Chapter 143 143: An Important Connection [Pt2]



Keith had not coughed loudly, but the noise was still enough to attract everyone's attention toward him. 

Edward Steward had stars in his eyes as he noticed the Grandmaster. It was a way a fan looked at their idol and tried to get closer to them suddenly. That look spelled trouble for Keith and he knew it.

'Pull yourself together, Keith. You cannot be getting distracted right now.'

Keith smacked himself in his mind and looked up at the group in front of him. Most of the people were paying attention to what he had to say about this situation. Even the government grunts were waiting for his orders.

"First, we need to get this town under control. I did not spend a lot of money here to have the most uncomfortable time of my life. Then, we need to find the mastermind behind this incident. I need to have a word with those people."

Keith's cold voice caused everyone to shiver. Only Keith knew that his words were hollow threats since he did not have enough power to pull anything off.

Shinzou smacked his fist in his open palm with excitement. He seemed ready to fight people on Grandmaster's behalf.

"Leave the offenders to me. I will make sure to catch them and hold them tightly. They will not be able to run away."

Keith nodded at Master Shinzou's words. He was likely going to leave all responsibility for what was going to happen to Master Shinzou. With this, one problem had been solved.

"Hey, I know I am from the government and all, but I think I will be able to help you with the people's problem. You see, I was the one who came up with most of the technology that is being used here. So, I am sure I can turn it off as well."

Edward offered his help and even Nufort looked surprised at the sudden action. 

From what Keith knew of Edward's character, the mad scientist never offered to help you until he found you interesting. 

In the original game, Edward was initially not interested in the player and refused to cooperate. It was not until a series of events happened that Edward even considered helping the player out.

That same Edward was offering his help at such a time? It did not only sound suspicious but odd as well. It made Keith not want to take the offered help.

"And what do you want in return for your help? People like you do not offer free help to anyone. If the government is planning something, then-"

Master Fushi let the threat hang in the air. The purpose of her words had been to warn Edward not to betray them. And it seemed like she had succeeded in her intention.

"I got it. I do not want to experiment this time. I just want to observe the Grandmaster a little closer to see how his powers work. I promise not to touch him too much, alright?"

Edward's words did not make anyone feel better but they decided to humor him for now. There was no harm in having more than one backup for now.

And if anything did happen, they could push all the blame on the government and get compensation that way.

"Fine, we will allow you to handle the people and their hypnotism. But if you even think of betraying us, then it would be your last day on this earth. Do you understand?"

Master Fushi was fierce and her eyes flashed with mana. It was an attractive look that made Edward's hand twitch to know more about it.

He wanted to take Master Fushi's head in his hand and twist it until he was able to see her eyes. He had even moved quite a bit to do the same before Edward caught himself.

Sating curiosity was a good thing but Edward still wanted to live his life. There was no need for him to die this young.

"Alright, it is a deal. So, can I ask for the Grandmaster to be my bodyguard for the duration of my mission? I am helping you all out but I am afraid I will be targeted by someone for this reason. I do not feel safe in this place."

With a single sentence, Edward managed to make a lot of enemies. No one could ask anything of the Grandmaster and they needed to give up if the Grandmaster did not want to oblige them.

Naturally, no one liked the audacity of this man asking the grandmaster for something no one had ever before.

Keith had a choice now. He could smite Edward Steward right now and prevent a lot of future events from happening. 

In retrospect, it would be better for everyone if Edward Steward was dead and done with. 

But killing someone was tough for Keith, even if that death happened indirectly. He could not bring himself to give the order for such a thing.

'Besides, it is only a small bodyguard job. I will just leave it all up to Nufort while I enjoy my vacation.'

So, when everyone else was against this, Keith decided to raise his hand and quieten everyone down.

"You want me to be your bodyguard? You sure are a gutsy man. I can have your head rolling for insulting me this openly, you know. Is that what you want? Do you want to die?"

Keith asked as his hand barely touched Edward's face. 

For what it was worth, Edward did not even flinch at their sudden touch. Instead, Edward looked glad to see Keith taking this so seriously.

"I do not care if I get killed as a result of having you as my bodyguard. I just want to observe you for some time. I am sure I am not asking too much from you. In return, you can ask for my help in the future if you want to."

Nufort offered this all and it was a tempting offer to take up. Keith found himself learning more and more about this deal.

'I guess there is no harm in taking this kid's hand for now. I can always break this deal with an excuse in the future if it does not suit my taste.'

With that in mind, Keith shook Edward's hand and a bond was formed. But since Keith had no mana of his own, the bond did not stick around for long. 

Unable to find a hook to attach itself to, the bond looked around before fizzling away.

Edward had a shocked look on his face when he looked at Keith. He had not expected to find anyone who had such immunity to magic.

'No wonder he is the grandmaster. Even his constitution is special and allows no curses and magic to stick around. I wonder if it can be replicated artificially. I will have to practice a lot and conduct experiments to achieve similar results.'

Edward had a new goal now. One that would require time and effort to finish building up. But he was not worried about his future. He had a lot of time.

"Come, follow me. We will need to remotely shoot down the devices that are allowing mind control to work over this town. The real satellite is in the skies but that is not a problem for me."

Edward was excited to show his genius mind and inventions. He led the Grandmaster and Nufort back this his base and opened the control panel.

It showed a huge laser that was being charged up.

"Now, I need you both to protect the laser since it is a delicate thing. Even a little shock can cause it to fly off-course. And I do not think the controllers of this town would allow me to shoot their satellites down."

What Edward said made sense. The people controlling this town would not want their control to be challenged or to be broken.

They would try to knock the laser out of focus for now and cause it to misfire. It would be a problem overall.

'Ugh, this is such a problem. But I am also in luck because defense happens to be my strong suit.'

Keith nodded and left the clearing. He headed toward the laser and raised a barrier around it. It was raised in time because the attack began the next minute. Animals and people who were being controlled tried to take the laser down.

They even ignored Keith as they focused everything that had on the laser. It was such a sad scene to see but Keith was not concerned about them.

Behind him, the sound of a laser powering up reached Keith's ear. It would not take long before the laser would be done charging. All Keith needed to do was to hold on for a bit longer.

Of course, things were not as easy as Keith was making them sound to be. He had to remain inside the barrier as well for the time being and concentrate so that it did not break.