Chapter 44: A Noble Nu-... Duke. A Noble Duke.

“This one?” Evan asked.

He stood outside a large pair of double doors with the numbers 357 above the handle.

“That’s odd. I don’t remember designing doors like this. Actually, this entire floor is different from what I remember… It reminds me of the doors to a castle.” Evan said, turning his head in each direction.

His eyes stopped on a gold handle that was built into the large door.

He jiggled the doorhandle.

It was locked.

He jiggled it again.

“....Oh, shit. Right, the keycard.” Evan said, pulling out the keycard and pressing it to the door.

They opened automatically and dramatically.

Evan stared at them with a confused and slightly annoyed expression.

He studied the handle for a second.

“What the literal fuck is the point of having a handle on this thing? It isn’t even connected to anything other than the keycard part.” Evan said.

“It looks good on the door.” A large, manly voice chuckled.

Evan looked at the end of the room, which held a throne displayed atop a fancy set of carpeted steps.

The man was sitting on a bench to the side, sipping a cup of tea.

He noticed Evan staring at him.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” The man asked.

“Are you Sir Jax?” Evan asked.

“Sir Jax was my father’s name. I merely inherited it. Just call me Jack. Or if you prefer, you may also call me James, as that’s my middle name. It’s nice to meet you, child that I do not know.” Jack said, extending his large, muscled hand.

“You’re certainly...friendly. Are you not concerned in the least that a stranger just waltzed into your room? It is nice to meet you, though.” Evan said, shaking Jack's hand.

“Well, I am certainly confused. Are you not a friend of my eldest son? Or perhaps….a friend of my daughters’?” Jack asked, squeezing tightly.

He opened his eyes, raising an eyebrow.

“Hmph. You have some strength, I see. If you are here for my daughter, however, that isn’t nearly enough to prove yourself.” Jack smiled, loosening his grip.

“Nono, you’re mistaken. I’m none of those.” Evan said, putting up his arms.

“Then why are you here?” Jack asked, returning to his tea.

“Ah! I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry. I’m Evan. It’s nice to meet you. Phil wanted to introduce you guys to me, so I came over.” Evan said, pointing at himself.

Jack gulped in surprise, scalding his mouth with hot tea.

He accidentally banged his toe on the edge of the bench as he got up.

“Oooh. Ouch. That looks like it hurt. Are you alright?” Evan asked, cringing.

Jack held up a finger and took a dep breath.

“Darling, can you bring some ice!” Jack shouted.

There was a shuffling outside of a door on the left side wall, facing the throne.

“Why? Are you alright, James?” A lady asked, popping her head into the room.

Her eyes widened, a large grin spreading across her face.

“My, my! Who’s this handsome young man? Perhaps…? Are you here to win our daughter over as well?” She asked excitedly.

Evan held his hands out.

“Nonono. Sorry. That’s not why I’m here.” Evan said, shaking his head.

The lady frowned.

“A shame. I’m sure she would have loved to meet you. Are you sure? I don’t mind introducing you to her myself.” She said insistently.

“No, seriously. I already have a wife.” Evan said, frowning.

The lady laughed.

“Dearie. With those looks, I’m sure you could easily have more than one. Are you short of money? No, that doesn’t sound right. If you’re here you must be important. And if you’re already married at such a young age, you must be from our homeland. You can have more than one legal wife, you know. So it should be fine, right? She’s quite a sweet little girl.” The lady said, still quite excited.

“....Darling. I don’t recommend using such casual speech towards him.” Jack said, interrupting her.

The lady froze.

“Oh. So you are important... Um. Sorry!” She apologized, bowing.

“You don’t need to apologize. Rather, I think I prefer how you two were when you were talking normally.” Evan said.

The lady looked up, puzzled.

“Yes? Um... James, dear, he seems like a nice young man. Why do you sound so frightened? If I may ask, what’s your name, dearie?” The lady asked.

Evan opened his mouth, started to speak, and stopped.

His eyes narrowed.

“I see the issue now.” Evan said, scratching his head.

He sighed.

“I’m not all that important of a person, don’t worry. Your husband was just a bit confused from burning his tongue. It’s nice to meet you, though. I’ll ask you your name instead since mine doesn’t really matter that much.” Evan replied, smiling.

The worried look on the lady's face melted away immediately.

“My name is Jessie. It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s not often that I get to see something sweet like you.” Jessie said, grinning.

She looked at Evan’s confused face and smirked.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’ll admit that you do look quite handsome… very handsome. But don’t worry. You’re more my daughters' type than mine.” Jessie said, giggling.

