Chapter 7: Magic Crystals

Finally settled into her lab in her family's estate, Wenlianna and Daniel begin discussing something Daniel has been curious about for a while.

"Can you explain how magic crystals work?"

"I'd love to! I'll give a quick rundown, and you can ask me anything. For starters, as you've guessed before, magic crystals are made of simple salt, just like used at the dinner table. Using magic and appropriate methods, the crystals are polished to a smooth surface and coated with a resin blend, which grants them SOME resistance to moisture, but as you saw, it's not enough to make them hold up under continuous wetting, such as in use as a water crystal." She hands Daniel a stock crystal; a blank crystal that hasn't been charged with a magic element nor with pure mana. He watched as she made it, so it's extraordinarily simple, but rather expensive. For Daniel, it's about the size of a TV remote, which is a LOT of salt to use for a single application.

He asks, "May I?"

"Do whatever you like. I'm curious about where your brain is headed."

He sniffs the crystal, and it doesn't have a particular smell, which he expected. He licks it, and she gasps. "Wh-What!?"

Sure enough, it tastes just like its sodium-chloride base, with a slight bitterness that's probably the resin she mentioned. He quickly wipes his saliva off, inspecting it.

"You aren't supposed to taste it!"

"Is the resin poisonous?"

"Wh-!? No, but… It's not clean."

A little surprised, Daniel looks at her. She's serious. "It's salt. Salt's one of the best natural preservatives there are."

"Preservatives?"

He stares at her blankly. The things this world lacks stuns him sometimes. "How does this world preserve food for long distance transport? Surely the military is intimately familiar with salted meat and pickling…"

She stares at him. 

Daniel sighs. "I'm going to destroy this world, aren't I?"

She scoffs and laughs. "You say such strange things all the time. What am I supposed to think? A poison people drink intentionally? Salt for transporting food?" She chuckles, replying sincerely, "For transport, we use magic, of course. In fact, my mentor and inspiration created the modern magical equipment that can perform the task automatically, rather than needing a mage constantly present. We were able to drastically reduce mages dedicated only to logistics after that."

It's Daniel's turn to stare at her blankly. He replies, "Magic equipment?"

She nods with a smile. "Mm-hmm!"

"That uses… salt?"

Her face drops a little, and she realizes what he's getting at. "Yeah… now that you mention it."

Daniel laughs. "Why's that funny?"

"Sorry. It's just ironic. Magic circumvented some of the innovations of our world, and yet, circled right back." He looks up, saying wondrously, "Strange, how small things can be so strange." He looks at her, saying, "I'm not an expert on the process, but salt by itself dehydrates most bacteria, mold, and fungal spores. Drying helps, as well, since moisture is what those little baddies thrive on."

"You mentioned bacteria before. What is that word?"

"It's our word for tiny things that can't be seen by the naked eye and make food spoil." He thinks, "Does this world have magnifying… tubes?"

She grips his shirt, shaking him lightly, "Geeez! Daniel! You're driving me crazy! We need to start on these things! NOW!"

Daniel chuckles, noticing her glasses. While glass doesn't seem to be heavily used in this world yet, it does exist. He asks, "Wenlianna; is there a reason your glasses are hanging from your hair-piece?"

She cocks her head. "It… keeps them in front of my face. If I put them down somewhere, they're gone forever."

Daniel is quiet. "I have an idea, but while I work, I'd like to know;" Daniel retrieves some of the simple metal wire she has. It's made of steel, so it's a little heavier than ideal, but it'll be sturdy. "Has anyone tried making magic crystals out of glass?"

"Ahhhh! You're quite astute, Daniel! Why yes, many have tried. However, the ingredients to make a sturdy glass are among the materials of this world that don't contain magic, so glass can't sustain the magic charge. In fact, it's likely why glass was used for the relic. My teacher and I replaced the hand orb, and I was surprised to learn it's simple glass." She puts her hands on her hips, asking, "I'd guess you'd like to know…"

"Sand, [silica], and heat. I think [Boron] for clarity or strength or something."

She frowns. "You're a jerk."

He chuckles. "I wish I knew all of the formulas we had for glasses for different purposes. But, it's strange. What makes some materials suitable to host magic and others not?"

"Not sure. It's been widely known that all living things -with exception of you- contain magic, and I actually learned post-Daniel that even plants contain enough magic to be analyzed by the relic. Heck, even water alone… I was rattling my brain trying to figure out why you don't."

