Isaac greeted Duke Falcon and sat on the chair across the table. Vera sat beside him. Strider and Merlin stood at a corner like the guards.
Duke Falcon was a well-built man. He had a military-cut brown haircut, a chiseled jaw, and a sharp gaze.
Just being in his presence made one feel small.
Duke Falcon and Isaac chatted casually, talking about mundane matters.
As per noble etiquette, Isaac’s side had higher authority due to the presence of Princess Vera. Duke Falcon couldn’t ask why Isaac was here, and had to wait for them to explain the purpose of their visit.
Duke Falcon’s gaze kept flicking to Merlin.
He likely believed Merlin had turned traitor. That’s why Merlin surrendered the Sacred Duel instead of assassinating Isaac.
Five minutes passed before there was a knock on the door.
Duke Falcon frowned. Unless there was something important, the servants wouldn’t disturb him when he was hosting the princess.
"Enter," Duke Falcon said.
The door opened, and four people were revealed.
Hazel, Mira Fedra, and two knights of Falcon Territory, one of whom was the deputy commander of the guards.
"I’m sorry. I— I didn’t do it on purpose. She told me it was for her personal use. Sniff, sniff," Mira Fedra cried.
Duke Falcon looked at the company, then focused at the deputy commander of the guards.
"Sire, the potioner was making rather uncouth remarks. I was about to punish her and send her away, but she was accompanying Sir Isaac’s maid. I believed she had been brought here for an important matter, so I escorted them to the estate while making sure the potioner didn’t blabber in front of others," the deputy commander said.
"What is the meaning of this?" Duke Falcon asked, turning to Isaac.
Isaac put down his teacup and spoke, "That’s Mira Fedra, a potioneer from the back alleys. Your precious daughter took a Lust Potion from her and spiked my drink with it. That’s the truth. I never assaulted her of my own volition."
Mana exploded from Duke Falcon. If Isaac wasn’t the son of a duke, he would’ve been killed for saying those words.
Isaac remained calm in front of that ginormous pressure.
Mira shrieked, believing Duke Falcon was angry at her.
"I am sorry, sires! I wouldn’t have given her the potion if I knew she would do something this dangerous! I am sorry! Please let me live!" Mira begged, banging her head on the ground.
Strider looked at Mira with disgust. She knew Mira’s main customers were people who used Lust Potions for nefarious purposes, and those potions had destroyed the lives of many.
Vera was watching everything with an amused gaze.
Merlin had wide eyes, shocked.
"What scheme are you plotting now?" Duke Falcon said, each world filled with suppressed wrath.
"Scheme? So, you believe your daughter is incapable of doing anything wrong?" Isaac asked.
Duke Falcon’s mana pressure increased with his wrath. It bore down on the room like a heavy mountain.
A hum rang through the air. Mana radiated from Strider and clashed against Duke Falcon’s pressure.
"Duke Falcon, please retract your mana. You are harming the princess," she warned.
Duke Falcon noticed the princess, then did what he was asked.
He turned his head and glanced at his butler. The butler immediately understood the silent order and left the room, likely to investigate the matter himself.
If Zara had truly purchased the Lust Potion, she would have gone to the back alleys. With his wealth and influence, Duke Falcon could easily verify whether it had happened.
While the butler was away, Duke Falcon had Mira brought into the office and personally interrogated her in front of everyone.
Merlin didn’t look convinced, just like Duke Falcon.
Last time, Merlin had witnessed Zara’s reaction and confirmed the truth for himself. This time, however, Zara never came to meet them. Unlike before—when Merlin had been alone with Isaac—he was now accompanied by Vera and Isaac. Zara likely believed Isaac wouldn’t dare do anything too dangerous with so many witnesses present.
As the interrogation continued, Duke Falcon’s wrath grew with every answer Mira gave.
Thirty minutes later, the butler returned.
"...Sir Isaac said the truth."
A storm of emotions flashed across Duke Falcon’s face. Shock, denial, anger, grief, and finally acceptance.
He sat—no, collapsed—into his chair and closed his eyes, looking as though he had aged several years in an instant.
After a few moments of collecting his thoughts, he opened his eyes and looked at Isaac.
"What do you want? Since you haven’t taken this matter to court, you must want something in exchange for keeping it quiet," Duke Falcon said. He was willing to pay almost any price to protect his daughter’s reputation.
"I want three things..."
Isaac raised one finger.
