An Exchange

It was past noon and Fiana had left for the tower an hour prior, leaving Theodore and Kalman alone in the workshop as always. However, for the very first time, the two were left alone in the living room. After his conversation with Theodore, Kalman did not lock himself in his study. There was, after all, a far more interesting subject seated right across from him, sipping away at a mug of Aetherglow tea as if it were water, making Kalman consider if he should be planting more in the near future.

"Tell me this, Theodore," Kalman started a conversation. "How was it that you were able to lie through your teeth the way you did last night? You shouldn't have been able to resist unless you've developed a resistance and even then, a thought or two should have slipped through."

"It is to my understanding that knowledge is a greater currency than gold in this city." Theodore looked Kalman in the eyes as he placed his tea down. "Will you be robbing me or are we going to trade?"

From the view of someone who didn't know better, Theodore likely looked like an impudent brat by taking up such an attitude with an elder, but Kalman knew better.

"Of course, I'll be offering you something in exchange as well. I was thinking of teaching you one of my recipes if you're interested. Most of them are classified by the Circle and you won't learn them elsewhere."

"In that case, I'd like the recipe involving the roots of the Dandelion Mandragora. You know, the one that drastically boosts one's Aether density."

"That would be an easy request, at least for the recipe itself, though the rest would be rather complicated."

Theodore raised an eyebrow, not because he was surprised to hear that there were some complications in regards to the matter, that much he more or less expected. It was more so the fact that Kalman told him that there was more to it up front when he could simply hide that information and use them as bargaining chips later.

"Complicated, you say?"

"We can talk more about it later, but first, you answer my question."

"Well, in my case, it was fairly simple. I implanted myself with a behavioral matrix that answered the question in my stead."

"Impossible!? A behavioral matrix on a living subject? What about magic resistance? No wait, you were using crystals condensed from your own Aether... I see now, so that's how it is!"

It would appear that Kalman was unable to ascertain what Theodore was doing that night despite having him under surveillance. However, the newly gained knowledge did not help Theodore narrow down the methods used to observe him.

On one hand, if Albatross was used as a spy, then it should come to no surprise that Kalman did not know what Theodore was doing while she wasn't around.

On the other hand, the diffusive type Aether-form, though incredibly useful for stealthy information gathering, due to being low in overall density, the amount of information that it could transfer at a time was significantly lower than the other types. It could be that Kalman's Aether-form only allowed him to listen in on Theodore through vibrations in the air, but not allowing him to 'see' what was going on, at least not very clearly. Additionally, Theodore's soundproof barrier might have interfered with it as well, making it difficult to make out every little detail.

"It was indeed an ingenious idea," Kalman commented after gaining an understanding of how Theodore pulled off what he did. "Though, I have to say that it came from a rather unhinged place. It couldn't be done unless you're willing to take the risk of having Aether crystalize within your body and then cutting them out. It's one thing to do it to someone else, but to yourself? That's insanity."

While Kalman was thoroughly impressed with the idea, Theodore was more concerned with what the elder had just casually implied. From the way he spoke, it sounded like someone in this city had already tried to make a crystal farm out of someone else's body.

(Sure, I'm the one who's insane... No, I guess I *am* the crazy one.)

After all, it was Theodore who got the idea of a crystal farm from those few words. In fact, he could see it in his head. Lines upon lines of bodies, their limbs amputated, their tongues cut, their eyes plucked, the cavities other than those used for defecation sown shut, and through a tube pierced through one of their cheeks and shoved down their throats were they fed. Used like logs on a farm for mushrooms, their bodies glowed with the light of solidified Aether. The human bodies were good, but the elves were better due to their bodies' compatibility with Aether.

No, it wasn't just his imagination. Theodore had seen it, not with his own eyes but through the memories of the Demon Lord.

(Ah... That's right, 'I' was the one who came up with that. A 'revolutionary' idea from one of the many Demon Lords that came before, passed down from one to the other. Now it's stuck in my head and I can't get it out... Why did it have to be me?)

"Theodore?"

Kalman's voice dragged Theodore out of his thoughts, something that Theodore was grateful for more than anything Kalman has ever done.

"It's nothing, I was just putting a few things together in my head. More importantly, I want to hear about the recipe you were talking about."

"Yes, yes, that. I'll give you all the details I know of. Be warned, however, I am afraid this won't be as useful to you as you were expecting."

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End of Chapter 72

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