Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"I need someone."

"Who?"

“Chidori Kaname,” Leonard said.

"..."

Isaac paused for a moment, then asked, "Does she have the technology you're looking for in her head?"

“To be precise, it’s someone I need,” Leonard said. “Perhaps once she’s in my hands, the personality named Chidori Kaname will disappear.”

“...Reinard.”

"Ok?"

I don't want to be involved in your plans.

Chapter 1318: One Rank Higher...

"I'm sorry, I don't intend to participate in your plan."

Upon hearing Leonard's terms, Isaac immediately chose to terminate the cooperation.

Leonard didn't show any expression in response, but instead asked, "Brother Feifan, can I ask why?"

"Chidori is very important to me. She's a valuable talent that IW has been trying to acquire. I can't touch her."

“If that’s what you’re worried about, then you don’t need to worry at all,” Leonard laughed. “It’s just that her personality will change, but her talents will still remain, and she will have a more comprehensive knowledge than the other ‘Listeners’.”

"I know, but it still doesn't work."

"What's the reason?"

"..."

Upon hearing Leonard's question, Isaac couldn't help but think of Sagara Sousuke.

Although Sousuke Sagara himself has always said that protecting Kaname Chidori is a mission assigned to him by the organization, Isaac could still see some clues from the radical attitude he took after Kaname Chidori was kidnapped during the hijacking of the plane during the last Jindai High School school trip.

Chidori is very important to Sagara Sousuke.

Isaac might not have understood it before, but since he started dating Violet, he has gradually come to understand these feelings.

"The reason is one of my subordinates."

"Subordinates?"

Leonard paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "That guy named Sagara Sousuke?"

"It seems you know quite a bit about the situation in Japan. That's right, it's Sagara."

"That's strange. He's just your subordinate. Is it really necessary to abandon this plan for a subordinate?" Leonard laughed. "Don't you have as many subordinates as you want?"

"If I don't consider the well-being of my subordinates, what right do I have to lead them?"

Isaac said.

"Besides, Sagara is not just a subordinate to me. Although we are in a superior-subordinate relationship, I have always regarded him as a brother and a very good friend."

"Brother? Friend?"

Leonard seemed to have heard something funny and chuckled twice as a token gesture.

He then stood up from his chair and stared intently into Isaac's eyes.

"Am I not one?"

"..."

Isaac fell silent for a moment.

Seeing that Isaac remained silent, Leonard didn't say anything more and instead planned to leave the restaurant.

As Leonard walked past Isaac, he said, "Actually, there's no need to worry. Once history is corrected, everyone's memories will be reshaped. In the new world, Kaname Chidori may not appear in Sousuke Sagara's world."

"Are you absolutely determined to reshape this world?"

"Yes."

"Whatever you say."

Isaac simply said that and then went about drinking his now-cold coffee.

Leonard simply smiled and left the restaurant.

Sitting alone in his seat, Isaac put down his coffee cup and muttered to himself, "The premise of reconstructing the world is to understand the world. You're just simply hating the world."

Isaac had no idea what Leonard had gone through in the past few years that required rewriting the world by altering the past.

"It's a pity. Once you understand this world, you'll find that everything follows specific laws. Even if you could go back in time and change history, the world you reconstructed wouldn't satisfy you."

After paying the bill at the front desk and leaving the Western restaurant, Isaac looked up at the sky, which had become somewhat gloomy.

“Renaard, you are my friend just like Sagara, but you have gone astray… Denying what happened in the past is equivalent to denying your own life, and the world that a person who denies his own life is destined to see is not a good one.”

------------

At the same time, Jindai High School.

Sousuke Sagara is under immense pressure today.

On one hand, he has to continue his mission of protecting Chidori, and on the other hand, he has to deal with Tessa's sudden visit.

Clearly, the mere thought of Tessa coming to the school sent chills down his spine, after all, she was the regional commander of the 'Mithril' organization he had infiltrated.

However, once Tessa officially arrived at the school, Sousuke Sagara discovered that the so-called pressure was actually...

