Although he'd initially planned to eat alone in his room, those plans were immediately scrapped in the face of the twins' arrival.

As such, he invited them to come along.

"Hey..." Reivan chewed his food and swallowed before pointing his fork at Helen — who was ravenously devouring a juicy steak right next to him. "Slow down, will ya? Nobody's gonna steal your food."

"Just give up. She's always like that." Hector shook his head in exasperation as he sipped at his drink. Out of the three children, he was the only one not eating anything. "Geez. How can she even eat like that when we already ate lunch back home...?"

Helen didn't seem to care about what the two boys had to say though, she was entirely focused on chewing her food and shoving more into her mouth after every swallow. The fact that her stomach wasn't already bloated from the number of steaks she'd put away would forever be a mystery to everyone watching.

Reivan chuckled as he mentally controlled a napkin and used it to wipe off the oil around the gluttonous girl's mouth. "Anyway, why are you two here...?"

In his heart and mind, the twins were always welcome to come over and play. However, the second prince of Aizen wasn't the only one who had lessons to attend. Today was a weekday, so them being here so early in the afternoon was strange.

"Oh, that?" Hector placed the cup he'd been drinking from on the table and wiped his mouth before answering. "Big sis suddenly came early in the morning and took Helen away for a while. When they came back, big sis said some things to our tutor, and then boom. Helen was exempted from lessons for the whole day. Can you believe that? The whole day!"

"Uh-huh..." Reivan nodded as his eyes narrowed. His sister-in-law's suspicious actions gave him a bad feeling. "So you got exempted too?"

The black-haired boy shook his head. "No. Big sis didn't want me to come along at first, but I managed to convince her!"

"Tantrum." Helen chimed in before returning to her food.

'So he threw a tantrum, huh?'

Reivan couldn't help but smirk, causing Hector's ears to turn red.

"If you're gonna eat, can't you just eat...?" Hector frowned as he grumbled to the apathetic Helen. He then turned back to Reivan and shrugged. "C'mon. Who can blame me? I didn't wanna be left out. How come Helen gets a day off and I don't? It's not as if I like getting tutored!"

Snickering at how typical it was for a kid to hate getting schooled, Reivan asked Hector, "Do you know what Helen and big sis talked about?"

"Nope."

Reivan clicked his tongue in regret. "Bummer."

'Ahhh. What do I do...? The bad feeling is getting stronger...'

"Oh!" Hector suddenly exclaimed, causing Reivan's shoulders to jump in surprise. "But she did give us lots of money. She said we had to take you down to explore the city!"

"The city...?" The young prince raised a brow as he set his utensils down on the table.

Reivan had gone out to the city on numerous occasions, almost always with his mother. Sometimes, his uncle would be the one to take him out for something to eat. They would only go to restaurants that had the royal family's — aka, his mother's— seal of approval with regard to taste, security, and secrecy. Usually, there were special rooms with open roofs that they could directly fly into and order things for takeout.

That said, Reivan had never actually gone out to explore Aizen's capital on his own two feet.

'Well, it's understandable.'

He was the prince, after all. Plus, he was just a kid in the eyes of everyone around him.

"I really want to, but I don't think I'm allowed to do that." Reivan smiled wryly, feeling sorry about rejecting his friends. "Uh, you two don't have to worry about me though. Just have fun on your own."

"What do you mean, you're not allowed...?" Hector frowned and tilted his head. "Big sis said that your dad was okay with it."

"Huh?" Reivan's brows furrowed in confusion before he looked to the side, where Clarisse looked just as confused as he was. Still, the lack of notification from his [Essence of Falsehood] meant Hector wasn't lying.

But that didn't mean that what Stella told Hector was the truth.

'I have to confirm...'

Reivan took out his newly acquired dream crystal — or what was commonly referred to as a communication crystal. He then sent a telepathic message to his father, and almost immediately got an answer in return.

'It's true...?'

Despite his father's confirmation, the bad feeling in his gut just got stronger. Because whatever scheme Stella came up with, now Reivan knew that his father was in on it too. Which didn't bode well for Reivan since Rodin was literally the king of Aizen.

'It pisses me off that I can't refuse though...'

Reivan really wanted to go out and explore the city. He was aware that he'd probably have a guard attached to him, but that was fine. It would be a much more refreshing experience than flying around and suddenly appearing in a restaurant's secret room, unable to take in all the sights and smells of the city.

As for whatever Stella was planning, Reivan chose not to care anymore. In any case, it couldn't be anything harmful to him. Worst case, he'd get pranked and then traumatized for a week or two.

"Father said I could come too!" Reivan beamed in excitement as he announced his intention to come along.

"Uh, yeah? That's what I just said." Hector looked at him strangely. "Were you not listening?"

