Elin-13

They returned to the surface.

"Prince," said Elin. "Earlier, you mentioned that the Individual also left Stromgarde. Jorgen once told me that he intended to take the Individual with him, but failed."

"He fled with Tusha."

"I hope to know more details."

"An hour after Jorgen left, I received a report. My guards were escorting Tusha from his quarters to the lab as usual, but encountered a problem halfway. Tusha disappeared, leaving only the severed iron chains. No witnesses survived. I can only speculate that the Individual assisted his escape."

Since the breakthrough about Lawrence, Galin no longer deliberately concealed anything. Elin thought it was like disclosing embarrassing medical conditions: either say nothing or recount all symptoms to improve the situation. The trouble was, Galin was a patient who would harm the doctor if left untreated.

"Neither Jorgen nor I fully understand the relationship between the Individual and Tusha. Why do you think he did this?"

"I can't answer, and contemplating it makes me feel terrible. To avoid disrupting the research, I rarely entered the lab and seldom saw the Individual outside the training grounds. It provided Lawrence with an opportunity to destroy the data discreetly. How disgraceful! Imagine, I received such a reward — or betrayal — for showing respect. What infuriates me more is that Jorgen also concealed his conversations with the Individual from me. I once suspected Jorgen orchestrated the Individual's disappearance."

"I assure you, there's absolutely no such thing."

"You're his envoy. What can you guarantee? I know he didn't do it directly, but was the Individual's assistance to Tusha a consequence of Jorgen's words? Jorgen is cunning. This time, he sent you to take responsibility for him. I hope it's because of your talent, not because Jorgen dare not face my scrutiny again. Listen, Elin Tias. I knew you must have been hiding something from the moment you walked into the parlor. I've never understood MI7 like I do now. But in this situation, neither MI7 nor I need more enemies, so I'm still willing to cooperate with you to solve the problem. You've seen how out of control the situation is now. Just your one eye remaining says it all. Tell me your plan, but be careful with every word you say. You know the consequences of saying the wrong thing."

"I was thinking about the connection between the Individual and the current situation, but in fact, it doesn't affect much."

"Why do you say that?"

"All we can be sure of now is that Tusha is still alive. Either the Individual isn't against these researchers, or he's dead. What matters now is that he doesn't represent the enemy. Even without his influence, I believe the enemy would still seek Lawrence. I don't think he has the ability to influence their thoughts."

"But Lawrence is in this state now. You should understand why I haven't formally responded to the exchange request for so long."

"My idea is not to worry too much. If the enemy's contact person is Tusha, he should recognize Lawrence. How do they make exchange requests? What communication channels do they have?"

"A goblin merchant caravan delivered the letter. They have a camp to the east, and said to hand over any reply to them. These creatures are the biggest pests in the world, yet sometimes we have to entrust them with tasks. I believe MI7 understands this better than I do."

"It's inevitable. After all, no other race can guarantee promises and keep secrets after receiving payment. So we can reply agreeing to the exchange, but they must ensure Tusha appears in person..."

"Is this your plan? Just agreeing to the exchange?"

"No, that's only from our first goal. The primary goal is to get back the Tolkar Sword for you, and Lawrence is indeed useless to us. Handing him over doesn't incur any loss."

"How can you guarantee the enemy will keep their word?"

"They will, because as I said, they don't want to start a war for now. Getting Lawrence back and returning the Tolkar Sword is their goal, plain and simple."

"That's the problem. Lawrence is useless to us, but he's also useless to them now. Do you think Tusha won't understand what's going on when he sees Lawrence in person?"

"I believe they won't have the courage to make further demands."

"Mr. Elin, retrieving the Tolkar Sword is indeed my primary goal. But I have a bigger goal, to emerge as the true winner in this matter. I don't like compromising with the enemy, especially when Tusha is both an enemy and a traitor. Perhaps, as you said, someone is pulling the strings behind him, but Tusha must be punished first. I believe MI7 feels the same — especially you."

"You're right," Elin decided to ignore Prince Galin's implications towards him. "My other task is to ensure that the tribes do not gain access to this technology. Tusha has only been out for half a year; it's impossible for him to have cultivated anyone who understands this work, so regardless of who is behind it, Tusha remains the key target."

"I personally don't care whether he's alive or dead, as long as we capture him."

"That's another reason for him to represent the enemy in the exchange. Next, we should carefully consider the issue of location, as it affects how the entire affair will proceed and how to allocate forces for ambush. I think the only viable time to act would be during the exchange."

"Mr. Elin, who do you think should be the one to exchange Lawrence on our side?"

Elin understood that this was actually a question that didn't need much consideration.

"I'll be responsible for handing Lawrence over to Tusha and simultaneously retrieving the Tolkar Sword."

