VIII

Movements

『S-Day +19』

『High Servant's Quarters』

「Quest Complete:【Magic Bag】 | Information: The Magic Bag is a lost technology. Rediscover it.| Rewards: 10 Random Magic Stones (Synthesis Required)」

Error: Synthesis Locked. 10 Random Magic Stones will remain in queue.

「Mana Stone」

「Distortion Stone」

「Distortion Stone」

「Distortion Stone」

「Mana Stone」

「Charge Stone」

「Distortion Stone」

「Anchor Stone」

「Mana Stone」

Thirteen hours. Veronica and I spent thirteen hours working on this. Towards the last couple of hours Alicia came and helped as well. I do not think that the pattern mattered too much, but what was important was the enchantments. Each stone received its own enchantment which complimented the contacted stones.

The 「Distortion Stone」created the distortion field. The 「Anchor Stone」 concentrated that field. The 「Charge Stone」 electrified the field. The 「Mana Stone」 powered the stones and enchantment functions.

A leather bag was cut apart to secure the 「Magic Stone Array」 into an intact leather bag. I used a small sewing kit I carried in my medkit to do this, but because direct contact with the field was needed a small flap was left as an opening. This would help hide the magic stones and distortion field from view and minimize the prying eyes of outsiders. The inner facing leather was also enchanted to work with the array. I had went through eight bags attempting this. While cloth was an easier material to work with I wanted the stones to be secured in a more durable material.

We could not test the full capacity of the bag, but we had gotten it to work. We tested coins and pencils. It was such an odd thing to see, as I dropped a coin into the bag it disappeared. When I reached in an image appeared in my mind. Tiles that had the same appearance as the markings on the 「Distortion Stone」flowed into my vision. Most of the tiles were empty, but one tile had the coin I dropped in.

This was tested with more coins, different coins and pencils. There was no stacking effect, each tile was filled with a singular item. However, when I bundled some coins in a pouch it appeared to take up a single tile. The same was done with the pencils and a rubber band. To remove an item all I had to do was select a tile with my mind.

I believe the 「Charge Stone」 was what allowed this to happen. I believe the electrical field reacted with the bioelectric magnetic radiation emitted by living beings, but it was mere conjecture. Whatever, it works. When I confirmed that this was indeed a magic bag the girls flipped their shit and wanted me to make more.

A new quest came up as well.

「Quest:【Craft 10 Magic Bag】 | Information: Managing one's inventory is a beneficial chore.| Rewards: 50 Celerity Stones, 50 Amplifier Stones (Synthesis Required)」

As much as I had wanted to make more bags, I only had two each of 「Anchor Stones」and 「Charge Stones」. I would need to visit the magic stone dealer. And those rewards, just from the names alone I could tell would prove immensely useful.

This morning I had Saya visit the princess to let her know that I was exhausted from last night and would not be able to do any training. I made rolled eggs for her. The rest of the morning was spent making two more bags. One for Alicia and one for Veronica.

Once that was out of the way I finally made time for the Grimoire. I had managed to unlock the shop that could have my ticket home. Eight skill points was all I had left after that, but there were still many things I could copy.

As I looked at the page of the Grimoire Shop I could see many, many items. Hundreds, thousands, millions upon billions upon trillions of items. Everything was categorized, and every category had a category. Everything was detailed. Everything required skill points to unlock, alternatively the copy mechanism was another way to unlock an item.

Every unlocked item required stored mana to be purchased. Purchasing an item required 「Synthesis」to be unlocked. Because I have neither of those unlocked I simply browsed the shop.

First things first.

“Teleportation methods.”

I spoke the words to activate a search function. Tapping and writing it on the page would have also worked. After saying those words the pages of the Grimoire turned and turned. There were so many ways to create portals. I searched again.

“Portal to Earth.”

The pages flipped. There it was. A portal device that can transport someone to Earth.

“Naoki, mana is required to purchase stuff, right?”

Veronica, sitting next to me, kept her eyes glued to my Grimoire as she asked. We both saw it. The price. The price of a way to bring us home.

“Right.”

“H-how many zeroes is that?”

I started counting the commas, because the Grimoire had deemed periods to separate zeroes as silly. One, two, twelve, twenty…

“Thirty-three commas, so that would be ninety-nine plus one zeroes. A googol. We need one-googol of mana to buy this…”

“And… how much mana do you have?”

「Stored Mana: 494」

This is impossible.

“It took a week to save up this much. I… I only have two and a half months left.”

I'm going to die here.

“I can't do it.”

I'm trapped here.

“I'm fucked.”