Daniel bends the metal wire into a frame as best as he can. He'll have to size the ear pieces in a moment. "Salt… water… Sounds like it's bound to ingredients for life."

"Ingredients for life?"

Daniel nods as he clarifies his thought. "In our world, we broke everything down to the smallest possible things we could perceive, and we discovered elements. Uh, not elements in the same sense we use here. Elements as in all of the truly unique ingredients to the world; iron, for example, aluminum, [sodium], which is one half of salt, and [chlorine], which is the other half of salt. There were… a little over one hundred unique elements our world had identified, and the various combinations created the many substances we came to know, like salt -and the many other kinds of salt-, acids, proteins, and ultimately, the many MANY combinations that make up life. Along the same lines, we also learned the many things that specifically define what's alive and what isn't. Maybe bacteria and mold aren't large enough to host magic, even in cultures, but perhaps, it's more to do with the ingredients." Daniel thinks, and Wenlianna watches in disbelief. She barely understood. Or rather, she understood his words, but is struggling to truly picture and understand what it means. He truly is from another world; one far ahead of her own. She can scarcely imagine what his world looks like.

And, in contrast, he often behaves like he's seen all of her world before, like he was simply transported to the past written in his history books. He's only surprised when what he expects doesn't line up with his history books, it seems.

Suddenly, Daniel snaps his fingers. "I have an idea. [Carbon]. In our world, it's considered the fundamental basis to all life; at least in our world. This world seems to be mostly similar, or I likely wouldn't be able to eat anything here."

"[Carbon]? I assume this is one of your world's 'elements'? Will we need one of these… 'magnifying tubes' to find it?"

Daniel chuckles, "Actually, there's no way I'd be able to make a magnifier strong enough to see elements. However, I have a pretty good idea how to get carbon. Whether or not it'll work is another story, and whether or not we can achieve what I want is the mystery."

"Well, will you share?"

"Of course. We called it '[diamond]'. In simple terms, it's what you get when you put charcoal under immense heat and pressure, and it becomes a clear gemstone like glass, but much harder." 

"A gemstone!?"

Daniel nods to confirm. "If you'd like and have them, I'd like to learn the words for gemstones you have here."

Wenlianna fidgets. "The only gemstones here are in the Grand Duchess's locked jewelry box."

"Ah, nevermind then. I don't even want to know where it is. That's just asking for accusations of theft." She frowns, but he chuckles. "It's fine. We'll charge ahead, then. If it works, we'll make our own, and you can tell me what they're called. But, I'll definitely be needing your help. We'll need magic crystals to try it." He shows her the frame he made, which has the ear-pieces, but he'll need to bend hooks, since it'll poke her as she puts them on otherwise, and will allow them to fall off of her face. She inspects it curiously, realizing quickly what he made. He helps install her current glasses to the frame, and she tries them on, looking around with wide eyes. "I don't believe it… they don't flop around."

Daniel chuckles. "I'm surprised you put up with such a… design for so long."

She frowns at him, "You were going to say 'strange', weren't you?"

He looks away. "Whaaaaat? Me? Never."

She plays with her glasses for a moment, murmuring, "Not many people can afford glasses in the first place… I'm lucky my mother was willing to get some made for me. When I'm reading, I had to tie up a hand just to hold them in place so I could read… Daniel… I… Thank you…"

"Hahaha, sorry that's the best I can do right now. But, it was pestering me all this time."

She smiles, "Well, then. Tell me what to do, and let's make your [diamond], if you think we can."

Daniel replies warmly, "I do. By any chance, has anyone ever tried to charge gemstones with magic? Not all are the same, so they might not meet the requirements, but if my hunch is correct, we might be able to use diamonds."

Wenlianna shakes her head. "Not that I know of. They're cripplingly rare. All of the ones the Grand Duchess possesses were gifts from various ambassadors and distinguished persons currying favor in the Kingdom. They're so rare, I… probably shouldn't have told you she has them. It's supposed to be a secret…"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The ge-!" She halts, realizing from his smirk what he's saying. She sighs, "Thank you. Sorry about that. As far as I know, no one's tried anything magic with them."

Daniel nods as he listens. "Not surprising. It was a long time before we started using [diamond] for saw blades and drills."

She stares at him once more. "F-... For tools?"

