"I thought about how we'll make some money. After all, even as nobles, we don't really have much to our name," Shadowboon said.
"What's your plan?"
"I thought of creating a printing and publishing company with Woodborn's money. These nobles really don't do anything but sit on their ass, like Alarick."
I frowned. "Printing company? You mean copying books?"
Shadowboon's eyes glimmered with that particular kind of excitement that usually preceded moral or mechanical catastrophe. "Not copying. Printing. Like… mass-producing. Astar doesn't have the printing press yet."
"Doesn't have what?!" I said, shocked.
"The printing press. It doesn't exist here. They still write every single book by hand. Can you believe that? Hours of ink and quills. No movable type, no plates, no press - nothing."
Every book that I'd read as of now had been handwritten.
"It's the reason why there aren't that many, and why they cost so much. I guess even Dad - Alarick, who seems to have collected more than the average noble - had to spend a fortune on them. Shows just how much Mom meant to him."
"That means that stories, ideas, and theories are barely spread and preserved at all."
"Right," Shadowboon said, pacing around. "And that's where I come in. I design the press, get Woodborn to invest, and boom - suddenly we're the suppliers of books, fast and cheap. Or faster and cheaper. Knowledge, propaganda, religion, entertainment - we control the flow of information."
I rubbed my temple. "Industrializing literacy."
"I'm talking about a good business idea," he said.
"There have to be easier ways to make money. Smuggling, or the drug trade - gambling, maybe."
"Oh, I've thought of that too," he said lightly. "I already invested a little into one of the smuggling networks down south in Asolar, past the Sea of Stars. Just a bit. Smuggling's boring though. I'd rather make books."
"You're going to change the entire kingdom's economy," I muttered.
"Speaking of books," I said.
"Oh?"
"The book with the clone spell," I said. "It's not as groundbreaking as we hoped. Aside from the clone spell, there isn't much else in there that's… useful."
Shadowboon tilted his head. "Define useful."
"It mostly talks about energy coherence. There was a spell for something called Soul Stitching, but the words were smudged as hell, and I think it was a half-finished recipe for disintegration."
"Would have been cool."
"I feel like a fraud when reading it. I wonder where all the theories on magic come from. I feel like everyone's missing something about magic, but I just can't see what it would be."
"Somebody had to be first to think about it, and then it went from there. Maybe you can refine some of the ideas in the book later. The clone spell worked, after all."
I gave him a look. "Barely."
"Look at me. I'm alive, functional, and only mildly haunted. And how are you so sure that you're the original?"
"Let's not go there."
"Kind of sad that we can't share information quickly, like Naruto with shadow clones, or show them to each other like Oji-san with Iculus Cuora."
"It's Icuras Elran. Coura is for erasing memories. Elran is to view them."
"With Sladrac, you could scan them."
"Goku could also read minds, but he says kokoro, so I'm still not sure if he said mind or meant heart, or if that means both."
I put my hand to his head and said it aloud as a joke.
But nothing happened.
"You know," he said, "speaking of flawed knowledge - I've been thinking about teaching the girls some magic."
"You think that's a good idea? If your girls are as strong as mine, then they'd be even more dangerous."
We were silent for a while, and then I said, "We've probably gotta do it. They've got a lot of potential already. Almost feels like arming kids with guns. Not that it never happens, but the result is often dangerous."
"It's going to happen sooner or later. We'll train them so that they won't explode people or themselves on accident. They need to be capable, but right now, they just aren't. Remember how they just murked the assassins right in front of us?"
"I'd rather not remember."
"Alright," I said finally, exhaling. "We train them. Carefully, though. Hopefully without any other 'incident'."
We stood.
"When do we meet again?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Few weeks? Maybe a month? Depends on Woodborn and how fast I can get the press built without being arrested for the other illegal operations. Wait, let me give you my current address-"
He scribbled something on the paper on my desk.
We clasped forearms, like brothers, and then parted. He slipped out the window with Superman speed, quickly dissolving into the early dawn.
I didn't watch him go.
Rather, I sighed and headed toward the girls' settlement.
It was a day of rest; my father was out, Miss Marie had other maid duties, and my siblings were busy with their own practices.
I thought I had the whole day to do what I wanted to.
So, it was a training day.
Not even an hour later, Catherine, Juliet, and Elizabeth stood in a rough circle around me, waiting like students.
I was without my blindfold.
I hadn't worn it in weeks.
At the time, it felt like a good idea - some dramatic religious aesthetic I thought was cool.
When I didn't want it anymore, I gave the girls a justification that I had to keep my eyes pure until I beheld my enemy. And I kind of did with Shadowboon.
A prophecy fulfilled - in a strange way.
The only good outcome was Juliet asking - very timidly - if she could "keep it, Father, if you no longer need it."
I had given it to her, expecting she'd fold it away reverently or hide it under her pillow like some memento.
Instead, she now wore it tied around her head like a heroic headband, the ends fluttering in the wind behind her.
Honestly? It suited her. But I could see the stinging gazes from the other girls as she bound it around her head.
It was just a piece of cloth, but, when I really thought about it, in this world's 'lore,' it would be a significant relic or something like that.
Every part that could be preserved that belonged to a saint or prophet would be considered a powerful artifact.
Every piece of clothing, or just cloth that was used at some point. Knives, cups, even blood or hair.
Which I always found kind of gross, so let's discard the topic.
"Alright," I said, clapping once. "Magic is focus, intent, and form. We start with sensing. No spells. No glowing. Just… feel."
They nodded.
"Close your eyes," I instructed. "Try to feel your inner energy. Like a current under your skin."
They obeyed.
Five seconds passed.
Ten.
Catherine's brow furrowed deeply, but I felt a faint tingle in the air around her.
That should have been a good sign.
Elizabeth's breathing steadied, her hands fidgeting slightly as if she was catching the right frequency by accident. There was something to it, which was good enough.
But Juliet…
Her hair stood on end. The earth vibrated. For a second, I thought she might actually explode.
"Juliet," I said gently. "Relax."
"I am relaxed," she growled through clenched teeth.
"You are trying to overpower your own inner power," I said.
She exhaled sharply, and the vibrations subsided to a low hum and then disappeared, and she opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry, but it feels like something I should take hold of."
"That is not how it works."
She shrugged.
Catherine exhaled. "Father, I can… feel something. Something like a shape - very vague."
"Good. That's correct. Follow it. Don't pull, don't push. Just… observe it."
Elizabeth peeked one eye open. "I feel warm. Is that normal?"
"Yes. Just don't-"
She yelped as fire shot from her fingertips and scorched her hand.
"-get excited," I finished.
I healed her hand. It hurt less than I had imagined. But the girls were sturdy. Anyone else would have gotten third-degree burns; they just got a bit singed.
I noticed that there was an almost jealous look in the eyes of the other girls while I held Elizabeth's.
The next few hours were a slow, exhausting grind.
Catherine: steady progress, minor successes. She would definitely be the first to be ready to learn actual spellcasting.
Elizabeth: slow progress, with some potential. Might hurt herself at some point, but manageable.
Juliet: zero progress. She had physical power, far greater than the other two girls, but she couldn't even get her magical power under control.
By midday, all three were exhausted, and some more frustrated than others, but unhurt.
That counted as success.
I dismissed them for the afternoon.
Catherine bowed. Elizabeth waved. Juliet almost punched a tree.
When they were gone, I sat alone in the clearing and rubbed my face.
"This is going to be," I told myself, "a nightmare."
I hoped Shadowboon had an easier time.