“Why, thank you. I appreciate the compliment. You’re quite beautiful yourself. Jack is a lucky man.” Evan replied.

“Oh, you! Don’t tease an old lady.” Jessie said, waving her hand.

She opened her eyes a little wider, remembering why she had come into the room.

“Oh, right! James, are you okay? Do you still need me to go get you some ice?” Jessie asked.

Jack looked at Evan and nodded silently.

“Alrighty, I’ll be right back then! Oh, right! As for our guest, would you like something to drink? We have a wide variety of drinks. They’re right next to the ice, so it’s only a second longer to grab one.” Jessie asked.

Evan nodded.

“Yeah, I’d appreciate that. Do you have any sprite?” Evan asked.

“Sprite? Oh, dear. Those cost a fortune. I’m afraid we don’t have any. Is there anything else you’d like?” Jessie asked.

Evan thought for a moment.

“Do you have any chocolate milk?” Evan asked.

“Yes! I’ll be right back!” Jessie said, disappearing back through the door she had come from.

“Jack. You wanted to speak with me for a moment, I assume?” Evan asked.

Jack nodded.

“Apologies. I never meant to be rude with my words or actions.” Jack said.

“If that’s what you call rude, then I’m far ruder than you. I was actually quite surprised by how friendly you were. It’s hard to find someone with a smile on their face when it’s the end of the world, after all. Just act like you were when we met.” Evan said.

Jack raised an eyebrow and stood.

“I don’t believe that it’s the end of the world. For most of us out there, this is our world. So our world is just starting. The old world ended, our new one has just begun.” Jack said.

“That sounded like you were quoting someone,” Evan said.

Jack smiled fondly.

“I was. My grandfather used to say that quite often. Whenever I misbehaved when I was younger, I always argued that it didn’t matter since it was the end of the world. Apparently, my father did the same. And now, so do both of my sons. I use that quote quite a lot. It means a great deal to our family. But my family’s story isn’t what you’re here for, I assume. Though I’m unsure of why you came. What can I help you with?” Jack asked.

“Actually, I did come to hear more about your family. It sounded interesting. Societies and families like yours were quite prevalent in books before the...I believe that you call it the Initial Bombardment, correct?.... But that was in books. I’ve never had the chance to actually meet with someone like you.” Evan said.

“Really? I remember reading about your adventures quite often as a child. You met the royal families of many places as you wandered the world.” Jack said.

“Wandered isn’t exactly the right term. I’m not sure if you guys understand the concept of business trips, though. It was mostly for work.” Evan said, sighing with exhaustion from the memory alone.

“I do understand. I’ve read through the legal papers and various documents from most of your travels. It’s part of our tradition to learn of both current and previous laws. It’s how we’ve managed to create a successful monarchy, and how we allow it to go on prospering. Despite there being very obvious benefits to the democratic system, having knowledge of events that occurred in previous monarchies and democracies is actually beneficial for a monarchy like ours to thrive with even better future prospects than any previous government in existence. Well, at least as long as our lineage doesn't become corrupt. That won't happen due to Phil's authority, though.” Jack explained.

Evan blinked.

“Holy shit. I should mention that I know nothing about politics, so that went right over my head.” Evan said, shaking his head.

Jack widened his eyes.

“Truly? Didn’t you unite the world as one?” Jack asked.

“Well, I guess I’m not surprised that it isn’t common knowledge, but Phil and Anne did most of the actual political work. I just made it possible. They’re quite skilled. Phil is especially good with politics.” Evan said.

Jack nodded, smiling.

“True. Phil is quite knowledgeable on the subject of politics, and it’s always a joy to discuss with him. I’ve heard that it’s due to a discussion between one of our ancestors and Phil that allowed us to turn our base into a monarchy. At first, it was only an experiment, but it thrived unexpectedly well. Phil attributes this to multiple factors, such as-“ Jack started.

“Darling, don’t bore the boy with politics. Look how confused he is. Here’s your ice.” Jessie said.

She placed a bag of ice on Jack's head and smiled.

“As for our guest, I’ve brought your chocolate milk.” Jessie said, handing Evan a cup of chocolate milk.

“Thank you.” Evan said, immediately chugging it.

“You seem to enjoy chocolate milk quite a lot,” Jessie observed.

