Once the meeting concluded and they found themselves alone in the room, Alexander asked, “Are you absolutely certain that no one would be willing to exchange information with Adolf in exchange for financial gain?'”
Aron posed the question, “Do you genuinely believe the greedy Adolf would be willing to offer monetary compensation to anyone solely for acquiring information?”
After giving it some thought, Alexander responded, “I highly doubt it. He would likely make false promises of payment, but once he obtains the information, he would promptly proceed to apprehend the individual as well.”
“While that may be true, there could be individuals who perceive themselves as exceptional and entertain the notion that they can successfully demand payment from Adolf in exchange for the information.”
“Indeed,” Alexander agreed.
“Rest assured, I will receive immediate notification and swiftly resolve any such attempts before they even materialize. You need not worry. In the meantime, you need to commence with the small-scale protests in various cities. By doing so, when the actual coup takes place, it will appear to the international community as if the government was unintentionally toppled on a day marked by widespread protests, without any prior planning.” Aron reassured
“I understand. Additionally, considering you mentioned having control over the generals, could you make them order the police departments so that they simply arrest our people without resorting to their usual brutal treatment of the protestors?” Alexander inquired, expressing his desire to minimize casualties.
“I will inform them about it. However, it is also crucial to ensure that the protestors do not exert excessive effort. They should engage in normal protesting activities, and when the police arrive, they should disperse from the protest grounds. This will gradually condition the police to anticipate protests ending upon their arrival, leading to complacency. Consequently, on the day of the final protest, they will not arrive fully prepared, assuming that the protestors will disperse as usual.” Aron added
“Rest assured, I have taken care of that aspect. All the newly recruited members who joined as a result of your efforts are completely conditioned to completely trust me, and I can guarantee their strict adherence to the given instructions,” Alexander responded, exuding confidence in his tone.
“Very well. I must depart now and return to my hotel to attend to other plans,” Aron stated, rising from his chair. Alexander promptly accompanied him, guiding him to the elevator and through the lobby until they reached the hotel’s exit. Their conversation continued until the valet arrived with Aron’s car, at which point Alexander bid him farewell. Aron boarded the car and departed the hotel, heading back to his own accommodations, satisfied with the completion of all his scheduled meetings.
…
The next day.
“Sir, two days after our visit to the military headquarters, as per our planned arrangement, the general made contact. Following the instructions outlined in the folder you provided, Walter issued a few initial orders to them. They are currently in the process of executing those orders. However, it appears that they require additional funding support due to being underfunded,” John explained to Aron inside a room where the ten individuals holding important positions, assigned by Aron, were gathered. This room served as the venue for their weekly meetings, allowing them to update each other and Aron on the progress of the plan.
“Excellent. Utilize the funds available from your reserves to cover the necessary expenses,” Aron replied, instructing John to allocate the required finances. He had previously provided them with a substantial sum, estimated to be around 500 million dollars in cash.
“We will do so” John answered back.
“How is the weapons procurement going?” Aron asked.
“With the backing of the military, we have successfully arranged for a sanctioned navy vessel to intercept them in the middle of the ocean. They will transfer the cargo from their boat to the military vessel.
As for storage, we have secured the Navy’s port warehouse as a temporary solution until the renovation of the designated base is completed,” Walter responded. He was responsible for overseeing the communication between their group and the Military.
“How is the progress of the base renovation coming along?” Aron asked, seeking an update on the current status of the renovation project.
“By employing a significant number of local workers and providing them with competitive wages, we have successfully completed approximately 20% of the renovation. We anticipate finishing the entire renovation within the next three weeks,” came the response, indicating the progress made on the base refurbishment.
“Have this week’s group arrived yet?” Aron asked.
“They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow as their flight today was canceled due to inclement weather,” reported Paul, the Ares coordinator, providing an update on the situation.
Turning his attention back to John, Aron asked, “How are the preparations for the D-day progressing?”
“We have successfully acquired over one hundred and fifty houses near strategic locations, and they are currently undergoing renovations to suit our specific requirements. Once the weapons arrive and are securely stored in the military warehouses, they will undergo a final inspection to ensure their readiness and to remove any remaining trackers. Subsequently, we will begin transporting them to the designated houses, where they will be stored in preparation for the upcoming D-day,” John explained.
“When do you anticipate the completion of the renovations?” Aron asked.
“We expect everything to be ready and weapons to be stored in the houses within two months.”
“Why is it taking such a long time when the base renovation is expected to take only about a month?” Aron asked.
“The slight delay is primarily attributed to a limited number of personnel available to oversee the renovations simultaneously. Consequently, we are currently selecting a smaller subset to commence the renovation process and intend to scale up the number of concurrent renovations as more members arrive in Eden,” John explained, giving the reason behind the extended timeline.
“Very good,” Aron remarked, his expression conveying satisfaction as he nodded in approval upon hearing the positive update on the progress.
Walter, seizing the opportunity, asked, “Sir, wouldn’t it be more advantageous for us to have control over the leaders of the dictator’s private forces, just as we have done with the generals?”
“That presents a challenge because the previous dictator deliberately kept his private forces divided to prevent any internal threat to his leadership. These forces are currently under different leaders and organized into various groups of differing sizes. The leaders who possess significant control over their respective factions tend to remain in close proximity to Adolf.
