I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 323 The Source of Stance, Clarifying the Direction

Meanwhile, inside the Imperial Hotel.

After John's clarification, Leia, who had finally emerged from her disappointment, stopped insisting on supporting Miss Lorian and instead obediently inquired about John's future plans and whether there was anything she could do to help.

Seeing that the socially awkward, strong girl had finally put away her deathly smile, John, whose cold sweat had finally dried, originally intended to just say a few words to fool this little devil away.

After all, experiencing that kind of gaze from the Grim Reaper once is enough.

But suddenly, he caught sight of the obsidian pocket watch that Eraphia had returned to him.

Just then, he suddenly remembered that when Wendy, the pig-headed squad leader, was chatting with him before they set off, she had told him that in addition to their powerful military force, the Binot family also held a very high position and power among the great nobles.

Furthermore, because the successive heads of the family were not only generous in character but also well-versed in the ways of the world, they maintained a high degree of political cooperation and business ties with the other thirteen families.

Although the Binot family is now reduced to only two descendants, Leia and Anna, whose origins are still unclear, due to the massacre of their clan, the Binot family, to which Leia belongs, is undoubtedly one of the best in the imperial noble circles in terms of intelligence channels.

Furthermore, to prevent the last descendants of Binot from being assassinated, William personally assigned a large number of elites from the surveillance force to guard the security of Binot Manor.

Although, due to peace negotiations and Leia's voluntary application, a large number of members of the surveillance force originally stationed at the Binott Manor have been transferred.

However, according to Bruno's previous report, the 15 members currently stationed at the Binot Manor are all instructor-level high-ranking mages with a total of more than ten years of experience in assassination, infiltration, frontal combat and raids, and each of them is proficient in two opposing elemental magics.

[Agent Tier Ranking: Operator, Specialist, Elite, Superior, Instructor, Master, Ultimate]

If it weren't for the limitations of their talents preventing these fifteen individuals from reaching the Transcendent Realm and their declining combat strength due to their advanced age, then these instructor-level members would probably have been able to become, like Vittorio himself, who was assigned by William to protect John, the head of various departments within the Ravenbeak Unit or the deputy head of the next level.

It is not difficult to see how much William values ​​the Bünott family.

Ok?
Wait, if that's the case, then given William's high regard for the Nott family, then regarding the so-called star orbit field device created by the original owner, and other such matters...

Could Léa herself possibly know something?
Thinking of this, John paused slightly, then, feeling that the possibility was very high, he tentatively asked Leia:

"To be honest, I do have some questions I'd like to ask you."

Meeting Leia's curious gaze, John paused slightly, but after a brief moment of thought, he still concealed the fact that he had helped Alafia establish a secret force.

Instead, he only asked about the matter that mattered most to him at the moment:
Are you aware of L'Oréal's plans to build the "Starry Sky Orbital Position" device?

After saying that, John stared intently at Leia in front of him, praying in his heart that his luck would change.

It's as if the legendary goddess of fortune heard John's unfaithful chant, or perhaps the vows and blessings of a golden princess from the past came into play.

Then, in a moment of benevolence from a goddess of fortune whose very existence is unknown, a lucky foot from the goddess kicked away the unclean blessing of the sisters of misfortune that had always shrouded John's head, and instead, with a look of disdain, responded to his inner desires, allowing the weakening of good fortune to finally begin to resonate above the head of this unlucky fellow.

"Yes, I know part of it."

Under John's surprised gaze, Leia nodded, then frowned and thought hard for a moment before slowly speaking based on her distant memories:

“If I remember correctly, this happened three years ago when I was on leave from the academy and returned to the manor. I overheard His Majesty William, who came to visit me, and Mr. Manny, who was then the head of the Third Division of the Imperial Academy, talking about this matter.”

"At the time, His Majesty William was very troubled by the research on ancient magic initiated by His Highness Elafia. He mentioned many times that it was too expensive and that it required the joint research and development of professors of magic, magic power and ancient languages ​​from three top academies: Eleanor Magic Academy, Cosette Magic Academy and Parafedin Ancient Language Academy. This was the reason why he hesitated on this matter."

"But in the end, persuaded by Mr. Manny and convinced by his calculated 'absolute defense' barrier spell that, once deployed, would cover the entire empire, the proposal was finally approved."

"However, some unknown change occurred in this research, which led to the departure of three professors who were originally involved in the position-building project about a year ago. His Majesty William, who used to come to the secret chamber of the Binot family manor to discuss matters with Dean Manny, also gradually reduced the number of times he visited the secret chamber of the Binot manor."

"Furthermore, because this matter is classified as top secret, very few people know about it. Even I only know a little bit about it because the Binott family's secret chamber cannot block the detection of family bloodlines."

Leia shared all the information she knew without reservation.

Ancient magic?

An absolute defensive barrier sufficient to cover the entire empire?
And it was forced to terminate a year ago due to an accident?

This……

After hearing some information about the orbital position of the stars, John not only did not feel clear, but became more confused and bewildered.

If Leia's words are true, then considering the information previously provided by Elafia, it seems that the original owner did not directly participate in the creation of the space orbit field device.

Or are they driving this research from behind the scenes?
But hadn't Tolovsky clearly told him before that the original owner was determined to destroy the Empire after completing his exploration of the Astral Plane?
Therefore, there is absolutely no reason for the other side to help the Empire build such a defensive position.

Unless, of course, this so-called defensive position is actually a weapon designed to absolutely destroy the empire.

But if that's the case, then the professors at the three top magic academies would definitely be able to detect the anomaly through their research.

So, is this the real reason that forced the project to be terminated?

