The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

A month and a half later, in Akitsukyo, the capital of the Principality of Hourai, at the Campanile Palace.

"Your Highness, welcome back. Is there any progress?"

As soon as the main hall doors opened, Fish, who had been curled up on the brocade cushions of the sofa like a truly lazy cat, idly playing with his tail, immediately sat up.

"No progress... yeah right." Ange looked as if she'd been doused with cold water, and slammed a telegram on the table. "A secret telegram from the Principality of Ilian just arrived. They claim they respect the internal affairs of the Principality of Fayun and therefore shouldn't interfere. But they're willing to mediate, 'clear up misunderstandings,' and end my exile."

"Again?! This clearly means 'we don't want to get involved'!" Fish immediately looked disappointed. "Then... this is the fourth one. What about the petition to His Majesty the Emperor?"

"No reply yet. However, it seems your intuition was right, Miss Feng. Indeed, things are not as simple as I imagined." Ange sat down in a chair and glanced at one of her attendants.

"Your Highness, please believe me. I share your regret on this point," said the clone controlled by Huang Yan's replica. This mass-produced pink-haired android was now dressed in a very ordinary maid outfit, looking no different from Ange's subordinates. The original "Agate" level intelligent combat armor had been transformed into a bodysuit, hidden beneath the maid outfit.

"Ugh...this is going to be a headache." Fish bit his lip.

A month and a half ago, after Fish and his group successfully obtained the ancient device known as the "Akasha Compendium" that Phoenix Flame wanted in the arena, and gave Liu Gang, who had killed Fish's companions, a proper end, they took over the warband's flagship, the "Black Storm," and the small airship "Eye of Surveillance" through the surviving members of the "Tidal Lightning" warband who had defected.

After that, guided by Huang Yan, the group chose the shortest route and quickly left the perilous Twilight City.

Although the effect of the "Siren's Song" attracting chimeras had ended, and they encountered all sorts of strange and monstrous things along the way, the "Black Storm" still managed to fight its way out and successfully return to the safe ocean thanks to the combat power of several high-level armored warriors.

After that, things went quite smoothly for a time: although the "Black Storm" encountered enemies twice on its way to the Principality of Penglai—once a protected cruiser from the Principality of Fayun and once a hired war gang armed ship—it managed to get away with it all after Izumi Junyu intervened.

Based on his pre-prepared script, Quan Chunyou told the other party that although the "Tidal Lightning" war gang had tried their best, they still failed to fulfill their employer's request: the war gang leader Liu Gang and his men all perished after entering the ancient arena, and the deputy leader Moore, along with the crew of the "Waves," died during the operation when the ship sank. These survivors were unable to continue the mission and could only flee in panic.

The people on that warship didn't ask any further questions. As for the protective cruiser of the Principality of Fayun... its captain sent out a low-level armored warrior with the special ability of "lie detection," and he was immediately convinced—after all, like a certain artificial intelligence that absolutely "cannot lie," Izumi Junyu was telling the truth.

Although their employer was naturally unhappy that "Tidal Lightning" had failed to fulfill its commission, they had no choice but to let it go since Liu Gang, Moore, and almost all the other managers had perished.

The "Black Storm" sailed safely across the western Pacific Ocean, through the Kanto Plain which had become a giant bay, and finally arrived at Akitsukyo, the capital of the Principality of Horai.

Upon landing, Ange immediately fulfilled her promise, registering everyone on the "Black Storm" as official members of the War Gang, giving each person a bonus, and promoting Captain Izumi Junyu to her personal military officer.

As for the clone that Huang Yan brought back, it officially joined An Jie's ranks as "Miss Feng Baihe, the trainee female official." Then, after An Jie met with the Grand Duke of Penglai and revealed her identity, the Penglai Kingdom held a welcoming ceremony for them and settled the group in the Camphor Leaf Palace, which was used to receive distinguished guests.

However, after that, Fish and his group seemed to have run out of good luck.

According to Ange, the main reason for seeking refuge with the Principality of Penglai was that Duke Utamaro of Penglai was a close friend of Ange's father, the former Duke of Fayun. In her plan, once she arrived in the Principality of Penglai, she would use the Duke of Penglai as an intermediary to unite the royal family and various principalities to put pressure on the usurpers hiding behind the scenes in Fayun, forcing them to relinquish power.

Although the plan seems overly simplistic, it is in fact feasible: within the Pan-Pacific Empire, the nobles of the royal family, the various duchies, marquises, and earls are often related by marriage, sharing common interests and protecting each other's interests.

This also means that, generally speaking, they cannot tolerate an overly blatant usurpation of power by nobles—especially those of the Grand Duke rank—whose blood runs with the blood of legendary heroes. Currently, the "Transitional Council" that controls the Duchy of Fayun under the guise of "supporting Grand Duke Susie" contains almost no high-ranking nobles, and their actions are completely without any legal basis.

Therefore, Ange believed that as long as diplomatic mediation was used, the major duchies and royal families would naturally put pressure on the other side to make concessions... but the result was not so.

Over the past month, Anjie has sent hundreds of telegrams to all sorts of people, employing various methods such as pleas, threats, and promises, but with surprisingly poor results. Apart from the Principality of Penglai, only a few insignificant autonomous city-states and small states have expressed their support for her demands.

Of the six crucial duchies, aside from Fayun and Penglai, the other four responded with "It is inconvenient to intervene"!

To date, the royal family has remained completely silent. No matter how much Ange urged them, she always received the same template reply from the Prime Minister's office: "This is a matter of great importance and is currently under study and discussion."

