Chapter 67: Out of Character

Alkhemia's representative arrived faster than expected.

Ambrose was still inspecting the loot, judging which pieces of equipment might be worth using, when Gustavo Flynn, Sixth Seat of the Alchemists' Council, arrived at the scene.

The legendary alchemist's expression darkened as he eyed the street that had been reduced to rubble.

Staring at Ambrose, Gustavo Flynn said coldly, "You sold that tavern to me so you wouldn't feel bad demolishing it, didn't you?"

Ambrose replied nonchalantly, "Come on. A mere tavern is nothing to the Sixth Seat of the Council."

"I can ignore the tavern," Flynn snapped, "but look at what you've done. You fought inside the city. Were you trying to make sure the whole world noticed? How are we supposed to cooperate now?!"

This was the real source of Flynn's anger. Until now, Alkhemia had always presented itself as neutral. They had only provided the paladins with some basic information about Ambrose, the kind of intelligence they could have gathered themselves with a bit of effort.

Likewise, Alkhemia had never informed Ambrose of the paladins' activities within the city.

As a result, Ambrose had been forced to play defense.

It was only after Black Rose sent him intelligence that Ambrose, gritting his teeth, spent a fortune arranging this ambush.

And it was only thanks to Gareth's good relationship with that wealthy orc proprietress, who happened to have extensive connections among Alkhemia's adventurers, that the assassination attempt went off smoothly.

He frowned. Even now, the ambush still felt like a loss. In the end, Gareth had to step in anyway. He could have done it all for free.

As such, in the face of Gustavo Flynn's accusation, Ambrose merely smiled. "Flynn, do you still not understand? I did this precisely to give you an excuse to intervene. Think about it. If those paladins attacked my castle, I captured them, and then Alkhemia suddenly abandoned its neutrality to rescue them, what would the Lyon Empire think?

"Even if the Lyon Empire didn't suspect anything, what about everyone else? I am, after all, a lord of Alkhemia. Think about it: outsiders are attacking me. If you not only refuse to help but even side against me, given the unstable political climate, don't you think the lesser lords will rebel?

"Now that I've struck first and destroyed this street, I've conveniently handed you a reason to step in. You can publicly accuse me of violating Alkhemia's laws and causing severe losses. Whether you issue a stern reprimand or a formal condemnation is up to you.

"As recompense, I hand the prisoners over to Alkhemia. Then our deal will be fulfilled, and no one can find fault with it."

After hearing this, Gustavo Flynn could not deny that it made a certain amount of sense. But he also knew perfectly well that Ambrose was boxing him in. If Flynn accepted this explanation, the cost of the damage would fall squarely on Alkhemia.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Precisely because he understood Ambrose's intentions, Gustavo Flynn chose not to press the matter further.

This damned lich would do anything for gold.

If Flynn continued to haggle over compensation, Ambrose might very well kill a few of those paladins just to raise the stakes.

"Then when do we trade?" Flynn asked bluntly.

Ambrose wagged a finger. "No need to rush. If we're putting on a show, we should do it properly. Let me take them back and lock them up for a few days. You can make a big public move. Only then will I hand them over. It'll look more convincing that way. The Lyon Empire has its own diviners, after all. We need to be more careful."

The logic was sound, but Gustavo Flynn felt an unease he could not quite place. Ambrose was not asking for payment right away—that alone was out of character.

Worse still, he had mentioned prophecy.

Without drawing attention, Gustavo Flynn rubbed the ring on his finger.

Its enchantment activated, granting him the ability to discern the truth.

He asked carefully, "Do you have other plans? You're not thinking of reneging on the deal, are you?"

To his surprise, Ambrose merely smiled and did not answer at all. Instead, dozens of Mage Hands materialized, seizing the fallen paladins and lifting them away.

Gustavo Flynn frowned. Had he been discovered? He had used a covert spell specifically designed to evade undead perception. This lich was far too sensitive.

Ambrose gave him no chance to probe further. One by one, he shoved all the paladins through a gate, sending them straight to his castle.

As he was leaving, Ambrose turned back and asked, "By the way, does the council head still have no intention of showing himself despite all this chaos?"

The head of the Alchemists' Council was a legendary figure. Only members of the Council had ever seen him. Ambrose himself had corresponded with him by letter, but they had never met in person.

"Why are you asking?" Flynn countered warily.

"Just curious. I've been thinking about something lately. What kind of trouble is lurking in Alkhemia's sewers that would force a group of proud lunatics like you to seek outside help? Is it something even the council head can't handle? After all, he is the alchemist closest to divinity."

"You don't need to concern yourself with that," Gustavo Flynn said coldly.

Ambrose did not press further. He left the ruins together with Gareth.

As soon as they returned to the castle, Ambrose said, "Those lunatics in Alkhemia are definitely hiding something. Bastards. They're probably trying to screw me over."

Gareth was still sighing over his handmade helmet. It had been damaged by Starfall's Sacred Slash, irritating him to no end.

Hearing Ambrose's words, he frowned. "Didn't things go pretty well just now?"

"Like hell they did. Gustavo Flynn tried to use a lie-detection spell on me. He thought I didn't notice his little trick. He suddenly stopped trusting me all of a sudden. That means they have something to hide, something they're afraid I'll discover. That old fox is usually restrained to the extreme. Even if an elf had an arrow aimed at his head, his hands wouldn't tremble in the slightest. But lately he's been losing his composure again and again. It's completely out of character. There's definitely a problem somewhere."

Ambrose stroked his chin, trying to connect Flynn's behavior with the prophecies he had obtained earlier. He could think of no explanation that linked everything together.

After some thought, Ambrose took out the Necromantic Codex and sent a message to Black Rose.

[Megaman Tiga: Lady Rose, you've already entered Alkhemia, haven't you?]

After a long wait, Black Rose finally replied.

[Black Rose: I just entered the city. I'm wandering around under the pretense of an academic visit. Why do you ask?]

Black Rose had appeared near Alkhemia with a small army; the Council had noticed it long ago. It would be a disaster if Alkhemia were attacked by the undead now.

But Black Rose had never intended to take the city with this token honor guard anyway. Underestimating Alkhemia's alchemists like that would be foolish. Since neither side wanted a war, she had found an excuse that allowed Alkhemia to "warmly" invite her inside, both to monitor and to investigate her.

[Megaman Tiga: There's a major secret hidden in Alkhemia's sewers. I want your help investigating it.]

Ambrose shared what he could: a false prophecy of apotheosis in the sewers, and Alkhemia's increasingly strange behavior.

[Black Rose: Understood. I'll keep an eye out. But let me give you a warning as well: Alabastra is about to lose her patience and go looking for Gareth. She's extremely angry right now.]

Ambrose: "..."

No way. Was he already about to get decapitated?!