The Most Perfect Defective Product

Ayanokouji and his entourage had arrived at the Karsten mansion. Just like in the previous reincarnation, they received a warm welcome from Crusch.

"Is Emilia unable to come today because of something?" Crusch asked.

"Yes, that's correct." Ayanokouji nodded. "There's something we need to handle here, and she couldn't come."

"That's a pity. I'll thank her next time if I get the chance." Crusch said, and then the banquet began.

Similar to the last regression, everyone chatted for a while, and then a servant came to inform Russell of his arrival, and Crusch immediately sent Wilhelm to handle the matter.

Ayanokouji squinted slightly. If his calculations were correct, Crusch was always eager to get rid of the White Whale. Her relationship with Russell was to purchase a large amount of metal and weapons to prepare for the White Whale.

After nearly ten minutes, the banquet was almost over, and Wilhelm, who had finished handling the matter, also returned to the hall.

"Crusch-sama."

Ayanokouji's eyes were fixed on Wilhelm and Crusch, and he said meaningfully, "It seems I know what Crusch-sama is really preparing for."

"Oh?" Crusch's eyes widened slightly. "Do you know something?"

"I guess Crusch-sama is preparing to take down the White Whale." Ayanokouji said.

Crusch leaned forward at this moment, her eyes gradually becoming sharper, and an expression of surprise appeared on her face: "How did you know?"

Upon hearing the other party's question, Ayanokouji decided that Crusch's political skills were indeed average. Even if the other party guesses your plans and thoughts, you should not reveal your stance.

"I have heard about Wilhelm's past, and I sympathize with what happened to your wife." Ayanokouji said to Wilhelm, whose expression slowly became serious.

"Wilhelm, you must be very eager for revenge. I heard that the reason you chose to be loyal to Crusch-sama is to get the chance to avenge the White Whale." Wilhelm also nodded.

"Yes, I have always been thinking about avenging my beloved wife..." Wilhelm clenched his fists tightly.

"I also heard that Crusch-sama is gathering a large number of weapons. You must be preparing for a certain war. So currently, Crusch-sama is preparing for a crusade against the White Whale. Of course, this is just my guess."

"I see." Crusch nodded, "Since you have guessed it, I don't need to hide it. As you said, we are preparing to attack the White Whale, but now there is a problem, which is we have no way to determine the White Whale's location, and this monster's presence is hard to pinpoint."

"Maybe I can help Crusch-sama." Ayanokouji said, which piqued Crusch's interest.

"Oh? Do you want to fight the White Whale with me?"

"I am truly sorry, my combat abilities are very limited. I am just an ordinary person. I really cannot give you meaningful assistance in battle." Ayanokouji shook his head. "But I can help you in another situation—such as when and where the White Whale will appear."

"Really? Nyaaa?" Felix opened his eyes in disbelief, and the cat ears on his head twitched slightly.

"Ayanokouji-sama, are you telling the truth?" Wilhelm said very excitedly. "The White Whale's presence is unpredictable and impossible to track."

"Yes." Ayanokouji nodded, and after deliberately pausing for a few seconds, he continued, "You must have heard about our previous conflict with the Witch's Cult. When we fought the Witch's Cult, I learned their plans from the mouth of Sin Archbishop of Sloth Petelgeuse, and they are preparing to control the White Whale to destroy the area around the royal capital."

"What?!" Crusch stood up excitedly, and the chair she was sitting on fell to the ground. "Can the Witch's Cult control the White Whale?"

"Theoretically, it is possible, because the White Whale was created by the witch four hundred years ago." Beatrice added from the side.

"Could it be... The previous time was also a mistake of the Witch's Cult?"

Wilhelm's body began to tremble with excitement, and his clenched fists made a sharp popping sound.

"I obtained relevant information from the mouth of the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, and I know the time and place where the White Whale might appear, but the authenticity cannot be guaranteed." Ayanokouji then recounted what he had experienced in the previous regression, telling the other party about the time and place.

Crusch used the ability of Divine Protection of Wind Reading to assess whether what Ayanokouji said was true, but she did not catch any emotions of lying, so she concluded that what the other party said was not a lie.

"This is very important information!" Crusch immediately said and nodded, "But why are you willing to tell me such important information?"

"Because I want to make this information valuable." Ayanokouji said. "Roswaal is away for something, and I want to continue to maintain the combat effectiveness of the two Great Spirits in our camp and do not want to reveal their abilities."

As Ayanokouji spoke, he glanced sideways at Beatrice, then back to Crusch.

"Furthermore, to avoid the possibility of losses from the battle, we are not prepared to attack the White Whale. This information is not that important to us." Ayanokouji deliberately paused to add formality to this occasion. "So I decided to use this information as one of the conditions to form an alliance with Crusch-sama."

"Do you want to form an alliance with me?" Crusch's eyes narrowed slightly.

