Peace Institute MADS

The Nine-Tailed Fox, Ahri, was one branch of the Vastayan.

Like the Mink Tribe of the pirate world, they all possessed animal traits.

The Vastayan covered an even broader range: mammals, birds, reptiles, merfolk—every kind imaginable.

Ahri was a particularly unique individual among them. She was born attuned to magic of the spiritual realm, and for that very reason, Oran's dream journeys occasionally appeared near Ahri.

Oran's powerful mental resistance made him immune to Ahri's innate charm, while his immense spiritual energy could even replenish Ahri's daily expenditure. After meeting several times, the two had instead formed something like a pen-pal relationship—or perhaps dream pals.

"Seven days. I can't be wrong. The last time you appeared, you said you were discussing business at the port of Bilgewater. I was wondering at first—why have you been appearing so often this time?"

Oran was certain that at least several months had passed since he left God Valley. It seemed time flowed at different speeds on the two sides.

"Something unexpected happened. Help me pass a message back to Piltover. Tell them I probably won't be able to return anytime soon, so they should carry on as usual. If anything comes up, they can go to Professor Heimerdinger."

The location of the dreams was uncontrollable, and it was not easy to encounter an acquaintance who could carry a message back.

"You want a weak woman like me to cross the seas just to deliver a message for you?"

"Are you really a weak woman? It's not that troublesome. Just find someone from Sett's side. I don't know when I'll run into an acquaintance again, so I'm counting on you."

"Sett? That lunatic from the fighting pits? He'd work for you?"

"I'm close with his mom. You've probably heard of it—he's practically half a mama's boy."

The night breeze swept past, and Ahri was briefly speechless. She felt there was something wrong with Oran's words, yet she could not figure out what it was.

"You really have a lot of secrets. But what trouble did you run into, exactly? Do you need help?"

"Just some unusual experiences. You can't help me with them. Time's almost up. I'm leaving this to you. Next time we meet, I'll bring you a more interesting story."

Oran's body gradually turned illusory, as though he had never appeared there at all.

"What a troublesome man. He really knows how to order people around."

Ahri turned and walked down a forest path. Sett's territory was not close, and delivering a message from Ionia to Piltover meant crossing the sea. If she wanted to get the message there in time, she could not delay.

Dawn sunlight fell across Oran's face. Compared to yesterday, the Kingdom of Sorbet had not changed much. Besides their daily studies, Bear and the others had gained a new routine: learning about the world alongside Blitzcrank.

Its metal shell remained incomparably cold, but Blitzcrank's heart had already begun to grow.

"Right there, Blitzcrank! Grab it!"

Whoosh!

Blitzcrank stood by the shore at that moment, while Kate sat atop its head. As its mechanical claw shot into the sea, it hauled up a tuna with an elephant trunk from the water.

Blitzcrank's growth module learned quickly. As it caught the Elephant Tuna, it also released an electric current from its palm, instantly stunning the fish.

"What a strange fish. It has the same kind of trunk as Zunesha."

"It's an Elephant Tuna, a specialty fish of the South Blue. They say it's a jewel of the sea, a miraculous ingredient. The trunk is the most delicious part."

Kate had never seen this kind of fish before, but Blitzcrank recognized it through the knowledge module in its mind and even began explaining it.

"Blitzcrank, you know so much."

"Master entered the relevant knowledge into my program."

"Then do you know what Oran likes most?"

Oran often seemed free of desire. Everything he did had a strong purpose behind it. Neither Kate nor Bear knew what he truly thought, and even after leaving God Valley, they had never seen Oran display much emotional fluctuation.

"No relevant data. Blitzcrank will ask Master tonight."

"Wait! You don't need to ask that! Don't you know what a private topic is?"

"I do not understand. Blitzcrank is still learning."

Though it had a growth module, everything about Blitzcrank remained hazy and immature. Its refined logical mechanisms made people feel that a real soul existed beneath that iron shell, but once certain matters were examined closely, a robot's logic could sometimes drive people mad.

Woo! Woo!

At that moment, a steam whistle suddenly sounded in the distance. A steam paddle steamer with an extremely unusual appearance entered the waters of the Kingdom of Sorbet.

Compared to the streamlined shape of ordinary ships, this vessel looked more like a cylinder. The letters MADS stood out prominently on its hull, while the flag above bore the word "pacifist" to declare peace.

Several months had passed since the God Valley incident ended, but the state of the seas had not improved. Under Rocks's suppression, that group of monsters had barely managed to form a collective and had operated around Hachinosu Island.

Now that Rocks had fallen, those unwilling to remain quiet had set sail once more. The BIG Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates, the Flying Pirates—the pressure on the seas rose sharply for a time.

The Navy rushed about everywhere, and the range touched by war continued to expand.

At a time like this, some people began taking action as well.

One of the underworld's leaders, Du Feld, known as the "King of Loan Sharks," began running charitable ventures aboveboard for the sake of his reputation.

With his investment, a peace research institute called MADS had been established some time ago, recruiting a large number of scientists in need of research funding.

Du Feld provided money to support their research into projects beneficial to peace. Whether they produced results or not, Du Feld's goal had already been achieved.

The one leading this MADS team was Vegapunk. The current Vegapunk was not yet world-famous as he would be in the original timeline, but he had still gained some renown in certain regions.

That was why he had received Du Feld's support. MADS was now sailing from place to place, conducting research while recruiting new members and searching for "geniuses" hidden away across the world.

They had come to the Kingdom of Sorbet because their ship had suffered damage and required repairs. From nearby areas, they had heard that the Kingdom of Sorbet seemed capable of forging higher-quality metal.

"What kind of place is this? It doesn't look like it has a smelting plant. Vegapunk really is easy to fool."

Two researchers in lab coats, sporting hairstyles like dyed yellow punk hair, were mocking Vegapunk. They had also joined MADS for research funding, but neither accepted Vegapunk as their leader.

In their eyes, their technical skills were both superior to Vegapunk's.

The two yellow-haired men did not get along particularly well either. They merely stood on the same side when it came to questioning Vegapunk.

"Exactly. Wait, Queen, what's that over there?"

"Judge, it seems you're nothing special either. A robot in a backwater like this?"