August 9, 1615 Central Calendar, 08:42

Leiden, Enysfal Province, Holy Milishial Empire

Since Leiden rises from sea level to elevations of 800 meters on its northern slopes, it is not uncommon to encounter cloudiness, fog, and rain in the northern suburbs, while at the same time having clear skies in the south on the beaches. While this makes temperatures in the vicinity where Meteos resides tend to be slightly cooler, in peak summer months when the air is dry, venturing outdoors can expose one to a sweltering atmosphere, particularly around midday, especially when the sky happens to be bereft of clouds on that particular day.

If one doesn’t feel like artificial air conditioning or wants something more natural, perhaps the allure of shaded havens beneath tall greenery can be a very tempting place, as one might find on the outskirts. Amidst Leiden’s hubs of human activity, on the other hand, one such place was situated high on a hilly region overlooking the town and the rugged escarpment to the east. The Leiden Barony Botanical Garden, originally a personal collection of a local noble, was opened to the public a century ago after said noble’s passing and the ownership was handed over to the family group, also offers an amazing view as a matter of course. It was then divided into six general areas including an expansive and dense arboretum that the vacation group found itself on the morning of this second Sunday of the eighth month.

Anette turned to ask the boy walking on Nadia’s other side and asked, “What did one person really do to have a garden this diverse?”

A plain shawl made of silk draped around her shoulders complemented the modest lavender dress Annette was wearing, calculatedly highlighting a dignified refinement as an heiress of a noble family. Her friends were not plain-looking either; like unique flowers that stood out more than anyone else in town, a pair of silver-haired youth was flanking a golden-haired girl of exceptional beauty as they took the lead of the group in leisurely strolling onto the stone-paved path through rows upon rows of trees and shrubs.

Whenever they walked past a group of people, she could feel curious onlookers’ stares coming from them, but these quickly became transient side glances, as the gazes swiftly redirected elsewhere and they proceeded to continue their day with mirthful nonchalance. A tacit understanding was ingrained in the people’s minds that people carrying genetic traits like her and Meteos exist, albeit a rarity seldom encountered up close for them. Before deeming such an act useless, the other silver-haired youth once thought of covering his features, but Annette was different in that she had taken to show her beauty with pride.

“Well, of course it’s not exactly this one person anymore who did all this,” answering her inquiry, words flowed from Meteos’ mouth. “But in capturing the former owner’s passion, the family group really did an impressive job gathering collections from all around the known world.”

“Hmm. That much I can see. Wanderlust, huh…”

From Quilan palm to vines endemic to islands at the western fringes of Leifor’s sphere of influence, a multitude of exotic and unusual flora they never thought to see in the Middle Lands came into view one after another with many of the information plaques keep telling them names of places not even located on this continent. Even then, this collection still doesn’t fully capture the entirety of the world’s botanical wonders, that much Meteos had to admit but considering the situation, he’d rather save it for later when the mood is more contemplative.

Putting a relaxed smile, Meteos spoke. “Next to this area is a greenhouse and a flower garden. Which one do you want to see first?”

“Mm-hmm. What do you think, Nadia?” Annette without hesitation deferred to her blonde friend, tilting her head teasingly.

“Anna wants to take nice pictures, doesn’t she? Then a flower garden would make a good spot. I think we should go there first before it’s getting uncomfortable staying outside too long.”

Looking at Nadia, the heiress gave the blonde a delightful smile. Much like her appearance, she wondered if Nadia ever realizes that her tone of voice when she’s being thoughtful is enough to captivate everyone like the singing of birds—lovable and pure. Ironically, though, the one she ended up falling with seemingly without effort seemed to be the one most impervious to her charm. Seeing the closeness between the two up close was like a guilty pleasure, a fascinating sight that she couldn’t avert her gaze despite feeling butterflies fluttering within her stomach.

“What she said,” Meteos shrugged and gave a slight nod of agreement. “…I want to feel bad for you Runepolians if you feel inconvenienced, but I can’t help that the weather around here is part of the Leiden experience.”

“Now, now, I signed up for this the moment I decided to visit this town,” a chuckle escaped Annette. She also didn’t miss Meteos’ faint chortle in response before he turned to call out those trailing behind them.

Walman and Sofia, as well as the four chaperones—the adults and Butler Zimmermann, carrying a TLR camera hanging from a strap wrapped around his shoulders—didn’t need much persuading. With the decision made, the group promptly took a turn at the next intersection and headed to the exit that led them to the next area.

