February 7, 1615 Central Calendar, 17:30

Holy Milishial Empire, Capital Runepolis – William Ameir District

It goes without saying that from sunset to sunrise again, the Sleepless Magical City of Runepolis always shone with city lights so brilliant that it can even be seen from the farthest reaches of the horizon. But on this day, just as night was about to fall, fireworks were being launched from all over the metropolis, adorning the auspicious clear sky above the city’s skyscrapers with even more lights, vibrant colors, and noises, to celebrate the eve of the Water Goddess Day as if the usual hustle and bustle of the city weren’t enough.

Even though some residents, especially those who worship the Water Goddess as their patron deity, opted to conserve their energy by taking a rest in order to prepare for the prayer ceremony in the morning, some night owls took advantage of the occasion to enjoy themselves even if it’s not even ten minutes past midnight, feasting at the sights and sounds brought about by the fireworks and revelry.

The business district of William Ameir was also not exempt from such a festive mood, where people coming home from a long day’s work mixed with the celebrating crowds resulting in rather congested traffic. It can even be seen from the topmost floor of the Aikon Corporation’s headquarters, also known as the ‘Condor Tower,’ where the CEO’s office was located. However, the man who owned this economic juggernaut already had his attention focused on something more interesting in front of him than seeing vehicles crawling like ants down below.

Lord Victor Legendorga was listening to a report made by the Aikon Corporation’s head of R&D, with his secretary Fiolina Bucciarati standing by his right side.

“…therefore, before we can make a Manadriver capable of memorizing a spell sequence generated from a computation, we must first be able to devise a method to record the computation result in some medium and, if possible, use that medium to also replicate the spell sequence recorded on it. This is where the challenging part begins, Mister President.”

After a period of brainstorming among the company’s researchers after Victor’s recent request, the R&D department came up with a proposal to the CEO.

Victor hummed in his seat, “I kind of expected it from the start, so what do you propose to make it happen?”

“After discussing with my colleagues, we came up with the idea to try to rewire the Regen Generator and connect it to an array of magic circuits and lamps set to turn on when in contact with a specific mana wavelength. Based on the theory that a spell works in casting a specific phenomenon by emitting mana in patterns, it should be possible to record the mana patterns emitted by the Regen Generator’s computation by observing the array.”

Victor raised an eyebrow, perplexed by how complicated it sounded.

“Why is that? If you’re going to do such a lengthy process, does this mean you cannot simply record the computation into the already existing spell components?”

“Yes, we are truly sorry, Mister President. While our technology allows us to engrave spell components into magic circuits and perform spell casting with it, there has never been a technology to do the reverse. I think that the rule set by the current magic system made it too complicated even if someone tries to do it, and there is no guarantee that every spell component known to man will be able to fully cover the Manadriver’s computation results. Therefore, we need to devise a ‘new’ magic spell system that can also be operated solely between machines. We have to start from scratch in order to achieve this and yes, even invent a new magic spell system.”

“Hmm, what a predicament…” Victor murmured as the chief researcher finished his long-winded explanation. “To make a new magic spell system, you say?”

The magic spell system used by the Holy Milishial Empire and everyone else in the known world was based on the Ancient Sorcerous Empire’s set of magic spells. Through studying the leftover relics and trial and error process, they managed to make themselves able to manipulate their mana into a phenomenon in what is known as spell casting. So far, everyone’s mentality regarding the magic spell system is that if it isn’t broken, then don’t fix it. Mankind has never encountered the need to research if there is a way to create an entirely new magic spell system because the current one always works. Even advancements in magic technology, such as magic circuits, only revolve around how to make these magic spells can be cast faster. And yes, this even applies to the early Manadrivers.

Long people believed that this rigid set of characters dictates the result of magic when someone cast it, with the aforementioned theory about mana patterns being a relatively recent idea. Victor’s intention with the Manadriver technology, which so happened to attempt to do something opposite of the conventional magic spell-casting tech, will inevitably encounter a great hurdle in its progress since there was never been a precedent of it to learn from. This is another example of just how imbalanced and strange the Holy Milishial Empire was in its technological development. Anyone who is not from the known world might find it unrealistic and retarded, but for the people in this known world, this is their reality (and they have to deal with it).

However, a leap forward in magic technology that can be accomplished by this is the only thing that Victor cared about.

The blonde CEO took a deep breath before his eyes suddenly widened, startling his two subordinates as he abruptly shot up from his chair.

