533
Chapter 533
"KYAAAAAAK!"
Jorge let out a scream of joy as he entered Hades' experimental workshop in the Agamemnon Castle.
Feinan, who was guiding him, broke out in a cold sweat with a troubled expression.
It was somewhat difficult to watch an elderly wizard with white hair jumping around and screaming like a teenage girl.
"M-Master Jorge. I'm sorry, but could you please be a little quiet..."
"KYAAK! Mage Feinan! What is all this? How can such precious things be scattered everywhere like this?!"
Master Jorge, the head of Nirvana, gasped for breath while looking at various devices placed in Hades' workshop.
Looking at Jorge, who was breathing heavily with a flushed face, Feinan doubted if this person was really the famous head of Nirvana.
Jorge, who had been making such a fuss, even staggered as if his legs had given out when he stood in front of the High-Density Mana Analyzer that he was going to borrow for free.
"HAAK, HAAK. Yes, I came all this way for you. My pretty one."
Jorge shuddered as he stroked the surface of the High-Density Mana Analyzer with his palm.
Gelion, who was behind him, made an expression that said he was getting goosebumps watching Jorge.
He whispered to Feinan.
"Master Feinan, is it really right to lend that to Nirvana?"
"...Our lord must have some thoughts about this."
Just as the two were whispering with suspicious faces.
"What's with this pervert?"
Hades, who had dark circles under his eyes as if he had stayed up all night experimenting yesterday, came floating through the air.
Jorge, who had been fondling the High-Density Mana Analyzer while breathing heavily, saw Hades and made a welcoming expression.
"WOW! You must be that mysterious genius developer Master Hades? HAA, HAA. I'm a fan. Let me see... I need to get an autograph... Ah yes! Please sign this!"
Jorge pulled out a staff from his chest and held it out to Hades.
Hades frowned at Jorge's dirty, grimy staff.
"Has Zeke gone mad? Now he's even accepting perverts like this?"
At those words, Feinan exclaimed in shock.
"M-Master Hades! This is M-Master Jorge, the head of the Nirvana family!"
To Hades, a dragon, all humans were merely insignificant beings.
However, since they couldn't openly call Hades a dragon, Feinan had no choice but to introduce Jorge while trying to appease him as much as possible.
Hades, who had somewhat adapted to the current era, showed a curious expression when he heard that Jorge was the head of Nirvana, one of the transcendent families.
"The head of Nirvana, huh. Hooh, to think you've been hoarding magic power while avoiding my eyes. Though you're a pervert, it seems you have quite the skill."
While Hades was currently known to the outside world as an elf, Feinan and Gelion were anxious that he might unconsciously reveal his true identity.
Whether Jorge knew their feelings or not, he bowed his head respectfully at Hades' words.
"My experience and insufficient skills pale in comparison to an elf master who has lived for many long years."
Seeing Jorge show a humble attitude contrary to his first impression, Hades accepted him not unfavorably.
He raised his index finger and drew a signature in the air.
Then Hades' signature was engraved on the staff Jorge had held out.
Right after that, he yawned and gestured for them to leave.
"I need to get some sleep. Don't make noise and go play outside."
With those words, Hades flopped onto the bed prepared in one corner of the workshop.
Since Feinan and Gelion weren't brave enough to disturb a sleeping dragon, they took Jorge outside the workshop.
Jorge was delighting like a child with the staff signed by Hades.
"HEHEHE, all those other old geezers in the family will die of envy when I take this back."
Jorge felt it was worth coming all this way in person.
While the mages of Nirvana all disliked moving around, they moved faster than anyone when it came to matters of magic.
When the exceptional conditions that could be obtained by participating in the Continental Assembly were conveyed through Zeros, the Round Table leading Nirvana went into an uproar.
Those who usually showed little interest in continental trends raised their voices, each claiming they should be the representative at the Continental Assembly.
That's how great the Nirvana mages' desire was for the High-Density Mana Analyzer.
In the end, the Round Table mages who expressed their intention to participate agreed to decide fairly through a lottery.
And the one who was chosen was none other than the family head, Jorge.
Jorge couldn't help but keep smiling at the thought that he could use the High-Density Mana Analyzer for free for a year.
"KEHEHEHEHEL! What conditions should I set when those old geezers ask to borrow it? Should I make them sit and bark like dogs, or make them roll over with their bellies exposed?"
Seeing Jorge laugh with strange sounds, Feinan and Gelion shook their heads and led him toward Zeke's office.
If Jorge had visited Mycenae as the head of Nirvana officially, proper formalities and courtesies would have been required, but since he just casually visited to see the High-Density Mana Analyzer, there was no need for special formalities.
Additionally, Jorge had asked to be guided to the office to personally thank Zeke for lending him the precious equipment.
It was quite an unconventional move for the head of one of the continent's three transcendent families.
Feinan entered the office with a tense expression after informing Zeke of Jorge's identity.
As soon as they entered, Jorge approached Zeke while bowing at the waist and rubbing his palms together.
"Oh my, our benefactor... I mean, Knight of Salvation, Sir Zeke!"
Feinan and Gelion couldn't help but be flustered seeing Jorge grovel before Zeke with an exaggerated voice.
Zeke, who was about to welcome Jorge, and Zeros, who was standing beside him, were equally taken aback.
Completely ignoring the atmosphere around him, Jorge continued speaking with a broad smile.
"My goodness! You're even more handsome than the rumors said! If I had a daughter, I would have married her off to Sir Zeke right away. But being married to magic, I have no wife or children. HOHOHOHO!"
