A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1140 - Chapter 1140 Chapter 783 Time Flies

Chapter 1140: Chapter 783: Time Flies Chapter 1140: Chapter 783: Time Flies They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.

But for Duanmu Huai, it was really a case of looking at someone with new eyes.

He remembered that Weber had been a youngster not even 20 years old, and now he sported the face of a corporate drone…

“What have you all been making him do?”

Duanmu Huai scrutinized the man before him, and truth be told, no matter how he looked, he just didn’t match the memory he had of him.

“I remember this guy used to be a bit short, and now he’s grown so tall? Did he take hormones or get plastic surgery?”

“I didn’t get plastic surgery, Great Judge…”

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s teasing, Weber stood up, watching him with a helpless expression.

“It’s just… sigh, over the years, this is what I’ve turned into.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, looking at what a life you’ve led, if you shave your head and go out on the street, people might think you’ve just been released from prison. Is the role of a monarch so difficult to endure?”

“Sigh…”

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s query, Weber truly sighed… Life was indeed not easy. Although the Tribunal supported him and the El-Melloi Family wasn’t in debt, and they had even earned considerable connections through supporting other magicians and thanks to Medea who once opened a classroom, not to mention that Reines, Sakura, and Fiore had blossomed in strength, providing a solid foundation for the El-Melloi Family.

However, just as delicious food attracts flies, in fact, inside Clock Tower, many coveted the El-Melloi Family’s wealth and strength. With Duanmu Huai present, these people could only cower. But after the departure of the Tribunal, these individuals began scheming behind the scenes, transferring the El-Melloi Family from the Archaeology department to the Modern Magic department as part of their probing.

Besides, numerous families also proposed matrimonial alliances with Reines, Sakura, and Fiore. After all, Sakura possessed the very rare Imaginary Attributes, and she was a direct disciple of Medea. Any Magician Family naturally wished to integrate such bloodline into their own. Fiore’s ability in Spirit-falling Technique and anthropotomy was also coveted by many families, comparable to a first-class lecturer.

If Duanmu Huai had been there, a single “Scram” would have solved it, but Weber–El-Melloi II didn’t have that authority, not to mention that the families eyeing El-Melloi were not those of the middle or lower tier but rather families who were also among the Twelve Monarchs, which compounded the problem.

Thus, he had no choice but to engage in cunning maneuvering with those old foxes, and that’s why the wrinkles between his brows were multiplying.

Not only that, within the El-Melloi Faction itself, there was always a force opposing him.

When the Tribunal first arrived, Medea had publicly taught classes, and for this reason, there had always been a voice within the El-Melloi Faction that Age of God magic was the most formidable. However, after El-Melloi II took over and was moved to Modern Magic, they considered it a humiliation.

Magicians were beings that sought the past by their nature. Due to Medea’s presence, many in the El-Melloi Family felt that it added to the family’s nobility. Although it didn’t bring any practical benefits, it was at least something to brag about, similar to a peerage conferred by the Queen. Even if it’s just a baronetcy, doesn’t it set one apart from the commoners?

After being relegated to the department of Modern Magic, it felt like to these people as if they had gone from esteemed nobility to lowly stable hands, so they directed their anger at El-Melloi II, blaming his lack of effort for their disgrace.

Although he had the support of Reines and had obtained Duanmu Huai’s consent, they could not dethrone El-Melloi II, but giving him some trouble was enough to add to his already heavy burden.

Another aspect was that under Duanmu Huai’s influence, the El-Melloi Family sponsored much magical research. Some of these turned out successfully, while others went disastrously off track, forcing them to seek help from El-Melloi, and as the monarch, El-Melloi II had no choice but to step in.

Although he himself was not very strong, he did have a gift for this area, and after a few instances, even Clock Tower recognized that El-Melloi II was adept at solving magical dilemmas. So, whenever there was a problem, they came to him.

Of course, this unlucky fellow did not want to involve himself, but, alas, his refusal was not an option. Duanmu Huai had brought Medea, making a contribution to Clock Tower, which solidified the monarch’s position. El-Melloi II had not Duanmu Huai’s strength; he could only raise the El-Molloi Family’s status by resolving such issues.

Luckily, he had the help of Reines, Sakura, and Fiore–after all, in terms of combat ability, he was truly subpar.

Take the recent Holy Grail War, for instance; he too had wanted to participate, but due to some private matters, he ultimately had to give up.

And now with Duanmu Huai’s return, El-Melloi II felt a sense of relief. With this comeback, the heavy weight he’d been carrying…

“However, it seems since you are doing well, keep up the good work.”

Yet, Duanmu Huai’s next statement plunged El-Melloi II, on the verge of freedom, back into hell. He widened his eyes in astonishment, looking at Duanmu Huai, just like an office worker who hears from the boss, just as he’s about to enjoy the holidays after overtime, that the holiday is canceled, with shock and disbelief.

