August 2, 1615 Central Calendar, 19:10

Central Enysfal Province

Still 45 minutes away from their arrival in Leiden, the summer vacation group decided to have their dinner at 19:00, right after the Minerva Express departed from the provincial capital of Forrad. Upon perusing the options on the three-course dinner menu, the high-born Annette found it quite promising and was looking forward to seeing what dishes people traveling on trains would have. In the end, she chose caprese skewers with oven-dried cherry tomatoes as her appetizer, followed by Eleking's signature flat iron steak recommended by Meteos for the main course and concluded with a delectable chocolate toffee mousse for dessert. If she were to believe Meteos and Nadia's opinions, it seemed that the dishes on the regular intercity trains they used to board on their way to Runepolis were a bit tastier than the ones served here. Nevertheless, it was still a delightful treat for the Pendragon heiress and quite an experience for this self-proclaimed sheltered girl.

The train continued its journey along the coastline. Despite entering one of the Enysfal Province's most mountainous regions, the absence of prominent city lights and only occasional faint glimmers in the dark night created a somewhat uneventful backdrop for their sightseeing. In light of this, while Sofia was content in talking with Mister Arkland, Annette pulled Nadia away, telling the rest of the group that she wanted to personally talk about how to make the most of Nadia's limited time with them in Leiden. However...

"What...? Is that true?" a surprised Annette asked in a hushed tone, sitting beside Nadia in a corner of the observation car.

"Yes... I know it must be hard to believe, but that's what he said," answered the kind girl that the heiress sometimes felt that Nadia was too good for someone like her. Even now, Annette felt terrible for having Nadia do something that she, for some reason she can't entirely explain, was too scared to do by herself. Nevertheless, whatever she had gleaned was not something she would have expected.

Hearing Nadia, Annette bent forward in an attempt to suppress an urge to exclaim. The answer placed her in quite a quandary.

"I don't understand. That's... how is that even possible?" she whisper-yelled, sounding more desperate than outright disbelief. No matter how she tried to hide it, her expression when hearing the answer was turning into one sullen enough for Nadia to notice.

"I'm sorry, Anna, I find that hard to believe myself."

Despite Nadia sharing the same sentiment, she was inclined to believe the boy's sincerity in his words. After all, what benefit he would receive in telling such a convoluted drama scenario right when they were going to see it by themselves.

"...No, Nadia. You've done more than enough... if anything, I should be the one apologizing for my selfishness," Annette exhaled.

Smiling a little, Nadia kindly spoke, "Don't be like that. You have been very sweet even when we haven't known each other for long. It's okay for friends to ask for help once in a while."

Seeing her smile, the downcast heiress began to slowly brighten up as well. "If you say so..."

"Hehe... after getting to know you two better, I feel like you two are quite similar."

"...Is that right?"

With Nadia Smirnova at the crossroads of their relationship, she was able to see that yes, both she and Meteos Roguerider are able to nonchalantly be an altruistic person and someone who serves their self-interests at the same time. The two of them are more alike than simply how both their hair is silver and their eyes are the same shade of blue.

"Mm-hmm! Reasons and social standing aside... you and Meteos have more in common than you might think."

Hearing that, Annette nodded with a growing smile on her face. But not long after that, the earlier feelings resurfaced with a sigh from the heiress. After she glanced around, unknowingly passing over a Blue Lion watching over them nearby with her gaze, Annette slouched in her seat.

"If that's what you're thinking, maybe you're right. But you know? I wish I could understand him as easily as he did to me..." she mumbled. "...There's something I don't understand. Why is he so indifferent about it? Can't he see that he stands out from other people by being himself?"

"He's rather annoyed that people often mistook him as a nobleman... Hmm... at first I didn't ask much because I thought there were more people like him in his hometown. But after hearing it from him, I also wonder the same thing..."

"Yes. I'm still having a hard time believing it. There's no way it's true."

"But..."

Annette gestured to the blonde girl to calm down with her hand. As much as she could not comprehend what Meteos said about his own extended family situation, she understood that she'd see it by herself soon, anyway.