I don't want this.

“My death was perfect. It was all planned out. It was simple. A painless suicide. I was going to die on my terms. Mine! But now. But now I'm going to die here in this shit hole. Then… then some asshole god is going to pluck my soul from my body and play around with it and reincarnate me as a fucking goblin or something!”

“Naoki, stop. Calm down!”

“I can't do it. It's too much. That… I can never get that much mana. I can't.”

“Naoki, enough.”

Veronica held me tightly. Tears soaked into her shirt as I embraced her.

“I can't do it. I just wanted to die on earth. I just wanted the pain to stop.”

“You have a million things running through your mind. You're trying to do too many things at once. You skip one project to the next then go back to something else. Just calm down. We can figure this out. You, me and Ali. We just need to slow down and think this through.”

“No, it won't matter. I'm dead in two months. Once I'm out of medication the cancer will spread and I’m dead. Not even the god's blessing will stop it.”

“Cancer? Oh god Naoki. I’m so sorry. But didn’t you copy some pills yesterday?”

She was right, I did. I let go of her and looked at my Grimoire.

“Unlocked. Medication.”

The pages turned. There it was, eight pills were listed as unlocked. Five were my suppressant pills, one was my high dose painkiller and two were from my medkit.

“That's it, right?”

“Yeah, those five pills can keep me alive.”

“Ninety mana for each pill. Four-hundred and fifty mana a day, that's doable. We can figure out a way to keep you supplied with mana.”

“Plus one-thousand and eighty for the twelve painkillers I need to get through each day.”

“Do you need that much?”

“… I need that much. Everyday, everyday it feels like I am being stabbed in the spine with a knife. And throughout the day it feels like that knife is twisted just enough to remind me it is there.”

The Grimoire informed me that copying something gives a ten percent discount towards the mana cost. But even with that, fifteen-hundred and thirty mana a day is still too much.

“I think today is a good day to rest, I’ll go stop by my room and get my laptop. We can watch some anime or movies. I have a few movies on my laptop.”

A rest day to clear my mind. Veronica offered something nice.

“Yeah, no need for that. I have my laptop with stuff as well.”

The both of us went into the bedroom. She sat on the bed as I dug out my laptop from my rucksack. This would be the first time I used it since coming to this world. I went around the bed and sat next to Veronica. My laptop booted and I went into my folder of videos.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Um, something calming, maybe fluffy? How much storage is that?”

“Twenty gigabyte high-density solid state drive. Not on the market yet”

“I want one.”

“Too bad, this is the only one in this world. Now, let's go watch something comfy.”

I opened up a folder and played the file.

♪ Sha la la la~ ♪

We spent the day relaxing and not caring about our worries. For today, fuck the world.

☘ ☘ ☘

『Emily and Zoe's Room』

“So, are you going to tell me what happened?”

“I fell.”

“You fell. Onto what, a sword and broke your shoulder?”

“It's nothing to worry about.”

“There are signs of a fight outside our room. Something happened.”

“I may have probably picked a fight with Alicia.”

“What the fuck Zoe?!”

“What? She started it. She thought she could ambush me so I went off alone to ambush her.”

“And lost.”

“She's a lot stronger than I thought. I didn't think she could make flying daggers come out of fucking nowhere.”

“This was my fault… I shouldn't have complained about having bodyguards. Now that we have no one patrolling the halls this happens.”

“It's not your fault Em. Come here. Thank you for healing me.”

“I'll always heal you.”

“And that's why I love you.”

“Pfft, right. You love Naoki.”

“No I don't. You're the one I love the most Em. I just really want to feel his dick inside me you know?”

“Ugh, way to ruin the mood.”

“Wait, come back. Lay down with me until I fall asleep.”

“… Okay fine. Just for you.”

“You thought about having sex with him too though.”

“Like… once or twice I guess.”

“Hehe, knew it.”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t tell anyone about this okay? I don't want all of us to start fighting each other.”

“A little late for that isn't it? Chad hates Naoki, Alicia hates you. We're going to end up fighting each other eventually.”

“I already made a deal with Chad. He's backing off of him. Especially after what happened back at school.”

“But you know how he is. He's too competitive. The dumbass might try something. He's not still using, is he?”

“Nah, he's chilled out since we came here. No more pressure from home and the healers took care of his withdrawal problem.”

“Okay, go to sleep now, my healing magic isn't that strong yet.”

“Okay. I love you Em.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『Merchant's District』

Three summoned were sitting in a carruca headed towards the Merchant's District. Each one was attended with their personal high servant to aid them around the district.

