"Come in," Micah called out. Henry entered his study.

"Have you something unusual to report for me?" Micah asked. He set his pen down and leaned back in his chair.

Henry typically came by weekly to provide a report on Luca. However, today wasn't the customarily arranged day. Not that today had started out like a typical day either.

Micah had hired Henry to protect his brother, but also so he had a line of sight into how Luca was doing. It was his only way of knowing what his brother was up to and ensuring he was well during the three months that Luca ignored and avoided him.

"Yes, there were a few unusual events." Henry nodded and recounted what he had seen Luca do today while Micah quietly listened until the report was complete.

"He managed to turn five phoenix eyes into 368… If Father knew of this ahead, he would have gladly handed over more," Micah mused.

"He spent thirty of them on a dubious egg," Henry reminded Micah.

Micah waved him off. "Luca knows what he's doing."

Henry pursed his lips and stared at his feet.

"What is it?" Micah demanded.

He knew that expression. There was something else that Henry had not reported.

"He… was talking to himself. In the carriage," Henry said while still looking down. "He told me to cover my ears, hum to myself, and look away, but I could tell. He was talking to himself."

Micah straightened in his seat with new alertness. The hairs on his arms stood up.

"He talked to himself? Are you sure there wasn't a communication mana stone?" Micah suggested.

Henry shook his head. "I'm certain. He was looking forward and speaking to the air."

Micah rubbed his mouth. A frown covered his face. His previous amusement at Luca's accomplishments was erased.

Did something happen? He seemed fine this morning, and I haven't heard any reports of him talking to himself before.

BAM BAM BAM!

Loud running feet and bangs sounded outside the study, breaking Micah out of his train of thought.

"What in the world is going on outside?" Micah asked. "The noise has been getting worse by the minute."

"I'll check," Henry bowed and went out.

He returned momentarily.

"Luca has ordered the guards to prevent every cat from entering the grounds. He said a cat would kill him. A white and violet cat being the most dangerous."

"A cat..?" Micah blinked in surprise. His eyebrows furrowed together.

"Young master Micah, I'm afraid your brother has lost his–" Henry began speaking, but Micah cut him off.

"Henry, I order you to guard Luca immediately against any cats. Don't allow a single one to come into his room."

"Eh? Wh-what?" Henry had a stupefied expression.

"Don't make me repeat myself. Go and protect him," Micah pointed at the door.

Henry bowed and hurried out.

A cat. No. It likely wasn't an ordinary cat.

Micah tapped his wooden desk in thought.

If this so-called cat could kill Luca, just preventing any from getting inside the manor isn't enough. What if Luca needs to go outside again? What then?

Micah pulled out his looking-glass, a golden circular communication device powered by red and blue mana stones.

He clicked it open. On one side was a mirror; the other showed a view into its twin looking glass.

"Yes, master?" A raspy voice sounded on the other end. A disfigured man wearing a gray hood appeared on the circular screen.

"Order everyone not working on urgent matters to find and take care of every cat in the capital. One silver for every cat. Ten phoenix eyes for the one that takes out a white and violet cat."

"…" The man on the other end was silent for a moment. "By taking care of, do you mean—"

Micah made a motion across his neck. "I want the city clean of any cats in the next three days."

"Master, pardon me if I were wrong, but weren't you rather fond of cats..?"

"I am." Micah tightened his grip on the looking glass. "But there's someone I am more fond of that is currently in danger."

"Very well, master. I'll give the order right away."

The man bowed, and the image turned gray.

Micah glanced at the opposite mirror of the device, one that reflected his bright blonde hair and emerald green eyes. He shut the pocket looking-glass and leaned back in his chair.

It’s probably not enough. There’s too many cats in the capital. Should I enlist Evelyn to help with this cat issue as well?

Micah clicked open the looking-glass again and summoned it to connect to his favorite Adovorian princess.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The commotion within the manor was getting worse by the minute.

I walked into the kitchen to see a guard in there already, crouching on all fours and inspecting beneath the cabinets.

Apart from the guard, only Fiona, the head cook, was in the kitchen. The rest of the staff were out.

"Young master Luca! I have inspected this kitchen fully, and there are no cats." The guard jumped up and loudly announced upon my entrance.

"I told you there weren't any! There are no mice either!" Fiona hit the guard with a rolling pin. "Now, get out of my kitchen."

She pushed him out the door and slammed it behind him.

"Luca, just what kind of prank are you playing this time?" She scolded me and walked over. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted from her. She undid and put her graying hair up back into a neat bun.

I suddenly wished it really was all just a prank. Everyone was behaving like they lost their minds, trying to find and toss out these cats.

"It's a long story, but it's not a prank." I shook my head.

I set the glass container with the egg on a kitchen counter and removed Henry's handkerchief to reveal the gold-speckled egg.

"What is this?" Fiona leaned over the enclosed egg and put on her flour-covered glasses.

"A phoenix egg." I removed the crystal box cover to allow her to examine it closer.

Fiona gave me a side eye with a little smile. "I hope you didn't pay 200 gold Deux coins to a merchant for it."

"No. I didn't," I replied. "I paid thirty phoenix eyes for it."

Fiona turned her head and stared at me wide-eyed without saying anything. Her brown eyes seemed to be waiting for me to call out, 'Gotcha!'

But this wasn't a prank either.

"Do you know how to prepare a phoenix egg?" I asked the more important question.