Both Nadia and Annette, having forged a close friendship with the boy in question, found themselves wondering how Meteos Roguerider managed to always somehow defy expectations without trying. The less obvious one would be the way he spoke. It was perfectly understandable that he would be speaking the common language in a different way than that of the Runepolians, given the region of his birth and upbringing. However, they were puzzled when learning that none of the various Enysfalian accents seemed to bear an exact resemblance to his own. As amiable as he was once one got to know him, this characteristic of his made Meteos detached enough from the crowd that to more discerning ears, his accent was different.

However, the root of Annette's interest, bewilderment, curiosity, and a medley of other emotions in the prodigy was the silver hair that Meteos Roguerider was born with, just like her!

Even though the Holy Milishial Empire's official statistics categorize its diverse demographics into the concept of cultural groups—grouping different species and their characteristics into one overarching classification based on similarities in practices among their society and region; there is also research conducted on more specialized topics. For example, the Astra ed Luminem Institute of Biological Research released in 1602 CC an interesting publication that categorizes the population into classifications based on hair, eye, and skin colors. From this, Annette learned that humans, elves, and dwarves, will always have either black, brown, blonde, or red hair colors unless one of their parents is either an avian, reptilian, amphibian, or insectoid beastman from which there's a possibility of someone born with green, blue, orange, or purple hairs.

White hair color is mentioned in a way that made the general public aware that such a group exists, but never outright stated that it's an 'incredibly rare' group despite its prominent representative, the House of Pendragon, being a dwindling clan. The people were made to believe that there were probably more of them outside of their neighborhood. As for Annette, her father was the only other living person with silver hair that she knew of. The others, like historical figures and her paternal relatives that can now only be able to be seen through photographs and portraits, were all gone, and dead men of course tell no tales.

When Annette was still an innocent little girl, she just accepted what the Good Duke said about the transient nature of the human soul. But as she grew into an heiress who would someday be worthy of inheriting her father's name, Annette began to contemplate: What in the world had happened in her lineage's past and why was the House of Pendragon so unusual?

As she did so, she couldn't help but find these circumstances of fate to be... disturbing.

It seemed that the Good Duke began to notice her 'progression' too, but he kept his thoughts to himself. However, seeing that he didn't do anything to thwart Annette's quest to seek the truth, she had taken it to herself that maybe her father deemed that she was not ready, but at the same time her father also had faith in Annette's capabilities, believing in that due time, she would unravel it on her own.

'In the end, I am the only one I can count on in this,' Annette told herself.

Then... Enter, Meteos Roguerider.

Only lightly bristling at the fact that he's often mistaken for a local Runepolian noble, which was inevitable, Meteos didn't seem to be surprised in seeing Annette's physical appearance when they first met. This implies that people like him are common in his hometown and that in the end, she was really a sheltered girl with an inflated sense of importance. However, this turned out to be far from the truth. It was a case of him being unusually uninterested in the wrong thing. As it happened, the number of silver-haired people in Enysfal was exactly the same as in Runepolis, countable by just one hand (discounting Meteos' unborn siblings).

In fact, the situation was even stranger within the Rogueriders. Both of Meteos' parents had experienced memory loss in separate incidents, rendering them unable to recall their old identities before the red thread of fate brought them together. In addition, the utter absence of any information related to them and the fact that no one had ever stepped forward to claim any relation to the couple had resulted in Meteos never knowing who his grandparents were. He said that he had inquired about it once, but only once, and his generally uncaring attitude toward the matter proved to be maddeningly unhelpful.

Like honestly! What in the world is this? A plot hole in a poorly-written fiction of fiction!?

"Some things about this boyfriend of yours are just plain hard to explain clearly," Annette exhaled a troubled sigh and then stretched her limbs. "It's at these times I sometimes want to live in a fictional world or something. At least fiction has to be somewhat realistic."

Nadia chuckled in response to her complaint. Glancing at her, Annette was curious about what exactly made this girl attracted to Meteos and vice versa. Like... 'Gold and Silver.' By the August Star of Heaven, they're so adorable looking together—ahem. No, you didn't read that.

After a moment, Annette glanced at her wristwatch. It was almost 19:45.

"Mm-hmm. Alright, how about we return and make ready for our arrival? Well, now that I've got a full month in here... there must be something I can learn, right?"

