Calling in outside help

Boris turned to Kronos. "Brother Klein, whatever comes of this, you don't need to worry. We at the Grizzly Bear Bar will take responsibility."

Then he pointed at the corpse on the floor. "As for what he left behind, what do you intend to do with it?"

That was a cleverly phrased question. Unaffiliated Beyonders didn't know about Beyonder characteristics, so if Kronos knew nothing about them, the bar would get to keep this one.

"Boss Boris, there's something else I'd like to know about this," Kronos said, rather than answering directly.

"Go ahead, Brother Klein."

Kronos didn't beat around the bush. "This Sailor should be a Sequence 9, right? So why did I see traits of a Folk of Rage in him?"

As soon as Boris heard the question, he understood. Even if this was an unaffiliated Beyonder, he was a knowledgeable one. There was no need to mince words.

"I actually looked into that," Boris said, pouring Kronos a glass of beer.

"He was expelled from the Mandated Punishers because he thought he knew better. Before he had fully mastered his potion, he took the risk of forcing down a Sequence 8 potion and lost control on the spot."

"Fortunately, his Mandated Punishers team had a Beyonder item that helped him expel some of the potion's power. Otherwise, he would have died long ago. But they couldn't expel all of it, so he still had some Sequence 8 power inside him."

"But he could never advance any further in his lifetime. He was stuck somewhere between Sequence 9 and Sequence 8, with an extremely volatile temper. Once he flew into a rage, he couldn't control himself."

After listening, Kronos nodded, then glanced at the Sailor's corpse again. "Then what sequence does his Beyonder characteristic count as now?"

"Uh..." Boris was at a loss for words. That question really was beyond his knowledge.

Seeing that Boris could no longer answer his questions, Kronos stopped pressing him and spoke plainly.

"Just give me the Beyonder characteristic. I'm already immensely grateful that you're willing to keep the trouble off my back."

"Brother Klein, thank you for understanding. How about this? From now on, everything you order here is on the house," Boris said generously.

Kronos hurriedly declined. "That won't do. Aren't you practically forcing me to stop coming here?"

After saying that, he thought for a moment. "How about this instead? Boss Boris, introduce me to a few safe Beyonder circles, the kind where people can trade things."

There were actually many such circles in Backlund, and the highest-level one was probably Mr. A's. Kronos was quite interested in taking a look. He had nothing in particular to buy, but who knew?

It would be awkward for Kronos to mention Mr. A's name to Boris directly, though, so he could only take things slowly. Even if this wasn't the right circle, he would find it eventually.

"No problem. Leave it to me," Boris agreed readily. "But I'll need to ask the organizers of those circles first, then introduce you."

Kronos didn't know whether this was standard practice, but it was a safer way of doing things and gave the participants peace of mind.

"All right, Boss Boris. I'll probably be coming to the bar every evening for the next few days. Just let me know whenever it's arranged."

Since shots had been fired, the police would naturally come to investigate. Once Kronos received the Beyonder characteristic, he left through the bar's back door.

Looking at the blue Beyonder characteristic in his hand, Kronos hadn't expected his evening to be quite so eventful.

Only now did Kronos remember the progress of his potion digestion.

He had used the Eyes of Mystery Prying to probe the flaws and weaknesses in Beyonder abilities, then defeated his opponent. He had carried out that whole process very well, so his potion had digested rapidly throughout it.

What Kronos hadn't expected was that severely injuring the Sailor afterward to vent his anger had also been extremely effective. No wonder the notes said that fighting for one's life in danger also produced good results.

At this rate, he would definitely finish digesting the potion before May.

Since Kronos had left the villa through a window, he couldn't return through the front door either. He had to jump the fence into the yard, then climb back through his window.

It had certainly been a full day. It was already late, but he still couldn't skip his daily meditation.

The benefits brought by the Nine Secret Hand Seals grew with each passing day. They might save his life at some critical moment, so Kronos took them very seriously.

Early the next morning, before Kronos was even out of bed, Beck Yardinis arrived.

Kronos was startled to see him when he went downstairs for breakfast.

"Beck, why are you here so early? Was there a problem registering the company?" Kronos dispensed with formalities, chatting with Beck as he ate breakfast.