Daniel smiles with amusement. "Yes ma'am. [Diamond] is one of the hardest substances in our world, making it capable of cutting, scratching, etching, and drilling almost any other substance we have. There's only a couple that can't, and one of the materials I know of comes from… uh… sky fall rocks."

"Sky… fall… Oh! You mean 'meteors', right?"

"Do they fall from the sky?"

"They do. Meteors. That's our word for them."

"Thank you. Meteors. Actually, ironically, those same materials harder than [diamond] are also made of [carbon], but a meteor impact generates a lot more force and heat, as well as, mmm… sonic energy, probably, that crystalizes the [carbon] in a much stronger and harder material. We'll be able to make [diamond], though. Probably."

"Well then? What are we waiting for!? Let's start!"

"Let's."

The two begin working. While Daniel has studied the process of making diamonds out of boredom, it's not something he could easily afford to do in his world. Generally, massive presses that weigh hundreds of tons would be needed, especially to make diamonds the size Daniel is aiming for. First and foremost, though, they have to make a furnace to make purified graphite, so that he can verify his theory that carbon contains magic, like the salt used to make crystals.

Because few things can beat electricity for its sheer range of utility, Daniel's first step is to ask the next obvious.

"So, I get why water crystals can't work, but are there lightning crystals?"

Wenlianna, as she helps set up the bricks for the furnace in the backyard of the estate, replies, "There are, but they don't have many utilitarian uses, and they're extremely dangerous."

"Dangerous? More so than fire and heat crystals?"

"Much moreso. They can't be touched without killing the user."

He cocks his head, but realizes something. He asks, "Can you make one?"

"Uh… I can…"

"They'll streamline a lot of the things we'll be doing. We'll probably need them."

She hesitates, but nods reluctantly. She channels her magic using the appropriate equipment to charge the stock crystal from earlier with lightning magic, which causes it to glow purple. From what she's explained, the magic device used for charging crystals takes the magic spell from the spell caster and amplifies its 'volume' using pure mana in the atmosphere, 'compressing' the chosen element into the crystal. If diamond crystals end up working, they'll be able to withstand much more, allowing him a LOT of new applications that even his world's technology struggled with.

With the lightning crystal sitting in the cradle of the machine, Wenlianna states, "I'll get my tongs. Wait here for a moment." She heads to her tool box, but when she returns, she screams. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Daniel is holding the lightning crystal in his bare hands. "I TOLD YOU TOUCHING IT WILL KILL YOU!"

Daniel smiles at her, turning it over in his hands. "I feel alright."

She trembles as she watches in horror. He remarks, "Don't worry, I'm not doing anything special. The moment you said touching it could kill the holder, I realized why. Every living thing in this world has magic -mana- present. Everything except me."

"THAT IS NOT HOW YOU TEST THAT!"

"It's fine. Electricity was as common as water in my world, and I worked with it a lot. I agree, this isn't safe, but I wanted to know. I better understand these crystals now." He places it in the small box that was meant to hold it until they need it, and she approaches cautiously. She touches his arm, verifying he still has heat. Perhaps she's worried he's an undead, which is why he doesn't have magic.

She looks at the crystal. As far as she knows, it's charged, and she dares not touch it. She trots over to a potted plant nearby, plucking a leaf and walking back over to the crystal, holding the leaf in the tongs. However, Daniel stops her. "I know what you're about to do, but you don't have insulation on the tongs."

"Insulation?"

"A material to prevent them from conducting the electricity from the leaf into you. Electricity HAS to go somewhere."

"Then you do it." She hands him the tongs, but he replies, "It's not that simple. Here." Daniel looks around, finding some fabric. He pinches the fabric over the leaf using the tongs, and then sets the crystal on the floor. "The path through a person is almost always ground, so we'll just see…" He touches one end of the leaf to the ground, and then tips the other end to the crystal. Almost immediately, a black line appears in the leaf, and within seconds, it dries out and bursts into flames, causing Wenlianna to scream. Daniel remarks as she tries to pull him back, "Huh… Even with that little amount of magic, the current was that high, huh? I see why it kills people so easily."

"DANIEL! GET BACK!"

"It's fine. The leaf is gone." He carefully cleans the tongs and touches the crystal and ground at the same time, just to be safe. Satisfied there's no residual charge, he picks up the crystal with them, putting it back in the box. "As usual, the amount of energy in such small crystals is amazing. I really could destroy this world."

