Glenn gulped heavily, staring at the silver gears replacing Exan's right eye clicking rhythmically. The older man sighed and sat on a bench that had magically appeared below him, inviting Glenn to do the same.

'Well, seems like you'll be able to check on Milena faster than you were expecting,' Diamanes commented mockingly, not worried the slightest.

"Ahh...You know, I've met a few other Earthlings ever since I fell in this world, but you're probably the most peculiar one," Exan said as he leaned back on the bench.

Glenn raised a tense eyebrow, "...And why is that?"

Exan gazed at him coldly and pointed back at the mansion, "...Your family came with you. Lucky bastard."

Glenn pressed his lips together, "...How did you know I was from...from Earth?"

Exan rubbed his beard, pondering, "Well, I initially just came to give you some good news, but I managed to hear some interesting things..." He glanced at Glenn's left, purple arm and smirked, "...Diamanes, is that right? Show yourself, unless you want your host to lose his arm forever."

Glenn froze as Diamanes' not-so-gleeful smile appeared in his palm, "Oh shit, you listened in on that discussion, then. Welp, we're dead. Bye-bye, Glenn, it has been a pleasure—"

Exan grunted in displeasure and flicked his finger, a bubble appearing around Glenn's left hand and muffled the sound from it.

"Interesting. It doesn't appear to be controlling you and still maintains a high level of consciousness. Hmm..." Exan rubbed his chin and stared into Glenn's eyes, "...Do you want me to get rid of it for you?"

Glenn's heart missed a beat. Getting rid of Diamanes? Exan could do that?

"I...Uh, let—let me think about it," He stammered, taken aback.

Exan frowned and crossed his arms, "Your choice. I won't be returning here for a long time, so come find me at the Royal Library in the Court if you want to get rid of it. I'll do you this favor as a fellow Earthling."

Glenn swallowed his apprehension and shook his head, "Talking about that, what do you mean we can't return to Earth?"

Exan's lips curved upward and he looked at Glenn with appreciating eyes, "So you read some of my old work? Good, even though they're mostly outdated crap, they're still quite useful to get a hang of things."

Glenn gritted his teeth, a bead of sweat pearling down his head, "...If you're turning around the pot so much, that means it's impossible, right?"

Exan's expression darkened, the gears in his right eye socket stopping momentarily, "...Make yourself a reason. You won't be able to go back, no matter what you tried. I dedicated almost a century just to try and find a way out of the Limbo. Sure, it made me stronger than most, but it didn't come without sacrifices," He tapped the gears with his finger, "...And I still couldn't find a way back. How could I, when there's nowhere to go?"

Glenn creased his eyebrows and rubbed the sides of his nose, "...Onnea told me something similar. What the hell does it mean, there's nowhere to go back to? Where the hell did Earth go?"

Exan blew raspberries and shrugged, "I don't have a clue. And again, I gave up on that search a long time ago. But, you talked with Onnea? Even though you're only that strong?"

Glenn looked at his left hand, wondering if that was also going to get censored for Diamanes, "Let's call it a fateful encounter. I fought against a Heart of Darkness nine months ago, that's when I met Her. Oh, and she wasn't the only one I spoke to."

Exan whistled, impressed, "Well, seems like someone is special. I always need to do something big for them to bother with me, but here you are, a measly Fourth Circle and you're already used to talking to gods."

Glenn sighed and rubbed his forehead, "I'm not sure I'd call myself lucky for that..." He grumbled. Exan chuckled and shook his head, before gazing at the blue sky.

"...Thank you," Exan finally sighed. Glenn almost flinched, startled.

"What for?"

Exan smiled softly, "Well, if I understood everything correctly, you're a good friend of Milena's, right?"

Glenn paused as the older man continued talking, "...I'm glad my granddaughter met you. You have a good head on your shoulders, and you seem to handle the strain of your powers quite well."

Glenn blinked.

Wait.

What?