It was much larger than I had imagined.

Although Tessa is the commander of the Mithril Western Pacific Command, she is also a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl full of youthful energy, and she caused quite a stir in her class, especially among the boys, when she first entered school.

Madukas also approached Sagara Sousuke, asking him to ensure Tessa's safety at school, which was one of his sources of stress.

After all, although Tessa is a professional soldier, her talents are all in commanding operations and scientific research, and her physical fitness is actually very weak. If she encounters bad guys, she will have no way to fight back.

The second pressure came from Sousuke Sagara's own identity.

Since Sousuke Sagara is an IW employee and currently works for Mithril as a semi-undercover agent, Tessa approached him as soon as she arrived at the school and asked him a bunch of questions about Isaac.

This almost led Sousuke Sagara to believe that his and Isaac's identities had been exposed.

Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm.

Of course, the biggest pressure still comes from...

Ayana Fujisawa: "I heard you and Isaac knew each other before?"

Tessa: "Yes, my brother Isaac used to come to my house a lot!"

“Really? As far as I know, that’s not the case.” Fujisawa Ayana sneered. “He only came to your house once when he was a child, and you haven’t seen him much in the years since.”

Tessa's brow twitched slightly, but she maintained her smile: "So what? Isaac and I are childhood sweethearts."

"Childhood sweethearts who have only met a few times? Their relationship must be pretty distant."

"It's still higher than that of some person who appeared out of nowhere."

The tension between Ayana Fujisawa and Tessa, who had just arrived at Jindai High School, was palpable.

"Tessa must be a busy person. Is it alright for you to stay at school for so long?" Fujisawa Ayana said. "Why don't we leave soon?"

"Not at all, after all, I haven't even met Brother Isaac yet."

Sousuke Sagara: "...You two, there's no need for this."

He really wanted to stop the two from continuing their conversation, because the atmosphere seemed very unpleasant.

On one side was the chief project manager of the IW research department, and on the other side was the commander-in-chief of the 'Mithril' Western Pacific Command.

And they have one thing in common, which is...

Their ranks are all higher than Sagara Sousuke's.

Sousuke Sagara was a sergeant in Mithril and a recruit in InW. Both Ayana Fujisawa and Tessa were far superior to Sousuke Sagara.

It's said that a higher-ranking official can crush you, but this is more than just a higher rank.

Sousuke Sagara's voice made the two, who were already on edge, turn around at the same time.

At that moment, Sousuke Sagara's back was already soaked with sweat.

"Instructor, come back quickly! This could become a diplomatic issue!"

Chapter 1319: You're All Friends

The conversation with Leonard was very brief, but Isaac was very clear about one thing.

That means Leonard will never give up on taking what Chidori wants.

In other words, Kaname Chidori is currently facing pressure from two sides: HCLI's Coco Hekmedia on one hand, and Leonard on the other.

Since Isaac's previous actions had eliminated most of the executives of 'Amalgam,' it's expected that Leonard will be able to take control of the entire organization in a short time. At that point, what he'll be after Chidori is the entire 'Amalgam.'

IW has already begun to acquire HCLI, so there's no need to worry about Coco for the time being. However, Leonard's 'mercury alloy' will be a very unstable factor.

As he smoked, Isaac walked toward Jindai High School.

He didn't know how to describe his current feelings.

If it were an ordinary person, upon learning that the other party intended to steal Chidori, Isaac would have eliminated them completely after warning them once to no avail.

But Leonard was different.

For Isaac, he was a friend, and he couldn't bring himself to harm his friend, even knowing what the other person might do.

In short, what Leonard did will not actually harm Isaac; in fact, if the two sides can cooperate smoothly, it will generate huge benefits.

However... this will be a serious blow to Sagara Sousuke, because Chidori is really important to him.

Sousuke Sagara is a friend of Isaac, and so is Leonard.

This is what makes Isaac most conflicted.

Even so, if Leonard dares to come and kidnap Chidori, Isaac will still stop him.

Because Chidori is also his friend.

"call……"