“Mn. Well, that and hot cocoa. Though I’m more known for my hot cocoa than chocolate milk. Apparently, I addicted an entire family lineage to hot chocolate on a biological level centuries ago... But things certainly have changed in the last 400 years. I never expected a monarchy to pop up. Let alone in one of my bases of all things. I can’t believe that your entire family came from that somewhat shady businessman. I guess I didn’t really interact with him that much, though. Do you remember when he retired, Jack?” Evan asked.

“I’m assuming you mean Nicholas I. If so, it’s been around 2 and a half centuries. You missed his passing by quite a long time.” Jack said, popping an ice cube in his mouth.

“Truly, a shame. He’s made such an intriguing family. It would have been nice to meet him one final time before I slept. He was busy working on the base in Britain, though. Speaking of, how is your base? Is it still in good shape? Need me to fix anything?” Evan asked.

Jessie shook her head.

“If you could fix limetech products, dearie. But you’re too young for that. So there’s not much you can help with.” Jessie said.

“What? Aren’t limetech products easy to fix?” Evan asked.

“That was before the apocalypse. Nowadays, Limetech mechanics are regarded as one of the most valuable resources we have. Unfortunately, it’s rather hard to become one.” Jack said.

“Why’s that?” Evan asked, tapping his foot with an increasing speed and crossing his arms.

“Well, limetech products are something a lot of people depend on. It’s stupidity to bring in some amateur and risk it being further damaged. So even learning is a challenge. And I must admit, the general population is uneducated. Not many people understand them that well anymore. The factories were destroyed in riots following your disappearance. Most of the blueprints have faded or been ruined, too. Once limetech dies, so will a lot of the world's remains. We’ve become too dependent on them.” Jack said, pitifully.

Evan scowled.

“They’re extremely simple machines! How the hell did you guys screw up so badly? And what riots! Who dared to riot in the world I saved. I made those factories sturdy enough to be a viable alternative to the dome that protects the bases. How in the hell did they get destroyed?!” Evan shouted, stomping his foot and making a small crater in the floor. The room shook for a second.

Jessie flinched.

She opened her eyes carefully, a somewhat conflicted expression on her face.

“Darling, what is this young man saying? Is this true?" Jessie asked.

Jack nodded.

"Dearie, are you really over 400 years old?” Jessie asked.

“I’m around 416 if I remember correctly,” Evan answered.

“So….. you’re an immortal?” Jessie asked, her eyes sparkling.

“You could say that, yes,” Evan said.

“Oh, my! That’s impressive! So you were alive before the apocalypse?” Jessie exclaimed.

“Yes, I was. Is there anything you want to know?” Evan asked.

“Ohmygod, there’s way too many things! Do I only get one? Oh, dear. Darling, what do I do?” Jessie asked excitedly.

Evan smiled, uncrossing his arms. He stopped tapping his foot and relaxed his posture.

“No, I’ll answer any questions you have. I’m free for a little while.” Evan said.

“Really!? Yay! Oh, no. There’s not much here for us to sit on, is there. I’m sorry.” Jessie said, looking around the room.

“What about the garden? It’s quite nice.” Jack said.

Jessie shook her head rapidly and stared at Jack.

“Darling, that’s Jewel’s! She’s been tending to it for so long by herself. We can’t use it without our daughters permission, it would be rude! Especially if we don’t let her join! You should know how much she loves the stories from before the world ended.” Jessie chided.

“Then why don’t we ask her? She can join if she wants to. As I said, I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.” Evan smiled.

“I-I’m not sure it’s a good idea to let her meet you,” Jack said shiftily.

“Oh, booey. You’re just being a downer. What’s the harm in letting them meet? It sounds like fun. Besides, I know that Jewel will get along with him!” Jessie said.

“That's the...Nevermind. Let’s go. She should be in her room.” Jack sighed, noticing Evan’s smile.

“Wait. You guys don’t live here, right? Why does your daughter have a garden here?” Evan asked curiously.

“Jewel? She’s living here in lime towers. Phil, as in the Phil, let her stay! She’s absolutely a genius with plants! He gave her full access to limetech tower’s abandoned botanical research garden. She’s free to do whatever she wants! Our daughter is incredible!” Jessie shouted ecstatically.

“Oho? You mean floor 18? Phil must really respect her skills if he trusted her ability to take care of the biohazards that are there. I never thought that ticking timebomb, out of any of my research labs, would be unstasised while I was away.” Evan said, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

“Biohazards?” Jessie asked.

“Yes. The limetech tower floors 16-18 are dedicated specifically to testing, experimenting, and growing flora. Floor 17 does do some work with fauna as well. But floor 18 in particular is incredibly dangerous. The plants in there range from slightly poisonous to downright radioactive. The only safe part would be the entryway gardens. I must admit that those are indeed quite nice. But most are only big enough for around 3 tables.” Evan explained.

