Lord Lao

"Oh? Is that so? Why do I get the feeling you're afraid to say what's really on your mind?"

Adam's voice drifted eerily from behind Bernard.

"Ahahaha—how could that be..."

Bernard's gaze darted about.

"Say, does this council have any purpose other than letting you slack off?"

"Isn't that exactly what the council is for? If I have less to do, don't you all have less to do as well?"

Adam spread his hands. Did Bernard have any idea how busy the others would need to be before Adam himself had to get busy too?

"Besides, the council mainly serves as a broken-window effect, encouraging everyone to actively and voluntarily find solutions to problems instead of dumping everything on the Human Alliance."

"Mainly so they don't dump it on you, right?"

"Oh, it's all the same~"

Adam narrowed his eyes.

"The time's about right..."

"Will your other self be reaching the destination?"

"No, it's about time to collect my stamina. I'm off~"

With that, Adam vanished from where he stood.

Elsewhere, Adam looked at the world before him and could not help hesitating.

The world before him was the very one that had once brought a certain Merlin to ruin. From the outside, it was impossible to tell what kind of world this was. All he knew was that it lay beyond the Inner Boundary—

The good news was that he at least did not need to worry about an Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation hanging over his head.

Other than that, his journey here had gone remarkably smoothly. The time spent traveling had nearly brushed the lower limit of the normal range. From a certain perspective, that could be considered Lord Lao's blessing... though it might also have just been psychological.

"I hope I can meet Lord Lao in this