"Right, Anna, let's," Nadia nodded.

…………

While the seats occupied by the Leiden vacation group remained unchanged, the attendants around them had converted the ones occupied by the long-distance travelers into bunk bed arrangements, each separated from the aisle by curtains. This was the scene that greeted Nadia and Annette as they returned to their car. The hustle of the attendants assisting passengers in preparing their beds and the atmosphere inside fascinated the Pendragon heiress.

At this point in time, modern double-decker intercity railroad passenger cars that offer better privacy and comfort to the passengers than mere curtains hadn't been introduced until it became mainstream a decade or so after Japan and the Gra Valkas Empire's appearance in this world. Despite the fact that these innovations didn't have a direct impact on national defense, the Holy Milishial Empire of Meteos' second life didn't need to wait until the Civilization Annihilation Game commenced. With the ability to leverage the MOASEC's influence to reach out to the rolling stock industry if he wished, Meteos was reminded that, by using the right individuals, he had the means to mold his surroundings into a more ideal world. There must be someone out there who also desires a boring, mundane peaceful life as their own ideal world, not just Goddess Astarte.

"Ah, there you are," Meteos greeted from talking with Walman and Robin as soon as the girls arrived at their seats. "We're almost there, but there's still some time until we arrive. I hope you haven't gotten sleepy yet, because just beyond that hill is our destination."

"I feel excited, so I hardly feel sleepiness," Annette grinned. "By the way, what are you three talking about?"

"The future of the rolling stock industry," Robin, sitting with Walman across from the silver-haired boy, quipped amusedly.

"Ah? ...Always brimming with inspirations, huh? ...Let me guess, is it something in that notebook?"

"Hey—"

The heiress' curiosity got the better of her. Gracefully slipping between the master-apprentice trio into the unoccupied space to Meteos' left side, next to the window, Annette also beckoned Nadia to sit on the empty seat on his other side. Amused by her friend's antics, Nadia complied and took the offer with a warm smile. But after leaning over to get a glimpse of what was in his notebook, Annette raised an eyebrow before staring incredulously at the other silver hair.

"Hollow Planet Hypothesis and the Source of Mana? Huh... it's not about trains. Multitasking much?"

"This is the Way."

"Got to make sure that the honors are guaranteed. Can you imagine it? Sir Walman Falkenhausen, Officer of the Most Excellent Order?"

"Ha! Glad to know that at least Walman got his priorities straight. I'm surprised that you're not imagining yourself as the highest-level Knight Grand Cordon. Looking at the rate you guys are doing things, you're quite a strange one."

"Yes, yes, that discourse about honors is very enticing... But not necessarily what I'm talking about is something that's written in this," Meteos snarked with a rather detached tone. Listening to the younger Walman talking about big dreams, his eyes wandered away for a moment.

As he prepared to tuck the book back into his jacket, Annette's hand started trying to grab it.

"No, wait. Let me read it!"

"I haven't heard the magic word, though?" Meteos flicked his hand to avoid her reach as Nadia and the others cracked up at the sight.

"Pleeeeeeaseee? Let me read it, good sir~"

"........."

When Meteos relented and gave it to her, the young noblewoman beamed. A completely different persona when in public with many people, she is much more relaxed and petulant when she's with this group. The young ladies currently flanking either side of Meteos were real opposites in how they conducted themselves, truly.

Nothing not-safe-for-work inside the book, just a half-filled object that one might consider a work of subterranean fiction. He had several others inside his jacket's pocket; some wondered why he brought so many of them around (for a normal person's standards), and some might speculate that those actually possess bulletproof and magicproof capabilities. Maybe it's true, but that would be a less sophisticated way of doing it compared to weaving materials and protective spell components to his clothing.

"Hollow planet..." Meteos heard Annette beside him mumble. "Mm-hmm, you know, you can make a novel or two out of this lore as a side gig."

He shook his head, "You do it. I ain't no fictional author, I'll make a poor storyteller."

"Well, that's too bad... you don't have to make it so detailed if you're not going to give it a shot."

"That's why I'm telling you that anyone can do it if they want to."

"Riiiight..."

"But you're going to be asked around a lot," Nadia pointed out.

"I'll see what I can do by then."