“THAT BEING SAID…! It can’t be helped, but it won’t stop us from doing what we must. I sense that this will bring yet another revolution in our society, so it’s only appropriate to say happy birthday for this new problem for us to solve! Chief researcher!”

The man immediately straightened his back upon hearing his boss addressing him so loudly, “Sir!”

“What else do you have in mind?”

“W-well, if we managed to do that, some of us suggested that we could reproduce those patterns by creating a device to read them and achieve the objective to memorize the result of a Manadriver’s computation… somehow. Then, I think we can just reprogram the Regen Generator to be able to process these patterns, creating the exact same duplicate of a previously recorded magic spell. This part is not that hard to do once we figured out how the previous step worked.”

Victor hummed again, “So, you’re saying that the difficult part will be in recording the mana patterns of the computation process’s result?”

“More or less so, sir,” the chief researcher nodded.

“I see. Then, you may proceed with your proposal. In the meantime, Fiolina,” Victor called out to his secretary, “Contact the Ancient Ministry about this new development immediately and arrange a meeting with their representatives, preferably anywhere in the next week.”

“I understand,” Fiolina answered, jotting notes on the notepad she carried with her.

By now, despite the hardship they were going to face, Victor was grinning. With a small smile of his own, the chief researcher spoke with determination, “I understand, Mister President, we will do our best.”

“Good, you are dismissed.”

The chief researcher gave him a bow before leaving the office room.

Victor sat down on his chair once more, crossed his arms, and spun to face Fiolina.

“What’s on my schedule next?”

The raccoon beastwoman checked her notepad before answering, “You are free after this, sir.”

“Ah, yes, speaking of the Ancient Ministry, the delivery of Manadrivers that they are requesting is already departing to San Redentore, right? That’s too bad, we just finished this interesting discussion. I feel like it’s getting harder and harder keeping up with the pace of the rapid developments these days…” Victor spoke self-deprecatingly.

Despite his cheery mood while in office, these revolving door of events and new challenges occurring one after another also caused Victor a certain degree of fatigue as there are only a limited number of hours in a day. He also felt the pain of not being able to take all the time off he wanted due to the numerous work orders that were piled up for him.

“Mister President, I don’t think you will be able to take a long break any time soon, but since tomorrow is the Water Goddess Day, let’s use the most of it to relax,” Fiolina remarked in the sincerest tone she could muster, earning a chuckle from Victor, who couldn’t help but agree.

“That’s the bluntest consolation I’ve heard yet, but you’re right. And one more thing, what about the cake?”

“The celebratory cake will be sent to the Temple of Saoirse tomorrow at nine o’clock, just after they finished the prayer ceremony, exactly as you ordered, sir,” Fiolina nonchalantly responded to this question as well, making her boss nod in satisfaction.

“Well, well, well, what a day,” Victor stretched his arms. “It’s time to go home, then. See you next Monday, Fiolina, I hope you enjoy the holiday!”

The secretary smiled gratefully, “Thank you, Mister President.”

The CEO left his office almost exactly at 18:30. However, instead of driving home to his residence in the neighboring Lambert District, he headed past the Albion Palace to visit his brother’s mansion in the Arden District literally on the other side of Runepolis, having to contend with the traffic from all the people celebrating along the way.

…………

18:20

Arden District

Fortunately, Victor was able to arrive on time to be present at the family gathering of House Legendorga, a rare occasion in which all the members of this noble family were able to gather together. With a residence large enough to accommodate all family members at once, it was always Victor’s older brother, Count Benedict Legendorga, the Imperial Minister of Internal Affairs, who hosted the gathering.

The mansion’s dining hall was lavishly decorated in warm colors of maroon and gold. Around them, the servants and maids who were ready to respond at their beck and call were also dressed in a customized uniform of primarily red colors. After all, as the people who served this noble house, they were also expected to uphold the Legendorgas’ pride and dignity with their behavior and the way they dressed, reminiscent of the house’s family crest, a phoenix.

“Bless the gods for allowing all of us to see each other in good health.”

Sitting at the end of the dining table, the usually stern-looking count opened the meal with a prayer before allowing himself a hint of a smile seeing all of his family members gather in one place like this, looking dignified and orderly even as they indulged in their meals. Flanking Benedict was his children Adonis, Arran, and Argos on his right, while his wife Heike, a noblewoman of Herzlander descent, was accompanying his youngest children, Adel and Alain, on the left. Next to Argos was Benedict’s younger sister, Irina and her husband, an easterner Imperial Guard captain named Batzorig, as well as their only daughter, Bianca. Meanwhile, across from them is his youngest brother Victor, his wife Berenike, and his two sons, Eleazer and Esiocles. Curiously, regardless of what features their other parent possesses, all of these Legendorga children are always born with that bright golden hair and blue eyes.

