Edward then told them everything that happened to him on his voyage. From the moment he arrived, to be sealed, his time as the Wizard King, and finally, his confrontation with Eve.
Then, he also mentioned his experience in the Konosuba Universe.
During the explanation, Fleur and Hermione came to reunite with the family, telling their experience. Edward then introduced Wiz to the family. The others did not say anything about someone new coming into the family. Instead, they tried to make her feel comfortable and at home.
"Sounds quite like the adventure," commented Luna. "Next time, I won't miss the opportunity."
"We now have 3 Floating Cities and should be able to build a few more. So, everyone can go whenever they please," said Edward.
"You cannot just change everything as you did after the last voyage," said Olivier.
"Is something wrong?"
"Do you remember the Death Cult?" asked Luna.
"Herpos' pawns?" he said with a frown. "I thought I dealt with them already."
"You did, but a new one under Guzznad's control has infiltrated our borders," said Luna. "They first started to lure the citizens with the promise of immortality. However, their tactics failed with the Elixir of Immortality more available because of the war.
"So, they switched to luring people with power. Many people have become traitors because Guzznad promises them to become Divine Mercenaries."
As long as these people do things for Guzznad, such as giving it information, they would receive divine blessings that increase the power of their soul, increase their mana, and even acquire knowledge.
The divine energy of gods is versatile, allowing them to achieve all these things.
"Is the situation worse?" asked Edward with a frown.
"The Ghost Squad, Diviner, and Intelligence Department have rendered the situation manageable. However, it is impossible to hide such a large change from Guzznad's grasp."
"So, a clean-up is in order?"
"If possible, yes," said Luna.
"But that's not the main problem," added Olivier. "Ever since the war began, the Universe Web has become an important tool to send information. As you can guess…."
"Our information has been leaked to the outside world," said Edward before caressing his temple.
"Yes. So, if you don't want more of our secrets to be known to the Tier 10 Gods of the Central Region, you have to deal with the issue."
Edward did not say anything else. He's been trying to decipher the Universe Web for decades with no success. He did not even have a starting point he could use, meaning he was utterly clueless.
Everyone quieted down and waited for him to think.
"Let's cheat," said Edward.
"Excuse me?" asked Rowena.
"We don't know anything about the Universe Web, and it would take too long to research it, so let's cheat to get the answer."
"You mean the Akashic Record."
Edward nodded and no longer hesitated. He used his connection to the record and asked the price for information on the Universe Web.
"Fuck," he screamed, losing control.
"Watch your tongue," grunted Rowena. However, Edward ignored her and showed her the price for the information. The word "fuck" almost escaped her mouth; she only controlled herself out of pure unwillingness to make the same mistake he had just corrected him on.
Edward then showed everyone the price–even Wiz. However, she was confused about the meaning behind the information. Although Edward had her undergo learning training to be up-to-date on the ongoings of the Empire, certain information was not present in her learning module.
So, he condensed some of his memories and gave them to her so she could understand the situation. And she also wanted to swear after learning the exorbitant price for such a piece of information.
"Can we afford it?" asked Olivier.
"Morgana, calculate the price."
"As you wish, boss."
A few minutes later, she said: "It would cost us 80% of all the Empire's knowledge."
Edward wanted to throw something at someone. "Even with the knowledge we just brought back?"
"Yes," she replied since her calculation also considered those. Edward sighed and pondered for a moment. A few seconds later, he said: "Let's do it."
"Are you sure? This seems too expensive," said Rowena. And the others agreed with her.
"It's because it's so expensive I want to know the information. I hope the price is worth it."
Edward could see the pain in their face despite agreeing with him. After all, in this world where knowledge equals power, it was a pain to hand over such a vast quantity of knowledge.
"Don't be so sad. There is a high chance we can recuperate our loss with the information gained. Isn't that the reason we started the Empire? To use knowledge to create more knowledge."
"You're right; we should not lose ourselves and become like these other civilizations that hoard knowledge," said Luna. After everyone agreed, Edward no longer hesitated and exchanged with the Akashic Record.
Then, Edward closed his eyes and reviewed a summary of his exchanged knowledge. An hour later, he opened his eyes, full of brightness.
"Mana Grid, the source of all mana," he muttered with excitement. An invisible grid travels throughout the entire universe like veins: the Mana Grid. It is the source of all mana in the universe, and all the leylines on all planets are connected to that energy grid.
The magus race was a race of pure mana, granting them a connection to that grid to draw unlimited energy. They also used the grid as a way to connect and communicate throughout the entire universe.
That was the Universe Web. After the magus race disappeared, the gods discovered and took over the Universe Web, connecting everyone.
"Fascinating. Having access to this grid is like having access to nearly unlimited energy," muttered Edward, thinking about all the possibilities of that information.
"What is it? What did you find?" Rowena hurriedly asked, and Edward sent the information to all of them.
"Is this the source of magic?" asked Hermione.
"At least, in our universe, it is."
"I don't think we can say for certain that's the source of magic," said Wiz, making everybody look at her. However, she was not shy.
"After all, mana is only a certain aspect of magic. What about the other important thing: the soul? We now know where mana comes from, but what about the soul? Is it just an organ that all lives are born with? Or is there another mystery?"
"Wiz has a point," said Edward. "I've theorized that in some universes–most likely the ones where magic does not exist–the soul and its dimension do not exist. Instead, the soul is nothing but a form of consciousness when the brain evolves to a certain stage."
"You're probably correct," said Olivier. "In the Star Trek Universe, the concept of the soul has been studied, and a similar conclusion has been made. Even the clone you made for me had no soul after being influenced by the laws of that universe."
"I'd love to see that study."
"Get back on track," said Hermione. "What can we do with the Mana Grid? Could we block access to the Universe Web in our galaxy?"
"Near infinite energy also means near infinite resources," said Edward. "As for the Universe Web, if you give me some time, I could create a blocker with the Floating City and Brain Room.
"I could also use this opportunity to have Morgana begin invading the Universe Web to acquire information for us."
"It seems that the price we paid was worth it," commented Olivier. "However, before you enter deep research mode, there are many things that you need to deal with."
"That's true. Let's have dinner with my parents, and I'll introduce Wiz to them. After that, I'll begin to deal with these things."
"What about your return? Do you want to announce it now?"
"We'll see."
Afterward, Edward met his parents and had dinner with them, introducing them to his new wife. His mother was happy, his dad secretly jealous, his aunt shaking her head in disapproval, and his cousin, Susan, called out his womanizing ways.