… And so, Marellen has been panicking about what he’s supposed to do at the Academy. A little direction for us both would be very welcome. I also may have kept it a secret from my cousin who exactly the Commission Head is, so if you could help me continue to hide that, I’d be thankful.
Sincerely, Efratel Vadel.
Lucille smirked slightly as she read the last line before Efratel's name, but tucked the letter back into its envelope. She pulled out a drawer of her desk to retrieve paper and an envelope and then dipped a pen in a nearby inkwell. She started responding to Efratel’s letter.
To Efratel Vadel,
I’m glad to hear you’ve both been officially registered with the Academy. You should be safe for a long while now. As for what I want from your cousin… I’m aware he has a Minor affinity for all six essential elements. Consider it as me giving him the opportunity to try to continue to develop that all-element magic of his. Especially as all-element magic is a path that hasn’t been open to magic-users for a very long time. You also don’t have to worry about that ‘gift’ of mine. I received it as a System reward, and so nobody will know of it unless I tell them.
As for transferral, I have no particular opinion. Any additional resources that an official mage of All-Aeon Athenaeum can access I am able to purchase, so there is no need to be overeager to go there to try gain these resources. However, going to the Aeonic origin plane will grant Marellen access to much greater runic theorem knowledge contained in their main Archive, and likely also contain all-element spells or theories that aren’t studied or used by the mainstream schools. They will be immensely useful if he wishes to remain an all-element mage.
With expeditions, I have a suggestion. If he intends to discover more about the environmental mana laws of the six essential elements, going to planes with natural mana phenomena would enable him to see how it works in person. Ancient planes that are being explored for their natural artifacts, for example.
She spent some time adding more details, such as discussing finance and other smaller things. She also stated that she was very willing to keep her identity from Marellen a secret. She finished off the letter by signing it and sealed it in the envelope so she could ask for someone to send it by teleportation courier eventually. She leaned back, crossed her arms, and kicked her feet up on the desk as she considered what she needed from the two nobles.
The answer was something very simple: she didn’t. That’s not to say there wasn’t anything she wanted from them, but it was less of a ‘want’ and more of a hope or wish. She just wanted to see what ripples the thrown stones of Trisroa Vel-Winteridge’s formerly dead party could make in this timeline. In her opinion, any change was a good change, unless it benefited the Hero. Well, he was about to go gallivanting off to receive ‘hero-worthy’ rewards from completing a Dungeon or Lair with his fanatically loyal redhead party member somewhere after going to the Forerunner Event.
Her expression went cold as she considered that. He had never seen her true appearance. That was a good thing for her, but it meant she was unaware of how he would react if he happened to see someone ‘new’ at the Event. Although there were a thousand forerunners, and he didn’t have an eidetic memory, so the possibility they wouldn’t even meet or him notice her was there.
She shook her head and stretched her arms in front of her, having decided to stop thinking about him. Today she, as Adrianna, had to make a special request to Commander Arkenast, and she also had to prepare for the competition event she was hosting. That meant formally greeting Artair Alichanteu, Rosaline Chavaret and Viscountess Femidela, the three County representatives coming to judge the competition. It was annoying, but that was what she had to do as the Head of the Commission.
…
“-And that is why I use the Rare-ranked Fiery Wave Footwork skill rather than the Epic-ranked Wildfire Cyclic Path,” finished a woman with long, curly red hair, sitting at a table with several other individuals.
One of them, a woman appearing in her late twenties with green eyes and brown hair, leaned forward curiously. “But wouldn’t the lesser AGI stat amplification bonus for the footwork be a weakness when you come across those who utilise the White River weapon clan’s signature mana-art?”
“Of course,” the red-haired woman replied with a nod. “But the Fiery Wave Footwork skill is still only an auxiliary footwork ability. I use Chavaret’s Battle-forged Red Flame mana-art as an heir of the County, after all. The movement abilities of the mana-art are enough to counteract the White River weapon clan’s techniques, and the Fiery Wave Footwork skill just provides a series of smoother transition moves to support it.”
