"Ah."
Having no idea what he was about to encounter, Gray looked up in astonishment, seemingly puzzled as to why, after such a momentous event, he was still expected to Grand Foundry Master.
What merit or ability do I possess?
Balund sighed and explained:
"What's happening here cannot be disclosed to all the citizens of the Graycast Corridor in the short term."
"After all, not all of them can accept the Machine Spirit, otherwise you wouldn't have only won by a narrow margin."
"Moreover, for any power, changing orders frequently is a major taboo."
"Any new policy needs time to be implemented gradually. It needs time for those who do not accept it to soften their attitude, and it needs time for those with interests to withdraw from the relevant fields."
"So I think you need to be Grand Foundry Master for at least ten years before you can fully implement the Machine Spirit and get everyone used to coexisting with this new life form."
"When that time comes, you can choose to reveal the truth about the Great Labyrinth City or publicly abdicate, and announce everything that happened today at that point in time. Only in this way can everyone finally accept the fact."
"Otherwise, if you enter the Great Library for only one day and the Grand Foundry Master becomes a Machine Spirit, people will only think you are a puppet controlled by the Machine Spirit. At that time, most people will feel dissatisfied and panicked, and the entire Graycast Corridor will be in turmoil because of this."
Gray paused for a moment and asked in return:
"But is it really worth entrusting such a big task to me?"
Balund gave a self-deprecating laugh:
"There's nothing I can do if I don't hand it over to you, after all, you were chosen by everyone to be the Grand Foundry Master..."
"However, compared to the work of Grand Foundry Master, this is a small matter. If you can't even make a mascot properly, I'll have to wonder if I've misjudged you."
"As for Nora, just let her continue as your assistant. Your task is to be in the right place at the right time."
Gray composed himself, realizing he was no longer the dangerous yet free traveling merchant, and began to feel the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
The couple bowed respectfully to Balund:
We will certainly live up to our mission.
"That's good."
Balund walked to the side and slowly took off his gray robe, placing it on the back of a chair.
"So from today onwards, I officially begin my retirement. As for the Graycast Corridor, I'll leave it to you and the Great Labyrinth City."
He slowly walked to the slightly dilapidated machine, stroked its exterior, and said:
" Aiboke, our mission is over."
"Squeak~"
A strip of paper slowly emerged from the side of the first-generation Mind Coffin. Balund habitually tore it off, ran two fingers along the strip, and its meaning became clear in his mind.
Okay, that's enough for now.
He knocked on the side of the coffin:
"If there is an afterlife, I should be the one to handle such dangerous tasks..."
As Balund spoke, he pressed a button on the side of the Mind Coffin. The metal cover popped open, revealing a button that looked like it was up to no good.
Experience from reading countless works of art tells those Soul Returner that pressing that button will definitely not bring good things.
Ed, who had also noticed something amiss, spoke again at this moment, his tone tinged with helplessness:
"Are you two brothers destined to die today?"
Balund's hand froze in mid-air, his eyes fixed on Ed:
"I was just freeing him from his mission—I know Aiboke died a long time ago..."
"Eh? That's not necessarily true."
Ed suddenly interrupted the old man:
"How will we know if Aiboke is still alive if we don't open it and see?"
Balund's expression froze on his face:
"I still hope to preserve his final dignity; whether it's opened or not, it's just a change of resting place."
Ed shook his head:
"If you open it, you'll most likely find a corpse, but if I open it, it's a different story."
At that moment, Ed clearly saw a significant change in Balund's slightly cloudy eyes—a look filled with hope, yet also with a reluctance to easily believe.
If activating the Machine Spirit and replacing the Grand Foundry Master with the Machine Spirit of the Great Labyrinth City itself only changed his handover process, it was still within the scope of official business.
At this moment, what Ed is expressing truly concerns the future of the Balund brothers, and for the two who have already stepped down, this is a genuine private matter.
Decades of untold suffering and burdens have made Balund accustomed to making all the decisions and accepting all the burdens alone.
He had no descendants, no family, not even his own home, and his "personal belongings" were pitifully few; he could leave the Great Library with just a small bag.
Despite possessing High Tier strength, he aged prematurely due to extreme repression, clearly burdened by too much pressure.
If Balund is a saint-like figure in the context of the Graycast Corridor, then his blood relative Aiboke represents Balund's personal saintly sentiment.
From the very beginning, he never intended to have a real retirement life; he was only sustained by the belief that he would pass on his position as the Grand Foundry Master and his Psionic Energy.
But now, suddenly, an Incarnation of the creator descended from the sky, disrupting all his plans:
This guy first gave birth to the Grand Foundry Master in another way, separating the Graycast Corridor from its tragic heritage.
Without having to sacrifice his own life to transfer power, he used a vampire to replace the "battery" he was supposed to be, thus saving his own life.
Now, he even claims that his blood relatives, who have been imprisoned for over half a century, still have a glimmer of Vitality...
Balund was almost reluctant to believe it was real, because it was truly too fantastical.
In his life, which is quite long for a human being, there seem to be only two periods that can be described as easy:
The first part is about the time when I was rescued and protected by two Short-Eared Elf, and the second part is from this afternoon until now.
After a long silence, he spoke in a tone that was both moved and barely contained with emotion:
"Although I am no longer Grand Foundry Master, if Aiboke can truly be saved, I am willing to accept your assignment in my personal capacity to repay your kindness, whether in battle or anything else..."
Ed, seeing the old man's expression, couldn't help but be moved, and returned the greeting with unusual formality:
"I'll try."
Countless vines extended from the spatial rift, beginning to wrap around the first generation of Mind Coffin layer by layer.
Everyone expected Ed to do something in front of them, but they found that he didn't even control a single mechanical arm; he simply used vines to entangle the first-generation Mind Coffin.
At the very last moment before the package was finished, Ed jumped into the still-closed vines:
"Let me speak with him alone."