“So Vince, where did you get the money?”

“Ho ho, don't you worry about that Riley. Just be glad we have some spending money.”

“You didn't sell our shit did you?”

“Isaac, relax, we have gold so let's go shopping. Maybe buy something pretty for our servants. No need to worry so much. Definitely something pretty for you 'mon petit chou fleur'.”

“Ehehe, master…”

“Fine whatever.”

They made their way through the district exploring and sampling the local offerings.

“Holy shit, this food is so much better than in the palace!”

The three continued on purchasing various items and trinkets and food, lots of food. Near the end of their outing they happened upon an interesting shop.

“Magic tools? Like that oven and fridge in our room?”

“Yeah, let's check it out.”

The three were greeted by the shopkeeper and began browsing. Various tools were available, all designed for the use by patricians. Vincent, as a 「Runomancer」, became curious as to how each item worked. He picked up a magic tool and began inspecting it. It was well crafted and designed ornately.

“Careful young man, that tool there-”

*woosh*

Having accidentally activating the enchantments a fire spread. Panic nearly ensued as the fire grew and grew, but luckily Isaac, as a 「Glaciomancer」, was able to learn 「Aquamancy」 spells with ease and began spraying water to extinguish the fires.

The damage was minor, but the structural integrity of the building was compromised. Added to that were numerous magic tools which had also been damaged by both fire and water.

“Um, send a bill to the palace?”

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day +23』

『Private Chambers of Minervina』

“So is this basically cold reading?”

A few days passed. Veronica's advice about relaxing had really helped. With this I have been able to think more clearly. When I had thought about it, I feel Alicia had been avoiding me for awhile. Probably some ploy to have me be in a relationship with Veronica.

“I'm not sure the meaning of that, but one must understand the intent of another.”

“Yes, but how is magic affecting that?”

“Use mana to reinforce your senses to uncover the intent of the other person. What do I intend? Will I try to attack? Will I try to seduce you? Will I try to distract you as I reach into your purse and take that device that creates amazing portraits?”

Ugh, why is this difficult? I got other magic, like, crazy easy.

We tried to resume training of 「Auramancy」, but I could not get it. I understand what I should do, but getting the mana to do the thing was frustrating. Since this went nowhere the princess went to a different topic.

“I would like to ask something of you. The other summoned had gotten appraised and their divination revealed. Would you like to know what yours is?”

She took a bronze colored thing with a beige colored stone attached to it.

“That is?”

“This is an appraisal plate. Just by touching this area and feeding mana you will be able to gain information about yourself.”

“Neat, how is it made?”

“That… I don't know. I am borrowing this from the 「Mage's Guild」.”

“Can I have it?”

It would not hurt to ask.

“No, I must return this when I am done with it.”

“… Can you make a request so I can have one?”

*sigh* “I will see what I can do.”

Yay.

I did as she said and it showed my information. It listed fewer items than my Grimoire. All I could see was divination, more divination, oh and another divination. Blah blah, I was more interested in how it worked.

“Interesting, a 「Proficiomancer」is quite rare. I believe the Thaumus of the 「Mage's Guild」is one as well.”

“Thaumus?”

“The highest rank one can attain within the guild. Which begs the question of why you cannot learn 「Sentiomancy」.”

“Um, cruel twist of fate, I suppose.”

The rest of the time was spent talking. Mostly her attempts at recruiting me for whatever or something. Afterward I left for my next thing.

☘ ☘ ☘

The princess looked at the appraisal plate which still had Naoki's information. It was cluttered with various divinations.

“So many different types, as expected of a summoned with proficiomancy.”

She began writing down each item on a piece of parchment. As she turned the plate over she noticed three items: ranks, titles and conditions.

Ranks: Mage Rank: Level 3 – Augur | Adventurer Rank: Level 2 – Explorer | Alchemist Rank: Level 1 – Researcher | Apothecary Rank: Level 1 – Potionist

Titles: Summoned | Champion of Angerona | Samurai | Unpoisoned

Conditions: Blessing of Angerona | Oss Curse | Toxicity Resistance

“Amazing, he has gained the favor of the goddess Angerona, but as I suspected, he has the oss curse. If father finds out he might call for the summoned to be executed.”

She turned to her servant.

“Salina, this is to be a guarded secret.”

“Yes, Princess.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『Merchant's District』

Saya had arranged for another carra… a carru… a carriage the day before to travel to the merchant's district. I needed more magic stones and other miscellaneous items. On the ride here she looked at me with hopeful eyes for the headphones. Nope, punishment is punishment. It was the first time I saw her pout.

