Tale of Discovery

Chapter 151: Aerial Network ; Suspicion

Ignoring the looks she's being given, Aruru simply closes her eyes and places her head against my chest as I continue to rub her head.

Anyway, my main objective during this meeting should be gathering as much information as I can.

First, I should start with a basic question,

"Where were you all during my return?"

As if just realizing that the meeting is about to be undergone, the three generals hastily take a seat at the table.

Then, Godeffroy begins explaining,

"We were all near the edge of Albion. Due to Your Highness's state being unclear, the soldiers were willing to fight in your name.

"And thus, we were preparing for an assault when news of Your Highness's return reached us."

Listening to his explanation, I realize that parts don't seem to make sense.

"How did you manage to get here so quickly?"

This time, instead of Godeffroy, Yvonne responds,

"We made use of the Aerial Network."

Curious, I raise a brow and repeat,

"Aerial Network?"

Nodding her head, Yvonne tells me about the existence of a tunnel network right below Albion that's commonly used by royalty as a means of transportation.

Apparently, Lizette decided that the situation required its usage, so she taught the generals how to make use of it.

So, why is this tunnel network called "Aerial Network" despite being underground? That's simply because of the way the transportation works.

The way the Aerial Network works is nothing short of fascinating. It's practically like a metro, except the fact that it doesn't require electricity to operate.

Instead, it uses the same thing that Albion as whole uses to stay afloat: wind-stones.

Basically, they had found a way to properly extract wind-stones and configure them so that they can be used in machinery.

It doesn't take a genius to guess that the machine I took down was making use of these wind-stones to fly.

Anyway, I asked them for a detailed description of the Aerial Network and the locations it can reach.

Once I obtained everything I wanted, I began thinking of the more complicated stuff, for example, how the hell did they manage to build this thing?

Unless it is deep underground, I can see a lot of ways that this would've gone wrong.

Then again, this world is unnatural in a lot of ways, so I can understand how something that normally would've been extremely hard could be done more easily.

Letting out a sigh, I take a glance at the three generals. As I'm about to inquire about the state of our forces, Ludovic raises his body from the ground and looks around with a baffled expression on his face.

The three generals gawk at him with a bewildered expression on their faces.

"How is he alive?" Yvonne mutters.

Well, of course, he would be alive. I had granted him immortality for a reason.

I can't him die just like this, now, can I? There is the possibility of him having information and skills that the other generals might not have.

Simply put, it's much better to use him than killing him.

---

"We're finally done," Yuno says once we leave the council room.

"I enjoyed it," Saturnus surprisingly states, "It reminded me of the days the Creator would hold a meeting to gather information and act upon them."

"Now that I think about it," Yuno says, "You're from Higgins, aren't you?"

"That's correct," Saturnus replies.

"I wonder what it looks like", Yuno continues, "I've never been there before."

"Higgins was mainly maintained by the Creator and the other parts of Genesis, so it's a rather splendid place."

Huh? Did she just say 'Genesis'?

"Hey, Saturnus," I say a little impatiently, "What is Genesis?"

"Genesis, you ask? Isn't that what everyone says when referring to the Creator and his wives?"

Hearing her words, I feel like there is something off. No way that they would give such a name for no reason, so I look over at Yuno and say,

"You should know, right? Tell me, Yuno. What is Genesis, exactly?"

Letting out a sigh, Yuno simply says,

"It's the name of the Program that we were a part of."

Genesis is a Program? Not only that, but I was a part of it too? Things are beginning to make more sense now, albeit a little.

Based on this, my foes aren't just targeting me, but everyone who was a part of the Genesis Program.

Why, though? What's their reason for doing so? Surely, they didn't just hate us because we were superior to them or something, right?

Could it be that it has something to do with the vision I saw?

Intrigued, I begin describing the places I saw in my vision.

The latter of the two worlds is what Saturnus identified as Higgins.

Unfortunately, they weren't able to recognize the former one, so I gave them more details.

The moment I got to the part regarding Alpha's appearance, Yuno remarks,

"Isn't that your pet?"

A little bewildered, I voice,

"Pet?"

"Well, isn't that what she was? Whenever I saw her, she was silent and only obeyed whatever you ordered her," Yuno explains the reason for calling her as such.

"That doesn't make her a pet," Saturnus chimes in, "It just means that she was a devoted girl that listened to whatever the Creator told her."

As the girls begin discussing some useless matter among themselves, I think of what I found out from this short discussion.

From the looks of it, the past me didn't tell anyone about the Platform that Alpha is from.

For some reason, it's making me feel uneasy.

Setting that aside, I now need to get back to the academy to retrieve the two Grimoires.

Deciding that I shouldn't waste any more time, I inform the girls of my intention. Having told them what needs to be said, I get down and kiss Aruru's cheek before saying,

"I will be gone for a short while. Make sure to listen to be a good girl, alright?"

Nodding her head, Aruru beams me a smile and says,

"Don't worry, Father! I will punish all who disrespect you."

Finding her adorable, I directly embrace her petite body and whisper,

"Just be careful, okay?"

Hugging me back, Aruru responds,

"Of course!"

Letting go of her, I get up and glance at each one of the girls before using Norse Magic to teleport myself to the academy.

Naturally, I formed a gateway connected to Louise's dorm room, as that is the best location to do so.

Unfortunately, I seem to have run out of luck, as the moment I step out of the gateway, I am met with the sight of a shocked Henrietta who's sitting beside Louise on the bed.

As for Louise, she just has a dumbfounded look on her face before she exclaims,

"Victor, where were you?!"

Seeing the worried and slightly reprimanding look on her face, I grin and say,

"What, did you miss me?"

Right after I say so, a blush covers Louise's face as she turns her head to the side and says.

"Who would miss you?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I shift my attention over to Henrietta who still seems to be out of it.

I approach the bed and sit down before saying,

"Henrietta, what are you doing here?"

Breaking out of her stupor, Henrietta takes in a deep breath before saying in a serious tone,

"Kingdom of Gallia has been acting suspiciously."

"How so?" I inquire, knowing that this matter is of importance.

"So, it's like this," Henrietta begins explaining, "I had spent some spies over to obtain information, but I never expected that they would send over information regarding military movements."

Hearing her words, I squint my eyes and say,

"How certain are you of the loyalty of the spies you sent over?"

Obviously confused, Henrietta asks dubiously,

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what you think. Can you trust these spies?"

As if realization just dawned upon her, Henrietta says,

"Are you suggesting that the information is false?"

I shake my head and explain what I make of this situation,

"Chances are, the information about enemy making strange movements are true, however, what we can't be certain of is what they claim the enemy is doing.

"So, just to be safe, you should use some method to make sure that the information is certain, lest a disaster befalls Tristain due to misinformation."

Fortunately, Henrietta seems to be a smart girl as she carefully deliberates on what I told her.

Now, now. I'm aware that this could be just me overthinking things, but what has happened so far suggests otherwise.

First, there is the fact that I ruined the main plan, forcing them to play their cards early on.

I'm sure that this plan of theirs was carefully laid out, so what's there to prevent them from making other plans?

If I were the sovereign of Gallia, I would 'reveal' false information to confuse the other side and making use of the opportunity to crush them.

All in all, Gallia is going to be problematic to deal with. I could simply infiltrate the kingdom myself and take it down, but that would be way too risky for both myself and those in the other kingdoms.

So, the best method to deal with Gallia would be building an army up and gather as much information as I can before facing them head-on.

Leaving all that aside, I have two Grimoires to look into.

Truth and loss, huh? I wonder what these two have in store for me...