Chapter 244.

PART 1.

Avinash is waiting for the interview to begin. For the time being, the waiting music is playing on the live stream, and the host has not appeared yet. Raven is along with him, and he is also waiting to hear about this interview.

"Do you think he can handle himself?" Asked Raven.

"Have faith in him." Said Avinash. "He is not prone to blow his casket as much as he used to be. Besides, he is not stressed, nor is anyone trying to hunt him down. So, I am certain he will handle this perfectly."

"Yes, but what about the public attention?" Asked Raven.

"Well, I'm sure he will find a way to avoid that." Said Avinash. He is hoping privately that after this interview, Hatori will not appear in front of the public, as he is unlikely to deal with them politely.

They need to give off a good impression. His entire vision to drag his country into an age of advancement and make them strong enough to deal with the galactic races relies upon combining the technology of the other side, and the magic from this side.

'I should make preparations to meet a delegation from there. What kind of speech would work best, I wonder?'

PART 2.

Sanjay checks for any technical difficulties. Once he is sure that nothing is wrong, he finally appears on the screen. The waiting music stops playing, and he starts to speak.

"Greetings everyone, I am your host, Sanjay. Today with me is a special guest." The camera focuses on Hatori. "His name is Hatori Eagle, the founder of the school which has been on trend recently. I visited the school about seven days ago, where I met him. I asked him for a conversation, and he agreed to it. You can watch my entire report on this link." A link flashes on the screen, and then it is pinned to the side. "Thank you for coming here."

"My pleasure." Said Hatori.

"Now, before we begin about your school, I would like to start with you. Who are you, and how did you end up learning magic?" Asked Sanjay, while privately thinking that about a few days ago, he never thought of asking such a question.

"I am Hatori Eagle. As for how I ended up learning magic, it's a long tale." Said Hatori.

Realizing that he has to be more precise, Sanjay asks the next question. "How old were you when you began your training?"

"I was eight." Said Hatori with a smile. "Unlike other children, I did not grow up with magic, so I had to do a lot of preparation before I could use it."

"Why didn't you grow up with magic?" Asked Sanjay.

"Because I am from this dimension originally." Said Hatori. "A mishap caused me to appear on the magical dimension, and I was trapped there until I reached the age of thirty."

"You've said that you have to do preparations before you start to learn magic. Does that mean it is dangerous before prior preparation?"

"It is. This is why in the school we have prepared an entire prerequisite curriculum to prepare the students to keep them safe. Those lessons are a result of my experiences and careful research."

"And meditation and physical exercises are a part of this training?" Asked Sanjay.

"It is a huge part of it." Hatori agreed. "A weak mind or body cannot handle the sudden shock of magic to the system. It will cause the entire thing to overheat and shut down, much like a computer system which has suffered some kind of unrecoverable error."

Sanjay sports a traumatizing look for a second. "Don't remind me." He joked. "Tell me, how was life in that other world?"

"Chaotic. My appearance was not expected, and I had to compete with the people who had the knowledge of magic on an instinctual level. However, I had a great teacher. It is because of him that I have a greater mastery of magic, even better than a native."

"Can you talk about him a little?" Asked Sanjay.

"Well, he was strict. Now, before your mind starts to run with your imagination, he never laid a hand on me." 'Besides the spars.' Thought Hatori, but no one needed to know that. "He demanded effort and excellence. Since I was so young, he served the role of a parent for me there. If I have to compare him with someone, then I would compare him with the character of Begger So from the Drunken Master film of 1978."

"I have not watched that film." Said Sanjay.

"You are missing a lot then. I watched that film when I was 7, and it was one of the few films which left an impression on me." Said Hatori.

"Speaking of your school, why did you decide to open such a school?" Asked Sanjay.

For a moment, Hatori thinks of giving a response like "Because I wanted to bring the enlightenment of magic to you plebians." But decided against it.

"Because when I returned to this dimension, I saw how much the technology has progressed in my absence. While it is true that I have been here for twenty years now, you do not understand how progress feels until you get to see the changes and feel them yourself. And I feel like magic, combined with technology can bring great changes in the world. Naturally, you need to train the kids, as they are the ones who would come up with those interesting and world-changing combinations." There. that should make Avinash happy. He gave a diplomatic and serious answer and planted the idea in the public consciousness.

