A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1104 - Chapter 1104 Chapter 757 Negotiation Established

Chapter 1104: Chapter 757: Negotiation Established Chapter 1104: Chapter 757: Negotiation Established The car glided forward along the street, and within the cabin echoed a laughter like the ringing of silver bells.

“Ha ha ha ha ha… I truly never anticipated that I would get to see such an expression on the face of the Clock Tower Lord. Brother, you’re really something, although it’s said that both a whip and sugar are necessary for negotiations, isn’t having one hand holding a nuclear bomb and the other a lollipop a bit too much?”

The source of the laughter was Reines, who, at the moment, was gleefully bouncing in her seat, swinging her legs left and right in a manner befitting her age, like a child brimming with excitement after having just watched a movie.

“I simply gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse.”

Seated in the back, Duanmu Huai appeared quite composed. Generally speaking, a car cabin as small as this one should have been unable to accommodate him. However, the Clock Tower seemed to employ some kind of magic, making the cabin appear not as cramped as it would from the outside, but rather spacious.

It was unexpected that spatial magic could be applied to such a degree; it seemed if I practiced more, I might be able to drive cars in the future.

“But even though you say that, the faces of those monarchs at the time were all pale, and it’s amazing that they eventually accepted your proposal, Brother. After all, nobles would rather die than give up their honor.”

Despite her words, Reines clearly understood why the monarchs agreed to Duanmu Huai’s demands. She too could feel that at that moment, Duanmu Huai had activated the entire spirit veins of Britain, not relying on some magical outfit or a special magic array, but simply the aura he emitted causing the spirit veins of the British Isles to tremble violently. This was tantamount to Duanmu Huai being able to destroy everything on this land in a fleeting thought.

As he said, it wasn’t out of the question that the entire British Isles could sink into the sea floor.

This clearly surpassed human realms and could even rival the wrath of the gods. No matter what, Duanmu Huai had displayed his strength, and for the other lords of the Clock Tower–that left them with very little choice.

“However, you’ll need to work hard, as time is limited.”

“I know.”

Reines nodded her head.

The lords of the Clock Tower indeed unconditionally agreed to all of Duanmu Huai’s demands, including the temporary suspension of the warrant put on Aozaki Mikan. But that was because there was a time limit–yes, according to Duanmu Huai, he would only act as the El-Melloi agent until Reines succeeded to the position, meaning after a maximum of ten years, the Tribunal and Duanmu Huai’s protection might leave the El-Melloi Family.

“Brother, you’re really cunning, making us the target of other people’s grudges. Magicians are monsters that cling to the past to death. After you leave, the El-Melloi Family will definitely suffer the furious retaliation of other lords.”

“That will be your problem.”

In response to Reines’s complaint, Duanmu Huai shrugged his shoulders. By the way, it was also a formality for Reines to recognize Duanmu Huai as her sworn brother, since Duanmu Huai was currently the proxy of the El-Melloi Family. Even as a proxy, if it was someone unrelated to the family, there could be problems. Initially, Reines even expressed her willingness to be engaged to Duanmu Huai, but he had no interest in such a young kid, and so they simply addressed each other as siblings.

Furthermore, Duanmu Huai never planned to follow Doctor Roman’s ideas and support a monarch of the celestial department. After all, for him, as long as he accomplished the creation of Chaldea and found Olga Marie to become the director, he could be connected to the future.

With that being the case, who built Chaldea was irrelevant, wasn’t it?

What mattered was that Chaldea was constructed, and that was enough.

This reminded Duanmu Huai of a movie where the protagonist went back to the past, fell in love with the heroine, then died to protect her, while the heroine gave birth to the protagonist… Was this some sort of time-loop paradox?

Ultimately, Duanmu Huai wasn’t familiar with the establishment of Chaldea; he was like a transfer student who changed schools halfway. Could you really expect him to know about the new school? So if it were Doctor Roman who came to this era, he might try to do things as he remembered, but as far as Duanmu Huai was concerned… he just needed to get Chaldea built, and he couldn’t care less about the rest.

In short, that was pretty much it, and the rest could be left to time to correct.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Duanmu Huai was a fool. In simple terms, the reason he was not fond of using cunning schemes was partly because Duanmu Huai indeed wasn’t very good at it, and also as a precaution against Cunning Deception. If you employ tricks too often, you can easily become entangled in them. In comparison, solving everything with fists is much simpler. Should there be any problems, it’s easier to sort them out.

However, this did not mean that Duanmu Huai would not resort to some tricks.