Beneath the cloudless sky that day, vibrant summer blossoms of extravagant colors indigenous to Enysfal graced both sides of the carefully tended, choreographed garden area, arranged in aesthetically pleasing geometric patterns that captivated the Runepolians among them upon sight. Despite the increased sunlight, they immediately became lively with the view.

“Such a lovely sight.”

“Do you want to get started now? Or later?”

Annette squinted at the bright surroundings. “The sooner the better! After that, can we go to that stall over there? Oh! There’s a gift shop too… what are they selling?”

“That one mostly sells pressed flowers,” Meteos pointed out.

“Um, can we take a look at them later? I want to find something for my grandmother.”

“Sure, why not. I think she will appreciate it.”

“Speaking about gifts, Meteos. Do you like pressed flowers too?”

An eyebrow was raised. “…Oh. I think I know where this conversation is going,” prompting amused noises to be heard around him.

On Thursday of this same week, August 13, Meteos will officially turn fifteen. He was no longer short, but he was in fact born the last among this group making him officially the youngest. Among his friends of the same age, Annette already had her fifteenth birthday back in February, Sofia in March, Walman in June, and Nadia in July. Unlike his past self where this was an irritable sore spot and lashing out for it earned him no respect, Meteos is a good sport and took the teasing in stride, which resulted in a warm relationship with his close associates.

“Nice try. Feel free to guess, that’s all I need to say.”

“For someone who talked about disliking surprise parties, you sound like someone who is hoping for surprises,” Annette snarked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Walman interjected, “Asking about what he wants is pointless. He won’t say a word, speaking from experience, so you guys just keep wild guessing.”

“Hmf. If you say so,” Annette puffed her cheeks childishly. “But don’t cry if you don’t like my present, do you understand?”

“Such things are beneath me.”

“Good, we’ll see about that.”

With Walter in tow, these young teenagers frolicked from one corner of the garden to another, finding good spots to take photos.

Sometime later, still in the garden, Meteos’ auditory senses caught a certain noise beginning to faintly echo from the sky. It wasn’t quite the annoying drone of a summer insect, however. More like a faint rumbling sound very artificial in nature, coincidentally as if heralding the arrival of cirrocumulus patches appearing in the distance. Sensing the familiarity with the sound, he instinctively directed his gaze towards a specific spot in the northern direction and emitted a contemplative hum.

“Hey. Hear that?” he asked offhandedly while continuing to scan the skies.

The others wondered pretty much the same thing before their ears heard it as well. “Hmm…? Ooh… a Heavenly Vessel is going to fly over here? What about it?”

After noticing the sound several seconds later, Annette standing beside him asked, staring at the boy for a moment before she followed the others squinting at the bright sky, trying to find the noisy thing that emitted such a recognizable engine noise. Planes come and go in the sky over Runepolis all the time, but the kind of excitement of spotting planes flying in the sky and wondering what it feels like to have wings is perfectly understandable.

Since their friend simply quirked a grin in response, the others prompted by the questions also followed his gaze and briefly changed their topic of conversation. Meanwhile, the noise gradually increased in volume until before long, the source—six indistinct dots in the sky approached from the direction Meteos and the others were looking, becoming clearer and clearer until their naked eyes could make the shape of six sleek jets flying in formation above the outskirts of Leiden. After soaring over the awestruck viewers, they continued to head to the southwest before they were gone from view.

The juxtaposition of nature’s beauty on the ground and the display of technological prowess above created quite an unexpected scene, stealing the eyes of everyone on the ground with the impromptu aerial display.

“Oh… the military’s Heavenly Vessels! Fighters… those are fighters, right!?”

“Yes. Those are Alpha-1s, air superiority-type Heavenly Vessels,” Meteos gave the planes’ exact name. “They’re pretty much second only to the Wind Dragons in terms of power since fifteen years ago.”

“Well… you know, there’s an Air Force base beyond this strait,” Robin casually pointed out from behind, catching the younger girls’ attention. “I bet those fighters are heading there. Most likely on a training mission or something.”

“Rucym Island, huh. By the way, that reminds me. Do you think those Alphas are the latest Pattern 15s?” Walman turned to Robin and Arthur.

“Who knows. It’s kind of hard to tell from down here, not that they are distinguishable from the standard model by their appearance at first glance,” Robin shrugged, “What do you think, Artie?”

“……Hn,” said bird beastman grunted ambiguously.

“Ah. Such a poetic response!”

“What exactly is a Pattern 15 you are talking about?” Nadia asked.

