CH696 In-house Agreements

***

"So instead of refining the medicine yourself, you intend to pass the work onto me?" Alex raised another eyebrow.

"I would handle it personally if I could," Eleanore replied with a faintly teasing tone, "but I simply do not have the necessary flame and fire-control techniques. I have nothing comparable to AetherKindle to support me. Besides, I guarantee the entire process would only take you a single day’s work."

"That is not ’only’. I can accomplish a great deal within a single day," Alex replied with a helpless shake of his head.

He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose for a moment, already feeling the beginnings of a headache forming.

’I really should not have agreed to help her research a treatment for berserk transformation...’ he grumbled inwardly.

Even though he grumbled inwardly about the additional workload, Alex had no intention of stopping Eleanore’s research. The project held far too much potential to ignore.

Although they already possessed several preventative measures capable of shielding their future territory from outbreaks of berserk transformation, the phenomenon remained a genuine threat within this plane. Sooner or later, one of their people could come into contact with it—especially once they officially established and expanded their own territory.

Because of this, it was far more prudent to begin developing a treatment—or ideally a complete cure—before such a crisis ever arose.

’Besides, both the Black Scars and the BattleBanes have already agreed to help acquire live subjects for experimentation... along with the previously arranged trade involving wild divine statues.

’Backing out now would make little sense,’ Alex concluded inwardly.

He looked up towards the two seated opposite him.

"Both of you are adding to my workload when you should be helping reduce it," he remarked dryly.

"Very well. But in exchange, the two of you will also need to do something for me."

Alex reached forward, and his hand sank directly into the fabric of space itself. Moments later, he withdrew an object from within his Pocket Dimension.

"I want the two of you to refine this for me," he said.

"Theolonium Ore?" Eleanore raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yes. Raven Horn mentioned that the refinement process is a closely guarded secret held exclusively by the deity temples. The two of you are among the finest Alchemists and Forgesmiths of the younger generation that our plane has to offer. If anyone outside the clergy can decipher the process, I expect it would be the two of you," Alex said with a smile.

"It will not be easy," Sugud replied with a deep frown.

"The same can be said for most of the things you ask of me," Alex commented casually.

Sugud could only smile wryly at that response.

"But what exactly do you even need refined Theolonium for?" Eleanore asked. "Its only known purpose is to store divine energy. It’s not as though you can actually use divine energy yourself."

"How can we be certain of that? Who’s to say I won’t eventually figure out a way?" Alex replied with a grin.

"The same thing was once said about Spatial Energy back in Pangea because it could not be properly contained. Yet eventually, a method was discovered. And now? Spatial Energy serves as one of the cornerstones behind our plane’s interplanar conquests.

"So wouldn’t it be interesting if we discovered a practical use for divine energy as well? Wouldn’t that finally make those parasite Navi now worth something?" Alex’s grin widened slightly.

A faint shiver ran through both Eleanore and Sugud as his words triggered the same terrifying realisation within their minds.

’He wants to turn the Navi into a power source...!’ they deduced simultaneously.

Navi were notoriously difficult to kill. This was a fact that even high-ranking professionals in Pangea—those beyond the Legendary Rank—had long since accepted.

However, what was comparatively easy for such higher existences was sealing a Navi away.

In fact, there were numerous methods of accomplishing this. Nearly every major nation possessed at least several established techniques capable of sealing divine entities.

Since Navi were incredibly troublesome to eliminate permanently for anyone who was not another Navi, the higher powers of Pangea had gradually developed a more practical approach: simply seal them away and allow their divinity to slowly crumble over time until the Navi eventually perished.

It was far more cost-effective.

If Alex truly managed to discover a method of harnessing divine energy and converting it into a practical power source, those utilitarian higher-ups would undoubtedly exploit sealed Navi for every ounce of divine energy they possessed.

Furthermore, it could easily become another major revenue stream for the Golden Palace—or whichever organisation Alex eventually chose to market the method through.

Looking at the man seated opposite them, Eleanore and Sugud almost felt as though they were staring at a madman.

And yet, strangely enough, neither of them doubted that he might actually succeed. In fact, both firmly believed that if there existed anyone insane enough to accomplish such a thing... it would undoubtedly be Alex.

Eleanore, in particular, gazed at him with a faint glitter in her eyes.

Anyone familiar with Alex and his bloodline would naturally assume that this madness stemmed from the Furor side of his lineage.

However, those truly close to him—especially his wives—knew better. Alex possessed his own distinct brand of craziness and quiet insanity, one that rivalled even the madness inherent within his bloodline itself.

Worse still, the two complemented each other disturbingly well.

Case in point, although Alex currently spoke with a dangerous glint of madness in his eyes, his pupils remained their usual ruby-red colour—meaning he was not under the influence of Calm Madness.

’People often say there is only a thin line between genius and madness,’ Eleanore thought inwardly. ’But in his case... that line no longer exists. Whenever he does something, one must choose for oneself what they are truly witnessing—genius... or madness.’

Without question, she saw genius.

And for a distinct reason... that excited her.

Alex himself remained entirely oblivious to the unsettling gleam within his eyes as he spoke. Nor did he feel anything unusual or amiss about his own state of mind.

Instead, he simply stared intently at the two before him, silently pressing them for an answer.

"You’re making this sound like a trade. What—solve your problems and you’ll solve ours?" Eleanore said with an amused smile.

"I suppose it is a trade," Alex admitted. "But it is not a matter of ’if’—it is a matter of ’and’. I’ll resolve your requests, AND the two of you will resolve mine. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Eleanore replied without hesitation.

Sugud nodded as well.

"Excellent. Then let’s deal with this immediately," Alex said suddenly. "Sugud, I’ll handle the rune inscriptions later once all the crossbows are completed. As for mass production, there is actually a simple solution—assembly production."

"Assembly production? Would that even work?" Sugud asked sceptically. Although he was not unfamiliar with the concept, he still found it difficult to imagine in practice.

"The crossbow is not a sword or a suit of armour. It consists of multiple individual components. As long as you properly assess and standardise the parts supplied by different craftsmen, the overall quality of the final product should not suffer significantly once you assemble everything personally.

"More importantly, since only you would possess knowledge of the final assembly and complete blueprint, the secrecy of the weapon’s true design would remain protected," Alex explained.

Sugud nodded thoughtfully as he considered the proposal.

"If you are still concerned about security, you can also commission several dummy parts alongside the genuine components," Alex continued. "That way, even if someone notices the large-scale orders and somehow acquires every part, they would still struggle to determine the actual design."

"Speak with Udara regarding that matter. She should be able to help you devise a foolproof operational plan," he added.

After a brief pause, Alex continued once more.

"You can also consult Raven Horn regarding the commissions. He understands the local artisan circles better than anyone else here. He should be able to connect you with craftsmen who are both capable and trustworthy."

Sugud nodded again.

With that, his concerns had largely been resolved.

Alex then shifted his attention towards Eleanore.

"You are going to help with the potion refinement, right?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes," Alex replied, returning the smile with a playful glint in his eyes, "but not in the way you are imagining. Instead of merely giving you fish, why not teach you how to fish for yourself?"

"What do you mea—?"

"What would you think about obtaining an AetherKindle of your own?" Alex interrupted with a question of his own.

Eleanore froze in surprise.

"You speak as though Primal Origin Flames grow on trees," she commented dryly.

"I may not be capable of mass-producing them quite so casually," Alex replied, "but what if I could pass on a fragment of AetherKindle to you?"

A strange duality flickered within Alex’s eyes at that moment—a mixture of brilliance and madness intertwined so seamlessly that the boundary between the two became impossible to distinguish.

***