“The runes’ connections seem to be stable,” Adrin muttered to himself as he checked on the resonator crystal circuit he had been working on. “Signal at the receiver end is also strong and has almost no delay. A few microseconds, at most.”

A smile widened on his face.

The huge fully mechanical arm moved in tandem with the movement of his arm covered in silver lines, the stage-zero of the [Living Armor]. Designing the mechanical limbs hadn't been difficult as he has already done them meticulously in his previous life. The only real issue was powering them.

He had smiled because the arm's movement reminded him of a certain classic movie. It felt like he was preparing to defend the underground city himself.

“For Zion,” he said and chuckled while leaning forward on his wheelchair.

Adrin was at the end of a makeover frenzy. It all began when he was carving a simple guns and roses on the [Living Armor] scales just for fun, and little did he know, it had led him towards something amazing. He realized it the next day when he reactivated the [Living Armor].

The change stayed. The carved rose was still there on the scale at the back of his left hand when he turned his hand to check.

His earlier assumption had been completely wrong. Unequipping and reequipping the [Living Armor] did not reset these armor pieces or any scales at all. He wouldn’t be stuck remodifying the scales each time if he wanted better performance.

Two weeks passed in a blur. In the end, the [Living Armor] had become a magitech version of the very popular powered armor. Adrin was so deep in the project that he had only remembered to chew when the maidservant practically shoved meals into his mouth.

There were too many ideas that popped up and there was too little time for everything. Only now that he knew the meaning of the greatest breakthrough mostly happened by accident.

An improved version of the unique skill was born from this discovery and it was one of the reasons his plan had changed a little. [Living Armor] now had three stages of [Release], each more powerful than the former.

After much deliberation, he had decided to skip the powered-armor variant and jump straight into building a Mech-Suit. It made sense because the new [Living Armor] had already filled the powered-armor category.

The first design was very basic. A secured cockpit with four flexible mechanical limbs.

Needless to say, a working Mech-Suit would be a lot more practical and would provide much better protection. He also didn’t need to worry about the wrong articulation movement anymore. His frail, inferior flesh and bone would be far from harm if any malfunction occurred in the mechanical limbs.

At his command, the gears spun and the chair then lowered him back to a sitting position. The small wheels of the wheelchair reversed away from the worktable and brought him to the couch where the snacks were.

Sadly, the maidservants had found his greatest weakness. Though at the moment, it felt like he had become a lazy fat guy who only moved around with electric chairs, and to be honest, he kind of enjoyed being a lazy stay-at-home dad.

Moving with a pair of mechanical legs was great until it got old and it got old very fast. Besides, moving with wheels was far more efficient than the thumping metal legs.

A knock on the door was the signal that they had arrived just in time.

“Young Master, the mistresses had arrived,” said the maidservant who entered.

“Thanks, Delia,” he replied and the maid’s cheeks turned red.

‘Ah, I forget, I should only call them by name when on the bed,’ another piece of advice drilled into him.

The customs of the rich young masters were boggling. The slaves had lost the right to use their name when they fall into that status, he could understand some of that, but it was still very jarring. How the hell name-calling had evolved into the Master’s signal for bedtime fun, however, was simply lost to his commoner’s head.

No wonder Lily had such a look whenever he called her by name. He must have appeared to be a really horny guy in her head. Adrin shook his head in shame.

“I mean, thanks, I’ll be out in a minute,” Adrin corrected himself.

The maid breathed in relief with a mix of disappointment on her face. Duty came before pleasure, he guessed, as it would be rude to let the guests wait.

Adrin wanted to say that he could face the girls with full confidence like the cool protagonist, but it took him extra two weeks before he dared to invite them to meet. Facing a very possible full-on rejection had never been an easy thing for him.

‘Suck it up and pucker your butthole together,’ Adrin scolded himself at the door. ‘You are different now.’

He had become an ‘ikemen’ and Emi had done him a world of favor while he was alone and probably dying in that cold shed. He owed this to her even if it still hurt inside. No, he didn’t think he would be able to accept them fully or discard them completely.

It was a weird position to be in, but that’s who he is, he guessed.

‘They are free to go and live happily ever after, just not with these guys,’ he mused.

There was no whirring noise anymore as the chair carried him onwards. He had solved that issue by partly submerging the gears in a thick oil-like substance, extending its life with it.

The metal wheels were still layered with wood as he didn’t have the luxury to search for something like rubber yet. It was the next step in his huge list.

It was all work in progress, of course.