Was this also the key to why the original owner of the body took away the 'authority', as told by Ailafia?

The reason the other party tried to regain the authority was to continue to advance the construction plan of the star orbit field, so that this existence, which is unknown whether it is a weapon or a defensive device, would become the empire's real trump card to defeat or even destroy the allied forces.
However, in the details, there are still many things that simply don't make sense.

If I really took away the authority, then why are the conservatives so determined to kill me?
After all, if William were to actually carry out this plan, it would inevitably expose clues, which would then be noticed by the great nobles, who would then take the opportunity to participate.

In matters such as the development of national-level weapons, it is impossible for the conservative party to be unaware of the fact that they are involved.

Strange, so strange...

Sensing the suspicious points, John immediately began to work his brain at lightning speed. By integrating the available information and clues, he started trying to deduce the truth hidden behind the matter. However, due to the lack of clues, John felt as if he were shrouded in a thick fog during his extensive thinking, unable to discern the true outline of the matter.

His black eyebrows also furrowed without him realizing it, forming a "川" (river) shape on his forehead.

"..."

Meanwhile, directly opposite, watching John, who had just finished listening to the inside story and was deep in thought with a furrowed brow, Leia tilted her head in confusion.

However, having known from her past interactions with Wendy that John's expression meant he was deep in thought, Leia didn't interrupt him rashly.

Instead, he sat quietly in the chair, his hands folded on his lap, silently watching John in front of him.

After an unknown amount of time, once John's brow had relaxed again, she silently voiced the question that had been lingering in her mind:
"John, is there a reason why you suddenly asked me this?"

"...Yes, some."

After pondering for a long time without being able to dig out any more useful information, John put down his reasoning and instead reached out to rub his throbbing temples.

Hearing Leia's question with suspicion, he thought for a moment and then, instead of hiding anything, he told the simple and trusting girl in front of him everything:

"In fact, I learned about this from Elafia when I visited her earlier. Fia... Her Highness told me that the initiator of the Star Orbit Field Construction Project was not actually her, but rather I, before I lost my memory, took the initiative to propose it. However, it was successfully implemented by using her name."

"But for some reason before I lost my memory, I took away the key access to this experiment, or maybe the data, which caused the project to be put on hold. Therefore, after I returned to Elenor this time, His Highness intends to take back that part of the access from me in order to ensure the stability of the Star Orbit Field Project."

"I see."

Upon hearing this astonishing news, Leia did not show any shock; instead, she calmly nodded.

It was as if they were not surprised that John was the initiator of this plan to create a terrifying stance.

However, the reason for this was not only because of her calm personality, but also because she believed that compared to the miraculous strategies John had demonstrated on two major battlefields, this national-level defensive stance, being the enemy's idea, seemed rather ordinary.

After all, John is always so amazing, isn't he?
Seeing that Leia didn't press him after hearing his answer, but simply nodded and regained her usual composure, John also remained silent.

Instead, he pulled up a chair and sat down at the square table, sipping his coffee while organizing his thoughts and planning his next move.

In his view, although Leia only provided part of the information, based on the current clues...

The key participants in the Star Orbit Field Device are already quite clear.

Aside from her pre-amnesia self, the participants were Alafia, William, and Lord Manny, whom Leia had previously mentioned.

If you start from this point, you can get a general direction if you want to investigate the truth.

First, given that the amnesia was caused by unknown factors, the chance of regaining memories and thus regaining so-called 'authority' was entirely based on luck, so this option could not be included in the action plan at all.

Secondly, although Ellafia had shown great kindness to him during their previous conversation at Mirror Spring Manor, and even revealed the secret that he and she had pledged their lives to each other.

However, considering that these words were relayed by the other party and there were no witnesses or physical evidence, coupled with the established information that she would become the Rose Witch in the future.

Therefore, the credibility of the other party's words is questionable.

Asking for more information about the position plan will only increase the other party's suspicion, expose your current lack of knowledge about the other side, and put you in an unprecedented passive situation.

It is clearly the most foolish choice, so this option should be discarded without a doubt.

Furthermore, if I were to seek the inside story of the Stance Plan from William, even though I have become his trusted confidant, given his suspicious nature, if I could not explain the source of this information and the purpose of my inquiry in a reasonable way...

Then one's motives will most likely be suspected by this lord, and he may even send a large number of elite troops to monitor and investigate one's every move.

In this way, his actions would be mostly restricted, and William would also take notice of his future plans to establish a political party.

Given their intelligence, the other side could easily analyze the true purpose of establishing their party by simply investigating their own movements and examining the doctrines of their party.

Ultimately, they entrusted the fate of their party and their own vision entirely to the whims of their lord.

This is undoubtedly the most risky and suicidal act.

"Therefore, after considering the above analysis, it is clear that there is only one optimal breakthrough point for me at present, or rather, the breakthrough point where I can launch an attack."

That is none other than the current Grand Dean of the Imperial Supreme Research Institute, Chairman of the Imperial Magical Ethics Association, Head of the Ancient Ruins Exploration and Excavation Team, an active Grand-rank member of the Empire, ranked 92nd among Grand-rank members in combat power, and known as the 'Guardian of the Immovable Library'—

"Manny Copperfield!"

As John uttered the name in his mind, the next second, a mage appeared with messy white bird's nest-like hair, wearing heavy multi-functional glasses, and dressed in a mage robe covered with various "living" patches. In the character CG, the mage was always holding various reagents, with an incomprehensible smile on his lips.

The image of a mad scientist immediately came to John's mind.

John's eyes began to sparkle involuntarily.

"!"

……

(End of this chapter)