After a brief conversation, the two reached a basic cooperative relationship.
First, Ayanokouji provided Anastasia with new technical support and gave her some production recipes for new products.
In return, Anastasia would provide substantial capital and, while granting Ayanokouji a workshop, would also offer business support for the Emilia camp. The Kararagi Chamber of Commerce would develop industries in related fields in the future.
Anastasia paid a hefty price. Initially, she naturally wanted to obtain Ayanokouji's technology at the lowest possible cost since the other party had to take the initiative in the trade.
But Ayanokouji was no ordinary person. He knew how to take the initiative in transactions and even hinted that if Anastasia couldn't meet his requirements, he wouldn't hesitate to offer this technology to another chamber of commerce.
Anastasia knew well the significance of this technology, which would likely have a massive impact on the initial market and generate immense wealth. So, in the end, she gritted her teeth and signed the contract.
After all, this technology could bring enormous benefits, and her competitors must not obtain it, as it would have severe repercussions.
While Anastasia was planning her future strategies, she never thought Ayanokouji actually had doubts about her.
Anastasia believed this technology to be the most scientific and advanced of its time. However, she didn't realize that Ayanokouji hadn't used the most advanced methods at all, and the overall materials used weren't optimized.
It's like in the age of cold weapons, if someone discovered a pistol, others would consider it the most advanced weapon in the world. In fact, the person might already possess the technology to make rifles and machine guns.
Anastasia, living in this era, couldn't imagine the actual level of technology he possessed.
Ayanokouji's plan was to temporarily establish a cooperative relationship with Anastasia and use the resources provided by the other party to gain a foothold in the market first. While acquiring wealth, he would expand his influence until the time was right. He would then use the more advanced technology he possessed to create more cost-effective products, plundering and monopolizing the market in a short time, thereby ruining Anastasia's market.
As long as Anastasia's Chamber of Commerce was severely damaged, its vitality would also be gravely impaired.
Currently, Anastasia was unaware that she had unknowingly fallen into a trap.
After a brief conversation, it was already quite late. Ayanokouji, Anastasia, and the others were ready to board the dragon carriage, leave the city, and return to the royal capital, with a few earth dragons protecting them.
The surroundings grew dark, and the starlight twinkled in the sky, like a large chessboard. It was a sight Ayanokouji hadn't seen in a long time.
In his original world, science and technology advanced rapidly, and cities were all brightly lit. It was impossible to see such bright stars at night.
"Ayanokouji, I hope we can have a happy cooperation in the future!" Anastasia said with a smile, full of hope for the future.
"Yes." Ayanokouji nodded. At this stage, he very much needed Anastasia's strength.
He possessed not only steel-making technology but also many other production technologies. For instance, if he could make colored glazes, he could surely attract nobles who loved gold, silver, and jewelry, giving it excellent development prospects.
And if he expanded the workforce in the Emilia camp in the future, researching gunpowder and firearms could also make a qualitative leap in the camp's combat effectiveness.
While the two were chatting, Ayanokouji looked out the window, but the bright starlit sky had disappeared, seemingly covered by dark clouds. However, due to the pitch-black night, he couldn't see clearly.
This made him feel a little puzzled because, from the sky earlier, it should be clear tomorrow, and dark clouds shouldn't appear so suddenly.
Was this a unique natural phenomenon in this world? Or was someone using magic to cause all this?
He had some doubts in his heart, but as he thought, the stars reappeared in an instant.
And this also made him immediately realize that there was something in the sky earlier.
"It seems there is something above us." Ayanokouji said slowly.
"Is there something?" Anastasia slightly stuck her head out of the carriage and asked with a confused expression on her face, "I don't see anything."
"Did Hetaro and Tivey find anything?"
Ayanokouji believed that as Demi-Humans, Hetaro and Tivey should have sharper senses than ordinary humans, so they should be able to see clearly what was in the sky.
"Hetaro? Tivey? Who are they?" Anastasia asked with a confused expression on her face.
Ayanokouji looked at the other party carefully. He knew clearly that Anastasia was not joking now.
"They are the guards traveling with us, your subordinates."
"Sorry, Ayanokouji, I don't have such people under my command." Anastasia asked, her confused expression intensifying.
"Let's speed up and get out of here immediately. Something is not right here."
Ayanokouji ordered the driver to speed up, looking out the window as if they had disappeared. It was as if they had never been there.
He was a bit puzzled. Could Anastasia have forgotten about the existence of her two important subordinates?