The chair moved past the last doorway and the faces had polite smiles on them. Bella was already here before him, chatting with Emi and Nerina to make them feel welcomed. Snacks and drinks were also served and the popular ganula fries, aka french fries, were also served.

Ana had kept bugging him about them after she had heard about it from his bedtime stories about the otherworld. It was the family agents who had found the bland ganula ground fruit in less than two weeks, and the rest was history.

Her next personal project was burgers, for god’s sake. Adrin would leave that to her entirely, well, other than tasting. At this point, no one in the family would say he hadn’t paid back his due.

Ana’s grand plan, however, made him feel small. Adrin had to admit, he didn’t have the guts to even think about it. He understood now the reason why she had taken the vibroblade and kept real quiet about the deadly magitech weapon.

“I’ll leave you youngsters to talk,” Bella said after the long awkward silence.

She gave him a peck on the cheek before making herself scarce. The lady never failed to mark him in front of others as if to remind everyone who had brought him to the family. He wanted to slap her large waving ass, but that might be inappropriate at the moment.

“Hey,” Adrin started as it was only them who were left. “How are you guys doing?”

“Good,” the girls answered after another.

A tinge of disappointment came from his bond with Bella. She better stops eavesdropping or he would ignore her for the rest of the day.

But who was he kidding with?

Adrin sighed. “I’m sorry, I’ve not been myself after the accident. It had been months but still…” he paused and took a deep breath and let it out.

“What I mean to say is… I miss you two, I really do, and can I get a hug at least?” He almost squeaked out the last part.

A body pretty much slammed onto him and hugged him tightly. It was lucky that he had designed the chair with stabilizers and without the awkward armrest or the huge unwieldy backrest. The magic wheelchair was closer to a moving office chair than a normal wheelchair.

But it was a surprise that Nerina came rushing to hug him while almost kneeling on the ground. Adrin only began to accept the other rejection when another pair of knees also hit the floor. Emilia was teary in the eyes as she pulled and hugged his face.

It was a tad uncomfortable but he was glad. Emilia reminded him of the cold nights when she was there in his late mother’s place.

No words were exchanged as Nerina kept her face pressed on his chest while his head was in another pair of boobs. How lucky a man could ever be?

“We miss you dearly too,” Emilia said after a long silence. “You have saved me from the village and us all from the monster, and yet, we can’t even-”

“It’s okay,” he patted the girl’s back. “Everybody makes mistakes.”

“No, we, I - I’ve failed you,” Nerina added. “I, we didn’t even consider how you would feel waking up to all this. We’ve tried everything, but yet-”

“I know,” Adrin said, “believe me, it is no one’s fault. It is what it is.”

Accepting the fact was a sign of growing wiser. With his hand on their backs, Adrin gently roused them back up on their feet before it got any more awkward than it already was.

“I’m just glad that you are safe. I just need to do a better job next time.”

The girls had a mix of happy teary smiles while holding onto his arms. Emilia turned his arm when she noticed something metallic behind them.

“This is?”

“It’s the new arms support mechanism which came with this wheelchair,” he told the half-lie to the ever curious girl.

They already know about the silver scales but the thin metal plate supporting his arm was new to them. Only one other wheelchair had this feature.

“I thought you could move your arms already?” Nerina also turned his other arm to look.

“I can, but barely able to lift a cup of drink,” Adrin chuckled and the girls gasped. “It also functions as an armrest when my arm feels tired. Healing the nerves took a lot of mana and I don’t want to spend the family’s funds more than I already had.”

The girls seemed to be very surprised to hear that. They looked at each other before coming closer to talk more privately.

“Yes, you shouldn’t be too dependent on the family,” Emilia said almost in a whisper. “I’m sorry, but I’ve heard a lot of shady deals the family has made.”

“I’m not that naive, Emi, you should know that,” Adrin chuckled. “I might be crippled, but as you can see, I’m far from helpless. I’ll get out of this hole one way or the other.”

Nerina breathed in relief with her hand on her chest. Adrin couldn’t help but notice that they had grown quite a bit. They looked soft to touch-

Adrin shook the thought away. These were his friends, god dammit. Beneficial or not was for later when they were free from those men’s heart clutches.

“I thought you had become their tool,” the girl said, oblivious to his previous thought.

He blamed the maids, they had pampered him far too much.

Adrin sighed inside while looking at their worried faces. He could guess what had happened during his, quote and quote, absence.

