Card Apprentice Daily Log

Date- 4 April 2321

Time- 11:44

Location- Central Region, Central Capital, Unknown, Field Marshal's Office

"..." demigod Baylor was having a hard time processing what his mentor had just revealed to him. Mostly because he wasn't sure whether he and his mentor were talking about the same government. It seemed his definition of the government did not align with his mentor's definition of the government. He wanted to confront his monitor about this but he knew that if he wanted the answer for that he would have to follow the path his mentor had laid out for him but then there was no turning back.

"Kid, in a scenario where a miraculous item like the silver milk powder was to exist, do you really believe the government and the rest of the world would just sit and watch as things played out? Just think about the storm that would follow, do you really believe a teenager can withstand something like that? He will be among the first to be swept in it. Even you will not be able to shelter the boy from something like that. The smart bet for you would be to take the government up on its offer before the Duskborn family or the others do. If you really care about the boy, this is the only way you can be of help to him," Henricks did not spare any card at his disposal to persuade demigod Baylor to follow the government's plan.

"Will the boy really be safe if follows the government's arrangements for him and me?" demigod Baylor finally spoke up feeling his mentor was right about the government being the safest place for Ellen's son because he would be there to make sure of it.

"First listen to what I have to say and then you be the judge of it," Henricks smiled, finally getting the full attention of his stubborn disciple's ears, and continued to explain from where he had left off earlier.

"In the case of the scenario where the item silver milk powder exists, then the government needs the boy to cooperate with them to get the exclusive rights for its production and distribution. In return, the government is not only willing to provide the boy an asylum but also give whatever the southern royal family promised the boy for his cooperation," The reason why Henricks and the government assumed that the southern royal family had negotiated terms with the boy and not taken him hostage was because once the silver milk powder becomes public, the entire world will need the southern region and the boy to answer a bunch of questions regarding the origin and ownership of the item. As long as their story adds up, there will not be any place for the government or any other force to intervene with regard to that. So it was important for the southern royal family to have the boy on their side and the only way of making sure of that was by keeping the boy happy. Which meant that the southern royal family had promised the boy reasonable conditions.

"So that is where I come into the picture with my off-the-book covert investigation into the silver milk powder fraud, the government is excepting me to get caught by the southern royal family while snooping around this case because this way they not only get a reason to fight for jurisdiction over this case with the southern royal family but also to use it to make me Dalton Wyatt's savior. Show him that there is still someone in this world who cares about him and someone he can put his trust in…" demigod Baylor suddenly went silent as he spoke the last sentence.

"Don't think too much into it, this is for the best. The first thing, the government will do once they get shared jurisdiction over this case is try everything in their power to introduce you to the boy. Since you have already gained the boy's trust, with your history with his parents, it will be easier for you to adopt him.

Once you are legally responsible for him, you have to get him to confess the truth about the silver milk powder. If it is really a fraud, then you will be punished for abusing your power and the kid will be fined for his crime. But if it turns out that it is the real deal. Then you will have to convince him to turn against the southern royal family saying that they threatened him to give them the exclusive right to the production and distribution of the silver milk powder. As for what comes next let the government will worry about it, while your happy family of three enjoys each other's company in a secured location. Regardless of whether the item silver milk powder turns out to be a fraud or not, in the end, you will get what you wanted, to adopt the boy," Henricks painted a beautiful picture of how things will play out from here on if demigod Baylor were to just follow the government's plan.

Demigod Baylor was not born yesterday to know that things do not usually go as planned, so he was not quick to buy the sweet lies his mentor was selling. There were so many variables in the picture his mentor laid out that nobody could predict that they would happen exactly as they planned them. Demigod Baylor brought one of them up, "What if the southern royal family had asked the boy to take an oath in the presence of the world's will and its rules?  I know if it is an unfair oath then the government can force the southern royal family into undoing the oath. However, what if it is not, what if they had negotiated a fair deal? Even if we are able to get the boy's trust it will be too late for us to do anything."

"Kid, the time that had lapsed since your fight with Colleen to the moment I texted you to meet me in my office, should not be more than half an hour, however within that time the government not only figured out your reason for visiting the southern region, but also your reaction to your fight with Colleen, and came up with the best possible scenario from which they can continue to prolong the current peace in the world. The government is a lot more capable than everyone gives it credit for. But to assure you, I will let you in on a secret," Henricks paused, and summoning his grimoire he called his assistant and ordered, "Jody, send in Agent Forger."