"No, Major Kronos. The Ansair Asset Management Company has been registered. I took the liberty of locating it beside the Loen Royal Bank, where security will be much better. The changes to the shares in the Bowen Trading Company were also completed last night."

"I've found a suitable site for the factory as well, though we're still negotiating the price. It's not far from Saint Hilarion Church and sits beside the Tussock River, making transportation convenient. However, you haven't decided on a name, so I haven't registered the company yet."

"As for the house and the Coim Company, we've identified their owners and are actively trying to contact them."

Beck's competence really deserved praise. In just one night, he had all but settled everything, far exceeding Kronos's expectations.

"Call it the Walter Factory. I'll be leaving Backlund in May, so you need to have the factory up and running before then." Kronos thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being the boss who only had to say a few words while his subordinate ran himself ragged.

"Yes, Major Kronos. Once the location is finalized, setting up the factory will be very quick. The metal-smelting equipment has already been ordered, too. We can have the factory established within a few days."

Kronos rubbed his chin. "Mm, good. Remember to recruit some experienced metalworkers. I'll give them the formulas when the time comes. At the very least, they need to know how to operate the equipment properly."

At that point, Kronos remembered something. Ideally, smokeless charcoal production needed a dedicated production line, but no such thing existed in this world. The best option, then, was to build one.

It wasn't particularly complicated. Essentially, branches, waste sawdust, grain husks, and plant stalks went in, then underwent crushing, compression, drying, and high-temperature carbonization.

Kronos already had a fairly clear idea of the machinery needed for this process, but there was no way he was doing the work himself in this lifetime.

So the best approach was to find a capable pair of hands to use-no, to bring in outside help.

And this outside help was wonderfully easy to find. Kronos could even use his reputation to endorse the factory, and perhaps recruit a few people from his workplace to help with the manufacturing.

That person was the great scientist, Professor Portland.

So, after Beck finished reporting on his work, Kronos headed out to Professor Portland's office at Backlund University.

"What brings you here?" Portland asked first.

He knew Kronos had been busy lately. Although they rarely met, the two still exchanged letters to discuss various subjects when they had time.

"Heh, I've got a project I'd like your help with. I want you to make some production equipment for me, then lend me your reputation for a little advertising." Kronos didn't beat around the bush with Portland either.

"Oh? Is it difficult? Even you can't make it?"

"Not really. I'm mainly short on time. Right now, I'm managing one company, setting up another company and a factory, and preparing to acquire yet another company. There's too much to do."

Strictly speaking, that wasn't a lie. It just wasn't entirely precise.

Portland didn't refuse. A new machine might give him a new line of thought.

Seeing that Portland had no objections, Kronos began explaining. "Here's the situation. Parliament is currently discussing legislation concerning air pollution, and I've discovered a method for making smokeless charcoal..."

The technology involved wasn't particularly sophisticated, so Kronos soon finished explaining.

Then he saw Portland looking at him with undisguised disdain, clearly mocking his idea.

"Don't look at me like that. If you think it's too simple, you can send a student who's good with their hands to do it. But you have to put your name on it." Kronos hadn't really expected Portland to make it himself anyway.

"All right, get out of here." Portland began shooing him away.

"Wait, I've got something else!" Kronos had indeed prepared another matter to discuss.

As he spoke, he took a box from his pocket. Inside, once he opened it, lay a blue Beyonder characteristic.

Portland actually had no interest in Beyonder abilities. Otherwise, he could have advanced to Sequence 6 Artisan over a decade ago.

Kronos had once asked Portland why he had become a Beyonder when he disliked the Beyonder world.

Portland's aim, however, had been to improve his ability to learn by becoming a Beyonder.

He hadn't become an Artisan precisely because he understood how important Artisans were. Once he advanced, he would no longer be able to stay out of things.

But Kronos didn't know anyone else who could help him appraise this Beyonder characteristic.

"This is the Beyonder characteristic of a Sequence 9 Sailor. He had already begun advancing, but failed to complete it, so many of his abilities had been enhanced. He even had some Sequence 8 abilities." Portland was still very professional, examining the Beyonder characteristic in his hand with confidence.

"This man lost control during an advancement years ago, but was saved. A Beyonder item was used to expel some of the potion, and his mental state was never quite normal afterward. He died yesterday. If a characteristic like this is made into a Beyonder item, will it affect the user?" That was what Kronos really wanted to know.