It’s now the summer of 1034AD. Some time has passed since the famed inventor and tinkerer Sol mysteriously disappeared with his wife while they were on their honeymoon. Friends of the couple began to worry, but oddly enough the King of Cardina, who could be considered their closest benefactor, was completely calm about the situation. In fact, some rumors claim King Adam actually had both of them secretly assassinated, but that is nothing more than hearsay and slander against him.

When asked about their disappearance, the King only shared what he was allowed to say. They’re in a better place. Don’t worry, Sol explained the whole situation to me, all they want now is some peace and quiet. These are apparently the words that Sol himself said to King Adam in his letter, and since his signature was on the piece of paper, no one could deny that the King was telling the truth.

That being the case, a new storm is brewing on the Northeast of Abyssus Solis, the desert continent which has close to nothing in it. The people there do not live in countries, but rather in ‘Quiks’, a term coined by the ancient tribe of Raamans. A quik could basically be described as a mini village or a pit stop of sorts. Usually it’s founded near an oasis, as those have the best living conditions in the continent.

In Abyssus Solis, only the strongest and most resilient survive. This isn’t to say that it’s a dangerous place to be in, it’s just that the living conditions are a bit difficult to get used to, what with the widely fluctuating temperatures, the occasional sandstorm, and large, human-sized desert insects that have a tendency of being venomous.

It’s in this very continent where a very gifted young man in the prime of his life resides. Well, more specifically, the quik he lives in is called Oden, the second largest quik in the continent. The largest quik, for those who are interested, is called Havana, and it’s internationally accepted as the ‘Capital Quik’ of the continent. This is mostly where foreign embassies are made, where international fairs are held, and it’s also the place with the most ‘livable’ living conditions in general.

Even still, we’re going off track. Oden is the place that’s important for now, since that’s where the previously mentioned young man lives. That man’s name is Meil Deram, and he’s what you would call a ‘Master of all Trades’. A genius through and through, despite his humble upbringing. His birthplace and real parents are unknown even to him, and as a very young child he braved the dangerous desert all on his lonesome until he finally made it to Oden, where a kind old man named Joseph took him in.

The boy was very polite, albeit distant. Not once did he refer to the old man as his family, as he put it in his head that he is a descendant of the Raamans. No one would believe Meil’s words, which lead to him being an easy target for bullying for the other neighborhood kids. While other kids would probably back down in this scenario, Meil was nothing if not calm in the face of adversity.

Meil was already well-acquainted with the power of knowledge, so in the coming days he would constantly practice witty comebacks in the shower for the jeers he would receive by the other kids. Noticing that most of their disses were completely reliant on simple swear words, he quickly found a surefire way to always win an argument – to always speak in a calm, aloof manner, as well as to NEVER swear.

This had the result of making him quickly become the leader of the group that was bullying him. The dummies around him knew that something about his demeanor was charming, but their young brains couldn’t fathom exactly what that thing was. All they knew is that this white haired, tanned boy with a Blue right eye and a Grey left eye knew the perfect comeback for every diss imaginable, and his cool delivery only accentuated his reputation.

The boy later grew up loved by the quik that took him in. The people needed a hero, someone who was strong, intelligent, yet humble, and that’s exactly what Meil was. He would spent the entire day running around the entire quik. Helping an old lady carry her groceries, helping the local authorities catch a thief, calculating all the taxes that had to be paid by the end of the month, there truly wasn’t a single thing this spiffy young man couldn’t do.

Soon though, he noticed that he couldn’t be at two different places at the same time, and the people’s expectations of him started to grow beyond his reach. Instead of giving up or picking the people he would continue to help whilst ignoring the rest though, he did something never before seen in Abyssus Solis. He wrote a whole bunch of books based on his extensive knowledge of all the things he learned from helping the others out.

These books were later sold all across the world, and in just a couple years he amassed enough wealth from the royalties to open up his own company. This company was more so a private consultation room, as he wasn’t taught by his old man to spend his money sumptuously. Even still, this greatly extended his reach to even some other nearby quiks, making it his job to help as many people as he could with any and all issues they were facing.

