“…It’s going to be made?”
“Yes. Those damn fish-head bastards must have changed their tactic. Instead of building a temple near a body of water, they decided to make a large lake in front of the temple instead.”
“…Is that even possible?” Weig’s tone sounded doubtful. Others reacted similarly and looked at Zich suspiciously. Zich’s words would have been more persuasive if the size of the lake had been smaller. A group of superhumans who could skillfully use mana could build a small reservoir in a couple of days, but beyond that, it was near impossible. Perhaps, if a nation harnessed great resources and started a large-scale civil engineering project, it was doable, but saying that a secret organization could build a lake of this size was a stretch.
Besides, even if they had the ability to do so, neighboring areas wouldn’t stand by and watch the Bellids construct a whole lake. Even if the Steelwall Estate was supporting the Bellids, the lake intruded another estate’s territory, and it appeared impossible to make a large-scale lake in secret.
“Logically, it’s impossible. However, it is possible if this is an accurate model of the nearby areas.” Zich raised his finger, and pointed at the model’s side and said, “…If we block this place.”
“What is there?”
“You might not know the geographical advantage of this place, but beyond the area that this model shows and where my finger is pointing, there’s a very unique topographical feature there.”
“You must be talking about the Horus Gorge.” Glen intervened. Clearly, he was displeased by the fact that Zich was currently taking the lead in the situation and was trying to elevate his standing.
‘So childish.’ Beyond laughing at him, it almost made Zich sympathize with Glen. Of course, Zich was also playing his theatrics just for the purpose of preventing Glen from taking the spotlight right now, and his behavior wasn’t that different from Glen at its core, but Zich completely disregarded this point.
“Yes, it’s as you say. You’re so smart, Sir Zenard,” Zich said.
“What kind of topographical feature is that?” Lubella asked.
“It’s a narrow valley between steep rocky walls, and a large stream runs through it.”
“I see! If you block that place, the river—”
“Yes, it is as Sir Zenard said.” Zich cut off Glen from intervening. He had no intention of giving Glen an opportunity to speak more than necessary. Of course, Zich cut off Glen in the middle of his sentence unnoticeably and softly carried on the conversation as if he agreed with Glen. Thus, not many placed much importance on Zich’s interaction with Glen—except for Lubella and Weig who had been paying close attention to Zich and Glen’s conversation after what Zich told them recently.
“If they break the gorge with some method, the stream will have no place to go and blanket the nearby ground. The lower its foundation, the more damage it will cause.”
“So, are you saying the result of such an event would be this lake?” Weig gasped and aggressively added, “Those bastards. Now they are destroying landforms just for their temples.”
“It’s actually very fitting of those cockroaches since it’s normal for pests to damage their surroundings so that they can build their homes,” Lubella said. People who weren’t used to Lubella speaking in a rough way looked at her in surprise; her way of talking fit neither her appearance nor status. The holy knights waiting patiently after picking up the fallen documents on the ground looked crushed as if the sky had fallen down on them. Zich turned his head away from them. It was time for these holy knights to wake up to reality. Besides, Zich was the number one cause of why Lubella could spit out such harsh words so easily as she did now.
“I guess they are planning to carry out this scheme a month from now,” Zich then continued.
“Why do you think that?”
“There will be a monsoon coming around this region at that time.”
“…They are targeting the time when there’s more rain than usual to crush the gorge and block the stream. It definitely is the most fitting time to make a lake.” Weig nodded. “We should investigate this Horus Gorge right away.”
“There’s a high chance those Bellids will be there. If we are unlucky, they might have already made considerable preparations to carry out their plans. After all, it’s not as if a plan to destroy a gorge can be carried out in just one or two days.”
“That means we should act even faster, while those guys are still not all that well prepared.” Weig stared at Lubella, and she nodded.
“We are going to put teams in charge of reporting about this place and investigating the gorge. Everyone here, please search to see if you can find any other information.” After giving out a command to the holy knights, Lubella bowed and left with Weig. Chelsea and Winstin watched this sight with jealousy. The Saintess had the highest authority to give orders to people belonging to Karuwiman; likewise, her guard knight, Weig, held great influence as the one who protected the Saintess. Chelsea and Winstin boiled with jealousy because the positions they had desired the most were taken by people they hated the most.
Yet, of course, they didn’t show their discontent for long. They had nothing to gain by glaring at Weig, and their standing would only worsen if they showed any signs of it. Thus, the two began to do what they could now, which was hoping for an opportunity to drag down the two they envied the most.
Zich also left the room following Lubella and Weig. He also planned to make preparations for the gorge. ‘Although I am curious about those documents, gaining information about the gorge takes precedence.’
