Chapter 128: Chapter 128

While secretly conversing with comrades while hiding their identities, a person suddenly fell from the sky.

The body, which was thought to be a suicide victim, twitched, then nonchalantly stood up as if nothing had happened.

When the broken head and twisted limbs were restored without any issue, the once-twisted person greeted them with a smiling face.

Could anyone open their hearts to such a suspicious, ominous, and bizarre being…?

“Miss Sophia, would you prefer tea, coffee, or another beverage?”

“I’ll have coffee, please. It’s fine without sugar or milk.”

Naturally, they weren’t from the beginning.

Clearly, at first, they had the capacity for quite sensible responses such as:

“Don’t come any closer!”

“What on earth are you?!”

The mistake they made was feeling reassured that Sophia showed no hostility and allowing her to open her mouth.

Ten minutes into the conversation, fear and wariness subsided, at 30 minutes they felt sympathy for Sophia’s pitiful circumstances—truth content 0.315%—and at one hour, they were all united in saying they would help Sophia.

If an objective third party had seen it, they might have suspected enchantment or brainwashing, but surprisingly, all Sophia had done was talk enthusiastically. It was truly a devilish tongue.

In a mansion on the sky island Laputa.

Sophia, who had been “rescued” from the “barbaric, inconsiderate, and selfish” ground with the help of a reconnaissance team sent to gather information about the surface, and brought up to the sky, took a sip of coffee.

Although the awakening effect of coffee was almost meaningless for her body, its unique fragrant flavor reminded her of the time when she was still human.

Looking at the map she had obtained by persuading the people of Laputa, Sophia thought.

Full regrouping will be difficult.

The Witch of the West’s workshop was a space wider than imagined.

Surrounding the central island ruled by the Witch of the West, the number of widely spread islands was over twenty.

While the vastness of the witch’s domain meant it would be difficult for the witch’s side to find the party, it also meant it would be difficult for the party to meet each other.

Above all, unlike the Witch of the West for whom this world itself was like her own backyard, the party had to procure everything necessary for movement by themselves in an unfamiliar environment.

To move from island to island, they needed a ship, steering skills, maps, and physical strength.

Moreover, they had to secure all of this and move before the trackers sent by the Witch of the West reached them.

Sophia had long since noticed the golden thread bracelet on her wrist and its purpose, but even considering that, the difficulty was by no means easy.

While one or two might somehow manage, it was overly optimistic to think that all scattered members of the party could meet these conditions.

Therefore, Sophia simply set priorities.

“I think it would be better if I don’t regroup.”

The disadvantages of wasting time trying to recover her were far greater than the benefits that could be gained when she regrouped with the other members.

Since she didn’t play a big role in combat, there wasn’t much loss if she was missing, and even if she was captured as a hostage and handed over to the enemy, she wouldn’t cause trouble for allies.

What use was a hostage that didn’t die no matter what was done to them?

Making that judgment, Sophia tore off the golden thread bracelet wrapped around her wrist without the slightest hesitation.

The bracelet struggled at first, but after being split into three, four pieces, it turned black and crumbled.

Having increased the possibility of other allies regrouping by excluding herself from the options, she immediately approached the people of Laputa.

After going through several intermediate steps of being introduced to B by A, and to C by B, Sophia was able to talk with a person holding a high position among them.

“So, this place is Elphaba… oh, I’m sorry. I should have said Lady Elphaba.”

“You don’t need to worry about it. Young people might, but an old man like me doesn’t hold unconditional fanaticism towards her,” the old man, who was both a minister of Laputa and a renowned scholar, said this and laughed heartily.

His gaze towards Sophia was as gentle as looking at a clever granddaughter.

It was truly fortunate that he didn’t know Sophia’s actual age.

If Adelaide had been here, she might have felt pangs of conscience, but Sophia quite nonchalantly accepted that consideration and continued speaking, “Thank you. Then, are you in charge of calculating the various formulas that Elphaba demands?”

“That’s right. We research things like conversion efficiency when creating substances with magic, or the most efficient forms and ratios when making weapons.”

“Do you receive compensation in money?”

“There is no compensation,” the old scholar said with a bitter smile.

“If we had to say, being allowed to survive here might be considered compensation. It could be expressed as tax, too.”

“Could I hear more details?”

“Our Laputa is the place that holds the most knowledge among the various islands ruled by Elphaba. No, it would be more accurate to say she turned a blind eye to us holding it. To perform the calculations Elphaba wants, we not only need to have our own learning and knowledge but also need to continuously develop it.”

The old scholar’s wrinkled hand caressed the large map hanging on the wall.

“Miss. Imagine there are two neighboring countries. Is it possible for one country to develop only techniques and culture that strengthen the body, and the other country to develop only techniques and culture that handle magic delicately?”

“While there might be some tendencies depending on regional characteristics, it’s hard to imagine a situation where other cultures or technologies are completely absent. They would influence each other.”

“That’s right. But in an isolated space like an island, it might be possible. Elphaba used this to develop different civilizations on various islands.”

The old scholar’s finger pointed to an island on the left side of the map.

