"You want to become a Chrysos Heir?"
Caelus set down the mirror in his hand.
It had been a gift from Lygus.
According to him, the mirror had once reflected the face of Idrila, the Aeon of Beauty. It was also the source from which Lygus had obtained the data used to simulate the Path of Beauty within Amphoreus.
If something like this ever fell into the hands of the Knights of Beauty, or if they even learned that it existed, they would probably go mad trying to obtain it.
"Yes."
Cerydra answered without hesitation.
"Although you told me that I will inevitably become a ruler one day, I can't deny that I currently have too many disadvantages."
"I'm young. I look even younger than I am. And I'm a woman."
"If I want to become a ruler capable of inspiring genuine loyalty in the people, then becoming a Chrysos Heir would give me the strongest possible foundation."
Cerydra felt no shame in acknowledging her weaknesses.
Everyone had flaws and limitations they could not simply ignore.
If she could not even recognize and confront her own shortcomings, then when she made mistakes in the future, she would instinctively avoid facing those too.
At that point, she would be no different from the stagnant aristocrats she despised.
"That's true."
Caelus nodded.
"Amphoreus doesn't discriminate particularly heavily based on sex, but a ruler still needs something that inspires confidence."
"The status of a Chrysos Heir carries enormous weight."
"It's also one of the fastest ways to win people's trust."
"Exactly."
Cerydra nodded.
"That's why I want to make a bargain with Talanthon and obtain golden blood."
"There's no need to make it that complicated."
Caelus casually waved one hand.
Cerydra immediately felt a wave of heat surge through her body, almost like a sudden fever burning from within.
"It'll be uncomfortable at first."
"Once your body adapts, your physical abilities will improve across the board."
Cerydra was clearly suffering from the sudden transformation, but she merely frowned slightly.
She did not cry out.
Nor did she show any particularly ugly expression.
Instead, she began thinking.
What kind of being could grant someone golden blood in an instant?
There was only one obvious answer.
A Titan.
Could her teacher be one of the Twelve Titans?
Then Cerydra remembered something else.
From the very beginning, Caelus had told her with absolute certainty that she would one day become a ruler.
That she would unify the fractured lands of Amphoreus, end this age of chaos, and bring Order to its people.
So he had probably seen the future.
In that case...
Could her teacher actually be Oronyx?
Meanwhile, Caelus was staring at the mirror in front of him and contemplating a far more serious problem.
According to Lygus, the mirror reflected whatever the person looking into it considered most beautiful.
For Lygus himself, the mirror showed the ingenious inventions and elegant equations Zandar had created during the most brilliant period of his life.
Naturally, Nous was nowhere among them.
The problem was that when Caelus looked into the mirror, it showed nothing.
It was as though he were a ghost.
The mirror did not even seem to recognize that there was someone standing before it.
It simply reflected the scenery behind him.
Yet when Cyrene looked into the same mirror, she saw Caelus immediately.
So the mirror was not the problem.
Caelus was.
He suspected that his foundation in Nihility prevented the mirror from properly identifying his inner world.
Unfortunately, identifying the heart and reflecting beauty was exactly the function he needed to study.
He had to personally experience the entire process, analyze the Path energy involved from beginning to end, and compare it against his own condition to gather the necessary data.
But under the current circumstances, that was impossible.
"It seems research into the Path of Beauty really isn't suited to me."
Caelus shook his head.
A subject this heavily dependent on emotion and personal perception simply did not play to his strengths.
"Cyrene."
At his quiet call, Cyrene appeared beside him.
She accepted the mirror from his hand.
"I'll leave the Path of Beauty to you."
"I'm really not good at this kind of thing."
"Leave it to me, Partner!"
Cyrene agreed immediately, full of confidence.
She was determined to produce results.
After all, opportunities to handle something that Caelus himself could not were surprisingly rare.
Sometimes that was almost a problem of its own.
Her Partner was so capable that finding ways to genuinely help him was difficult.
Now that such a rare opportunity had appeared, Cyrene naturally threw herself into it with enthusiasm.
Caelus, meanwhile, began considering his next subject.
Cerydra herself was already extraordinarily ambitious.
Across countless previous cycles, her pursuit of Order had never changed.
As long as Caelus fully taught her everything he knew about law during this cycle and helped her establish a legal code that applied to all of Amphoreus, she should naturally become a true Pathstrider of Order.
Of course, that was with Caelus's assistance.
Without it, there were probably very few people left in the universe outside the Family who could still become Pathstriders of Order.
"Next should be Mydei."
Caelus remembered when he had first arrived in Amphoreus.
At the time, he needed a legitimate way to earn enough local currency to travel, so he had gone to Castrum Kremnos to sell weapons.
There, he had met Mydei's father and grandfather.
In that particular cycle, the relationship between the two had been terrible.
Eventually, Mydei's father had overthrown his own father and taken power.
And Mydei's father had never been particularly good at raising children either.
If Mydei had not had a good mother to balance things out, he might easily have ended up following the same path.
"The Hunt."
"People often call it a narrow Path because they only see revenge in it."
"But revenge is also one of the oldest forms of justice."
"Blood for blood."
"An eye for an eye."
"In many cycles, Mydei began his journey across Amphoreus as a wandering warrior."
"Perhaps this time, I should let him discover the true meaning of the Hunt through that same life."
While Caelus was devising a new education plan for Mydei, far beyond Amphoreus, on Penacony, the Planet of Festivities...
A certain haloed young man had just emerged from the Eternal Dreamscape when a strange voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.
"Child."
"There is a journey I believe you should not miss."
It was the voice of a middle-aged man, warm and filled with compassion.
Sunday recognized it.
It belonged to the existence he had encountered within the Eternal Dreamscape.
The one who had given him the power he himself chose to call Redemption.
Suddenly, a pure white dove appeared from nowhere and landed upon Sunday's shoulder.
Sunday turned his head.
The little bird stared back at him curiously.
He smiled faintly.
Then he left a letter on the desk.
A moment later, he vanished from the office.
At the same time, his physical body in the outside world disappeared as well.
...
Inside Amphoreus, someone knocked on the door of Caelus's temporary residence.
Caelus glanced toward it.
His sight passed through the door and revealed exactly who was standing outside.
For once, his expression showed a trace of surprise.
He rose and opened the door himself.
"Mr. Caelus."
Sunday stood outside with a polite smile.
"Last time, you left in such a hurry that I never had the chance to properly say goodbye."
"Nor did we have the opportunity for a longer conversation."
"I've always considered that rather unfortunate."
Caelus glanced at the adorable white dove perched on Sunday's shoulder.
"You went to the Eternal Dreamscape."
"I did."
Caelus studied him for a moment.
"The road you've chosen is covered in thorns."
"The last person to walk a road like this was betrayed by those close to him."
"He was misunderstood."
"Slandered."
"Condemned."
"In the end, he was subjected to execution, nailed to a cross, and left beneath the burning sun until he died."
"Do you truly intend to continue down that road?"
Sunday's smile remained calm.
"Wasn't I already walking it before?"
Caelus was silent for a moment.
Then he stepped aside.
"All right."
"Come in."
"Actually, your thoughts on Order may prove useful."
(To be continued.)