Chapter 1033 – Negotiation Table
000
Because the variable known as Laplace, which was thought to have disappeared, reappeared before their eyes, the expedition team stopped again and waited in place.
If it had been attacked, it could have been dealt with by counterattacking and burning it down on the spot.
Laplace said that if he were to attack ‘Adam’, he would not be willing to cooperate with him…
Of course, as soon as Lila heard that, he scoffed and pulled out his wand, ready to use magic on the spot.
“There is no way I can cooperate with a scum like you. Let the little bits of brain that are left burn in the flames of hell.”
Once you finish your lines, it ends there.
The flames of purgatory literally spewed out from the tip of her staff, threatening to burn Laplace’s new body –
“Wait a minute.”
As if to stop Lila, a voice came from behind her.
When Lila and Sasha reacted and turned around, Artis appeared, trudging out from behind with a lit cigarette in her mouth.
“Hoo.”
When Laplace saw her like that, he voiced his interest in her.
“Attis?”
Lila is momentarily taken aback by the fact that the expedition leader easily appears in front of the enemy, but what worries her more than that is.
“Why are you stopping?”
I guess it was because she couldn’t understand why she stopped.
“… And why are you in front?”
When Lila said that with a dissatisfied expression, Artis spoke with a smile.
“Because there was a fuss up front. Isn’t this too much of an issue to get an after-the-fact report from the back? If you leave it like this, Lila, you would have burned that bastard to ashes.”
“…”
At her words, Lila snorted and lowered her wand, erasing the magic she had prepared in her hand once again.
Today, for some reason, I just keep canceling her magic halfway through.
Artis also sees Lila’s reaction and smiles deeply and meaningfully while looking at the uninvited guest, Laplace.
“So, what were you talking about? I think Adam was talking about it.”
“Professor Artis, I’m glad to hear that you seem to understand better than Laila. You were saying that if you hit ‘Adam’, you might be able to cooperate with me.”
Laplace placed his long arm behind her and answered in a polite manner.
Of course, because of its bizarre appearance, no matter how gentle its tone and voice may be, it will not be able to inspire trust.
“It’s surprising. I thought the returnees were Adam fanatics, no different from the exiled cult.”
“Most of them are like that. But we are basic scholars… We are the furthest thing from ‘faith’. Some, like Darwin, blindly believe in Adam, while others, like me, are only grateful for the ‘grace’ he gives. It’s the law. Adam and I are not in a hierarchical relationship, but rather in a relationship of interest.”
Laplace places his hand on his chest and speaks calmly.
However, Artis looks at him like that and raises the corners of his mouth.
“You speak well. Have you felt anything since becoming like that? That machine is not the god who will save you.”
Although the words were meant to be sarcastic, Laplace put his hand to his chin upon hearing Artis’s words.
“Hmm… I don’t know if it’s similar”
Surprisingly, Laplace shows a positive sign of Attis’ words.
“As you know, Adam… Has a forcible control over humans. That is, he is a human. To be exact, it is a trait inherited genetically as he created the ancestors of modern humans in the successor world. But as you can see, I retain the human part. I’ve thrown away a lot of it, so I feel like I have a clearer mind now than I did before… I guess I should say that the fog that was in my soul has cleared up a bit.”
Laplace spoke at length, using a lot of difficult words.
At those words, Sasha did not hide her expression of ‘What are you saying…?’, And Lila showed disgust.
However, Attis closes his mouth for a moment, ‘sniffs’, and sucks in the tobacco, burning the end and dropping the ashes.
“… So you want to cooperate with us? By betraying a former fellow returner?”
And, if we ask Laplace once again what he means.
Sigh! As a sound is heard, something black quickly protrudes from behind and attacks Laplace in front of him.
It flew out at literally the speed of the wind, aiming for the neck of Laplace’s rabbit with its sharp, reinforced claws.
“Artis! How long are you planning on talking to this pervert? You haven’t forgotten, right? What kind of person this guy is!”
