As night rolled on and she returned from her errands, Siana found Arnold in the midst of putting on casualwear: a simple white shirt and black pants along with his dress shoes and a thick black coat.
He been asleep for roughly 17 hours since being discharged early in the morning so finding him awake wasn't a big deal. She was even expecting him to be full of energy and ready for some intense lovemaking.
"Where are you off to?"
"I received a transmission from my cousin. She's returned from the task I assigned her. Which means it's time for me to finally move."
By move, he meant scouting ahead. He could do it any other day but he doesn't want to sit around for too long doing nothing. That short nap he had given him all the energy he needed even if his Aether wasn't fully restored.
"Ah, I see. But shouldn't you rest a bit more?"
"I'll come back in a few hours to rest." He finished tying his shoes and got up slowly, body clearly not fully healed, "You don't have to wait for me."
"Okay. When does the academy reopen?" she approached the closet and began to strip, then grabbed her nightwear.
Arnold thought about it for a moment, "They said it would only be three days but it's safe to say they'll need another day to sort everything out with all the new developments that's going on. Many students live abroad as well so any threat needs to be investigated and cleared unless the academy and Emperor want backlash from the nobles."
It's been roughly a day since everything ended so the information guilds must be working overtime to spread the news.
The Republic of Zrek, Serz running amok and now the possibility of the humans who were turned into demons escaping from that town before it could be cleansed. All of this would need to be addressed before everything can go back to normal.
"That demon king really sent the continent into a panic. What's scary is how it all just happened. Whereas the people have been expecting a demon invasion for centuries now but something like that would obviously leave behind traces." Siana shook her head then put her arms around him, still in her underwear, "But it's all over now. Why don't we all go on a picnic tomorrow? I'll only let you go if you say yes."
He chuckled, "Understood, ma'am."
After giving her a kiss and watching in sadness as she climbed into bed wearing an erotic nightdress that he couldn't tear off with his teeth, he quickly flew over to the empire.
'You've been quiet lately.'
As he passed over his city, he spoke inwardly.
-Confusion: There have not been any special events or hidden quests triggered to warrant a system notification. If Player Arnold requires comfort or attention, perhaps seek out companionship with escorts or the many women you have courted.
"…." He chose to ignore that last line.
'…Does Valtraak not count as an important matter for you to bring up? We subdued him and saved the world, after all.'
Admittedly, Arnold went into that fight with both the motivation to test out his newfound power and also the expectation of a hidden quest. Valtraak is a hidden boss so even confronting him should've showed the quest.
-Answer: Destroying the rift that kept the [Curse of Dante] alive in the mortal world would have triggered a hidden quest. The creatures that come out of it aren't the threat, but the curse itself, is.
He came to a stop after passing over a gentle flowing river, reflecting the moonlight, "…I missed out on something huge. It's a pity you can't just get the Rune Master class. What rewards did Sylphiala get?"
-Answer: Named NPCs completing hidden quests don't receive the rewards as they don't possess a system. If you had recruited them beforehand into your guild, a function I am incapable of, rewards would have been given depending on who contributed the most.
Even if the system said that, the function itself would've only worked if the game didn't become reality.
"I know about that already but that function was directly part of the game, unlike the system that's connected to players individually. Oh, that's right… What if I added her to my companion system? You should have that function, right?"
It was the same thing Selia has, allowing her to monitor her NPCs' health and such and pinpoint where they are in the world. It's a neat system to keep track of your creations. Selia can also absorb their XP or take their quest rewards using the exchange feature in the companion system.
-Doubtful: You cannot add established characters to your companion system, only creations.
He resumed his flight, "Bummer. I guess the rewards will have to go unseen."
The benefits outside the system—basically the rewards he will receive as fighting 'for the people'—will have to do.
**
Arnold knocked on the lab door and, within a few seconds, it was opened and he was brought inside by Lunaria, who judging by her clothes, was just getting ready for bed. But the books on the table told a different story.
Anyway, instead of the erotic lingerie he always made her wear, she was wearing pink pajamas with a top-hat, a brown bear in the middle of the top.
This cute combination was unlike anything he's seen her wear but maybe this is what she likes?
He noticed Anais wasn't here but there were a lot of mechanical parts lying around the lab. And not just gears and bolts—there were actually strips of metal, several the size of a small child just strewn on the floor.
Deciding to wait for Anais to hear why she took so long to come back, he spoke to Lunaria who was sitting at a desk, working on something even at this hour.
"How's your assignment coming along?"
In a rasp, dry voice, as if she hasn't had a sip of water yet, she replied. "I've managed to get further than before… thanks to your help."
"I see. Let's meet up after school from now on. I need to uphold my promise to you, after all. Speaking of that, is there a deadline for your assignment?"
