The Azoth Kingdom.
Cain descended in front of the walls.
He found the marks left by Team Flare and then entered the forest until he reached the agreed point.
"Come out," he said calmly upon arrival.
Two figures descended from the trees, accompanied by their Pokémon.
"Lord Kaelus!" Upon seeing him, they straightened instantly, left hand on their chest, saluting with respect.
Aside from the outlandish glasses they still wore on their faces, their clothes had been replaced with the traditional attire of the Azoth Kingdom.
Cain nodded.
"Do you have what I asked for?" he inquired.
The two immediately nodded and pulled out a space suit.
Cain received it and told them: "Well done. Continue your work."
At his words, a gleam of excitement flashed across their faces.
The second-in-command of Team Flare had just thanked them!
In an instant, all their fatigue vanished.
"It's nothing, Lord Kaelus. We'll take our leave; everything will be properly arranged," they replied.
With that, guided by their Pokémon, they disappeared into the trees.
They had the missions Cain had assigned them.
They were two captains sent by Team Flare, who at that moment were following his orders. Their strength wasn't extraordinary, but when it came to infiltration, they were truly skilled.
In a short time, they had managed to infiltrate the Azoth Kingdom and gather the information Cain needed.
He opened the space suit and first changed into the traditional attire of the Azoth Kingdom.
Afterward, he pulled out a pile of books.
That was the main material he had requested: documents and records related to Azoth Kingdom's arcane science.
Yes, Cain was going back to his old ways: an infiltration.
His goal was to blend into the kingdom and obtain what he wanted, or meet certain people he needed to see.
For example, to find Nikola's writings—the results of a lifetime of research in arcane science.
Although he wasn't sure they even existed.
Arcane science had sparked enormous interest in Cain.
A science capable of creating Magearna—how could that not be worth studying?
And not only that.
There was also Alva, the man Cain had asked Team Flare to locate.
He had his own unique creations in this field.
The problem was his shady character and narrow vision, restricted to the Azoth Kingdom. Otherwise, with his inventions—even if he didn't reach the level of Lysandre, the leader of a clandestine organization spanning an entire region—he could have become an influential figure.
His creation was called... the Mega Wave!
A method capable of forcing Mega Evolution without the need for Mega Stones or a deep bond between trainer and Pokémon.
The appearance of such a technology could completely change the balance of the Pokémon world.
Too bad its creator wasn't up to the task.
It wasn't even clear if he had truly completed it, since Mega Evolution still hadn't been revealed to the world.
As for Nikola's results, those were indeed extraordinary: each one a true jewel of wisdom.
Cain began scanning the documents collected by Team Flare, transferring them to the system to store as data.
What was difficult for humans to research and understand, the system, with its calculation power, could quickly reproduce.
If the system learned and understood it, then Cain would too.
He spent the whole afternoon on that.
In the meantime, he also learned some of the customs and lifestyle of the people of the Azoth Kingdom, so as not to give himself away if he had to interact with them.
...
Night fell.
Under the cover of darkness, Cain slipped inside the walls of the Azoth Kingdom.
According to the data about Alva he had obtained thanks to Team Flare, he intended to seek him out directly.
Why was Alva so well known in the kingdom?
Because he was considered a joke in the Azoth Kingdom.
His father had been a royal court official and a master of arcane science, as well as a minister.
In the Azoth royal court, he was someone greatly respected, close to Nikola, and deeply knowledgeable of his research.
Under that influence, Alva also developed a love for arcane science and a great admiration for Nikola's work.
However, Alva had a peculiar hobby.
He liked to experiment and innovate on his own.
In theory, it was an excellent habit: it could deepen his knowledge and perhaps create new branches of arcane science.
But the people of the Azoth Kingdom didn't see it that way.
They believed Nikola had already reached the absolute pinnacle. They thought that whoever completely mastered his research would automatically be the wisest and most powerful person in the world.
Although that logic wasn't entirely wrong, it was also the reason why, in five hundred years, Azoth's arcane science had not only failed to advance, but had even regressed as parts of Nikola's legacy were lost.
Alva's father had been the last to truly delve into those teachings.
So even though Alva invented all kinds of useless contraptions, no one criticized him directly, thanks to his father's prestige.
When they spoke of him, they did so with irony: "The son of Minister so-and-so... he's already begun creating his own arcane inventions, he must be very talented."
It was praise laced with mockery.
But fate turned: Alva's father suddenly died of illness.
According to the customs of the Azoth Kingdom, his power and responsibilities should have passed to his son.
The problem was that Alva had always focused on his experiments, and had hardly studied Nikola's research in depth.
And every time he presented something at court, he ended up making a fool of himself.
That's how he earned his "fame."
A rather bad fame, to be exact.
After reading his file, Cain grew thoughtful.
Wasn't this the typical story of a potential protagonist?
If a time-traveler reincarnated into him, he would soon become someone who appears weak, only to later surprise everyone and defeat the powerful.
Of course, that wasn't going to happen.
Over time, all the ridicule had twisted Alva's heart.
Or perhaps it had been crooked from the start.
He finally decided to abandon his innovations and focus on Nikola's research, determined to take revenge on those who looked down on him.
And in the notes inherited from his father, he discovered records about Magearna, which gave rise to later events.
Cain planned to go meet this "butler," Alva, that very night.
Who knows, maybe he could even get him to make a combat suit.
(End of chapter)