Zeros tightly closed his eyes watching Jorge laugh heartily.
While he hadn't expected Jorge to have the dignity of the Draker or Ishtar families, he hadn't thought he would appear this pathetic. Jorge now looked like nothing more than a street con artist mage.
That was exactly the kind of expression Feinan and Gelion had while looking at Jorge.
However, Zeke saw through Jorge's frivolous exterior to his true nature.
'A massive wave of soul that expands endlessly while circulating without wavering.'
Zeke could clearly sense that he was a grand mage who had reached the 9th Circle.
Zeke bowed his head toward Jorge.
"I greet Master Jorge, head of Nirvana."
It was an impeccable, respectful greeting.
He continued speaking to Jorge.
"Please come this way. I've prepared some fine tea, as the family head has visited Mycenae."
"Oh! Tea sounds lovely. HOHOHO!"
Zeke took the chuckling Jorge to the reception room.
Feinan and Gelion returned to the workshop, and Zeros also slipped away after reading the atmosphere.
In the end, only Zeke and Jorge were left sitting in the reception room, sipping tea.
Jorge held up his teacup and savored the aroma of the tea Zeke had brewed.
"Hmm, very nice. Is this Ishtar family tea?"
Zeke showed a surprised expression at Jorge's words.
"That's correct. Have you had Ishtar tea before?"
Jorge slowly sipped the tea while waving his hand.
"I've never had it before. I just felt something like the Ishtar family's scent? Fragrance? Something like that, so I took a guess."
Zeke had some idea of what Jorge meant from his words.
'As his soul's rank increased, he became able to read karma.'
While Zeke could handle karma using the System, it was impossible for ordinary humans.
However, when one's realm rises and the soul's caliber increases, they begin to touch the essence of karma.
The Hermit of Stories, Nabu, also used his own methods to handle karma and adjust causality.
Jorge, who had entered the 9th Circle, could be seen as gradually transcending human limitations.
Because of this, he seemed to instinctively make contact with karma, which could be called the essence of origin, and read information from within it.
'Is it a similar principle to dragon wisdom? Though it doesn't seem perfect yet.'
While he appeared to be a thoughtless pervert magician on the outside, he was actually a mage of remarkable attainment.
Zeke spoke while looking at Jorge.
"I heard from Zeros that you saw the future and decided to produce a thousand golems in preparation for it, is that correct?"
There was no point in reconnaissance with a grand mage who had transcended human limitations.
Zeke went straight to the main point.
Jorge put down his teacup and nodded.
"That's right. I told the old geezers in our family that we should do that."
Jorge's attitude showed he had nothing to hide.
Zeke asked him again while observing.
"May I ask what kind of future you saw?"
Jorge blinked while looking at Zeke.
He shook his head back and forth while keeping his mouth shut, then soon nodded and slowly opened his mouth.
"Umm, what kind of future. It's difficult to say exactly. If I had to say, perhaps I saw a future where we made a thousand golems?"
After organizing his thoughts for a moment upon hearing Jorge's words, Zeke responded.
"You're saying you saw a future where a thousand golems were made, and then decided to produce golems accordingly? That's an interesting statement. The cause and effect are connected as one."
Jorge clapped his hands and delighted at his words.
"HUAHAHA! Sir Zeke is much better than the blockheaded old geezers in our family. Would you perhaps consider changing your job to become a mage even now?"
Zeke firmly shook his head at Jorge's words.
"No."
Jorge looked slightly dejected at his unhesitating answer.
"HNGH, learning magic would be good."
It was quite unusual to see an elderly arch-mage puffing his cheeks in a childish tantrum.
Zeke gathered his thoughts and said to Jorge:
"It's a causal dilemma. You saw a future where a thousand golems were created, and that vision led you to create a thousand golems in the present. The cause and effect have become completely mixed up."
Jorge nodded repeatedly with an expression of admiration.
"Howww! That's right, Sir Zeke. The thousand golems aren't so important. As you said, cause and effect have become one, like a snake biting its own tail and spinning in circles."
Excited by Zeke's answer, Jorge waved his hands around as he continued:
"We can form a hypothesis. What if I had seen the future but decided not to make a thousand golems? Would the thousand golems truly not be made, making what I saw not the future? Or would the thousand golems be made somehow in some other way?"
Having personally crossed timelines and traveled to the past, Zeke could understand complex time dilemmas to some extent.
After pondering Jorge's words, Zeke spoke:
"If it's the former, we could assume countless futures would be created. If it's the latter, it would lead to determinism, that the future is ultimately fixed as one."
Suddenly, Jorge stopped waving his hands.
No longer exaggerating as before, Jorge looked genuinely surprised as he stared at Zeke with round eyes.
"Countless futures? Assumption? Determinism... deterministic. Converging back to one... returning to the original? Converging?"
Seeing Jorge's reaction, Zeke wondered if he had said something wrong.
Jorge muttered something like a madman, then took out paper and a pen from his pocket and began writing rapidly.
He wrote formulas on the table beyond the paper, then on the floor, and scribbled something frantically on the walls.
"How?! How?!"
Jorge kept moving his pen while making strange sounds.
Zeke wasn't startled by Jorge's sudden behavior and quietly watched him while sipping from his teacup.
Several hours later, Jorge's pen stopped.
"Done, I've done it."
He sprang to his feet.
"I've proven it! I've finally proven that damned 9th Circle magic!"