Philip's return

When he got up early the next morning, Kronos received word from Empress Borough that Gner had not returned. His worries had been rather unfounded.

But at least this incident had reminded the staff at the West Borough villa to prepare a basin of fresh blood every day.

After washing up and having breakfast, Kronos took a carriage back to Empress Borough.

Back when he attended Backlund University, Kronos had preferred staying in West Borough. Whenever he went to Empress Borough, he felt as though a great many people were watching him and asking about his identity.

But things were different now. After the Argel Family stepped forward, his identity had naturally become common knowledge. Under these circumstances, living in Empress Borough had become necessary.

The fruits of his recent efforts-the formulas for those materials-were still unfinished, and they were all at the Empress Borough villa. Naturally, he had to return.

Originally, he had also needed to concern himself with the Black Skull Gang, but that was no longer necessary. Gner had little to do each day, so he had taken over all of it.

In fact, the formulas for these materials had been written down long ago. However, some of their auxiliary ingredients were particularly difficult to obtain in this era, so Kronos had spent the past few days researching substitutes.

He had already completed several formulas. Their effects would probably fall short of the originals, but there was nothing he could do. He had done his best.

Once he finished all the formulas at hand, he could go to the factory and properly experiment with and test them.

The next few days passed peacefully. The formulas in Kronos's hands were nearly complete, while Gner had gathered a full account of the Black Skull Gang leadership's movements.

One day, while Kronos was working hard in his study to perfect the formula for the final material, a visitor arrived at the villa.

Kronos was delighted to hear that Philip had come. His arrival meant another opportunity to digest his potion, so Kronos quickly made himself presentable and went downstairs to receive him.

"Kronos, our butler told me you came looking for me, so I came to see you as soon as I had some free time." Philip greeted him warmly, spreading his arms and giving him a hug.

"Yes, Philip, what have you been up to? I heard you went away with Duke Negan. We haven't seen each other in ages because of it."

Philip actually rolled his eyes at that. "I asked around. You haven't been to the Navy Base in ages either. Even if I'd stayed home the whole time, you wouldn't have seen me. How can you blame me for going away?"

Kronos had only been exaggerating out of politeness. Who would have thought Philip would take him so literally?

"Well, the preliminary design work on the ironclad was finished, wasn't it? What would I still be going to the Navy Base for?"

There was something rather evasive about Kronos's argument, but Philip did not pursue the matter.

"I went with the duke to inspect the navy. We stayed for ages, visiting one fleet a day. There were speeches to give and men to mingle with. It was exhausting," Philip complained.

"Inspect the navy?" Kronos had not expected that. "Isn't that supposed to be the job of the Royal Family? They agreed to let you go?"

Indeed, whenever military authority was involved, the Royal Family disliked interference from the nobility. Duke Negan could be an admiral and have numerous allies and trusted subordinates in the navy, but he absolutely could not be allowed to win over the hearts of its men.

And inspections of this kind were precisely an opportunity to instill certain ideas in ordinary soldiers. How had such a task fallen to Duke Negan?

Philip naturally understood what Kronos meant and explained, "You think the Royal Family wanted this? They had no choice. The Royal Family and the nobles might be enemies, but they're also partners in many situations."

"Over the years, the churches' influence has been penetrating deeper and deeper into the Loen Kingdom, but the military is the one area we've guarded fiercely. The ironclad was created to prove to the world that ordinary soldiers could defeat pirates without the power of the Church of Storms."

Kronos knew about this. That attempt at proof had failed. The ironclad had still been unable to defeat Nast Solomon, the King of the Five Seas. Though Nast had not escaped unscathed either, their own losses had been substantial.

And the effort to keep the churches from infiltrating the military had ultimately failed as well. Following the Great Smog of Backlund, the orthodox churches had demanded accountability, the third prince, Edessak, had killed himself to take responsibility, and George III had agreed to let the churches' forces enter the military.

Unaware of Kronos's thoughts, Philip continued, "The best way to keep the churches' influence from taking root in the soldiers' hearts is to conduct more inspections. But most of the Royal Family's princes and dukes are High Sequence Beyonders, and those few royal sons aren't enough to handle it all."

