The Dreams of Etheria had performed for Johny while he was recovering. He had really enjoyed it. CLAP CLAP CLAP!! Johny vigorously applauds them while sitting up in his bed. "Wow, that was amazing! Only you can come up with something so amazing, elder brother!" Johny endlessly praises Bale.
"So would you like to accompany us on our travels as a bodyguard?" Bale smiles at him. "Of course! I would love to!" Johny gives Bale the thumbs up. "That's great!" Liva cheers. "The road trips will be a lot safer with Johny around, he's really strong." Bale turns his attention to Ebina while patting Johny's shoulders. "Yes, looking forward to it!"
The girls were initially apprehensive about having Johny, the son of the man who hates demi-humans, join them. But after Bale explained to them that Johny saved him, and that he was no longer his father's puppet, the girls eventually agreed to give him a chance.
"I'll get stronger so that I can protect everyone!" Johny flexes an arm. "And elder brother Bale, you'll watch me spar when I recover and give me pointers yea?"
"I'll do what I can." Bale winks at him. "Oh by the way." Bale smacks a fist into his palm. "What Zodiac stones are you compatible with, Johny?"
"The silver, white, and red Zodiac stones." Johny then rubs his chin. "I can also activate 2 at a time."
They then get interrupted as Bobby the butler knocks at the door. They open the door as Bobby greets them with a bow "Excuse me, but you have a visitor, Sir Bale. He's waiting at the guest lounge."
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In the small guest lounge, a young dwarven boy is sipping some tea while sitting on a fancy chair. The dwarven boy seemed oddly calm, not intimidated by the wealthy environment and expensive decorations. He has no beard, and stands at only 48 inches tall. His dark hair is tied back in a ponytail. Next to him are several large brown bags and what looks like a modern drumset made of wood, without the drum heads on top.
"Hello there, thanks for coming Max." Bale walks in through the door and sits on a chair across from him.
"Not a problem!" Max stands up and sets down his cup as they shake hands. "My name is Bale." "And I am Max, a magic toolshop apprentice."
"Is that what I think it is?" Finished with the curt greeting, Bale hovers over the drum set and examines it.
"Yes, it's the drum set you were asking for. We didn't have any problems thanks to the drawing being so detailed."
"Wow that's fast, I thought it'd take a few months at least." Bale smiles.
"That's because our shop is ran by an orphanage. The orphanage master is a dwarf who loves craftsmanship and so the children help out while learning."
"Your master sounds like a great guy." Bale nods.
"Yes, I admire him very much." Max couldn't contain his elation of his beloved master being praised. He then opens his backpack and takes out several black and round drum heads, laying them on the table.
"Anyways, we tried to best create a drum head that matches your preferences." Max motions to the black round drum heads on the table. There's 10 in total as Bale reaches out to feel them.
"Woah, where did you get these materials?" Bale is impressed at what he feels. He flicks the drum heads with his finger. (This feels just like what I need! This is totally plastic isn't it?!) He thinks. (Even if it isn't exactly to specifications like on Earth, it should be pretty good with some tuning.)
"You didn't create this material did you?" (If so, maybe I underestimated the technology level of this world...).
"No, these are all made from monster parts." Max smiles.
"Wah? Really? Monster parts?!" Bale opens his eyes wide in surprise (I definitely need to do more research on monster parts! Perhaps I can harvest from monsters what we artificially produce on earth...).
"Want to give them a try?" Max smiles as he hands over a pair of drum sticks.
"Sure!" Bale grabs the sticks and then excitedly hovers over the drum set, fitting on the drum heads.
"Do you really plan on using 5 drums and 2 cymbals at once? Is that even possible?" Max asks with a mix of curiosity and fascination.
"Heh, just watch and listen." Bale finalizes his adjustments on the drum heads while giving exploratory taps onto the drums, cymbals, and high hat.
He then begins effortlessly playing the drums as Max could not believe his ears. Bale's arms move so fluidly and elegantly, yet so powerfully as the sounds echo through his chest. Max then closes his eyes as he listens (If I was blind, I'd think this guy had 8 arms! This is amazing!). Max had never cared for music, and especially the barbaric pounding of the drums. But emotions that Bale composed from the drum set was more than savagery. Instead of conveying impending doom, the beats produced almost seduced Max to dance and sway his body.
However, before he could, Max's gaze shifts to a disturbance – the door behind Bale opens up as Lumilla quietly sneaks in. She then smiles at Max with a finger on her lips "Shhh..."
(Woah! What a beauty!) Max thinks, his urge to dance quickly replaced by his urge to follow Lumilla with his eyes. (She must be the rumored Lady Lumilla) His eyes quickly dart between her blue braids and her eyes before he's finally able to tear away his love-struck gaze. (What am I thinking?! She is nobility! I musn't get caught being rude...).