He would hire other helpers, instruct and train them in his ways, and send them off to extend as many helping hands as possible. This way, he effectively solved the issue of 'being in two different places (or more) at the same time'. Well, he was still the boss here, so he had to do the most of the work, but he didn't mind. All he wanted was to help as many people as he could, not for the money, not for the fame, but because he felt it was the obvious thing to do. That's just the kind of person Meil was.

In a way, this type of work may sound familiar to you, and you’d be right to think so, because this is exactly the same type of work the ITA specializes in. The main difference here is that the ITA doesn’t have any branches in Abyssus Solis (and the fact that they’re a lot shadier in comparison to Meil’s honest business).

Now, as a 19 year old accomplished young man, we join him as he’s coming back from another rewarding day at work.

***

“Good work today.” He said to his juniors as he was leaving the premises.

“Good work, uppie!” They smiled back.

‘Uppie’, in this case, was a slang word endemic to this continent. It’s a shortened version of the word ‘Upperclassman’ or ‘Upper ranker’ depending on the context. Even still, it’s a very warm sounding word, and it’s usually what the juniors of an organization would call their boss if they respected him as such.

I wonder what Joseph made for lunch, Meil thought as he walked back home, I didn’t have the appetite to eat breakfast with him again today, so I’m feeling quite peckish at the moment.

Stopping by the fountain, he noticed he was frequently licking his lips due to being thirsty, so he stopped to drink some natural water from it. One could assume that this type of action isn’t befitting of a well-dressed and respected person like Meil, but in fact the opposite was true. Everyone in Oden knew full-well just how quirky Meil was, and since this quirky young man was literally the sole pillar of help for them, they all unanimously made an unspoken agreement to let him do his own thing without judgement.

A kind gest, but there will always be some people who didn’t get the memo. These people are usually tourists or just people who have somehow been living under a rock for the past 19 years, but they would mostly be told off by the other quikkas (people that lived in a quik). Today, sadly, wasn’t such a case.

“Whoa, dude! Are you drinking fountain water? Gross!” A snarky voice could be heard from behind Meil.

“…” Meil continued sipping peacefully.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!” The delinquent pushed Meil into the fountain, staining his nice-looking clothes in the process.

No one was in the vicinity, so the delinquent probably thought he could get away with annoying this random guy. Anyone would be forgiven for lashing out in this scenario, but Meil wasn’t just anyone.

“That wasn’t very nice.” He said as he approached the delinquent, “I imagine from your actions just now that I probably offended you by being dressed this nicely and doing something which could be considered unbefitting of someone dressed as I.”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay, I understand. You’re tight on money, so seeing others prosper fills you with envy. It’s a common emotion humans feel, however I would be wrong to lose my cool over this much. If you need someone to comfort you, just know that I’m here for you.”

At these words, Meil closed the gap between them and promptly gave the delinquent a hug. This action is kind and all, until you realize that he’s wet all over from being pushed into the fountain. This in turn ruined the delinquent’s clothes too, which was all part of Meil’s plan.

“H-Hey! Get off of me, weirdo!” The delinquent pushed Meil off of him before running off.

Simpletons… He commented, Well, I shouldn't be calling them that. I’d be staining the continent of knowledge if I referred to them as such.

He fixes up his clothes as much as he can, but he doesn’t bother with his hair, which he just shakes up a bit to get the moisture out. Before continuing his walk back home though, he squats back down to take another sip or two of water (you know, for the road). After another 5 or so minutes of leisurely walking, he makes it to a run-down shed, where he greets the old man sitting out in the yard, happily painting a passing young lady.

“Hello, Joseph.” He greets him distantly.

“Wah!? I-I’m just…!” He tried to make up an excuse, thinking it’s the local authorities accusing him of being a peeper, ”Oh, haha! It’s just you, Meil! You really do know how to sneak up on us old folks, don’t you?”

“I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention.”

The old man was his caretaker, who took him in when he was but a child. Since Meil didn’t have a name before being found, the old man was kind enough to gift him with a beautiful first name, as well as allow Meil to inherit his last name, Deram.

“Did you have fun at work today?”

“Not as much fun as you did with making that drawing.”

“Hey, watch your mouth!” Joseph corrected him, “It’s not a drawing, it’s an illustration!”

“…Of the lovely lady standing idly right over there?”

