"What is it?" Isabella groans, slamming her door open. Her eyes are dark and cloudy, and her pajamas are badly wrinkled. "You better have a good reason for waking me this early, princess."
Aira tilts her head, calmly inspecting her. "Wow, what is this? Am I in a different world?" This is the first time she has seen Isabella in such a state. No matter how tired she is, Isabella always tries to look clean and ladylike. "What happened to you? Did you have a nightmare?"
"Ha ha, very funny, Aira." With a tired exhale, Isabella leans against the door and looks up at the ceiling. "Ever since I reached rank 5, I've been trying to stabilize my mana flow. Unfortunately, it isn't so simple. There has been some trouble managing my core." She turns and walks toward her kitchen, where a pot of tea is already waiting. 'What a frustrating week. Why do problems keep piling up? First the public release of the MSTs, and now my core.'
Glancing around, Aira notices how messy Isabella's dorm is. Stacks of books and papers are scattered across her table, with even more books piled up on the couch. "Wow, are you opening a library? Don't you think you're overdoing it?" Lifting one of the books, she inspects the cover. [Theory of Socras.] "You should take a break before you drop dead," she exhales, rubbing her eyes. 'This book is banned... Isabella, just what are you getting into now? As much as I want to support your goals, you keep dragging yourself deeper into illegal territory.'
"Oh, please. I know you didn't come here just to check on me, so speak up." With a heavy exhale, Isabella practically chugs her tea. "Shouldn't you be more focused on the current changes the Magic Tower made?" She slides over a holographic screen showing the latest trend. "I never thought commoners would be able to purchase an MST."
Closing the screen, Aira leans back, frustrated by the situation. Because criminals started making replicas of the MST and connecting them to the magic transmitters, most countries were pressured into responding. "The Magic Tower made the move to stay dominant in the device field. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, I just don't know if it was a good idea." Aira steps closer as Isabella opens yet another book. "Hey, put that down. I need your help setting up the party."
Isabella scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Please don't tell me you came over to waste my time with that. Just have the commoners do it, or better yet, don't have a party at all. Everyone should focus on their studies instead of wasting time on something so trivial."
"Okay, that's enough." Aira grabs the book and tosses it aside. "As important as studying is, overdoing it causes more harm than good. I mean, look at you." She reaches into her bag, pulls out a mirror, and shoves it in front of Isabella's face. "You look worse than a commoner. Now, I would like to tell you that you're overworking yourself, but I know words like that mean very little to you." She then starts moving around the room, stuffing books into her bag. "It's not very noble of you to be in such a state, so as the princess, I'm ordering you to take time off and relax. Now come help me set the party up."
Isabella, stubborn as ever, sets down her tea and rubs her brows with a heavy sigh. "Such a waste of time," she murmurs under her breath while cleaning herself up. "By the way, will V make it to the party? Isn't it about time he came back?"
"Hehe." Aira covers her smile with her hand. "My, my, you mention him all the time. The others might start assuming you like that little criminal." She walks behind Isabella and starts brushing her hair for her.
"Very funny. He still owes me, and I intend to make him pay." She clicks her tongue and rubs cream beneath her eyes. "I gave him all those resources to join my club, and he completely ignores me. Such common man behavior."
★ ★ ★ ★
The clear sky shines over the packed shopping district. "H-hey, Rai, wait up!" Flora pants heavily before tripping and dropping to one knee. "Dammit, Rai, we're not as fast as you! Why are you in such a rush?" She looks up and watches Rai's figure flashing through the busy street. 'Ugh, this guy... he's going to get arrested.' Her eyes follow him carefully as she waits for the right moment. "Gotcha." She smiles as the trees planted along the sidewalk suddenly twist their branches around his legs, lifting him upside down before he can take another step.
"Hey, why'd you do that for!?" Rai shouts, struggling as he reaches for the branches holding him. "I'm trying to buy everything we need for the party! Let me go!" After a few useless attempts, he exhales in defeat.
Flora groans when she looks ahead and sees several knights running toward them. "Look what you did, Rai..." Leaving him hanging there, she walks up to the knights with a polite smile, bowing apologetically while showing them the academy identification. "Sorry again." She bows one more time before hurrying back and dragging Rai away.
"Seriously, you... ugh, you're so frustrating. Why am I stuck here with you?" she grumbles, rubbing her forehead. 'Calm down, hold it in. I'll finally be reunited with Kaida after having to babysit these boys. Goddess, please give me patience.'
"There you are!" Arin runs up, breathing heavily. Searching for them through the massive trading city of Korraka has been nothing short of a nightmare. "S-seriously, can you two stop for just a moment!?" The instant he reaches them, he bends over, gasping for air. "I've been chasing you for two hours!" Straightening up, he reaches into his bag and hands each of them a box. "Here, take it before I change my mind."