Fuck, so cute.

I was using a spreadsheet software on my laptop to try to map out potential configurations for the magic stones. Tests were needed to be done to confirm if I was right or wrong about magic stone placements being important. As far as I could tell, a single 「Distortion Stone」yielded ten tiles making my current configuration forty tiles of inventory space. There was also a need to test if weight was a factor.

We made it.

As we entered the store I was greeted by the odd speaking magic stone dealer.

“Greetings, greetings dear customer and welcome back. How may I be of service?”

“Mm, I’d like to purchase more magic stones.”

“Splendid, splendid. Which of my fine magic stones are you interested in?”

I gave him a run down of which stones I wanted and a fake reason of how I would use them. Other stones were added as well to obfuscate my real intentions. The last time I was here I had paid about two-thousand gold. Most of the cost went to the eight-hundred 「Mana Stones」 that cost me about twelve-hundred gold. I asked him why 「Distortion Stones」 were so cheap.

“Certain magic stones can be produced from slime creatures. No one knows why, but 「Distortion Stones」seem to be the most common occurrence.”

Multiple types of magic stones can be found from slimes, which, I guess I should not be surprised exist here. From his words, no one knows how slimes evolved or came to existence. They just did. Research had been done by numerous guilds to find ways to promote growing of specific magic stones with little success.

「Distortion Stones」stones that slimes create are so numerous that it costs only a few aeses to purchase. Water and fire types were also commonly found. 「Mana Stones」can be mined from mana nodes, taken from ossians that carried the stone as the were transported and harvest from ossians.

At birth mana begins to crystallize in an area of the brain that processes magic spells. Goblins which are short lived tend to have 「Mana Stones」the size of a grain of rice. Others can be the size of a golf ball. Mined magic stones have a size conformity of about two cubic centimeters. There does not seem to be any confirmation on whether a human forms 「Mana Stones」. If there are the information is probably being suppressed to prevent human harvesting.

Seven-thousand gold was spent purchasing magic stones. Small chests were purchased to contain it and each chest held its own type of magic stone. I purchased additional larger empty chests to hold the smaller chests and to experiment with. A few hours was spent on this and we left to visit the 「Alchemist's Guild」.

☘ ☘ ☘

*sniff* “What an amazing smell this is...”

As we entered the building of the 「Alchemist's Guild」 an overwhelming scent attacked our noses. While the potion shop was scented with herbs and spices this place was scented with aromatic herbs attempting to coverup the smell of sulfur and stale urine.

There were, very obviously, few people within the building which consisted of workers and the roman equivalent of a mad scientist. A few minutes wait and we were called up to the counter by the receptionist. The old man looked at me with a raised eyebrow. My clothing was always causing that.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“I'm interested in what is available for purchase.”

“To purchase items from the guild you must be a member of the 「Alchemist's Guild」 or have an alchemy rank. This appraisal plate is attuned to list alchemy ranks.”

“Is that the same as the 「Mage's Guild」?” I pointed at the appraisal plate that looked identical to the one the princess used.

“Same plate, different enchantment.”

I pressed my thumb on the plate and fed it mana.

“Level 1: Researcher, is it? Okay then, what are you interested in buying?”

Did the other plate show this? I didn't see it.

I listed off some items and described it as well. After some time he finally figured out what I was looking for. There were also some items that interested me.

Aqua Fortis – Nitric acid.

Aqua Muriatis – Hydrochloric acid.

Aqua Regia – Mixture of Nitric and Hydrochloric acid.

Aqua Vitae – Ethanol.

Aqua Vitrious – Sulfuric acid.

Aqua Limus – Liquid from slime creatures.

Sulpur – Sulfur.

Plumbago – Graphite.

Each item was placed in a glass container and put into a padded chest. The materials were sold in units of measure called 'sextarius' which looked to be around half a litre. Unsurprisingly, I ended up paying a little less than one-thousand gold. It was expensive.

After eating lunch we visited other places. A tailor for raw cotton. The 「Mage's Guild」to purchase orichalcum, which turns out was just as rare as mithril so I could not purchase any. The orichalcum are reserved for various types of appraisal plates and magic tools. Our next stop was the 「Merchant's Guild」.

I wanted to see how much I could sell my soap for and if it would be worth devoting time with. The first test batch was four blocks of soap measuring roughly five by five centimeters and two centimeters thick. It was brittle and crumbled with ease so I simply gave it to Saya to use for laundering.

The second batch was ten blocks of the same dimensions. It was just how I had made it when I was younger. When breaking it in half it made a snapping sound the same way a cold bar of chocolate would. I miss chocolate.

