Crow, Vita, Kloe, Angelica, and I arrived back on the open floor terrace. The summer rays of the sun provided a nice warmth, now that was sunset. Angelica and I held hands, showing our affection outward.
"You two really are a couple...huh.", Vita uttered, still in disbelief about learning I'm not only dating someone, but the fact that I now have a Royal Harem.
"What, you jealous you didn't get dibs first?", Angelica teased, and stuck out her tongue.
"Y-You!", Vita exclaimed. Her cheeks turned a little red.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Vita. You need to learn to relax, like me.", Crow said, only to casually place his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. "And speakin' of which, if you really are THAT Angelica Rogner, I've heard some unruly rumors about you. Likin' girls, for one thing."
"Hehe.", Angelica giggled in response to that. "Well, we can say those rumors aren't false."
"Wait. Seriously?", Crow retorted, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Let me correct you there, Crow. We're talking PAST tense here. As in, in the past.", I said, quickly correcting Crow.
"Oh come on, Naoto. I know I promised, but can't you look the other way for one time? This is THE Azure Diva here. I might not get another chance if it isn't now.", Angelica suddenly said, only to part ways from my hand. She then raised both of her hands, letting Vita get a good look at them. Angelica did a squeezing motion of her hands in front of Vita, causing Vita to stare back at her.
"I-I beg your pardon?", Vita retorted, feeling even more embarrassed.
Crow even whistled seeing Angelica do this.
"That'd be some eye-candy for sure.", Crow chimed in.
Seeing Angelica do this, I sighed, and raised my own hand. Reaching outward, I flicked Angelica's forehead just like how a certain older ninja would do so to his younger brother.
"Aww...", Angelica retorted, but didn't press it further.
"Okay. I don't think I like where this is going.", Vita also retorted. "Especially that part about "liking girls"."
"You can ignore Angie, Vita. She's just teasing you. Why don't we get back on track with what we're supposed to do?", I said to everyone.
"Yes, we cannot get sidetracked with this for too long. We've someone waiting on the other end.", Kloe nodded. This terrace is wide enough to hold spars, and I'm interested in seeing how far Kloe has gotten under Julia's guidance. If time permits, we'll hold some here, but not now. We made our way through the terrace after Angelica ended her teasing.
One thing to point out was the garden terrace was slightly different to how it is in the games. In terms of appearance. A long way back, I suggested to Grandmother to plant Sakura Trees. They've long since sprouted and have grown quite well in this last decade. They might even bloom soon.
As we enjoyed the rays of the sun with a passing cool breeze, we soon arrived at the other end where a tower stood over the rest of Grancel Castle. Normally, this area is restricted to the general public. Even soldiers and guards could only stand by and watch over the entrance to this place. For this was our Private Quarters. Not only did Kloe and I rest here for most of the time, even Grandmother lives up on a higher floor. It's the most important place of the entire castle!
Seeing a couple soldiers clad in green guarding the entrance, they quickly saluted us upon our arrival.
"Welcome back, Your Highnesses. We have no issues to report.", One of the soldiers said while saluting us.
"Good. Please continue your patrols. We will likely be busy for a while. Do not let anyone come in under no circumstances until the appointed dinner.", I ordered.
"Understood!", The soldiers exclaimed in unison. Now that's how you know these guys are good soldiers. Soldiers simply follow orders. They cannot talk back to those who order them. Otherwise, they'd fall into a class act of insubordination. Grandmother has a good reign over the Royal Army.
Crow whistled again seeing me do this. I ignored him, and smiled at everyone while we approached the entrance to our Private Quarters.
"Welcome to our little abode. Our connection test will be taking place inside.", I said, welcoming our group.
"Ahem.", Angelica suddenly said with a playful smile. "I think you meant to say, "Welcome to our love nest~".
"You really are shameless.", Crow retorted, being the first to say that.
"I don't even want to know...", Vita uttered and sighed.
"Angie...", I spoke, and squinted my eyes at her.
Well, I signed on and boarded this train, deciding to date Angelica. I know she showed her resolve and all, but that doesn't dismiss her natural playful nature. I simply sighed after.
"Haha. Angie means no harm. Please head on in.", Kloe urged. After bidding the soldiers farewell, we guided our guests inside. Closing the doors, they immediately spotted a few monitors placed against one corner of one of the walls. It was all connected to a large machine of sorts, which powered them. Still quite rudimentary, but orbal tech is constantly in development. Far from a professional gaming setup like I had in my past life, but it'll do for now with what we want to do. Off to the side of this setup was an orbal repeater with a medium-sized antenna attached to it.
Its purpose was to attract certain orbal waves, which were equivalent to radio waves in my previous life. What kind, exactly? The same kind to send and receive wifi signals.
AKA, the Orbal Network.
In the middle of this lackluster setup was a vermillion-colored laptop. The same laptop the Epstein Foundation was ever so considerate to provide me, acquired by a hefty amount of Mira, of course.