"Yes, but your school does not train kids. When I was there, I saw many people of different age groups, from people in their twenties and thirties to elderly people in their 60s. One of the ladies I spoke to was in her 70s." said Sanjay in response.

"Correct. It is partly because we want the adults to be comfortable with magic as well. After all, it is their kids and grandkids who would be coming to our school to learn from us. Surprisingly, it seems to have become a health club of sorts for the adults."

"Good thing you've reminded me of their health. The elderly people reported how well they felt after this training. Even if they have not started to learn magic yet, their health shows definite signs of improvement." Sanjay noted.

"My friend did research on this. This kind of training, meditation, and exercise have a great effect on the body. If these adults awaken their magic, these effects are amplified. However, even though it is not my area of research, I can point out that the social gathering also serves as a factor in the improvement in their health."

"You do research? In what area?" Asked Sanjay.

"Runes. It is the language of magic. It gives us the ability to manipulate magic through symbols, much like how we control computers. Surprisingly, my classes in programming in my younger days helped me out a lot." Said Hatori. He did not talk about yantras. Those are a strange subject, especially since people are trying to crack the sentient machines, and failing at it for years. Let them stumble onto the topic by themselves.

Also, his battle magic. The research to turn himself into lightning. Or the body modifications. Clearly, Hatori is not telling everything in this interview. I am sure that the readers are smart enough to understand this, but I do not understand why the author is making me read this out loud.

"So, can you explain what exactly is magic? I mean we know that physics describes the physical laws of the universe. But what about magic?" Asked Sanjay.

"If physics describes the laws of the universe to you, then magic is a way to manipulate and alter them. Of course, once you gain mastery of the subject, you can go beyond mere tricks, much like how physics plays a huge role in the development of technology, which gives you benefits like say, telecasting this interview all over the world." Said Hatori.

"Is it only possible for a select few people to learn magic? My visit did not provide me any clue in this regard, and I am sorry, but the only references we have are the works of fantastical nature." Asked Sanjay. "In those, often magic is only available to a select few, or it cannot be learned by everyone."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"That is probably because the authors want to limit the ability and the spread of it. It also gives the magic users some interesting traits which won't be shared by other characters, like say, the warriors." Said Hatori. "In reality, there is no such limitation. Your mastery may differ, but everyone can learn magic. Of course, much like a high school course on physics and math, not everyone will be a master of these subjects. But some of them will gain this mastery, and will then become scientists and engineers. Others may pursue subjects like history, and they will become historians and social commentators. But they all have gone through these subjects on some level, especially math. You don't have to be a complete expert in math to calculate the expenses of your house. Though taxes may require more effort depending on the regulation."

"Again, please don't remind me." Said Sanjay with a pained voice. "But then why don't people of this world know magic? Why do we only have some old fantastical tales?"

"Because the mages, (that is what we call ourselves) left this dimension about 4000 years ago. Afterward, the interactions became fewer and fewer, the historical records were lost, misinterpreted, or altered, and certain sects arose which discouraged digging into this subject. As a result, people forgot, and it became nothing but fancy stories. Judging by the records I have looked at, these people who discouraged people from learning about magic seem to have developed a rudimentary ability of magic on their own. Add a bit of charisma, and you have a perfect formula to create a profit."

"You keep referring to these two worlds as dimensions. You never call them a world. Why is that?" Asked Sanjay.

"Because they are not worlds. Mages created a dimension that is anchored to this planet. It is essentially a copy of Earth where we live. Naturally, the history and culture are very different, but these are two identical planets divided by a curtain. Are you familiar with the myths about Genies?"

"Somewhat." Said Sanjay.

"According to what I have learned, they are described as beings who live in the same world as us, but there is a curtain between them and us. Similarly, there are these twin planets, one is a copy of the original, and there is a curtain between them. However, it is possible to cross this curtain and enter another dimension. Unless you are blocked like I was."

"Well, that is a lot to digest. I hope this interview was fun and instructive for you, my readers. Any final remarks?" Asked Sanjay to Hatori.

"Sure. Just come to my school, see for yourself how we teach, and get involved. That is all."

"Well then, thank you, Hatori, for coming here. I hope your venture is successful. I hope to see what kind of fruits it bears."

