Chapter Twenty-Eight: Night Investigation

With expertly crafted identification and a slight disguise, Lando slipped into the library with ease.

Meanwhile, the young scholar who realized his belongings were missing was startled and hurried back to search for them. The first place that came to mind was the spot where he had collided with someone. Sure enough, his scholar’s ID lay discarded on the ground. Without a second thought, he picked it up joyfully and left.

The library was quite crowded at this hour, and Lando couldn’t help but appreciate the advantages of a smart core. If White had been here, he could have entrusted all the work to her and spent his time leisurely with a book and a drink. Now, forced to do everything himself, he methodically scanned the books on the shelves into his portable recorder so he could later search for keywords at will.

Because people passed by from time to time, his progress was slow. Fortunately, after some delay, closing time was approaching and fewer visitors remained. Evading the patrolling guards, Lando finally let himself work freely, starting from the top shelves.

His scanner emitted a powerful beam, easily penetrating the books, making the process straightforward. By the time he finished, midnight had come and gone.

“Query: Royal Family of Azure Waters.”

“Beep... Query complete. Total: 13,524 entries.”

“Ah, another day of missing White.” Sorting through each entry was impossible—it was simply too much. Lando thought for a moment and said, “Sort by whole books, from the least entries to the most.”

“Beep... Sorting complete.”

He reasoned that the most hidden matters would never be extensively documented, and it was remarkable if they were mentioned in passing. Sighing, he resigned himself to starting from the beginning.

Soon, a piece of information caught his attention.

“The Kingdom of Azure Waters was founded by the Ancient King?”

“Query: Ancient King!”

“Beep... Query complete. Total: 5 entries.”

“...Four Kings?”

“Query...”

...

After a long while, Lando pieced together the clues and his own speculation, finally making sense of the situation.

“In ancient times, four kings rose, possessing unparalleled power, leading their followers to establish four kingdoms. The system must have detected descendants of these kings. Which one does Locke represent? Wait—his power is wind. Could it be the extinct Kingdom of Hurricanes?”

Lando clicked his tongue. “Well, a fallen prince’s quest to restore his kingdom? That’s more entertaining than any novel!”

“If I want to know why they attract the system so much, I’ll have to take out one and see for myself.”

...

At this moment, near the teleportation array of Silver Tower Academy, several arcanists were in discussion.

“There’s a marked deviation in space-time measurement.”

“The world’s membrane is overflowing too!”

“But the overall elemental concentration hasn’t risen to expected levels—strange.”

“The world’s friction coefficient also...”

The supervising teacher interrupted their discussion, saying, “The situation is serious. The world is undergoing intense changes. Activating the teleportation bracelets is now delayed. It’s temporary, but we must be cautious.”

“Kapak and Petri have already returned, having failed their mission. Only Shari, Yelena, and Lando remain over there, right?”

“Yes, five students went on this mission.”

“Should we recall them? This is unforeseen.”

“What do you think, Moritz? You had high hopes for Lando, didn’t you?”

Moritz, deep in thought, replied without hesitation, “Recall the two female students forcibly. Lando can stay—let’s wait.”

He had been pondering how, long ago, when Odo first joined the Silver Tower and ventured into new worlds, every expedition was plagued by accidents. Yet, after each ordeal, Odo always returned with unimaginable gains, making him stand out among his peers. Now, Lando reminded him very much of Odo, and combined with Lando’s unique qualities, he decided to wait and see.

...

After several days of “scavenging,” Lando’s soul essence had surpassed 7,000. Even if he returned now, it would be enough to complete the construction of the forge.

He had visited nearly all the notable places in the capital, except for the royal palace, which he’d deliberately left for last—hoping for a lucrative haul, but prepared for the risk of being caught. Of course, his escape routes and reconnaissance had been arranged in advance; after all, he still had over ten days left. Being recalled now wouldn’t be a loss, but it was the worst outcome.

The best scenario would be to succeed quietly and leave unnoticed.

Finding a quiet corner, he activated optical camouflage and approached the inner walls of the palace. He rarely used this device, mainly because it required slow movement to avoid detection, and even then, it was far inferior to Locke’s abilities.

He slipped into the palace’s inner quarter, recalling the aerial photos he’d taken earlier, avoiding the most dangerous areas as he headed for his predetermined target.

With optical camouflage, he wandered for half the night, encountering little risk but gaining little reward.

“It seems the tiger’s den must be entered to capture the tiger. I’ll have to check those higher-risk spots.”

He approached the nearest hall, which appeared to be an office of sorts. Based on his experience, such places usually held valuable treasures as their owners sought to display their status.

But seeing guards stationed every few steps, Lando reconsidered. He could easily incapacitate the guards and enter, but that would likely be discovered—it was a patrol hub, and any disturbance would end his night’s adventure. Better to save the opportunity for more valuable targets.

After winding his way through the palace, he reached his ideal location, one he had noticed by chance during the day. It was an underground chamber, frequented by the prince who had sensed him on the road—whose name, Lando had since learned, was Prince Shakas, a figure of some renown in the Kingdom of Azure Waters.

Surprisingly, there were few guards here, which made Lando hesitate—few guards meant the place might not be important.

Checking the time, he saw the shift had just changed. Even if there was nothing to gain, he still had time to search elsewhere.

In a flash, he appeared before the two guards, knocking them out before they could react, and gave them a dose of sleeping potion to ensure they stayed unconscious.

After scanning their forms, he dragged them to a concealed spot and set up a projector at their post, displaying their shapes so that a distant observer wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

Once everything was in place, Lando entered the chamber confidently. But after only a few steps, his expression darkened.