After hearing Mozo's firm answer, the man known as the Captain studied him carefully for a long moment, finding no flaw in his expression whatsoever. Only then did he tighten their handshake again and say:
"In that case, you may return for now. If anything comes up later, we'll contact you again."
At this point, things should have been over.
But Mozo suddenly said:
"According to Imperial law, I should possess complete ownership rights over all spoils of war."
The Captain froze for a moment before finally realizing what Mozo meant.
That law dated all the way back to the era of Duke Cromwell. After dispersing Parliament, the Duke had enacted the law to encourage soldiers and Beyonders alike to fight fiercely against their enemies.
Over the centuries, the law had never officially been repealed.
But ever since Duke Cromwell's downfall, no one had mentioned it anymore, much less enforced it.
Yet today, he was hearing it brought up again.
The Captain originally wanted to refuse outright, but he could not come up with a legally sound reason to do so. From a judicial standpoint, he had no way to stop Mozo.
And behind Mozo stood Miss Windsor herself, watching closely.
That alone deprived him of any confidence in terms of authority.
After hesitating for quite some time, the Captain finally said:
"Among those items, putting everything else aside, there is absolutely no way I can hand you the Beyonder characteristic of an elven Master Artisan. Your request may be lawful, but you should understand that the elves would never tolerate one of their own being treated like that."
"However, I also cannot deny your claim completely. How about this instead? I compensate you with gold pounds or some equivalent form of payment."
Mozo nodded.
"That's acceptable. However, the core of that automaton must be given to me intact. As for the rest, I can accept gold pounds, real estate, or shares."
Seeing that Mozo understood where to draw the line, the Captain visibly relaxed and nodded with satisfaction.
He truly had been worried that this kid would stubbornly insist on claiming the two Sequence Five Beyonder characteristics.
The Shadow Mage characteristic was manageable.
But the elven Master Artisan was a different matter entirely.
The Empire was powerful, but even it could not simply ignore the will of the elves. If nothing unexpected happened, the Master Artisan's corpse, together with his Beyonder characteristic, would be returned to the elves in full.
There was no chance he could hand that characteristic over to Mozo.
Mozo naturally understood this as well.
Truthfully, he also wished to see Daedalus return home.
The reason he brought up the claim was twofold:
First, to secure his lawful benefits.
Second, to see how much the Empire had changed since his own era.
Afterward, the Captain personally escorted the three of them out of the Bureau. He also had the automaton core retrieved and placed into a backpack for Mozo.
As for the rest of the compensation, the amount involved was simply too enormous. The Captain had no authority to settle it immediately.
After all, these were two Sequence Five characteristics,powers representing the very limit of mortals.
At that level, Beyonder characteristics were practically priceless treasures unavailable on the market.
As for anything above Sequence Five…
Those things simply did not appear in ordinary transactions at all. They were the foundations of major factions.
Mozo may have seemed to handle things rather easily tonight, but that was only because the two Sequence Fives had been occupied fighting each other.
Otherwise, even ten automata would not have saved him from that Shadow Mage.
Among the many Sequence Five pathways, Shadow Mages possessed some of the most overwhelming suppression abilities against lower Sequences.
Especially against someone like Mozo, whose pathway at its early stages possessed almost no combat ability whatsoever.
Outside the Bureau, two carriages had already been waiting.
Both bore a family crest formed from roses and triangles.
Clearly, they belonged to the House Windsor.
Miss Windsor looked at Mozo reluctantly and said:
"Sir Knight, so many things happened tonight that I must return home first. So I can't stay with you any longer. But I promise, once I have time, I'll definitely come find you again!"
She clearly intended to continue speaking, but the knight lady beside her interrupted first.
Leaning close to Miss Windsor's ear, she quietly said:
"My Lady, it's getting late. Please board the carriage first."
Miss Windsor immediately looked at the knight lady pitifully and shook the armored hand she was holding.
"Big Sister Molly! Let me talk with Sir Knight a little longer!"
The knight lady slightly stiffened her expression and firmly replied:
"My Lady."
Seeing there was no room for negotiation, Miss Windsor could only climb into the carriage reluctantly.
As she entered, Mozo noticed a faint silver glow briefly spread across the carriage's surface.
Clearly, the carriage itself was also a supernatural item.
Once Miss Windsor was inside, the knight lady turned toward Mozo and expressionlessly said:
"Mr. Mozo, I must inform you that my lady likely will not meet with you again in the future."
Miss Windsor's feelings had been so obvious that only a blind man could have missed them.
And thus, the classic issue of social hierarchy appeared exactly like in a novel.
To completely sever any future complications, the knight lady chose to state the matter plainly.
This was not arrogance from the upper class toward the lower.
It was protection for both of them.
And without question, it was also an instruction that Duke Windsor himself would have given.
The knight lady was merely making the reality clear ahead of time.
Mozo was briefly stunned before smiling.
"That's a good thing."
The knight lady did not answer immediately.
Instead, she carefully examined him, confirming that he genuinely meant what he said.
Only then did the sternness on her face relax into a relieved smile.
"So it was merely a one-sided issue from my lady."
At this point, the knight lady suddenly knelt on one knee before Mozo, placing a hand over her chest and lowering her head.
"Then please accept my sincere apology and gratitude. Forgive my unnecessary suspicions toward you, and allow me to thank you wholeheartedly for saving my lady's life. House Rose will never forget this kindness."
Mozo did not modestly refuse.
He simply stood there and accepted both her apology and gratitude.
After rising, the knight lady took out a revolver from behind her back and handed it to him.
"You saved my lady, and you compensated for my failure. This is my personal gift of thanks."
"A handgun transformed from a Sequence Five Beyonder characteristic. It came from the thief who distracted me."
"As for the specifics, I'm not entirely certain. None of the major churches appear to have any record of this Sealed Artifact. However, I've already confirmed that it belongs to a righteous deity pathway. It won't drive you mad or attract anything evil."
Hearing that, Mozo could not help sighing internally.
Tonight truly had been one pleasant surprise after another.
In a single evening, he had gone from a poor nobody to a wealthy man overnight.
He had gained connections with the authorities, ties to Duke Windsor himself, and now even possessed an outstanding Sealed Artifact.
This luck was absolutely monstrous.
But the knight lady's next sentence instantly left Mozo dumbfounded.
"As for the usage condition, every shot requires a sacrifice of one hundred gold pounds or an equivalent offering. You may pay in advance, and it can store up to six shots."
"And although my lady likely won't be able to meet you again, if you encounter any trouble in the future, you may contact me directly. If it's within my ability, I will help you."
"You know about the Spirit World, yes? Then this is the method for contacting me through it."
As she spoke, the knight lady handed him a slip of paper.
Mozo honestly could not even remember how he accepted it.
Because at that moment, his entire mind was filled with only one thought:
One hundred gold pounds per shot?
A single bullet can bankrupt me back to square one?!
What kind of money-devouring monster is this?!