"Milena is your granddaughter?" He repeated, unable to believe what he just heard.

Exan nodded casually, "Yeah, somehow my cruel eldest managed to birth a sweet girl like her. She's my favorite from the bunch, honestly. My wife is often jealous because of her, haha!"

Glenn's eyes widened largely as the jigsaws of the puzzle began to piece themselves together. "...Fuck, I did not imagine it back then, she was using Earth's words!"

Exan moistened his lips as he rubbed his beard, "Hmm, she probably picked them up after me. My back had been killing me back when she spent some time at my mansion, I've probably said that I felt like I had been rolled over by a car a hundred times. Still trying to hang onto Earth's notions, you know? I'd rather not forget where I came from."

Glenn snorted in disbelief, "Yeah, sure, that...that makes sense." He suddenly stood up as he remembered the really important question, "Shit, how is Milena then? You took her away after the Ossiva injured her, how is she doing?"

Exan sipped on a cup of hot chocolate that had appeared out of nowhere and smiled, "Her spine has already been fixed. She's going to need some time to come back, though, even more since I'm hiding her from her parents. You know, with all those foolish Tests and restrictions for Court children, and how she's not supposed to let people know that she's a noble. Seeing how unsurprised you are, I'm pretty sure she failed at that."

Glenn nodded, "Yeah, I guessed it. She does look happier now that people know about her secret," He glanced at Exan and added with sarcasm, "...Even though she kept some for herself."

Exan shrugged, "Who doesn't keep a thing or two for themselves? Anyway, I just came here to tell you Milena will be back in a month or two, three in the worst scenario. It'll be up to her. Interesting spells that you have, by the way. Looks like you can manipulate gravity somehow, probably thanks to that strange astral Mana Heart of yours."

He stood up and dusted his pants off, a wave of Mana twirling around him, "I need to get going, I can't leave my spot unattended for too long or these other bastards would use the opportunity to destroy King's Rise. Again, come see me at the Royal Library if you need anything, I can at least do that."

Glenn grabbed his arm and stopped him at the last second, "Wait!" He gritted his teeth, his eyes resolute, "...How...How can I become a Seventh Circle like you? A Newborn Ruler?"

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Exan looked at him puzzledly, "Well, just keep doing what you've been doing. If you're meant to reach higher Circles, you will, don't worry. You already took care of your biological lock with the gift I hid back then, so it's really only up to you."

Glenn blinked in disbelief, "What, there isn't a surefire way or something—"

Exan waved his hand dismissively, "Come on, Glenn. You're an exceptional Earthling, I'm sure you'll manage better than those other insane bastards. I'll see you in the Court."

And with these words, the older man suddenly disappeared in a cloud of rust-colored Mana, leaving Glenn flabbergasted.

Diamanes gasped like a drowning man in need of air, "Ah! I'm finally out of that thing! Crap, it sucks being isolated like that! I can somehow understand a portion of your pain, Nelg!" He exclaimed.

Nelg scoffed dejectedly, "...I seriously doubt that. So that was Exan, then? Seems like he didn't notice me."

Glenn rubbed his chin, wondering, "...Or he just didn't care. At least we now know that Milena is safe and taken care of. If we trust Exan's words, of course."

"I don't think he was lying. He seemed genuinely happy to see that his granddaughter had a good friend worried about her," said Nelg. Glenn clicked his tongue.

"This asshole somehow isolated me completely from Glenn! I don't know how he did it, but I don't trust him! He probably wants to do some shady stuff to you and is only leaving you alive for later, I swear!" Diamanes scorned, flustered.

Glenn moistened his lips and grinned, "Man, I should have asked what his method was to isolate you. That would have been excellent. But..." His eyelids trembled slightly, "...You really couldn't hear anything of the conversation, then?"

Diamanes grunted, "I wish I could have, but that bubble cut off everything. And there's even a protection on your memories, I can't even check them out. This sucks!"