“Saya, are all the guild buildings here so grandiose?”

“Yes master, all guild buildings within the capital are each of their respective headquarters.”

We entered the fancy pants building and waited for an open teller or receptionist. It was slow even with so few people in line. Finally we were next. After exchanging pleasantries we got down to what I came here for.

“I'm interested in selling this.” I placed a bar of orange soap on the counter.

“If you wish to sell items to the guild you will need to be a registered member, if you are not registered you can always sell it from your own stall. If you wish to register the registration fee is… what is this? Such an odd color.”

“Soap, simply soap. What is the going rate for such an item?”

“This scent as well, it is quite interesting. It's not the same as those from those filthy alchemists. Where did you…”

“So how much would this sell for?”

“Well, I suppose I can make an exception and purchase it for eight silver denarii. Of course you will still need to be regis…”

“Two gold… aureus. You can sell it for a higher price easily, yes? Such a fine quality item. Perhaps even as much as five gold. Imagine the profits you or even the guild could make if I supply more of this.”

A standard alchemist soap sells for a few bronze sesterce. The quality is as crude as my first batch of soap. Servants use it for laundering, but this new soap was a luxury item and I will sell it as such. Though if I had sodium hydroxide I could make it a better quality.

“I see, you make some sense young man. Yes, I’ll agree to your terms, however, you will need to be registered and a fee…”

“There's no need for my registration. In fact it would be problematic if someone were to discover the source of this, yes? So, how about you become my personal dealer. I was interested in selling ten of these bars, but I suppose I had ended up… misplacing one.”

I slid a bar of soap towards the man. The man pocketed the soap and counted the remaining.

“Two gold aureus for each bar of soap, nine soap comes out to eighteen gold aureus. Thank you for your patronage young sir.”

Eighteen gold for a few hours of work and also a lot more hours of someone else's work. Even though I had spent eight thousand gold today, I can probably just increase production to make up the deficit. Whatever, I have an easy source of income. Now, last stop is the magic tool shop.

Or not. As we arrived at the shop it was closed. After asking around it turns out some idiot decided to try playing around with a magic tool and set fire to the interior. With this a bust we decided to return home.

“We bought too much stuff again. You'll need to sit on my lap like last time.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day+24』

『Private Chamber of Minervina』

“I'd like to visit your library. Every royal palace has one right?”

“Of course, I can make the arrangements. Though we will need to alter your training time and I would need to accompany you to the Royal Library. Would after the training of the other summoned agree with you? It would make it in the late afternoon, nearing the evening.”

“That's fine… are you okay?”

“Hmm? Yes, there was a slight problem that one of the summoned had caused, but it was dealt with… through my own purse. Everything is fine.”

“Well, okay. I’ll be taking my leave.”

Thanks to Veronica and maybe also to the Grimoire, I was able to learn the written language easily. The library could hold the answers I need to find a way home, but most likely not. I would expect them to sanitize their collections to prevent that knowledge from leaking out. If I am unable to find my answers then I can learn more about the locals to find a ways to exploit them and make money.

☘ ☘ ☘

『High Servant's Quarters』

“Hey Veronica, you here?”

“Of course I’m here, where else would I be?”

“Yeah so, I want to take apart the fridge. Wanna help?”

“Sure~. Here, mana potion.”

“Thanks.”

I drank the potion and grabbed our gear before heading to the kitchen. With my multi-tool out I was about to begin disassembling the refrigerator.

“Wait wait, hold on. What the hell am I thinking? The one next door is empty.”

As we moved next door we were hit by a strong smell.

“Oh my god what the hell is that smell?!” Veronica struggled not to gag at the smell that filled the apartment.

“Oh right, this was my project for you and Alicia.”

“What the shit were you going to do to us?”

“What? Nothing… what? I was practicing making fake soy sauce. Kinda forgot about it.”

After blowing air to clear the room of the strong smell I looked over the fermenting mash of chickpeas, wheat and yeast. It was probably still okay. The barrel was moved over and filled with water. Salt was mixed in to make a brine. The mash was then stirred in to the brine and the barrel covered with a cloth. I wrote a note for the servant kid to mix it once a day for a couple of weeks then once a week afterward.

“Okay so, let's get started…”

After dismantling the refrigerator we saw the pattern of the magic stone array. Unlike the float chest, the 'ice box' used a pattern of surrounding a 「Frost Stone」 with 「Mana Stones」. But just like the float chest, the 'ice box' was covered with magic stones. With the examination done Veronica and I returned to the apartment to resume research.

