Ark Undead

"Doctor, do you mean... you want to take over Rhodes Island's diplomacy with us?"

"I'm just an observer, occasionally checking if there's anything I can do."

The doctor reached out and patted Amiya's head; to be honest, it felt nice.

"Don't worry about whether I'm ready or not. Kal'tsit is right. The sooner you want to take over the job, the more books you need to read."

The professor stretched, looking rather lazy.

Amiya glanced at the terminal in front of the Doctor.

She had just rested with the doctor, but hadn't had time to pay attention to where he was in the documents.

On the terminal in front of him, the rightmost scroll bar had been scrolled to the bottom, and all the items to be searched had a click history.

Although this is only one possibility...

But what if someone could really figure out the power dynamics between all the major factions in Terra within an hour?

Amiya and Kal'tsit huddled together next to the Doctor.

Before anyone knew it, Kal'tsit had already sat down next to the Doctor, even pressed against him, staring at the chess pieces on the board.

"Karlan Trade's volume of trade with Victoria has increased by more than twenty percent in the past two months, which should be due to the involvement of the Victorian royal family. Although I am very curious about how you made contact with those bigwigs in the court, just think about your friendly relationship with the Undead, Mr. SilverAsh, and learn a little about Mr. Undead's information, and you will know the answer."

The professor gently picked up a chess piece and played with it in his hand at a steady pace.

"So, under these circumstances, why not strike while the iron is hot and continue to expand the reach of the Kalan trade? After all, with the Aslan royalists of Victoria as our backing, we've established a firm foothold in Victoria. If we want to continue moving forward and transfer the local assets of Shelag outwards, then we'll have to get involved in an industry that most people don't really understand."

SilverAsh stared at the chessboard, his expression serious, without uttering a single word.

"Pharmaceuticals. Or rather, Oripathy inhibitors. So there should be a sufficient supply of some kind of raw material in Sherag. The Saintess election just ended recently, and I've heard that the current Saintess has a close relationship with you. If I'm not mistaken, Karan Trading has already secured the sole right to sell this raw material abroad."

The professor gently placed the chess piece on the chessboard near the silver-gray side.

Cheekmate

SilverAsh looked at the chessboard, his furrowed brow gradually smoothing out. He calmly accepted his defeat in this game.

He then couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration.

"As expected of the Doctor from Rhodes Island, impressive. He can glean the whole picture from just a few details and rumors."

"It's just a petty trick, not worth mentioning. Mr. SilverAsh didn't come to Rhodes Island just to play chess, did he?"

The doctor nodded, picked up the coffee next to him, half-removed his mask, took a sip, and then continued speaking.

"Mr. SilverAsh, could you perhaps consider the price aspect more in the agreement with Rhodes Island?"

SilverAsh raised his head, looked at the Doctor in front of him with suppressed anger, and said.

"I will revise the transaction agreement and send it over soon. I believe it will not disappoint the Doctor."

"It is an honor to reach a transaction agreement with Kalan Trade, and we hope that our two sides can have more exchanges in the future."

The doctor put down his coffee cup, extended his right hand, and uttered the words he hadn't said in the hangar.

"I forgot to mention, welcome to Rhodes Island."

"It is my honor."

SilverAsh reached out and grasped the Doctor's hand.

Looking at the person hidden in the mask in front of him, he couldn't help but think of the knight who was still waiting for him outside.

They actually managed to put those two together...

SilverAsh can no longer see the future of Rhodes Island.

He believed that no one could see it clearly either.

202. The Vanished Gods of Kalan

The exchange between the Doctor and SilverAsh was a very pleasant negotiation for both parties.

SilverAsh, without losing anything himself, confirmed the current situation of the Rhodes Island doctor and also reached a trade deal with Rhodes Island that can be said to be extremely important to the Kallan trade.

Rhodes Island gained a larger share of the profits in its trade with Kallan and also established a strategic partnership with SilverAsh, thus truly acquiring its first ally in trade dealings.

It can only be said that the Doctor played a huge role in this. He relied on his own insight and thinking to make SilverAsh acknowledge the current strength of Rhodes Island.

Even Kal'tsit and Amiya didn't expect that the Doctor would get SilverAsh to give up a lot of benefits in just half an hour with a single game of chess.

The Doctor himself didn't think he had done anything significant. Even after seeing SilverAsh out of the office, he was still sitting on the sofa, looking at the chessboard in front of him.

The professor rearranged the chessboard and then began to work.

Amiya went to see SilverAsh off to the Undead, while Kal'tsit stayed behind to clean up the coffee cups on the table.

She turned her head and looked at the professor, who was still fiddling with the chessboard in his hands. She couldn't help but go over and nudge him.