Benedict saw that his brother Victor was grinning the entire time. There must be something that happened on the way to make him look giddy like that, but as per family custom on this occasion, they were saving such talks after this solemn dinner.

After the dinner ended and the exchanges following it, Benedict found Victor lounging alone on the balcony, admiring the show of fireworks in the distant downtown skyline with a glass of wine in his hand. Sensing the presence of someone behind him, Victor turned to look and called out to him.

“Brother.”

Benedict approached his side, giving him a nod.

“How do you find the supper, Victor?”

“What a feast your mansion just prepared for us, Brother. I’m glad we can see each other after a long time, especially Adonis and the others.”

Benedict’s three oldest children are all in their twenties and had left their parents’ house to pursue a career in the military, with Adonis in the Navy, Arran in the Army, and Argos in the Air Force. Soon, their other children will follow suit and leave their parents’ house as well.

“Yes,” Benedict said. “But eventually a bird must fly out of its nest. Even though I’m a bit sad, I’m prouder of what my children have become.”

Victor sipped his wine, listening to Benedict’s words now being directed at him.

“Now about you. I saw you’ve been smiling like you were about to prank someone in our youth earlier. What happened?”

Victor chuckled.

“Ah, just the usual busywork, but today my men said something interesting. They came up with this idea on how to upgrade the Manadriver, but ended up proposing to create a new magic spell system entirely. After thinking about it, I’m very much looking forward to what will come out of it.”

“Huh… of course, I should have expected this. Looks like your little pet project has become a success, after all. Then, I reckon what you said is a good thing?”

“Well, no, but actually yes,” Victor shrugged, much to Benedict’s bewilderment. “Creating a new magic spell system from scratch is an unexpected problem. But after pondering about it, I became convinced that if we could solve this, the whole society itself might change. I’m filled with anticipation, Brother.”

Benedict’s brows furrowed. He had heard about the Manadriver and its capabilities from his brother many times. A device that revolutionizes the entirety of magic, it laughs at the face of even the fastest spell chanting known to man by performing magic in an instant. However, he didn’t think it will be that easy to implement it into the Holy Empire’s daily lives anytime soon. A tool like Manadriver, while it has great potential, is also very easy to abuse with even more horrific ramifications than the illegal possession of a gun. For the Holy Empire’s government to allow its usage for ordinary civilians, a lot of effort needed to be put in, including implementing a set of laws and safeguards on the device itself. Even then, Benedict almost didn’t want the Manadrivers to be freely available.

The Manadriver may be an incredible invention, but if that was used indiscriminately and irresponsibly, it may cause untold destruction. Victor’s words of ‘changing the whole society itself’ might come true in the worst possible way.

“Victor, I’ll be blunt with you. If making Manadrivers available to the masses is what you’re implying, then I’m against it. I don’t care how much Adonis, Arran, or Argos praises their uncle’s present, they’re military. The ordinary civilians are not ready for such a thing yet.”

The younger brother was unperturbed. “You may be right in that sense, Brother, but think about the potential it can make when it’s used by the right people. Healers, firefighters, civilian industrial complex—”

“I’m not blind to that, Victor. I’m just giving you a warning before you might do something you regret with that ‘greed’ of yours.”

Victor finished his drink and looked at his older brother in the eye, trying to read the emotion behind those stern blue eyes. Finally, he spoke.

“I will keep that in mind. Besides, if I ever stray from my path and do anything reckless, I have you who will beat me up to bring me back to my senses, isn’t that right?”

“………”

“Be as that may, Brother, you can’t stop mankind’s progress. Give them a little spark, they will desire, they will dream, and they will walk forward. That’s just how greedy mankind is…”

He smiled wryly and turned away to walk inside, leaving Benedict silently mulling over his words. If he were to be honest, his younger brother’s tendency to lump all desires, hopes, and dreams together as ‘greed’ is even more off-putting than his obsession with baking cakes and celebrating birthdays. Benedict can understand Victor’s belief that desire is a force of progress and evolution, the greatest gift of mankind.

But at the same time, if a man owns an entire valley filled with gold, he will inevitably desire for a second one, and he will then desire for a third, and he will desire for more until his mouth is filled with nothing but dirt.

‘What is exactly inside his mind?’ Benedict silently wondered.

