The morning came.
Bounce. Bounce. Squish.
A soft feeling spread against my back. The sensation steadily grew until I was pulled away from dreamland, and my mind stirred awake. The next morning began before I knew it. I thought it was a pillow at first, but then I saw I was in Ennea's embrace.
"Did you sleep well, Master?", Ennea asked.
"This...is going to turn into a bad habit.", I uttered. Parting ways, I saw Ennea propped up against a pillow, already awake.
"Hey dude, you're the one who started this mess. I'm enjoying some nice eye candy right now.", A familiar voice called out from another portion of the bed. I saw Angelica wide awake, who seemed to be enjoying the "show", despite the lack thereof. "And when are you gonna tell us about your new friends? I'll use the same phrasing that the girl did from last night. I'm not that ignorant. So spill the beans will you?"
"Haha. You saw Renne then, I take it.", I said, looking at the violet-haired girl opposite to us. She was Angelica. Guess she woke up too to start the next day.
"So she's called Renne, huh? You know, if it were under a different set of circumstances, I'd almost say she could pass off as your little sister. But we all know that isn't the case. Let me take a wild guess. She came along with Ennea.", Angelica said, wondering if that was the case.
"You sure are a sharp one. She was on board that giant airship when I was dropped off here after my "rescue" way back when, but Renne had another assignment to do. Now that it's complete, her residence for the time being has changed, and will be living here in the castle. Please don't be hard on her, alright?", I requested.
"Hehe, so Renne is going to be living here from now on. Is that woman who accompanied you also going to stay here? Jayna, I think her name is called?", Angelica asked once more.
"Did you pretend to be asleep or something?", I retorted, and squinted my eyes at her.
"I might have...", Angelica responded, grinned. "But that's beside the point. I saw the huge scar across your chest before you checked out for the night. I'm pretty sure it wasn't there the night before this. Seems it took a lot out of you too, it's past noon already."
Hearing that, I blinked my eyes. I know it was well after midnight, but I slept until noon!?
"Guess I was more exhausted than I initially thought. Yesterday was quite the long day, and I won't lie, I was engaged in combat. Quite a powerful opponent, but I came out on top.", I said. I know I can trust Angelica by now, so I explained what went on last night. I'll just leave out the fact I fought assassins. Unless Angelica wants to see what the world Ouroboros treads on personally, I'll leave out bits and pieces.
"Hmm, was it similar to what you did with Emma, becoming a Jaeger and all of that? I don't particularly fancy such a line of work, and that wound you received doesn't look small either. I'm not exactly foreign to such fighting, though. I've learned Taito from Kilika. I've had my share of battles too.", Angelica responded, showing a mixture of emotion in her eyes.
True. Sometimes you forget Angelica is a bonafide martial artist, even though she hardly fits the role. She can punch and kick quite well. That's what Taito is known for. Getting up close and personal with one's opponents, and crushing their guard.
"Why don't we leave it at that? It's already in the past, and I gained quite the experience from it.", I replied.
"Fine, fine. It just looks pretty painful. Shall I apply some eastern-style ointment on your chest later?", Angelica suggested.
"I appreciate the sentiment but that is a topic I want to discuss with you girls later in the day. It's a decision I've made, so to speak. You remember the talk of the Vermillion Trials, right?", I asked, changing the subject on the two.
"Yeah. You've brought it up multiple times. Are you suggesting you're wanting to move forward?", Angelica asked, gaining interest.
"Not right away. I haven't met the requirement yet. I want to begin the Vermillion Trials in these next two years or so before school studies begin. The decision I've made is in preparation for that. Like I said, I'll talk about it later.", I answered.
"Well, alright. It doesn't sound super urgent that we need to talk about it right away, so we can take our time getting ready. As far as the Vermillion Trials go, that's that little magic circle thing that appeared at the statue of Emperor Dreichels in Heimdallr, right?", Angelica asked, wondering.
"The very same one.", I answered with a nod.
"It is in regards to that then. Do you want to---?", Angelica tried to ask. Sadly she couldn't even finish the question she wanted to ask before we heard a frantic sound of feet running our way.
Not out of fear. No, quite the opposite. Excitement began to stir around our private quarters. I could hear a second, somewhat panicked sound follow from a way behind the first sound.
"Your Highness, I finished the production prototype for the Enigma II!", A fervent voice said in excitement. I saw a woman dressed in a lab coat rush into our private quarters. She acted as if she was soaring over the moon. It was of course Professor Russell. And yet, the moment her eyes landed on a large circular bed with its partitions open, she came to a screeching halt. We weren't doing anything weird apart from chatting.