Glenn rubbed his chin, "...I see. Well, at least we got a lot of good news for the others. Ah, and I also have another guest to deal with, don't I?"

"Ah-AH!" A voice suddenly exclaimed from behind him, "I finally found you, you damned scum! Come here so I can pull you apart!"

Glenn turned, confused, and saw Manalok Tuleam, Restoration Operator, charging at him angrily. His face was flushed red and the Project Damocles notebook was clutched in his hand.

Manalok grabbed Glenn's collar and poked his chest sharply, "I swear on all the damned gods that I will never take another job from you! This...this shit fucking sucks!" He threw the notebook on the ground violently, fuming.

Glenn carefully pushed away Tuleam, before bending down and picking the notebook up. It seemed in perfect condition as if it had been written the previous day. All the pages that were previously threatening to crumble to dust had been restored to a pristine state.

"Incredible..." He muttered, ignoring the raging man as he flipped the pages, "...How did you do it? This notebook was in such a crappy state, and now—"

Tuleam grunted and waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, I did a great fucking job, I know. I did you a hell of a discount for the struggle I had to go through, though. Too bad you paid in advance, tsk..."

Glenn grinned and shoved the notebook into his dimensional pouch, writing himself a mental note to give it a read once things calmed down slightly.

"Well, I can invite you for dinner to repay you slightly if you wish?"

Manalok Tuleam rolled his eyes and scoffed, "What, you think you can afford my favors with food alone?" He shook his head, "Nah, you'll have to tell me about that war beyond the Dark Wall with a hell of a meal, at the very least!"

Glenn chuckled, "Sure, I can do that. I'm sure you're not the only one curious about what we went through in that desert."

Tuleam crossed his arms and grinned with a toothy smile, "Excellent. Oh, and can I crash at your place for a few? Mine disappeared a few days ago, I'm practically homeless."

Glenn blinked, "...What? But you're rich?"

Tuleam looked at him blankly, "So what? Do you have a room for me, or...?"

Glenn laughed in disbelief, "S...Sure, I can offer you a room, yeah—"

"Great!" Tuleam slapped his thighs, "Where the hell is the damned kitchen, then? I'm starving!"

Before long, everyone in the mansion was seated in the dining room, enjoying Glenn's spaghetti bolognese. They didn't sell pasta in this world, sadly, but instead had a very malleable dough that could be used for almost anything. It was pretty entertaining to cut the spaghetti using Carbon Blade since he needed to be very precise with his control, and the sauce Sahro made alongside the countless beef meatballs was excellent, making for a hearty meal.

"No, I'm telling you, the truly legendary warriors are Aura users," Liam proclaimed as he shoved food in his mouth. Janica shook her head and pointed at Glenn sitting on the other side of the table.

"There's a legendary warrior right here, and he is a Magi. Can you contest that?"

Lina was sitting in the middle of the two, pondering.

Sahro pointed his knife at Liam and chuckled, "Aura is very powerful, but it's way less versatile in exchange. Still, it can overwhelm most magical attacks, as long as use enough of it and make it sharp enough."

Liara was picking at her food with a gloomy expression, unable to eat anything. Glenn cleared his throat and stood up, doing his best to ignore Manalok Tuleam who was devouring as much pasta as he could.

"I have some news about Milena," He announced. Liara suddenly perked up, wearing a hopeful expression.

Glenn smiled widely and nodded, "She's being treated right now, and should return in a few months. Her spine is already healed, thanks to Exan."

Sahro froze and glanced at the researcher at the end of the table, "...Wait, so the other guest was...?"

Glenn grimaced, "Yeah, it was Exan. He came specially to give me news about Milena."

Manalok Tuleam suddenly stopped eating, his dark green hair and badly kept beard covered in sauce, "Wait, why would that scary old man take care of your friend?"

The atmosphere froze as Glenn, Sahro, and Liara exchanged a tense gaze. Tuleam couldn't know about Milena's true identity, no matter what. The researcher wiped his face with the tablecloth, before groaning in understanding.

