Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Edelstein (4)
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11.
The moment Cheryl boarded the ship she had prepared, Dibo and the others all turned to look at El Pam.
“Boss, you knew, didn’t you?”
El Pam answered Dibo’s question.
“I figured the Phantom Thief would have made some kind of arrangement.”
He hadn’t spoken directly with the Phantom Thief or anything.
“He wouldn’t want us dead.”
El Pam simply knew that he and his companions had become a very important card for the Phantom Thief now, so he would have taken measures to get El Pam’s party to Edelstein somehow.
“I knew the Cross Hunters would make a move.”
Of course, it wasn’t that surprising.
‘Their headquarters is in Edelstein, after all.’
Among the forces in Edelstein, there was only one that could help El Pam.
From the Cross Hunters’ perspective as well, El Pam’s party was one card they couldn’t afford to lose.
‘But I didn’t expect Cheryl to come.’
However, Cheryl showing up was a whole different story.
It wasn’t just some important figure dropping by.
‘Her area of operation is Victoria Island and the Ossyria Continent.’
Traveling from the continent where Edelstein was located to another continent was extremely difficult and dangerous.
Especially for the Cross Hunters, who were being hunted by the Black Mage’s followers—and Black Wing was one such faction.
A key executive like Cheryl wouldn’t take that kind of risk unless it was something major.
And there was even less chance she’d do it just to show her face to El Pam.
She did value El Pam’s party highly, but that was a separate matter entirely.
In short, something major had happened.
“I heard from the Phantom Thief. You want to meet Cheki, one of the Resistance executives.”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll escort you as far as the Resistance.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Honestly, I don’t think going to the Resistance will solve anything.”
“Is that all?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
And that major event was something involving El Pam’s party.
“There’s going to be a war soon.”
At those words, El Pam’s eyes narrowed.
‘It’s a war with Black Wing.’
That’s what it meant for Cheryl to return to Edelstein for a war.
‘It’s a new history, one that didn’t exist before I returned to the past.’
It was outside El Pam’s memories, but he wasn’t greatly surprised or flustered.
If anything, it felt like a natural progression.
El Pam had altered history countless times by now.
And those changes had all been to the detriment of the Black Mage’s followers in various ways.
Even so, it wasn’t enough for the Cross Hunters or Resistance to suddenly raise the flag of counterattack.
That’s how El Pam remembered it.
‘One of two things.’
So El Pam thought.
‘They’ve recognized a highly dangerous situation, or they’ve acquired a very special card.’
There was now a reason forcing the Cross Hunters and Resistance to act.
“I need your help in that war.”
And now El Pam couldn’t escape the whirlpool of that war either.
He simply said,
“The only thing I can do is conquer Mystic Gates. If that’s it, I’ll help with anything.”
What he could do.
“That’s enough.”
With that, El Pam and Cheryl ended their conversation and looked up.
There it was.
“We’ll arrive in Edelstein soon.”
12.
Edelstein.
The adventurers from the Ossyria Continent and Victoria Island who set foot there said,
“Edelstein was filled with streetlights—torches that could be turned on and off at any time—and rare airships flew through the skies, and everything could be done with steam and gears.”
It was like another world.
“Everything was mechanical. Even the citizens of Edelstein seemed like mechanical dolls.”
But what shocked the adventurers even more was that the citizens of Edelstein acted like puppets from a puppet show, spouting smoke.
People later learned the truth.
“Black Wing made them that way. To survive their surveillance, everyone had to put on an act.”
The citizens of Edelstein, occupied by Black Wing, had no freedom left.
“Unable to endure it, the Resistance was born.”
There were those resisting to reclaim that freedom.
The days the Resistance fought for freedom were far more intense and desperate than adventurers imagined.
Many adventurers empathized with the Resistance’s cause and wanted to join them.
And the Resistance welcomed such adventurers, turning away none.
To face the colossal enemy that was Black Wing, they needed every bit of help, even if it was just a cat’s paw.
In fact, after the adventurers joined, the Resistance’s forces became a real threat to Black Wing.
But it all shattered to pieces after that day.
The Edelstein liberation operation, planned with the Cygnus Knights, failed miserably due to the Knights’ no-show and traitors within, leaving the Resistance nearly annihilated.
After that, the Resistance cut off all contact with external forces.
To avoid any more betrayals.
That’s why.
“We absolutely cannot allow a meeting with Cheki, even at Ms. Cheryl’s request.”
Even though Cheryl, an executive of the Cross Hunters—one of the Resistance’s few friendly factions—asked, the meeting with Resistance executive Cheki didn’t happen.
“This is as far as I can go.”
And there was nothing more Cheryl could do about that reaction.
The Resistance were people resolved to do anything to fight Black Wing.
Half-hearted threats or negotiations were impossible from the start.
Of course, El Pam had a few more cards up his sleeve.
For one, the Resistance owed him. He had saved some of their core members—no one else.
But El Pam didn’t play that card.
‘They’ll repay the debt another way.’
He knew how the Resistance would respond.
