Hearing Lysandre's question, Elias didn't bother hiding anything and simply nodded generously.
Seeing Elias acknowledge it so openly, Lysandre couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
Although the story of the Ultimate Weapon wasn't exactly secret, it wasn't common knowledge either.
The fact that Elias had found out about it so quickly was somewhat unexpected.
"It seems your intelligence network is quite impressive, Mr. Elias," Lysandre praised.
"But what about you? Do you know where the Ultimate Weapon actually is?"
Elias ignored Lysandre's flattery.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he directly asked what he really wanted to know.
No matter how powerful the Ultimate Weapon was, it was pointless if they couldn't find it.
If Lysandre knew so much about it, Elias figured he should at least have an idea of its location.
Only...
"I'm close to finding it—but it'll still take some more time," Lysandre admitted sheepishly, scratching his head.
He hadn't expected Elias to act this swiftly, making it look like he'd been deceiving him earlier.
Afraid of causing a misunderstanding, Lysandre hurriedly added:
"I've actually been tracking the weapon's location for a while now. I've searched through most of the Kalos Region, so it should be somewhere in this area."
Lysandre spoke seriously, clearly not joking about this.
Hearing this, Elias felt somewhat disappointed but still nodded.
"Mr. Elias, actually...just locating the weapon isn't enough. There are other conditions required to activate it."
After hesitating slightly, Lysandre finally revealed this detail.
At these words, Elias couldn't help but frown deeply.
He had guessed the Ultimate Weapon would have activation conditions—such a powerful device wouldn't operate easily.
But Lysandre's current expression told him the requirements weren't going to be simple.
Sure enough, Lysandre quickly continued:
"To activate the weapon, we'll need the power of the legendary Pokémon Yveltal and Xerneas."
"So, before anything else, we must capture these two Pokémon."
Lysandre took a sip of his coffee, carefully observing Elias's reaction.
To his relief, Elias merely deepened his frown but showed no signs of fear.
That was a good sign for him.
If even his potential partner was afraid of confronting legendary Pokémon, Lysandre's plan would never succeed.
But…
Though Elias didn't object to capturing Yveltal and Xerneas, hearing the weapon's activation conditions still gave him a headache.
In the end, there was no avoiding involvement with these two legendary Pokémon.
His original plan had been to use Xerneas's power to grant Diancie a blessing.
When he heard about the Ultimate Weapon, he initially thought he could bypass dealing with Xerneas directly.
After all, Xerneas was not only elusive but also exceptionally strong—negotiating with it wouldn't be easy.
Yet now…
Even his backup plan was inevitably tied to these Pokémon.
Thinking about it, Elias felt helpless.
But it couldn't be helped—
Xerneas and Yveltal were, after all, the two strongest legends in the Kalos Region. Being entangled with them was probably inevitable.
Still, despite Lysandre's plan being less helpful than expected, Elias didn't intend to abandon it outright.
When it came to Diancie, he needed a foolproof solution. If he couldn't find Xerneas later, or if it refused to bless her, Lysandre's plan would remain his best backup option.
"Do you need any help from me?" Elias asked thoughtfully.
Lysandre, who'd thought Elias might have lost interest, felt a surge of relief.
Since Elias was still asking questions, it meant he hadn't rejected the plan completely.
Before meeting Elias, Lysandre had tried recruiting others to join him—
But nearly everyone had backed away after hearing his proposal.
After all, confronting legendary Pokémon directly was essentially suicide.
Finally…
Someone was willing to keep listening.
Lysandre took two deep breaths, quickly clearing his head.
He needed to be at his best to explain the rest of his plan.
At the side, Diancie and Braixen sipped lightly at their drinks Elias had ordered.
Neither Pokémon fully understood Elias's conversation with Lysandre.
There were many words they'd never even heard before.
By contrast, Cogita, who'd seemed absent-minded until now, gently furrowed her delicate brows.
She reached out with slender fingers, intending to lift her coffee cup.
Yet as her hand gripped the ceramic handle, she couldn't help but squeeze tightly.
Pale veins appeared on the back of her delicate hand.
Getting tangled up with legendary Pokémon again...
That was Cogita's conclusion after listening quietly for a while.
This deeply upset her.
Legendary Pokémon were always frighteningly powerful.
She vividly remembered Elias's fate from their last encounter.
Though Elias now existed in a Ghost Form, hearing him once again heading towards conflict with legendary Pokémon filled Cogita with anxiety.
Thinking this, she quietly reached under the table and grasped Elias's hand.
It seemed like this was the only way to ease the tension in her chest.
Elias tensed slightly at the unexpected contact.
But this time Cogita didn't gently stroke his palm like usual. Instead, she held his hand tightly, as though seeking reassurance.
Realizing this, Elias felt startled.
Though uncertain about Cogita's thoughts, he gently squeezed her soft hand back.
Of course, he made sure to keep his movements subtle, hidden from Diancie and Braixen on his left.
Otherwise, the two Pokémon would inevitably throw another jealous fit.
But while the Pokémon didn't notice, Lysandre across the table clearly saw everything.
Seeing Elias, who'd been speaking seriously only moments before, suddenly holding hands under the table with his silver-haired beauty, Lysandre felt an oppressive tightness in his chest.
His face grew visibly gloomier.
"Well then, Mr. Elias, I'll send you the remaining details and plans shortly."
After further discussion, Elias and Lysandre finally reached an agreement on their preliminary cooperation.
Lysandre secretly breathed a sigh of relief, wishing he could immediately flee the scene.
Though the negotiations had gone incredibly smoothly, he still felt mentally exhausted…
---
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