After replacing the drum heads several times, Bale finally settles on a drum head for each of the drums. "I think I'll settle on this setup." Bale nods. "What are these drum heads made of?"
After composing himself and taking a deep breath, Max then replies "The ones on these smaller drums were made from the oil sacks of fire toads. And the one for this 'Bass drum' down here was made from the web sack of a death spider."
"So, how much will it cost?"
"80,000 Zenny." Max smiles at him.
"...." Bale sweats. (I only have roughly 40,000 right now, and half of it belongs to Ebina...) "Um...can I pay you later?"
"What? Are you serious? Sir Toma told me that you said money was no issue..." Max scowls. (Besides, shouldn't he be loaded if he's being taken in by a Baroness...?).
"Will you take 40,000 zenny?" Bale sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. He had not expected the drum set to be finished so quickly, and therefore did not prepare the funds. "And I'll give you another 40,000 next month..."
"I'll have to talk to my master about it, I can't make any decisions..." Max frowns. "But the fees will definitely increase."
"How about I cover the rest?" Lumilla appears next to Bale and presses her hand on Bale's shoulder.
"Woah!!" Bale jumps away in fright. "Where'd you come from Lady Lumilla?!"
"She came in earlier, but you were so entranced with the drums...." Max adjusts his glasses and trails off. (Guh! Lucky guy! Wait...) He then glances at Lumilla's hand on Bale's shoulder. (Didn't the rumors say that she hates men? Were they wrong?)
"I heard your drumming and I just had to come see for myself." Lumilla playfully smiles at Bale. "You seem to be a man of many talents."
She then takes out a black coin pouch and extracts 4 gold coins from it, and hands it to Max. "Thank you very much, Lady Lumilla." He bows.
"Wait! I can't possibly ask you to-" Bale then gets silenced by a finger to his lips. "You're welcome." Lumilla winks at him.
"Uh, thanks." Bale sweats. "Since you were so exceptionally fast, I didn't have time to go to the merchants guild to withdraw any money..." (We should play at the market for some emergency funds...).
"Here, I got it." Lumilla once again pulls out 4 gold coins and hands it over to Max.
"Ahaha...." All Bale could do was produce a meek smile (Ahh this is so embarassing! If only checks or credit cards existed I wouldn't have been caught with my pants down!).
"Thank you very much for your patronage!" Max bows after verifying the last gold coins. "We look forward to helping with your next endeavor!" He then hands Bale a fancy wooden plate with decorations and writing inscribed onto it. (Must be this world's version of a business card). "You may find us at the orphanage in Yurun village, or contact us through Sir Toma Sparkson."
"Thank you too." They quickly shake hands.
They watch as Bobby escorts Max out of the mansion. Max then looks back to steal one last glance at Lumilla. (W-what's wrong with me?!) Max lightly slaps his own face in an attempt to knock some sense back into himself (Knock it off Max! You're a commoner and Lady Lumilla is a noble, it'll never work out!). He had seen plenty of girls in his travels – some of them extremely cute and attractive - but none had ever left him with a longing sensation such as now
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"Now you owe me one." Lumilla crosses her arms and glances over at Bale. Thankful that her lucky timing and quick thinking had ensnared Bale. Unlike her mother, Lumilla is still young and ambitious.
"Actually, I'd say we're even. I helped you win the duel after all." Bale brushes his fingers through his hair.
"What?!" Lumilla puts her hands on her waist in astonishment. "You volunteered that of your own will! I never asked for it!"
"Fine fine. I will pay you back as soon as I can, my lady." Bale quickly bows to her, deciding that arguing with the blue haired warrioress was a losing endeavor.
"Keep it. You'll pay me back in other ways." Lumilla crosses her arms as she gives him a sideways glance.
"Other ways?" Bale suspiciously looks up at Lumilla.
"Commander Haz had been training the knights in preparation to take down a guardian beast. And I will be the one leading the expedition. But until then, we still have 4 years to prepare before our own guardian crystal expires."
"Why not just hire adventurers to take it down?" Bale raises a curious brow.
"Huh? Are you dumb?" Lumilla looks at Bale as if he just told her an untasteful joke. She then quickly covers her mouth, almost forgetting that she had committed herself to act more respectfully towards the boy.
"Ahem!" She clears her throat. "Guardian beasts are incredibly dangerous and have wiped out many adventurer groups trying to take them out."
She then waves a hand "It's just common sense for them to stay away from guardian beasts, dragons, and other such dangerous creatures. And those who can defeat them charge too much money. So it falls upon those who serve the kingdom – the nobles – to get rid of them."
"But I'm not a noble. I don't want to do anything that would endanger my life unnecessarily." He raises his hands in defense "I don't even know how to fight, nor do I have a golden Zodiac stone." Bale takes a step back. "Please kindly leave me out of it."
