Power of Runes Chapter 429: Using What Already Exists

"No."

Eva shot Ash a flat stare after his curt answer, her face remaining utterly unchanged while she kept gazing directly at him, plainly expecting far more than a mere single word. However, Ash possessed incredibly thick skin; he uttered nothing further and persisted in the stare-down contest.

{Why no?}

At that moment, she had no choice but to question his motive, her tone brimming with defeat and doubt, as she already sensed he was concealing something.

"I don’t want you guys to take unnecessary stress over something unknown."

Ash responded while his fingers resumed their motion, sending the tiny Eclipse form whirling between them smoothly once again, the movement casual and distracted, like his mind wandered elsewhere.

{And who are you to decide that? You are not my dad, and if you think you are protecting us by hiding things from us, you are wrong. Instead of protecting us, this will put us in more danger if we don’t even know about this unknown you spoke of.}

Eva's voice rose a touch, yet it stayed gentle enough to avoid sounding menacing, her words laced with irritation rather than fury, as though she truly viewed his logic as faulty.

Upon hearing her, Ash glanced up at the ceiling anew, his eyes wandering off as though his thoughts had drifted to unrelated matters.

Ash mused silently with a hint of amusement, betraying none of it on his impassive face.

Based on Ash's observations, during a child's rebellious stage, the wisest approach—short of anything harmful long-term—was to respond calmly without direct confrontation, allowing them freedom instead of outright rejection.

At least, that's Ash's belief.

Truthfully, Ash had been eager to disclose certain details gradually, deeming it wiser to reveal piecemeal so they could absorb it all without overload.

"If that’s what you want, sure. I will tell you what I was thinking about. If you have any ideas, do tell me."

With that, he shared every notion about building an intelligence network to supply data from across Eden.

Their bond ensured the sharing flowed seamlessly and instantly, thoughts exchanging effortlessly without hindrance.

Several minutes later, after digesting and pondering, Eva finally chimed in.

Unbeknownst to Ash, a pair of glasses materialized over her eyes in projection, her attire transforming to resemble that of a covert group's agent, her stance growing more upright as she treated the issue with gravity.

Ash found himself momentarily stunned, his fingers halting Eclipse's spin unwittingly.

Yet Ash couldn't criticize, since this stemmed purely from Earth novels he'd devoured. Though he never emulated such tropes due to early maturity, prolonged solitude had evidently shaped the siblings distinctly.

Should Eva and Eric catch wind of Ash's musings, they'd surely launch a brawl over his odd notions.

{Tsk! Tsk!! Tsk!! I can’t believe you can’t even think of a solution for such a simple problem.}

Ash arched his brows at the smug look on Eva’s adorable face, her little chin tilted up as though victory was hers.

An impulse struck him to pinch her cheeks, but as a mere hologram, his hand would slip right through, so Snow—dozing soundly on his chest—ended up the target.

He tugged her plump cheeks gently at first, then firmer, releasing that whim without overthinking.

Poor Snow!!

"Tell me what you have in mind!!"

{Not like this, you have to promise me something.}

"What?"

{Promise me that if you like my idea, you will not hide any more things from me and Eric. We both want to help you, so you should also consider our feelings, rather than sticking with your stone mentality.}

Ash's lips quirked at her statement, his features tensing just a bit.

Nevertheless, he held back voicing his inner retort, avoiding fresh quarrel over the matter.

"Fine, but your solution better be good!!"

Eva clapped her hands in delight at his agreement, her spirits soaring as she hovered lightly over the counter, barely containing her thrill.

{Your idea of using souls for gathering information is quite innovative, but you lack the power to implement this right now. So, let’s not talk about that for now. The main problem you are facing with your second plan is that it is too slow. The time it would take to spread people throughout Eden will be too long to be practical.}

Ash nodded, silently affirming her point, having recognized that flaw already.

{The solution for this is very simple, why create something from scratch when it already exists.}

Those words sparked like lightning in his mind, instantly dispelling the mental blocks impeding him.

Ash felt true astonishment, yet he quickly pinpointed his rigid mindset's cause: fixation on inventing anew, ignoring utilization of the ready-made.

Spotting the dawning clarity in Ash’s sharpened eyes, Eva beamed, aware her advice had landed, and pressed on proudly to elaborate.

{As you told, there exist three major factions in Eden, the Church of Light, the Church of Darkness, and the Transcendent Circle. How do you think they keep track of all the information across Eden? They must have their own information networks spread throughout the entire realm. Even if it was not fully established during the early stages of the Realm formation, more than a decade has already passed in Eden, and if that much time was enough for them to spread their influence, then it is also enough for them to build a network that reaches almost everywhere.}

{You don’t need to target everyone within those factions, that would only waste time and effort. Just focus on the main information gathering hub where all the information eventually gathers, and manipulate the memory of someone who has direct access to all information there.}

{As long as you do this for all three factions, you will gain access to most of the information about all happenings across Eden without needing to build everything from scratch. And after that, if you are still not satisfied, you can slowly plant your own people within different branches of their network to strengthen your control.}

{And if you are still not satisfied, you can use the existing information networks of these three factions to locate smaller and independent information gatherers, such as those connected to various guilds, the Adventurer’s Guild, and other minor organizations.}

{So, what do you think? Isn’t my idea the best? Aren’t I a genius?}

As she wrapped up, Eva leaned in a tad, eyes sparkling with anticipation, eagerly awaiting his verdict as if predetermined.

Taking in her expectant gaze and pleading face—practically screaming 'Praise me!'—Ash offered a gentle smile before replying, "And how will we find where the secret hiding spot is, where these three factions gather their information?"

Eva's grin froze at his query, confidence cracking briefly as her plan's weakness emerged.

Indeed, she hadn't considered that angle.

Still, prolonged time with Ash had toughened her skin immensely; recovery was swift, composure restored seamlessly.

{Hmph!! You wanted a solution, I gave it. You should do some effort to get that information yourself.}

A soft chuckle escaped Ash at her retort, faint mirth lighting his eyes, content to let it stand without pushing.

No issue there—he wasn't overly concerned about pinpointing the sites.

Worst case, it'd demand some work, but knowing the targets and avenues halved the challenge; success hinged on his next steps.

"Good!! You did well breaking my rigid thinking."

Genuine joy bloomed on Eva's face from his commendation, lighting her up as if praise sufficed fully.

Abruptly, she burst out.

{Eric just told me that the Special Guest that Saskia spoke of has arrived in the City, and it’s someone from the Transcendent Circle!!!}

Ash's eyes flashed keenly upon her revelation, subtle intensity emerging. He'd known already, thanks to Eric's prior update.

Simultaneously, his sight altered as he invoked his power.

[Clairvoyance]

"Looks like luck’s on my side, the fat sheep has already walked over by itself."

A subtle grin curved his lips as he uttered it.

***