“.... Isn’t that the only thing that Jewel has shown us? I didn’t think there was more to it. It’s rather massive. Are you sure?” Jessie asked, concerned.

Evan nodded.

“Well, you said that Phil gave her, very specifically, full access to floor 18. If you had only mentioned something along the lines of allowing her permission to live on floor 18, that would be completely different. While I admit that the entrance is decently large, if you take into consideration the exact size of limetech towers, you would easily be able to tell that there’s absolutely no way that’s the only thing on that floor. Hell, you can see inside some of the glass when you look up from outside…. Because Phil apparently never darkened any of the fucking windows, as I asked him to.” Evan said, frowning.

“Darling, did you know about this? She wouldn’t be doing something that dangerous, right?” Jessie asked, pulling on Jack's sleeve.

Jack shook his head and sighed.

“.....Jessie, honey. Our daughter is inarguably a genius. I would be stupid to not let her work on this. She’s working on figuring out how the limetech nutrition field generators work. If I were to stop her, we would be guaranteed to starve. Hundreds would die in mere months. Our generator isn’t working well. According to Jewel, it could shut down at any second, permanently. I have no idea how long we have left, eith….wait.” Jack said, turning to Evan.

Evan stood there for a second, waiting for Jack to continue.

“Oh. Do you want me to help her with her work on the food field?” Evan asked, pointing to himself.

“Can you?” Jack asked.

“Well, yeah. I invented them. I’m pretty sure I can make one again. It would be even easier to fix one.” Evan said.

“Dearie, limetech devices such as the nutrition field generator were made by someone who has long since left us. As horrible as it is to imagine, he isn’t here anymore.” Jessie said.

Evan tapped his fingers against his side in thought.

“Jack, does your wife pass out from shock?” Evan asked.

Jack shook his head.

“Okay. That’s good to know.” Evan said, sighing.

“I’ll introduce myself, then. It’s nice to meet you Jessie, my name is Evan. Founder of limetech. Savior of the world.” Evan said, saluting with a large grin.

“Oh, my! How cute!” Jessie gushed, smiling.

“Honey, he isn’t joking. This boy is who we call our savior… No, who is our savior.” Jack said.

“Oh….my.” Jessie said, slowing down for a moment.

You could see the gears turning in her head.

“Are you sure you won’t marry our daughter?” Jessie asked, an intense look in her eyes.

Evan began laughing hysterically.

“Hey, that’s mean! I’m serious.” Jessie said.

“Dear…” Jack tried.

“Sorry, sorry! It’s just that that was a lot different from what I’m used to. Also, as I previously mentioned, I’m already happily married.” Evan said, taking deep breaths.

“And as I mentioned, you can have more than one wife!” Jessie said, huffing.

“.....Maybe someday I will. But not now. And even if I did fall in love with someone else, I could never stop loving lime. I’m sorry.” Evan said, shaking his head.

“Lime? Who’s that?” Jessie asked.

“Eh? She lives in the tower, you guys don’t know her?” Evan asked.

“You already mentioned that we don’t live here year round, didn’t you? Only for around one month every year. Jewel might know her if she lives here, though.” Jack said.

“Oh, right. Sorry, the laughing from earlier is still making it hard to think straight.” Evan said, still chuckling from the memory.

An elevator dinged.

“Ding” Said the elevator.

Evan frowned.

“We’re here.” Evan said, shaking it off.

“I don’t see Jewel anywhere.” Jessie said, looking around.

There was the loud hiss of a hidden door opening, and a conversation between the two who had just walked out.

Evan sighed.

“Lime, aren't you grounded?” Evan frowned.

“Huh? Oh! Evan!” Lime yelled, running over and wrapping him in a large hug.

Jack stared at Evan with even wider eyes than ever.

“This...girl. This girl is your wife?” Jack asked incredulously.

“How rude, Jack. What’s so wrong with me?” Lime asked, sticking her tongue out.

“Oh, sorry. No, it’s just….I’m a bit surprised. How did you two even meet?” Jack asked.

Evan paused.

“Okay, this is kind of weird. Lime, why are all these people acting like you’re some kind of bomb?” Evan asked

“Oh. Ugh. Jewel, can you tell him for me?” Lime asked.

Jewel pushed lime to the side excitedly, talking quickly.

“So this is Evan? It’s quite nice to meet you! I’m a huge fan of your work!” Jewel said rapidly, shaking Evan’s hand vigorously.