I think there may be a potential issue with my magic bag.

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day +25』

『High Servant's Quarters – Evening』

「Quest Complete:【Learn Auramancy】 | Information: Grimoires can be damaged or destroyed. Learn Auramancy (Native: Sentiomancy) to add self-preservation mode. | Rewards: Auramancy Spells: 《Lie Detection Level:1》,《Vigilance Level:1》,《View Intent Level:1》」

「Magecraft: Auramancy | Category: Alteration | Information: Aura Mage – Allows User to discern intent of a target. Current Spells Unlocked: 3」

「Magecraft: Sentiomancy | Category: Alteration | Information: Sentinel Mage – Allows User to discern intent of a target. Current Spells Unlocked: 3」

「Quest Complete:【Craft 10 Magic Bag】 | Information: Managing one's inventory is a beneficial chore.| Rewards: 50 Celerity Stones, 50 Amplifier Stones (Synthesis Required)」

「Quest Complete:【Unlocked】 | Information: Unlock remaining Grimoire Menus. | Rewards: 5000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points.」

「Quest: 【Visit The Library】 | Information: A vast collection of knowledge at one's disposal. | Rewards: 500 stored Mana, 10 Skill Points.」

Prompt:

Items in queue:

10 Orichalcum Plates, 10 Random Magic Stones, 50 Celerity Stones, 50 Amplifier Stones.

Begin Synthesis? YES | NO

Synthesis in progress…

Such a productive day. Alicia kept disappearing so Veronica and I continued our copying spree. Magic stones were copied, a magic bag was copied, a chair and a table. It was weird seeing large objects just melt into a weird liquid and drank up by a book. A chest was copied as well as each component that makes up a chest. Different variations and shapes of origami was copied as well.

I was running low on paper because of that so that was put to a stop. We copied everything we could until I was able to get enough skill points to unlock the remaining Grimoire menus. Once that was done I left synthesis to run. It would take all night to receive all items as each item takes five minutes to synthesize. We made sure the servants did not see this happening. When we were done I left my Grimoire in the office and locked the door.

Some, crazy, how I was able to learn 「Auramancy」. The 《Lie Detection》 spell was surprisingly disappointing as its success was based on RNG. Like, I would need to roll a twenty to discern bullshit.

I also received a new quest to visit the library. I suppose it is something. Aside from that quest I only had the grand quest and to learn 「Animancy」. No other quests appeared and I was left with three blank slots.

“It's still such bs that you get five points for every copy while Ali and I only get three.”

“Proficiomancer.”

“So lame. I’m not teaching you 「Celeromancy」.”

“Aww, it's not my fault.”

Tests with the magic bag showed that weight did not matter… to a point. If an excess amount of items were placed within the bag the 「Mana Stone」 would be drained faster. If the tiles were at capacity, any attempts at placing new items would be ignored and the item would be placed in the bag normally. The stone was always at a constant drain to allow the distortion field to remain active.

Once drained, the magic bag will become inaccessible while keeping whatever items still in place. I would need to feed my own mana directly to restart it. I would need to figure out a work around, perhaps some kind of trigger mechanism.

The 「Encyclopedia」 was pretty much useless for information I needed. It only had information of things I had copied. Fucking useless. How is this worth one-thousands skill points?

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day +27』

『Royal Library』

Easiest. Quest. Ever.

Not as if I had my Grimoire out for the princess to see. But I could already tell the quest was done the moment I walked through the doors.

As I walked in I gazed around the large room. The library was not as grand as I thought it would be. Busts, statues and paintings filled the room as well as elaborately decorated desks and chairs. Bookshelves lined the walls of the room, but this… it is not as large as I thought. Even a school library held more books.

Much of the books were mostly tax codes, laws, histories of important persons and families. A handful of fanciful storybooks and encyclopedias were kept on specific shelves. The princess droned on about various stories she had read and which ones she loved.

I started by searching for anything on summoning and teleportation.

☘ ☘ ☘

『Location Unknown』

“Oh good, you're here. I have a message for you to deliver.”

A woman spoke to the man standing before her.

“Sure thing, what would you like to send?” was his reply.

“Visit Angerona's little trio and let them know that I will be visiting them. Soon. They have done something… naughty.”

“Angerona? Is her little villa on the island still above Serica? It is quite the distance to travel, even with my speed, so proper compensation is needed.”

“Compensation, that's right, you are still obsessed with Terra are you not? Then I would like for you to meet with someone else.”

An image displayed showing a dark haired male youth.

“That is?” asked the man.

