Once his affairs for the day were over, the entourage followed him around within the palace. A surprising amount of the emperor’s duties was delegating duties to those one level down. Without a doubt, it was the same story a level below too.

“Urg, work’s finally over...” Hye-Sung stretched her arms as she approached them. They were outside, waiting for her.

“Yo. Tough day huh?”

“Could be better.”

“Fair enough. Now, Iris. Could you change and train Katalina please? And Katalina. I have the most updated model ready for you in your room. Try it on and tell me how it feels. It should help you when you work out.”

“Wait, My Lord, but why? I don’t have anything to learn from a woman like her.”

“Magic, sword fighting, sparring, the stuff.”

“I can use aura, I’m one of the most elite knights in your family’s group.”

“Does aura mean magic?”

“Uh, okay. So there are a few kinds of magic,” Hye-Sung began explaining. “The type of magic that I use is external magic. Aura is internal magic. So I can shoot beams and stuff, while aura lets you sort of create an invisible suit of armour around your body and harden your weapons.”

“So in short, one enhances yourself, and the other lets you emit stuff.”

“To put it really short. But there’s still a lot that I haven’t even touched on.”

“Leave a memo. Or find a time to lecture me. That aside, Iris, how’s the prototype attire? Was it breathable? Too tight?”

“You’re talking about the sports bra right? I’m actually surprised Amelia didn’t get her hands on creating that first,” Hye-Sung chimed in.

“She probably didn’t think that it was profitable.”

“Didn’t you gift her several of your own prototypes too?”

“We’re getting sidetracked and wasting time. Iris, let me know what you think later. Same goes for you, Katalina. The two of you spar and train each other. Hye-Sung, with me.”

“Ah right. It's today right?”

“Yeah. So let’s go. We can’t be late.”

“We’re already late though.”

“What?” Francis shouted. He reached for his silver pocket watch. Indeed, it was close to 15 minutes past the meeting time.

“I’ll take over from here. Bye bye!” She waved goodbye as she scooped Francis up and ran off.

“Be careful.”

Over time, he had gotten used to being carried. It was more of a bus ride than anything. Whether it was his sisters or one of his entourage, it was all comfortable. Still, at the speed that she was running at, they would still be rather late. She wasn’t Iris, after all. If it was Iris instead, there was no question of lateness.

“We’re here,” Hye-Sung said in between pants.

“Thank you. If I had a bottle of water on me, I’d pass it to you. But catch your breath first.”

They stood in front of Amelia Merchant Corp. A grandiose building, filled with receptionists and merchants. He pushed open the door, and everyone immediately looked at him.

“Y-your Highness!” Several of them dropped onto their knees, whilst the others watched on dumbfounded.

“Did I forget to tell you to come in disguise?” Amelia said as she rubbed her forehead.

Her blue eyes were like the arctic glaciers, floating and drifting. She dressed and acted like a formal businessman, either that, or a very high class bartender. Custom made black gloves, a dark suit jacket, black pants, a shirt beneath and a red tie over.

“No, I just refused to. Show us in, and get us a glass of water.”

“Haa... Stephen, two glasses. Give them the prototype ones.”

With a nod, the butler headed away. Amelia shook her head, and led them further into the building. Past a maze of twists and turns, they stopped outside the meeting room. Amelia pushed a pair of thin glasses onto her small nose, as several strands of blonde hair draped over the glass lens.

“You ready?” Amelia asked.

“Oh yeah totally. This is just one of the most important meetings in the history of the world, that’s all,” Francis retorted.

“What do you mean important? It's just the emperor, one of the best musicians, 4, fucking 4 guildleaders. Gods above, do we really need that many?”

“Bahamut would say yes. But we all know how reliable he is.”

“That is to say, not at all. Enough jokes. You’re already late. Ready?”

“As ready as I ever will be.”

Amelia nodded, and twisted the door. Slowly, the door opened. Through the cracks, from right to left, he saw the most esteemed guests. Not because of what rank they held or what they wanted to do, but because of their circumstances. Why they were here, essentially. All of them had a common trait, the otherworld.

If it was a painting, then it would have been sold for an arm and a leg. A man with red hair was pointing at another person, this time with black hair. At their own section of the table, two women and a man were playing poker, rather, strip poker given their level of undress. And yet another woman had her head on the table, seemingly dozing off despite the utter chaos that was happening.