He also had several pieces of sensitive information about the Resistance.
Yet El Pam didn’t play those cards either.
‘The situation has changed.’
As Cheryl had said.
A war was coming soon.
It would surely be between the Resistance and Black Wing, and with that war looming, the Resistance would be far more on edge than El Pam imagined.
Provoke them now?
That would be asking for a fight.
‘There’s no time.’
Above all, El Pam now realized.
‘Thinking about what the Phantom Thief told me... the situation might be even worse than I thought.’
The reality Maple World faced could be even more dire than he’d imagined.
‘So I’ll do what I can.’
With such a future ahead, there was only one thing El Pam could do.
‘Hunt Hontail.’
Hunt the being beyond the purple Mystic Gate.
For that, the identity of the item now in his possession didn’t matter.
“Then, may I ask for another favor?”
So El Pam said.
“Go ahead.”
“This item came from the Celestial Chrysalis.”
“The Celestial Chrysalis?”
“And even the Phantom Thief couldn’t identify it.”
At those words, the Resistance member who had come out showed a surprised expression.
But soon, he shook his head.
“I get that it’s important, but I can’t let you meet Cheki.”
“I’ll give it to you.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll give it to Cheki. You don’t need to arrange a meeting. You don’t need to share any information you get.”
With that, El Pam handed over the item from the Chrysalis to him.
At that, not only the Resistance member but even Cheryl looked shocked.
Hand over something that clearly wasn’t ordinary, just like that?
“I wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway.”
But El Pam had no regrets.
Faced with that proposal, the Resistance member could no longer refuse.
“Understood. I’ll make sure this gets delivered.”
And that was the end of the conversation.
El Pam stepped away.
No regrets.
No time for them.
There was much to do in Edelstein from now on.
But El Pam’s goal wasn’t achieved that way.
The next day, contact came.
13.
It was a sudden meeting.
The day after El Pam handed over the item from the Chrysalis and parted ways.
“Cheki wants to see you.”
Word came from the Resistance side.
Naturally, El Pam didn’t refuse.
“El Pam, come alone.”
He followed the Resistance escort.
During the process, all his senses were thoroughly blocked.
Of course, it meant nothing to El Pam.
‘We’re heading to the underground headquarters.’
He already knew where the Resistance’s underground HQ was and how to enter.
Soon, when El Pam opened his eyes, a man stood before him.
“You wanted to see me? Here I am.”
More precisely, a man wearing a bear-eared hat was right in front of him.
“I’m Cheki.”
Cheki.
The Resistance’s top mechanic engineer and one of the greatest mechanics.
No one had ever seen his true face.
Even within the Resistance, he was the most mysterious figure.
It wasn’t even clear if he was a man or a woman.
“Honestly, I had no intention of meeting you. We’re dealing with one headache after another right now; it’s chaos.”
Such a Cheki then pulled out an item right in front of El Pam’s eyes.
“If you hadn’t brought this.”
It was the item El Pam had given him.
“You found this in the Celestial Chrysalis?”
“Yes.”
“What happened because of this item?”
“The animals living in the Celestial Chrysalis turned into monsters.”
“Where exactly did you find it?”
“It was attached to the core that makes the Celestial Chrysalis float.”
The moment he heard that explanation, Cheki replied.
“Good. Let’s go right now. No point wasting time on long talks. I’ll tell you upfront: the one who made this is a guy named Gelimer.”
At those words, El Pam’s eyes narrowed.
It was warranted.
‘Gelimer, of all people.’
Maple World’s greatest scientist!
And Black Wing’s top engineer!
‘That mad scientist.’
He treated everyone else’s lives like grains of sand for his goals.
It wasn’t a mere metaphor.
Gelimer had actually conscripted countless people for his experiments. Children and the elderly were no exceptions—in fact, he used children the most.
At present, Gelimer had killed more people with his own hands than anyone in Maple World.
‘After that day, Gelimer’s research only intensified.’
Naturally, his madness burned even brighter when monsters overran the world and Maple World collapsed.
Now, he no longer bothered with subtlety, capturing adventurers for endless human experiments.
El Pam’s comrades had been among the victims.
From El Pam’s perspective, more than enough reason to grind his teeth.
But he didn’t rage here.
‘The Celestial Chrysalis vanished from the world a hundred years ago. For something like this to appear then means he’s developed far more advanced versions. Not just transforming monsters, but creating them outright.’
This wasn’t the time.
‘And with Xerxes, who can command monsters, on top of that.’
For the Resistance, facing war with Black Wing, there was now one more factor to consider.
‘Gelimer has a monster legion.’
That was the reason.
“This is a very serious incident. But the Resistance doesn’t have the bandwidth to handle it right now. We’ve got something far more critical going on.”
That was why Cheki wanted to meet El Pam now.
“So I have a request. Conquer a Mystic Gate for us. It’s for 19 people.”
And the moment he heard that reason, El Pam’s eyes narrowed.
He’d caught on.
“The color is blue, isn’t it?”