Elsewhere, under the cover of night, Marcel was fleeing Poisson. He commanded his Clockwork Mekas, laden with goods and carrying him, to move at full speed.
At that moment, Marcel was completely unaware that an old man had suddenly materialized on the clockwork meka he was sitting on, seemingly out of nowhere.
"That yellow-haired brat Navia is still too green to contend with me!"
Having reached this place, Marcel felt little apprehension. Even if Navia realized his escape direction, he would be long gone by the time she tracked him down. This was all thanks to Navia's lack of suspicion towards him. Even if she decided to arrest him, he would be low on her priority list.
Marcel had anticipated this. Though Navia harbored some doubts, she hadn't yet made him her primary target, placing him further down the line.
"Master Marcel, your brilliance is truly awe-inspiring! I am deeply impressed!"
Startled by the voice beside him, Marcel froze before turning around with annoyance.
"Dean, haven't I told you I hate sycophants?" he snapped. "I made you my butler precisely because you knew when to keep your mouth shut. Have you forgotten that already?"
Seeing Marcel's displeasure, the man's face grew flustered, and he quickly stammered, "I apologize, Lord Marcel. I spoke out of turn."
"But I truly didn't mean to flatter you. The way you effortlessly manipulated the Maison Gardiennage and even made the President of the Spina di Rosula powerless against you... you're practically an eternal god in my eyes!"
Marcel's heart swelled with pride at these words, though he maintained a disdainful facade. "Hmph, I'll let it slide this time. But don't let it happen again."
"Yes, Lord Marcel!" The man fell silent.
Marcel nodded slightly in satisfaction. "Dean, you've served me loyally for years. We may face hardship ahead, but rest assured, we'll reclaim our position soon enough."
"And Vigneire, my beloved... I swear I will revive her, no matter the cost."
"Lord Marcel will undoubtedly succeed. You're destined for greatness!"
After these words, the two fell silent again.
Unbeknownst to Marcel, his butler's eyes had long since lost their spark.
"I've got it! He went this way!"
Lofan suddenly sat upright, pointing without hesitation to Marcel's escape route on the map and grinning at the two women.
Noticing that the direction Lofan indicated wasn't particularly concealed, Vinani couldn't help but ask, "Monsieur Henry, how did you deduce that Marcel fled along this route?"
"By my intuition!"
Vinani's face darkened instantly. "Monsieur Henry, please don't joke at a time like this."
"But I'm being completely serious!" Lofan protested innocently. "Besides, do we really have time to stand here while I explain? We don't have much time left."
To be honest, Navia also found Lofan's reliance on "intuition" deeply unreliable. But with no other leads, they had no choice but to commit to this course and trust his judgment.
The group gathered their strongest members and set off in pursuit of Marcel's escape route.
They hadn't gone far when smiles began to spread across their faces. The ground was littered with tracks left by Clockwork Mekas, confirming they were on the right path.
"It's clear Marcel has no other means of self-defense and relies on these Clockwork Mekas for protection in the wilderness," Lofan said.
"Even if we catch up to him, he likely believes the Mekas will give him a chance to evade capture."
"Moreover, since he brought the Mekas along, I suspect he's also carrying many of the valuables he originally hid in the mansion."
"With a bit of luck, we might catch him red-handed with the stolen goods."
Lofan's deductions left everyone thoroughly impressed.
How does he even think like that? they wondered. How can he extrapolate so much from so little evidence?
If Lofan hadn't been with them the whole time, they would have suspected he was cheating.
The group quickened their pace.
"Monsieur Henry, hurry up! We're falling behind!" Vinani called out.
Lofan rolled his eyes at her. "Creatures that don't rely on their own legs have no right to complain about speed."
Vinani was clinging to Lofan, otherwise, with her speed, they would have no hope of catching up to Marcel.
"Hmph," Vinani scoffed softly, feigning indifference as she looked away.
"Let me carry Miss Vinani," Navia offered, slowing down to approach Lofan.