"How about I dare you to publish that theory to the scholarly community and see how everyone reacts," Robin grinned after an idea just came to her mind.

"Can I weigh the pros and cons of doing that stunt first?" Meteos raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, nothing ventured, nothing gained."

"Fair enough," blurted Meteos in a grumbling tone, followed by Nadia and Annette's giggling.

The notion of a hollow planet has already been around for centuries, making it hardly a novel concept. However, with a lack of means of proving the truth, it would still strike anyone in this era as a somewhat fringe belief. They just haven't encountered it yet by themselves. Meteos couldn't possibly simply pen the sentences: "FACT! This planet is filled with cave-like tunnels and passages that lead to a massive inner space isolated from the surface world from which a wellspring of mana in its purest form filled it. It is an integral part of an endless cycle that ensures that magic power in this world never runs out, and with the appropriate application of technology, this overflowing energy can be harnessed in a proper manner to benefit all," out of nowhere without it being read like he was growing a second head. It's a bit too much of a hot take coming from a fourteen-year-old, despite, or maybe because he's a MOASEC member.

What little surviving legends from the pre-Ravernal epoch spoke about the origin of civilizations that emerged from a hidden realm or caverns which were entrances leading to an underworld. But at the heart of every legend, there is a truth. When the mana from the hollow planet region reached the surface, it was diluted with the elements which caused the formation of the more familiar magical resources found and mined by the civilizations. To drill that deep to reach the hollow planet region is still too costly, too challenging, and still beyond this era's technological capabilities. But if anyone can do it, they can use them to literally create another Attarsamain during its golden age or mass-produce Core Magic like what the Ravernal Empire, corrupted by the Civilization Annihilation Game into a malignant shadow of their former selves, did.

Exceptions exist, however. The Blazing Thunder Dragon, the titans once allied with the Infidragoon and infamous for razing a Gra Valkan mountain fortress in the previous timeline, sustain themselves by siphoning hollow planet mana seeping through a barely intact ancient entrance deep within the current Emor Kingdom's Promised Land. By evolving and developing internal organs that serve a similar function to the Pal Chimera's anti-gravity engine, these unrealistic-looking one-kilometer-long dragons were able to float and roam the planet's ancient skies. Other creatures like them sometimes coexisted with the pre-Ravernal civilization and even worshipped as deities.

When the Ravernal Empire came, they attempted to wipe this planet clean of such native lifeforms, sealing away or outright slaughtering such beasts to claim the planet's infinite mana for themselves. At the same time, they also anticipated that their new home's magical energy might not be infinite, so they established a system of forced breeding of native species with ample magical potential to be used as living batteries. Nevertheless, when they learned more about the characteristics of this planet, which they named Ars Goetia, they force-bred the natives anyway. This time, it was for sport, meat, and an outlet to vent their rage to the ones behind the endless suffering felt by their souls. They could've been using the hollow planet's overflowing energy to turn Ars Goetia into an ideal world, but the Civilization Annihilation Game's meddling perverted these angelic beings into rampaging devils, and now fate had turned them into loose ends.

A whorld of 'hurrr durrr fuhntashy and muuuuuuuhhhhgiiiiiiiik.'

The Civilization Annihilation Game might tend to target planets that generate mana like Attarsamain and Ars Goetia because of the aforementioned characteristics. Stealing a portion of civilization from other worlds, they dumped that portion on the destination planet like a tumor, gradually corrupting the host planet and the energy it generates as the stolen portion wreaks havoc through the deliberately determined gap in civilization to make the natives inferior. Their drive for violating those worlds would be a declaration that mana-producing planets are either 'Violating Common Sense,' 'Too Stupid to Exist,' 'Too Fantasy,' 'Too Ideal,' or 'Unrealistic,' and thus deserve cold-hard annihilation for the sake of 'Realism.'

Worlds, of course, thrive anyway. Because worlds don't care what the Civilization Annihilation Game thinks is impossible.

But for those unfortunate enough to be within their sights, a forced planting of misery that serves as drug-like pleasures to an insatiable group of higher beings happened. The Civilization Annihilation Game raped thriving worlds and that's all there's to it.

However complicated it was, though, that was the history that shaped this world.