“I see,” the green-eyed woman responded. She smiled and took a sip from her cup. “As someone with a more background-focused role, my mana-art’s strength lies in wide-spread abilities and area of effect elemental release. I’m interested in how my poison manipulation compares in that sense to the red flame used by your clan.”
Lucy remained silent as Rosaline Chavaret and Viscountess Femidela discussed their combat techniques and experiences with mana-arts. She, along with Vincent and Artair, were quietly ‘listening’ to the two women, with the three of them having nothing to add. It had been like that for the last half hour. Viscountess Femidela, now in a slightly less formal setting than the debut ball, had ditched the traditional masked attire of Ravimoux’s vassals and subordinates, which was why they saw her face. The 25-year-old Rosaline was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and red leather pants with boots, all high quality, showing how she prioritised her status as a warrior than as a noble.
They were all sitting at a table in the Pavilion, having lunch. Artair, to Lucy’s amusement, was gazing off to the side with a distant expression, having completely forgotten that his presence as Alichanteu’s representative required him to at least try to seem engaged for politeness’ sake. Vincent had a calm smile on his face as he watched the two women conversing, but Lucy knew he only ever smiled like that when he had to deal with nobility, and didn’t care about what they were talking about in the slightest.
She was actually considering how surprisingly normal the interactions between everyone were. It was slightly unnerving. There had been no major discussions about politics or attempts to discover more information about her, nor had anyone properly approached the subject of the competition apart from when they first greeted each other that day. She supposed she could attribute that to the people who had come as the representatives though.
Rosaline Chavaret commanded one of the legions of her County’s mercenary army, and so didn’t often take part in many political events, as she was mostly fighting on Event Battlefields for the forces that had hired them. Artair was…. well, from what she had gathered, it seemed the first heir of Alichanteu wasn’t too motivated to become the new Count. Maybe he aimed for it out of a feeling of responsibility. As for Margaery Femidela, Lucy wasn’t quite sure. She had a suspicion the woman just signed up to judge the competition for fun, as dealing with the members of Olden and Radical at Headquarters that Ravimoux had decided to remove certainly didn’t take a noble with a fiefdom title.
Vincent was obvious. He was there as her aide, and so would follow her lead when choosing to discuss politics or not. But she knew he considered all dealings with nobles a matter of professionality, so he wasn’t about to make small talk with them. She still hadn’t worked out why he got the nickname of ‘Dictator’ in the past though….
Judging that Rosaline and Viscountess Femidela were deep enough in conversation to not care if she started another one, she glanced at the blonde and blue-haired man opposite her. “Sir Alichanteu.”
He didn’t respond. She tilted her head as there was no reaction from him, still distracted by his thoughts. She gave him a small wave, but he still didn’t notice. She leaned back in her chair and held her chin. “Perhaps I should support Arwen to become the new Count after all,” she thought aloud.
Vincent shot her a mildly exasperated look as the man opposite her blinked once, then several times, and then directed his attention to her, staring at her with bemusement and slight incredulousness as he finally registered what she had said. “…. what?”
She smirked. “I’m kidding. I had to say something to get your attention.” She pointed to a hedge bush near the wall of the Pavilion. “You seem to have found something rather interesting about that bush if you’ve continued to stare at it for so long.”
He glanced between her and the plant a few times in incomprehension before realisation set in and his expression turned very awkward. “My apologies for the lapse in focus, Faction Head. I will avoid repeating my mistake.”
Lucy grinned. “Who said I was upset you weren’t paying attention?” She gestured to the two women, who ignored them to continue their discussion. “I don’t believe they assumed the three non-warriors would stay engaged the entire time. I can’t say I’m finding much interest in the differences between one weapon clan’s art and the other.”