As one could expect, Meil was a man of science and practical knowledge. As such, he couldn’t fathom the idea of art, nor the beauty of another human being. He saw things in 1s and 0s, not in a spectrum. He understood people who appreciated each other’s presence would lawfully wed and do all kinds of other things together, but he never could understand that feeling of “I love this person”.

Then again, what Meil knew of love and what Joseph was doing probably didn’t align all that well. Well, an artist’s eye is something you’re born with, so Meil would probably never come to understand Joseph’s antics.

“Exactly! The female body is the textbook definition of beauty!” Joseph defended his actions, “Composed entirely out of slim, petite triangles and adorable circles that represent the various curves, devoid of any imperfect, ugly squares, THAT’S the female body! Simply staring at a woman’s slender physique is enough to rejuvenate even an old body such as mine!”

“Too much information, Joseph!” Meil blushed from the embarrassing topic, “In any case, I’d rather just focus on my studies.”

The old man’s eyes became glum, and he looked at the child he took in with a tinge of regret. This is where his pseudo-parental status shines through the most, exactly when Meil says something so depressing.

“My child, you really should stop and smell the flowers once in a while. Run through life too fast and you’ll trip.”

“Smell the flowers?” Meil missed the point of the advice, “We’re in a desert though?”

“…”

After leaving the old man to continue on with his very important matters, Meil runs through the kitchen to grab something to eat. Making himself only a couple of sandwiches, he runs off to his room and begins his nightly duties. Turning on his lamp that he made from tinkering with one of Sol’s inventions – the flashlight, he opens up a book he rented out from the library a couple days ago.

“Let’s see here… The Mobius Award. This is something handed out to only the best of the best in regards to tinkering, inventing, or otherwise being knowledgeable in a wide span of scientific fields.” He read out loud, “Getting my hands on this would immediately grant me a fully-paid scholarship in Dimitri University of Mathematics. This will in turn allow me to enter the Library of a Thousand Passages, where I’ll be able to hopefully find out some more things about my ancestors.”

Reading through the night, chapter after chapter, word after word, Meil found himself immersed in the knowledge. He became one with it. It was liberating allowing yourself to be swallowed up in future dreams. The idea that one day, he of all people could rise up to the top and enter the world’s most prestigious School of Mathematics, the possibility of him proving his origins this way, it all felt so real, and yet, so far away all at the same time.

Before he realized it though, the words began to mesh together as his vision became too blurry or otherwise obscured to read them due to his fatigue, and he soon found his face firmly planted on page 58. Guess helping all those people really took a lot out of him, after all…

***

“Yaaaawn!” I woke up to the sight of a wet book in front of me, “Ack The book, I drooled all over it! The librarian is never going to forgive me!”

I quickly ran down the stairs and put the book out into the yard, hoping the Sun’s rays will have evaporated the moisture at least a little bit. Ugh, why couldn’t I have just called it quits last night and went to bed early?! Now look what happened!

“Morning, Meil!” Joseph approached me, “What are you doing out in the yard so early?”

“N-Nothing! I’m just err, enjoying the fresh morning air!”

“…You messed something up, didn’t you?”

Defeated, I explained the entire situation to Joseph. He stifled his laughter for as much as he could, but he had his limits, so right as I was about to finish my story...

“Pfft! Phahahahaha! To think even you of all people could do something like this! I don’t even know how to react properly! It’s that much of a shock!”

“…Sorry.” I let my head down as I honestly apologized for the inconvenience, “I’ll take responsibility and personally pay for a new book to hopefully reinstate the damages to the library.”

Joseph stopped laughing after realizing I wasn’t getting flustered by his friendly teasing, and instead put on a frown.

“You were supposed to get angry at me for laughing at you! Geez, how can my son be so well-tempered? Is that even a word? I’ve only ever heard of ill-tempered!”

“It is indeed,” I let him know, “But that’s beside the point. I won’t be getting mad over something so trivial. You’re my caretaker, so why would I ever do such a thing?”

At these words, Joseph was utterly flabbergasted, and after a couple more moments of staring at me with his mouth wide open, dumbfounded, he went in for a hug.

“Thanks for being such a good son, Meil.”

“…I’m off to work.”