“It’s what they call to differentiate between a military equipment’s variants. For example, ‘Alpha-1 Pattern 15’ would be a model of the Alpha-1 introduced on a year that ends with ‘15.’ Since the Navy also has its own air force, planes modified for their use are given the letter ‘M’ after the pattern number which stands for ‘Marine.’ If there’s a minor upgrade, then they will add a ‘Mark’ designation behind it to become something like ‘Pattern 15 Mark 1.’ In the case of warships, though, things are different since they will use the name of the first ship of that variant, like the Silver-class Alastor I-pattern and Alastor II-pattern will have differences despite both being called Silver-class magic battleships. Sometimes the differences are subtle, but sometimes a pattern in a class is a new design altogether. It’s rather confusing at first, I know.”

“Ooo…”

“Hum… it’s not every day we get to see military jets flying in formation while sightseeing at a garden of all places.”

“I do hope those fighters are the newest model. I heard folks at RVM have been planning this since last year. Good for them if they succeeded,” Robin grinned. “Well, that means good for us too, being the ones teaching them the knowledge and all that! That means one of the Ancient Ministry’s operational guidelines is working.”

“Yes, that’s the Ancient Ministry’s job too.”

“Lording over prestigious academies is a part of your job?”

“That’s what you think? Okay, it’s not entirely wrong. Note that the polarizing rumors about the Ancient Ministry are exaggerated, if you will.”

“Heee…”

The friends burst into laughter, the fleeting spectacle creating a unique memory for the vacation group that would be recounted with enthusiasm in the future. Seeing those Heavenly Vessels, a different sense of elation came to Meteos. The existence of Pattern 15s, this timeline’s original existence, can be used as ammunition to rebut a certain oft-invoked slander about the other Milishians’ technological development tendencies.

While the MOASEC continued to push with the Alpha Edge Project’s development, a tale began in the laboratories of the RVM in late 1614. As an aviation specialist academy in charge of the current jets’ production, their cooperation and technology sharing with the MOASEC allowed the RVM to harness the flow of knowledge and independently develop a major upgrade package for their pride and joy—the Alpha-1 fighter and Beta-1 multirole Heavenly Vessels, using the materials, latest magic circuit, and the First-Generation Manadriver technology to enhance these jets and turn them into new baselines. While they are expected to eventually be succeeded by the next-generation Heavenly Vessels, it was decided that upgraded variants of the Alpha-1 and Beta-1 will be developed until their replacement fully becomes the mainstay of the Holy Empire’s air power.

Or to put it bluntly, the Alpha Edge Project is not expected to become successful and these new variants serve as their second-best option, but at the same time there are many who hoped the Alpha Edge to succeed, resulting in the policymakers’ decision in putting a conservative number in ordering these new variants to replace the oldest jets. A brief discussion emerged sometime about export models in the future if the Holy Milishial Empire really decided so. Regarding this, the Magicaraich Community is almost certain to be the most likely candidate for export destination given its close magical technology capabilities, relatively strong national power, stable governance, very good relations with the Holy Empire in recent decades, and its position to put a check on the Second Civilization Area superpowers Mu and Leifor.

Upon completion, it was accepted by the Holy Milishial Imperial Air Force as the Alpha-1 Pattern 15 early this year. In fact, the fighters that had recently flown over Leiden happened to be the first among the 60 latest Pattern 15 Mark 1s that the Air Force ordered and then delivered to the bases on the West Coast, following the longstanding policy of prioritizing this side for the deployment of new military hardware.

Pattern 15 mainly addressed weaknesses present in the Chant Powered Light Magic-Compressed Air Engine. Since the engine’s Tears of the Wind God-based magic circuit used to actively draw in air depletes after takeoff, the engine is forced to rely on passive air intake for the remainder of the flight. To resolve this limitation, RVM engineers devised a solution by replacing this component with a Manadriver-based device capable of continuous activation as long as there’s a supply of mana.

Furthermore, employing another Manadriver device and incorporating cutting-edge magic circuits in the combustion chamber enabled the reduction of enchanters required for engine functionality from five to just one. This created room to add more enchanters when higher purity magic stone fuel becomes available if necessary, but in its current form, it resulted in a notable reduction in weight. The integration of First-Generation Manadriver technology, coupled with appropriate spells, proved more than adequate considering the engine’s lack of demand for the same spell-chanting flexibility as a sentient being. As a result, while still not even close to rivaling the overwhelming power of Meteos’ magic turbojet, this upgraded engine represents a substantial enhancement in performance.

