[FMMIKA] Chapter 236: Smash and Plan

"..."

"..."

Scathach looked at Artorius with a meaningful gaze.

Artorius felt the gaze and turned his head to look at her.

The two locked eyes for just a moment, exchanging countless meanings, yet some of those meanings felt a bit too loaded. It made them both a little embarrassed.

Thinking this, Scathach instinctively wanted to turn her head away from Artorius. But she found Artorius still gazing at her unabashedly. His eyes held more than just admiration; there was a hint of something else.

The Queen of the Land of Shadows couldn't help but feel annoyed. A sense of competitiveness surged within her, so she continued to lock eyes with Artorius, paying no heed to her initial instinct.

And so, they stood there, eyes locked, drawing closer until their hands met. Confirming that Scathach had no intention of resisting, Artorius wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

At this point, Scathach's gaze towards Artorius showed a slight change.

A hint of shyness, a touch of embarrassment, mixed with a hint of provocation. It was as if she was saying to Artorius—"Are you up for it?"

Artorius's response was...

To smash.

===

The multitude of talented individuals he brought along, both in science and magecraft, were indeed exceptional. But even before they arrived on the Moon, they had already divided their tasks.

Once they reached the Moon and the construction of the secret base was completed, these experts delved into their intensive research tasks.

Among them, some showed interest in Altera and Retribution.

However, genius comes in various forms, and even in the vast empire, there were only a handful who could be considered top-notch, just like Da Vinci in Nasuverse.

Despite their exceptional talents, they couldn't find even one or two individuals capable of that caliber.

As for researching the Retribution and its technology, that task was left to the Artorias. Not entirely sure whether it was a serious effort or a jest, they managed to incorporate some basic applications of the technology into the empire's system. But when it came to core technology, the Artorias lacked the expertise, and there was little they could do.

This left Artorius feeling quite frustrated.

The Pendragons alone had around five hundred members. If one counted individuals like Agravain and Gawain, the number was even greater.

However, most of their skills were in military affairs, warfare, and even politics and diplomacy.

They might have been excellent in governing a country. As professional bureaucrats and administrators, generals, military officers, or even valiant commanders on the battlefield, they excelled.

But asking them to engage in scientific research was a different matter altogether.

After establishing a base on the Moon and commencing research, Artorius quickly summoned the three most skilled mages from his ranks to this location for the study of the White Titan.

Scathach, Morgan le Fay, and Vivian.

Only they had the capability to slowly, step by step, analyze and research the White Titan—Altera.

"If we can master the technology of the Velber, then bringing the entire solar system under the empire's control should be no problem. Plus, if we can also understand the technology behind the Retribution, the empire would possess the ability to build a space fleet to explore beyond the solar system." Artorius said as he looked at Scathach.

"This is what they call 'lost in the east and harvested mulberry elm' right?" Scathach said as she tidied her slightly disheveled hair, speaking to Artorius in this manner. {T/N: To lose in one place, gain in another place; to fail in one way and finally win in another.}

"Because of the existence of proper human history, we can't undertake too many operations and reshape beyond the scope of history on Earth. But outside of Earth, there are no such constraints."

"That's indeed true."

Watching the tired Scathach sitting at the dressing table, slowly combing her long hair, Artorius felt a slight stir in his heart.

As he responded like this, he walked up behind Scathach, taking the wooden comb from her hand and gently combing her wine-red locks.

"You're truly beautiful, Teacher."

Seeing Artorius smile, somewhat intoxicated, Scathach's lips curled into a fleeting but proud smile. At the same time, a lovely blush spread from her pure white skin, from her cheeks down to her slender neck. If one were to look carefully, there were countless hickeys on the pure white skin.

"Leaving Earth untouched and expanding the empire's power in space is certainly one approach. However... it seems a bit shallow in its foundation. Moreover, maintaining two different ways of life, one on foreign planets and one on Earth, for an extended period can lead to a sense of alienation between them."

"Is that so?"

As a person from the modern civilization, Artorius placed great importance on systems and laws. He had always hoped to establish a self-developing human political entity rather than a traditional autocracy.

In contrast, Scathach didn't seem to care much about this.

In this era, there were democracies and republics, ranging from ancient Greek slave democracies to a series of autonomous city-states, small nations ruled by nobility and commerce.

In Scathach's view, these nations were all filled with hypocrisy, schemes, malevolence, and chaos. Although they developed reasonably well in some aspects, even surpassing territories governed under typical feudal systems, they always left a feeling of dissatisfaction.

If such systems were to become mainstream, the entire world would lose its moral compass and become a hypocritical and chaotic hell, wouldn't it?

"I won't let that happen..." Artorius said gently to Scathach. "There will be a way. When the time comes for science, systems, and literacy to improve, when the era of enlightenment arrives, the empire will undoubtedly transition to a superior age."

"Let's hope so. But what we were discussing earlier doesn't seem to address the entire issue, does it?"

Saying this, Scathach took Artorius's hand, a gesture typically initiated by males toward females. However, when done by Scathach, it felt entirely natural.

"What's your plan?" She looked at him seriously. "How do you intend to break through the proper human history?"

"Well..." Artorius's lips curled upward, showing a slightly delighted expression, "I already have a plan... Teacher, have you heard of 'Goetia'?"

"No, but now you can tell me in detail."

"Hmm..."

"..."

"Alright, then I'll 'tell' you in detail."

Faced with Scathach's strong inquisitiveness, Artorius finally let go of his reserve and dignity, ready to lay out his plan.

It was a story about a naive being who believed he could save all of humanity, thinking that humanity had fallen from grace and needed 'saving.'