“Someone summoned by the Epistylians from Terra.”

“An Earthling?! Where?”

“Do you remember the Rasenna region?”

“Where Vulcan's brats caused havoc? I believe I heard something about it. Never been fond of that part of the world.”

“I'm surprised, twelve hundred years ago or so the Gigantoss born of Vulcan's children were killed by the summoned terrans. I thought you would have known of it. This one was recently summoned.”

The man was confused, how did this woman know of this child and from so far away?

“What would you like me to do with him?”

“I would like to know what is happening there and why there is a shield protecting the area around him. But as he is from Terra, feel free to converse with him, perhaps even guide him. That is your compensation for the message. Ah, but do not reveal who I am to him just yet.”

The man was excited. So long has he been away from Earth that being able to learn what has happened in the past thousand year brought joy to him. He wondered if his name was remembered. He wondered if he was still worshiped. So many things can be learned from this person.

“Your will be done.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『Aventine – Lower Noble District』

“♪ I called you once, called you twice, called you ten times no answer… My heavy chest. I watched you eat, watched you sleep, watched you breathe… You are precious. ♪ Okay, all done here. Let's go.”

Alicia had spent the past week photographing and mapping the various districts within the capital walls. Places to hide, places to meet, locations of interest. In between her self-training of combat and magic from mimicking the soldiers at the training grounds and language strengthening from listening to shoppers in the markets, she watched the habits of the natives.

Servants moved independently or followed their masters. Slaves cleaned the streets and were ignored. Guards patrolled at predictable locations and timing. She watched as children left to visit educational instructors at mock classrooms. Girls her age idled at get-togethers or markets buying various make-ups or the latest fashion. Alicia noted that any fashion change is minute.

She had quickly gained entrance to the social circles of these girls in an attempt to determine if they were usable. Attempts were made to discover what each family was capable of in terms of businesses and business capabilities. Alicia also determined whether or not each girl was suitable for Naoki to take as a lover. Having connections with various families could give potential power increases by having allies.

Night fell and Alicia returned home to be with her beloved.

“♪ Who's the girl? She's a bore. Are you just with her for pleasure? … I'll slit her throat. And I would die just to ride in the bed that you are sleeping. She's all of half taken. ~ ♪”

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day +28』

『Royal Library』

Disappointment. There was nothing in the library regarding summoning, portals, rifts or teleportation.

I am about ready to start thinking of looking for production and manufacturing sites. I still have enough gold to use as startup capital. Veronica's suggestion of starting a restaurant business was not a bad idea. If I remember right, there were many Romans that made a fortune in the ancient food industry. There is also the soap I can mass produce. I still need a kiln to refine pearl ash.

The magic chest prototype I am working on is still a work in progress. There is an issue with tools and materials to craft the outer shell to hold the magic stones. I could probably finish it in a week or two, but I would need to visit a redsmith or a blacksmith to figure out how to put it together.

Whatever. I sat here browsing various curious volumes of forgotten lore bored out of my mind. Hoping, dreamily, for a black feathered bird of carrion to rap upon the librarium door. The princess was always with me observing or being engrossed in some fairy tale. I got up and started randomly browsing for anything of interest. There was an encyclopedia of magic stones which gave explanations and potential uses for each stone. I found it interesting and started taking notes.

“You don't happen to produce paper do you?” I asked the princess while continuing to write.

“Do you mean papyrus? Parchment is much sturdier to use.”

*rip* I handed her a sheet of paper from my notebook.

“Something like this.”

She studied the torn sheet of paper.

“… No.”

Interesting, I could probably produce that too.

I was curious about another thing and decided to change topics.

“Is it possible to fly?”

“Fly? There are Eagle Riders amongst the First Auxilia. They often train in any of the six inner cities.”

“Interesting, is that the reason for using it as the royal coat of arms?”

“That is right, the eagle is a symbol of strength and bravery.”

“Okay, what about flying magic, is that a thing?”

“Well, yes I suppose, but there are problems with such magic. It consumes mana quickly and many who have practiced such magic have fallen to their death. It is rare to find anyone attempting it.”

“I guarantee you one of my classmates will try it.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『Patrician's District』

In a room, two men sat across from one another. One dressed blandly, the other dressed in finery denoting his higher stature.

“So,” began the finely dressed man. “Have you discovered anything about her?”

“I have. She takes residence on the palatial grounds within an insula for high servants. Others reside with her, a boy and a girl with odd clothing. Three other girls frequently enter and exit the insula. The target as well as the boy make daily trips to the palace. The target occasionally does so alone. I have already noted the patrols of the guards. The best time to take her would be at night.”