Gah.

Meteos lightly exhaled at those thoughts. Triggered by the inherited memories, these kinds of expositions and speculations began to unnecessarily intrude on the peaceful atmosphere again. Show, don't tell, dammit!

Listening to Annette making impressed noises as she continued to read the little notebook, Meteos felt a certain degree of satisfaction to himself. Anyone's growing interest in his works, after all, can also be utilized to advance his own agendas, however long-term it would seem.

…………

"Attention, passengers: this is your conductor speaking. We are pleased to inform you that the Minerva Express train service is now arriving at the tourist destination of Leiden. For those who are disembarking, please check your belongings and make sure you have all your luggage with you. We hope you've had a pleasant journey with us, and we wish you a wonderful time in Leiden. Thank you for choosing our service."

A wizened voice of a male echoed through the cars via the magic loudspeakers. The orange-colored train, still looking somewhat striking even in the middle of the night, finally slowed to a halt as it entered the Leiden Station. The vacation group, as well as their hidden guardians from the Eyes and the Blue Lions, began to make their way to the doors in preparation for disembarking.

"Hmm? What flew you over the moons, Sofia?" looking behind her, Annette asked her redhead friend while slightly tilting her head.

Smiling dreamily, Sofia Trussardi who had been sitting with the Arklands throughout the journey, gushed. "Oh... you know, Mister Arkland taught me how to do 'verbal chess'! It's so awesome!"

"Ah, playing a game of chess with nothing but memory and voice, isn't it? Did you win?"

"I lost every single round, of course."

Annette sweatdropped. If it were her, she'd been bored to death sitting with the adults. She meant no offense, Morgan and Robin are amazing, but Arthur is such a stoic bore that kills the mood really fast. Regardless, if Sofia is in a good mood, then everything's okay over there.

"...Sometimes I forgot my own moves—"

'Sometimes?'

"—then Mister Arkland quickly corrected me. How he can even keep track of all that!?"

Yep.

And so, the vacation group and their hidden guardians finally stepped on the platform, the latter immediately moved away for who knows where to watch over them from the shadows.

"We're home at last," Meteos sighed contentedly, readjusting his bag over his shoulder, one camtono in hand. "Home, home, home sweet home."

"Are you going to say that every year we return here?" Walman chimed in.

"I don't know, but who doesn't want to go home?"

"Heh, heh, right."

Checking his grimoire, Meteos read a text message from his father aloud. "So, they're going to pick us up with three cars, huh? Before the others go to the inns, we're going to stop at my house first. Homecoming party and all..." a faint chuckle came out. "Alright... let's get moving! Can't have everyone wait for too long, can we?"

"Aye, that'd be true."

…………

"Thank you, Dad. It's good to be home."

Roderick Roguerider, a dirty blonde-haired quintessential gentleman-looking person, looked like he wanted to cry as he knelt and hugged his returning son in joy. Annette had heard Meteos speak fondly of his father as a dependable man, but here, she saw that he was also a man of big heart. With a more composed Meteos, their interactions somewhat felt like an inversion of Annette's relationship with the Good Duke.

"Look at you, son. You... you've grown so much!"

"Is that so?" Meteos smiled. "I wonder how much is that 'much.'"

"Ahaha... I see that part of you don't change! I mean, in no time at all, you're going to be as tall as me!"

Both of them shared a laugh.

Walman's father, on the other hand, was more teasing.

"So, you're doing some working out, eh? I like that! I like that a lot. Now my boy's a fine thing!"

"What in the world, Dad... you're embarrassing me...!"

"Hahaha. There's so much that I wanted to talk to you, boy."

Stepping forward, Robin in her capacity as the two boys' mentor greeted them cordially. "It's good to see you again in great health, Captain, Mister Roguerider."

"Ah, Professor. Thank you for taking care of our children," Roderick shook her hand.

"Meteos and Walman are always well-behaved. I don't get headaches much."

"Haha! You know, there's so much that we wanted to talk about, but let's finish our business here first. You two! C'mere! Make something of yourselves!"