"So the Royal Family joined forces with the nobles. It wasn't just us. Earl Levett, Earl Wolf, and Earl Hall all took part. Does your family want to join in? The Royal Family wouldn't refuse, and you'd gain some influence in the military."

Kronos hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no. I can do without that kind of influence. A stable noble title and quietly making a little money suit me best."

Philip had only made the suggestion in passing. He had already learned the Argel Family's entire history from Duke Negan. Families that had gone through something like that were usually very cautious.

Besides, with opportunities to expand one's military influence, every additional participant meant a smaller share for everyone else. Who would want another Marquis Argyle appearing out of nowhere?

"Forget it, then. What did you need me for?" Philip finally turned to the reason for the visit.

Kronos had nothing to hide. "I want to fight one of your family's bodyguards."

"What?" Philip thought he had misheard and asked again.

Kronos started from the beginning. "My current Sequence 8 is called Melee Scholar. To act the part, I need to fight. That's why I went to the Navy Base to find Gner back then-partly to learn fighting techniques, and partly to spar with him."

Philip knew about the Acting Method, so he simply nodded as he listened.

"But sparring alone wasn't very effective. After returning to Backlund, I started looking for unaffiliated Beyonders to fight. I've already fought Beyonders from quite a few pathways."

"A few days ago, someone told me about a person who's a Sequence 8 Barbarian of the Lawyer Pathway. He's physically formidable and highly skilled in combat. Supposedly, he's among the strongest at Sequence 8."

"Naturally, I wanted to fight someone like that, so I kept asking. Eventually, I learned that he was one of Duke Negan's bodyguards. That's why I went to your house that day, only to find out you and the duke were away."

Once Kronos finished, Philip understood.

"Now that you've explained, I know who you mean. He's one of the best among my father's bodyguards. That's no problem. I'll just have him come over and fight you."

Kronos hurriedly stopped him. "That won't work. If he knows who I am, he'll hold back, and it won't help me digest my potion."

Philip had not expected that complication. "Then what do we do? He already knows who you are. You've met more than once; you just don't know who he is."

"That's easy." The words had barely left Kronos's mouth when Philip saw his face begin to change. Before long, he looked exactly like Philip himself.

"A Beyonder item?" Philip was a little surprised, though it also seemed perfectly reasonable.

Wasn't it perfectly normal for a marquis's heir to possess a few Beyonder items? When Philip graduated from the Naval Academy and took up a post in the fleet, Duke Negan had practically armed him to the teeth.

"That's right. It can change my appearance. Will you be home tomorrow?" Kronos asked.

Philip thought for a moment. "In the morning, yes, but I have to go out with the duke after lunch."

"Then how about this? I'll come to your house tomorrow with a different face and say you sent me to apply for a bodyguard position. Then you can have that Barbarian test me." Kronos laid out his plan.

Philip considered it, then said, "No problem. Come around ten. Just say you met me today and I told you to come."

"No problem."

The two then chatted about things Philip had seen and heard in the navy. Once they ran out of topics, Philip took his leave.

Philip's arrival had made Kronos very happy, because he finally had a way to digest the last traces of his potion. Judging by the information he had, he had already digested nearly ninety-nine percent of it. Once this fight was over, he should be able to finish the process smoothly.

After that, Kronos could take the Sequence 7 potion. Sequence 7 brought a substantial increase in strength for every pathway, along with a much wider range of abilities.

Klein's Magician was one such example. It granted three or four new abilities at once, allowing him to fight opponents above his Sequence as long as he planned carefully.

The Mystery Pryer Pathway was no different. Though a Sequence 7 Warlock's methods were complicated, they offered limitless possibilities.

Moreover, he had the Argel Family's thirteen or fourteen centuries of accumulated knowledge behind him. An unaffiliated Warlock might know only seven or eight spells, whereas Kronos already knew several dozen.

This was also because Kronos had once read in the family's notebooks that creating sound, workable spells helped digest the Warlock potion.

One could therefore imagine how many spells the Argel Family had created over the years. Many might have been useless, but their sheer number was still not to be underestimated.

It was precisely because of Sequence 7's special nature that Marquis Argyle had agreed to let Kronos go to sea. Kronos was his own son-how could he have agreed to let him take such risks without some confidence in his safety?

What use would the caravan's handful of guards be? When the time came, Kronos would have only himself to rely on for protection.