Apart from the obvious excitement in her eyes, I could see a rather fancy-looking device in her hands. Unlike the pocket-watch model that the Generation III uses, this version was equivalent to that of a flip phone. It even has access to communication features that sync up with invisible orbal waves, which are basically radio waves from my previous life, allowing for free-form calls and text from people all around Zemuria. I just don't know if this prototype has that feature included.
I primarily had Professor Russell build it to use Master Quartz. Professor Russell just looked at us. Ennea had me in a hug while Angelica could be seen in an idle position against one of her pillows.
"...Am I interrupting something?", Erika asked, feeling the atmosphere turn a little awkward. As she said that, the second person arrived in a hurry beside her. It was Hilda.
"My deepest apologies, Your Highness. Professor Russell wouldn't say no for an answer the moment she completed the request you had given her.", Hilda said, scratching her cheek. "If you want, I can set up a proper meeting time for you to discuss the details. I can see...that we've interrupted something."
To my surprise, we saw a third figure quickly arrive shortly after. It was Kloe. Guess she was with them.
"We could come at a later time, Naoto.", Kloe said, feeling embarrassed seeing this happen.
"Haha. It is no problem.", I said, and proceeded to get out of the bed. Ennea and Angelica followed suit. We were all ready for the day apart from freshening up. I didn't think I'd sleep until noon. "On the contrary. You came at a good time, Professor."
Seeing Angelica and Ennea beside me, Professor Russell just watched us for a good moment. "That matter Her Majesty announced a while back regarding something about a Royal Harem really wasn't a joke?"
"Of course it isn't. Both Ennea and Angie here are already a part of it. I am not sure when I will ascend the throne, though. Likely not for a few more years at least. Grandmother is still taking care of most affairs at the moment.", I explained.
I know I asked the impossible request by using the favor I had with Professor Schmidt, but lo and behold, Professor Russell really did manage to jump a whole generation, skipping the model that would appear in Zero altogether, and create the Enigma II. How could I not be excited!?
As much as I wanted to call someone with the Enigma II, I doubt that feature was included. Not only that, I don't have anyone who could receive it. This is the first prototype after all, haha!
If there is one thing I could test right now, apart from its Quartz management, is to see if this device can connect to an orbal station. Tio assisted us installing one here during the orbal network connection test. But most importantly...
The difference between the Generation III model I have and the Generation V model of the Enigma II is the fact that it can use Master Quartz!
"I see. I might have to take some defensive measures...", Erika uttered, keeping her voice soft.
"Did you say something just now?"
"N-N-Nothing of the sort, Your Highness!", Erika immediately shot back, and shrugged my question off. "Anyway, as you can see, I successfully finished the prototype. The only thing left to do is to use your current generation Combat Orbment and merge its circuitry with this one. But are you sure you want to proceed with that? If you do, it will lose its current structure. You won't be able to keep it."
I saw a serious look appear in Professor Russell's eyes as she said that. It really is leading to that. If we make the Generation V model a finished product, I will lose my current one...
Am I really up for that?
"Before I make my decision, why don't you have a look at this first, Professor?", I asked. Professor Russell raised her eyes, gaining interest. All I did was toss a box at her.
The Master Quartz box.
"Just what in Aidios's name is this thing, Your Highness?", Professor Russell asked.
"Master?", Ennea questioned, not expecting me to do that.
Apart from the Party function that I can send out to people around me to become influenced by the Gamer System, and the ability to create Instance Dungeons, I have not revealed the full extent of the Gamer System to anyone, apart from Roselia. I had a little test I wanted to try out.
What would happen if someone who had zero relation to the Gamer System attempted to use one of its items, or rewards? Erika was first on that list. I wanted to test her luck.
Plus, she was the one who crafted the first Enigma II device, even if it is still just a prototype. It sounds like she can finish the product once she grabs my Generation III Combat Orbment. But before that, it is time to roll a Master Quartz box!
"For now, why don't you have a peek and see what's inside, Professor?", I asked, smiling at her.
"Okay...?", Erika responded, still confused. But she went along with it. The moment she opened the box, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Oh dear Aidios, what in Gehenna's name did you just have me do!?"
Seeing a new Master Quartz appear in Professor Russell's hands, I simply smiled and said the one phrase I wanted to say for a while.
"As the saying goes Professor, the grind never stops~"