"Ah, she's the girl from last time, right? Shit, I knew he had a thing for younger girls, but still...She's hot, though, so I can kind of understand..."

Glenn blinked, restraining a relieved sigh. Whatever Tuleam was thinking was better than the truth.

"So, which will you choose? Aura or Mana?" Liam suddenly asked as he turned to Lina, disrupting the heavy mood. Lina grimaced and buried her face in her hands, "Ahh, I don't know! Can't I use both at the same time?"

Janica coughed as she choked on her water, before hurriedly countering, "No, are you crazy? No normal humans can use Aura and Mana both at the same time. They would just explode if they did!"

"Or worse," Tuleam suddenly chimed in as he scratched his messy beard, "Ever heard of Corruption? One of my clients discovered an old book talking about using Mana and Aura at the same time. His family believed I was at fault he became a children-eating snake with wings, heh. Good times."

Lina blinked, "O...Okay, let's forget about that idea then."

Glenn sighed, "Yeah, that would be incredible if I could use Aura and Mana at the same time like these two Black Heirs," he pointed at Sahro and Liara, the latter smiling widely at Lina. Lina's cheeks reddened and she hurriedly turned away.

Sahro cleared his throat, "...Actually, there would be a way for her to use Aura and Mana at the same time, but..."

Glenn's eyes widened, "Wait, what?"

The Black Heir grimaced, "It's a little risky and...I don't think it has been done before. But, considering the relationship you have with the Black Heirs..."

He rubbed his chin, "...Maybe they would let your sister go get an Inheritance Sigil. Theoretically, she just needs some of our blood, but it's..."

Glenn scoffed and shook his head, "Okay, no, let's forget about that. Too dangerous, I don't want my sister to explode into bits because she couldn't decide between power and power."

Lina pouted before throwing a meatball at Glenn, who narrowly dodged it with a sneer, "Ah, now that you have a shit-ton of food you're playing with it? Shameless."

Liara suddenly gasped and walked up to Sahro, whispering in his ear. He frowned, before suddenly realizing and gasping too.

"Shit, you're right! She hasn't chosen a path yet, so it might be safe!"

Milena nodded frantically, only for Sahro to calm down and stop her.

"No, let's rest that thought for now. First, we need to bring Giselle's grandson back. That would give us all the favor we need with the Alsaahir."

Lina's eyes shone, "Wait, so would it be possible then?"

Sahro grinned widely as he watched Glenn paling from the side, "Definitely. It's your choice, though. It's a big thing to go through, and it has never been done for."

Glenn stood up and slammed his hand on the table, "No, I'm sorry but—"

"Ah, shut up," Tuleam groaned, interrupting him, "She's a grown-ass woman, it's her choice." He turned to Lina, curious, "How old are you? Eighteen? Shit, I know at least five girls who were already married by that age!"

Lina choked, overwhelmed. Liam patted her back before laughing, "That's true. Hey, Janica, in one year you'll be an old girl—Aouch!"

Janica rubbed her fist after hitting Liam squarely, her cheeks flushed red.

Glenn shook his head collapsed back in his seat, and added with a sigh, "...You'll have to wait for us to save Callum, though, which will take a while, thank God..." He muttered under his breath, secretly relieved. The later he could push off this experience they wanted to do on his sister, the better it would be.

"Why do you even want to be so powerful, anyway?" He blurted out desperately, wondering what he should do to stop her from going on that path, "You don't need to fight, I'm here to protect you! You can just enjoy yourself while I take care of everything!"

Lina's expression darkened and she shook her head, her gaze deepening, "...No. What if you're not there, and I fall into another sort of darkness?" She gritted her teeth, her fists clenched tightly, "No, I want to be capable enough to never be scared in the dark again. I...I don't want to repeat that year. Never again."

Glenn couldn't retort anything to that.

'She's definitely your sister,' Diamanes remarked mockingly.

'Shut it.'