She stares at him with her mouth agape, and he adds with a chuckle, "Sorry. I have no intention of doing that. Moreso, I need to be careful of what I create here. It very well could do a lot of damage."

He sets the tongs down, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "That aside, I'm getting excited to begin."

One step at a time, the two work towards the goal of making synthetic diamonds. With the furnace, powered by heating coils driven by the crystal, Daniel is able to attain the high temperatures needed to vulcanize and separate graphite, though they failed the first time when he allowed himself to forget about oxygen, which ruined the first batch by burning it off as carbon dioxide.

Afterwards, with the graphite, Daniel forms a simple crystal with it using a mold. He asks Wenlianna to attempt to charge it with water magic, which she does. Without access to the relic for the time being, they can't verify it contains magic, but they can attempt to charge it and see if it will hold a charge. And, there's no safer element in this case than water -hopefully-.

They rig a standard mana-control to it, so they can turn it on, off, and adjust the range. Then, they set up outside near a portion of the garden no one goes to. The two shield themselves behind a low wall at Daniel's instruction, and the moment of truth is upon them.

Wenlianna whispers, as if her words will blow up the crystal, "Why are we hiding?"

"We don't know what will happen. In my world, pressurized water is used to cut stone in some cases. Water's volume is also relatively fixed, so if the crystal tries to dump its entire contents all at once… Let's hope this wall is sturdy."

She looks at him, and he adds, "Also, we don't know if this thing won't explode. It seemed like it took the charge, but we won't know what will happen until we test it. Are you ready?"

Wenlianna swallows hard. "If this ruins the garden, let's hope it kills us. Mother will be less forgiving."

He chuckles, and he turns the slider low. He then turns the switch on, turning up the slider just a little.

To their surprise, water begins to spray haphazardly out of the graphite 'crystal'.

Wenlianna jumps up to her feet, exclaiming, "IT'S WORKING! I don't believe it!"

Daniel watches it diligently. He knows graphite is insoluble, so it won't dissolve in water, but he doesn't know all of the machinations of magic, yet. It's prudent to be cautious.

After a moment, the spraying continues with no signs of change. It's not much, at present, but it's enough to prove concept, and the crystal hasn't broken yet.

Wenlianna starts to say, "This is incredible! It's not deteriorating at all! Even the best water crystals would have melted by now!" She starts to dart towards it, but Daniel catches her lab robe, tugging her back. "We still don't know it's safe. Something's bothering me."

"What is it?" She looks at him, glancing at the graphite as well. It's still spraying.

What he notices is the object trembling. The setting is still extremely low, and he just wanted to prove it wouldn't melt while holding a charge the same way the salt crystals do.

However, the trembling means something else is going on. Either it's generating uneven water forces, indicating a smooth surface is more critical than he might have thought, or something else is happening that they can't see.

He says cautiously, "Crouch back down. I want to turn it up a little."

She obeys, crouching back down as instructed. "Alright. But, I want to see it up close. This could be revolutionary."

Daniel turns the slider up a small amount. Almost immediately, the graphite trembles more violently, even though the water output is only slightly higher.

He reacts just in time, grabbing Wenlianna and pulling her to the ground as he covers her with his body. A loud 'BANG!' rings out sharply, but it was only comparable to a rifle -which is loud, but not cataclysmic-. He can hear the sounds of pebbles ricocheting off of stone and ripping through leaves nearby.

Daniel shuts the control switch off, peeking over the wall before he lets Wenlianna up. She whimpers, "Wh-What happened!?"

Daniel sighs. He helps her up so she can look. The stand that it was on has been knocked over, and the graphite is gone.

"A worst case scenario was a runaway reaction, where it would explode all of the water mass out. Instead, it seems like it was generating water internal to itself, and it exploded from the inside out."

"What?"

Daniel does his best to explain, "It's likely the crystalline structure of the salt atoms distributes the magic easily to the surface of the crystal, preventing the release of the element internal to the crystal. However, graphite, which is what we were just using, is not an even crystalline structure. It's still pretty organized in the grand scheme of atoms, but nowhere near diamond." He grins, "Still, it served as a pretty good proof of concept."

Wenlianna laughs, leaning against the low wall. "I can't believe I met the one person who can talk so far over my head, I feel like a toddler." She sighs, asking, "So, we didn't do anything wrong?"

"No. Graphite is relatively soft, so it was good we tested it first. We'll want to take extra precautions with diamond, but its transparency will let us see what's going on internally."

