"I like your sister, but she's running me so hard I'm exhausted,” I said to Lucas as I tossed the ball we were throwing around to him. Simon guffawed from the far side.

“I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that,” Lucas deadpanned.

“I'm not,” Simon said as he caught the projectile that had been aimed at his head.

“Don't tell me you're thinking of reneging on your agreement to help her with her studies?” the brother asked with a slight glare as I caught the ball from Simon.

“No, but could you please ask her to put all her questions in one letter a day? I don't mind getting mail, but I'm just unsure of how to arrange it all.”

Letters were popular, unbelievably so, and there were several delivery times per day in cities. In our case we were close enough to the city that we too got several bags per day to be delivered. I had mail at lunch, at dinner, and oftentimes in the morning with things she'd sent the night before. It would be obvious if I wasn't responding as I got them, but I was having to write enough letters a day as it was and it was nonstop.

This was on top of the previous day's outing, where I'd gone to study with Rowenna in person. She'd had a whole list of things, some of which I could do easily enough, but some of them were rather complicated. Her maids also spent a fair amount of the day shooting me with glances like daggers because she'd gotten so close to me at the table she was practically in my lap.

“I won't, you'll just have to accommodate that. She's always been like that and always will Percival. Do you know how many letters she sends me a day?” Lucas asked.

“More than three?”

“At least five, I shudder to think the savings our family would have in paper alone if she'd limit herself, but it makes her happy. You do want to make her happy don't you?” That was a trick question if ever there was one.

“Of course...”

“Good, then you know what to do,” Lucas said, cutting me off.

I wanted to sigh, but I'd really dug myself in here already. He was my friend, one of the best I'd had in either of my lives, and his sister. Honestly I didn't know quite what to think of Rowenna, she was a nice enough girl, but too interested in me, not something I wanted now or perhaps ever.

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“Fine then, if that's what she wants don't say anything, I'll just deal with the deluge.”

“Good man,” he laughed.

“Is more or less better?” Simon asked. “Honestly my girl only sends me one or two letters a week. Not sure what to think of that.”

“You'll have to answer that yourself. Personally I think all of them are different, or they're really the same and just messing with us in some sort of conspiracy. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if I found out that older women told their daughters to be completely unpredictable, just to mess with us.” That got me another round of laughter.

Like most good times, days passed like water through the fingers. Life was like that sometimes, always passing you by when you were enjoying it, always slowing to a stop when you were in pain. Before I knew it another month had made its way away and left me in its wake looking about in confusion.

I sat on the afternoon of one of my days off, deep in my workshop at home. I'd already had today's study session with Rowenna, and while she was clingy I had to admit I enjoyed helping her. There was much for me to learn, things that were covered in her schoolbooks that mine didn't really touch on, particularly when it came to the specifics of magic and its limitations.

There was so much nuance when it came to the programming language that was the runic script. I simply didn't understand most of it, but saw enough to know that nobody was using it to the full potential. I also got the distinct feeling that there were people in the world hoarding the best bits of code like they were precious gold, which of course they were.

For example, I'd recently written a rather detailed code that made electricity of all things. This was something nobody in this world used, and for good reason. There were so many better ways to light your home, so much easier if you were rich, so much more safe too, that it had never caught on. Sure, some people knew that electricity existed, and some even knew that it could be used for some rather interesting things, but it was relegated to a curiosity in this world.

My purpose though would use it, for I was making a barrel. There were other, more effective ways to rifle a barrel than the setup I had going, but I didn't have those tools, they were expensive, and I wasn't exactly making a lot of these. For now using a trick spread to my knowledge by one Mr. Jstark (may he rest in peace) to get the rifling correct. Technically it was called electrochemical machining, and it worked well enough.

I was also having to redesign the handle for my current project, the only one of its kind I could properly dig from my memory no matter how hard I tried. I'd seen too many diagrams, too many videos of how it worked, and it was ingrained there in my weird elvish brain. That said, I was really looking forward to when this project was done.

While that did its thing I moved toward project I felt would never finish. Ignus and the duke had finally come through with my propellants and now it was time for ammo. How I missed the days when I could go to the store for this kind of thing, then again, no I didn't, prices had been absolutely insane. Even if I had to do it all myself having things delivered to me was... something.

“Um, it's getting late Lord Percival,” I heard from the door, the quiet, almost shy voice.

It was Kaylee of course, it was always Kaylee. The staff had gotten the memo that I was far more tolerant of her than anyone else. I turned to look over at her and smiled.

“Certainly, and please don't feel the need to call me 'lord' when we're alone.” I'd told her before, and I was sure I would again.

“Oh, I can't do that, what if the housekeeper heard me? It would be no end of trouble.” She made a placating gesture, and I simply smiled.

I'd still not yet figured out what to do about her. Perhaps I could get my father to recognize her one day, and that would be the end of this farce. Then again I could just wait, one day I would be the one with the power to say who was my kin. Today wasn't that day however, so I could only smile, smile and give her a fraction of the kindness he deserved.