Without the need for Reines to remind him, Duanmu Huai was aware that these Lords would not let things go so easily. They would surely observe him in secret, seeking his weaknesses, in order to strike deals or make certain exchanges with him. If Duanmu Huai started preparing for Chaldea’s construction too obviously right after he got the position, he would definitely be seen through by others.

So he had his own plans, for as the art of war states, show strength as weakness and vice versa. In short, he would first see if the Lord of Astronomy would still create Chaldea according to historical records, and if he was unwilling, it wouldn’t be too late for Duanmu Huai to take over.

After all, there was no rush for time.

Yes, time.

In the past, it was the one thing there was no shortage of. There were many ways to return from the past to the future, but what if someone returned to the past and could not get back to the future?

There were still ways to manage this, the best being to simply stay in the past and wait for the flow of time to connect to the future before returning.

For instance, Duanmu Huai could just stay in this world until “the future” when he was transported back from Chaldea, and then return.

It was just that he didn’t have the patience for it.

After that, everything went smoothly.

Either Duanmu Huai’s threat had an effect, or the Lords decided that revenge is a dish best served cold because, in the end, the Crown Position decision was made according to Duanmu Huai’s demands.

The El-Melloi Family would continue to be among the twelve Lords; that wouldn’t change. Then came the division of departments–Duanmu Huai himself wasn’t fixated on the Mineralogy department, so after discussions among the Lords, he made a swap with the neutral Meyastia Family, which held the Archaeology department. Simply put, the Lord of the Meyastia Family who used to control Archaeology would move to Mineralogy, while Archaeology would come under the El-Melloi Family’s management.

This sort of arrangement was also a gesture of goodwill from the Meyastia Family, the leaders of the neutral faction, since the Archaeology department had the most secrets and relics. It was a big sacrifice for the Meyastia Family to offer this directly.

However, it made sense, given that the El-Melloi Family had Medea. Modern magicians going on archaeological digs called that archaeology, but for Medea, it was reliving her life… And when it came to understanding these secrets and relics, surely no one was more profound than a Magician of the Age of Gods.

Medea’s first lecture at the Clock Tower was so well attended it left the streets deserted. After all, this was a lesson from a Magician of the Age of Gods. Not just the students, but even the instructors were desperate to gain entry. Some were eager for firsthand information from the Age of Gods, others hoped to have their mysteries solved by a Magician of the Age of Gods, and still others longed to learn everything from a Magician of the Age of Gods–after all, magicians are beings in pursuit of the past, and Medea, as a legendary Heroic Spirit, was almost the pinnacle of their pursuit, second only to the Root.

Or rather, Medea represented the image of the oldest and most perfect magician that these magicians strove for.

As a result, many families turned towards El-Melloi, using various methods and strategies in hopes of joining the Archaeology department to be guided by Medea. Duanmu Huai left these tedious political deals to Reines to handle. Although he didn’t know how much the El-Melloi Family gained afterward, by the way Reines seemed to be floating on air as she walked, it was obvious that the El-Melloi Family had made a tremendous profit.

By the way, Sakura also joined the El-Melloi Family. To be honest, Reines was quite surprised when she learned of Sakura’s Imaginary Attributes and strongly suggested that the position of heir be given to Sakura. According to Reines, she was already fed up with the deceit and treachery among magicians. If it weren’t for some luck and the most compatible Origin Imprint, it would have never fallen to a minor branch like hers to become the heir.

Thus, now that she saw someone suitable to inherit that position, Reines was eager to step aside… unfortunately, both Duanmu Huai and Sakura refused.

The world of the magicians was too complex and sinister, and Duanmu Huai did not believe that Sakura, the honest child, could match others in political scheming and treachery. However, the relationship between Reines and Sakura had turned out to be quite good. Even though Reines appeared to enjoy teasing Sakura on the surface, they got along as if they were close sisters.

After all, with the protection of the El-Melloi Family, Sakura could live a normal life in the Magic World even without a Magic Seal, and for Reines, having Sakura with Imaginary Attributes join the El-Melloi Family was a trump card.

Moreover, Sakura was now being taught by Medea and could be considered an apprentice of Medea. When it came to understanding Imaginary Attributes, the Magicians of the Age of Gods were more familiar than modern magicians, and Imaginary Attributes refer to substances that might exist but do not in the material world, almost akin to mysteries themselves. So compared to ordinary magicians, Sakura was actually closer to a Magician of the Age of Gods.

And she was the kind that could perform magic from the Age of Gods without having to make a pact with a deity.

For Duanmu Huai, this was just the beginning.

And what followed was the main event.