“You brought them together. It's your job to get them to behave.” Amelia shook her head.

“What do you mean he’s the strongest avenger!” the red haired man bellowed out.

“Keep quiet,” Francis said.

“Well if it isn’t Your Highness, the emperor,” a woman in her underwear stood up and greeted him with a bow.

“Put your damn clothes back on.”

The woman sulked as she pulled her shirt over her head. The other players of strip poker followed suit, until eventually everyone in the room was at least somewhat dressed. A man leaning back on his chair snickered as the emperor looked around.

Alright, roll call. Right to left. Starting with you.” Francis pointed to a quiet looking man with black hair. A slim build, more library than gym.

“I’m Gilbert.”

“And who brought you here?”

“Runalt, the god of war.”

“You don’t look like a soldier or a fighter.”

“War is more than fighting.”

“So what are you, logistics?”

“Yes, actually.”

“That’s great. And where are you from?”

“Previously? Or now?”

“Your previous life doesn’t matter to me. Are you an empire citizen?”

“Yes. And you are my emperor.”

“I’ll keep you in mind. Next.”

A tall woman stood up. Comparing her and the previous guest was like a flashlight against a supernova. Well dressed, with her dark red hair in french braids, she did not fit in with the chaos.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness. I am Baroness Erina Akinson, daughter of Count Akinson. However, I was not picked by a god. Instead, a portal simply opened in front of me, and I knew what the situation was. I’ve read light novels, you see.” She presented herself well, with the grace and elegance one would expect from a noble of her rank.

“Good, well done. I look forward to seeing you at gatherings. Next.”

“Yes sir!”

And this one was a soldier through and through. With a crisp salute that would have made any general proud, and a firm stance, Francis wasn’t quite sure if this was training from his previous life or current. Either way, the movements were drilled into his brain and muscles. Dark skinned with a military haircut, he was similar to Hye-Sung in the fact that they retained their original bodies. His hair in particular was a typical army cut for fresh recruits.

“I am Robert Lebopo, sir! Like Lady Akinson before sir! I have no god associated with me, sir!”

“Very good, recruit. At ease!” Francis tried to imitate the grilled sergeants that he saw in the movies, but with how all of them started laughing, it was obvious that he didn’t do well. Only the soldier managed to keep a straight face.

Many of them had similar stories. The mercenary, the engineer, the philosopher, the artist. A lot of merchants too. The writer claimed that she simply woke up in this world. But there was an outlier, and he was making everyone uncomfortable.

How would one describe him? Creepy? For sure. Eccentric? Perhaps. A bit of an edgelord. With a dark hood pulled over his head, and an eternal scowl on his face, yet when anyone tried to talk to him, he simply told them to back off ‘for their own safety’ as he claimed. Yet despite his threats of attacking anyone who came near him, and frequent clicking of his tongue, he never made a move. Standing in the corner, brooding by himself, he probably thought he was in some show, what with his dark robes and not-scary-in-any-way gaze. In fact, if he did kick up a fuss, Francis was fairly certain that it wouldn’t even take more than three people to apprehend him.

“Alright. So we can pretty much summarise it as this. Otherworlders in general tend to excel even further in the field that they were chosen for, like for example, Mr Tang is a great engineer here, but was just another worker previously.”

“Secondly,” Francis continued. “There seem to be two different reasons as to why a person is here. The more common reason cited is that there was no divinity involved.”

“And from that, we can draw our final conclusion.” Hye-Sung took over. It concerned magic, after all. “For simplicity’s sake, we shall call the divine group ‘Celestial’ and the natural group ‘Earthen’, any objections?”

Though there were mutterings, none of them said anything. Without anyone stopping her, she carried on.

“Is everyone here familiar with how magic works?”

“Explain it. For my sake too,” Francis said.

“Very well Your Highness. The field of magic theory is always evolving, but this is more or less what’s figured out. There are three sources of mana, the fuel for magic. Planetary, divine, and internal. Mostly, planetary and divine mana can be interchanged. However, those two cannot co-exist with magic using internal mana. That is to say, you cannot use both conventional magic and what is known as aura.”

“So you’re saying the earth itself has mana?” The red haired mercenary raised his hand.