This was exactly what Lofan wanted, and he nodded eagerly. "Thank you, Miss Navia. That would be a great help."
Without hesitation, he gently transferred Vinani from his back to Navia's arms and waved goodbye with a smile.
Vinani turned her head away in annoyance, refusing to meet Lofan's gaze.
Gradually, Lofan increased the distance between himself and Navia. He then instructed his body to stay with the group while his consciousness returned to Marcel.
Meanwhile, Marcel suddenly felt a vague unease, as if something ominous was about to happen.
Though it was only a premonition, Marcel had often relied on such hunches to escape danger. After a moment's contemplation, he addressed Lofan.
"Dean, have some of the Gardemeks lay traps on the ground. I have a bad feeling about this."
Lofan paused, a slight surprise crossing his face. He couldn't help but feel grateful that his return had been so perfectly timed.
"No problem, Lord Marcel! Leave it to me!"
"I guarantee not even a mosquito will catch up to us!"
"You can always count on me, Lord Marcel!"
Satisfied with Lofan's fervent assurances, Marcel nodded approvingly.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"After setting the traps, redirect the slower Clockwork Mekas to other routes. And remember to cover our tracks."
Hmm, he's full of tricks!
Lofan grinned and thumped his chest confidently. "No problem, Lord Marcel!"
"I'll carry out your orders perfectly!"
With that, Lofan took the Clockwork Mekas Marcel had assigned him and remained behind, while Marcel chose to alter his route.
Watching Marcel's figure disappear into the distance with the Clockwork Mekas, Lofan immediately began deploying his own contingent to set up the traps.
First, Lofan strapped all the explosives to the Clockwork Mekas. He carefully hid the Primordial Sea Water, Sinthe's raw material, in a secure location, having already ordered No. 2 to hurry over.
Next, he made Marcel's escape route even more conspicuous. Lofan then commanded the Clockwork Mekas to find secluded spots and prepare to self-destruct.
With these preparations complete, Lofan mounted the sole Gardemek and sped off in pursuit of Marcel, simultaneously withdrawing his consciousness back to his main body.
However, the moment he returned, Lofan sensed something was amiss. Why was his vision blurred? And why did he suddenly feel covered in wounds?
"You're finally awake!" Navia's voice, clearly relieved, came from beside him. Before Lofan could ask what had happened, Vinani's deafening roar echoed in his ear:
"Why would you be so irresponsible with your body, Monsieur Henry?!"
"Quiet down, quiet down," Lofan mumbled, rubbing his ear. After reviewing his body's recent memories, he finally understood what had transpired, leaving him utterly speechless.
Good grief, he thought. He had entrusted the System to autopilot his body and keep up with the group, thinking it would be a breeze since he'd personally acquired all sorts of abilities. But while his physical constitution was up to the task, his actual body possessed none of those skills.
And to make matters worse, the System's "artificial intelligence" was nothing more than an "Artificial Idiot." As a result, his body had been stumbling and crashing into trees the entire way.
At first, the others had been startled by the commotion. But as they watched Lofan's relentless, stumbling journey, they grew utterly bewildered.
Fortunately, Navia noticed Lofan's deteriorating condition and managed to free up her hands to assist him. Otherwise, when Lofan regained consciousness, he might have had to deliver his last will and testament to the group.
Lofan felt like vomiting. He couldn't endure this "Artificial Idiot" any longer!
I need to upgrade this System as soon as possible!
Faced with the concerned gazes of the group and Vinani's slightly angry glare, Lofan could only scratch his head awkwardly. He was already considering whether to restart the whole thing—his cool facade had completely crumbled.
"You went into that trance again. Did you figure something out?" Navia asked.
Realizing this was the perfect excuse, Lofan quickly seized the opportunity. "Marcel is such a cautious man. He might have set up traps along the way, just in case. We need to be vigilant."
Navia nodded. She summoned two team members and instructed them to quicken their pace, move ahead of the group, and stay alert for danger.