"A few students have submitted their research to their superiors already. But unless they're satisfied with it, they won't present anything to Lady Freya."
"So, it's safe to say you have a few weeks left as least."
"…Yes."
"Then let's pull all-nighters to catch up to them. There's some business that I need to handle at the SDC but it shouldn't take long to take care of it. We only need the academy to reopen and classes to continue as normal for us to resume our work."
Knowing Morwenne, she's been working hard even without him there to help them, so by the time the academy reopens, they should have a lead on who's involved in the drug empire that's been established in the academy. It's not like he's been left with any individual orders—besides waiting for the mules—so things must be going well.
A door connected to another room in the lab opened automatically at that moment. Anais exhaled loudly as she entered the lab in only a towel wrapped around her body and another one holding up her hair. It seems there's a bathroom in the back of the lab he didn't know about. Then again, he's never been interested in science so the only times he's ever entered this lab was to visit one of his lovers.
"You sure took your time, huh?" Arnold said with a small smile but the irritation was clear in his voice.
"A-Ah… Hehehe…" Anais awkwardly scratched her cheek, "There was so much to go through… There was this building near the platform that had all sorts of equipment and parts for machines we've never made in our world. We carried what we could in our magic bags and brought it back with us."
"You didn't pick apart the Coordinator Teleporter, huh?"
"No. I thought we wouldn't be able to teleport back…"
"Well, that's true..."
Teleporting off-world with Yorm's artifact has a cooldown, so in a sense it was a good thing that Anais was so curious otherwise they would've had to spend a long time waiting for the ring to reset.
"…" he inspected the parts after what she said, "I'm no expert on this stuff but are you sure this is all you'll need?"
"Yes, some of it needs to be smelted down so that we can use the material." She rummaged through the pile and pulled something out, "For example, this lever is made from a mineral needed to create a special network of wires that can withstand a higher energy output than anything we're currently using today to supply power to the empire's households."
"To put it into perspective, that lever will be enough to make a few meters' long wire that can power an entire airship." Lauran added.
"You two did your homework, huh." He looked back at Anais, "…So, I take it you want to go back?"
She froze like a statue.
"No need to hide it."
If you choose to do her side quest in the game (not the DLC)—where she's already an accomplished and world-renowned scientist—it's revealed that she's discovered a world of magic, where a society used the full potential of arcane to push their innovations to its absolute limit, until they managed to make their entire ecosystem rely on mana.
They were the very first ones to uncover the hidden truths of the Arcane.
If the player helps her and succeeds, they will be granted two pieces of Goddess Urion's artifacts (Lufulur's equipment). If someone already got those artifacts on the server, you can still get other legendary magic artifacts and items from redoing her quest.
But something wiped them out, leaving only ruins behind. That said, some machines from a bygone era still remained and worked. Arnold only knows about the Coordinate Teleporter but he heard there are others.
It's only natural Anais would be interested in this. Lauran probably also wants to go—he could see her glancing at the two while pretending to clean up.
This was Arnold's misunderstanding, however, as Anais had different intentions for wanting to go back. It wasn't anything as innocent as wanting to discover new places.
"While I understand your desire for discovery, I can't let you use my artifact any longer than necessary." He held out his hand.
"I-Isn't there a way to get another one?" she inquired after taking it off and handing it to him.
It's still wet, he complained inwardly.
"I met someone during my time in the dungeon that gave it to me. She did it because she knew no other way to help me return home. Even if I take you there to ask her for another one, she'll ask something of you. And trust me, you don't have what it takes to take on her request."
Anais' shoulders slumped.
"But you can get the ring every day during classes."
She looked up as her smile returned.
"If you find anything you think will be beneficial to your work, bring it back. And if you find magic books, definitely bring those to me—"
"Thank you!"
He nodded, "Don't let Lauran do all the work here, though. The two of you can only make a breakthrough if you're together."
Since Anais has already graduated, she has more time on her hands to do her work. Whereas, Lauran has to go to classes, work on the assignment Adrianna gave her, and help around the lab.
"Yes, yes! I understand! Lauran, I'll come get you during breaks if you're interested in seeing that world!"
"Ah, okay."
"Great, then—"
"Lauran won't have time since she has to attend class, just like me. And I have to help her finish the assignment my mother gave her. So, you can only take her on weekends. The ring only allows you to teleport off-world twice a day since there's a cooldown so you two will have to take turns, unless you find a functioning portable teleporter lying around."
"Uhm, it's fine then… If you can bring any documents or schematics that you find, pertaining to teleportation, then we can use them to help in our research. Our first prototype is going to be tested on small objects first before we move on to living things so something that small should be a great addition to our research."