He stared at her, taken aback by the frankness of her words. “Uh… right.” He glanced at Rosaline and Viscountess Femidela. “As a member of Alichanteu, I’ve had little to no relation with those of Glory Pantheon and its forces. Alichanteu is purely in charge of administration and land ownership, unlike Chavaret and Ravimoux.” Then he frowned slightly. “Although, Ravimoux isn’t part of Glory Pantheon…”
“Technically all that’s needed to be considered a force of Glory Pantheon is to register a mana-art exclusive to your clan or family with them, so they are in some sense,” she replied, picking up her cup from off the table. “But Ravimoux doesn’t participate in any Tournaments, so they’re not a weapon clan.” She took a sip and set it back down as he nodded. “Perhaps if they did, their dark mana-art’s ranking would come close to the 3rd Duchy’s.”
Viscountess Femidela shot her a smirk before returning to her conversation, obviously having heard her statement, while Artair gave Lucy a very slight grimace. “Please don’t let the members of the 3rd Eternal Duchy hear you say that. They’re rather ruthless when it comes to eradicating any threats to their position.”
“Well, Ravimoux has to have maintained their control over the Empire’s black markets for so long while remaining a County somehow,” she said with a shrug. “But potentially hidden strength of the Black County or not, I wanted to ask you something else.” Her smile widened. “How has the distribution of my plans’ management authority been going in Alichanteu?”
He stared at her for a few seconds. Then, he slowly began to appear very, very hesitant about something. “It… uh… could be going better,” he replied awkwardly.
She raised an eyebrow at his reaction and crossed her arms. “What, is your half-brother giving you trouble? Depending on the context I may be able to intervene here.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Surprisingly, he shook his head with a grimace. “It’s not an issue I can ask the Faction Head to help with. This is a problem for both Arwen and me.” He sighed. “The vassals are continually fighting over who gets what responsibility, and a resolution to this problem is nowhere in sight. There’s no cohesion whatsoever among them.”
Vincent spoke up for the first time in a while, paying proper attention to their conversation. “Surely if it’s that bad, then you and Arwen can come to an agreement to settle the dispute? Regardless of the relationship between you two, Alichanteu’s current situation is important enough to be prioritised,” he asked.
Artair glanced at him and shook his head. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the power. Alichanteu only has me, my sister, and Arwen as its direct bloodline members, so the Count’s power hasn’t been shared very much. And the authority to call a vassal assembly lies with the direct vassals, not us.” He rubbed his temples. “They’ve been calling an assembly every few days, most lasting longer than eight hours. It is… very tiring to deal with them,” he explained wearily.
“Well, when it’s not related to the Commission, it’s true I don’t have the authority to intervene,” Lucille replied with a slight frown. “I can’t do much about the vassal assemblies. Is there a main instigator behind all this?”
Artair considered it. “Not an ‘instigator’ as such….. but the main reason we’re having so much trouble with the vassals is because of the neutral faction besides Arwen and me.”
“Neutral?” Vincent asked curiously.
“The Count’s supporters who still haven’t switched sides,” Artair explained. “They’re the largest faction in Alichanteu at the moment, but because all of them are firmly staying out of any succession issues, neither Arwen nor me has enough power to tip the sides completely. I haven’t discovered why they’re so fixed on staying out of the succession battle.”
“Do they have any specific characteristics as a force?” she asked him.
“They’re the vassals involved in magic engineering,” he confirmed with a nod. “All of them have a long history of magical design and construction, and are one of our most important forces to maintain all our city mainframes and sea ships in our port cities and on our water planes.” He gestured to her. “They’ll be the ones helping you with your ‘trainline’ construction when the time comes.”
That… was very important information. It seemed Artair may be talking about the group responsible for the airship development. The reason they were staying out of the succession conflict was probably because they wanted to prevent Radical or Olden from discovering the airships, with the current likelihood of those political force supporters being among the Alichanteu vassals. The fact they were so determined to be seen as neutral…. She could use this.
She traded glances with Vincent, who also knew the significance of what Artair had said.
“It appears I will have to contact them soon then,” Lucy said to Artair. “And perhaps when we discuss the trains I can ask them to pressure the other vassals into making a decision.”