The one with the wagging black tail and the excited, vertically split pupils raising their voices was ‘Schrödinger’, whom Cleon had joined the expedition.
“Schrödinger!”
Laplace suddenly attacked Schrödinger, restraining his body and standing in a position where he could pierce his neck at any time, and called out his name.
“… Schrödinger? Hoooh.”
Laplace, too, would react to that name and look at the girl who bound him.
“I thought it was a name I had heard before somewhere. Could it be Schrödinger, the insignificant homunculus I had buried somewhere?”
“Tsk…!”
Even though it is his own creation, Laplace calls it by its name, even adding the modifier ‘unimportant’.
Schrödinger applies pressure to a distance that allows you to slit the neck of a stuffed rabbit with your fingertips.
“I see. Did you join them too?”
“Yes. It reminds me of many things. I am not your creation created from nothing.”
Hehe…”
Laplace did not deny Schrödinger’s words, but only gave an unpleasant laugh.
“Attis. This guy is a monster who modified Kshat, took the lives of countless animals and beasts, and sacrificed countless humans in the process.”
Schrödinger talks.
“Yes. And he also tried to kill me and Amelia by unleashing a chimera.”
When Lila talks about Schrödinger, Laplace also responds.
“Why don’t you calm down a little? I told you, but I was already killed by Cleon, the magic swordsman you love. As a result, none of you died, and I died. At this point, aren’t I the victim?”
A way of speaking that only arouses anger.
As expected, it seemed to be saying that even if a person dies once and wakes up, his or her nature does not easily change.
“I guess I can burn it, right?”
“Yes… I, too, can’t stand it at this point.”
The moment Sasha sympathized with Layla and put an arrow on the bow.
“Wait a moment.”
Artis opens his mouth once again to block the two people.
“You said you wanted to cooperate with us, right? If you cooperate… What can you do? From the looks of it, that body doesn’t look like it’s meant for combat.”
As for Artis, it was no different from asking him directly what kind of ‘card’ he had.
And the way he spoke seemed as if he was willing to accept the request for cooperation depending on the type of ‘card he had.
Hearing those words, Laplace let out a low laugh.
“Ah. That’s right. I understood that even if you made a choice, you wouldn’t be swayed by your emotions. Unlike the others gathered here, you are the same type of person as us.”
“Haha. Stop talking nonsense. Speak quickly.”
However, Artis dismisses his words with a short laugh and urges him on.
“While you were enjoying the festival in Asteris, I used this new body to wander around the Serpent Mountains. So… Most of the topographical information about this mountain is in my head. For example, … The sixth mountain you are heading towards… It is also the safest route to ‘Jade Dragon Mountain.'”
“Heh… The fact that you know that our destination is there means that you were also interested in Leviathan?”
“Of course. Leviathan is a relic of the original world. Originally, it was enough for us returnees to retrieve.”
Laplace shrugged his shoulders while saying that.
“We discovered several entrances, but we returnees have already confirmed that the safest way is to enter through Jade Dragon Mountain. But even so, the ‘guardians’ there are also annoying and dangerous.”
“Guardian?”
As Lila responded to the words Laplace put into her mouth, Artis responded briefly.
“It’s a defensive device that prevents people from entering the ruins. It’s like a gatekeeper. It seems to be quite powerful, but I checked the data to see that the guy on Mt. Six Dragons is at least worth dealing with.”
“Why did the returnees leave Leviathan alone even though they knew this?”
When Sasha asks a question, Laplace speaks to Artis with a low laugh.
“She probably knows best about that fact.”
Then, the eyes of the others standing there also turned to Attis.
Then, Attis closed her mouth for a moment, then spoke while sighing.
“… Guardians are created on the premise that they cannot be breached. If what is protected within it is important, it must be managed even more strictly.”
“Why are you talking about something obvious? It’s not just yesterday or today that the dungeon’s guardians are strong, is it?”
When Lila spoke in a complaining tone, Artis smiled.