Just merely a decade ago, the concept of the internet here didn't exist in Zemuria. But around S1189, it was proposed by a joint project between our very own ZCF, and the Epstein Foundation. At the beginning there were pure theoretical designs and works, but enough time had passed to allow actual production of it. They started the installments at Crossbell City due to it being a focal point between several different countries, and now, they're branching off to Liberl. All thanks to my intervention.
Normally, this isn't supposed to happen right now. Not for quite some time. I'm not sure if this will cause implications down the line, but I want my internet, damn it!
Ahh, I'm glad I was reincarnated into a world that has technological advancements, and wasn't completely medieval like other stories are. I used the internet quite a lot in my previous life, and no doubt will I do so in this life as well.
I saw confusion in Vita's and Crow's eyes as they observed this setup in our room, which by the way, had that large circular bed further in the opposite area. The drapes wrapped around it, hiding its contents within. I could see a small silhouette around the middle. It was likely Tamamo who was presently taking a rest. I saw her ears perk up for a brief moment, but soon shifted her head back into her fur, and continued sleeping, likely sensing our arrival.
"What is all of this?", Vita asked, still confused. To a normal person, even if they're a Witch, this is a technological wonder. We wandered off to one of the tables off to the side. Angelica's earlier demeanor vanished, and she became busy, grabbing a teapot and was now in the process of boiling its water. Crow joined them, sitting down at the table as well. As for Kloe, she began to fiddle with the orbal repeater.
"Hmm, I wonder where we should begin. You might be a Witch, but you likely haven't been exposed much to orbal technology, outside of what a normal person does on a day-to-day basis, right?", I asked.
"Yeah. We know how to use everyday appliances that have been appearing on the market. There is a guy I know who is crazy about it, though. I'm not that in touch with what's all new.", Vita explained.
"I more or less know what's been happenin', with what's been reported to the public, anyways. Sounds like this is some grand venture hitherto unheard of. I'm curious where it will lead.", Crow said, looking interested.
"...Did you just say 'hitherto unheard of'?", I retorted. As for who Vita is referring to, it is likely the person who calls himself The Professor inside Ouroboros. He's one of the greatest minds in all of Zemuria, just like Epstein's three disciples.
"What about it? I felt it was appropriate to say what we're currently seeing.", Crow said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Right...", I uttered, and coughed a bit, like I was clearing my throat. "Anyway, like I have brought up already, the Foundation unveiling the Orbal Network Project with its partner, the ZCF, was revolutionary. So I will try to keep it simple. This device Kloe is checking is used to send, and receive information."
"I see. A two-way signal. It isn't visible either, right?", Vita asked.
"It isn't. On top of that, we now have means of storing data, allowing us to customize it in any way shape or form.", I answered, nodding my head. "How's it looking, Kloe?", I continued, only to stand up and walk toward the setup. Crow and Vita remained at the table while Angelica poured them some tea. Opening the laptop and turning it on, they all saw a blue-lit screen, very similar to my Gamer System. There wasn't much on it. A simple application or two at most, which kept internal data of my Gamer System progress. It's a lot to track and instead of trying to recall it all, I have technology to assist me.
A smile appeared on Kloe's face after she finished checking the orbal repeater. It didn't take long for the antenna attached to it to shine green. Kloe then walked toward the nearby sliding window, and cracked it open to let some fresh air come inside. Even with it being sunset, the weather was nice.
"We're all set, Naoto. Seeing the weather today, there shouldn't be much static interference. With any luck, we'll be able to see our friends in Crossbell.", Kloe answered.
"Excellent.", I responded, letting my laptop do its thing. I was already used to typing. If there was one difference between this laptop compared to what I had in my previous life, it was operating systems. They weren't really a thing here in Zemuria. There was no Windows, no Macintosh, etc. If anything, it was like Linux, an open-source operating system where coding was a big emphasis on it. Most of the screen displayed coding but once you've worked on it long enough like I have, you can see a couple app icons off to the side. It was a constant moving of data, just like how you'd see it inside the IBC's basement floors where the Orbal Network was located.
Just on a smaller scale.
And that use came with personal, assigned symbols, depending on one's company, or point of origin. When the CPD used it, it used the CPD's insignia, and so on. As for mine, it is the royal crest of the Auslese, the white falcon. To be honest even this laptop was pretty bare.
But with the help of the orbal repeater, all screens hooked up to my laptop lit up all at once, and merged together.
The coding vanished, and what replaced it was a blue screen within a blue screen. That's right, it's a video call. The connection was successfully established! Orbal Wifi really is real!
We all saw a blue-haired girl who seemed around three or four years younger than me. Of the people I've encountered thus far, she's one of the younger ones, just like Renne. Don't let that dissuade you though. Who else could be but Tio? Tio is a huge genius. There's a reason why she's on the other side of this screen. She knew what she was doing.