"When did you learn so much? Didn't you say you lost your memory?"

"Is it that difficult? I just looked at some things in the library, and I can do it with a little analysis."

The Doctor scratched his head, looking somewhat dazed. But Kal'tsit vaguely saw a shadow of herself from three years ago in the person in front of her.

He's become so easy to bully these days...

Kal'tsit shook her head, quickly banishing the thought from her mind.

What are you thinking! It's not like you negotiated the deal yourself, why are you so happy...?

Seeing that the Doctor was still fiddling with the chessboard, Kal'tsit couldn't help but ask.

"Everyone's gone, and you're still playing chess here?"

"I'm reviewing the situation."

The doctor explained in a low voice, while reaching out and moving the black and white pieces at an extremely fast speed.

Kal'tsit watched closely from the sidelines. Every move the Doctor made was exactly the same as when he played against SilverAsh before. He not only remembered his own moves, but also SilverAsh's moves perfectly.

The doctor sometimes removes the pieces, and sometimes takes back a move and returns to the previous few moves.

Kal'tsit simply sat down next to the Doctor and watched him set up the chessboard.

She felt this feeling was familiar, and if only the doctor could...

“Look, with these moves, his goal is very vague, and he has diversified his attack purpose in order to prevent me from discovering his true intentions.”

The Doctor subconsciously pointed to the chessboard, tapped a few pieces, and whispered to Kal'tsit beside him.

"But his mind is already thinking about the situation three, four, or even five steps ahead. SilverAsh has a broad vision; he won't get bogged down in trivial gains. And he's very good at disguising and hiding his true intentions."

“He is a good leader, but in a sense, he is also an insecure ally. To keep him firmly in check, you have to see further ahead than he does.”

The doctor's tone gradually became indifferent. He held his chess piece in his hand, rubbing it between his palms. His eyes, hidden behind his mask, narrowed as he stared at the situation on the chessboard.

But his mind had already wandered off to other places.

“To become a long-term ally of Karan Trade, one must at least be on par with his ideas. In this respect, Amiya is clearly not suitable to negotiate with him. And your personality is too rational, which would make you seem even more ruthless in negotiations with Karan.”

The Doctor placed the chess piece on the board. Unlike his previous approach, he changed his offensive strategy, attempting to break through SilverAsh's defense using a different method.

"Considering that Sherag is essentially a small, religiously-based country, and small countries are characterized by bloodlines and faith, they tend to be more open-minded about interpersonal relationships. Not to mention that the younger sister of this young head of the Shivaish family has become a saint."

The doctor's tone grew increasingly indifferent, even though what he was talking about was the warmth and humanity that could bring people comfort.

"So I had to try to connect with him in a more personal way. I chose to start with chess."

The way he stared at the chessboard was as if he were conjuring up a real SilverAsh in his mind, and that SilverAsh was sitting right across from him.

"The most effective way to be on equal footing with such a genius is to defeat him in a certain field, or to make him feel frustrated. Only then will he truly value you and your worth."

"I can foresee that in the near future, this SilverAsh might... Kal'tsit?"

Kal'tsit remained silent, simply watching the Doctor, intently listening to his voice.

The Doctor turned his head and looked at Kal'tsit's gaze, which was fixed on him. He then waved his hand in front of Kal'tsit's face.

Kal'tsit?

"..."

Kal'tsit looked at the Doctor's mask but didn't say anything.

"Kal'tsit? Is there something on my face?"

The doctor's tone returned to its somewhat lazy and nervous manner, and he reached out to touch his mask.

"No..."

"You've changed a lot, but you're still you at heart."

Kal'tsit suddenly spoke, saying something that left the Doctor completely baffled.

Having withdrawn from the thinking phase, the doctor, like a little fool, scratched his head and chuckled twice.

"If you all say I'm a PhD, then I am a PhD."

“It’s different. Whether we say it or not, you are a doctor. That’s your nature, and it won’t change, even if you forget everything.”

"Oh, is that so...?"

The doctor's tone became strange.

"So we had a good relationship before?"

"Not bad."

Kal'tsit said coldly, her tone barely more than that of a stranger.

The doctor's tone became even stranger.

"Are we so good together that you'd take my arm?"

"?!" Kal'tsit looked down and realized that her hand had somehow gotten close to the Doctor's arm, and had even slipped into the crook of his arm, hooking onto the Doctor's arm.

The pale green lynx's cheeks flushed instantly. It quickly pulled its arm away, stood up, turned its back to the professor, and faced the bright sunlight streaming through the window.

The professor was also somewhat at a loss. He looked down at the chessboard, unsure of what to say at this moment.

A moment later, the lynx coughed lightly.

"Um... If there's nothing else, you should leave quickly. I need to get to work."