“If by that stage it is still needed, then I’ll be thankful,” he replied, sounding slightly tired. Then he blinked and then straightened up, looking curious about something. “However, one issue the vassals have been discussing is who will take on the responsibility of the trainline development. They seem to think the finance that will be used for it could be better spent on other ventures, considering the existence of teleportation arrays.”
She smiled and raised her cup to sip from it. “And do you think this way?”
He shook his head. “Oh no, certainly not. No, I can see the logistical improvements the existence of such transport will make. A form of short-term transport itself will be incredibly useful for any city.” He became more animated as he continued talking, “And the concept of underground transport routes… it reminds me of the descriptions of Rocht’guardes’ dwarven railway tracks and their moving fortresses. Commercialising such a thing is an amazing idea.”
“Well, the trains will not have such massive sizes, nor will they be outfitted with any weaponry like the rail fortresses,” she said with amusement. “But the concept is similar. And the reason why I want to implement them goes beyond short-term transport.” She continued, placing her cup down again, “Foremost would be to cut down on teleportation array costs for Gilded Seat and the Faction.”
Vincent blinked and looked at her with slight confusion. “You still care about this?”
She shot him a mildly exasperated look but clasped her hands together. “You know I have a magic background,” she said to her aide. Vincent slowly nodded, while Artair looked a bit confused. She continued with her words, “That means I was able to find out just how much teleportation arrays cost when teleporting an individual even only a ten-kilometre distance, and how much people should be paying to use them.”
Her expression went flat. “The current cost of using teleportation arrays is the equivalent of using a dragon king to pull a commoner’s cart.”
They stared at her. “Surely it can’t be that bad… can it?” Artair asked hesitantly.
She sighed and rubbed her temples. “For citizens of the Empire, no. The Empire is incomparably powerful compared to anything else in the Mystical Realm, and this means it is incomparably rich too. So the expense of magic arrays is seen as very little for most people and less for nobles, especially when even the lowest nobility of a Minor Kingdom rule, at minimum, over ten million people per person.” She leaned back and crossed her arms. “But the mana cost of a teleportation array activating, receiving mana, and teleporting one person ten kilometres away has the same mana cost as teleporting them to another plane. Even the time required is the same.”
Viscountess Femidela and Rosaline paused their conversation when they overheard her words. Lucy hadn’t been quite sure how to explain the current teleportation array situation was like placing thousands of airports just to take someone to the next suburb for the same resource cost as taking them through intra-dimensional warping into the next world, but it seemed the message got across to Vincent because he narrowed his eyes.
“Then how come I happen to hear that to use the Athenaeum’s planar arrays you are charged more than ten times the price of normal teleportation arrays, all to ‘ensure the efforts of the Violet Order and Spatial Tower in engraving such wondrous magic for the masses to use is duly rewarded’,” he stated with strong suspicion.
“Greed, obviously,” she said with a shrug. “Granted, planar teleportation arrays are more complex than localised teleportation arrays and may require more space to be engraved so increasing the price somewhat is acceptable, but even the mana cost of teleporting to one plane versus a further plane isn’t dependent on physical distance, as teleportation arrays utilise planar alignments, dimensional leylines, astral pathways and other complicated spatial phenomenon to function. Their claim of ‘distance increasing mana cost’ is a blatant lie.”
There was silence. It made for a very funny scene when all four of the people at Lucy’s table turned their heads to stare in the direction of what they knew to be the nearest teleportation array dome outside Headquarters. Vincent’s expression twitched, Rosaline glared at the Pavilion bush blocking her view, the Viscountess narrowed her eyes as a cruel smirk appeared on her lips, and Artair began to look rather awkward and uneasy.
“Also, if any of you try to bring the Empire’s attention to this, it wouldn’t work. Most high nobility already know this, and get decreased teleportation costs in return for staying, and keeping others, silent,” Lucille added.