“Yes. That’s exactly what you said. So what we have to deal with is a guardian who must never be breached.”
“…?”
“A sealed ruin made with the best technology in the original world. And the best guardian of the ruins. What they have is an ability called ‘thought defense’.”
Attis made his fortune like that.
“Ideological defense…?”
When Sasha tilts her head at something disturbing, Artis speaks.
“Yes. If certain conditions are not met, the ability to nullify all damage and attacks aimed at oneself. In other words, it is ‘invincible’.”
“Invincible!?”
When Sasha raises her voice at what can only be a surprise, Lila narrows her eyes.
“So, we have to break through that invincibility?”
“That’s right. As I said, if you meet ‘certain conditions’, you can break through the ‘invincibility’. The conditions are different for each guardian, but I don’t know how many days and nights I stayed up deciphering the conditions for the guardian of ‘Jade Dragon Mountain’. .”
When Artis shrugs his shoulders while saying this, Laplace moves his long arms and clap his hands.
“Oh. As expected, the decryption was successful.”
“It was incredibly difficult, but somehow? And. Returners. You failed to decipher it. So, you are leaving the Evil Dragon Mountains alone, unable to enter even if you wanted to.”
“Those words that point out the painful part. I can’t help but nod humbly.”
At Artis’ words, Laplace just nodded.
“Okay, but with this, we showed each other what cards we had. I know the ‘way’ to the destination you want. You have the ‘key’ to enter the place that is our common destination. Yes.”
Laplace said so and stretched out his clapping hands in front of him.
“Now, don’t you think this means enough for us to hold each other’s hands?”
“…”
For a moment, there is silence among the companions.
The one who has the decision is ‘Artis’.
Of course, if she joins hands with Laplace here… The atmosphere of the expedition will not get much better.
Nevertheless, both Schrödinger and Lila understood that there was some rationality in that decision.
So, if you focus on what Artis says next.
“Haha…”
Instead of continuing to speak, Artis let out a dry laugh.
“Hmm…?”
Even Laplace tilted his head as if he was surprised by that reaction.
“Really… I can’t help but think that his judgment has become blurred because his brain has gotten smaller. Sure, I may be closer to you than the other humans here…”
And, while adjusting his glasses, Artis spoke.
“I don’t want to be treated as the same species as you guys who can throw away human lives without a care in the world.”
“… Then, the negotiations have collapsed.”
Laplace lowered his outstretched hand.
And instead – he thrust his hand towards where his own heart was.
“What!”
Schrödinger, who was restraining his blood-thumping body, would raise his voice in surprise.
“I know that you won’t let me live. If that happens, it’s only a matter of time before I give up this body.”
After breaking his own heart, Artis muttered to Laplace, who seemed surprisingly calm.
“Isn’t that the main body anyway? I know very well that you are not the kind of person who shows up without insurance.”
“Hehe… I wonder what it would be like.”
If Laplace responded to Attis like that –
Something ‘got caught’ in Lila’s magic detection.
“! Schrödinger! Get away from him!”
“What?”
“That guy planted a bomb inside his body! It explodes!”
If Lila gets embarrassed and raises her voice, Schrödinger will get scared and fall off the spot.
“Wow, a shower that will tie your feet!”
Immediately after, Sasha quickly used a restraint technique and tied Laplace’s feet.
“Good job Sasha! Then, I’ll explode with a magical barrier…!”
And that moment when Lila tried to concentrate her magic once again.
‘Bang!’
From behind her, something sounded.
Lila and Sasha flinched at the thunder-like sound and turned around.
There, there was Artis holding in his hand a cylindrical weapon that I had seen before.
Lila was dumbfounded as she saw the smoke flowing out.
Laplace will fall forward while making a loud sound.
“It’s a threat, something like that.”
Artis takes out a new piece of tobacco and puts it in her mouth.
“Lila. The explosion has stopped. Examine its head to find a safe route.”
“Eh…”
Even though Lila sounded embarrassed, she could only nod her head.
