While silently outlining these plans, Cain had already crossed the Nebel Plateau and was heading toward that ancient city.
The super-mechanical Azoth Kingdom!
Through information provided by Team Flare, Cain learned that the son of the former Prime Minister, the one he had once asked them to fully support — that scientist of arcane science who had previously seemed somewhat timid and cowardly, Alva — had now completely secured his position as Prime Minister of the Azoth Kingdom.
And, with the help and support of Team Flare, both his power and status had become increasingly solid. In the field of arcane science, he had also advanced at great speed.
The time Cain showed him Mega Evolution was simply like opening the door to an entirely new world.
During all these years, Alva had tirelessly devoted himself to researching that special method Cain had described, one capable of allowing Pokémon to Mega Evolve, and he had truly been gradually approaching the core of the matter.
And after Cain officially announced Mega Evolution, Alva pushed that branch of arcane science to its limits. He was only one step away from fully completing it.
Just before leaving Team Flare's base, Cain had already requested that, through Team Flare's own connections, the news of his imminent arrival in the Azoth Kingdom be delivered to Alva.
This caused all the servants of the flourishing Prime Minister's mansion to begin working immediately. Although they did not know exactly what would happen today, simply by observing their lord's behavior, they understood that the person about to arrive could not possibly be ordinary.
One had to know that even when some major figure of the Azoth Kingdom, someone of extremely high status second only to Alva himself, came to visit, the servants of the mansion had never seen him place such importance on the occasion. Probably, not even the arrival of the king would be treated with greater solemnity.
And Lord Alva, whom all the servants regarded as a person of immense prestige, was at that moment dressed in formal attire, holding a special cane in his hand and pacing back and forth in the garden of the mansion, visibly anxious.
For someone standing at the very peak among the ministers to show such a loss of composure made the servants even more curious about the identity of the person who was about to arrive.
But whoever it might be, if even their lord treated that person with such importance, then it was certainly not someone people like them could approach, much less offend.
Thus, everyone devoted themselves diligently and carefully to their duties, striving not to make mistakes or provoke the anger of such an important figure.
Behind Alva, who was walking back and forth restlessly, stood two individuals dressed in orange suits, wearing orange sunglasses, and even having their hair dyed orange. They remained behind him with expressionless faces, hands behind their backs, and posture as straight as soldiers.
During these years, Cain had arranged for Team Flare to help Alva consolidate his position within the Azoth Kingdom, so the contact between both sides had not been minimal. Over time, Team Flare discovered the peculiar scientific technology that Alva specialized in: the so-called arcane science.
Since Team Flare itself was an organization composed of scientists, it was natural for them to feel enormous interest in an arcane science they had never seen nor heard of before. At the same time, Alva also had great interest in the scientific technology from outside the Azoth Kingdom.
With the intentional cooperation between Team Flare and Alva, those two different branches of science collided like river water meeting a mountain, instantly producing sparks.
With the help of modern scientific technology, Alva continuously refined arcane science. Because of this, he successfully established himself within the Azoth Kingdom and, in only a few years, rose to the very peak among the ministers.
Once the elderly king passed away from natural causes, Alva would be able to formally take control and authority over the entire Azoth Kingdom; the young prince and princess would not be able to affect him in the slightest.
At the same time, Team Flare, thanks to Alva's arcane science, continued refining its own scientific knowledge and developing new and more innovative technologies.
By this point, Alva had already become another high-ranking member of Team Flare, incorporating the Azoth Kingdom into Team Flare's sphere of influence.
And the two Team Flare members currently behind him were precisely responsible for guaranteeing his safety.
In the Azoth Kingdom, simply seeing people dressed in such unusual clothing was enough for anyone to recognize them as subordinates of Prime Minister Alva; it had already become something of a symbol.
While Alva continued pacing back and forth anxiously, a figure slowly began to appear in the middle of his garden, as if someone had brushed the air with a paintbrush and suddenly drawn him into existence.
Seeing such a peculiar way of appearing, Alva immediately knew who had arrived, although he had not expected Cain to appear in the garden in such a silent manner.
Cain looked at the garden of Alva's mansion and saw that it bore no resemblance to the desolate appearance he remembered from the last time he had been there.
He nodded slightly and murmured to himself: "Now this finally looks like the garden of a true Prime Minister."
Plop!
"My lord!"
Alva rushed forward until he stood in front of Cain and, without the slightest hesitation, dropped to his knees.
By this point, he was no longer the man who once knew absolutely nothing about the outside world. Thanks to the people of Team Flare, he now understood Cain's identity, strength, and current status.
And the reason Alva was so nervous was because the task Cain had entrusted to him in the past had not been fully completed, which was why he looked like someone living in fear and anxiety.
Cain smiled.
"Stand up, Alva. I did not come to hold you accountable, so there is no need for you to worry."
(End of chapter)