This reminded him of his discussion with Beatrice about the White Whale – the White Whale could erase the existence of its target, and even their memory would be erased.
Could it be...
"Anastasia-sama, do you remember who the deputy leader of your mercenary group is?" He asked.
"It's Mimi, haven't you met her?"
"Is Mimi the only one?"
"Yes."
Anastasia didn't understand why the other party suddenly asked such an unusual question.
'She remembers Mimi but not Hetaro and Tivey?' Ayanokouji thought.
Previously, Mimi stayed in the royal capital and was responsible for sending him to another city, while Anastasia went with them, so she wasn't affected.
However, Ayanokouji himself was still a bit confused. Anastasia didn't remember the existence of Hetaro and Tivey, but why did she still remember him?
'Is it because I still have the Witch's scent on me? It seems I could see Petelgeuse's Unseen Hand earlier, but others couldn't see it.'
"Anastasia-sama, do you remember that we were accompanied by guards during our travels?" Ayanokouji asked.
"No, there were only a few of us." Anastasia replied, her expression changing from doubtful to serious, seemingly realizing something was wrong.
"You are the president of the chamber of commerce. Whenever you travel, you certainly want to prevent encounters with bandits and robbers. You would definitely send guards to follow you, right?" Ayanokouji continued.
"That's right... I should have sent guards to follow me... but not this time, why not?"
Anastasia would naturally send guards to protect her, but why not this time? This wasn't her style.
"Maybe it's because you don't remember their existence."
"The White Whale?!" Anastasia suddenly reacted. If what the other party said was true, then there was only one possibility: she encountered the White Whale.
The existence and abilities of the White Whale couldn't be considered a secret. She had also heard about the White Whale's abilities. Although somewhat hard to believe, the monster did indeed have the ability to devour the existence of others, and it seemed that only encountering the White Whale could explain the current situation.
Outside the dragon carriage, a strange thick fog filled the air in an instant. It seemed there was a massive figure floating in the air within the thick fog, and a very hateful voice echoed.
The white fog enveloped almost the entire world, making it impossible for the dragon carriage to see any direction.
*BOOM*
With a loud sound, the dragon carriage seemed to hit something hard. The earth dragon's neck broke instantly, becoming a lifeless corpse, and Anastasia was thrown away.
Ayanokouji had long prepared for the impact. He had taken a move that could eliminate the impact beforehand.
After the dragon carriage was destroyed, he quickly adjusted his body shape in the air, fell to the ground, and rolled immediately. The damage he suffered was minimized, but due to the immense impact, an ordinary human body couldn't fully withstand it. He could feel fractures appearing in his ankle, and he probably couldn't run anymore.
If he were an ordinary person, he might have died instantly from the impact.
Ayanokouji turned to search for Anastasia. He only saw a small white and purple dress among the wreckage of the dragon carriage, and the dress had been stained red by the blood from the White Whale's attack. This time, it was completely beyond his calculations, so he cursed.
The white fog grew thicker, slowly drowning the wreckage of the dragon carriage. In the blinding whiteness, Ayanokouji could feel something moving beside him.
He took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and walked in a specific direction – he suddenly saw a huge object.
It was a massive eyeball with a diameter of nearly five meters. Its narrow predator-like pupil stared at him.
Seeing his reflection in its eye, Ayanokouji knew it belonged to the Mabeast named the White Whale.
"We're facing some unexpected situations." He said without expression.
Without the dragon carriage as a means of transportation, and his ankle already injured, along with the thick white fog blocking his view, he didn't want to make futile efforts.
However, facing this giant beast, he did not show any fear or panic in his heart. He only stared at the White Whale intently, hoping to gather more information from it.
Return by Death was never considered by Ayanokouji as a solution to problems, but if a return by death could be triggered, then the most important thing was to gather as much information as possible before dying.
The White Whale's eyeball moved and disappeared, replaced by a large, bloody mouth like a black hole, piercing through the fog and rushing towards Ayanokouji.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka died.
❀❀❀
In the classroom of Advanced Nurturing High School, all the students fell into a strange silence.
And simultaneously, a feeling of horror emerged within their minds.
What was that monster?
With such a large figure and terrifying appearance, many people would faint and die from fear upon seeing the White Whale.
And the most frightening thing was the White Whale's cheat-like ability to erase the existence of others.
The White Whale had devoured all the guards around without being seen, and no one else noticed at all.
This was far more terrifying than the giant monsters in monster films.
Is there really a way to kill this monster?
Ayanokouji was looking at his student terminal screen. He felt no fear in his heart, even though the person on the screen was himself.