"I must say, this is absolutely not normal." After Ange tore the telegram to shreds and threw it into the trash can, Mint, the female officer in charge, said, "The Duchy of Ilian is Fayun's most important ally. For the past three generations, their Grand Duke has married either the daughter or niece of the Grand Duke of Fayun! Moreover, it is the duchy closest to Fayun. The saying 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold' applies here..."

"It seems they just don't care." Ange looked sadly at the torn telegram.

"But what exactly is this 'Transitional Committee'?" Fish asked. "Did they find out anything?"

"Well, Princess Anjie and her group have discovered some interesting facts in the past few days through their intelligence sources within Fayun." The Phoenix Flame clone, currently using the identity of "Miss Phoenix Lily," explained to Anjie after bringing her a cup of strong tea from the kitchen.

"Interesting facts?"

"Yes, nominally speaking, the so-called 'Transitional Council' is an organization temporarily 'assisting' the young new Grand Duke in governing the country after the former Grand Duke was 'seriously ill and unable to perform his duties' and the heir Ange 'died unexpectedly in a storm'," Huang Yan replied. "However, the truth is... not entirely like that."

"Oh?"

"After the committee was established, it appointed a group of 'special advisors' within a few days—numerous intelligence reports indicate that these individuals have rather special identities," Huang Yan continued. "They are a group of scholars. To be precise, they are a group of scientific archaeologists."

"A scientific archaeologist?"

Fish scratched his head unconsciously. In this era, the so-called "technological archaeologist" was a highly regarded profession—unlike adventurers who simply dug up usable items and recyclable raw materials from ancient ruins, their main job was to try to recreate the science and technology of the old civilization.

Of course, due to the vast difference between the technological levels of the old civilization and modern times, most ancient devices, even if they are well preserved, cannot be replicated through reverse engineering. This is because people cannot even understand their principles.

Only after excavating and deciphering documents containing specific technical details can people barely recover certain technologies. In addition, it is thanks to archaeologists of science that modern people are able to maintain, repair, or assemble some products from ancient civilizations—such as the common "Goron"—using readily available parts.

For this reason, these scholars often received funding and support from the nobility, and many of them had connections in high-ranking positions.

"As far as I know, the leader of those 'special advisors' is a scientific archaeologist named Iskander Lomonosov. He was once... a favorite of the Emperor himself," Huang Yan dropped this astonishing statement.

"What?!" Fish exclaimed in surprise.

"I said, he is the emperor himself..."

“No, no, no, I mean, I saw him at the tavern in Oasis City before. Less than two years ago,” Fish said. “He said he was planning to go to the far north to do some research. I remember he was very handsome… no, I should say adorable? Like a fairy from a legend.”

"Are you referring to this one?" Huang Yan's clone pulled a photo out of the pocket of the maid's apron.

The person in the photo is a beautiful white-haired, red-eyed loli who looks no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. Long ago, lolis of this appearance were very popular among otaku in the Far East. Although she is wearing a gray uniform with gold trim, a leather cloak of an imperial nobleman, and carrying a ceremonial longsword, she still doesn't exude any sense of majesty.

Most importantly… “I remember him saying he was a man,” Fish muttered.

"That's right. Because of this face that looks even more like a girl than you, when Emperor Anthemius III summoned him to the Peach Rose Palace three years ago and appointed him as his scientific advisor, some...unpleasant rumors circulated," Huang Yan said. "However, His Excellency Iskandar Lomonosov was soon dispatched to the far north of Eurasia to participate in a certain research project."

"What kind of project?"

"I don't know, because all relevant information is confidential. The entire investigation was also conducted as discreetly as possible. But what is certain is that the number of participants was very small, and all those who confirmed their participation in this investigation project became 'special advisors' to the transition committee."

"Interesting...so that means..."

"I suspect that the reason why the various principalities have given vague statements and are unwilling to get involved in this matter may be due to secret pressure from the royal family," Ange said. "Of course, I cannot provide specific evidence, but this possibility cannot be ruled out."

"So, what should we do?" Fish asked. "Continuing to stay idly in Camphor Leaf Palace like this is pointless. How about we infiltrate the Duchy of Fayun, go to Cangtao City, capture those 'advisors,' and ask them directly what's going on?"

"Good idea, gets straight to the point and produces immediate results. Even considering the potential risks, it's a 75 out of 100," Huang Yan said. "But unfortunately, we don't have time for that right now."

"So, you have somewhere you're planning to go?" Ange asked.

"That's right. Remember the final prize we found in the arena last time, the 'Akasha Record' that the Unified Combat Headquarters wanted? In the past month, I have successfully activated it and obtained a lot of valuable information."

"For example?"

"I can now confirm the condition of about 90% of the old civilization's research facilities that are basically intact and registered. Interestingly, one of them was invaded and damaged more than a year ago," Huang Yan said. "Its specific location is in the former East Siberian mountain region."

"Siberia...that's the ancient name for the northernmost region," Xiaoxing, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly said. "If Mr. Iskander Lomonosov went there before..."

"That's very likely the place he was investigating back then," Huang Yan's clone nodded. "More importantly, this facility was also classified as 'top secret' in the old civilization era. Even I don't know its details. I only know that it's a 'containment facility'."

"A shelter? I'm afraid it doesn't house drunkards and homeless people..." Ange murmured.

"Yes. Other documents indicate that the facility was closely linked to the deep space exploration program X7 at the time, so the things contained inside may not even be from this world," Huang Yan said. "The people of the old civilization once expanded to places unimaginable to modern people. Their footsteps even extended beyond the Oort Cloud, the outermost part of the solar system."

"Is...that's how it is?" Ange muttered softly.

"At least, my guess is that Iskander Lomonosov's investigation team found something in that facility—perhaps the 'containment object' inside. And that's what the royal family wanted. And this is directly related to the mysterious political changes that later occurred in the Principality of Fayun."