After heated debates and testing using a prototype, the RVM decided that retrofitting older airframes with this new engine would be useless as it would not bring its full potential and decided to upgrade the airframe as well. Benefiting from a significant reduction in the engines’ weight, the RVM achieved the freedom to enhance various performance aspects of the Heavenly Vessels without having to sacrifice the other. Along with an armor upgrade, the Alpha-1’s fuselage was strengthened to improve its maneuverability, while one of its four nose-mounted 12,7 mm machine guns was replaced by a 20 mm magic light autocannon making it an even deadlier opponent against helpless wyverns and Muish Challenger biplanes with enough power to easily bisect even an Emorian Wind Dragon.

While it still has terrible acceleration that needs to keep an eye on, with a new top speed of 650 kilometers per hour, it is now able to completely outrun a Wind Dragon in a straight line. Even though the Wind Dragon can still turn circles around it, the new Alpha-1 if used right through boom and zoom tactics can become the most formidable air power in the known world and topple the Emorian air force from its throne.

On the other hand, with the Beta-1 Pattern 15, the engine upgrade was mainly aimed to increase the plane’s maximum speed performance allowing it to reach 550 kilometers per hour, better maneuverability, and an armament upgrade to four nose-mounted 12,7 mm machine guns. Especially with the magic torpedo that this Heavenly Vessel could carry, their performance in attacking ships was so overwhelming that no one in the Imperial Navy seemed to have a chance to feel skeptical of these new weapons. Being a never-before-seen harbinger of a devastating power capable of sinking even battleships, they also gained a horrifying realization of just how glaringly underpowered their own warships’ defenses against such attacks. Even though they still hadn’t found evidence that their closest maritime rival Mu was aware of a weapon similar to the U-boat they were developing, the intel that Mu had managed to develop a torpedo on their own spurned the Navy to seriously rethink their future. However, this is a tale for another time.

When it comes to matters like this, the Emperor and his hidden hand, the Order of the Ancients, had an unimaginable role in providing resources, budgeting, and spreading information across organizations to facilitate such a jump. And now, knowledge of what exactly they should do should have firmly established another pillar of the Holy Empire’s advancement.

The resulting Pattern 15s were good enough that when thrown to ‘previous timeline’ scenarios where the Holy Empire was humiliated by the Gra Valkas Empire such as the battles of the Folk Strait and Baltica, these new variants would be able to gain an upper hand against the weapons fielded by the enemy at that time. Even though they were still ignorant of the threat that the Annonrial Empire was hiding at present, it goes without saying that the RVM engineers felt like dreaming upon ‘realizing’ that ‘literally the only thing faster than their jets was the Ancient Sorcerous Empire’s Alpha Zero itself.’

Meteos was rooting for them and giving inputs whenever he could and their efforts were commendable, but for the sake of the greater good, their excitement must be knocked down a peg so that they could reflect further and come back strong.

For personalities like his people, this is what the Alpha Edge was for.

❖⟐❖⟐❖

20:44

Observing the dynamics between his family and friends, Meteos was glad that both of his parents quickly grew fond of the Runepolians, particularly the younger members. Surrounded by the girls and the maids, Meteora appeared to have no shortage of things to talk about in cheerful conversations with smiles and laughter all around. This, in turn, brought a sense of contentment to his being.

When he darted his gaze to another direction, he saw Walman walk over from the dining room with a drowsy look on his face. It made him chuckle. “Are you getting tired already?”

“Man…” Walman brought a hand to cover his mouth as he yawned. “I don’t know. I can’t help it. Everything ticks all the boxes for a nice nap…”

“The atmosphere is comfortable, I see.”

“…Mmmngh, more like everything…”

“Heh, heh. If you say so. See you later when you wake up at midnight, then.”

Gesturing to the nearby Walter with a nod, Meteos called him over.

“Walter, it seems Walman is succumbing to the allure of a good nap,” he grinned. “Could you make sure he won’t fall over on his way to my bedroom?”

The young butler, a friend not that much older than the two boys, responded with a laugh. “Alright, Young Master. Wal, if ye would, I’ll guide ye to the bedroom.”

Guided gently by Walter, who nudged him from behind, Walman emitted a series of unintelligible noises and ambled slowly to Meteos’ bedroom to take a nap. As close friends since their early childhood in this timeline, it was nothing unusual for Walman to stay overnight in the same bedroom as him. However, now that he’s away to call the night early—he was sure it would be more than a short nap—Meteos was left alone with seemingly nothing to do. The ladies were having what seemed like a girly talk, while his father, Mr. William, and Arthur seemed to discuss local politics. Both were awkward for a young teenage boy to suddenly intrude.

However, Robin was absent from both groups.

“Heh. What is that woman up to?” Meteos muttered under his breath, deciding to head outside. Sure enough, he soon came across Robin who walked toward him from an opposite direction.

“Teacher, where have you been?”

