CH706 The Insular Celahan Empire
***
Zora rolled her eyes at Alexâs antics.
"Itâs a good thing you finally stopped dragging your feet about it. Watching you constantly sidestep the issue was becoming genuinely irritating," she said.
"I wasnât sidestepping anything," Alex argued defensively. "We were simply too busy, and honestly, given the situation throughout most of this expedition, it didnât exactly feel appropriate."
"Thatâs just an excuse, and you know it," Zora said flatly.
Still, she merely waved her hand dismissively rather than continuing the topic. Instead, she abruptly shifted the conversation elsewhere.
"Donât keep Udara waiting for too long either. Donât make her feel left out," Zora cautioned. "She might not know that you and Eleanore became intimate, but thereâs no way you can hide the Rune Tattoo from her."
"Donât worry, I wonât," Alex replied seriously. Then, a gentle smile appeared on his face as he continued, "Udara is the perfect model for Rune Tattoos. Because of that, the Rune Tattoo Set Iâm designing for her will be a true masterpiece built entirely around her physique and abilities from top to bottom.
"Whenever I update her measurements or ability evaluations, I always make sure to show her the latest progress on the design. So she already knows very well what Iâm planning for her."
When Zora recalled just how... enthusiasticâputting it mildlyâAlex became whenever he discussed one of his creations or future visions, she could not help releasing a quiet sigh of relief.
Udara would undoubtedly feel both his passion and his affection through the sheer care and attention he poured into designing something specifically for her.
"Even so, be careful not to take everything at face value, alright?" Zora warned softly.
"I will," Alex nodded seriously.
Silence settled briefly between the two of them before Zora suddenly broke it again.
"So... Udara is your âperfect modelâ, huh?" she said casually. "Which means she gets the best Rune Tattoo you can possibly create, while Eleanore and I are apparently stuck settling for prototype workaround versions instead.
"You have to do something about that now, Alex. Iâm starting to feel jealous and envious."
Alex instantly froze.
And, admittedly, became slightly afraid.
However, when he looked at Zora more carefully, he quickly noticed the teasing smile tugging at her lips.
He could only shake his head with a helpless smile of his own.
Still... somewhere deep at the back of his mind, Alex could not help wondering whether Zora was truly joking entirely.
âWomen...â he groaned inwardly. âThe most unpredictable creatures ever created.â
Looking at the woman clearly enjoying his troubled reaction, Alex suddenly understood why Eleanore had been so desperate not to get caught by her earlier.
He could already imagine the endless teasing and layered double meanings Zora would have weaponised against them.
Then, suddenly, Alex remembered something important.
"Oh, right," he said, his expression turning serious once more. "Eleanore will probably need a location somewhere near the outer rim of the cityâor perhaps even completely outside BloodIronâfor her research.
"Should we arrange that through the administrative office as well?" He asked.
Partly because he obviously wanted to change the topic, and partly because he genuinely wanted her opinion on the matter.
Seeing this, Zora finally set aside her teasing expression and answered seriously.
"If itâs outside the city, no approval will be needed. But inside the city wallsâeven if itâs near the outer rim, then yes. As long as the building remains within BloodIronâs walls, weâll still need permission from the administrative office," she explained.
"Although," she added thoughtfully, "checks and inspections around the outer rim are incredibly laxâalmost non-existent, really. That entire area is practically a slum."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"Even so, Iâd still recommend placing the research facility completely outside the city. Otherwise, someoneâs eventually going to notice people constantly transporting research samples in and out of the area."
"Well... unless you plan on secretly installing a Spatial Gate somewhere to move them around unnoticed," Zora added casually.
After fully digesting the teleportation formation from the Interplanar Gate, Alex had successfully stabilised his own derived Spatial Gate Formation. As long as there was a stable supply of Spatial Energy, it was now possible for him to maintain an active Spatial Gate for extended periods of time.
