This was Rosemary’s plan.
For now, don’t stop. Show your sincerity, but don’t finish it.
But if I don’t finish.......
I’ll protect Klara Hasfeldt no matter what.
The Quartus of the Great chas herself was going to protect Klara?
Of course, this would solve the dilemma itself.
It should be about your lack of skill, not a lack of will. If you keep this in mind, then we’re halfway done.
With Rosemary’s help, Klais could apologize to Aether freely. Although she’d have to be sincere in the process, at least she wouldn’t have to desperately finish her research.
“I hope it goes well.”
Klara nodded at the words said with a sigh.
Klais gloomily finished getting ready for the day. The hand gripping her collar trembled.
“...I’m still uncertain as to why a Beast like her is trying to help us.”
“I agree.”
“What if this is also part of their sche?”
“Klais.”
Klara let out a sigh.
“Let’s trust her for now.”
“But.......”
“We have no other way.”
She gave a reluctant nod.
Klais still had her reservations about Beasts, and even had the experience of being beaten by the person in question.
At this point they were sohow working together, but she was still soone that made her uncomfortable.
“I’ll be off.”
Right before sunrise, Klais exchanged goodbyes with Klara and went to work at the lab.
This routine made her feel no different than a grad student. It was as if she was going through grad school a second ti.
“Good morning, Master.”
“.......”
Aether didn’t say anything today, either, only giving her a nod at most.
“...I’m sorry.”
Klais’ day started with an apology. After saying she was sorry for what happened in the past, she would take her seat.
Then worked as if her life depended on it.
Sort the mana stones, synthesize, asure the critical temperature and check if they exhibited superconductivity. Because she was working non-stop, the amount of coolant she had used up was in the tons.
This montum continued until the whole day went by.
The next day wasn’t any different.
Get to work, apologize, sit at the table and work, eat when it was ti. Then at midnight, get off work exhausted.
Had they said that ti flew when a person was engaged?
“Ah....”
Klais made a noise as she looked at the clock on the wall. The promised three weeks had already passed.
Aether looked at her watch and said casually.
“Today’s the day.”
“.......”
Her heart started pounding.
It wasn’t that she didn’t make any progress in the three weeks. She had miraculously discovered a substance using sulfide that displayed superconducting behavior at about minus 70 degrees. But that was all. There wasn’t enough ti to make a room-temperature superconducting substance.
The clock hand went tick-tock. Klais’ eyes kept moving up and down in turns. She needed to work, but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
Then.
Eventually.
“Enough.”
It was ti to leave.
Klais let out a wordless sound.
It was over.
I... wasn’t able to fulfill the promise.
Now the question was, what was going to happen? Klais did her best, but she couldn’t achieve the goal Aether had given her.
Aether’s eyebrows twitched subtly; there was no way to tell what she was thinking.
Gulp, Klais swallowed.
“So you couldn’t do it in the end.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Aether nodded with her eyes closed.
“Go back and rest.”
“......Pardon?”
Did I hear wrong?
“It’s ti so go and rest. I won’t say it a third ti.”
Aether didn’t get angry, nor did she threaten to send her sister back to Gilach.
What was going on? With a hesitant expression, Klais packed her things and got up.
“How was it?”
As soon as she returned to the spare room, Rosemary asked her. Her shoulders were tense as if she was nervous.
“She didn’t say much. Just to go and rest.......”
“Hmmm.”
That was when the tension released from Rosemary’s shoulders. ‘Okay, it was like that, eh,’ she said, taking it as she wished.
“You apologized every day for the three weeks, right?”
“Yes.”
“And worked hard.”
“I did.”
“Perfect.”
Rosemary’s expression lit up like a flower blooming.
“What is perfect?”
The Hasfeldt sisters couldn’t follow Rosemary’s train of thought.
“It ans her resolve is wavering, albeit slightly.”
“Slightly?”
“How do you know that?”
Giggling, Rosemary continued explaining.
“She talks about destroying the world and whatnot, but sis isn’t a psychopath, okay? She’s actually very careful. She cos up with the most ticulous plans, and is the best at using her brain. But Klais Hasfeldt, what were you like after that day?”