"You beat 3 human children to save Liva, I'd say you know how to fight." Lumilla smiles at him (You're not getting out of it that easily!).
"I ambushed them when they weren't paying attention." Bale retorts proudly.
"Okay if you say so." Lumilla quickly looks him over, noting his muscular features. (There's no way he can be this built for no reason. But I get it, he wants to keep a low profile).
"Of course I'm not asking you to fight with your body. I want you to fight with that intelligent mind of yours."
"But I don't think I have the time..." (I got other things to worry about, like how to prepare for the upcoming war, or how to prevent it...)
"'ll do anything you want, within my power. Fair trade, don't you think Bale?" Lumilla reaches a hand out to him.
"Wait....anything?" Bale casts a doubtful gaze upon her.
"Not all nobles keep their promises, but I do keep mine."
Bale then walks up to the door and locks it as Lumilla looks on silently. Bale then returns and sits in front of the table, then motions Lumilla to sit on the opposite side facing him.
Aknowledging the change in his demeanor, Lumilla then takes a seat "I will not do anything illegal though."
"In 10 years time, this continent will be plunged into war. You and your mother will die, and all the demi-humans will become extinct." Bale states in a deathly serious tone.
"What the hell? Is that a joke?" Lumilla studies his face, trying to find any hint of lies or the curly end of a smile on his lips – but none was detected. Bale was dead serious.
"Haaa...." Lumilla then crosses her arms and leans back on her chair. "Let's hear it, how do you know of all this? You better not be making it up."
Bale then closes his eyes "I know it's hard to believe. That's why I've kept quiet about it. I don't want to be seen as a delusional lunatic, you know."
"Fair point, but do you have any proof?" Lumilla tilts her head slightly.
"No direct proof. But I can tell you that the 2nd prince of Pnakotica will assassinate his entire family for the throne." "!!!" Lumilla's eyes open wide with an incredulous smile at his prediction.
"The 2nd prince will ally himself with the human supremacist nations and eradicate all demi-humans."
"Stop right there!" Lumilla puts a hand on her head and holds the other in front of Bale. "If any noble other than me heard that, you'd be imprisoned!"
"I know, but it's important." Bale sits back and crosses his legs "You said that you'd do anything you can in exchange for my help, did you not?"
"How do you even know that it's going to happen?" Lumilla frowns.
"I have these dreams, they teach me things and show me the future." Bale waves his hand while weaving his lies. It's much simpler to just explain it as dreams, or perhaps the divine revelations of a god. "That's how I'm able to create such profound music, that anti-lightning stance, and that poisonous gas."
"Did you really make that out of just salt water?" Lumilla asks.
"Yes, I can show you if you want." Bale nods (I guess it's worth showing her if I must, she at least seems to be on my side...).
"No need." Lumilla then closes her eyes. "That makes sense, it's surely a convincing argument, but still....that is not proof."
"But even if we wanted to, we can't even warn the king and the 1st princess. Father was executed by the nobles in the pro-human faction for digging too deeply after all." Lumilla clenches her teeth, recalling her younger self hiding behind her mother as they watch her father get beheaded at the guillotine.
"I won't make you do anything you don't want to. I'm only telling you so that you may understand where I'm coming from." Bale lightly taps his head with a finger.
"Do not tell mother about this. She had essentially given up the fight when father was executed. She still blames herself for his death." Lumilla glares at Bale.
"Alright." Bale nods.
"So what do you want me to do? And remember, nothing that would break the law." She taps a finger onto the table.
Bale raises a fist to his chest "I want you to create a strong army using the weapons that I create. That army will be the strongest in the world, so that we may be ready when the war happens."
He then smiles "It would benefit us both. You would defeat a guardian beast, and my family would be safe."
"Wait a minute." Lumilla scratches her head. "Do you know how much it costs just to maintain our current level of knights? Ever since father died, the amount of inflowing funds had been dwindling. That's why I refused when my mother wanted to throw me a lavish party."
She then shrugs "Sure your troupe might be profitable, but it'll only be a drop in the bucket, it will hardly make a difference."
"I'm only performing with my sister because it's her dream, there are much better ways for me to earn money."
"I'm all ears." Lumilla leans forward.
Bale then rubs his hands together. "I just need you to enact and enforce a patent law."
"A patent law?" Lumilla raises a brow.
"A law to prevent others from copying and selling my inventions. To prevent the theft of intellectual property, if you will."
"That sounds kind of...." Lumilla's voice trails off as she thinks about the ridiculousness of stealing something non-physical.
"It's not dumb." Bale quips as if he could hear her thoughts. "If stealing information sounds stupid, why do spies get executed? They're essentially doing the same thing."