"This is a very dangerous task."

"Thank you for your concern, but we both know there's no better choice. This is also my way of apologizing on behalf of MI7 for the trouble we've caused you. Even if the plan fails, it will be MI7's failure, not yours."

"There's one responsibility I must take on. I must also be present."

"Why? While this is important, you shouldn't personally risk yourself."

"Firstly, I should supervise the proceedings, but there's also something more crucial. In the past fifty years, only four people have seen the Tolkar Sword up close: the late king, the queen mother, the priest who officiated their wedding, and myself. I'm the only one still alive."

"I understand. So, I must say, your safety and that of the Tolkar Sword are paramount. We can only take limited risks for capturing the enemy."

"It's getting late, Mr. Elin. It's time for dinner. We'll have to continue discussing these matters an hour later, such as the details of the notice letter. You can come directly to my parlor at that time."

Prince Galin left. Elin hadn't expected the prince to invite him to dinner out of politeness. He glanced at the irregularly shaped clouds overhead, thinking that if they were shrunk to the size of a palm, they might resemble Lawrence's current face. A pitiful and ridiculous man. However, perhaps in the end, he would have to kill him because being half-mad didn't mean he wouldn't leak information about the research plans again. As the sky darkened, the cracks in the walls seemed to deepen, as if they would entangle the foundation of the castle like vines. Renner and Tusha had crossed this wall. Elin hoped to tell Jorgen: Hey, that unlucky Renner actually escaped and even rescued Tusha. Your arrangement for him to meet his wife wasn't in vain. I don't know where he is now, what he's doing, or what he's thinking, but it's best to hope he doesn't imitate Tusha, the damn troll who blinded my eye in front of my woman. I got along quite well with Renner during the Western Plague. Hopefully, his head, now filled with strange things, still remembers me.

On the way back to his room, Elin kept thinking about what to discuss with Galin after dinner. After choosing the location, he had to consider the form of the exchange and find a safe way for Galin to verify if the Tolkar Sword was genuine. How many forces to ambush, and how to ensure the ambush was effective. If necessary, he had to delay time during the exchange to facilitate the deployment of forces. How to delay time for Tusha? Right, say that MI7 still has plans to cooperate with him. Insult Galin in front of him, but not too much. Can I deceive him? Even if I do, I still need a way out to ensure my safety. If I get the sword back, capture Tusha, maybe Galin will suddenly shoot an arrow at me from behind. This guy probably harbored intentions to kill me while talking about various situations on the battlefield. People with such personalities shouldn't have any innate advantages. Of course, if he weren't born a prince, he wouldn't have reached this point.

Speaking of which, I also told Niaes that she could use this matter to change the current situation. For example, let her troops be responsible for the ambush. Convincing Galin to accept this arrangement might be a bit tricky, but he knows Niaes will go all out to achieve merit. But this means I still have to rely on Niaes! It's troublesome; I find it hard to believe in a woman who has only been speaking with a stiff face so far. Has she ever smiled? Some women's charm can absorb your reason like a whirlpool, and Niaes is like a whirlpool, but one that swallowed all my desires to make her laugh. She's quite like those women who, after one or two failed romances, find a thousand reasons to convince themselves to stay single... considering she grew up with such a father, it's not impossible. Forget it, I'm not really interested.

Jorgen, I shouldn't have agreed to your request. I shouldn't have brought Glocara here. Now I have a feeling I don't know what to do with her. Yes, if it weren't for her, I'd probably be dead already, but if it were you, how would you choose: just die, or let your woman gouge out your eyes? I think you'd rather die twice than let Dalia do that. I really wanted to do it myself at the time, but if something went wrong... No, there's a problem with the premise of this choice. More accurately, it's between letting her gouge out your eyes and dying in front of her on the spot. I think you'd choose the first one without hesitation, just because it doesn't lose as thoroughly. Tusha's move was quite clever. And now the trouble is, I have to tell Glocara what I'm going to do. Frankly, if the plan goes smoothly, Tusha only has two outcomes: dying during the exchange or being killed after being captured for a while. How can I say it to make it not seem like personal revenge?

Perhaps there's no compromise, because I do need to avenge this. When I was thirteen, a street punk tripped me in front of my first girlfriend. I waited for three days of rain to accumulate mud outside the school, then pushed him into it in front of about a hundred people. You know, these things can't be compromised. Damn it, if Tusha is really Glocara's lover, the situation would be much easier. Unfortunately, he's not.

Then again, why do I have any reason to be merciful to Tusha? He won't appreciate it, and who knows if he's planning to take my life. Now Galin and he probably have common goals.

I'm hungry. That damn prince didn't even say if someone would bring me food. What, do I have to go to the kitchen myself to inquire? It's only been a few days, and I'm already impatient with having only one eye...