Antikythera waited for Asuka to tell him what she found upon studying the hallucinogenic pnt he gathered from Ninya's vilge. A pnt of the magical variety was quite a big find by his own estimates, as the flora he'd seen so far had little to no magical properties in them.

  "It isn't potent," Asuka offered him a stack of papers, smaller than what Antikythera expected, but it was within the realm of possibility. There was only so much research that could be done on such a basic pnt, after all. "Different parts hold different effects, and growing them specifically until they become their own breed should yield us multiple pnt types that specialize in those effects, but they are not compatible with the swamp outside the tomb."

  "We have to grow them elsewhere?" Antikythera stopped taking screenshots of the paperwork and handed it back to Asuka, who folded it and stored it in a cabinet on her desk. The Automaton thought about where he could grow the pnt before he realized that he already had an answer to that, didn't he?

  He used [Message] to talk to Albedo. 'I have something to say and a request that would hopefully be approved.'

  'I have read your reports, and if this has something to do with them, then rest assured I will make sure Nazarick mobilizes to fulfill it. This is quite promising.' Albedo sounded pleased from what Antikythera could gather. 'What do you want?'

  'One or two of the Pleiades to act as a noble who will seize control of the nd where I found Ninya,' Antikythera started telling Albedo of his pn, which was to simply grow the pnts he found using variables that had proven to be effective in the past.

  'And why would you do that?' Antikythera found—did the Overseer hesitate? Why?

  'I found a pnt of the magical variety. I wish for it to be cultivated. According to Asuka, different parts of the pnt have different effects, and if my calcutions are correct, selectively breeding the pnt to encourage growing these parts alone should yield us multiple breeds of flora with a single magical effect.' Antikythera waited for a response. He hoped Albedo would be convinced by this—Nazarick could benefit from harvesting alchemical materials.

  'Can I read about these pnts?' Albedo's request was immediately fulfilled by Antikythera, who commanded Asuka to step into the [Gate] that appeared in her office and hand over her research to Albedo.

  Silence, and then, "Interesting," the Overseer said. "I approve of it, but why do we have to put denizens of Nazarick amongst lesser beings? I can't imagine living among such filthy creatures. I'm sure the Pleiades would hate it even more."

  "Because they have proven to be effective in growing the pnt to begin with. Their vilge is where I found the batch I have given to Asuka for research. Giving the vilgers instructions should not be that hard."

  "Understood. I will tell Yuri Alpha to head over to the location and act as an illegitimate noble. But Antikythera?"

  "Yes?" Did Albedo want something else?

  "Drop her an Automaton or two to aid her."

  "I will do so."

  The [Message] cut off, and now all that was left to do was wait for the results. Antikythera nodded in thanks to Asuka. "I will take my leave. Thank you for your hard work."

  "Mhmm." Asuka didn't bother to reply to him, too busy reading her research on the selective breeding she'd been doing on the swamps Mare created.

  After telling Sakai Automatons to help Yuri Alpha in her new task, Antikythera made his way to Nazarick's grand library as part of his preparation to teach Ninya magic. He had a pn on how he would conduct his tests, starting with understanding how Ninya's talent worked. She understood the principles of [Electric Therapy], but her ck of knowledge prevented her from intuiting more information from her short interaction with the spell.

  With that being said, just how many spells could Ninya intuitively understand upon first gnce? Was it only limited to electrical spells? Was it expansive? Was there a difference between her rate of understanding for various spells? Such questions would first need to be answered before he went further in confirming his theories about what Ninya's "Talent" was. He was confident it was a css, but he could also be wrong.

  Best to figure it out with proper analysis rather than mere theory work.

  After grabbing all the books he might need, Antikythera used [Gate] to teleport back into Ninya's vilge. Yuri Alpha was still nowhere to be seen, but since Sakai had finished constructing the Automatons, Antikythera gated them all to the vilge to start repairing the baron's old house.

  The sudden surge of Automatons armed the vilgers. This was expected.

  Out of all of them, it was Ninya who was brave enough to run over to him and ask about what was going on. Antikythera assured her, "Nothing. I have brought Automatons to repair the baron's house. My scouting unit destroyed it, and thus I felt it appropriate to repair it for when a companion of mine occupies it."

  "Someone else will move in there?" Ninya cked the energy she had when they first talked in the morning, so Antikythera assumed someone must have talked to her about him being potentially dangerous. They were right to be cautious, of course, but Antikythera did not want that.

  "Yes, a friend of mine. She will act as the new lord of this vilge, and you will all be taken care of. Do not worry—we will not bleed your friends dry with taxes." Antikythera comforted Ninya, watching for any changes in her microexpressions. "We have no need for taxes, but we will require you to continue growing the pnts."

  "You mean the White Stalk?" Ninya asked.

  "Is that what it's called?" The name of the pnt changed in Antikythera's databanks. "Yes, the White Stalks."

  "My sister says growing those is bad, though." Ninya stepped away from him.

  "It's not." Antikythera cursed himself for not minding the lesser being's mental state. Of course, she'd be cautious. But then, seeing Yuri Alpha telling everyone that they would continue to grow the hallucinogenic pnts would cause Ninya to feel betrayed and no doubt have a bigger impact on her opinion. Admitting it to her now was better in the long run.

  How did he show her that he meant no harm? He needed her to be cooperative and imaginative for his research to work, and a custrophobic mind cautious of the nd around her was simply not ideal.

  "Take me to the center of your vilge, Ninya. I want you to call everyone you know and tell them that I will make an announcement."

  "O-okay, I'll do it." The girl scampered away. Antikythera berated himself as he observed the way she moved in panic.

  Well, second impressions were just as important as the first. But then, he'd already spent those, hadn't he? Now time for the third impression. This time, he would leave an impact not just on Ninya, but on the rest of the vilgers.

  He talked to Sakai using [Message]. 'Gate me several pounds of food and an artifact that produces indefinite water.'

  'It'll be there.'

  Antikythera walked to the center of the vilge, the location where he promised he would make his announcement. He hadn't told Ninya he would also be showing his goodwill because it would lessen the importance of his next course of action in her feeble mind.

  Vilgers had already gathered near the well. They looked at him in fear when he passed. Antikythera paid them no mind. "I have something to tell you all," he began. "Starting from now, Nazarick will be managing your vilge. Do not worry—we are good masters."

  A portal opened just as Antikythera finished talking, and several pounds of bread, vegetables, and meat dropped out. Where did Demiurge say he got these again? Antikythera grabbed the st item to fall out—a pitcher of water.

  "We will feed you well as long as you continue growing White Stalks." How long would these idiots take to learn how to grow crops in the manner he wished? He wondered. "We will protect you from the Eight Fingers as well. Rest assured, you are all safe."

  The vilgers looked at each other uneasily. "And you'll only want us to grow White Stalks?"

  "Yes. But I will give you instructions on how you will do so," Antikythera replied. "What do you say?"

  They all didn't look certain, but they nodded regardless of how they felt.

  "Good." Antikythera gestured at the pile of food. "Please, eat to your heart's content. If you need me, I will be observing the construction of my units."