“That day as in.......”
“The day we all watched the nuke test.”
Klais swallowed back a noise.
She had helped Aether even knowing that she had been ordered to research sothing that would destroy the world.
Because she was sorry, she knew what she had done wrong, she deserved to die.
Hadn’t she spent nights crying out of that determination?
“That’s exactly it, the sincerity I ntioned last ti.”
“Ah.......”
“Aether had been planning to test you to begin with, to see how you would react when she showed you sothing like that and announce that she was going to destroy the world to ruin.”
It was then that Klais finally understood why Aether took her to the nuclear experint.
It had been an event set up for Klais all along–so elaborate that even Rosemary had to think hard about it to realize.
“What if you had been lazy or quit working after that day? What if you had worked but didn’t apologize?”
“...It would’ve been over.”
The two Hasfeldts nodded. Lips curling upwards, Rosemary pulled out the next plan.
“This is only phase 1. We’re going to change Aether’s heart little by little over several sessions.”
“How?”
Rosemary thought for a mont. She had to think about what she wanted to say over and over again before she was sure.
“The second phase will begin in Iliad.”
**After witnessing that nuclear explosion or whatever it was–
Not a day went by without veins popping on Gilach’s forehead.
“What a pisser.”
A week after the experint, Gilach headed towards the land that had cooled down.
“.......”
The solid World Tree replica made of iron and titanium alloy was gone without a trace.
The ground was pitted, and vitrified crystals were scattered around the area.
Trinitite.
It was artificial mana stone made by the earth being compressed under high temperature and pressure.
“Hu, huhu.”
Picking up the trinitite and rolling it in his hand, Gilach’s mouth twisted bizarrely.
“When the King cos back, I should certainly advise him to consu you.”
Destructive power of this level was adequate to ‘feast’ on.
No, if it’s the King, then he could sufficiently absorb Winter Heaven.
Because he had reached that status by consuming those stronger than himself.
Aether’s strength wasn’t ‘force’ but ‘intellect’. Her body was relatively weak so the only thing that could be gained through consumption was knowledge.
However, when greatest knowledge t greatest force–
Then the King would be able to conquer the Elental Realm.
“Well, I’m looking forward to later.”
Gilach returned from the wasteland, muttering to himself. As soon as he returned, he spent ti entertaining himself by torturing Elental Mages.
Before he knew it, three weeks went by as he mindlessly enjoyed slaughter.
“Any tasty Elentals sowhere?”
After a while of playing only in the Iron Formations, Gilach returned to the Demon Castle and licked his lips.
Ever since losing that toy, Klara Hasfeldt, the Elentals that he played around cruelly with had all been Lessers.
Those bastards that weren’t even fun to kill.
It just wasn’t satisfying.
“Hm?”
Without realizing, Gilach found himself in front of Aether’s room.
It hadn’t been intentional, because Gilach hated Aether. There wasn’t any particular reason to co here except for purposes to harass her or show off.
Given that, there was one reason why Gilach ca to the lab.
“Sothing slls good.”
Gilach’s radar detected the presence of an Elental.
It didn’t seem to be using magic. As said, he only sensed its ‘presence’, like when a human exhaled carbon dioxide when they breathed.
Gilach could pick up an Elental’s energy, even if that Elental wasn’t using magic.
It could be said that he had reached a level that was impossible for others due to how much ti he spent hunting Elentals. In any case, Gilach was a Beast who was incredibly good at scenting Elentals.
“And you pretended like you’d never.... Are you using them as research ingredients? Huhuhuhu!”
Waving his hook-arms, Gilach grabbed the door handle.
When the door opened with a click, an empty room appeared.
Gilach let out a low hum.
“There’s no one here.”
Except for an L-shaped desk, lamp stand, two chairs and a wardrobe, there wasn’t much furniture on the inside.
Beside one thing–a door that led further inwards.
“Is it here?”
Gilach’s mouth twisted eerily.
He could feel the very weak but fresh energy of an Elental inside.
As Gilach was about to turn the handle in anticipation–
“Have you finally lost your mind, you fucker?”
Those words suddenly ca from behind him.
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