“In some places, she gave knowledge and technology to beings other than humans and made them rulers. Then she drove humans who didn’t please Elphaba into the island, making their descendants suffer under the dominant species of the island for generations. Also, to prevent them from possibly rebelling, if a being with outstanding talent appears, they are killed or moved elsewhere to be made slaves.”

The old scholar’s finger pointed to an island on the right side of the map.

“In some places, she induced small people to establish countries and prosper. The various resources they gather by digging through the land, and the crafts or precision instruments they make with their small bodies, further enrich Elphaba’s storehouse. Also, to prevent the little people from uniting, she divided them into two countries and made them oppose each other, and stimulates competition by giving more gifts to the side that works better.”

The old scholar’s finger pointed to an island at the top of the map.

“In some places, giant races are building civilization, and they do physical labor for Elphaba, and in times of need, are mobilized as soldiers for her. Giants need to eat a lot of food due to their large size, but since other creatures on their island, be they animals or plants, are of normal size, they can’t be self-sufficient. Elphaba controls their population and makes it impossible for them to resist her by supplying food to such giants.”

The old scholar sighed with sadness in his eyes.

“Besides these, various civilizations have developed on several islands, but they are exploited in some way for Elphaba’s profit or pleasure. What’s most regrettable is that they don’t even realize they’re being exploited.”

“If they use ships to interact with other islands, wouldn’t there be people who understand their situation? Curiosity and the spirit of inquiry about the unknown are like instincts of life.”

“Impossible,” the old scholar asserted. “The distance between islands isn’t so far that it’s physically unreachable. But in the sea, there are golden monkeys that fly through the sky with two wings and the immortal pirate Cap’n Bill. They appropriately ‘clean up’ those who escape from the islands and block the civilizations of each island from coming out to sea. There are some who succeed in moving from island to island, but most of those are just Elphaba’s amusement.”

The image of a certain pirate ship she had seen before entering the witch’s workshop flashed in Sophia’s mind.

Franka had said he was a being that shouldn’t originally be outside, and it seemed this was what she meant.

“Listening to what you’re saying, it seems you think quite negatively about Elphaba. Have you ever thought about counterattacking?”

At Sophia’s question, the old scholar closed his mouth and was silent for a moment.

Sophia didn’t rush him and quietly waited until he opened his mouth.

A bitter smile appeared on the old scholar’s lips.

“…It’s truly strange. Originally, it wouldn’t be right to talk to someone I’ve just met, but why is it that when I’m in front of you, Miss, my mouth itches and my tongue becomes light. Have you perhaps used some magic on me?”

“Of course not. But originally, it’s often easier to open up to strangers you don’t know well. Especially if it’s content you originally wanted to say but couldn’t, and had to swallow in your heart.”

Pleased with Sophia’s answer, the old scholar laughed again. It was a laugh that seemed a bit more relaxed than the bitter smiles so far.

“Counterattack. Why wouldn’t I have thought of such a thing? You know what? Originally, the ancestors of Laputa were Elphaba’s old disciples. The origin was that she made them do various chores or brain work under the pretext of teaching magic. I don’t know if you understand terms like teaching assistant or undergraduate…”

The old scholar added a brief explanation, and Sophia nodded.

“So it’s like an apprentice or squire who can’t graduate?”

“That’s right. And imagine not only repeating that for a lifetime but also having your children and grandchildren all work without pay under the same professor—no, master.”

“Hmm, you’d want to hang the master’s head on a pole.”

“Your understanding is lacking. That’s not enough to express it.”

“To the extent of digging up the corpse from the grave and whipping it?”

“That’s still not enough.”

“To the extent of cutting off limbs while alive, throwing them into a pigsty, naming them human pigs, and making them a spectacle?”

The old scholar was a bit taken aback.

“Ahem. Anyway, dissatisfaction accumulated for generations, and eventually exploded. The most recent explosion was 30 years ago, that is, when this old man was in his prime of passionate activity.”

“It doesn’t seem to have gone well. Judging by the fact that you’re all still here.”

“That’s right. On the very day we were about to execute our plan, over a hundred golden monkeys were surrounding the sky island, holding javelins. We were frozen, unable to do anything, and they flew around like that for a day before leaving.”

A deep sigh escaped from the old scholar’s mouth.

“There was an observer for Elphaba among us. Elphaba, who found out that we dreamed of counterattacking, sent her most loyal subordinates as a warning. Not long after that, cities in the path of Laputa’s movement obtained weapons powerful enough to attack Laputa. We were in a position where we had to comply with their demands just to avoid falling.”

“Couldn’t you have fled to another place altogether?”

“This island looks like it’s freely floating, but in fact, it can’t maintain its buoyant state without land supporting it from below. While it might be fine to circle the coast for a while, the moment we cross over to the sea, we would soon fall.”

“…Ah, I see. It seems even a witch couldn’t fully reproduce the original.”

“No, it’s nothing. So, what happened to that observer?”

The old scholar looked up at the ceiling as if lamenting.

“Even after the incident, the observer never revealed their existence. That’s why we could never dream of a counterattack plan again after that day. No, beyond that, we even became reluctant to speak critically about Elphaba. That’s why young people under 30 don’t know much about Elphaba’s true nature. There are even some who respect her.”

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