Their gazes turned back to her, and they went quiet for a few moments. Then Viscountess Femidela laughed. “Well, this has been very enlightening,” she replied, still smirking. “To know just how much of my income has been stolen by those snobbish old men when it didn’t need to be… regardless of the high nobility, I’m sure my superior would like to know this,” she told Lucy.
Lucy smiled and didn’t physically say anything, but she sent a spiritual transmission to the poison master.
‘You may also like to mention to Count Ravimoux on my behalf that this detail could be very useful information when it comes to renegotiating deals with the Violet Order and Spatial Tower after the sub-dimension deal with the Artificers.’
The woman blinked, and her smile widened a tad, but she didn’t show any other movement that would indicate she received some sort of message. Artair looked a bit queasy. “Are we allowed to know this?” he asked cautiously.
“If you don’t try to draw attention to it, then you’ll be fine,” Lucy replied, picking up her cup and drinking from it. “As I said, most high nobility already know this. It’s an open secret among them. Of course, the Commission doesn’t contain high nobility, so the real reason behind the trainline implementation has to be hidden for now.”
“And are you allowed to reveal all this?” Rosaline asked her.
She smirked and spread her arms. “Whatever could you possibly mean? The Athenaeum has no records of someone named ‘Lucille Goldcroft’ having ever joined their Institution. How could some young girl completely unrelated to them be responsible for this leak in information?”
The Viscountess gave a slight laugh as Rosaline nodded, looking satisfied. Vincent just shook his head.
“You said cutting down on costs was one of the reasons for the trains,” Artair said curiously. “What are the others?”
“Well, the second is to reduce traffic in Gilded Seat,” she explained. “Particularly now as the Coalition’s technology is developing, more and more mana-engine carriages and other transport vehicles are flooding the streets. It would be bad if the city couldn’t accommodate that.”
Vincent frowned at the table as the others nodded. “I had been noticing the traffic has been getting particularly bad these last few years…”
Viscountess Femidela looked at Lucy and narrowed her eyes while smiling. “Are you predicting that the Coalition’s technology will become more popular as time goes by?”
Lucille nodded. “The Coalition’s technology emphasizes efficiency and use of materials rather than just power, making them cheap. Their constructions can be high-quality while also using materials with less value.” She gestured in the direction of the unseen teleportation dome. “The Athenaeum’s spires, for example, are made out of the most valuable magical stone and metals available, with the wizards and mages competing to see whose spire can contain the largest and purest control gem. They might be powerful, yes, but if they can’t put the abilities of the magical resources to good use, it’s wasted.”
She gestured to them. “I take it that you’ve all seen one of the Minor Kingdoms in your life.” The four of them nodded, so she continued, “The lower magical density of those planes means that they can’t get access to the same materials and resources the higher planes can. They’re permanently stunted and incapable of developing like the Empire. But the Coalition’s and similar technology can change this.”
Lucy leaned forward with a serious expression as they paid attention to her words. “And this is why the trains are so important. They can be used for the unranked planes.”
She waited silently as they all took in what she said and considered the implications of her words. They all looked thoughtful, and it was Vincent who finally spoke up, “You intend on raising their status.”
“It’s impossible for unranked planes to come close to reaching even a vague resemblance to the Empire’s level of development,” she replied. “Even once their citizens choose to leave and visit the Empire using Obelisks, when they come back and try to advance their plane, it doesn’t work. They don’t have the logistical capability. There’s just not enough mana to place more teleportation circles.”
“But these trains made with magic engineering don’t function on purely magical methods,” Artair murmured, looking at the table. Then he raised his eyes to look at her. “The materials used to craft the trains will very quickly lose power when placed on such low mana-density planes though.”
She nodded in agreement. “They will need to be crafted to the specifications of the planes. The lower-ranked planes’ trains will be very simple, used purely for transport. It’s only when we start reaching the Major Kingdom level that we’ll begin adding spatial expansion, additional services, and aesthetic focus.” Then she smirked. “I intend for the train on Gilded Seat to have three levels, one for transporting goods, one for the commoners and the top level to be for nobility, where the ride will be for leisure and recreation. Obviously, the price for riding in special luxury surroundings will be fair and appropriate for individuals of such high status.”