William turned to holler at the people behind him, revealing a young man, probably a few years older than the children present and an adult female roughly a head taller than him, both were blondes and wore white uniforms with black fingerless gloves and knee-high boots. The former's getup was composed of a double-breasted jacket, a black tie, and an arrangement of cords, two of which wrapped around his torso and one looping over and under his right shoulder. As for the woman's, it's a white custom four-tailed coat that revealed a black button-down shirt and a bowtie underneath. Those were quite flashy getups.

"Oh, Walt's here, too!" Walman exclaimed to the young man.

"If it isn't Cap'n's city boy. Welcome home, buddy."

It seemed that he was a friend of theirs. Cracking a grin, the young man offered his hand to Meteos and Walman, doing a fist bump with the both of them.

"How is your leg? Is it healed?" inquired Meteos.

"Don't be worryin' 'bout that."

"Hey, I never expected you to walk around with that getup. It's awesome, man."

When Walman gave this man a once over, he couldn't help but utter his honest impression.

"Uh... you think so? As ye can tell, I'm a butler now," the young man said, feeling somewhat self-conscious. "...The Rogueriders' butler."

Meteos turned to Roderick, raising an eyebrow. He was aware of the household assistants that his family was hiring, of course, but his object of inquiry was that the household apparently assigned personalized uniforms for the assistants.

"It was your mom's idea. I went with it because why not," his father answered sheepishly.

"Interesting." 'It would be amusing if it turns out to be my mom's craving.'

"What do you think?"

"Hmm... Talk about dressing fabulously," Meteos commented.

Done complimenting the young man's appearance, Meteos turned to the blonde woman. While she maintained a polite demeanor as she watched the exchange occurring, her gray eyes seemed to observe him intently the moment they entered each other's sights. This one is an interesting individual.

"You must be..." he spoke in a leading tone.

The woman immediately replied, bringing a hand to her chest as she bowed. "Valeria Almeida, a caretaker. It's an honor to finally meet you, Young Master."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Almeida. Thank you for helping take care of the family."

Meteos stifled a chuckle alongside a snickering Walman. Then he turned to the young man again with a teasing gaze. "Aren't you going to address me as 'Young Master' as well, Walter?"

The blonde young man – Walter – cringed, seemingly swallowing a retort before his shoulders slightly slumped, "...But that's me job now, isn't it?"

"Relax, Walter... I jest. Beyond the professional framework, you can call me the manner you always do."

"Uhm." He actually looked relieved. A bit crass, but so easy to tease. That's Walter Zimmerman he knew, alright.

"Alright. Dad, and everyone, I wanted to introduce you to friends that come along with us," after the exchange died down, Meteos beckoned to the rest of the group to come closer. "This is Lady Annette Pendragon of the House Pendragon, daughter of the Duke of Runepolis."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I had heard the charm of his town, so I asked your sons if I could come with them during the summer vacation and so here I am. Let us get along."

Everyone was inwardly taken aback seeing the young noblewoman curtsied with a captivating grace. Various thoughts swirled at the sight of her silver hair, but they soon came to an understanding upon hearing the name of her noble family. The petulant way of speaking she exuded while they were on the train was gone as she formally introduced herself. It merely waited to reemerge once they were out of the public setting and the young lady got to know them better, though.

"Then, this is our senior in the Ancient Ministry, Mister Arthur Arkland..." The green-haired man gave a curt bow as if on cue. "And this is his twin sister, Miss Morgan Arkland."

"Hello. Nice to meet you!"

Their mannerisms suggested that the sister was obviously more socially adept than the brother, that was everyone's observation.

"This is Nadia Smirnova."

This one also looked stunning in her own demure way. The golden-haired Zaftran's sky-blue orbs shone with the innocence of youth and quite something else.

"And this is Sofia Trussardi."

Another friendly fella like Morgan who was introduced earlier. And with that, the introduction was concluded.

"Milady," Roderick nodded to Annette. "And everyone, welcome to our town, Leiden. I hope that you can enjoy your vacation to the utmost."

"Then, if there's nothing else, let's drop you all off at the house."

With William's words, the group left the station in the waiting cars parked nearby.