"Why would you do something so reckless?! Don't you know how dangerous that was?!" Vinani demanded angrily. "What if that had been something sharp instead of a tree? You could have died!"
"Why... why can't you think about yourself for once?"
Vinani knew Lofan had risked everything for the safety of the team, but she couldn't suppress her anger and anxiety.
"Miss Navia, please keep an eye on Monsieur Henry and make sure he doesn't do anything reckless again," Vinani said.
Navia nodded. "Alright. Monsieur Henry's actions were indeed quite dangerous this time."
"While we deeply appreciate Monsieur Henry's sacrifices, please prioritize your own safety. You must trust that we can handle this," another team member added.
Soon, others joined in the chorus of persuasion.
"Exactly! Monsieur Henry, please don't get hurt for us again. We can easily manage this small-scale situation ourselves."
"Remember that time we faced... never mind, forget I said anything."
The speaker suddenly recalled their past conflict with the Maison Gardiennage and awkwardly trailed off.
Lofan struggled to respond to everyone's concern. He could only hope the Artificial Idiot was being reliable on Marcel's side.
But why did he feel this lingering unease?
To be honest, Lofan had no confidence in his other body's situation, but he couldn't afford to split his focus now.
If only I hadn't come along in the first place, he thought. I placed too much faith in the System's autopilot.
Then again, finding a good excuse to withdraw wouldn't have been easy...
After some time, the group discovered the deliberately obvious trail Lofan had left behind.
Receiving a signal from the front, Navia ordered the team to slow down and began carefully examining the tracks on the ground.
"Miss Navia, it appears Marcel fled in that direction," one of the guards remarked.
Lofan nodded in agreement. Exactly as planned.
Worried that the tracks might be overlooked, he had intentionally made them conspicuously clear.
To Lofan's surprise, Navia immediately dismissed the suggestion.
"That's a trap."
"Why would he suddenly change course in this area and leave such an obvious trail?"
"Especially after Monsieur Henry just warned us about traps—how could you forget so quickly?"
The guard's face flushed with embarrassment.
"Clearly, Marcel must have concealed more subtle tracks. Everyone, spread out and search thoroughly."
Lofan was stunned by Navia's words.
Why overthink it so much? Just chase him already! Marcel's getting away!
Lofan was about to urge them to resume the pursuit when someone suddenly spotted the tracks left by the retreating Gardemek.
"Miss Navia, look here!"
"Exactly! This must be Marcel's true escape route."
Navia spoke with unwavering conviction, her gaze fixed on the deliberately concealed tracks.
"That cunning Marcel! If it weren't for Miss Navia, we might have fallen for his trick!" the crowd exclaimed angrily, while Lofan felt a growing sense of panic.
Wait! There's a bomb in that direction!
Seeing Navia about to order everyone to pursue the explosive, Lofan quickly interjected, "No, Miss Navia! This deliberately obvious trail is precisely what Marcel wants us to believe is his true path."
"He anticipated that we would distrust such a blatant trail, which is why he made it so conspicuous. The other route likely leads to a trap he set for us."
After considering Lofan's words, Navia hesitated before ultimately deciding to trust his judgment. The main force then followed the conspicuously marked path, their anger fueled by Marcel's deception.
However, Navia, wanting to be cautious, sent two scouts down the other path as a precaution.
Lofan wanted to stop them, but he couldn't think of a convincing reason. Instead, he offered them a warning: "The traps are likely bombs, designed to inflict maximum casualties. Be careful."
"Understood, Monsieur Henry! We'll be vigilant!" the two replied gratefully, nodding to him before departing from the group and disappearing into the distance.
The rest of the team resumed their pursuit of Marcel.
Still uneasy, Lofan devised a clever strategy: he would frequently switch his consciousness between his two bodies, ensuring that neither side faced critical danger.
Using this method, he transferred his consciousness to Marcel's perspective. The moment he arrived, he felt Marcel's icy gaze fixed upon him.