"I really don't want to go there alone… The place is wondrous and huge but creepy at the same time so I'll ask around if anyone is interested. That's okay, right? Sabrina is preparing for university so I can't really take her with me all the time…"
"It's not like teleportation is a taboo concept so sure. But keep them out of the actual research since I don't want the work to leak. Also, I'll leave it up to your judgement—both of your judgment—on who you'd want to help you out around the lab if you require it."
While he knows the two of them are the core of the research, they can't do everything alone. a prototype to teleport small things might seem quite easy in theory but in reality, it's a daunting task.
He knew sooner or later they would need help with manpower. But the core development will be entirely up to their teamwork alone.
Arnold soon left the lab after that to head to the SDC office to see if they left any work for him then prepare to head out for recon—his main objective currently.
"We can take a break today, right Lauran?" Anais spoke to her as she grabbed fresh clothes out of her bag, "I have stuff to do anyway so we can continue tomorrow. I'll move all these parts to another location when I get back."
"Eh? You said you're prepared to work all week. What changed?"
"Hahaha… I haven't been home or seen my parents in months so they want me to come over." She let the towel drop and began to put on her clothes, "I'll head to the Berkleys villa where cousin Luke and Her Highness Olivia are staying right now. I heard my parents and the rest of the family are staying there at the moment."
"You don't look like you're looking forward to it."
"…Is it that obvious on my face?" to the question, Lauran nodded. Hand over her face, she chuckled dryly, "I can already predict what they will say—Anais, why are you still pursing science when you are in the top ranks for magic and academics in the academy? You can become a respectable Tower Mage or pursue any other career in magic and secure a stable future for yourself." The more she repeated what she thinks they would say, the more bitter her voice became.
"I'm sick of it, honestly. It's not like I'm giving up my career in magic! W-Woah!" she almost fell when trying to put on her shoe.
"It doesn't look to me like you prefer one over the other. Surely, they would understand that there's still time."
"Exactly! You get it!" at least someone understands, she thought inwardly. Then she looked bitter again, "I'll need to tell them about what we're doing eventually… And who I'm now working for…"
"Ah… They don't know yet."
"They're too busy scheming with the monarchs, I'm sure. I can only imagine their faces when I tell them Arnold is helping me fund my own ambitions that just so happen to align with his." In truth, even she feels bitter. What compelled her to get so excited back then? She never even thought of alternatives.
"?"
"What?" she noticed Lauran staring at her funny.
"You called him Arnold just now…"
It was a small thing but with how Lauran has observed her relationship with Arnold for the two years she's been his "slave", she immediately noticed it. And the way she said his name was like speaking about a stranger.
"Is that a big deal?" then she realized, "…Ah… Yeah, I did… It's just… I don't know him as much as I thought I did anymore. I don't know how to act around him despite how we grew up as siblings."
"None of you have spoken about what happened or resolved anything yet?" she was referring to Arnold's "quarrel" with Arthur.
"…Please, let's just focus on our work. I don't want to think about him and my brother. It's not even a 'we'll cross the bridge when we get there' as I'm the one chained on that bridge, waiting for it to collapse…"
"Your parents will bring it up even if I don't."
Anais smiled wryly, "Yeah… Gods, I wish I could just stay shut in this lab and continue my work forever." she then frowned, "I bet they'll bring up marriage again as well. They just can't wait to marry me off to Sir Full-of-himself or whatnot."
Lauran laughed, a first for her since she's always so stoic. Maybe she's gotten used to Anais despite not knowing each other for that long. Sure, the young lady has been around the castle many times but Lauran was a slave back then.
Strange how different things are now compared to back then.
"Anyway, I'll be back in the evening tomorrow. It's almost midnight but they're probably expecting me over there." Anais put on her coat then grabbed a suitcase with some clothes.
After a back and forth between the two, she finally left, leaving Lauran in the lab alone.
Lauran's eyes went back to the pile of parts her coworker brought. Curious, she approached for a closer look.
"What are these…?" she noticed strange objects—about five in total—among the pile that didn't seem to be a part for a machine. Rather they resembled weapons that can be held in your hands. "A type of ranged weapon?"
Though rare, guns are used in the empire. As they are ranged weapons and can be used with one hand, close combatants typically use them as either backup or to attack their opponent when gaining distance. These kinds of weapons are only typically meant for one-handed swords but anyone can use them, even magicians like Lauran. They're great for fighting when your mana runs out.
A silent click echoed. Then another and another.
"Hmm…"
Since nothing happened when she pulled the trigger, they were non-functional despite having small crystals in the magazines. She's no expert on them but maybe their parts are damaged? It's not like she knows how to open them so she'll have to accept that assumption.
"Why did Anais bring these with her?" after putting them back, she pondered to herself, recalling that Anais never mentioned these before. It's not like they can help in the research.
Maybe she was just curious about these kinds of weapons? If so, she could just go buy some from a store…
But why bring these?
"…Should I be worried about this…?"
Her question went unanswered.