She fully realized that Ayanokouji in front of her was clearly no longer an ordinary person.

"You must have had contact with Anastasia."

"Yes, I won't hide it. Since the Kararagi Chamber of Commerce has a very high commercial value, I want to cooperate with her in the commercial field to expand my strength. The throne selection is originally a competition, and there is nothing that cannot be used." Ayanokouji said, "And because Crusch-sama's strength is currently the strongest, choosing to form an alliance with you is the best choice. We can deal with the other two candidates first."

"Is this really beneficial?" Crusch looked at him cautiously, "But Emilia is also my competitor, why should I form an alliance with a competitor?"

"If you form an alliance with us, you can better get rid of the other two competitors. Not to mention the Kararagi Chamber of Commerce for the time being. The Priscilla family is not evil people, and their status is not low. Even the Karsten family cannot face them calmly."

Ayanokouji's eyes were fixed on Crusch, "There is no harm in forming an alliance with us for now. After driving them out of the throne selection, we will both be comfortable, and the competition will be fair."

The subtle changes in Crusch's facial expression were clearly visible to his eyes. He knew that the other party had been persuaded, so he used politics as an entry point and continued: "You also know the political views of Priscilla and Anastasia. Both of them only want to be king and have no idea of making the country better. Emilia and Crusch-sama have different political policies. Let's make the Kingdom of Lugnica better, so the winner must be between our two camps."

"I see." Crusch nodded in satisfaction and turned to Felix and Wilhelm standing beside her. They also felt that what Ayanokouji said made sense.

However, Crusch was also the head of the Karsten family, and not an ordinary person. She naturally wanted to seek more benefits for herself: "It's not impossible to form an alliance with you, but if it's just information conditions, it's a bit insufficient."

"Crusch-sama must understand the value of this information." Ayanokouji said slowly. "Eliminating the White Whale is the greatest help to this country. If the White Whale can be eradicated, Crusch-sama can be said to have made a very remarkable achievement. I think those who doubt Crusch-sama will also shut up."

His words were aimed at Crusch's strong sense of pride, and she also thought after hearing these words.

Crusch had always wanted to prove her strength and slap the faces of those who doubted her ability, so she had always wanted to destroy the White Whale, but she never had the chance.

"If successful, the credit for killing the White Whale this time can be fully attributed to Crusch-sama. We can only ask for a few people, horses, and money in return." Ayanokouji said calmly.

Everything he did and said had no intention of forming an alliance, it was just to push Crusch to conquer the White Whale, and the various conditions he proposed were just to increase the credibility of this conversation.

Crusch was currently the biggest competitor in the royal family. The benefits of getting rid of her were far greater than the benefits of forming an alliance with her.

Ayanokouji knew very well that if he only relied on the Crusch camp, the crusade against the White Whale was just moths flying into the fire.

"Okay, I promise you!" Crusch thought for a while, and a smile soon appeared on her face, "Our Karsten family is willing to form an alliance with Emilia until Anastasia and Priscilla are defeated."

"Mm, happy to work together."

"Wilhelm, bring the wine! Let's celebrate our alliance!" Crusch said to Wilhelm, then turned to Ayanokouji. "Ayanokouji, how much do you know about the White Whale? Do we need to seek additional support?"

"I don't think that's necessary. If we seek help from the outside, the matter will spread quickly, and the credit will be divided among others. Besides, with the strength of Crusch-sama and the Sword Demon Wilhelm, it's more than enough to face the White Whale. Additionally, Beatrice and I will be nearby to provide support during the battle." Ayanokouji said.

He wanted Crusch to believe that their camp was more than sufficient to deal with the White Whale and that their combat effectiveness couldn't be further enhanced.

"Good! What you said makes sense!" Crusch smiled and nodded.

Wilhelm had already arrived in front of everyone with fine red wine and poured it into their glasses.

Crusch sipped her wine, a delighted smile on her face. "I greatly appreciate Ayanokouji's information and assistance this time. I'm confident we will be able to work happily together! What do you want after everything is finished? Feel free to tell us, after all, you are now our very important allies!"

She then began to speak at length about her various future plans after killing the White Whale.

"Yes." Ayanokouji simply stared at her expressionlessly and nodded slightly.

'Crusch, I will never be your ally from beginning to end. Whether it's you, Emilia, or anyone else, they are merely my tools. Sorry, you have no enmity with me. Your straightforwardness and honesty are admirable. You may be a good leader and friend, but now you are blocking my way. Your death is more valuable than your existence, so please die at the hands of the White Whale.'

'No matter the outcome, no matter the price, no matter who has to be sacrificed, as long as the final winner is me, that's enough.'

Ayanokouji thought this in his heart, lowering his head to look at the red wine in his glass. The red liquid inside was like blood.

He took the glass of wine and drank it in one gulp.