“Have you heard about the forest that suddenly started decaying?” Oliver overheard as he entered the lab “A team was sent out there to investigate but they couldn’t find the cause. All the flora and fauna were gone. But that is not the only one, there have been multiple instances of that happening the past couple of months.”

“Ayano, why did you ask me to come so early today?” Oliver asked, looking at Ayano reading something on her monitor.

“The only step left on the Inter-World Spaceship is to build the spaceship! Look at this!” Ayano drew a Magic Circle in the middle of a table and then poured Magical Energy. After a few seconds a capybara appeared on top of the Magic Circle. “Grab that animal, Oliver!”

“What is this? I have never seen this animal.” Oliver said as he grabbed the capybara.

“I don’t know, it's just an animal from Earth.” Ayano responded.

“How do you know it’s from Earth and not some other world?” Oliver asked.

“I’ll tell you a secret. This summoning spell was used more than the two times you were taught about in history class and every time a person was summoned, they claimed to come from Earth.” Ayano answered. “So, this animal comes from Earth as well.”

“So that’s how so many people from Earth came into Lunaria over the many millennia. I always thought it was just a random Magic phenomenon.” Oliver said. “But what are you trying to show me with this?”

“Oliver, you’re my apprentice, so you should’ve figured that out by now! Let me just show you then! Once I draw the new one, put the animal there and a pen.” Ayano erased the Magic Circle and drew a new one. Oliver placed the capybara and a pen on top of the new Magic Circle and once again Ayano poured Magical Energy into the Magic Circle. After a few seconds, the capybara vanished alongside the pen. “They were transported back to Earth, at least in theory!”

“I see. So, you drew a Magic Circle with reversed effects from the original one and instead of summoning from Earth, it transports to Earth.” Oliver explained. “How did you do that?”

“I have been studying the Hero Summoning Magic Circle for well over a decade. There is no documentation on what each symbol of the Magic Circle means and the art of creating Magic Circles is long dead, so I had to deeply study the Magic Circle. And I finally succeeded in making one with the effect I desired. If you take a look at both Magic Circles, they have the exact same symbols just positioned differently.” Ayano explained in an excited tone. “We just need to build the spaceship and we can finally visit Earth! I estimate that it should take about a year to build it!”

“I have been working on this project ever since I became your apprentice, so it feels so great to be so close to the finish line.” Oliver said in a joyous tone. “I wonder what’s next for us once we finish the Inter-World Spaceship. But for now, I’ll make sure that the people of Lunaria can go to Earth! After all, everyone in Lunaria has ancestry from Earth, so it would be amazing to be able to visit a world where some of our ancestors used to live!”

“I have other news to share, Shido Ito and Hiro Onu were suspended after an investigation over how they treated you in Muna. Professor Su also caught some heat since Ito is his apprentice.” Ayano said.

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“It’s been seven months since that incident. I never thought they would do something about since Hiro told me Shido had political backing.” Oliver said.

“Well, after important people learned about the rechargeability of the Magical Energy Crystal and that it was you who discovered it, they launched an investigation. You know Kenta was heavily involved in the investigation for the past few months.” Ayano said.

“Colonel Miyamoto did!? I am surprised he did that after what I did.” Oliver was surprised.

“He might be angry at you because of Nicole, but you’re one of the people under him. Kenta always takes care of his people.” Ayano answered. “When it comes with his family, he gets overly defensive of them. He loves his wife and daughter a lot. He might not want to talk with you, but he will take care of you, Oliver.”

“I must say he is a great leader. I am glad I was assigned to the Sol City Military Base.” Oliver said with a smile. “I have a question, how are we going to translate the Magic Circles into the spaceship?”

“We are going to transcribe them throughout the spaceship and then when we activate what I call the World Traveling Module, the Magical Energy from the Magical Energy Crystals will get converted by the Magic Amplifier and feed them.” Ayano explained.

“So, we need two separate energy systems in the spaceship, one for the ship itself and another one for the Magic Circles.” Oliver commented. “That seems like the best solution.”

“Now, our next task is the boring part. We must draft a blueprint for the spaceship and explain each component and decision we make.” Ayano said in an annoyed tone. “I hate this part, but we are the experts on the new technology we developed. Just open the file on your computer.”

“I much rather be in combat than do blueprints.” Oliver said as he walked towards his computer and opened the file. “I see you already drew the outline of the spaceship. I am guessing we are putting the Magical Energy Crystals and the Magic Amplifiers on the back near the engine.”

“That’s right. And you’ll also be helping the engineers and technicians hook up the engine to the Magic Amplifiers. I mean the top brass didn’t just let you upgrade Aria’s and Nicole’s Moon Units for nothing. You’re the only one with experience converting an engine from using fuel to using Magical Energy Crystals.” Ayano said as she added to the blueprint.

“I guess I am making myself valuable to the military.” Oliver said. “I hope I don’t run into any problems. I want everything to go smoothly.”

“Problems will always arise some way or the other!” Ayano giggled. “You don’t even have to go looking for them, they will just find you themselves.”

Oliver and Ayano continued working on the blueprint as they discussed the layout of the spaceship. `

“Mom, I have come to pick up my boyfriend.” Aria said as she approached Oliver.

“You’re here Aria. I guess it’s time to eat!” Oliver said with a smile.

“We still have work to do!” Ayano responded. “Don’t take my apprentice.”

“You have assistants, Mom! Oliver is not the only help you have!” Aria said as she grabbed Oliver's arm.

“They are working on other projects!” Ayano said.

“Then too bad, Mom! But I am taking my boyfriend with me. He’ll be back after lunch.” Aria said as she began walking. Oliver followed her lead and walked beside her. Aria stopped near the door for a second. “Friday will be my last day as a temporary member of Platoon 12, Mom. So next Monday, I’ll be back at being your bodyguard.”

“That’s good! You and Oliver will get to spend more time together!” Ayano said with a smile. “Enjoy you two!”

Oliver and Aria walked through the hallways heading towards the garden.

“Are you doing anything this weekend?” Aria asked.

“Yeah, Jin-Woo told me he wants to hang out this Sunday. We are going to the mall and just walk around the stores.” Oliver responded.

“You two became good friends after the mission in Muna.” Aria commented.

“Yeah, he is a good guy. I am glad we became friends. I also admire him; he made it into the military as the only Magicless person. He has worked hard for his sake and Yuri’s sake. I hope the best for those siblings.” Oliver said.

“Yeah. Being in Platoon 12 has made me see how much Jin-Woo and Yuri care about each other. You know, Yuri frequently encourages Jin-Woo to find a girlfriend. She says her brother deserves someone who he loves and that loves him. Despite being the youngest in Platoon 12, I feel that Yuri is in tune with everyone's emotions.” Aria said.

“Yeah, but that’s enough about other people!” Oliver said. “Let’s focus on us for now!”