Her listeners chuckled because as merchant nobility, they had no problem charging other nobles an exorbitantly high price for things. Viscountess Femidela smirked as she spoke, “And there’s one more thing I’m hearing about this that I like. Did you say you’ll be charging the passengers a price?”
Lucille grinned. “Yes. The money earned from this will go to the Commission rather than the pockets of greedy spatial magic users.” She leaned back and shrugged. “Of course, the intention behind this is to reinvest the profits from the trainlines back into redeveloping Gilded Seat, but it will take at least a few years to design the city’s train and construct it before that.” She looked at Artair. “And because this is being funded by the Founder’s vault, those people arguing over whether the finance should be used on them don’t have the right to do so. The decision of where the money will go has already been made.”
He nodded in agreeance. Rosaline replied to her, “I’ve heard from my father that you said the contents of the Founder’s vault was about a century’s worth of the Commission’s current incoming annual finance.”
“In monetary value, yes.” Lucy nodded. “And there’s enough in pure currency that I can take out of the vault to more than fulfil the equivalent of ten million crystal tokens I said would be used over the next five years. The rest of the vault’s contents, however….” She smiled at them. “Not so easy to find a purpose for.”
“Because of the types of assets?” the Viscountess asked curiously.
“Some nobility like to donate to the vault very special items made uniquely by their fiefdoms,” Lucy replied wryly. “An ornate fountain made of Ancient-ranked marble might be pretty, but I don’t need an entire two hundred and thirty-nine of them.”
“Sounds like you might need some help exchanging these assets,” Artair said thoughtfully. “An auction might be worthwhile.”
She grinned. “In return for a healthy portion of the proceeds going to Alichanteu, I presume?” She gestured to Rosaline as well. “Not all of it is of only interest to Alichanteu either. There’s a rather large stock of weapons and weapon crafting materials Chavaret may like.”
Rosaline looked intrigued as Lucy turned to the brown-haired woman next to her. “As for Ravimoux…” She smirked. “There may possibly be the mana-arts and special inheritance of one or two destroyed noble clans that need taking off my hands.”
The poison master smirked back. “I don’t believe Alichanteu will want to deal with the political backlash of revealing those at their auction. But Ravimoux’s black market would certainly love to get their hands on them.”
“It seems like now might be a good time to discuss the distribution of the sale responsibility of these assets then,” Vincent spoke up. “We’ll need to agree on what assets and resources each County has priority access to.”
The others nodded, including Lucy. “I suppose I’ll begin explaining what the Founder’s vault contains….” she began.
…
Lucy sighed as she sat down on her couch and rested the back of her head against it, gazing up at the ceiling. It wasn’t like talking with the three representatives had been difficult, and they were easier than what a discussion with the Counts would be like, but she still disliked having to deal with nobility. She had her experience with them, but never had she been such a direct part of their world.
She was glad something could be done about all the useless objects in the vault though. She did not need five hundred sets of Rare-ranked cutlery.
She glanced at the still-sleeping winged silvery snake next to her. Scytale would probably be bored out of his mind if he had been awake during this time, even with the competition ready to begin. Well, he’d probably go to antagonise Ashale’viaf in the library, so maybe not too bored. Although that was one place she hadn’t been to yet.
Deciding she wanted some coffee, she got up and went into the kitchen, then returned with a mug and the brass jug artifact. She set about pouring it as she considered her interactions on Adrianna’s side. She was glad the Commander seemed happy to accept her request, and she expected him to be because she had asked for something similar in the last timeline.
She went to pick up her mug. The only issue was she had never been a subordinate under his full leadership before, so she wasn’t aware of how things would go if she worked on his ship with her Ra-
She froze with her mug just a few centimetres from her lips.
He was here? At this time?
She put down the mug and rubbed her temples as she considered what she was going to do.
It seems I’ll have to merge my consciousnesses for the foreseeable future. This is… unexpected.