His friend's sassiness could not break Reivan's good mood though. Reivan started thinking about all the things he'd do in the city. Maybe he'd go out for some street food just to find out what it tasted like. Or maybe he would go have a look around all the different shops.

Then, he suddenly wondered about what he'd wear. He obviously couldn't wear his usual clothes, since they were a bit too... extravagant for casual settings.

'Wait a minute... do I even have clothes that don't make me look like a prince?'

Even his pajamas looked expensive, so he couldn't choose that even if walking around in pajamas was a thing. His training clothes would probably look okay though, had they not gotten damaged during his reflex training with Donovan.

'Should I just borrow something from Hector, maybe?'

While he was troubled over how to look inconspicuous on his little trip to the city, Hector was curiously eyeing Reivan's dream crystal. "Hey, what's that?"

"Hm?" Reivan was dazed for a moment after getting snapped out of his thoughts. He followed Hector's gaze before raising the item of interest. "Oh, this? It's called a communication crystal."

"Communication crystal...?" Hector tilted his head with a frown before raising his arm, where a stone-like coin with a green strap was wrapped around his wrist. "Is it similar to my Holostone?"

"Holostone...?" Now it was Reivan's turn to be confused.

"Mm." Helen — her mouth fully stuffed with steak — also raised her slender arm, showing off an accessory similar to Hector's, but with a purple strap. "Me too."

"So Helen has one too..." Reivan nodded, but he still didn't know what the things on their wrists were.

Luckily, someone who would be happy to tell him about those objects arrived right on time.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness." Valter popped from a dark puddle on the ground. "I was told you were heading out."

Hector's eyes were as wide as saucers, his gaze flitting back and forth between the purple-haired man who showed up out of nowhere and the creepy black sludge on the ground. In contrast, Helen appeared shocked for a moment before losing interest and returning to her meal.

"Yep." Reivan had been startled at first, but he'd gotten somewhat used to Valter's ability. "And just so you know, I've finished all the desk work you assigned to me."

"Splendid." Valter nodded in satisfaction. "I thought I'd made it a bit difficult too."

"It was nothing." The young prince sniffed proudly before he turned to the twins with a smirk. "Hector, Helen, meet Valter. He's my guardian knight. Valter, this is Hector and Helen. They're my friends."

The purple-haired knight smiled as he performed an Aizenian salute. "It's a pleasure to meet you two. I've heard a few things about you. Especially your performance yesterday. I didn't think it was possible for such excellence to exist."

"Oh, uh. Hello. Nice to meet you..." Surprisingly meek, Hector stood up and tried to copy Valter's salute. "And the excellent one was Helen... I, uh... didn't really do anything."

"Hello." Helen seemed unfazed as she also left her seat and saluted — though her inexperience revealed itself when she placed the wrong hand on her chest and had her feet too far apart.

"Now that introductions are out of the way..." Reivan cleared his throat. Although he was a bit curious about what Valter said about a performance or something, there were other things that caught his interest more. "Valter, what are those things on Hector and Helen's wrists?"

His guardian knight took one look at the so-called "Holostones" before saying, "Oh, those are called Holostones, Your Highness. They are the commercial versions of the communication crystals that the knights and members of the royal family use."

"Commercial...?"

"Yes. The general public has access to them... though they're a bit on the expensive side and are considered a luxury good. Ah, and their names come from a word that the first king christened — Hologram. Which roughly means something illusory and cannot be touched."

"Uh-huh..." Reivan nodded along, interested. However, Valter didn't answer all the questions he wanted answers to. "So, what's the difference between these Holostones and communication crystals?"

"Oh, that...?" The knight seemed to take a moment to arrange the thoughts inside his head before explaining, "First of all, their performance is nothing like the originals. Communication crystals can communicate thoughts, ideas, images, and even experiences instantaneously and directly into the user's mind from an absurd distance. They would have no trouble transmitting signals from one end of the kingdom to the other.

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"On the other hand, Holostones can still reach far, but only about a tenth of a crystal's range. The greatest difference between the two is that Holostones can only transmit information to their user visually." Valter gestured at Hector. "Would you mind turning it on, little one?"

"Eh?" Hector hadn't finished gawking at the abrupt appearance of a stranger, but he snapped out of it when he was suddenly spoken to. "O-okay. I can do that..."

The raven-haired boy fiddled around with the stone strapped to his wrist. After a moment, the stone glowed with blue light before a similarly colored screen was projected from it.

"Whoah..." Looking at it, Reivan couldn't help but agree that it really was a hologram. He stood up, jumped over the table to stand next to Hector on the other side, and then stared at the screen. However, there was nothing written on it. "Uh, is it broken?"

"What!?" Hector exclaimed in panic. "But big sis said she just bought it today!"