“Making a call with someone in the capital,” Robin nonchalantly tapped her coat’s pocket where she stored her grimoire. “Walman?”

“He’s totally beat and just tried to catch some Zs.”

“Aww… poor little guy,” she purred in amusement at those words. “So, what are you doing standing here alone?”

“Haha. Poor little me was bored because one group’s talk was turning too girly and the other was too heavy to follow.”

“Pfft. You just want to avoid the embarrassment when hearing your parents bringing up your childhood moments, don’t you?”

Rolling her eyes, Robin then wiggled her eyebrows teasingly as she regarded her apprentice.

“I recall no such thing of my childhood,” the silver-haired boy bluntly asserted.

“Okay, okay, please don’t go sulking,” Robin relented, bringing her arms in a placating gesture. “Well… that said, I actually got some news to tell you.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Yeah. Mind if we talk outside?”

“Can’t the others know about it?”

Robin let out a snicker. “Don’t worry, Artie will get that covered.”

“……Fine then, how’s rooftop sound like for a place?” Meteos smirked knowingly.

In response, the bespectacled woman’s eyes gleamed with a mischievous light. She held out a fist, lightly bumping it against Meteos’ own.

“Word.”

As Meteos would have expected, someone like Robin is more or less someone who likes those future slang words, even though she didn’t know it.

…………

One of the ways to reach the rooftop of Meteos’ house was by climbing a nearby apple tree. During his early childhood, not long after his reincarnation in this timeline, Meteos often used this tree for honing his climbing skills and testing his mana’s proficiency. As a result, with his cultivated skills in freerunning, Meteos effortlessly followed Robin’s lead in parkouring through the branches and to the roof. The moonlight lent an air of mystique to their ascent, casting shadows that danced across the walls of the residence. Upon reaching the rooftop, they trod upon the sturdy tiles and settled down, facing the direction of the sea, their hair gently tousled by the cool breeze. Isolated from the rest of the household, there were only the two of them up here.

“What’s the news you’ve got?” Meteos immediately cut to the question, staring down at the already-sitting Robin with an expectant look.

Leaning back to look up at the star-studded sky, Robin smiled coyly and took a moment to make herself comfortable.

“You know, if every year this town is going to see some interesting guests, then I don’t mind traveling here every summer vacation,” she glanced at Meteos. “Just earlier, someone from the Ancient Ministry told me about certain members of the upper class who will come spend their vacation here in Leiden around next week.”

“Surely the news of some noble wanting to spend their money here won’t excite you that much, right?” Meteos lightly quirked an eyebrow, his tone even. “Unless the Ancient Ministry also turns out to be an intelligence organization that keeps an eye on the nobility…”

Robin burst into laughter that both contained and hid a myriad of things at the same time.

“That was another good one, kid…!” She exhaled after the fit died down to a mere giggle. “But yeah, this time, it’s the Legendorgas who are coming to Leiden.”

“Ah… interesting…” Meteos nodded slowly. “So plural? As in more than one of them is coming?”

“That’s right.”

“But out of many Legendorgas out there, who should we expect?”

“The one who’s most certain is Lord Victor Legendorga, since the other day he met the Director and stated his intentions. His wife and children will most likely be the others who will come with him. Do you know what this means?”

Meteos’ shoulders shook as he allowed a grin to appear on his face. “No way… that’s too convenient of a coincidence.”

That’s hypocritical humor, for those concerned.

“Well, Victor Legendorga likes to do seemingly random things, but when you take a moment to reflect, it all serves a purpose.”

“Okay, so the pieces are falling into place. Now that you’ve mentioned him, it’s rather obvious as to why would he choose this place. Maybe he’s getting impatient? But I suppose we’ll find soon enough about his angle when he comes here.”

“Yeah. Until then, I’ll try to keep track through our contacts.”

“Heh, Legendorgas…”

“I can’t wait to see his expression when he learned about this…”

With a flourish, Robin pulled out from a holster on her right waist the Desire Driver MR Pattern 1, the Miracle Metatron, as they called the original full-powered version of the Third-Generation Manadriver that they assembled the other day. As Robin began flipping it over in her hand and inspecting its gleaming blue and gold paintjob, Meteos scooted closer. A light smile played on the woman’s lips as she sensed their shoulders brushing against each other, and she cast a glance to see her apprentice watching the device he invented intently, almost without blinking.

Upon completing the assembly of this device, the group was obligated to hand it over to an assigned supervisor’s oversight as per her superior’s orders. Despite Robin’s desire for a more lenient approach, allowing her apprentices the same freedom they had with the Second-Generation Manadriver devices, she dutifully complied with the stricter protocol this time. There’s nothing to worry about, however, as her comrades at the Order of the Ancients would conduct the initial testing. After confirming the results and identifying any potential drawbacks, Meteos and Walman would, in due course, savor the fruits of their labor.

