The Closed Loop of Time

"This is a magical item I use for emergency contact. Sorry for giving you such a fright."

Adam spoke apologetically. He truly had not considered that beforehand.

"It’s fine, we understand. Mr. Adam, you should check what happened first. Business comes first."

Having been suddenly startled like that, it was impossible for Yun Jinshu and Yun Yanhu not to feel some resentment.

Still, it was understandable. They had methods of communication like flying-sword messages, which could also be rather startling. Some news really was urgent enough to require delivery by the fastest possible means.

Although Adam could fully control the point in time to which he returned, he still hurriedly opened the letter as planned, while secretly deciding to make up for the fright he had given the two of them.

He had already given them so many artifacts. Perhaps this time, he could copy the Old Summer Palace, pack it up, and take it away? After all, Britain had taken the lead in that atrocity.

But there was no way to explain that. He could hardly claim that the British army had burned a fake one, could he?

Uh… what if he copied one, shrank it down, and said it was a scale model reconstructed according to the records from that time?

Being able to reconstruct an Old Summer Palace exactly as it had been should be immensely valuable to China, right?

But that would not work either. The model’s craftsmanship could not possibly be identical to the original, could it? Adam felt that simply shrinking it would give him virtually no chance of fooling those sharp-eyed veteran experts and professors.

While brainstorming ways to reasonably hand over the Old Summer Palace, Adam looked down at the letter in his hand.

"Hm?"

Adam stared at the letter, his gaze flickering slightly.

"Tell me exactly what happened."

The letter merely said to meet at the Three Broomsticks Pub, so Adam could only return to the time when it had been sent and head there.

Yog and Isidora were both sitting in a corner of the pub. Sebastian was not there this time.

"Here’s what happened. Over this period, I uncovered the secret of the map chamber in the Restricted Section, met the Keepers, and completed the first Keeper’s trial…"

Yog first gave them a general account of what he had experienced during that time.

"The trials can only be undertaken alone? I see."

Adam nodded. So Professor Fitzgerald and the others had imposed that requirement themselves. No wonder the memories in the portraits did not include his involvement.

Still, this probably counted as a closed loop in the timeline.

The fact that one of the Keepers Yog mentioned was a professor named Rookwood did not surprise them. Rookwood had mentioned it in his confession after they captured him, and that was why Ragnok had chosen to cooperate with him.

There was another noteworthy point in Yog’s account: the residual energy traces left behind when others used Ancient Magic could be absorbed by someone gifted in Ancient Magic, thereby strengthening their own power. That was probably why Isidora was here as well.

The professors had actually kept that trick from her!

And now, they were teaching this knowledge to Yog, who had only been exposed to Ancient Magic for a short time!

Fine. Perhaps the urgency of the current situation, and the need for Yog to grow quickly, played a part in it. It was not purely a matter of trust, but Isidora still felt somewhat unbalanced.

Not much. Just a little.

Yog then spoke of the current situation.

"The Keepers were extremely surprised that goblins had become involved in the trials. They decided to temporarily suspend the trials and discuss the matter."

Adam nodded. "Mm, so?"

Yog leaned forward as he looked at Adam.

"The goblins have already begun moving. They seem to know the locations of those trials. The Keepers refuse to listen to Professor Fig and me, insisting on discussing things first, but time waits for no one. I think we should take other action now."

"…Such as?"

"Such as eliminating those goblins—Ragnok’s subordinates. No matter how Ragnok is colluding with those Dark wizards, I believe the goblins under his command are the subordinates he trusts most. If we can eliminate them, it will definitely deal a severe blow to Ragnok’s forces."

Adam thought back. He remembered that the elderly goblin’s memories seemed to mention… Ragnok’s brother had once betrayed Ragnok, which had led to Ragnok’s downfall?

"I don’t think every goblin is willing to follow Ragnok. You might be able to start from that angle."

"You mean… turn them against him?"

Yog’s eyes lit up.

"That’s right. Not every goblin can be of one mind with Ragnok. There may be room for us to work here! I suddenly remembered that I seemed to have seen Miss Ryan talking to a goblin before…"

"Miss Ryan?"

Adam looked at Isidora in confusion.

Isidora explained.

"She’s the owner of the Three Broomsticks Pub."

"So she’s a woman."

Adam nodded in realization.

By then, Yog had already gotten up to speak with Miss Ryan. The conversation appeared to go quite pleasantly, and before long, Yog returned to his seat.

"Just as I thought. That goblin is named Lodgok. He’s Sirona’s friend and opposes Ragnok’s actions in making the situation increasingly turbulent. Apparently, he isn’t the only goblin who feels that way. I’ve decided to go speak with him."

Isidora asked.

"Do you know where he is now?"

"Sirona told me. He usually conducts metal trades at the Hog’s Head Pub around this time."

Sirona?

Adam could not help raising a hand to touch the corner of his mouth.

With a name like that, no wonder she was friends with goblins. It would not even be surprising if she suddenly pulled out an earth dragon.

At that moment, Yog suddenly turned to Adam.

"Bringing you in to discuss this was indeed the right decision. Otherwise, we would have missed these potential allies among the goblins."

"I only mentioned it casually. It was just a fortunate coincidence."

Adam said with a smile.

Still, calling him back just because they did not know what to do at the moment meant they did not really understand what constituted an emergency… Then again, not everyone could have the tacit understanding and trust that existed among him and his brothers.

"By the way, have you finished what you needed to do? Are you going back afterward?"

"Mm, more or less. This time, I won’t go back until the goblin matter is completely resolved."

Adam silently decided to wait until things here were finished before returning. Otherwise, if another letter suddenly arrived, there was no telling when it would be, and he might frighten someone again.

"Oh, that’s wonderful."

Yog let out a sigh of relief. Although he wanted to accomplish the great feat of saving the world on his own, facing so many dangerous enemies with or without people behind him were clearly two entirely different states of mind.

"Then I’m going to find Lodgok now. Adam, would you like to come with me?"

"No. I’ll be acting alone for a while, but I’ll stay in contact with you."

As Adam spoke, he took Yog and Sebastian’s communication parchment from Isidora. Yet when he lowered his head, he saw the conversation records on it.

Both Sebastian and Yog had contacted him during this time. Isidora had told them that he was away. She had frankly told Yog that Adam had returned to the future because he had something to do, while Sebastian had simply been told that Adam was away on business.

After that, Yog had only left the record of asking Isidora to call Adam back this time, but Sebastian had continued contacting Adam at regular intervals.

The most recent message was… asking Adam to contact him after he returned?

Adam blinked. After parting ways with Isidora and the others, he returned to his residence and picked up a quill to reply to Sebastian.