interest in how each of their lives had turned out.
「Yeah, Eliza’s right. In this case, we can gather a lot of information just by taking a peek inside. We’ll have Koura handle it」
When Edward and Eliza looked his way, Zephyranthus — Koura smiled faintly with a gentle appearance. Even Lynette could tell that with that smile, he was wordlessly saying, “Leave it to me.”
「Professor, Miss Eliza, I also agree that Perfect World would be useful here, but who do you mean by Koura? Is that Zephyranthus’ new name?」
「Oh, that’s right, we didn’t tell you about it yet. Eliza and I chose to give them new names.
Koura is Zephyranthus, Cacubus is Physalis, Mace is Dendrobium, and Sheila is Gerbera. They didn’t complain or anything, so we were nervous when we named them, wondering if they would like it or not」
「I see, so you gave them new names? That is certainly not something that you can do casually. It’s understandable that the two of you were nervous」
For Lynette, the time when her creator, Ishel, gave her the name “Lynette,” was a memory that she could never forget, even if she tried.
She was originally supposed to be like her sister Lielle, who had fallen from his grasp like a ball dropped from his hand. Although her appearance was the same as Lielle’s, her personality was completely different, but instead of disparaging Lynette as a failure, he had thought of her as a daughter, yet he couldn’t easily acknowledge her existence…
She would never forget how bright his face looked as he gave her the name “Lynette,” even after he had sunk into a swamp of agony and impatience, and anyone observing him would have clearly recognized his frustration.
「Do you like the names that the Professor and Miss Eliza gave you all?」
Lynette’s question must have been something that Edward and Eliza were curious about, too. How could she ask that question so directly? She might be similar to Dran in their inability to read or care about the atmosphere of the place.
Sheila, who bore the brunt of Lynette’s question, opened her mouth slightly to answer, with an expression on her face similar to Lynette’s.
「They are good names, and Mace, Cacubus, and Koura and I are pleased with it… No, that’s not quite it. We’re not just pleased, we like them」
「Is that so? That makes even me happy」
Lynette, unbeknownst to herself, was also smiling faintly to herself, as if she were congratulating Sheila and the others.
Seeing the picturesque scene of Lynette and Sheila and the others smiling together, Edward and Eliza looked over them with gazes full of affection, but it seems Sheila had some small doubts about Lynette’s reaction. With a really, really small tilt of her head, she asked a question.
「Why are you happy, Lynette? We have no connection to you」
When she was asked this, Lynette also tilted her head. The sight of the two girls tilting their heads at each other as if they were mirror images of each other became more and more amusing, and Edward and Eliza could have forgotten that they were currently in a very dangerous area.
「Even if you say that, it’s an unmistakable truth that I am happy.
This is just my opinion, so I can’t give you a clear answer, but if you consider the causal relationship between us, there might be something close to an answer there」
「The causal relationship, between us, and Lynette?」
Sheila expressed her question in halting speech, and looked toward Koura, Cacubus and Mace. Except for Sheila, the other three had already reached adulthood in appearance, but there wasn’t that much of a difference in the states of their mental maturity.
「I am a Living Golem created from Lielle’s corpse in order to bring her back to life, and in the process, you were all created as part of the research for that regeneration technology.
If you look at it from that perspective, I am what I am today because of all of you. That is why, to me, in addition to Grand Master Ishel, we may not be related by blood, but I can say that we are connected.
And if the people I consider my relatives are happy, then I can sympathize and feel happy as well. So you can assume that I will feel happy if you are happy」
Even though Lynette was talking about something related to herself, she continued to speak in a reserved manner, but as she continued to speak, she slowly became convinced, bit by bit, that she was smiling because she truly felt that way.
She was in a state of mind of being completely satisfied. Koura and the others listened to Lynette’s explanation to the very end, holding off on voicing their doubts or objections.
「I understand Lynette’s thinking. Knowing all that, we, it’s a little hard to say, but we’re a little? Quite? Probably? Convinced. I shall correct my statement from earlier, that we are not connected. There always was a connection, between us and Lynette」
「Yes. And that is a joyful thing, that is what I feel from my heart」
「Yes, we think so too」
And so Lynette and Sheila and the others all smiled at each other bashfully. Truly, if this wasn’t such a dangerous and threatening place, it would have been a place full of smiles between these people of innocent hearts!
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