Nights at Leiden were not quite as sleepless as that of Runepolis, obviously, but still, at this hour, the streets of a tourist destination this resplendent were lined with brightly lit attention-grabbing buildings of various functions and sizes, while people can be seen wandering around, primarily in search for taverns or other places for hanging out. Along the way, they also passed a number of landmarks, with Annette, Nadia, and Robin listening to the explanation about them from Roderick and Meteos. The girls can't wait to see more of the town that their friend so fondly spoke of starting tomorrow—or maybe the day after tomorrow, whenever Meteos feels comfortable.

…………

When the group arrived at the Roguerider family's residence sitting at an elevated parish that struck the visitors with even more feelings of awe, they were greeted by a blue-haired bird beastwoman and a younger, brown-haired teenager. Both were dressed like maids in a predominantly white color and some dark outlines, with details distinctive enough to banish the monotony from their uniforms.

After the two maids finished welcoming his arrival, Meteos stared at the floor in a brief contemplation before raising his voice. "Is my mother still awake?"

The blue-haired maid who called herself Rachel Giles responded. "Yes. Lady Roguerider has been waiting for you in her chambers, accompanied by Lady Falkenhausen, Young Master."

"Then let's not make your mom wait any longer, shall we, son?"

"Yes, Dad. Let us go."

Roderick turned to the others, "Everyone, you must be tired after the long journey. Rachel and Mila, attend to our guests, please."

"We shall see to it, Master," Rachel replied with a respectful bow.

It felt like a meeting long overdue, and his heartbeat raced with every step he took.

Meteora at this point would've been pregnant for five months, meaning it's already halfway through her pregnancy. His mother should've been able to start feeling his siblings' movements from inside. Fate was by his side this time, but nobody else knew about that, and they felt anxiety four times over as a result.

Meteos took a deep breath as he reached the destination, and then gently pushed the door open. The room beyond was softly lit, and there, on the bed, accompanied by a sitting Walman's mother, lies his mother.

".........!"

Meteora's eyes slowly widened in surprise and longing, but before she could formulate words, her son marched to her side and knelt, embracing her.

"Mom... I'm sorry it took me so long... but I'm here. I... I've missed you so much."

Currently Publicly Available Information

THE DISTANT DREAM

This world during the Pre-Ancient Sorcerous Empire Epoch, also known as the First Epoch, was believed to be inhabited by at least one species of unknown sapient beings other than the Five Peoples (Human, Elf, Dark Elf, Dwarf, Beastman) and the Dragonoid before their presumed physical and cultural extinction upon arrival of an invasive sapient species (Light Winged Devil, trinomial name Falsus salvator lux) that formed a nation known as the Ancient Sorcerous Empire during the Second Epoch.

The banishment of the Ancient Sorcerous Empire by the August Star of Heaven at the beginning of the Third Epoch marked the reemergence of whatever survived the Second Epoch into an unrecognizable world. The earliest post-Ancient Sorcerous Empire culture (elven, to be precise) in the Middle Lands was found in the vicinity of the riverbanks of the modern-day Great Sumter River, a few hundred kilometers from Runepolis.

The Holy Milishial Empire during His Majesty’s reign proclaims that all rulers that traditionally ruled the region adjacent to the modern-day Imperial Capital were given the posthumous title of Emperor Milishial, thus connecting the modern Holy Empire’s 3.000 years of history to an era of nearly a ten thousand years ago. The only one who used the term ‘Emperor’ (a unisex title) from the start was His Majesty, Lucius of the Morning Star, also known as Emperor Milishial VIII. All previous Milishial Emperors were known to use various titles during their lifetimes.

Armage of the Dark Star (Milishial I), Astra of the Triumphant Star (Milishial II), and Lugiel of the Azure Star (Milishial III, the first female Emperor) were recorded as using the title of the Chief of the Star Tribe. Megiddo of the Rebirth Star (Milishial IV) and Shagaru of the Welcoming Star (Milishial V, the second female Emperor) were known as the High Rulers of the Star Confederation, and lastly, Storius of the Shining Star (Milishial VI) and Bilgamed of the Unflinching Star (Milishial VII) were the Kings of Caelus.

At this point, it hardly shocked anyone if the Holy Milishial Empire started proclaiming itself a “Ten-Thousand Year Empire,” but it seems that it was already content with the “Three-Thousand Year Empire.”