“Here, if you want to take a closer look.”

To be honest, Robin felt that Meteos deserved to wield this device right from the start, but orders are orders, so this is the least she can do for now.

“Hum…”

Nodding lightly, the boy brought his hands to clasp Robin’s, bringing the device closer to him.

‘Wow, I almost forgot that this kid can be this intense,’ she giggled inwardly, seeing Meteos’ unchanging gaze.

“Teacher, what do you see beyond this device?” she heard him speak those words, almost a whisper.

“I wonder…”

“What I see…”

Currently Publicly Available Information

LEIDEN BARONY BOTANICAL GARDEN

Leiden Barony Botanical Garden is a botanical garden in Leiden, Enysfal Provinc. The garden is divided into six areas: indigenous and endemic species, arboretum, succulent plants, agro-industrial plants, medicinal and aromatic plants, palm trees and cycads.

The arboretum is located in the north part of the garden, with succulent plants in center-east, agro-industrial plants in the center, and palm trees in the south. The remaining parts of the garden are covered with flowers and other flora species. The gardens include a bird park and a three-room museum.

Legend:

Entrances Main Building, Natural History Museum, Exhibit/laboratory Snack bar W.C. Plant shop Amphitheatre Viewpoints Small lakes Escarpment with indigenous flora Greenhouse Plant nurseries Lovers’ cave Gardens Orchids Choreographed gardens Arboretum Agricultural plants Aromatic and medicinal plants Succulent plants Cycads Topiary (tree sculpture) Indigenous plants of Enysfal Climbing plants Grass lawn Hibiscus Meteorological plant Birds Aviary

When Meteos woke up in the morning, the first sensation that came onto him was a wave of nausea that assaulted him as he tried to open his eyes. Walman’s voice beside him seemed muffled and distant like a song heard through a thick fog. His head pounded, each beat echoing within his skull like a blacksmith’s hammer. His eyelids felt impossibly heavy, glued shut by a thick layer of exhaustion.

“Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead!” Walman said in exasperation. “Man, as of late you either refuse to sleep or refuse to wake up… can’t you make things a bit easy?”

“Ugh… what time is it?” Meteos croaked, his voice hoarse and dry.

“Almost eight—”

“Ow…! My head…!” the boy groaned, bringing a hand to his right temple. “Did… did a horse come and kick me when I was asleep?”

“M-Meteos, you alright? You sound… rough.”

Meteos tried to sit up, but the splitting headache forced him to back down. A concerned Walman winced at that sight.

“Just tired,” he mumbled again. “Not sick, promise.”

Walman placed a hand on his forehead, his touch cool and comforting. “Right. You don’t have a fever. Just a terrible headache?”

Meteos grimaced. “Yeah. Maybe I’m more tired than what I’d like to think…” His insides felt terrible and he felt an urge to vomit before trying his best to fight it. He felt utterly miserable, but thankfully he could feel it begin to subside. At this rate, he can go through the day like normal after one or two hours of more rest.

“Shit…”

“‘Shit’ indeed,” Walman agreed with a frown. “What do you want me to do?”

“Just grab a glass of warm water. Don’t make a fuss, okay?”

“But… are you sure?”

“It’s just a minor inconvenience. Now go.”

Walman left the room with a worried sigh, promising to return shortly with a steaming glass of water. Left alone, Meteos allowed himself a few more seconds of rest before pushing himself up, the remnants of the nausea still clinging to him like a shadow. He walked with a wobbly gait toward his desk and reached for the familiar weight of his geography encyclopedia arranged neatly among others.

Tucked within its pages lay a single piece of paper. Carefully, Meteos unfolded it as he sat down, the familiar handwriting bringing a victorious smile to his lips. Yes, the headache was still there, a dull ache throbbing behind his temples. But it was a small price to pay for the immense feeling of success that filled his being.

“Worth it, absolutely worth it,” Meteos declared. “But ow… ow… what the fuck…”

❖⟐❖⟐❖

Last night

“What I see…”

Meteos left that sentence unfinished. Without warning, his hands swiftly seized Robin’s arm, positioning it above the circular crystalline display. He deftly channeled his own mana to activate the device. In response, a faint charging sound emanated from the Desire Driver MR before Meteos grabbed the AT Desire Invoker lever and forcefully pulled it before tapping the crystalline screen once more with his mana-infused hand. Due to Pattern 1’s design, it emitted almost no noise, yet boasted at least twice the power of the excessively loud Pattern 2.

