The Emperor thought along the lines that Zhuge Liang guided, then realized the full extent of the plan.
"Kong Ming... You an... We accept their offer and don't veto when they ask for country recognition. So that they will keep their end of the bargain while we keep ours. But they still can't be recognized as a country because of this dispute.
And in the end, the deal between Astral Corporation and the Ming Federation will not go through, but they still can't be recognized as a country because of the dispute?" The Emperor concluded.
"That's the gist of it, Your Majesty," Zhuge Liang nodded.
"But will they keep their word? We are doing this to them, I don't think they will silently accept this. They might still sell their weapons to the Ming Federation," the sa strategist voiced his concern once again, and the people in the room nodded in agreent.
Hearing this, Zhuge Liang turned to the strategist.
"Your concern is understandable, but from the information I've gathered from Mr. Owl, Daniel Emberweave always keeps his word and doesn't renege on deals. Also, we know about the contract deals that mages usually use. It's the soul-binding contract. If we use those, we can guarantee that the other side will keep their end of the bargain," said Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang had already learned enough about the information of the modern day and the Curtained World. So he knew what to use and what to exploit.
"But what worries the most is not Emberweave, but sothing else. The information that the Grand Councilor told us, Albert, 'Master of Whispers'... this is a na that I don't know, and I don't rember encountering this na while studying the information of the current era," Zhuge Liang spoke, then dialed his phone, trying to contact soone.
The phone signal rang for a few more seconds before it connected, and the familiar voice of a man spoke through the phone.
"Yes? How can I help you, Your Majesty?" The voice of the man in the owl mask inquired about the purpose of the call.
Zhuge Liang looked towards the Emperor, Tianhao Wenzhong, and nodded, requesting him to ask the question in his place since the other side was addressing the Emperor himself. It would be inappropriate for him to respond instead of the emperor. The mistake might be misinterpreted as seeing himself as the Emperor, so Zhuge Liang didn't reply.
"Lord Owl, do you know about the na Albert, Master of Whispers?" asked the Emperor through the phone call.
Hearing the na Albert, the man in the owl mask was startled, but fortunately, his reaction could not be seen by the other side since this call was audio-only.
He went silent and let out a voice of "Hmmmmm…," as if he was trying to think hard about this topic.
"No… I'm sorry, but I really don't know, Your Majesty," the man in the owl mask lied through his teeth without showing any sign of panic in his voice.
"Is there anything else I could help you with, Your Majesty?" asked the Man in the Owl Mask.
"Ah… no, there's nothing else. I apologize for taking your ti," the Emperor said formally and hung up the call.
After listening to the answer, Zhuge Liang seed to be deep in thought once again.
"I think… Mr. Owl was lying, or he's hiding sothing from us," said Zhuge Liang.
"Why do you think so?" asked the Emperor.
"It's how he spoke. He was apologizing to us, and his tone was more subservient. I've observed this man for so ti. He is a prideful man, and even if he speaks to us in a polite tone, that's just for formality and manners. But this ti, he apologized to us with a more… subservient tone," Zhuge Liang paused as he thought deeply.
"You might be overthinking it, Zhuge Liang," the Emperor said dismissively, but then he paused. He didn't want to be stabbed in the back because of his dismissal of this matter.
"Just to be on the safe side, I will send soone to investigate the Man in the Owl Mask and the na Albert, Master of Whispers," said the Emperor.
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty," Zhuge Liang said his thanks and let the matter rest.
— Evening —
Later in the evening, true to his word, Emperor Tianhao Wenzhong sent his people to investigate the Man in the Owl Mask. The first stop in their search for information was the nearest branch of the Syndicate Union.
Yes, aside from being a union comprising underworld gangs ford to balance Hightower's power, the Syndicate also provided information services. If not counting the Whispering Hall, which was still not widely known in the Curtained World, they were the most well-inford organization on Earth.
At the counter of the Syndicate Union's information broker branch, the imperial guard arrived with his information request. He stood at the counter, attended to by the lone female receptionist on duty.
"Give the information about this man and any information about a man nad Albert, Master of Whispers," said the imperial guard, handing the receptionist a picture of the Man in the Owl Mask.
"Please wait a mont, sir," the receptionist said, taking the picture and disappearing into a private room behind the counter.
About fifteen minutes later, the receptionist returned with a file in her hand and a paper form. She arrived at the counter and politely bowed to the imperial guard.
"We apologize, sir, but we don't know much about the man in the owl mask, and this file is all we have on him. As for the man nad Albert, Master of Whispers, we don't have any information about that na. Would you like to make a request for us to investigate?" the receptionist inquired.
"How much is the investigation request?" the imperial guard asked.
"The minimum is 1 million US dollars, and the maximum is 10 million dollars. It depends on how difficult the information is to acquire. We may need up to a year to investigate if what you seek is very rare, unique, or soone who is very hard to find. If after one year there is still no valid information, we will refund half of the paynt," the receptionist politely explained.
Hearing this, the imperial guard could only nod and think. A decision regarding this much money couldn't be made by him alone.
"Thank you for the information. As for the information request, I need to ask my superior first. Here… this is the paynt for the information about the man in the owl mask," the imperial guard said, handing a card to the receptionist.
After the paynt was processed and he received the card back, the man excused himself and returned to the Forbidden Palace to report to his superior.
— anwhile - Syndicate Union HQ —
Within an opulent, vast private office that encompassed the entire floor of a skyscraper, complete with a lounge, bar, and various partitioned areas for guests to entertain themselves, a man in his early forties gazed out the window, admiring the afternoon city view. He held a phone to his ear, talking to the other side.
"I've repaid your favor. Soone asked for information about you and Albert, and I did what you asked. Now, I don't owe you anything anymore," the man said into the phone with a solemn tone.
This man was Loki, the god of trickery. He was the founder and chairman of the Syndicate Union, and the reason why Hightower hadn't acted rashly to crush them.
Even though Loki was a weakened god, a god was still a god. Despite the mana depletion problem of the modern day limiting his divine authority, he was still as strong as a Hell Lord at their peak when they ca to the mortal world.
"Yes, you don't owe anything anymore. Thank you, the favor has been successfully repaid, Lord Loki," said the other side, the voice belonging to the Man in the Owl Mask.
"You don't need to thank . Just do your end of the bargain and bring about the age of gods already. I'm sick of this weakened state of mine," said Loki.
"Yes, Lord Loki," answered the Man in the Owl Mask before the call ended.
Loki put the phone in his pocket, then walked toward a restricted area with steel partitions and a high-security door. Within this partition, there was a wolf floating in a green tank. The wolf didn't move, and it looked like a corpse since its chest wasn't moving and there were no signs of vital signs. However, the body showed no sign of decomposition, suggesting the wolf was in stasis.
Looking at the wolf, Loki's eyes reflected a mix of pain, love, and finally, determination.
"Wait for a bit, son… I'll bring you back. No one will deny you the right to live anymore," Loki uttered as he continued to gaze at the wolf.
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