He looks at Wenlianna, offering his hand. "Ready to get serious?"

She sighs, taking his hand. "Do you even have to ask?"

They inspect the area around where the graphite was. It exploded into shards, some of which went flying, but that's it. The graphite didn't break down until the internal pressure caused it to pop. It had the potential to produce its full capacity of magic water otherwise. A limited output graphite water source could likely prove useful for impoverished and drought-plagued lands, but if it works, synthetic diamonds could go even further.

The primary reason Daniel wants to tackle such a big project is to cement his place in the world, and to be able to create sturdier crystals that can make everyday life easier. Even the best artisans in the world can't conjure salt, and as far as he can tell, the sea is a fair distance away from the castle town he resides in currently, so creating a means of obtaining salt wouldn't benefit him just yet. But, with crystals that can make use of any magic and withstand damage, as well as being made from readily available carbon, he might be able to make even better magical equipment.

And, because he has so many ideas and a willing accomplice, it should be possible to jumpstart Wenlianna's research into much broader territory.

***************

A terrifying plague, consuming the land. Screams. War. Blood. The daytime sky is black as night, devoured by the deathly tendrils of poisonous smoke. Thousands… hundreds of thousands… millions… All fall before the plague, their souls never to depart, but to be devoured instead.

CRACK-BOOM!

Terrifying thunder, and a dragon falls. The mightiest of the creatures in the land. Before it stands only two; a man with dark hair and dark eyes wielding a staff that summons all four of the worldly elements into one. And beside him, a small woman with curled horns and a tail, radiating death itself. A plague unto themselves.

They are the vanguard of Death, surrounded by a sea of darkness and blood.

And then suddenly, a sunrise erases it all.

She cries out, falling to her hands and knees. She couldn't even process all of what she was seeing. She spits up blood on the floor of the throne room as the onlookers gasp, and someone calls for a healer.

King Regent Rikuto asks quickly, "Lady Dawnseer!? I'm sorry to ask you to perform such a spell…"

She holds up her hand, coughing, but trying to assuage his concerns. She coughs, rasping out hoarsely, "I-It… It shouldn't *cough* be like this…" She descends into a coughing fit, spitting up blood once more.

Her assistant hands her water, and she does her best to gulp it down, while a chair is provided for her to ease herself into. 

Princess Heralesse asks quickly, "Lady Dawnseer, what was it? What did…?"

Rikuto softly stops her, shaking his head. He says gently, "Catch your breath. The strain was clearly too much."

The Dawnseer nods her head, panting and coughing weakly. She murmurs, "The vision… it's gotten worse. I saw… a plague. It's form,... I could make no sense of it. But, it consumed all in its path, like an unstoppable fire." She hugs her sides, murmuring, "I felt… an overwhelming sense of dread, and the two… the two from before; a man and woman… They were shrouded in darkness and the aura of death… There was so much blood…" She covers her mouth, and the Royal family glances at each other.

Rikuto asks cautiously, "Can you describe the two? If I understand correctly, they appeared in the vision that prompted you to summon myself and Daniel."

The woman shakes her head. "Only their genders…" She perks up, "Oh! This time, I saw horns… The woman had horns, and a tail…"

The nobles in the room murmur. "Could it be?" "If it is her, then we may already be too late." "Has she really grown so strong?"

Rikuto asks, "Am I right to assume the consensus is the leader of the demons?"

The nobles nod, and Heralesse murmurs, "Though little is known about her, it's believed she descended from dark elves and dragonkin, making her extremely powerful on her own. We only know the demon army serves a 'queen' because a single escaped prisoner of war, a divine hero from our world, was able to return to us."

"Is there something that should have made Daniel or I special?"

Princess Erimaya, the most curious and well read on the summoning, explains, "It is said in the books about the summoning that the summoned heroes pass through the divine realm and directly receive blessings from the gods. Their form is suited to the hero, and stands in counter to the enemy."

Rikuto puts his hand on his chin, thinking. "I see. So, although my powers aren't particularly strong, perhaps it is merely a matter of bolstering the kingdom. Or, perhaps it is something Daniel and I will accomplish together…"

Heralesse asks, "Did the gods speak to you?"

"I couldn't recall it at the time, but the goddess I met explained the summoning, which is why it wasn't such a shock when I arrived. It was kind of like waking from a dream, though it came back to me after a time. As for a plan, I'm afraid they couldn't give me a roadmap, only blessings that were determined by fate."