"It's not broken." Valter chimed in, a wry smile on his face. "Holostones by default only show what's written on them to whoever's wearing them. That said, the wearer can also set it to another mode — a mode in which everyone can see the display."

"So that's how it is..." Reivan nodded in understanding before he repeatedly nudged Hector's arm. "Hurry up and show me."

"Alright, alright. Stop pushing me..." Hector jumped away from the exited prince and fiddled with the Holostone some more. It was apparent that he wasn't used to operating it yet — which was only natural, since he'd just obtained it.

Finally, after about three minutes of impatient waiting, Reivan could finally see words appear on the screen.

[Full Display Mode] activated.

Would you like to return to [Restricted Display Mode]?

[Yes] [No]

'Holy shit.'

"Whoah..." As he gawked, Reivan tried to press the [NO] option with his finger. He wondered if there would be some kind of feedback when he touched it.

Contrary to his expectations, it went right through the unchanging semi-transparent screen.

"Hey!" Hector shielded his holostone from Reivan's invasive finger. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry. I couldn't help myself." Realizing his mistake, Reivan apologized with a wry chuckle. "Anyway, these are pretty cool."

"I know, right?" Hector nodded repeatedly in excitement. "Now we can tell stuff to each other even when we're far away!"

"Mhm." Helen nodded as she rubbed her somewhat bloated belly. She then stood up, and as if she wasn't full at all, vaulted over the table before holding out her arm. "Let's."

'Let's what...?'

"Oh, good idea." Hector also held his hand out to Reivan. "Let's add each other! That way, we can talk... uh, I guess write...? Anyway, we can write to each other anytime! Oh, and I'm the one who figured out how to add people to your contacts. Helen's surprisingly bad at it."

Helen frowned but didn't say anything in protest.

After snickering at his sister's expense, Hector nudged Reivan, prompting him to hurry. "Anyway, c'mon!"

"Uh..." Reivan scratched his head, at a loss for what to do.

'Aren't crystals and Holostones different? Can I even add them as contacts?'

He glanced to the side to gauge Valter's reaction, and saw him nod with a smile.

'So it is possible.'

Reivan touched Hector's Holostone with his crystal while mentally thinking of wanting to add Hector to his contacts.

Then new words appeared on Hector's holographic screen.

Would you like to add [Reivan Aizenwald] to your list of contacts?

[Yes] [No]

"Eh?" Hector's forehead creased as he looked at the screen and pressed [Yes]. He then turned his confusion towards Reivan. "Wait a minute... How'd you do that...? You're supposed to press a bunch of things but I didn't see you do anything."

"Were you not listening to Valter earlier...?" Reivan chuckled as he repeated the same process with Helen, adding her to his list of contacts too. Just to test things out, he sent Hector a somewhat long message that couldn't possibly be written in an instant.

The holographic screen that Hector's Holostone was projecting flashed with light before changing.

Message from: Reivan

A short summary of the differences between a "Communication Crystal" and a "Holostone".

--Written By: Reivan Aizenwald

--Information Provided By: Valter Suprana

Communication Crystal Holostone Looks like half of a sphere Looks kinda like a coin Restricted Access Really expensive, but available to the public Range can reach super far Range is only a tenth of a Communication Crystal's range Transmits information to/from the brain instantly. Transmits information visually only — i.e. holograms Does not glow when used Glows blue when used

"Eh? What's this...?" Hector grimaced as he looked at the message. "Is this math homework? Are you gonna give me math homework too...?"

"It's not math homework." Reivan held in his laughter as he also looked over Hector's shoulder, examining the message he'd sent.

'Amazing. It even got expressed as a table. Just like I wanted it to. Though I wanted to make it black with purple borders, so I guess the colors a Holostone can show is limited...?'

Still, Reivan was amazed by the technology that didn't really match a fantasy world like the one he thought he'd reincarnated into.

'It's all my ancestor's fault...'

Reivan inwardly shrugged it off though. In the end, his ancestor's actions benefited Reivan and his family, so he sent a prayer of thanks to the first king of Aizen.

"We were a bit side-tracked, but are you finished eating, Your Highness?" Valter asked. "And have you decided to come with the twins to go around the city?"

"Yes, I'm done eating. And yes, I'm going." Reivan turned to glance at Helen. "Helen, are you done eating?"

"..." The girl looked at the uneaten food on the table with regret before nodding with obvious reluctance. "Mhm. Done..."

As he gazed at the forlorn glutton, Reivan couldn't help but sigh. "We can just pack some of these up and you can bring it with you when you go home."

Helen's eyes immediately brightened as a small smile bloomed on her face. "You're the best."

"Yeah, yeah..." The young prince couldn't stop himself from grinning as he waved her off. "Clarisse, please send the leftovers to their place."

