'So, Ephemella was watching my actions all along. That explains why I can feel that she's more trusting of me with the passing of every day.' Compass Carburettor thought, understanding exactly why she did that.
Even though it was a violation of privacy, this was a different world after all. And, as an imperialistic nation, everyone worked based on the Queen's orders. The fact that she hadn't imprisoned him to torture all his secrets alone made him thankful.
Moreover, she had been actively supporting his growth, allowing him to save tremendous time and even use her kingdom's resources for his needs. If he had to sacrifice his privacy in return, he didn't mind. Even back on Earth, paparazzi constantly followed him around everywhere he went. So, he didn't feel burdened by it.
"Were you searching for me?" Ephemella closed the book she was reading, removing her monocle as she spoke, curious of why he had approached her now.
"I have four Darlac now," Compass Carburettor smiled, "I thought of testing and understanding the basics of Puppets. Also, I had a doubt I hope you can clarify."
"Sure," Ephemella nodded, showing that she was fine with both.
Smiling in joy, Compass Carburettor asked, "I was wondering as I looked through some books. I had assumed everyone in your kingdom would possess Darlac in their bodies. But it seems only the soldiers have that. Is the reason the commoners are prevented from wielding Darlac because of fear that they might cause a rebellion? Or is there another reason?"
"The fear of a possible rebellion is just one facet of the reason," Ephemella said as she picked up a book from the nearby shelf, flipping through it as she showed the image of an altar and a spherical Darble, the same that he used to awaken, "The second is because we simply cannot afford to do so."
"A Darble sphere with a radius of 20 centimetres is the most optimal size to awaken Darlac in a person's body. If it is any bigger, the person is overwhelmed by the Darlac induced and dies. Similarly, if the Darble is smaller, the time taken to awaken is just too long. So, a Darble sphere of radius 20 centimetres is the most optimal size." She spoke.
Ephemella then turned a page, showing a basic statistic, "For an average person to begin producing Darlac in their body, it takes around 3-7 days even with the optimal Darble sphere. And, Darble Spheres of such sizes are incredibly rare and precious. There are only three in the royal castle while the four major noble houses possess one each. So, the number of people we can awaken is limited."
"But, aren't the Armaments made with a Darble too? Can't they just be used to awaken the others, even if the time taken is longer? After all, the more the merrier, right? And, it would help the kingdom more if there are more soldiers." Compass Carburettor asked, confused as to why they hadn't done that.
"It's because even though an Armament is made from a Darble, it has little quantity of Darble in it. The states an Armament possess is based on the percentage of Darble forming it. It ranges from one to five states for every twenty-percentage increase in the Darble quantity forming the Armament. And," Ephemella shook her head, pointing at a certain section of the book, "Only a 100 percent pure Darble can awaken someone. Unless the Armament has five states, it cannot awaken someone."
"That makes sense," Compass Carburettor nodded, "So, a kingdom's strength depends on the number of Darble Spheres they have."
Upon clearing his doubt, Compass Carburettor accompanied Ephemella to the room with the Puppets. Pointing at a tiny dot on the forehead of a basic wooden puppet, Ephemella said, "We call this a Darlac Connection Point. If you place your index finger or thumb here, it would suck in your Darlac, automatically refining itself to your Darlac signature. This way, you'll refine it, and would be able to control it. For a Puppeteer to steal someone's puppet, they have to do the same and passively override the other's control."
Compass Carburettor placed his thumb on the wooden puppet's glabella, the point where the Darlac Connection Point was. He immediately felt his Darlac being sucked in, able to feel a circuit of sorts within it.
And soon, just like when he held an Armament, numerous parts of his body began to prick, causing him to experience a wave of goosebumps all over his body.
Upon seeing this scene, Ephemella said, "Controlling a Puppet is simple. Focus on the prickling sensations on your body and think of moving that respecting body part. The Puppet will move accordingly."
Compass Carburettor nodded, focusing on the prickling sensation on the back of his right hand, willing it to move. His right hand moved forward when he noticed the wooden Puppet doing the same.
It was a mystical feeling as he felt the sensation of controlling someone. He then retracted his hand, watching the Puppet do the same. He then thought of moving the puppet's right hand without moving his own.
It was difficult as he was unable to imagine and think of the action clearly. The puppet's hand only shivered from time to time, moving forward an inch before stopping or returning to its resting state.
'This would take some time to get used to.' He thought, sensing that he hadn't even consumed a Darlac. 'Right, I wasn't even making it move. And, this is the most basic version.'
After a moment of thought, he asked, approaching the topic that he had intended to ask about in the first place, "By the way, how can I control this Puppet when it's out of my line of sight?"
The moment he asked it, he was immediately able to perceive immense waves of guilt and hesitation from the starlight stream emanating from Ephemella. But in actuality, her face showed no change in expression.
He noticed the starlight stream be suffused by a sense of resolve to go ahead with her choice, and also a conviction that if he were ever to betray her, she wouldn't hesitate to subject him to living hell. And, unlike the other starlight streams he had sensed till now, the present stream wasn't like a wave but had instead shaped itself like a sword.
It showed that her thoughts were firm, refined to the absolute clarity of thought. And anyone who managed to maintain a perfectly clear and sharp state of thought wasn't someone simple.