“Eh…? What are you doing?”

Meteos sensed a slight jolt in Robin’s hand as she attempted to break free from his grasp. However, she visibly relaxed as soon as she did that. Though she did withdraw her hand, practically ceding control of the Manadriver to Meteos, her reaction was not one of alarm but rather a mild perplexity in response to the abrupt action.

“Relax, it’s nothing,” she heard Meteos say.

“Huh…”

Right, of course it’s nothing. She almost overreacted when there was nothing unusual going on, Robin nodded to herself. It would be rather ridiculous of her.

‘Attarsamain Technique Development… Illusion Magic: Temple of Heaven.’

In his pursuit of the smooth execution of his plan, he had also undertaken the task of leveraging his inherited memories to reverse-engineer a particular magic spell from the Malakh civilization. The intricacy of the spell rendered it initially beyond the reach of Ars Goetia’s native species unaided. However, with the introduction of Third-Generation Manadriver technology, it finally became feasible to cast the spell with a strong enough willpower. Now, he seized the opportunity to test it in order to validate his speculations on various fronts.

Locking eyes with Robin, Meteos watched as her brown irises gradually transformed into a glowing blue, mirroring his own. This subtle change signaled the successful initiation of the spell, yet aside from that, she appeared outwardly normal, albeit slightly confused. Now is the moment of truth. The activation of the spell swiftly depleted his mana reserves at a faster rate than he would have preferred. In their secluded location, free from interruptions, he recognized the need to persist and make the most of this limited moment.

“Teacher, I need you to answer some of my questions truthfully. Can you do that?”

“Sure thing, kid,” the now blue-eyed Robin shook the remaining feeling of confusion within her and raised a curious eyebrow. “What is it that you want to know?”

“Who are you and what is your affiliation?”

“Well… you already know that my name is Robin Calvello, daughter of Mario and Candee, a Mage and a member of the Ministry of Ancient Sorcerous Empire Countermeasures assigned to become you and Walman’s supervisor…” Robin nonchalantly answered before the bespectacled woman leaned toward Meteos with a slowly widening grin and continued in a lower tone of voice. “There’s a secret department within the Ancient Ministry called the Ancient Arms Analysis Tactical Operations Department to which I’m a member of its Operational Division. But more than that, I’m also an agent of another secretive organization called the Order of the Ancients. My codename is Flamberge in both.”

‘Bwahahahahah! …I knew it!’

Meteos took a deep breath, his insides erupting in a silent victory dance. His suspicions were spot on that there’s more to his teacher than met the eye! A thrill of excitement naturally coursed through him. Yet, outwardly, he maintained his composure.

“Is that so?” Meteos replied coolly, never averting his gaze on Robin’s.

“Yep!” Robin cheerfully nodded. “You must’ve not seen that coming, don’t you? It’s okay to be surprised.”

“Hmm. Who knows?”

Robin shook her head with a chuckle and a slight feeling of letdown. This silver-haired boy seemed to try playing it cool with barely a change in his expression. Maybe her reveal wasn’t dramatic enough.

“Is it okay to tell me, a civilian, all of that?”

“Normally it’s a secret that I will take to my grave. But on this occasion, I can make an exception just for you,” Robin shrugged.

“Right.”

‘Damn, the effect is that potent, I see.’

“Then, does all that have something to do with me?”

“Mm-hmm. I was first ordered by my superiors to investigate the news about your first-ever invention to be made public. After that, because you and Walman seem to have so much potential for someone so young, my higher-ups designated both of you as Persons of Interest.”

“Person of Interest, huh… what significance does the term have?” Meteos’ voice sounded slightly strained. Despite his control, his current reserves caused him to get tired from maintaining the spell.

“That means, those in charge will continue to support you from behind the shadows as long as you continue to be productive.”

“Are we going to be disposed of as soon as we stop being productive, then?”

This time, Meteos’ tone turned provocative.

Robin gasped and widened her eyes in horror. “Huh!? Wh—A-absolutely not…!” she whisper-yelled with a trembling voice. “The Order of the Ancients values talented individuals and nurtures them, not crushing it. Disposing of you would be a terrible waste of talent and a betrayal of everything we stand for…!”

Driven by a sudden surge of emotion, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Meteos, pulling him into a tight embrace that took him by surprise.

“Eh—”

“Listen, we would never harm you or Walman. If anything, we see you as valuable allies, not potential threats,” Robin whispered soothingly, compelled to comfort this seemingly distraught boy. She should have anticipated this when revealing her secret to Meteos and now she felt terrible.