Rai's head slams against the ground as the branches finally release him. "Oh... these are the TSIs, right?" He turns the small cylinder over in his hand. "I thought only nobles were allowed to own them?" He presses the little button.
[Welcome, User. Please customize your account.]
"Cool, right?" Arin reaches into his pocket and shows them his own device. "The Magic Tower released them yesterday, but since my family was already working with them for distribution, we got permission to use them and understand them first." Both Flora and Rai look at Arin's holographic screen with interest as he opens one of the icons. "Look at this. Over the last two months, my family has been working with a few other groups to add new features, and we made some pretty useful applications. With this one, you can search information people upload and label. Right now, the Information Guild has a contract with the Magic Tower, so their people are adding a bunch of documents online."
"Ugh, cut the boring part out," Rai says, waving his hand as he taps an application on his own screen. "What is this one?"
Arin opens the same app with a smug grin. "My family owns this one, and it comes installed on every device. It's a social application. Look, you can take a picture and post it. Since the app is connected to the transmission towers, other people can see it, and you can chat with people across the world along with a bunch of other features."
"Wow, so I can talk with Kaida with this?" Flora's green eyes glow with interest as she starts setting up her account.
Rai still looks unconvinced. "I don't really see the point. I mean, it's cool, but I know your family is super greedy, so how are you going to make money?" He narrows his eyes at Arin, as though trying to peer straight into his inner greed.
"Hahahaha." Arin pushes his hair back with utmost confidence. "Advertisements, of course. This release is economically revolutionary! The amount of money in circulation will increase ten, no, a hundredfold once everyone starts getting one." His grin widens as he lifts the device slightly. "Also, this app is far more powerful than you think. This new age of socialization will affect the future decisions of the masses. Don't look down on the effect people's opinions on here will have."
★ ★ ★ ★
The throne room stretches upward, far larger than the exterior suggests. Smooth white marble forms every surface, polished so perfectly that the floor reflects everything above it. Thin veins of gold and faint emerald run through the stone, glowing subtly in no clear pattern.
At the far end, the throne rests atop a series of wide steps carved from the same seamless marble. Its back rises high, spreading into branching patterns that resemble roots locking themselves into the structure behind it. The closer one looks to the throne, the clearer the difference in status becomes. Two armored figures stand at the base of the steps, their presence far heavier than the others in the room, their full helmets concealing even the slightest trace of identity. Behind the throne, two more figures remain still. One is an old elf with a long white beard, dressed in white and light gold, his expression unreadable. Beside him stands a cloaked figure, his form obscured, though the weapon in his hand is impossible to ignore: a bow shaped from twisted roots, small flowers blooming along its frame, bright gems jutting from the wood.
"As expected from the Adventurers' Guild." The king's calm voice flows through the room, his gaze shifting between Cora and Bein as they kneel before him. "Before I reward you, give your report."
Bein exhales calmly, though the pressure in the room feels overwhelming. 'Holy crap... I feel like I'm going to drown. We adventurers might be strong, but those four, excluding the king, are on another level.' Clearing his mind, he speaks in a steady voice while holding out a file of documents, which a nearby knight steps forward to collect.
"The dungeon was far more complicated than we expected. Aside from the individual named Leena, who did not challenge us directly, we had significant difficulty dealing with the creatures shown there."
The king lowers his gaze to the image with a calm face. 'So that is where they all went.' He looks back down at the two of them with quiet interest. "These are fairies. Their inner nature dictates the strength of fairies."
He pauses, then turns his attention to Cora. His golden hair flows softly to one side, and his striking eyes shift between blue and green. Even his pupils are unusual, leaf-shaped, each blink making them seem slightly different from before.
"Did you encounter their prince?"
"Yes," Cora answers, meeting his gaze directly. "He was monstrous, and his guardians were just as deadly." She scratches at her messy hair, irritation already bleeding into her expression. "What I do not understand, dear King, is why there was a witch there. We did not see her directly, but we felt her presence when she awoke. Unfortunately, with all the interruptions we faced, we were unable to retrieve the flower. Your child took it and ran. If you wou—"
Bein exhales and cuts in before she can continue. "As promised, we will leave as soon as we are paid. In technicality, we did retrieve the flower. Although the prince refused to hand it over, as a member of the team, his retrieval still indicates our success." He turns to Cora, who is clearly irritated by the interruption. "We have a busy schedule, Your Highness, and we respectfully ask that you speak to the prince directly."
'So she awoke...' The king's inner thoughts are instantly clouded with tired frustration, 'Death will be inevitable.'