(A/N: Previous week's 500 stones chapter)
"Umm… so what is going on, papa?" Marcus' cute red-haired daughter asked with a confused expression. She got comfortable in her seat in the back.
"It's a special occasion, so I decided to get a car and come pick up my daughter." The disguised Emperor replied as he looked at the back mirror, and he could see his daughter's reaction
"Ohhh." She nodded before getting closer to the two seats in front of her.
"...So… are we going home?" Julia asked with an expectant tone.
"Do you have something in mind?" Marcus asked with a raised eyebrow.
"...Umm….the classmates talked about something called… arcade?" For a second, she got a pondering look.
When Kallen heard that, she perked up.
"You know… I was never in an arcade before." The Empress commented with an awkward tone.
'How could I? I spent my teen years somewhere else.' The woman recalled what she used to do. As a freedom fighter, and then being part of Anaheim.
"...You know what? I never was in one as well." Marcus chuckled as he turned on the engine of the car. Before starting to float and rising to the 'street level'.
"We are going to visit the arcade before going home. It's a totally acceptable cultural exchange." He said with a small smirk.
"...Well, you are the Emperor." Kallen shrugged.
"Says the Empress." Marcus shrugged back.
"As the 2nd Princess of Empire, I want to visit Arcade!" Julia got into her Imperial role.
"Hah, as my Princess commands!" Marcus began to fly towards the super mall.
~~~
The Malls in Empire are completely different to what they were close to a decade ago.
Gravity resonance was in full display, and Marcus used this chance to demonstrate what his Empire can do directly.
So there were floating advertisements, light shows, moving water sculptures dancing to the music, and robots guiding people.
Hologram shows, and of course, shops everywhere.
"Ohhh~~~" Julia gawked everywhere as Marcus hummed, looking around.
"So this is why you always insert yourself in Mall designing phases." Kallen removed her sun glasses for a second as she looked around. There was a bit of awe in her voice.
Her eyes stayed on a huge Jupiter's projections; there was an ad about the Gas Giant.
[Are you interested in a fresh start? How about living in a colony? Jupiter's expansion is in full swing. Come and join a new era for Humanity!]
The ad switched from Jupiter to give full drone shots of the moons, space stations, and colonies.
"With ads like that, no wonder there is a huge immigration going on." Kallen chuckled, taken aback by this ad. The Empress is feeling goosebumps.
"We used movie makers to make ads, with experts in cinematography at the helm, they made some great shots." Marcus nodded, enjoying the ad as well.
"Not bad…"
"Moh! Let's go to the arcade!" Julia grabbed both of them as she began to pull towards a random direction.
"Do you even know where you are going, Julia?" Kallen chuckled, making her daughter stop.
"Let's go ask the robot." Marcus went to his daughter's help, who immediately perked up.
The trio walked to a robot dressed like a traffic officer.
"Mister Robot, where is the arcade?" Julia asked the robot.
[Second floor, once there, turn right, pass the zero gravity area.]
The robot pointed out where to go and even summoned a hologram with a map.
"Oh…"
"Zero Gravity? Really, Mark?" Kallen looked at her husband, who shrugged.
"Apparently, people love that stuff. You can use that or the escalators." Marcus commented, recalling online reviews of the malls.
"Oh! Let's use the zero gravity!" The little Princess got excited all of a sudden.
"Sure, they are safe to use, in fact, far more reliable than mechanical escalators."
"I guess they are, it's just sound and vibrations going through a stone." Kallen 'broadly' commented on what it was.
She so simplified that the Emperor didn't rebuke at all, since she was right. But still, it's incredible tech!
It's like saying that V8 or V12 engines are the same! They push the car forward! But the sound! The force!
'Women…'
'Like always, they care about the result while the guys…we love the adventure itself!'
Marcus sagely nodded to himself.
"I think you are thinking about something not nice!" The Empress narrowed her eyes at him.
'Gah? She is not even an innovator yet! How are her senses that good!?'
*Stare*
The red-haired Empress stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"Don't worry, let's go. Claudia lead the way for us!"
"Hmph! Leave it to me!" The Princess puffed her cheeks as she walked towards an area where gravity resonance is a thing.
~~~
The Arcade is huge, with massive technological advancements over the past 9 years, with many technologies publicly available, and the gaming industry is on a massive rise. The neural interface makes computer-human interaction on a completely different level.
So active games are a huge thing. From dancing to fighting, then VR goggles.
'Oh… this is a gaming paradise… or not. This place is couch potatoes' worst nightmare.' Marcus commented with amusement that one of the first games Claudia played was a space-invaders-inspired game. But she needs to use a pistol and move on a special platform.
"...The tech here is impressive, so much movement." Kallen looked impressed; she expected more of sitting in front of a console or standing in front of a 'slot machine' like thing.
"Imperial law? Kids can play, but the games need to be active and provide a great learning experience. If they follow those couple of laws, then anything goes." Marcus shrugged a bit.
He wouldn't mind playing a historic medieval game himself, if only he had more time…
'Hmm…'
"...You are not planning to get into the video game business?"
"Not really, maybe… something like a full dive experience with swords and a hundred floors?"
"That is very specific…" The red-haired wife of his pointed out how specific his 'idea' was, as if he had something in mind.
