Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

CH706 The Insular Celahan Empire

***

Zora rolled her eyes at Alex’s antics.

”It’s a good thing you finally stopped dragging your feet about it. Watching you constantly sidestep the issue was becoming genuinely irritating,” she said.

”I wasn’t sidestepping anything,” Alex argued defensively. ”We were simply too busy, and honestly, given the situation throughout most of this expedition, it didn’t exactly feel appropriate.”

”That’s 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.

”Don’t keep Udara waiting for too long either. Don’t make her feel left out,” Zora cautioned. ”She might not know that you and Eleanore became intimate, but there’s no way you can hide the Rune Tattoo from her.”

”Don’t worry, I won’t,” 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 I’m 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 I’m planning for her.”

When Zora recalled just how... enthusiastic—putting it mildly—Alex 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 ’perfect model’, 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. I’m 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.

’Women...’ he groaned inwardly. ’The most unpredictable creatures ever created.’

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 city—or perhaps even completely outside BloodIron—for 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 it’s outside the city, no approval will be needed. But inside the city walls—even if it’s near the outer rim, then yes. As long as the building remains within BloodIron’s walls, we’ll still need permission from the administrative office,” she explained.

”Although,” she added thoughtfully, ”checks and inspections around the outer rim are incredibly lax—almost non-existent, really. That entire area is practically a slum.”

She paused briefly before continuing.

”Even so, I’d still recommend placing the research facility completely outside the city. Otherwise, someone’s 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.

’But it’s still not worth the cost yet,’ Alex thought while shaking his head inwardly.

”Let’s 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. It’s 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, it’ll be far easier to contain the situation outside the city walls.”

”You’re expecting something to go wrong?” Zora frowned slightly.

”No. But it’s 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 experimentation—something deeply ingrained into him from countless fictional stories in his previous life—continued 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 ’experience’, 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.

”How’s the investigation into the Celahan Empire progressing? What’s the verdict regarding travelling there directly?” Alex asked.

”From everything we’ve 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 won’t earn us any favour there.

”To be honest, not only the aristocracy—even ordinary commoners might ignore or distrust us unless we accomplish something truly massive that completely changes their impression of us.”

”But that’s far easier said than done, isn’t 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 empire’s 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 new—or rather, current pantheon.

Although the newly established pantheon had promised an age of peace afterward, the empire’s 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 empire’s geographical position.

The Celahan Empire bordered two openly deity-aligned nations, the Hollowcrest Wildlands—a chaotic melting pot of competing ideologies—and 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 outsiders—regardless of how genuine or well-intentioned they might be—to gain any meaningful foothold within Celahan society.

To bridge that divide, one generally required significant internal support, particularly from influential figures within the empire’s nobility and aristocracy.

Alex eventually released a helpless sigh before shaking his head lightly.

’Looks like we really will have to rely on Saul Redwald after all.’

***