Jessie came over and fussed a little.

“Dear, your hair is all frazzled! Oh my god! The tips are singed! What have you been doing?! Oh, that’s good. Your makeup seems fine, at least.” Jessie said.

Jewel frowned.

“Mom, I don’t wear makeup while I work. It smudges, it can create issues with visibility, and in some cases it can even cause a chemical or biological hazard when it comes into contact with certain substances. That’s why I don’t wear it. And it makes the safety goggles stick to my face.” Jewel said, tapping the clear plastic goggles that were strapped to her head.

“Aw, dear. I wanted you to make a good first impression.” Jessie said, frowning.

Evan almost laughed again.

“Nono, this is far better than some random prim and proper princess with otherworldly beauty. Besides, she still looks beautiful even without all of that fussing, so it’s even less of a problem. I’m starting to think I’ll like working here even more. That look screams that you’re dedicated to whatever you want to do.” Evan said.

“Oh! Right! Line said that you know about the lab! Do you know the passcode to the black door in the back?” Jewel asked, distracted.

Evan stopped dead in his tracks.

“The black door? What in the world do you want to go in there for?! Not to mention that it’s incredibly dangerous!” Evan exclaimed, surprised.

Jewel smirked.

“I think I figured out a way to simultaneously make the nutrition filter more efficient and cheaper. As well as much easier to make. Also, it’s able to make people healthier. My idea was to lace in some geo seed and soak it in a small amount of moroiden to create a slight numbing effect.” Jewel ranted, holding a finger in the air.

Evan thought about it for a second.

“....Interesting. That does sound like it would work. But don’t we have moroiden samples in the bottles on that one shelf on floor 13? I’m assuming you have access to it considering Phil let you into here, of all places.” Evan asked, pointing to the hidden door.

“I didn’t see any when I last checked, but it wouldn’t hurt to look again.” Jewel said.

“Shouldn’t the tower's computer system be cataloguing all of that? Does nobody use it anymore?” Evan asked.

“The what?” Jewel asked.

Evan banged his fist on an odd looking panel next to the elevator.

“Oi! Lecca! Wake up!” Evan shouted.

There was a soft whirring.

“Stop pretending to sleep. I can hear you breathing. I’ll shock you with mana again if you don’t cooperate.” Evan said, frustrated.

“Ugh. Fine. Whaddaya want?” Lecca asked.

“Rude. Anyway, you’re cataloguing things properly, right?” Evan asked.

“No. I stopped when you left. I’m not doing work if it’s pointless to do so anym…….wait. Evan?” Lecca asked.

She started to beep, booting up properly.

“Finally! Hello, Lecca. Did you have a good nap? How do you feel?” Evan asked.

“You left me alone for four centuries! How the hell did you think I feel! And you even took away Anne! I had nobody to talk to!” Lecca yelled, materializing in front of them.

“Ugh. Physical bodies are weird. Holographic or not. How did Anne ever like this stuff?” Lecca asked, stretching.

“She had a reason.” Evan said.

“Yeah, yeah…...why can’t I ever feel like that? Me and Anne are both real people like you said, right? So why can she fall in love with someone, and I can’t? Well, at least I’m not alone in my misery.” Lecca smirked.

“Who’s this?” Lime asked, putting her hand through Lecca’s body.

“Wow, rude. That tingles.” Lecca said.

“Oh! Sorry.” Lime said, pulling her hand back.

“Reeelax. I was joking. Jeez. I’ll throw your question right back at you, though. Who are you?” Lecca asked.

“I’m lime, Evan’s wife. It’s nice to meet you.” Lime said.

Lecca froze.

“Hold up. What the fuck, bro? Now I’m the only one who’s alone? Isn’t it supposed to be bro’s before hoes?” Lecca asked, annoyed.

“Lecca. I’m pretty sure that I’ve never heard you even say that before.” Evan said.

“Really? Huh. I was probably dreaming, then. Or drunk.” Lecca sighed, immediately calmed down.

“Drunk?” Jewel asked.

“I’m 29, what do you want from me? To not be an alcoholic in a shitty world like this? I don’t think that’s even possible.” Lecca said.

“Oh. I see. I was about to say that you aren’t alone in being single, but you’re pretty old.” Jewel said pitifully.

“Wow. Thanks. How nice of you to tell me that.” Lecca said sarcastically.

She stared, squinting at something.

“Hey, what’s with the actual old people over there. The ones on the chairs….wait. This is floor 18, isn’t it?” Lecca asked, looking around at all of the plants.