George III's Attitude
There should have been a conflict of interest between the nobility and the Royal Family, but in fact, Mr. Kask was still willing to accept the idea of becoming the king of the whole country over a very small matter.
However, as a friend of Kronos, Mr. Kask did not want to reveal too much Information about Kronos, after all, he did not know which piece of Information would arouse the king's emotions and cause trouble for Kronos.
Then you'll have to think carefully about what you say.
Kask used all the skills he had honed over the years in politics, employing every technique he could think of, to make every word he uttered soundly and diplomatically.
He didn't know what His Majesty the King wanted to know, but fortunately, he didn't know much either.
Kask dares to say that not a single word he uttered was a lie, though he may have embellished it slightly.
In the end, George III didn't know what else to ask, so he had Kask sent home.
After seeing Kask off, George III addressed a corner of the room, "Prince Grove, what do you think?"
A person emerged from the darkness of the corner. This person had a rectangular face, wore a white wig, and had a mustache with slightly upturned ends. He had thick eyebrows and large eyes, bearing a striking resemblance to the figures on playing cards. He was dressed in a formal suit, draped in Cloak, and wore shoes with extremely long toes. His attire was out of step with the present era, as if he lived in the last century.
This man was Grove Augustus, Prince of Sonia of the Loen Kingdom, Chaos Hunter of Sequence 3 the Justiciar Pathway.
This man was not George III's brother or uncle, but rather a figure of almost the same generation as Abner Argel, whose father was Grove.
Grove had just come of age when Abner announced the family's retirement, so he had heard his father's comments about Abner and the Argel Family.
These Beyonder elders should have been part of the Royal Family's foundation and should no longer have been involved in the affairs of the Kingdom.
However, Grove heard the Message that the Argel Family had returned to the public eye, which is why he specifically sought out George III George III told him many of the grudges and grievances from the past.
If it weren't for this eyewitness from back then, even if George III saw the Record left by the Royal Family, he wouldn't have believed that there was such a family that had been caught between the Royal Family and the church for over a thousand years, and yet still managed to die a peaceful death.
So after listening to Prince Grove's words, George III took Prince of Sonia to the Royal Family Record to retrieve all the Record about the Argel Family from over a thousand years ago.
That led to today's secret meeting with Kask.
"Your Majesty, I can sense that this Kask Wolf isn't lying, but as you know, a shrewd politician disdains telling lies, because in their mouths, the truth is enough to deceive."
George III nodded; he had encountered this situation more than once, so he naturally understood it well.
Grove continued, "But based on what Kask said, it's clear that this Argel Family heir, Kronos, is quite clever and shrewd."
King George III interrupted Grove, saying, "Your Highness, I feel that focusing on the Argel Family right now is putting the cart before the horse. Our most important task should be deciphering Mr. Door's Ritual and then constructing the Mausoleum."
"Although the Argel Family may have come prepared, as long as we're certain they don't have any top-tier combatants, we can probably lower their importance ranking. Don't you think so?"
Grove was taken aback. He had been listening to Abner Argel talk about how smart he was since he was a child, and he had also listened to his father tell the history of the Argel Family. But he had forgotten one thing: this family probably didn't even have Demigod.
As Sequence 3, he alone could wipe out this entire family.
"Your Majesty, I was indeed mistaken and forgot the importance of combat strength. Indeed, as long as we confirm that their family has not joined the Church of Steam and Machinery's camp and that there are no strong members among them, that would be enough."
George III nodded. "Indeed, this incident is a good testament to that. Kask said that this whole thing was initiated by Kronos. If their family had a good relationship with the Church of Steam and Machinery, they would never have done this."
"The remaining matter is to ascertain the strength of their family. I wonder if the Prince would be willing to make the trip himself to investigate Argel Manor in Backlund and the Midseashire, to get a sense of their strength."
"I am willing to serve Your Majesty."
Kronos was unaware that because of him, the Royal Family had sent a Sequence 3 expert to investigate the Argel Family's secrets.