The girls hadn’t betrayed him because they were solely impatient but pure naivety. They had given up on him because of the very carefully crafted lies. Two years was more than enough time to inject subtle ideas so these girls wouldn’t also become the Amberhand family’s assets.

Sowing mistrust in the family and even gaining the girls’ trust along the way. The girls might think it was their ideas, but they didn’t know what he knew.

Governments and corporations of the modern world had used these kinds of propaganda tactics to win the favor of many. Repeat it enough times, even a dull song could compete with among the very best.

Ana had mentioned this sinister effort and she agreed to let him go when the time came. She was willing to let go not just because it was his wish, but also to keep the peace between the influential magi families.

He would still be working for the boss lady, of course, in many ways, as she had explained her plans for him. There would be an official announcement from the family but it would be when the time was right. Their unique bond might be almost like a business deal, friends with many benefits, but it wasn’t as flimsy.

They both agreed that the [Lightbringer] was simply just too big of a title for one family to hold on to. The time was not right yet, and the smart girl didn't want her family to become a target for being too big. His plans had simply aligned with hers.

“I’m a free agent, now and forever,” he chuckled and the girls breathed in small relief.

“You know, the church won’t be as bad as a place to recover,” Emilia mentioned another idea that no doubt had been injected into her thoughts.

A proclaimed neutral faction would calm the opposing teams and also loosen the direct access to him. Both good and bad intentions could reach him easier in this way. It was a good middle ground idea, but unlike the two, Adrin couldn’t think of another even worse place to recover.

A dragon’s nest, maybe? Adrin sighed inside but he had to play along. He had to act like the idiot young master he was supposed to be until it was the right time to act.

Adrin had to remind himself that he didn’t have the thick plot armor.

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about it too, but what do you think?” asked Nerina.

Adrin looked at the other girl as her hand’s grip tightened for a bit. Nerina was still not completely sure about Emilia's suggestion.

“I’m sure the church can keep me safe, but-” Adrin paused and sighed out loud to show his hesitation.

It felt wrong to just leave after what had happened after Bella had stayed beside him all this time. She had done more than anyone in the background.

He was also worried about the kneeling priestesses as there was nothing worse than devout believers. Adrin feared that it would change him, somehow.

Being a spoiled young master was one thing, but worshiping as their God’s delivered messenger slash savior would be another deeper darker hole altogether. It might not be as bad as he thought but the chances of falling into that hole were still higher than he liked.

Nerina pulled his hand and pressed on her chest, “I’ll be there almost every hour of the day. I’ll keep your worries at bay.”

‘No doubt you would, babe,’ he mused inside.

She had become a real babe with beautiful long green hair after all these years. The thin, gaunt girl was gone and replaced with a slightly chubby cutie. Her current boyfriend might be faking it, but he was sure the other man still wouldn’t let anyone have such free passes.

“But what about, you know, your boyfriend?” Adrin dropped the bomb.

“He will have to understand,” she said in determination.

The girl was so naive, that he felt bad about it.

Adrin breathed instead of sighing and looked into her determined eyes. “I don’t want to be the reason you guys have an argument or something, I’ll be fine-”

“How about trying it out for just a few days?” Emilia joined in. “We’ll take turns if we have to,” she said, a little unsure of her suggestion.

It was all he needed them to have right now. It also pained him that these guys had stolen their maiden hearts for their benefit. The first love would always be the most vulnerable one.

The boyfriend’s grip was still strong enough to make stubborn Emilia hesitate. He hated to use it like this, but he had to use Ana’s advice to soften those shackles.

“I will be just like old times, you taking care of this poor orphan?” Adrin chuckled as her face turned red from their memories together in the old shack.

Nerina pouted for some reason but she didn’t say anything but hold on to his arm. She seemed didn’t even realize that his hand was buried in her chest for quite some time.

“You know what, for our sake, I’ll do it,” Adrin said as he had previously discussed with Ana.

The excited smiles on the girls' faces made him feel bad maneuvering them like this, but he had to be sure with his own eyes. He had to know where the church stood in this latest [Lightbringer] business. He also wanted the girls to be safe first, both in their hearts and their body and of course, happy for the rest of their days.

He guessed that his fatherly obsession was still as strong.

Adrin had the same urge whenever he met lost youngsters in his old world. He tended to give hard advice to boys who lost their ways and offered protection to lost girls.

Maybe it was a coping mechanism after being unable to have or love his own. If things turned unpreferable, he would just bullshit his way out of it.

“Now, how about a picnic to catch up?” he suggested. Adrin smiled not knowing the storm was about to hit him.