The screen fades to black, and the live interview comes to an end.

PART 3.

"I think he did it well,” said Raven.

Avinash burst out laughing. "You didn't have faith in him!" He laughed some more.

"Shut up, your majesty." Said Raven in a sarcastic tone. "We both know that Hatori is not a public person."

"I know." Said Avinash, "But I also know that he has learned a lot since the end of the war. I also noticed how he let slip our plans though. Do you think it was accidental?"

"He is not good with politics." Said Raven. "But I am certain that was on purpose. I don't think it is a problem though. This should soften the public opinion in our favor when we make official contact."

"Speaking of which, I suppose I should make some preparations for it." Said Avinash.

"Why bother? It is not like you can predict how the meeting will go." Asked Raven.

"I know. But what kind of king I would be if I didn’t make some plans? Besides, even if we don't use those plans, we can keep them on record for future use." Said Avinash.

Raven shuttered. "It is this exact thinking that we have to build several rooms full of records about some future plans. You kings never learn it."

"Stop grumbling and get to work. Or else I'll dock your pay."

"You wouldn't!"

PART 4.

In her office, Sapna Chaudhary turns off her computer. When her secretary informed her that she must watch this interview, she thought it would be nothing but usual nonsense. But this looks to be serious. She did some investigation before this interview started, and the school seems to be legit. However, the implications are still not clear to her.

'I didn't think I would have to deal with something like this when I took this position.' As if paying off the past debt that has accumulated is not enough, now this problem has also landed on her lap. 'Though is it a problem really?'

She calls her home minister, who is responsible for internal security, and her minister of foreign affairs, who is responsible for dealing with foreign powers. Salman and Palani quickly make their way to her office. They are surprised by her sudden call, as their leader is not given to impulsiveness.

She explains the situation to both of the ministers and shows the reports collected by the intelligence gathering agencies. "What do you think?"

"Well, clearly we can't ignore this for too long. I suggest we make contact." Said Salman. "Do we know where this Hatori lives?"

"That is your job to find out." Said Sapna. "Find him, and then make contact."

"Sure." Said Salman.

"It worries me that they can just walk into the country without our knowing. When you speak to him, make sure to put this point across." Said Sapna to Palani.

"I will."

After both of the ministers leave, she breathes a sigh of relief. She is glad that the parliament is not in session currently. The opposition would have chewed her out otherwise over this issue. Not that she wouldn’t do the same.

PART 5.

Naresh comes to Hatori's house. "I saw the interview. Good job on that."

"Well, I had some training to handle it back in school. I was not a friendly person back then." Said Hatori.

"Eh, happens to us all. So, an interesting news from my end: our chief minister is dead, and his seat is empty. There are by-elections are about to happen, and I have a lot of support in that area." Explained Naresh. "I am thinking of fighting from there."

"Go ahead." Said Hatori. "You will probably need to fight for the chance within the party though. But if you win, you can get the position of a state minister. Do not settle for any ministry, only best will do..." Hatori then realized something. "You already know that, don't you?"

Naresh laughed. "Of course. I've been doing this for a long time now. Just leave it to me." Said Naresh, clapping his hands.

"Don't you need financial support or something?" Asked Hatori.

"Not this time. Though when I do go for the position of an MP, I will need some help." Said Naresh.

"Just say the word." Said Hatori. "We are getting closer to your dream after all."

"Sure. And I know how to return the favor when I get there." They both smile at each other like hungry sharks, before Naresh leaves Hatori's home.

PART 6.

Unknown to everyone, this interview was also watched in space. Salima, the leader of the Cyborg Core, a group of extremists smiled after watching this conversation.

The idea this man offers looks interesting. judging by the trending videos and articles, the school is no hokes. But she needs to investigate the potential possible with this new force in the game.

But she has to wait before making any moves. She needs to activate her agents on the ground and make them observe and learn from the school. Only then she can formulate a plan to incorporate this into the technology running their bodies.

Once that happens, she will show the stupid flesh and blood humans how wrong they were to throw people like her out.

"Connor." She calls to her second in command. "Tell our agents to observe this school. If possible, infiltrate and learn from there as well."

"Yes, mam." Said Connor, and then left to accomplish the task given to him.

After that, Salima settles back in her chair and waits for more information to come to her.