"Of course. I used to prepare phoenix eggs for breakfast all this time," Fiona sarcastically replied.

She then slapped her hand on the counter. "Who in the world knows? Phoenix eggs are a myth! Did you really spend thirty phoenix eyes on this?? Luca, dear, you joke, right?"

I sighed.

It was a long shot. Fiona was right; as far as most people were concerned, phoenix eggs were nothing but a common Adovorian scam. But I had already gone this far. So why not see it through?

"Can you try and prepare it? Maybe preparing it like any regular egg would be fine." I suggested.

If it was a failure, I could always repeat and try again.

I had initially expected to restart at least seven times to win at gambling. I got lucky and was ahead of schedule—not that time really mattered since every death restarted my life from the same morning. Thus I didn't mind if a few eggs were broken while I figured out how to make a cure for Jasper.

My eyes glanced over the many cookbooks in Fiona's kitchen, stacked against one of the walls. Their spines each a different shade and splattered in food, oil and flour.

There has to be a recipe that exists for phoenix eggs. Perhaps I just need to find it if cooking it like a regular egg doesn't work.

"Look, Luca, if you just wanted me to make you an omelet, you could have just asked. No need for these shenanigans." Fiona tapped the silk red cushion and crystal box.

"So, you'll make it?"

"An egg is an egg. Sure I can make it. Do you want it boiled? Poached? In an omelet as I suggested, albeit it'd be a small omelet if it's only one egg."

I shook my head. "Any way is fine. Prepare it and bring it to Jasper to eat."

"Ah." Fiona's joking expression went away. She knew Jasper was ill. She probably finally realized I was being serious. "Oh my poor boy, is that what this is about? I'm sure he'll be up and fine soon enough. But tell you what, I'll make him a lovely boiled egg."

[ Charisma +1 ]

[ Charisma : 10 ]

I really ought to ask the System how these stat increases worked. It was my second one within this round for Charisma.

"Yes, boiled is fine. How long will it take?" I asked and sat down. I was curious to see what a prepared phoenix egg looked like, presuming it wasn't just an ordinary chicken egg.

Fiona crossed her arms. "Longer than you seem to think. I'll use a heat-mana stone, but boiling an egg still takes quite a bit of time."

"Fine, let me know when it's ready then," I stood up. "I'll be in my room."

I remembered I had asked Remlend to set up a bath for me. Also, the bathroom was one of the few rooms I felt confident I could talk to the System without anyone listening in.

* * *

I slid into the hot bath. It felt nice not having any sore arms from sword practice. Or having to scrub off dried remains of two exploded goons.

"Hey System, I noticed my stat points rising rather quickly. However, I don't think I did anything special compared to my original life. What is up with that?"

[ Hello Luca, as this is a game, it's intended to be fun. Especially for a newbie like yourself. Thus raising your stats in your earlier levels will be easier and quicker. It is considered a best practice for any game to encourage Players to continue playing. However, improving yourself will get harder as your stats reach a certain point, so don't assume it will always be this easy. ]

I rubbed my temples.

Was this considered easy? I have yet to get through two days without myself or Micah dying.

"Was it like this for other Players that played this so-called game?"

[ Indeed. However, other Players had experience playing many similar games, and thus the progression was faster. ]

"But they all still failed. Didn't they?"

[ Unfortunately, that is correct. However, I have faith in you being able to prevail. You can do it. ]

"Even though you keep making fun of my Intelligence?"

[ Everyone has their flaws. And I have high expectations that you will overcome your unfortunate flaw. ]

I splashed my bath water at the blue screen. It was symbolic more than anything. As expected, the water went through without impacting it.

"System, who or rather what are you exactly? Where did you come from? Why does this game exist?"

[ … ]

[ That's a rather complicated question. I could answer it, but I don't see how it would benefit you. Nor would you be able to fully understand or comprehend the answer at this time. ]

"There is a benefit. I want to understand you better. You seem to know everything about me, so it's only fair. And I won't ever understand if you don't tell me anything."

[ Perhaps I'll answer you properly when you get through the game more, but for now, I will say that I have lived through this game thousands of times. Different timelines and different Players. And in 52,789 of the playthroughs, Adovoria had fallen. ]

“Damn it. That many attempts? What would make my attempt any different?”

[ I believe that you can bring about a different ending, as you care for Adovoria as it is your home. ]

"Why do you care what happens to Adovoria?"

I still couldn’t understand what this System’s deal was. Why did it want to save this kingdom? How would it benefit it?

[ I would like to see a future where Adovoria prospers. Don't you wish to see such a future yourself? ]

“Of course, I do."

[ Wonderful. Then we understand each other. ]

BANG!

The door slammed open beyond the bathroom, putting a sudden pause on my conversation.

"You can't enter! The young master is bathing," Henry cried out.

"Let go of me, you rascal! This is important," Fiona yelled back. Then, I heard two sets of feet scuffling in my bedroom.

"Henry! Let her through!" I called out.

BANG!

The doors to the bathroom slammed open.

"LUCA! Just what kind of egg did you bring??" Fiona's gray hair was completely disheveled from her originally neat bun. Her face was bright red from running here.

"A phoenix egg. I told you." I blinked in confusion about what may have occurred in the kitchen since I had left.

"Well, put something on! Quickly!" She ran back into my bedroom and threw a pair of pants and a shirt from my closet towards me. "The egg—It's… IT'S GLOWING!"