Fortunately, it happened at this time. If it had been a few months later, the Argel Family's entire scheme would have been exposed to Prince Grove's investigation.
For now, things are alright. All of the family's businesses are still hidden beneath the sea level, and even if Prince Grove were to investigate, he wouldn't find anything.
After leaving the Royal Palace, Kask's first thought was to find Kronos, as he wanted to tell Kronos about George III's inquiry as soon as possible.
But before he could put it into action, Kask abandoned the idea, because he didn't know if someone was watching him.
If he had just left the Royal Palace and immediately went to see Kronos, it would essentially be telling George III that nothing he had just said was credible.
Therefore, it's best to wait and then send the Message to Kronos through an In-Betweener; that would be safer.
The choice of this In-Betweener was naturally Professor Portland, which would not arouse any suspicion from anyone.
The only problem is that Kask won't be able to see Portland until tomorrow afternoon, so the Message won't reach Kronos until tomorrow evening.
Kask was somewhat uneasy, fearing that his choice might affect Kronos.
"Kronos, don't blame me. My choice isn't just for myself; it will also reduce some trouble for you. But if it really delays your or your family's affairs, then I really can't help it," Kask murmured, gazing at the Moon.
Kask spent the entire night tossing and turning in anxiety, unable to fall asleep.
The next morning, to avoid being watched, Kask didn't dare leave early and instead went to his office as usual, acting as if nothing was wrong.
Kask had moved to the Secretary-General's office, no longer on the same floor, which meant that Portland would arrive in the afternoon, though he didn't know the exact time.
So, around noon, he specifically instructed someone to wait at the door and, once Portland arrived, to come to his office immediately.
Fortunately, there wasn't much going on at Backlund University today, so Portland was able to arrive at the Higher Education Committee on time.
After receiving the notification, Portland didn't go to his own office, but went directly to Kask's office.
"What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry to see me?" Portland asked as soon as he entered the office.
Kask glanced at Portland, then picked up a pen and wrote on a piece of paper, "I don't know if anyone's watching me? Can you be sure about that?"
Then, Kask said, "The reorganization plan for Backlund Technical College is basically complete. I won't continue the rest; someone else will take over. Here's that person's information; you can take a look."
After saying that, Kask handed the paper to Portland.
Portland was right next to Kask and could see his movements, so he immediately knew something was wrong.
He took the paper from Kask's hand with a serious expression, glanced at it, and quickly looked up. Seeing Kask nodding, indicating that what was written on the paper was true, Portland slowly took off a bracelet from his wrist.
He only found Portland; if he had found someone else, they might not have had this equipment.
For a researcher, secrecy is of paramount importance, and this is Portland's only Beyonder Characteristic.
After Portland activated the bracelet's ability, he said, "I can speak normally now. My bracelet can create an Illusion Barrier, covering this room, which can create a cognitive bias in observers, preventing them from seeing our movements."
"And what about the sound?" Kask pressed.
Portland glanced at the door and said, "I'm sure there's no one outside, and I'm also sure you don't have Beyonder Item on you that can detect sounds. As long as we keep our voices down, I personally think there won't be any problems."
As an Appraiser, Portland is qualified to say this; virtually no Beyonder Item can escape his notice.
"Aren't you sure if someone is watching me?"
Portland said helplessly, "Anyway, I don't have any ideas. Why don't you go ask Kronos? He's stronger than me, and the Argel Family has even greater power."
Kask gave a wry smile. "All this happened because of him. Going to him again would just be playing into the eyes of the person keeping watch."
"Is this why you called me here?" Portland asked seriously.
"That's right, I need you to remind Kronos that I'm not available right now."
Then, Kask recounted the events of the previous night in detail, adding his own speculations.
"So you need me to subtly inform Kronos of all this, so he can be mentally prepared?" Portland asked after hearing the whole story.
"It's not just about being mentally prepared. I believe there are some stories between their family and the Royal Family that outsiders don't know about, so the Argel Family should have ways to resolve these issues. If we had informed the Marquis Argel in time, it should have reduced a lot of trouble."