That aside, the night was filled with delight for the family.

23:45

San Redentore District, MOASEC – Magic Technology System Development Facility

In contrast to the noisy downtown, the sparsely populated San Redentore District of Runepolis was as quiet as ever. Some of the building clusters near the neighboring districts did show signs of celebration as well, but as for the rest, only the darkness of the thick forest seemed to permeate the district like a curtain. From above, even the light from street lamps seemed to be cut off in places by the shadows of the trees, making the atmosphere here quite spooky and gloomy for some, a far cry from the tranquil scenery of the daytime.

That is why the Ministry of Ancient Sorcerous Empire Countermeasures’ headquarters complex stood out like a beacon in this otherwise dark and foreboding place. Located far away from any nearest settlement, the complex really looked like a shining island in the middle of a jet-black ocean. Meanwhile, a pair of moons in their waning gibbous phase stared at them from above.

Lady Clara Steinbelt, a noblewoman in charge of leading one of the Ancient Ministry’s main research and development facilities, was already getting used to this quietness, but the wake of the Alpha Edge Project’s commencement brought some slight changes in the dynamic, with employees standing by in their workplace in increasing numbers. Despite the said project is primarily undertaken by the aerial wing of the Ministry, Clara’s department was expected to pull its own weight in anticipation of future upgrades, riding on the momentum created by the introduction of a completely functional conductive magnetic radar by Meteos Roguerider to create what would be her facility’s most ambitious project yet: developing a conductive magnetic radar small enough to be mounted on the Heavenly Vessel.

This decision was based on the recently intensified analysis of the Alpha Zero, an ancient relic in that the engineers speculated that it would make sense if the missing component on the Alpha Zero’s nose would be a detection device of some sort. As for the Magic Technology System Development Facility’s task, Clara had to complain here that the radar for the Alpha Edge Project had to fit inside the stupidly tight space of the fighter’s nose.

Fortunately, they were told that they were not expected to fulfill a specific requirement, only told to do ‘as best as they could.’ But typical of the Ancient Ministry personnel, this only aggravated the facility and especially Clara Steinbelt’s own pride and competitive spirit, who were tired of lackluster results for a very long time.

That is why they were also now scrambling to conduct another wave of in-depth learning of whatever Ancient Sorcerous Empire’s detection technology was available at their disposal combined with the know-how learned from dissecting Meteos’ conductive magnetic radar.

Speaking of Meteos, Clara had to admit that the notes and instructions he left were detailed enough for them to learn and understand on their own despite him being unable to present alongside them. Thanks to these, Steinbelt’s facility was able to provide the military with new conductive magnetic radars to upgrade their mana detectors. With the Ministry of Military Affairs’ extensive effort in promoting the deployment of this new equipment, the Holy Milishial Empire planned to have their air defense system fully utilize conductive magnetic radars by 1616 CC. Priority was placed on reinforcing the western coast and Carthinia Province where Cartalpas was located for obvious reasons.

In addition, a separate development was also taking place at the Runepolis Magic Academy where Meteos used to belong. With them possessing Meteos’ research data at a quality similar to the one held by the Ancient Ministry (in fact, it was the original data), Clara heard that they were now in the process of developing a functional ship-mounted conductive magnetic radar, as expected from their specialization in making naval-based equipment.

Therefore, using the analysis of the Ancient Sorcerous Empire artifact and Meteos Roguerider’s research data, the Holy Milishial Empire was making progress on developing conductive magnetic radars based on all three platforms of land, sea, and air, at the same time.

“Decades of prevalent stagnation are about to be torn apart little by little…”

From her office, Clara muttered to no one.

As she stood near the window panes, looking at the courtyard below where the cars and autobikes were half-filling the parking spot, Clara was waiting for the time of a meeting with someone dispatched by the Ministry higher-ups…

…in the middle of the night.

This has something to do with the delivery of Second-Generation Manadrivers from the Aikon Corporation earlier in the evening. For obvious reasons, upon the company’s announcement, the Ministry higher-ups immediately ordered the Aikon Corporation to provide them with as many of them as they can. The Manadriver’s potential is just too great for them to not capitalize on.

She glanced at her wristwatch once and murmured, “Now, time to meet the guest…”

After an uneventful trip to Reception Room 4, the noblewoman entered the room only to find it still devoid of people. There’s a box containing the new Manadrivers hastily prepared by Clara’s subordinates sitting on a table made of thick glass in the center of the minimally-decorated room.

“………?”

