Chapter 137

“Head of the Family, this is the roster of our new generation. Please look it over!”

Welsh Fort had always been the Mistral family’s fief. Yet the rising Mistral family used it merely as its stronghold. After all, only London could truly serve as the capital of the United Kingdom.

Nevertheless, just as Europa possessed both the holy city of Vatican City and the capital of Brussels, Welsh Fort was the political heart of the Mistral family. The family enjoyed extraordinary privileges within the United Kingdom and held no small number of seats in the House of Lords.

“Oh! Not bad at all. The newcomers this year are all quite gifted. But aren’t a few people missing? What about those members of the royal family?”

As he studied the list, the Head of the Family hidden behind the scenes could not help but ask.

“Head of the Family, all three members of the royal family appeared at last night’s gathering. As for their evaluations, perhaps we should—”

“No. The one I care about is that little bastard Treshi.”

The Head of the Family lit a cigar, paying no attention to anyone else on the list. The cigar’s ashes set the document alight. Everything was still done by traditional means; even the list had been typed out on a typewriter. That was because typewriters had nothing to do with electronic technology.

“Treshi? We spent ten years raising him, and what did we get in return? He left the United Kingdom, chose to travel abroad and study independently, and even forced us to launch the United Harbor Incident. That troublesome—”

“No, no, you’re mistaken. Even now, he remains the one with the greatest potential.”

Having heard this, the Head of the Family clearly did not agree. He seemed to have been watching Treshi for a very long time.

“You must understand that there is certainly something suspicious about that man named Cole, despite what Treshi said.”

Cole was a matter the Head of the Family could not afford to overlook—a figure even more outstanding than the Royal Academy of Sciences as a whole. His technology was far ahead of the rest of the world.

“Hah! Isn’t he merely a scientist? Why not win him over with fame, power, and wealth? Olag, you think far too highly of this Cole.”

Olag was evidently the Head of the Family who had been speaking all along. Yet there seemed to be another person of equal standing in the room.

“No. The fact that he has exactly the same face as Treshi is reason enough to investigate him.”

But Head of the Family Olag did not see things that way. On the contrary, he believed that the man named Cole possessed tremendous value as a tool.

“Besides, do you truly believe the Royal Academy of Sciences could develop technology related to space and time? Apart from Professor Titan all those years ago, no one else has ever been capable of such a feat. Cole is not only Professor Titan’s disciple—he also possesses Professor Titan’s technology, and may even have surpassed him. For that reason alone, we must not treat him lightly.”

Head of the Family Olag switched on the only television in the room, but what it played was a recording from the previous day. The television itself was an antique. Yet precisely because it was purely mechanical, even modern electronic hacking techniques were powerless against it.

On the screen appeared the moment Cole had arrived. It was as though a doorway had suddenly opened in the middle of the gathering, allowing him to teleport from a laboratory thousands of miles away.

“Look closely. I had my people verify everything. There were no hidden doors, and it was not projection technology. Before that, he had indeed appeared in a laboratory somewhere. Yet he simply manifested there like that. Not only that, he instantly captivated everyone in the hall. This is unmistakably spatial technology—and mature spatial technology at that.

“Even if you do not care about the future of the United Kingdom, you should still prevent this technology from leaking. Grand Inquisitor Sevia.”

The Grand Inquisitor was the nominal ruler of Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom, as well as the director of the tribunal that presided over the hidden organization known as the Inquisitorial Church.

There was no mistake: religion was involved here. The United Kingdom possessed an independent faith, much as Avignon and the Roman Church differed from one another. The Grand Inquisitor’s position was similar to that of a pope, yet fundamentally different. The pope governed matters of religious belief, while the Grand Inquisitor dealt with “heretics.” Anyone deemed “guilty” could be subjected to a “secret trial” by the Grand Inquisitor.

“Ah, I cannot win an argument against you. Very well, Cardinal of the Glorious Church. I shall reluctantly keep an eye on that little fellow. Let us hope he does not disappoint me.”