Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King's Personal Knight

"I'm just surprised that Sir Alaric's situation is far more complex than I initially imagined," Holmes said, shaking his head with a slight smile before stepping into the room.

"Indeed, it's quite complicated. Is Mr. Holmes finding it interesting?"

The room wasn't large, and Alaric quickly walked a circuit around it.

"If Sir Alaric is willing to share, I would be more than happy to listen."

"Before that, let's look at this room first, shall we? Mr. Holmes, do you see anything unusual here?"

Alaric didn't continue the conversation but instead abruptly changed the subject.

"This doesn't appear to be a workshop, just an ordinary room. Did you discover something?"

Holmes, who had entered last, observed Alaric's busy figure but didn't rush to search the room.

"There is something—"

With his back to Holmes, Alaric casually picked up a notebook.

"2017—"

Alaric slowly read aloud the year recorded in the notebook, a time of 745 years, distant and unreachable.

"Mr. Holmes, what do you make of this '2017'?"

Leaning against the wall, Alaric tossed the notebook casually to Holmes.

"2017, the year when the Incineration of Humanity occurred. It appears that this Atlas Institute functioned normally from before the Common Era up to 2017. Only after the Incineration did it drift into this Singularity."

Holmes quickly skimmed through the notebook and then, holding his pipe, spoke slowly.

"2017… Mr. Holmes, are you familiar with Chaldea?"

Alaric sighed at the distance in time, speaking casually, "The Organization for the Preservation of Human Order—Chaldea, the group that's currently saving humanity. They're from 2017, aren't they?"

Now that they had arrived at the Atlas Institute, Alaric's final reservations about Holmes had dissipated. During their time together, Alaric had confirmed that Holmes was indeed in poor condition, unable to fight effectively.

From Alaric's perspective, Holmes in his weakened state was no match for him, whether in strength or speed. And if Alaric were to use his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Holmes would inevitably die by his hand.

With this realization, Alaric felt it necessary to establish a good relationship with Holmes. After all, the strongest mind is a truly formidable ally. Before Chaldea arrived, Alaric intended to strengthen himself as much as possible—even if it meant using any means necessary.

"Has Sir Alaric heard of Chaldea as well? Is this the moment you're going to open up to me?"

Holmes raised his pipe with a smile, his eyes deep and penetrating. With his intellect, it wasn't hard to see through Alaric's intent to engage in a heart-to-heart conversation.

"Of course, but I would prefer if Mr. Holmes could treat me the same way you treat Chaldea. After all, our positions are similar—we're both working toward the salvation of humanity, to resolve the Incineration of Humanity."

Alaric placed a hand over his chest, his expression sincere, the earnest tone in his voice making Holmes smile even more.

"And how much exactly does you know about me and Chaldea?"

"Not much, just a little—"

Alaric pinched his thumb and forefinger together, smiling as he made eye contact with Holmes.

"For instance, where Chaldea is currently located in the Singularities. Since you are here, they must have already resolved the London Singularity, correct?"

"Or should I say, the Demon Pillar that appeared in London has already been dealt with by Chaldea."

Having decided to establish good relations with Holmes, Alaric knew he had to be transparent, allowing Holmes to confirm his stance. Only by confirming each other's positions could they truly open up.

"....."

Holmes didn't speak immediately. Instead, he bit down on his pipe, his eyebrows raising slightly. The amount of information Alarichad was unexpectedly vast—too vast to be considered normal.

"Well then—Alaric, how much do you know about the King of Magecraft? If you know this much, you must be well-informed about him too, right?"

After a moment of deliberation, Holmes asked slowly.

"The King of Magecraft—Solomon, the king who incinerated humanity. Mr. Holmes, I can't provide you with much information about him. I've never encountered the King of Magecraft directly, so I won't be of much help to your deductions."

Alaric shook his head.

"Perhaps when Chaldea arrives, you can confirm the information about the King of Magecraft then."

"What are the two of you whispering about behind the Pharaoh's back?"

At that moment, an incongruous voice interrupted their conversation. Nitocris stood there, tilting her head as she looked at Alaric and Holmes, clearly puzzled. In just a short while, their conversation had shifted to topics she couldn't understand.

"Miss Nitocris, you can ask King Ozymandias about it later. He probably has his reasons for not imparting this knowledge to you."

Alaric smiled. With the conversation interrupted Alaric didn't say much more, allowing Holmes some time to think things over. After spending a bit more time confirming there was no other information in the room, Alaric and company left.

...

Ten minutes later—

Upon encountering another fork in the road, Alaric couldn't help but scratch his head.

"After moving forward, the previous path changes. There are two paths ahead, but looking back, there are three. It's like a maze. Is this maze designed specifically to trap uninvited outsiders like us, Mr. Holmes?"

"Exactly. This labyrinth-like structure is designed to confuse intruders. It's easy to enter but difficult to leave."

Holmes nodded, confirming Alaric's suspicion.

Nitocris, standing nearby, couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"But with such a structure, wouldn't it fail to stop thieves from entering?"

Holmes lit his pipe and took a deep draw.

"It's not intruders entering that they fear. It's insiders leaving."

"The Atlas Institute is a school of geniuses, each absorbed in their independent workshops, pursuing their research. There are no taboos here—no matter what inhumane creations they produce, no one will hold them accountable."

"But there's one condition: nothing created here must be taken outside. That's the fundamental rule that the Atlas Institute has upheld strictly for the past two thousand years. The only exception being the seven contracts created when the Atlas Institute was first established."

"Only for those holding one of these contracts will the Atlas Institute make an exception and provide assistance. It's been a troublesome issue for successive directors. After all, it's a contract their ancestors signed without permission. By the year 2000, four of the contracts had been recovered, but the whereabouts of the remaining three remain unknown."

"How powerful are these contracts?"

Alaric stroked his chin as he asked.

"They grant the full extent of what the Atlas Institute can accomplish."

Holmes' light words lingered in Alaric's mind, leaving a lasting impression.

"But now that the people are gone, these contracts don't seem to matter much, do they? Or do you mean they could somehow escape the Incineration of Humanity?"

After being tempted by the contracts, Alaric suddenly realized that the Atlas Institute was now empty. Even possessing one of the contracts might be futile.

"It might come in handy in the future," Holmes said, looking at Alaric meaningfully.

A sudden alarm interrupted Holmes, who smiled helplessly.

"Looks like we've accidentally triggered the auto-defense system again."

"This one will be easy to deal with."

Alaric glanced at the automatic defense system rushing out from the depths, identical to the model he had encountered before. After quickly dealing with the automatic defense system, Alaric and the others finally emerged from the maze-like tunnels.

A giant door appeared before them. When the door opened—

Deep within the underground alchemy academy, Alaric saw the sky once again. An obelisk stood tall beneath the vast blue sky. It was the pseudo-spiritron calculator, Tri-Hermes!