Smiling, the pretty maid bowed. "Yes, Your Highness."

After saying a word of thanks, Reivan looked to Valter, prompting the knight to get on with it.

"We still need to prepare some things." Valter procured a silver ring with no decorations before presenting it to the young prince. "Please wear this."

Reivan took it and examined it for a moment, using his [Supreme Insight].

[Ring of Deception]

A finely crafted ring, enchanted to perfection.

Active:

Once activated, covers the user with a layer of illusions.

The user can then change the perceived color of their hair and eyes.

By using more mana, other features can be modified. Clothes can also be made to appear different.

"Wow. This is neat." Reivan marveled at the fraudulent item. "But isn't something like this pretty dangerous depending on how it's used...?"

Valter shook his head. "It is something relatively common, albeit for a somewhat high price. Also, the illusion will dissipate once someone else touches the affected area. So a somewhat thorough pat down will nullify anyone's attempt to use this in unsavory ways."

'But then what if they don't get a pat down...?'

Reivan frowned, thinking of all the ways something like this could be misused. If something like it was relatively common outside...

Perhaps the knight saw the dark look in the prince's eyes, since he further explained. "People who are very sensitive to magic will also be able to see through it with ease. In other words, anyone who has Aizen's seal of approval to join any type of law enforcement can't be tricked by these. All in all, it's not a tool with many practical uses other than fooling ordinary people... which is exactly what we're aiming for at the moment."

"I see." Reivan sighed in relief before putting the ring on. "If you say so."

"You just have to want to activate the ring, Your Highness. That's all it needs to start working."

"Alright, then."

After doing as his guardian knight said, Reivan visibly saw a thin veil of transparent smoke wrap around his body.

Helen tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, examining the smoke closely.

On the other hand, Hector just looked at his sister with confusion. "What're you looking at?"

"Weird smoke," she answered.

"What weird smoke? Where?"

"There." Helen pointed at Reivan's nose.

Hector brought his face closer, examining the grinning Reivan's face with skepticism. He soon gave up and scowled at his sister. "There's no smoke. Stop joking around!"

"I'm not."

Reivan left the twins to themselves for a moment and focused on controlling what he looked like. After briefly thinking about it, he decided to go for a look similar to his father and brother — black hair and blue eyes.

'Coincidentally, it's the same hair and eye colors as Kyouka's...'

Once upon a time, when there were no giant rats in Ken's life, he'd had black hair and blue eyes too. It was only due to constant stress that all his hair turned white.

Reivan took out a mirror to inspect himself and his new look — which was also his old look. After looking at his handsome face from most angles, he couldn't help but smirk. "Not bad."

"Yes. It looks good on you, Your Highness." Valter nodded with a smile. "You can also change your facial features, but I don't think there's any need for that. Your face is not known to the public, after all. Only your hair and eye colors are."

"I see..." The prince gave himself a few more looks before he saw his luxurious clothes reflected in the mirror. "Valter, what about my clothes...?"

As if he'd expected this, Valter retrieved a neatly folded stack of clothes from his spacial storage ring. "These are yours now. Please take your pick."

Reivan gratefully took the stack and chucked it inside Zouros' stomach. He then looked at Valter and grinned. "Hey Valter, watch this."

With a snap of his finger, Reivan's clothes were replaced with a simple white long-sleeved shirt and brown pants, topped off with a black cloak to help stave off the cold.

The twins, Clarisse, and the other maids had seen the young prince do the same thing before so they didn't have much of a reaction.

On the other hand, it was Valter's first time seeing such a quick change of attire. He raised his eyebrows in shock as he asked, "Is it because of your bond's ability?"

"You guessed it so fast. Didn't expect you'd get it right the first time." Reivan scratched his head with a wry smile on his face before he nodded. "Yep. I can manifest objects anywhere close by, including on my body. Pretty cool, huh?"

'It would've been even better if I could materialize items inside stuff too. That'd be so overpowered though...'

If he could do that, all he had to do was make an iron ball appear inside someone's skull to kill them. Sadly, he could do no such thing.

"Anyway, let's go you two!" Reivan grabbed the twins by their arms and pulled them toward his guardian knight.

"Wait a minute! The door's that way!" Hector pointed in the opposite direction.

"We don't need doors. Not when we have Valter here." The young prince smirked and signaled the purple-haired guardian with a nod. "Please."

Valter closed his eyes as the corners of his lips curled up. Replicating the young prince's earlier actions, the knight snapped his fingers, causing a pool of darkness to appear below the children's feet.

"My pleasure, Your Highness."

As they all began to sink into the shadows, Reivan's grin widened. He made sure not to blink, in case he missed the twins' reactions to their first teleportation.

'I bet they'd never done it before!'