Furthermore, due to the brutal actions of these forces against the public during Adolf and his father’s reign, they cannot be assimilated into our ranks and instead need to be held accountable through prosecution after the coup is successfully completed.
However, it is worth noting that most of these forces will not be combat-ready on the D-day. The remaining combat-ready individuals will be dealt with by our group and the military. Therefore, there is no immediate necessity for us to gain control over them,” Aron explained to Walter, outlining the reasons why directly approaching the leaders and coercing them into compliance was not a viable option.
For the time being, Aron had no intention of divulging the newly imposed limitations he faced in using runic contracts.
After returning from the meeting with the regional revolutionary leaders last week, Aron had sought clarification from Nova regarding the sensation of the knot feeling slightly heavier than usual, questioning whether it was genuine or simply a figment of his imagination.
[
[You are right. It really is getting smaller] Nova replied after seeking Aron’s permission to take control of the VR helmet in order to conduct some checks on his body and mind.
“You mean the knot is getting heavier, right?” Aron asked, wondering if Nova made a mistake with her statement, which should be impossible.
[No, no, it’s not a mistake. When I said it’s getting smaller, I meant it,] Nova replied, noticing Aron’s perplexed expression.
“What do you mean by that?” Aron asked, his curiosity now piqued.
[When you sign a runic contract, it is stored in the soul space of both party A and party B, as well as the space of the enforcer. So when you feel a knot being tied, it is simply the runic contract being stored in your soul space. So when I said it is getting smaller, I meant that your soul space is decreasing in size as it is being occupied by the runic contracts,] Nova explained, clarifying her earlier statement.
“So you’re suggesting that the sensation of the knot getting heavier is due to the shrinking of the space?” Aron asked, seeking further clarification.
[No, the knots increasing in weight has nothing to do with the space getting smaller]
Then what is the cause of it, and why didn’t I feel the increase in weight of the knot when the Ares members signed their runic contracts with me?” Aron asked, wanting to understand the underlying reasons.
[The runic contract you are using is of the lowest level, which means it requires many specific conditions to be met in order to function flawlessly. In the case of the generals and some of the revolutionary leaders, not all of the conditions were fully met, leading to your discovery of the increase in the weight of the knot.
On the other hand, when the Ares members signed the contract, they did so willingly and without any objections, fulfilling all the necessary conditions. This is why you didn’t feel the increase in weight when they signed.
The generals, however, were not completely willing to sign the contract and only did so under duress. As a result, the knot on your soul became heavier than usual because the contract rune didn’t have all the conditions fulfilled.
To ensure the generals and some of the revolutionary leaders do not break the contract in the future, the size of the contract rune needed to be increased, thus occupying more of your soul space and causing the heavier sensation in the knot,] Nova explained calmly.
“What exactly is this ‘soul space’ you keep mentioning?” Aron asked after the term kept being repeated by Nova in her explanation.
“The soul space is where all the runic contracts are stored to monitor your soul’s adherence to the clauses within the contract. If you violate the terms, the stored runic contracts can be accessed by the enforcer to administer the appropriate punishment for breaking the oath,” Nova clarified.
“Is there a maximum capacity for the soul space?” Aron asked
[Yes, there is a maximum capacity for the soul space. Also since you are using the lowest level of runic contract, each contract takes up a significant amount of space compared to higher-level contracts. Additionally, as both the enforcer and a party to the contract, your soul space is being consumed at twice the normal rate, as you have to accommodate two entities with each contract you sign.] Nova explained.
“Based on the size of my soul space, what is the maximum number of runic contracts that I can sign?” he asked, his voice revealing his underlying worry. while his heart rate increased as he anxiously awaited the answer to his question.
[You have a maximum capacity of 1000 runic contracts, and you have already used more than 720 of them,] Nova replied, her tone conveying the weight of the situation.
“Shit,” Aron muttered in frustration upon hearing the answer. “I had planned to utilize the runic contracts to simplify my tasks, but it appears that it was nothing more than a futile dream,” he said, realizing that several of his future plans after the coup d’état would need to be reconsidered and reconstructed.
Observing Aron’s turmoil, Nova gently patted his back and reassured him, saying, [It won’t always be like this. The ongoing research in Lab City has discovered that your soul’s level can be elevated under certain conditions. When the conditions are met they expect the system to activate some of the runic lines among the billions of dormant ones in your body, leading to the evolution of your soul. This evolution should grant you various new benefits, including the expansion of your soul space.
Alternatively, you can accumulate enough sp to purchase intermediate runic knowledge, allowing you to sign higher-level runic contracts that are smaller in size and occupy less space in your soul. This would enable you to sign more contracts than you can currently.]
“Moving forward, I’ll have to be more stringent when selecting individuals to enter into runic contracts until we unravel the conditions for triggering the evolution,” Aron murmured, his gaze still fixed on the floor. Meanwhile, Nova maintained her comforting presence, gently sliding her hand across Aron’s back.
]
“I understand,” Walter replied after hearing Arons answer.
“Good, let’s end today’s meeting here and meet again next week.” With those words, Aron ended the meeting.