“I want no mistakes. Everything must be done carefully. Have you learned anything about the ones with odd clothing?”

“Not yet, it is too dangerous to get too close.”

“Take precautions.”

“There will be no problem. 「Silent Stone」 will mask any sound I make and 「Distortion Stone」 will hide my identity if discovered.”

“Good.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『City of Vaticano – Northeast of Aventine』

“And? What happened to… what was his name? Dentatus? The combat instructor of the Praetorian Guard.”

“Dentus Bassus Caepio. He is currently under house arrest. Supposedly assaulted a summoned hero or some nonsense.”

“Sounds more like he was found out. A summoned hero doesn't exist.”

“There are rumors that a summoning ritual was performed and the second prince was killed. It seems the emperor is suppressing information leaks, but the information seems credible.”

“The prince is dead? Interesting, that leaves the princess as the sole heir to the crown. We could use this. Who will be replacing Dentatus?”

“None as of yet, it seems priority is being shifted into training the summoned. I recommend sending one of our own to replace Dentus.”

“Do it and figure out what happened to Dentatus. Also, I want to know if his men are usable to us.”

“Of course, I will get right on it.”

“It might be a good time to call on the other houses. We will return the heir of the House of Remius to their rightful place.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day +28』

『Royal Library – Late Evening』

The magic stone book was a bust. Mostly just theories and conjectures written by a crazy person. I still copied the notes just in case it proved useful, but it got really weird towards the end where he described, in detail, procedures to install magic stone into a mage's body to add new types of magic capabilities. The writer also conjectured that installing magic stones into a deceased body could be a possible method to create undead soldiers without the use of 「Necromancy」. It was weird.

I took out my phone and saw it was getting late, nearly 9pm. After bidding the princess goodnight, Saya and I went home.

☘ ☘ ☘

『High Servant's Quarters – Late Evening』

As I made my way to the bathroom I was met by Alicia who had finished her bath. Her hair was down and soaking wet. Water dripped down her cheeks, down her ears, down her clavicle. She caught my stare and undid her towel flashing her body for me with a devilish smile. After some friendly skinship and light kissing I went to get ready for bed.

A lamp illuminated the bedroom. It was a lamp powered by 「Glow Stones」 which Saya had stolen… procured from the palace. I looked at Alicia laying in bed waiting for me. She was wearing a shirt, my shirt, and only my shirt. On the other side of the room was Illyria sitting on a different bed. I was unclear as to when that bed was brought in.

I became curious of something. We had already learned through the Grimoire that almost anything can be considered a skill which can be learned and provide skill points. Chopping, slicing, dicing, julienning and mincing of food. Carving wood, shampooing hair, sewing cloth and exercising all became learned skills and gave skill points. So I wanted to try something. Saya and Alicia had been giving me oral sex each day and I have been pretty selfish in regards to their needs.

“Saya, go sit with Illyria for a bit. Alicia, come move to the edge of the bed.”

I moved between Alicia's legs. Her body was lithe, her hips were not very wide, her thighs thin and firm. Looking between her legs I could see her vulva, a fading tan line and smooth shaved mound. Her lips were thin and already glistening.

“Onii-chan?”

*nom*

“Unf! Oh god!”

A few minutes of amateurish licking and suckling, she squeezed my head with her thighs and arched her back.

“Enough, enough, it-it's too sensitive. Wow.”

I summoned my Grimoire, out of view from our servants, and check its page.

「Cunnilingus Learned」

「Cunnilingus: Level 1」

I nudged Alicia to move back and motion for Saya to take her place. The Grimoire was hidden underneath the bed. Saya undressed and laid back spreading her legs. I repeated what I had done, but tried to focus on certain spots. She was completely smooth as well, not sure if shaved or plucked. Her lips were thin as Alicia's, but were pinker. After she had her orgasm I checked my Grimoire.

「Cunnilingus: Level 2」

Neat.

Last was Illyria, she followed what Saya had done and laid before me. My jaw was already sore, but I wanted to finish this up. Learning is very important after all. Illyria was also smooth, but her lips were a bit more pronounced. Since my jaw was sore, I let my tongue do most of the work.

「Cunnilingus: Level 2 | 20%」

Hm, not level three. Oh well.

I needed to get off. Doing this had turned me on too much. Before I could ask Alicia to help me out she spoke.

“Illyria, take care of onii-chan.”

It was my first time with her and it was obviously her first time doing oral. After cleaning up we went to sleep.

「Stored Mana: 6,117」

「Skill Points: 149」