The room was still empty and the couches were still cold, with no sign of someone occupying it. Considering the nature of her guest this time, Clara merely shrugged and sat down on the sofa facing the door to wait. Several moments later, when she turned her gaze to the box on the table and reached to open it, a voice suddenly came out of nowhere from directly in front of her.

“I have come to retrieve the package.”

“!!!”

Clara’s hand quickly retracted as her widened eyes shot up to look at the source of that voice. A figure clad from head to toe in black without showing any inch of skin was sitting with their legs crossed on the sofa across from her, seemingly appearing out of thin air when Clara wasn’t looking. Their features were concealed by a blank white mask and black hood, with slits in what their eyes should have been. In addition, their distorted voice made it impossible to discern what gender they are without looking directly at them. This figure, though, has a tall masculine physique, so Clara is going to assume this figure is a ‘him.’

“…Must you super-secret agents appear and disappear so suddenly all the time like that?” Clara deadpanned, her surprised expression replaced by an annoyed one.

“There are things more important than complaining about how we operate, Lady Steinbelt,” the figure chided.

As one of the leading members of the Ancient Ministry, Clara Steinbelt was aware of the existence of a fifth branch dedicated to research and development called the Ancient Arms Analysis Tactical Operations Department. Being a secretive organization only, its members were required to wear masks and address each other by codenames for the sake of confidentiality. However, even among them, there were some individuals like this one, appearing and disappearing on a whim like ghosts, and rumored to be hiding in plain sight among the many faces of the Holy Empire’s citizens. While they, too, appeared to be a part of the secret department, only the highest leader of the Ancient Ministry seems to know their exact nature and their place in the hierarchy.

But from what she could discern, anything that these individuals were involved in is always put on the pinnacle of priorities, even among the Ministry itself.

“……Very well,” Clara sighed and nodded, her face quickly turning serious. “Here are the samples of Manadrivers that the Ministry has requested the Aikon Corporation to deliver.”

The figure leaned forward and opened the box, finding a row of colorless Manadrivers of the BIRTH-DAY variant. Picking one, the figure examined the device back and forth for several moments.

“Excellent. I will bring this back to our lab to do some analysis on our own. Hopefully, this will assist in our department’s project as well as yours.”

Clara perked up at the mention of the secret department’s ‘project.’

“Ooh, if I had to hazard a guess, does this mean that you are going to finally analyze that in earnest?”

“It has always been our Ancient Weapons Department’s long-cherished dream to realize that desire, Lady Steinbelt. If the Manadriver is as potent as advertised by Aikon’s CEO Victor Legendorga, then this will help us break the bottleneck that has been holding us back, even if it’s just a little.”

“So, are we going to finally see the rumored anti-gravity magic realized in this world?”

“Not simply magic that can make things fall upwards, to be precise, but a controlled manipulation of gravity itself using magic. Can you imagine the practical use if we can master it?” the masked figure leaned forward.

“I see, quite an ambitious objective to achieve, but one that I really look forward to seeing.”

“You acted as if ambitious is not part of what makes us Milishian, Lady Steinbelt,” the figure responded. “As long we have the knowledge and resources, nothing is too far-fetched for the Ancient Ministry to undertake. And as you know, our Ministry is blessed with almost infinite resources.”

Clara chuckled in amusement. The air inside the room was a bit chilly, but it was filled with anticipation of an unparalleled degree.

In the ancient inscriptions left by the Ancient Sorcerous Empire, there were mentions of ‘power that allows one to free themselves from worldly constraints and reach the realm beyond.’ Considering the heretical existence of the Light-Winged Devils as in the folklore, Milishian researchers tend to disregard this as a method of achieving enlightenment in a religious sense. And as it turned out, upon further investigations, they later discovered that this inscription refers to none other than the so-called ‘anti-gravity magic.’

What led to this conclusion is the discovery of ultra-high-class ancient artifacts in different places of the Holy Milishial Empire’s territory in the Central World: ring-shaped flying fortresses later classified as the Object A – Pal Chimera-class heavy command cruiser. The fact that a Pal Chimera was supposed to be capable of flying despite its shape and mass by using magical engines that generates an anti-gravity field exposed the people of Milishial to the possibility of manipulating mana to free an object from the planet’s gravity and, if the inscription is to be believed, a key for the Ancient Sorcerous Empire to ascend to the realm of stars beyond.

And thus, just like mankind once dreamed to fly, the Milishial began to dream once more.