âBut itâs still not worth the cost yet,â Alex thought while shaking his head inwardly.
"Letâs follow your suggestion and establish the research facility outside the city instead," Alex decided. "If necessary, I can install a Spatial Gate within the basement for easier transportation. Itâs significantly cheaper to transport Eleanore herself than it is to repeatedly move teams carrying unstable subjects like Berserk Humans."
He paused briefly before adding,
"Besides, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong, itâll be far easier to contain the situation outside the city walls."
"Youâre expecting something to go wrong?" Zora frowned slightly.
"No. But itâs always better to be safe than sorry," Alex replied calmly.
Although he sounded unconcerned on the surface, the truth was that Alex was far less relaxed internally than he appeared.
The instinctive bias and unease he carried towards bioengineering and mutation-based experimentationâsomething deeply ingrained into him from countless fictional stories in his previous lifeâcontinued gnawing quietly at the back of his mind.
It certainly did not help that Berserk Humans looked disturbingly similar to products one might expect to emerge from something like Umbrella labs.
Far too many fantasy and science-fiction stories ended disastrously for those who recklessly meddled with creatures and experiments of this nature. Given his âexperienceâ, Alex felt it would be irresponsible not to prepare multiple safety measures beforehand.
Eventually, Alex shook his head lightly and pushed those troublesome thoughts aside for the moment.
"Howâs the investigation into the Celahan Empire progressing? Whatâs the verdict regarding travelling there directly?" Alex asked.
"From everything weâve gathered so far, Saul Redwald was right," Zora replied. "For the most part, the Celahan Empire is highly insular, and our identities as adventurers and mercenaries from the Hollowcrest Wildlands wonât earn us any favour there.
"To be honest, not only the aristocracyâeven ordinary commoners might ignore or distrust us unless we accomplish something truly massive that completely changes their impression of us."
"But thatâs far easier said than done, isnât it?" Alex commented.
"Obviously," Zora answered dryly.
Alex frowned slightly upon hearing that.
After several discussions with Saul Redwald, Alex had already developed a basic understanding of the nation and its culture.
The Celahan Empire was an extremely inward-looking nation that fundamentally distrusted outsiders and instead prioritised internal development and stability above all else.
Naturally, practical necessity still forced the empire to maintain trade relations with surrounding nations, but overall, the country strongly preferred isolation.
However, after learning more about both the empireâs history and the broader history of the plane itself, Alex realised that their behaviour was not merely arrogance or xenophobia.
Rather, it was a form of collective self-preservation.
The founders of the Celahan Empire had been powerful individuals who survived the devastating Navi Civil War that had ravaged the plane prior to the formation of the newâor rather, current pantheon.
Although the newly established pantheon had promised an age of peace afterward, the empireâs founders remained deeply disillusioned by everything they had witnessed. Instead of embracing the influence of the Navi once more, they chose to establish an entirely new nation specifically free from divine interference.
Rather than deity worship, they turned towards ancestral worship as both their spiritual foundation and, to some extent, a protective measure against future Navi influence.
Most importantly, the empire deliberately adopted a foreign policy centred around distancing itself from outsiders in order to minimise the risk of ideological contamination from deity worshipers.
This concern became even more pronounced due to the empireâs geographical position.
The Celahan Empire bordered two openly deity-aligned nations, the Hollowcrest Wildlandsâa chaotic melting pot of competing ideologiesâand the Great Berserk Beast Forest itself.
Over time, that defensive policy gradually evolved into a deeply ingrained cultural and social norm within the empire.
As a result, it became extraordinarily difficult for outsidersâregardless of how genuine or well-intentioned they might beâto gain any meaningful foothold within Celahan society.
To bridge that divide, one generally required significant internal support, particularly from influential figures within the empireâs nobility and aristocracy.
Alex eventually released a helpless sigh before shaking his head lightly.
âLooks like we really will have to rely on Saul Redwald after all.â
***