Leontina of the Zelk family introduced me to someone named Itski today.

The teleportation spell he’s developed is truly marvelous. And he did not only get the theory done, but can actually use it somewhat. He’s quite talented, even if he’s lacking in some aspects.

I’ve decided to sponsor his research.

Today I received the latest results from Itski’s experiment.

It was a success. A portal opened connecting two distant locations.

A lot of people are necessary to meet the mana requirements for it, so it’ll take some time before it’s actually usable, but it’s looking promising so far.

I’m looking forward to the next experiments.

The Crystal of Postponement I commissioned is starting to show results. It can actually delay the need to pay a demon, just like I wanted.

But demons put so much value on their pacts that they don’t seem very fond of this device. As a result they have started looking for loopholes to achieve the agreed result in an undesired way. And if the crystal gets lost or breaks, they immediately come to collect their payment.

We’ll probably need to find a new method. They’re really strict with their rules, and they suspect anyone involved with those who break them.

Luckily I never interacted with the test subjects and there’s hardly any connection between us, and we’ve found ways to mask our presence from the demons, so I don’t have to worry about being hunted down.

Arrold came back from Seperion, badly injured. Luckily he managed to survive.

He was injured by the arm of a magic automaton, which looks extremely elaborate. It’s easy to assume that the rest of that automaton’s body is just as detailed. Whoever created it might be able to grant me my lifelong wish.

For now, I’ll label this arm as Sample No. 784.

I’ll have Sample No. 784 analyzed, and try to obtain more information about the automaton it came from, and its creator.

The materials of Sample No. 784 came from the World Tree and orichalcum. I can source the latter, but the World Tree is protected by Seperion, and trading it is heavily restricted.

That location is also considered a holy place for the church, and Granleuche has been planning to reclaim it for a long time. Maybe I can use that to my advantage.

I’m always amazed by how hard it is to control information. I did my best to keep it secret, but somehow people always find out.

Wulbent Corleagne demanded I let him use the teleportation magic.

He said that Granleuche exists to eradicate all monsters, and he wants to do his part as a noble and kill the Terra King Garan in the Derbidenies Desert. But I know he’s using that as an excuse to gather monster parts. Otherwise, he would not decide to go after a protected monster that lives on the opposite side of Seperion from us. Not to mention that he only took the private forces of the Corleagne family with him, and he told me to keep this secret from other nobles. That alone contradicts his excuse.

He might be a good magician, but he’s clearly not good at negotiating or covering his tracks.

But I’ve known the Corleagne family for a long time, so I can’t really refuse this.

I’ll let him use it to travel there, but I don’t expect him to succeed. He’ll be lucky if he gets any material out of the Terra King.

As expected, Wulbent was defeated.

I respect that he did not look discouraged though.

We’ve determined the origin and creator of Sample No. 784.

It came from a magic automaton called Natalia, and the surprising part is that apparently this Natalia possesses intelligence equal to humans.

The creator was the Ebony Witch, Ophelia Eto Gardeland. That doesn’t come as a surprise, I can easily see her creating something like this. The issue is that she’s already dead.

Now that I think about it, she would never agree to help me, so it’s all the same.

We’ve successfully created a magic automaton based on Sample No. 784, with cheaper materials. I’ve decided to call them Protione.

They’ve been deployed in multiple locations to gather data.

The Protione’s bodies are holding up, but their Sorcery Cores aren’t.

Not even the Sorcery Cores I made with the hearts of young elves² purchased from the Heart Collector are powerful enough. Maybe the hearts of older, more mature elves that can produce more mana would work better, but almost all of them live in seclusion near the World Tree, so they’re virtually impossible to obtain.

There’s some protected monsters in Seperion that might work, but hunting those is a pipe dream. I don’t want to become the next Wulbent.

Seperion has started cracking down on the corporation. I guess they were gathering evidence for a while before launching the investigation.

This is rather stressful.

I need to hurry and collect everything that’s secret. Or destroy it in the worst case.

Before coming back, Arrold ran into Natalia. She instantly recognized him and became aggressive, for good reason.

And Natalia destroyed all the Protione I gave him.

At least he retrieved the data so it’s not a total loss, but her abilities are still terrifying.

The basic design is complete. Now I just need the necessary materials.

That’s probably going to be the hardest part.

I just received information that the army is about to move out.

I need to act before the border becomes messy.

This is something I need to do in person, and it must stay secret.

But I also can’t make it happen alone.

I guess I’ll have to enlist his help.

Just in case I’ll also prepare that other thing though³.