Oh, and without overtime pay.

Purely uncompensated overtime.

“Do you have a problem?”

Duanmu Huai glanced at El-Melloi II, who then fell silent for a moment.

“Don’t you plan to return to assume the role of monarch?”

“For now, I still have duties to fulfill, but I’ve brought manpower from the Tribunal this time.”

While saying this, Duanmu Huai looked towards Anhe Guleiya and others beside him.

“They will stay here temporarily, and Ann will make the following decisions in my stead. Ann, you know what I mean. The El-Melloi Family has joined the Tribunal, and you need to ensure who can be involved.”

“I understand, Mr. Knight; leave it to me.”

Ann nodded, gazing confidently at Reines and the others before her. Although she was about to face the Monarch of the Clock Tower, to Ann, the Princess of Manaria, he was merely another Nobleman by rank. Of course, the reason Duanmu Huai did this was because this timeline was getting increasingly closer to that of Chaldea.

Currently, Chaldea had diverged from its original timeline, thus avoiding the burning of human order. This also meant that Chaldea’s future could be altered; in fact, what Duanmu Huai needed to do was to quickly finish the construction of Chaldea, recruit staff, and then let Olga Marie take charge as the director–if all these conditions met, the next moment, Chaldea would be like a fish caught on a hook, colluding with this past to form a new, complete timeline.

In other words, when Chaldea could return to the normal timeline depended entirely on when this past’s Chaldea was completed.

Once Chaldea of this time point was finished and Olga Marie became the director, the timeline would immediately shift to–recruiting test subjects–starting the Spirit Particle Conversion experiments–an explosion during the experiment leads to Chaldea’s destruction, Duanmu Huai and the others heading to Singularity F–after returning, they would be cut off from the world.

Thus, the cause and effect would all be linked. If everything went quickly, it should take no more than a year.

However, there was another problem.

That was the mastermind behind the scenes.

Only by solving this could the future of Chaldea avoid the burning of human order, the destruction of the world.

“Remember, the Clock Tower is just that; those Monarchs will not be your match. With Greiya and Felin’s help, the El-Melloi Family’s power in the Clock Tower is absolute. You can discuss the rest with Reines, but you must act specifically as I have requested concerning the methods. For Chaldea’s issue, you can talk to Mash…”

Ann was, after all, a magic genius, so Duanmu Huai had made it clear to her before that she had to construct the entire Chaldea exactly like in the future. It was like assembling blocks, where every part must fit perfectly to be inserted and connected. If there was one misalignment, the past and the future would not be connected.

“I understand, Mr. Knight. Rest assured, it’s in my hands.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Faced with Ann’s confident response, Duanmu Huai just nodded. After all… being skilled in magic and understanding politics, as well as the style of the Tribunal, only Ann fit the bill.

As for Duanmu Huai… after bidding farewell to Ann and the others, he re-established contact with Mash and Doctor Roman.

However, the situation of the final Singularity was indeed beyond Duanmu Huai’s expectations.

“You’re saying… the future?”

“That’s right.”

Doctor Roman’s expression was very grave as he nodded emphatically.

“This time, the Singularity detected by Chaldea is not in the past but in the future, and it’s a future almost devoid of magic.”

“What do you mean, ‘almost devoid of magic’?”

“Simply put, it seems that world has no magic at all. Up until now, our Spirit Particle Conversion at Chaldea required magic power to collect data for teleportation. But that future seems to have no Spirit Particles sufficient for our needs… in simple terms, we’re unable to reach that future through Spirit Particle Conversion, and from our current observations, it seems to be closer to a world of advanced technology.”

“So you mean to say…”

Hearing this, Duanmu Huai furrowed his brows, and Roman nodded again.

“Exactly, the other party has clearly become aware of our actions. Currently, it seems they’ve concluded that magic alone isn’t enough to stop us, so they’ve chosen the future–while the past is fixed, the future is unclear. But judging by the other’s actions, it seems they plan to fix one of the futures to influence the past!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, this timeline is really messed up.”

Duanmu Huai shook his head helplessly. Doctor Roman’s message was clear; the enemy had found they couldn’t beat them in the past and thus ran to the future, trying to fix a future where magic couldn’t be used. Once such a future was settled, it would spell the greatest crisis.

“If Spirit Particle Conversion is unfeasible, it means that future magicians would basically be useless, right?”

“…Yes, I’m sorry, but we currently can’t find a way to reach that Singularity.”

“That’s okay; I’ll think of something.”

Duanmu Huai thought for a moment, nodded, and then he closed his eyes and quickly connected to Audrey at the Tribunal through telepathy.

“Audrey, are you there?”

“Here, master. What would you like me to do?”

Even through time and space, the response between a Soul Card and its holder is never severed.

“Go find Lumiaire.”

Duanmu Huai silently issued the command to Audrey.

“I need her help with something.”