"I plan to start selling Mana Breathing Technique to nobles and citizens. The nobles would obviously stand in my way. They wouldn’t want citizens getting stronger. I want you to stand against nobles and help me."
"Mana Breathing Technique?"
"It’s this."
Isaac openly used the Mana Breathing Technique.
Shock appeared in the eyes of Duke Falcon, the butler, the two knights, and even Mira Fedra.
"...you can absorb mana from the air? Can all humans use that technique?" Duke Falcon asked.
"Yes."
"Where did you get it from?"
"I will explain that later. Let’s focus on our deal first."
Duke Falcon fell silent. He was thinking about the implications of what he had just seen. This was a historical moment. If he supported Isaac here, it would change the trajectory of the development of humanity.
Duke Falcon didn’t like Isaac. In fact, after everything that had happened, supporting him was the last thing he wanted to do.
Yet when he thought of the kingdom’s citizens, he could only let out a weary sigh.
"I will support you. Even if you hadn’t blackmailed me, I would gladly help with something that can improve the lives of citizens," Duke Falcon said.
Isaac ignored how he used the word ’blackmail’ as if Isaac was in the wrong.
He raised a second finger.
"I want you to prepare for war, and when the timing is correct, force other nobles to also start preparing for war."
The shock that spread across the room was far worse than before. Even Vera stiffened.
The words of war from the mouth of the son of a duke were no simple thing. Not when Isaac had just created [Mana Breathing Technique], something that would revolutionize the development of humanity.
"...what war are you talking about?" Duke Falcon asked, secretly preparing his mana to kill Isaac at any moment.
"It’s a war that will start in the future. I don’t know who the enemy is. But I know that they will ravage our kingdom to the ground," Isaac said.
"Explain properly." Duke Falcon frowned.
"I told you I will explain how I created the Mana Breathing Technique, and..." Isaac turned to Vera. "I told you I have been creating Mana Breathing Technique secretly for as long as I can remember. But that wasn’t the entire truth."
Everyone focused on Isaac as he continued, "Since childhood, I’ve been able to see visions of the future. That’s how I know about the war. To prepare for the war, I created the Mana Breathing Technique."
His words were shocking. Yet the existence of the Mana Breathing Technique lent them a degree of credibility, however small.
They even wondered if he had stolen Mana Breathing Technique by watching someone in the visions.
"Can you prove these visions are real? Are they being shown to you by Goddess Qaia?" Duke Falcon asked.
"A great calamity will appear in four years. When that day comes, my words will prove themselves true. Until then, all I can ask is that you begin preparing a military force capable of facing it. Afterward, I hope you’ll convince the other nobles to do the same. Of course, I can offer a small piece of proof right now as well," Isaac said.
He leaned forward and took the diary on the table and the pen.
Then he wrote coordinates in it.
"There is an undiscovered Darjeen ore deposit at these coordinates. In the future I saw, it became one of the primary sources of material used to forge weapons for the war," Isaac said.
Duke Falcon memorized the coordinates before passing them to the butler. It would take a few weeks to verify whether an ore deposit truly existed there.
Isaac didn’t mind giving the information away. Mining and transporting ore required enormous amounts of time, manpower, and capital.
More importantly, he had no way of quickly converting the ore into profit. Even if he manufactured goods from it, selling too many at once would flood the market and drive down prices.
In short, the ore deposit was a poor investment for someone who needed money immediately. Isaac would rather trade it for benefits he could obtain now.
Isaac continued, "I don’t think it’s Goddess Qaia, or any other God, who is showing me these visions. However, I don’t know why I can see them."
Duke Falcon’s brows creased. Vera was staring at him as if he was a gemstone, likely thinking of giving a marriage proposal again.
Merlin had a frown. It was rare for the protagonist to frown.
’It’s best to deny any involvement with Goddess Qaia,’ Isaac thought.
Goddess Qaia was not a goddess, but something else.
Isaac didn’t remember the exact details. Decades had passed since he read the novel [Overpowered Magic God’s Reincarnation Will Save the Damned World].
But he was sure Goddess Qaia was not a friendly entity.
He didn’t want to be associated with her. It might bring trouble in the future.
As for claiming that another God was responsible for his visions, that would be even worse. It would immediately brand him a heretic. Duke Falcon was a Central Noble and a loyal supporter of the Royal Family. The current King—and the royal family by extension—were a devout follower of the Goddess Qaia Faith.
Telling Duke Falcon that another God was aiding him would be an incredibly foolish decision.
"What’s your third condition?" Duke Falcon asked.