Besides, important information among them would be organized and reported to Lubella and Weig anyway. They would also share this information with Zich too.
‘I think I’m starting to see what type of plan Glen Zenard is planning.’ Of course, he hadn't perfectly figured out Glen’s plan yet, but he was now sure of the basic layout. While heading towards the exit of the room, Zich glanced back. He saw that Glen was conversing with Chelsea and Pina; they were probably discussing their future plans.
His expression looked pretty serious, but other than that, Glen’s face looked the same as always. However, Zich was sure that Glen’s insides were flipping over in frustration and anger because Zich completely destroyed his chance to get attention.
‘I’ll soon make you express that emotion on your face as well.’ With these last thoughts, Zich left the room.
* * *
Glen furtively glanced towards where Zich had been previously standing. He gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw unconsciously, but he quickly suppressed his emotions because he couldn’t reveal his true nature in front of other people. However, Glen was so angry that he wanted to show his anger and grit his teeth even when there were other people around.
‘That bastard!’ While everyone failed to grasp what the model indicated, Glen had planned to step forward and gain everyone’s attention with his deductive reasoning. He had already finished planning the expression, tone, and situation he would set up to reveal his predictions and reasonings. All he needed to do was carry out his plan. However, Zich’s intervention completely shattered this plan.
As if he had taken a glance at Glen’s plans, Zich had stolen Glen’s job and laid out his deductions. People had intently listened to him, and Glen couldn’t bear to watch this sight. However, he couldn’t have stopped Zich. If Zich had made false and far-fetched deductions, Glen would have mocked Zich inside his mind and could have shared his thoughts. Rather, he would have been much happier if this had happened instead of his original plan, since he could have triumphed over Zich and proved to everyone that he was much more intelligent and brilliant than Zich.
However, the situation hadn't gone according to Glen’s plan. Zich’s deductions were extremely precise and accurate, to the extent that there was nothing that Glen could have added on or criticized. Glen even thought, ‘Did he gain information from another source?’ However, there was no sign that indicated this to be true. Zich had definitely made his deductions purely from looking at the model in front of him. Of course, a big part of the reason why Zich had been able to make a successful deduction was that he had been sure that this whole situation was one of Glen’s schemes, but Glen had no way of knowing this fact.
Anyway, as a result, Zich’s flawless deductions had completely taken away Glen’s opportunity to take the spotlight. When Zich’s deductions had precisely hit the mark, Glen had tried to intervene a couple of times, but Zich had prevented him from doing so. Thus, in the end, Glen’s dream of finding out the Bellids’ conspiracy before everyone else and leaving a deep impression on everyone around him was shattered into a million pieces.
‘I dragged it out too long!’ He shouldn’t have pretended to ponder for so long and given the opportunity for Zich to talk first. He should have shortened his thinking process and immediately voiced his ‘deductions’. He utterly failed to reach his goal, but he consoled himself despite his disappointment. ‘It’s okay. It wasn’t a very important matter this time anyway.’
He had merely wanted to gain a bit more attention through this event. There was a much more important plan that he needed to successfully accomplish. If he were successful with this plan, he would achieve a great amount of fame—it was to the extent that people wouldn’t even remember Zich’s accomplishment this time. Glen recalled Zich’s appearance and how Zich relayed his deductions while gaining everyone’s attention.
‘Hmph! Hog all the attention for these minuscule events as much as you want. I’ll be the victor in the end.’ Glen wasn’t being overconfident. He could start again as many times as he wanted, so he could just keep trying until he was successful. Glen worked hard to let go of the humiliation he felt just before.
* * *
After taking control of the Bellid temple, Zich went to meet Lyla before he headed towards the Horus Gorge. It seemed as if the Count kept his promise with Zich as no one approached the hole that contained Clowon’s ruin while he was gone. Of course, even if they approached the hole, they wouldn’t be able to find out what was in it.
Zich opened the door, went inside the ruin, and met Lyla. She was still completely immersed in her research, but it seemed as if she had little success. However, Zich was still not disappointed. He took out a dining table, and after filling up the table with food, they sat facing each other. Zich told her what happened in the temple while they ate.
“They’re planning to make an enormous artificial lake. I’m amazed by the scale of their plans.”
“Even so, I find it believable because those guys even tried to do a ritual by using an entire city as a sacrifice.”
Lyla nodded at Zich’s words. “Then, are you going to go back to the Horus Gorge?”
“Yeah. Since it’s the place that Glen Zenard seemed to have chosen for his next stage, I need to follow through without complaints.” Zich shoved the food in his mouth and moved his fork.