However, in order to understand the so-named anti-gravity magic, they first need to find a functioning engine and operate it to observe and analyze. Unfortunately, the first Pal Chimera ever discovered, the Xibalba, was a decayed wreck rotting after being left exposed in the open for ten thousand years. Being located in the middle of the harsh Excan Province jungle, even its unidentified armor, which was supposed to be very sturdy, cannot resist the constant pounding of outside elements. It was quite a fitting name that they gave this unit a name that means “place of fright” considering how horrible-looking it was when they first laid their eyes upon it.

The Milishians had absolutely no idea how to repair it, so the only other option was to find another one and pray that the next unit will be in a good enough condition. After Xibalba, the Holy Empire’s Ministry of Ancient Sorcerous Empire Countermeasures managed to find and excavate two more units, but without luck so far. As a consolation prize, however, the units found were at least in an increasingly better condition than the last.

The second Pal Chimera was called Eesfet Oon-m’Aa Poo (“nothing is true”), found in the Meketaten Site at the center of Vallarge Province. It was buried deep underneath the rolling sand dunes, unlikely to be operational until the near future.

The third unit discovered was a close call and a terribly unfortunate case. This unit, the Hyperborea (“beyond the North Wind”), was said to have been able to operate by the accounts of the Warring Kingdoms Period. However, this unit was located in the Rusalka Province, the domain of an ancient heretic king who built an entire complex on top of it dedicated to the worship of the Ancient Sorcerous Empire. During the late stage of the era, the Kingdom of Caelus, the unifiers of the realm, launched an attack on his domain where the Hyperborea received extensive damage after being bombarded by the Caelians and for being the site of the final duel between the heretic king and the town elf who would be later known as His Majesty the Emperor, Milishial VIII.

Yes, the climax of the chaotic period before the Middle Lands’ unification and the formation of the modern Holy Milishial Empire more than 2.000 years ago was decided by two overpowered mage-kings decked in full armor duking it out and beating the absolute shit out of each other until one of them perished.

With a Pal Chimera as their literal fighting ring, the Middle Lands once bore witness to an epic showdown that literally decided whether the future will be ruled by a nation that honors the gods or a raving Light-Winged Devil worshipper that seeks to envelop this planet in corpses and sacrifice them to their banished masters.

Back to the matter at hand…

While the Ancient Ministry continued to pour its resources into finding other Pal Chimeras and analyzing the ones they already found, the existence of the Manadriver as an analytical engine that can perform magic just by inputting what the user desires to it has the potential of accelerating the secret department’s research on gravity manipulation. Despite the military managed to use the First-Generation Manadriver in conjunction with a specially developed tool to make individual soldiers fly to some extent, they doubted the magic used in it to be true ‘anti-gravity,’ instead thinking of it as mere wind magic that assisted them in gliding.

“So, what do you think, Lady Steinbelt?”

“Do you even have to ask, mister secret agent? Of course it would be interesting,” Clara said with a raised eyebrow as she leaned back on the couch, but she suddenly frowned. “But you know, it pains me that we cannot combine our research activities together because of confidentiality reasons.”

“It can’t be helped. Besides, even though we’re going to both research and develop Manadrivers, we have different priorities. Perhaps there’s another time when the circumstances permit it, but in the meantime, any result from our progress will eventually be passed to yours as well,” the masked man answered with a slight shrug.

“I still think that this policy of secrecy will bring harm to the research progress than good, mister secret agent. Think about it, what if both my and your departments come up with similar or even identical research results, wouldn’t that be a waste of resources, not to mention inefficient?”

“Unfortunately, it is not my place to decide our department’s policy. I suggest speaking to the Director and making your grievances known.”

Still, Clara did not appear to be satisfied. She thought that the two departments can achieve so much more together.

“Fine, then, is that all?”

“Yes. We will put these to good use. Just look forward to the results,” the masked figure said as he stood up and offered his hand for a handshake.

“Mm-hmm, just promise me that you do your best.”

The masked man’s cold gloved hands sent a tinge of discomfort to Clara, but she didn’t show it on her face.

“In any case, I hope that you achieve success in your endeavors as well. Happy Water Goddess Day, Lady Steinbelt.”

“Huh?”

At the masked man’s words, a startled Clara checked the clock on the wall to find that it was already 00:00 on the 8th of February, this year’s Water Goddess Day just like what the masked figure said.

“Ooh… on you as… well……?”

But when she glanced back to return the greeting, the masked figure and the box he received were already gone in the blink of an eye. When Clara poked her head to the corridor to see the outside out of curiosity, all she found was a silent hallway devoid of human activity. It’s as if the masked figure was never there in the first place.