“Yes. The earth itself produces mana, and some areas have a higher mana concentration than others. These spots are called leylines. When too much mana accumulates in an area however, unstable magic explodes outwards in something called a magic storm.”

“Sounds like a pain.”

“I wouldn’t know. Never experienced one. But going back on the topic, it would be impossible for anyone here to learn aura.”

“Your point being?”

“My point is that if anyone here wishes to follow magic whether as an art or science, I can write a letter of recommendation for you. If you want to pursue magic through divinity, the Aternox Church. Planetary, Atlas Association or Arcane Tower. But keep in mind, those two have different beliefs. The Atlas integrates themselves with mana, whilst the Arcane Tower tries to control mana.”

Francis raised his eyebrows, asking if that was all. With a curt nod, Hye-Sung stopped there. Besides, he had already gotten what he wanted. The soldier was an important one to have on his side, and the engineer too. Ideally, all of them would end up on his side, but knowing how he would have to commit some rather horrific acts... Probably not. Either way, Out of everyone there, only four 4 of great importance.

If in the end, Benjamin Wynt ended up defecting to another nation, or possibly starting a coup, the soldier was an important piece. The engineer however, would not just serve a military use. Certainly, due to his skillset, civil engineering was valid too. The architect was the least important of the 4, but still valuable nonetheless. Gaining culture through buildings was a route he could go down on, and perhaps build more world wonders. But the priest was a wildcard. On one hand, if Francis worked to topple His Holiness, and get the support of the Aternox Church, he would be head of both state and church. A theocracy, or rather, the heavenly mandate might make it easier to rule. After all, would a potential revolutionist go against the gods?

With the meeting concluded, Francis and Hye-Sung made their way back, but not before Amelia stopped them. With her hand outstretched, she motioned for them to stop in their tracks. She pointed at a sideroom, and walked in.

Sitting on a table, with her legs crossed, Amelia sighed. She rubbed her temples before opening her mouth to speak.

“You really think I’m going to let you go like that?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Your guns.”

“Katalina has more guns than me.”

“Not that gun. You know what I mean.”

She poked at his chest with her finger. That in and of itself was more than enough to get her arrested and executed. But he chose not to push that. As annoying as it might be, Amelia was a valuable asset. Her guild paid taxes, and a lot of it too.

“And what exactly do you mean, Guild Leader?”

“I checked the ingredients you bought, and cross referenced that against some local experts. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”

“You didn’t tell her about it?” Hye-Sung asked. She turned to look at him, her face a cocktail of emotions.

Francis shook his head. Of course he didn’t. If he had, she could have pried further in. Pried her way beyond the doors, and being an otherworlder herself, made the discovery that he was working to make nuclear weapons. And from there, the people he was trying to hide.

“No. Is that all, Guild Leader?”

Amelia flinched at the glare. She clicked her tongue and removed her finger from his chest. It seemed like only then did she fully realise the extent of her actions. Perhaps to her, Francis was a friend first and foremost. It wouldn’t be strange. After all, for the better part of their relationship together, he treated her like one, and she did the same. She apologized profusely, but Francis simply shook his head and sighed. She escorted them outside the building, and waved goodbye as the two left.

With the title of emperor came fame and notoriety. The everyday pedestrian stared as they walked, talking and pointing to the blonde woman. Amelia was probably loving the attention, and she started working on advertising right away. Presenting samples of her iconic carbonated drink, she lured customers into her shop.

As Francis stepped into the imperial palace, a thought came. The main bottleneck was in bullet production. But what if there was a way to avoid using bullets all together? Using blanks wouldn’t work, as it needed the killing power of a gun. What about replacing bullets instead? The metal mines were understaffed and exports were slow. He walked past the arch of a door, and lightning stuck him.

“Wait.” Francis said. “Do you remember when we first met?”

“Yeah? You fell out of a tower.”

“Right, but after that. You used a bow, before just blasting people.”

“I did. Why?”

“You remember those arrows that you made? The blue ones?”

“Hm yeah. Oh. Oh... I see what you want.”

“Mana bullets.”

“Mana bullets.”

“Can you do it?”

“You know me long enough to know my limits. I can do it, but not too many though.”

“But you can.”

“I can. But I don’t know how long the bullets can last before expiring?”

“It's fine. I have an idea.”