How could she of all people fail this little angel? Inconceivable.

“Shh… okay, I believe you,” Meteos softly murmured with a reassuring tone. It’s time to wrap up this testing run. Gingerly releasing the hug, Robin looked at him with a relieved smile.

“Teacher, I’m going to release the spell. You know what to do, right?”

“Sure. As far as anyone is concerned, this talk never happened and I will act normally.”

“Heh. This is why I like working with professionals,” Meteos smirked, witnessing his teacher blushing at that remark. “But one more thing. After I sleep, please write anything else I should know about the Order of the Ancients on a sheet of paper and then slip it inside a geography encyclopedia in my room between pages 60 and 61. Don’t let anyone else know what you’re doing.”

“Leave it to me, kid,” Robin winked, her previous anxiety replaced by a surge of confidence.

‘Release,’ Meteos waved his hand, releasing the spell and handed the Manadriver to Robin.

“Catch… me…”

After confirming that the blue glow in Robin’s eyes had faded away to her normal brown, Meteos felt his eyelids becoming heavy after giving that last command and his body aching for rest. He stumbled slightly, losing his balance. Before he could hit the roof tiles, Robin was there, catching him in her arms. With the agility of a seasoned agent, Robin scooped her apprentice up and scaled down the building with practiced ease, slipping through the window of Meteos’ room before anyone noticed. Placing him gently on his bed, Robin tucked him with a gentle touch.

Then, after the conditions were fulfilled, the spell’s latent command activated and Robin proceeded to do what Meteos had requested. As she grabbed a paper and pencil to begin writing, she smiled slightly knowing that the boy would be very pleased with what he was going to read the next day.

❖⟐❖⟐❖

August 10, 1615 Central Calendar, 08:15

After finishing reading the paper, Meteos tucked it inside his pocket and burned it as soon as he had the chance. He still felt a slight stomachache after a period of recovery, but this terrible side effect was far better considering what he had just done last night. It was the equivalent of forcing his teenage Homo sapiens sapiens body to execute and maintain a divine spell or speaking black speech. Truly an illusion magic of a high caliber, the Temple of Heaven spell seemed to not only manipulate the target by giving them false experiences, making it seem as if they were doing things of their own free will, but also released their mental inhibitions to some degree. Robin already possessed maternal instincts, but it became more pronounced when he put her under the Temple of Heaven. She’s really a kind person.

He also sensed Robin’s mana rippled a bit in response to the spell intruding into her mind before his first command overrode it and forced it to calm down. In other words, a person’s mana reserves did provide protection from illusion magic as everyone postulated. Had his present self’s feeble mana reserves tried this spell on the elves or winged people, he might have failed. That’s too bad, because he had hatched a plan to deal with the Annonrial Empire…

Meteos didn’t have the intention to share this knowledge, but he did desire to create a safer and more efficient method to cast this spell. At present, he can’t freely use it without suffering from its side effects.

‘I really need to develop something that can serve the original Desire Driver’s energy cell function…’ he concluded in his mind, continuing to recap in his mind the paper written by Robin.

It largely confirmed what he had already known from his past life’s memories, but Robin also pointed out that under her superior’s orders, Magister Sorath the Illuminator of the Order’s intelligence branch, Agents Byleth and Ashmodai, Arthur and Daguva respectively, also involved in watching over him.

‘The Heart, a branch dedicated to interfering in religious disputes to prevent conflict, led by Magister Tephras the Guardian, alias for Franz Kellerman who works as a janitor in the Grand United Temple of the August Star in Runepolis; The Right Arm is entrusted with regulating and upholding the tenets of the Order like an internal affairs division, led by Magister Mastema the Arbiter, alias for Commander Armando Olteca of the Holy Milishial Imperial Navy; The Left Arm is responsible for expanding and enforcing the Order’s ranks, led by Magister Eblis the Summoner, alias for Mister Andreas Birkburn; The Vein handles the Order’s finances, led by Magister Dumah the Custodian, alias for Alicia Harvard, chairwoman of a local labor union in Gosweeves…’

Meteos’ smirk widened a fraction.

‘The Voice is responsible as educators, propagating knowledge to enlighten the masses. We all already met its leader, Magister Enepsigos the Revealer, who is Miss Rachel Giles, my household’s maid. And last but not least, my longtime benefactor… The Eyes, the branch of intelligence and counter-intelligence. Its leader is new, called Magister Sorath the Illuminator… or, as everyone knows her, Her Highness Lugiel Eldart Hollowrain, Imperial Lady of the Third Rank…’

“Heheh… a royal who actually does something—oww, my stomach…”