"Does that mean, Mister Daniel's fate was to arrive here without magic?" asks Erimaya.

Rikuto ponders it. "I would think so. But then, it's strange that the goddess didn't mention I would be with someone else." He becomes a little uneasy. "Tell me, Lady Dawnseer; this man you saw in your vision; can you tell me anything about him?"

She lowers her head, "Only that he had dark hair and dark eyes, and he used a magic staff that summoned all four of the worldly elements."

"Dark hair and dark eyes, huh? I suppose that could describe me."

Heralesse asks at an urgent whisper, "You think Daniel might side with the demon queen?"

Rikuto quickly puts the notion to rest; "No! No. It briefly crossed my mind, and we should consider all possibilities. After all, the description is extremely vague, and from what you've all told me, the vision prior to our arrival was very similar, if not the same, in regards to the pair. Daniel doesn't strike me as the type to pick fights, let alone betray anyone."

"I suppose that's true… He rather let the Lady Artisan push him around, I suppose…"

Rikuto can't deny that. He asks the fortune teller, "Lady Dawnseer, is there anything else you can tell us?"

She ponders for a moment. "The feeling… the crushing feeling of despair… I don't know how to describe it, truly… To die in that battle… I fear hell would be a reprieve… There was… something awful in that darkness; in that plague. Something only the sun itself could purge…"

Heralesse cautions, "Dawnseeing isn't an exact practice. What she saw could be somewhat metaphorical for something we don't have descriptions for."

The elderly woman nods in agreement. "Her Highness speaks the truth, I'm afraid… It is likely why I cannot envision the terrible thing lurking beyond the darkness, and why it strangles my perception of the other two…"

Rikuto reassures her, "You've done what you can. At least we know there is a greater threat than mere warfare, which is terrible enough. If we can, we should attempt to coordinate with the Empire and the other kingdoms and see if we can determine the true nature of this darkness before it gets beyond our ability to respond. Thank you all."

The nobles bow and file out, and the Dawnseer relaxes in the chair as her assistants lift it and carry her out as well, escorted by healers.

Once it's just Rikuto, the prime minister, and the Princesses, he asks quietly, "How reliable are the Lady Dawnseer's visions, truthfully? I mean no disrespect. I just want to know what to expect."

Heralesse replies softly, "More right than wrong. The process starts with prophetic dreams being reported, and when a trend of the same prophetic dream appears of something serious, the Dawnseer is consulted. The circumstances could be different, but the imagery is usually correct. There is a man and a woman of terrifying power somewhere, and something worse that can't be imagined. Usually, though, the Dawnseer can see much more detail."

Erimaya offers gently, "Is it possible the 'crushing despair' she described could be why?"

Rikuto ponders, agreeing with the thought. "I noticed that, too. Her body had a visceral reaction to an overwhelming amount of fear. She'll need to be monitored overnight."

Tulaxxas, the Prime Minister, bows. "I shall ensure she is watched diligently, your Majesty."

Rikuto acknowledges him with a nod. He ponders Daniel silently once more, though. He, himself, seems to be a known quantity in this world; fitting in easily with the royalty, making progress in stabilizing the relatively small kingdom in the interest of avoiding collapse due to the ongoing war. His years at university didn't necessarily prepare him for leading, but he's managed somehow, most likely thanks to highly advanced knowledge, just like Daniel.

However, Daniel is the odd piece. He doesn't fit with the world's logic, and he wasn't mentioned by the goddess, which seems like a strange oversight if they were going to arrive together. To give him no magic at all almost seems more intentional than giving him a set of talents that are rare, but more normal in this world. If that's the case, though, then what would the purpose be? He expressly has no interest in leading, and he is rather skilled at figuring out and adapting Earth technology to this world. Even now, the pump he made has been put in service and, just as he hoped, fills a vessel on the roof of the castle, which feeds washing, cleaning, and castle defense with an ever-expanding network of pipes and valves. They're both suited to roles, it seems, and yet, the goddess neglected to tell them about each other.

It's strange, and doesn't seem to be something he can solve so easily without some more though. And, it's definitely not helped by the additional concerns caused by the Dawnseer's fortune, which seems to be corroborated at least some by the Princesses.

For now, his best bet is to keep strengthening the kingdom. And, as for Daniel, he'll have to keep an eye on him as best as possible.

*************