"Hmm I never thought of it that way." Lumilla places a finger on her chin.
"Stealing information could destroy nations as well as businesses." Bale nods.
"Strong businesses means more revenue, more quality of life, more jobs, and a stronger territory."
Bale then snickers as he scratches his head "Of course I'll be taking a little bit of that money too, hehe."
"Alright, I get the gist of it. I'll convince mother." Lumilla nods. "It's not like there are people to be arrested anyway, I can't remember the last time someone invented something worthwhile other than the horse carriage."
"But what do I do if other territories steal your ideas? I can't just go and arrest them." Lumilla frowns.
"Hmm..." Bale taps his fingers on the table. "How about you have them agree on the patent laws as well? Everyone will enforce it in their territory, nobody will steal the others' ideas, and maybe give them a little payment to sign up." Bale rubs his thumb and forefingers together to indicate bribery with money.
"I don't see our allies rejecting a mutually beneficial proposal, but what about those nobles who are hostile towards our estate? They'll most likely reject our proposal immediately out of spite."
Bale the snickers "I have an idea for that too. But let's give them all the same proposal and go from there." (Johny will come in handy in that regard...).
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The Baroness Veena surprisingly agreed to enact the patent laws right away, perhaps it was just a sign of her trust in Bale.
It's been 2 months since Bale had agreed to help with Lumilla's subjugation of the Guardian beast, although they still have a few years yet before they challenge it. The dreamers of Etheria had begun performing for events and parties setup by nobles. And they became even more popular as word spread amongst the guests. There were admirers and copycat troupes who made poor imitations of their performance, but it helped spread their name far and wide. Due to guilt, Bale decided against creating laws to fine people for copying their music for profit.
And just last month the summer break had ended for Lady Lumilla, which meant that she was back in the Pnakotica academy at the capital.
A fancy horse drawn carriage arrives at the Arnvir estate, guarded by a knight riding a horse on either side. It's got the standard fixtures and oil lamps that one often sees riding about. Bale first thought about applying a custom paint job and logo on the carriage, but decided against it in case they become easy targets. Johny exits the carriage as he helps Liva and Ebina down from the carriage. Bale is the last to exit.
"Where's Baroness Veena?" He asks Bobby the butler, as he is the only one to greet them. "She's currently busy at the moment. She had been summoned to the royal castle last week."
"I hope it's nothing serious." Bale gazes in the direction of the capital. (I don't know what will happen now that I've changed the future. I'll have to pay close attention to things).
"I'm sure she can handle it, you don't need to worry about such things sir Bale."
"Whew! That was a blast elder brother!" Johny pumps his fists into the air. "I'm so glad I decided to go with you!" He then puts his arm around Bale's neck.
"Ow ow ow..." Liva tenderly pats her own back as she winces. Ebina helps Liva stand by holding her hand. "That was the longest we've traveled, wasn't it?" Ebina thinks back to the endless country side and hills. "Yes, but I think I need to lay down." Liva sweats.
"But they paid a lot, right sister Ebina?" Johny gives her a thumbs up.
"I'm glad they paid so much, but I'm just happy to be able to have people hear me singing." Ebina smiles humbly, still having trouble accepting her good fortune.
"That was our 7th performance so far, are you used to it yet sister?" Bale smiles at Ebina. "I still get nervous, but I love it!" She excitedly replies.
Bale then claps "Alright, everyone is dismissed. Let's take the next couple of days off and then do it all over again!" He shouts. "Alright!!" Everyone enthusiastically cheers.
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After returning to their room, Bale and Johny look through several envelopes that had been delivered during their 2 weeks of absence. "...." Johny watches from behind as Bale shuffles through the envelopes.
Bale then opens an envelope. "Oh this is from Lady Lumilla." Bale then begins to read from it. "Hmm...it looks like several of her noble acquaintances have agreed to enact the patent laws in their territories." "That's great news elder brother!" Johny lightly pats Bale in the back. "They may be young, but since they're future leaders, they're taken very seriously. This is great news..." Bale sighs in relief. He then frowns (However, the nobles of the enemy faction – the pro-humans – refused to cooperate as expected).
He then sees Johny staring intently at the envelopes that Bale had set back onto the desk.
"What's wrong Johny?"
"...Nothing from my father?"
"Nope." Bale shakes his head.
"Oh well, it's not like I was expecting anything in the first place." Johny forces a smile. He really hadn't expected his father to write him any letters or even attempt to contact him. He had grown to love traveling with Bale and the troupe, but every now and then his mind still wanders over to his father.
"What an asshole, he doesn't deserve to be a father." Bale pats him on the shoulder. "But now that the patent laws are falling into place, you can finally get back at him. You can use him just like how he used you."
"Are you up for it?" Bale mischeviously narrows his eyes.