System's POV
chapter-172

After he met with the two Seers, the seven-year-old locked himself up inside his room as he organized his thoughts.

'The deadline is when a full war breaks out between the Tigerkin and the Barbarians,' Thirteen mused. 'Before the time is up, I need to have found the ringleaders manipulating the war behind the scenes.'

His mind moved like clockwork, formulating countless solutions to the problems that he was facing.

Thirteen was once a system, so this was already second nature for him.

As long as he had enough information and resources, he would be able to come up with a plan to solve almost any problem and find a path even if others thought that there was no way in sight.

If only he still had his previous mental capabilities that rivaled that of a supercomputer, then it would've only taken him a few seconds to formulate a fool-proof plan.

But since he was in a Human's body, and he didn't want to strain his mental capacities, he decided to take his time generating the plan he needed.

After nearly two hours of careful thinking, the young man sighed in relief before opening his eyes.

'This will work.' Thirteen smiled faintly. 'Now, I just need to… huh?'

Thirteen blinked, once then twice as he looked at the two Pocopocos that were perched on top of the table, looking back at him with dumb looks on their faces.

"Did I strain my brain too?" Thirteen rhetorically muttered to himself as he placed his hand on his forehead. "I'm starting to see things in twos."

"No, Master. You're not seeing things in twos," Vassago replied in an amused tone.

"I see. Then who is this?" Thirteen eyed the Pocopoco standing beside Vassago with great interest.

"Well, she doesn't have a name yet."

"She?"

Thirteen eyed the Pocopoco, who looked exactly like Vassago.

Well, most Pocopocos looked similar to each other, so it was very hard to tell which was which.

But the seven-year-old didn't expect to find another Pocopoco in the Valbarra Archipelago since their habitat was only on the main continent of Solterra.

"Let me tell you a bit about her," Vassago replied. "Judging by her story, she is one of our kind who likes to do things differently. While we spend most of our lives in the Main Continent, there are a handful who wish to see what lay beyond the sea, and she is one of them."

Thirteen nodded in understanding. "So, why is she here? Does she plan to also work for me or something?"

"No," Vassago replied. "At least, not yet. She's quite interested in the person who knew how to form a bond with our kind. She decided to come with me to observe what kind of orders I am taking from you."

"I see." Thirteen gave the other Pocopoco a second glance before coming up with an idea. "For now, I'll give you a nickname because it will be awkward to keep referring to you as 'You'."

"Keep in mind that this isn't a permanent name, but just a nickname. I know that you Pocopocos change your names often, so this shouldn't be a big deal to you."

The unnamed Pocopoco continued to stare at the boy with a dumb look on her face, which made Thirteen smirk.

"Poca," Thirteen said. "Your nickname will be Poca for now."

The Pocopoco didn't reply, but she still nodded her head in acknowledgment of Thirteen's words.

"Good timing, Vassago. There is something that I want you to do," Thirteen said. "But I need to see Lady Briella again so that she can help me talk with General Stark. Stay here for the time being."

After giving his orders, Thirteen took four wooden bowls and filled two of them with water.

He then filled the two remaining bowls with nuts before leaving the room.

He didn't know if Poca was interested in working with him, but either way, he didn't plan on actively recruiting her.

Vassago was enough for the things he needed to do, so he wouldn't be disappointed if Poca left after a few days of tagging along with Vassago.

When he arrived in Briella's quarters, he told her what he had in mind and asked if she could help him talk to General Stark about it.

Since they were already on the same side, Briella agreed and led the boy to her husband's office.

Fortunately, the General was alone when he arrived, allowing Thirteen to get down to business.

"I need your help, General," Thirteen stated. "It's a matter of utmost importance for the survival of the Tigerkins."

General Stark frowned, but after seeing his wife's solemn expression, he decided to listen to what Zion had to say.

"What can I help you with?" General Stark asked. "Does this something have to do with Anwir?"

"No." Thirteen shook his head. "I just need answers. Can you tell me who among the Tigerkins are advocating for the war to push through? Lady Briella mentioned earlier that there are two Factions within the Sumatran Nobility.

"The first is the Conservative Faction where you belong, who advocate seeking a peaceful relationship with the Barbarians." Thirteen raised his index finger. "The second one is the Radical Faction who is pushing for Tigerkin Supremacy, forcing young warriors to take up arms to make the entirety of the Valbarra Archipelago fall under the Tigerkin's rule."

General Stark once again glanced at his wife before pulling out one of the drawers on his desk.

He then took out a scroll and handed it to Zion.

"Listed there are all the members of the Radical Faction," General Stark explained. "This includes their respective positions in their party. But, why do you need this?"

"I will let Lady Briella explain everything to you, General," Thirteen answered. "Just know that from this moment onwards, I will not do anything to harm your family's interest. My goal is to change the direction of this war."

"Change the direction of this war? What are you talking about?"

"Just ask Lady Briella for answers, General. You will believe her more than you will believe me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave."

Thirteen gave the General a brief bow before leaving the room.

In his discussion with Lady Briella, he already asked her to divulge everything that they had talked about to the General so that he was more likely to cooperate with him in the future.

After returning to his room, the boy studied the scroll that was given to him and was surprised to see how detailed it was.

Not only did it have the names of the people from the Radical Faction, but it also had the location of their homes, making it easier for Thirteen to start his investigation.

"Vassago, you have work to do," Thirteen said as he showed the Pocopoco the scroll in his hand. "You are to visit these people one by one and investigate a few things about them. This is what I want you to do."

Thirteen carefully explained the things that Vassago needed to do when visiting the people on the list.

Poca, who was also standing beside Vassago, also scrutinized the scroll that was lying on top of the table.

The Pocopoco Race was very good when it came to memorizing things.

This was why they were able to imitate any sounds or voices as long as they heard it once.

After understanding the contents of his mission, Vassago took flight to the sky, heading to the places that were listed on the scroll.

Poca flew beside him because she was quite curious about this mission as well.

'That's one problem down,' Thirteen thought. 'Now, I need to visit Rafiki and stock up on those truth serums.'

Thirteen knew that in order to gather enough information, he needed to make some people talk.

What better way to do it than to make use of Rafiki's truth serum, which had received a passing grade from Thirteen?

Just a day ago, he planned to leave the Sumatran Kingdom as early as possible before the war started.

But now, he decided to stay for a period of time to make sure that the war would be delayed for as long as possible, giving him the time he needed to put his plan into motion.

While this was happening, Anwir, who was still locked up inside the prison, finally made up his mind.

If there was really a way to redeem himself, then he would give it a try so that he would get a second chance to make peace with the family, who still hadn't completely broken their ties with him.