“………”

She felt a twinge of worry for the Director, a shy and rather innocent guy who had to be exposed to whatever secrets these agents might contain the moment he took his current seat. It must be distressing, at the very least. But since she was too tired for any more secret agents’ antics, Lady Clara Steinbelt decided that her first agenda on this holiday was thus to try to get some shut-eye before waking up in the morning.

She still feels sorry for Arsene Lippin, though.

04:35

MOASEC Apartment Complex

Meteos was already awake in this early morning hours and is doing a rather predictable thing in his apartment’s working room while his friend Walman was still sleeping blissfully on the bed. Having been sternly told to adjust his sleep schedule by Robin, waking up early is a much better and acceptable alternative. This way, he can continue imparting his future knowledge into readable materials without being scorned by his teacher in this new timeline. This is why, after doing a morning prayer, Meteos was already holding his pencil.

Several designs of a 76-millimeter Spirit-type magic cannon were already done. Now on to the 84-millimeter one and then up to the 105-millimeter design to complement the Imperializer’s design. Meteos also tried to implement the elements of a Manadriver in it to see if it would improve its performance. Heck, he even tried to make the entire cannon a Manadriver.

“With the Holy Empire’s system, just one type of bullet can be turned into an armor-piercing or high-explosive depending on the magical properties imbued into its warhead. Compared to mechanical civilizations that will need more than one type of shell for different effects, this advantage in logistics must be capitalized to the utmost. Also, with this Manadriver, can a magic cannon’s accuracy be improved just by inputting the device with a desire to ‘hit a target accurately’? If so, it would be a cheat…”

Meteos chuckled at the wild thought. Since a Manadriver is a technology developed based on his own work at improving a calculator (that also resulted in the emergence of the grimoire), any advancements in Manadriver technology can also be implemented in the Holy Empire’s computers. Perhaps, making the Manadriver realize that specific desire can be done after all, even with a slightly more complicated method than simply ‘make a wish and it comes true.’

But after glancing at the clock, his amusement faded.

“Robin usually comes home around this hour. I wonder where is she now?”

By the way, since Meteos is mentally 136 years old, much older than Robin, he tends to say her name without honorifics whenever he’s alone. This is a weekend, and a holiday to boot. Having her still nowhere to be seen around the usual time she will return to this apartment is… concerning.

He already texted her several times, and she even didn’t answer when Meteos called her.

But it turned out that he didn’t have to be so worried after all.

…………

One hour earlier

MOASEC – Ground System Development Facility

“Must you call me to this place so early in the morning, Old Man?”

Robin complained to a muscular dwarf leading an entourage of three people standing in front of one of the warehouses that lined a certain section of this compound. She was rather annoyed because just after her work finished for the week and she was getting ready for riding home, the crew of the neighboring facility out of nowhere called her to their place for a sudden test of courage. Due to the state of their progress, this place is practically as quiet as a graveyard compared to the other facilities.

The GP designs that Robin’s secret affiliation has been discussing several days ago are about to shake things up a little, but that will be sometime in the future when it actually happened.

The dwarf in question, Professor Harley Hendrickson, rolled his eyes at his old acquaintance’s petulant attitude. Behind him, a man with spiky blonde hair and a female dark elf with her red hair arranged in a dreadlock ponytail looked at each other and snickered.

“Well, you’ve become so busy that there’s no other time to summon you here,” he shrugged unapologetically.

“Screw you, Old Man, that’s exaggerating,” Robin pouted, causing Harley to let out a hearty laugh. “What is this anyway? A prank? A dare? Or is this a trap?”

“Okay, okay, let’s get to the point. Actually, our crew had finished repairing a certain machine that is about to be declassified soon, and we want you to be the first one to test it—no, rather, we wanted to give it to you.”

After eyeing the three, Robin tilted her head and placed her hands on her hips.

“Huh… okay? What exactly is this machine? And why me?”

Harley grinned, “Why don’t you see it by yourself? Emre, open the hangar!”

“Aye, aye, boss!”

The blonde-haired man called Emre mock-saluted his boss and operated the magic panel attached next to the hangar door. As the hangar door slowly slid open with a heavy rumbling sound, the rows of magic lamps on the ceiling lit up one by one, slowly revealing the object that was sitting in the darkness. And then, the lights finally shone on it.

“………!!!” Robin gasped.

