The next morning, I went to see Rin and Sakura first. Like a homeroom teacher watching over their students, I hid outside the window and secretly observed them. The two little girls sat right in the front row, and it seemed everyone was taking good care of them.
After that, I went straight to see Kenneth. It was a little early, but I truly had nothing else to do. I did not want to wander around outside; who knew if someone might take a dislike to me, come looking for trouble, and turn out to have some big shot backing them, leading to endless trouble for me.
I did not want some face-slapping show of swaggering around. I needed to lie low when it was time to lie low, then come out and stroll around once I was invincible in the later stages.
When I reached the door of Kenneth's private room, I knocked and entered only after receiving a reply. They said a private room was everyone's most mysterious space. Without permission, it was difficult to enter—unless someone had been confirmed dead and an heir came to claim their inheritance.
After I entered, Kenneth was working himself into a frantic mess. I heard him say, "A bunch of petty rats took advantage of my absence to divide up my interests. I'm dealing with it now. Most of them have backed off, but one or two are still refusing to let go."
"Oh, right. Take a look at this. I sorted out Marisbury Animusphere's information for you. You can use it as a bargaining chip in the negotiations."
"But honestly, I can't see anything about him worth investing in. If you really want an investment project, I have several guaranteed-profit projects you can join."
I smiled. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm not investing in him to make money. Consider it a form of insurance."
"All right, I won't say any more. Just be careful." With that, he lowered his head and returned to work.
I opened the file and gave it a look. It was very detailed. The Astrology Department was described as a group of hermits in the mountains who rarely came down and hardly participated in the political struggles at the center.
The current Lord was Marisbury Animusphere. For some unknown reason, he had practically poured the entire Animusphere Family fortune into it, yet it was still nowhere near enough. He was now seeking investments everywhere.
Overall, it came down to one word: poor. For a Lord to be begging and borrowing money everywhere was truly something. The key was that he belonged to the aristocratic faction.
Marisbury's situation was rather similar to Waver's. The aristocratic faction looked down on what he did, while the democratic faction did not welcome him. More importantly, no matter how much was invested, there was no hope of seeing any returns, so his position was extremely difficult.
But I knew that what was invested now would pay off in the future. If the Incineration of Human Order truly occurred, no one would be able to escape it.
Chaldea: the Finis Chaldea Human Order Preservation Organization, abbreviated as the Human Order Security Organization Chaldea, or simply Chaldea.
It was a Mystic Workshop built in a location beyond the interference of any country, where secrets could be kept secure.
It was said to be not an Observatory that looked up at the stars of the universe from Earth, but one built to look down upon everything on Earth from the void.
It was a research institute and observation facility that gathered researchers from every field, regardless of magecraft or science, in order to ensure that human history could continue for a long time and with great resilience.
It observed a world whose full picture could not be seen through magecraft alone, nor comprehended in its entirety through science alone.
It was a special agency jointly established by every nation to prevent humanity's extinction—a Bad End.
The amusing part was that Chaldea had been funded jointly by various countries, yet seventy percent of its funding had come from London's Mage's Association—the Animusphere Family. That was why Marisbury was so poor.
Honestly, in another timeline, after realizing he did not have much time left, Marisbury participated in the 2004 Fuyuki Holy Grail War as a shortcut to obtaining enormous funds.
In the Holy Grail War, he summoned Solomon, Caster, who swept through the entire war in a single night and claimed victory. He ultimately completed Chaldea, the beginning of Fate/Grand Order.
But in this timeline, all I could do was laugh. That poor bastard would soon find out what it meant to get beaten down by money.
Waiting was agonizingly long. When the appointed time finally arrived, Kenneth took me out. He was only responsible for calling Marisbury out for me, then left once we arrived. It seemed he truly was overwhelmed with work.
After politely greeting Marisbury, I went straight to the point. Since I had already intended to invest, there was no need to fight over the initiative.
I opened with, "I can invest in the Chaldea you founded, but what can I gain from it? What returns can you offer me?"
Marisbury had not expected me to be so direct. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Chaldea is an organization intended to allow human history to continue for a long time and with resilience. Its original purpose is to prevent humanity's extinction."
"As for what returns you can receive, I can only regretfully say that if humanity stands at the brink of extinction, I can inform you in advance so you may prepare to take refuge. If no such anomaly occurs, then you may receive nothing at all."
Seeing that I spoke so directly, Marisbury explained just as bluntly, "It is now 1950. The Phenomenon Recording Computer Familiar, Laplace, has been successfully developed, and Chaldea has begun to be established in Antarctica."
"Until recently, the first prototype of the Pseudo-Earth Environment Model, Chaldeas, was completed. However, due to insufficient funds and materials, we abandoned plans to activate Chaldeas."
"I want to restart Chaldeas, but that requires a vast amount of funding. If you are willing to invest, and if your purpose is to continue human history, I am willing to give you the position of Chaldea's director."
I was stunned as well. "If I understood you correctly, you mean that if I provide the funds to keep Chaldea operating, you'll let me be the boss?"
"Yes. That is exactly what I mean."
Well, damn. I had originally planned to become the second-in-command, but this would turn Chaldea directly into my Chaldea.
"I need to see your proposal, along with a detailed plan for the follow-up investment funds. I will not invest money in something meaningless. Here is my number. I'm currently staying in London. Contact me after you have sorted everything out."
With that, I left without looking back. Once Marisbury came to his senses, he immediately called out, "Thank you for your help! I will finish the proposal and project documents as soon as possible for your review. And from now on, you will be the director."
Chaldea absolutely had to be invested in. What I needed to do now was judge people. Was Marisbury truly that selfless?
In this world of Casters, I could not be deceived by surface appearances. In the Fate/Grand Order game, Daybit revealed the truth: Marisbury was the mastermind behind the Earth Bleaching.
The Chaldeas he created was the "Alien Star." Daybit called him not an "enemy of humanity," but an "enemy of the universe," claiming that if Marisbury's plan succeeded, humanity on Earth would bear a disgrace stretching across 13.8 billion light-years and be condemned as "the worst intelligent life-form born in this universe."
Daybit had therefore once tried to threaten Marisbury into stopping the plan. In the end, Marisbury chose suicide, the attempt to stop him failed, and the plan went forward.
All signs pointed to something being wrong with Marisbury. What exactly was he pursuing? What would the future outcome be? I would judge it with my own eyes. In any case, Chaldeas's restart plan had to be postponed first, lest I end up raising a final boss.
Before you continue