I Hate Systems
chapter-33

"It's possible to both see and hear through the Puppets. We have the technology to achieve that." Ephemella said, "But I'm sorry, I cannot tell you details about that. It's a state secret."

"It's fine, I just wanted to know if it was possible." Compass Carburettor nodded, asking, "Can the mode to see and hear be installed in a tiny Puppet?"

"Only if we have the design necessary to inlay the Darble circuit for that," Ephemella said, asking in curiosity, "Why? Do you have something you need?"

"Yes," Compass Carburettor nodded, "At present, even though the scouts are doing an impressive job in monitoring Regriel, they are involuntarily contributing to his growth. He's growing faster as a result, so, I plan to scout him alone from now onwards. And to aid that, I have a Puppet design in mind."

"Is the cause related to what you had attempted to tell me before?" Ephemella asked, thinking of the incident when Compass Carburettor stopped speaking abruptly as his body trembled and burned up, looking like he might die any moment.

"Part of it is related to that. And, Regriel's ultimate treasure is capable of growing based on the number of people concerned about him, whether with good or bad intentions." Compass Carburettor then waved his hand, "I don't mean to say that I'll be dealing with him alone. I'll only be the one scouting him. As for the rest, they could indirectly support me. This way, they won't contribute to his growth."

"Moreover," He said solemnly, "You should do something to prevent General Artica's betrayal and Regriel's survival from being known to the populace. If possible, suppress the information completely so that no one will even know that this incident had ever happened. That would staunch his growth further."

"I'll see what I can do about that," Ephemella said, not giving any guarantees. She then asked all of a sudden, "Wouldn't it be simple if I just marched straight at him and killed him once and for all?"

"Theoretically, General Artica cannot stop you from doing so. And, if you face them, you're bound to win guaranteed. But, the moment you set out to do that, an enemy kingdom might coincidently try to attack here. Or, suppose you managed to reach Peckle City, a General from Heroica Empire might coincidentally stumble upon you." He sighed, saying, "I cannot give any guarantees if that might happen, but we can test them once and see how it goes. As long as enough precautions are taken, there shouldn't be too much risk involved."

"I'll think about it then," Ephemella nodded, "Honestly, everything happening around Regriel doesn't make any sense. He's suddenly lost weight. And for some reason, the inn owner allowed him to stay for free from today onwards. And, when General Artica headed to Peckle Dungeon, the inn owner spent time with him. All of it seems strange and makes no sense."

"Was she smitten by Regriel?" Compass Carburettor frowned when Ephemella nodded, "Before this, did he come into contact with her before?"

"While losing weight, it seemed his body was burning up for some reason. And out of the pity of her heart, and since General Artica paid her enough, the inn owner personally nursed Regriel. She constantly wiped his body with a wet towel to cool his body temperature." Ephemella said, watching Compass Carburettor pick up a pen and paper immediately.

He then inquired for more details, noting down points as she talked. Finally, after a couple of hours, he said, "It's safe to assume that he needs around a day's worth of contact with a lady to enslave her."

"Then, what about General Artica? She was only touched by Regriel once while trying to behead him. The carriage driver said that Regriel had moved insanely fast at that one time." Ephemella said.

"That must be a one-time thing, a bonus power allowed by his treasure." Compass Carburettor thought, saying his conjecture, "And now, it's safe to assume that he needs to remain in contact with a lady for quite long before he can enslave her. This time limit would only shorten in the future. But I have no reasons to delay until then."

He then looked around, picking up a pen and a large sheet of paper, using a scale to draw numerous projection lines as he sketched a diagram, giving it a front view, side view, back view, top view, bottom view, and an isometric view projection, drawing numerous sketches on the paper.

It took him around half a day of work to detail everything. In the meantime, Ephemella had left for work at times and returned to watch him, looking at his design in curiosity. When he was done, she was rather shocked at the simple design that had complex uses.

"If possible, I need a puppet like this. I drew the image on a one-on-one scale, so that's how big I want the Puppet to be. As for the materials, that doesn't matter. They can be anything that can get the job done. With this, I'll be able to spy on Regriel perfectly." Compass Carburettor said, giving the paper to her.

Ephemella looked at the design, contemplating for a good hour before she said, "We have a circuit that could be used, albeit with some minor changes. There might be some trial and error involved, even though the overall design isn't complex. It would be done within a month."

"Thank you," Compass Carburettor bowed and turned around, intending to return as he said, "I'll be training in the meantime. After a week, I wish to head into the Ellipster dungeon to train myself."

"Consider it done," Ephemella smiled, watching him leave as she frowned immediately, sitting on her seat as she thought, for a moment wishing to just storm into Peckle City using a disguise and kill Regriel. She was irritated at the fact that she couldn't deal with him easily when she was able to instantly overpower him, despite General Artica protecting him.

It vexed her because she was smart and had sensed that something mysterious was at play here. And if she didn't realise it soon enough, she would be engulfed by the storm that would happen soon enough.

"Dammit, I should have just killed him in the throne room. It would have saved all this hassle." She gripped her Armament, frowning as she focused, thinking of everything Compass Carburettor had told her, then matching the information to what she had observed in Regriel's actions.

The fact that he was able to predict some of Regriel's in advance was enough proof that Compass Carburettor was privy to a lot of details. But, it seemed he was inhibited by something, preventing him from sharing the information with her.

But, neither of them gave up. He had given her numerous hints throughout their numerous conversations. And now, it depended on how well she was able to piece everything together without alerting whatever mysterious power that was preventing information about Systems being a thing of reality from being verified.