Sitting there is a gleaming manmade steed with a lean appearance, with its head turned to face the entrance, as if inviting her to come. Robin slowly took a step forward, but her stride quickly evolved into a jog, and in no time at all, she was running and approached the machine.

“No way… Trychaser!? But how…?” she exclaimed.

Harley laughed, “Gahahahahaha! It’s been already a decade, ain’t it? We found it lying as a wreck near the ruins on that day. So, because we have nothing to do around here… we figured why not play around with this one and help it get back into shape?”

“We even gave it a nice paint job that might suit you, so, what do you think?” the dark elf commented.

“What do I think, you say…?”

Robin was incredulous.

She loved autobikes. She loved the thrill of speeding down the countryside highway, the freedom of riding along a road without having to worry about other cars blocking her way and even the feeling of wind roaring down her entire being. But more than anything else, she loved Trychaser. It was a unique prototype, lean, mean, and so powerful that it made her feel like riding the Emperor’s legendary mount Red Hare itself to the battlefields of the Warring Kingdoms Period. And indeed, exactly one decade ago, Robin once rode into her first mission as agent Flamberge on this very autobike. Even though it was a lifeless object, this machine gave her a lot of memories, be they fond or painful. However, that will be a story for another time.

So to find out that this Trychaser was now intact and fully restored to its proper glory after seeing it destroyed long ago, it almost brought a tear to her eye. All she can do is stare at the machine, mouth agape. The once jet-black color of the autobike was now adorned with a combination of metallic silver and red, with the handguard being painted in a striking gold color.

“…It’s… nostalgic… y-yeah,” Robin stammered, trying her best to look tough, but she ran her hand on the Trychaser’s armored handguards. “Why keep it a secret, though…?”

“Protocols.”

“Ah, touché.”

The three could see how fond the brunette was of it. They couldn’t help to look at the reunion with warm gazes.

Harley called out. “Despite we took out its arithmetic unit, we upgraded the engine with the latest magic circuits, so it’s still the most advanced autobike yet. We will give you the parts that are needed for the repairs, but in exchange, we will ask you for data from time to time. Of course, we will let you bring it home. This one is yours, Robin. Do we have a deal?”

The answer to that is a bone-crushing hug that took the dwarf’s breath out of his lungs.

“Old Man, you’re the best!”

After Robin finally let go of him, the three let themselves laugh as well.

“Go on, try it,” Harley gestured before turning to his subordinates again. “Emre and Nefertari, go pick up the Acceler Rod and a proper helmet for Robin!”

Emre and the dark elf called Nefertari nodded and went to pick up the items. Meanwhile, Robin proceeded to mount the Trychaser.

“Woah…”

“Here, Professor,” Emre said, offering an object called the Acceler Rod. With a familiar hand, Robin took the object and inserted it into the spot where the Trychaser’s right handlebar was supposed to be and twisted it, turning the machine on with a rumbling sound characteristic of the fire-type motor engine.

Vroom…! Vrooom…! VROOOOOOOOOMMMMMM…!

“So this is the new engine unit, sounds smoother than what it used to be, but still menacing with those roars,” Robin remarked as she revved the throttle. “Cool! Alright… I’m ready to go and show this off to the boys back home!”

“I know, right!?”

After donning the helmet given to her by Nefertari, she turned to Harley one last time.

“Old Man—no, I mean, Professor Harley Hendrickson, I don’t know how to thank you for this,” she said sincerely.

“Heh! Consider this to be a Water Goddess Day gift from me to you, don’t mention it.”

Robin laughed, “Hahahaha! What an extravagant gift! Then… Old Man, Nefertari, and Emre, I’m off.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Take care.”

“Ride on, Professor! I’ll take care of your scooter!”

As the three Ground Facility personnel waved their goodbyes, Robin rode home with her new mount. She was so happy that at one point in the empty road, she even brought the Trychaser into a wheelie. Just like the old times…

It was truly the best gift she ever hoped for.

And so, with the events happening in the darkness of the night, the sun rose in the east, heralding the beginning of the Water Goddess Day.

Currently Publicly Available Information

WATER GODDESS DAY

A winter holiday celebrated in the Holy Milishial Empire every second Sunday of February (in 1615 CC, it coincides with the 9th of February). Originally a time for praying to Saoirse, the Water Goddess worshipped by the people of Enysfalian cultural group (the Holy Milishial Empire has a different concept of ethnicity due to its multiracial, as in multiple sentient beings, nature), it has since evolved into a nation-wide holiday where friends and loved ones exchanged gifts.