"Indeed." The disguised Emperor simply smiled at her as he, indeed, had something specific on his mind.
Kallen rolled her eyes as she then decided to check out some game herself…
…
…
…
*Stare*
Claudia looked at a huge bunny behind a glass wall. It was a claw game that had oversized plushies.
"...Papa…" The girl began to pull her father's sleeve.
"...I want it!" She puffed her cheeks, relentlessly pulling his sleeve.
"...Fine, only this time because it's a special occasion." Marcus relented as he sighed and walked over to the crane.
His wife snorted from the back; her snort told him that the whole 'this time' was nothing more than a joke, as the girl would simply annoy him until she got what she wanted.
It's as simple as that!
In the meantime, the disguised Emperor was thinking how swiftly he could take the toy for his little princess.
'These things are cheats, so I will simply cheat as well.'
Thankfully, he was wearing sunglasses, so he activated his Geass, found the most successful route, and, moments later, began to play the crane game.
It only took him a couple of moments, as the big rabbit ended up rolling out from the machine.
"You know… why the whole thing is so big?" Kallen commented while shaking her head. This whole thing was absurd in her eyes.
"Mama, don't comment! I like it!" The Princess commented with a 'frenzied' look, and the girl rushed to pick up the huge rabbit.
The red-haired Empress shook her head.
"You can barely carry it."
"...I…can…do…it…" The girl could barely walk with it as it was bigger than her, and she couldn't see where to walk with it.
"...Mark…"
"Mom! I can do it!" Julia puffed her cheeks; she was super stubborn with it.
"...I think these are your genes," Marcus commented as he walked over.
"Don't start that nonsense again. We all know it's all you." Kallen replied, but she was fighting down her embarrassment, because she gets stubborn in a similar way.
"Hmm… why don't we negotiate, my little Princess?"
"Hmm?" She stopped for a second and looked at her father.
"Why don't we get something nice to eat, something you never had before? In turn, I will carry your Mr Rabbit?"
"...hmm… I want ice cream as well!" The girl offered her hand for a handshake on this deal.
'Where did she learn to negotiate?' Kallen frowned a bit.
"Deal."
The pair shook hands as Marcus effortlessly took the rabbit from the girl.
"Now let's go, we are going to get some burgers." The disguised Emperor commented on what he wanted to eat.
"Burgers!?" The Princess perked up.
"I saw ads about them! I want to try!" Julia began to rush towards the exit.
"You shouldn't teach her about junk food like that." Kallen massaged her forehead.
But Marcus looked offended.
"Excuse me? Do you realise that processed food is illegal? I have banned those, and besides technology to store food has advanced considerably; most restaurants and fast food joints utilise them." The Emperor explained to her, making her raise her hands in surrender.
She had no idea. Never bothered with such a thing. The only thing she eats is in Japan, where her old friends are, and the food there is always fresh. She has no idea about fast food in other areas.
"I never thought you bothered about such a thing."
"Food is one of the most important things. Haven't you noticed how healthier people are?"
"..."
"...Now that you mentioned." But then she looked at him with a frown.
"You know… I realised something. How often do you sneak out of the Palace?"
It was strange! It's like he mingles with people all the time! Knows the mall like the back of his hand! It's like he always visits these places!
"Yes."
"Yes? Yes, what!?"
Marcus began to chase after his daughter.
"Hold it, Mister! Explain yourself!" Kallen chased after her husband, as she realised that he had left the Palace countless times and didn't take her with him!
If he can relax like that, then he should take her with him!
~~~
Once back in the Palace, Marcus did some background checking on a certain kid from Julia's grade school.
Now, this is not some simple 'grade school'. Those no longer exist. Julia inherited Kallen's incredible talent and his genius. Central Legion calculated that Julia would be one of the most talented warriors and Mobile Suit pilots in the Empire's history.
Regardless, the point is that the school she attends is for active members of the Empire. So they are raised with the idea of constant activity; most of these children will eventually move towards the military, sports, or outdoor-based work, like that of explorers.
With that in mind, Marcus checked the kid.
'Oh… it would seem my style is already working.' The Emperor thought to himself and did some background checks on the entire class of his daughter.
Turns out that her new friend's parents are pure military, in fact… 90% are.
Both parents are military; now their son is military, this is selective breeding at its finest. Not only have the initial tests already shown that these kids have enormous combat potential.
'Hmm… Well, well, not even a century in and I already have such results.'
But then his research session got interrupted!
"Father!" Claudia's voice rang through his office.
'Oh, that is not good.' Marcus grimaced. When his daughter is not calling him papa or dad, but father, it means she is pissed.
When he looked at the doors, he saw the 1st princess, both hands on her waist, her green eyes, inherited from Anna, staring at him in anger.
"I want to go to the arcade! I want a big, fluffy toy too! It's not fair!" She complained to him as she strolled in, even the guards at the doors didn't dare to stop the angry Princess.
"Sure, but then we are going to drop one of the learning sessions you have with me."
Claudia is big on biology, so she uses her smarts to spend time with him.
Marcus is not bad at biology. So, he can teach her a thing or two.
"Gah… umm…"
The black-haired princess stopped in her tracks, and her anger disappeared in a puff of smoke. She got to choose.
'Diplomacy at its finest.' The Emperor smiled to himself.