"Ahhh, there's never a dull moment with you, Luca." Prince Chase's laughter filled the Rose Room, bright and carefree. "Last night was a real treat."

The violet-haired Prince of the Daylan Dynasty sat across from me, radiating annoyingly high energy for this early in the day. Between us, a teapot of strong black tea sat waiting to finish brewing, and I desperately needed it to work its magic on my sleep-deprived state.

My eyes burned and were likely bloodshot from having gone to bed late and awoken painfully early.

I had informed Remlend the night before that Prince Chase was expected to stop by this morning and to awaken me if I overslept.

My right eye twitched as I caught sight of the sky outside, still half shrouded in darkness.

What I had not expected was this damn lunatic to interpret my invitation to stop by 'first thing in the morning' as 'as soon as dawn approaches.'

Chase, unlike myself, seemed infuriatingly well-rested, sipping his tea with all the calm of someone who'd slept soundly through the night. Which was odd, considering he must've gotten even less sleep than I did.

"Do you not need sleep or something?" I grumbled. "Is it because you're a warlock?"

Prince Chase flashed me a grin. "Close, but not quite. I follow a biphasic sleep pattern."

I frowned, my tired brain struggling to process his words. "A what?"

"I take a thirty-minute nap every six hours," Chase explained as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I've done it all my life. The Paragons of Rahosm Temple trained me in this sleep pattern—it maximizes alertness and minimizes vulnerability. All the priests there do it."

I blinked, trying to wrap my head around the concept while pouring myself a cup of tea.

"So in any given day, you only sleep…"

"Two hours." Chase held up two fingers, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

I sighed, downed the hot black tea, and poured myself another cup. "For future reference, don't ever come by before the sun is over the horizon."

"Noted," Chase said with a smile.

"Anyhow, what exactly led you to Govista Lake last night?” I asked.

While chatting with Grandov, I caught sight of a light violet finch in one of the trees, and given the peculiar color, I concluded that it was most likely Chase Daylan. I didn't confront him then, but figured now was as good a time as any.

"What do you mean, what led me there? I came as instructed," Chase replied, his golden eyes widening in surprise.

His classic round pair of shades sat beside his teacup instead of on his nose.

"Instructed?" What in the world is he going on about?

I picked up my teacup, wondering if my memory lapsed somewhere.

"Well, rather, I took the hint," Chase explained. "Your brother had come by and told me about you wishing to meet this morning for breakfast and that you were meeting with Grandov at Govista Lake. I figured you might need a little help."

I gazed down at the table with tea and some light snacks. It was far too early for breakfast. Even Fiona, our head cook, wasn't up yet.

"Micah told you?" I narrowed my eyes as my mind caught up to what he said, not believing it for a second. "Or did you pull that information out of him?"

I felt myself swell with anger. I was not too fond of Micah being toyed with for a second.

"I didn't use my ability on your dear older brother, don't worry," Chase quickly stated, raising his hands in defense. "All he said was that you had something to attend to. I pulled the rest of the information from others that I figured you wouldn't care so much about me meddling with."

I sighed and gazed down at the steaming hot tea in my cup. Even if he didn't use his truth-forcing ability on my brother, it was nonetheless a troublesome insight that I could be tracked down so easily.

If he could do it, anyone could. Saga Duex was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Anyhow, no need to be so upset. Thanks to me, Grandov, or rather BlueLizard, was being completely truthful with you. That's what you wished for with my presence, right?"

I froze.

"You used your ability on Grandov?" I asked.

"Don't worry, I made sure it was undetectable," Chase proudly stated. "I've had plenty of practice over the years. You're only one of a couple of exceptions that have ever caught on."

I sighed, feeling a bit irritated.

That means that BlueLizard wasn't being open and honest because of mutual trust. It was because of trickery. What a lousy restart to our partnership.

"Ah, are you worried my little meddling will be exposed?" Chase seemed to catch on to my poor mood. "Don't worry; people's minds usually pull the pieces together and explain away why they were so honest. And given this was the Game's original Hero, I made sure to be extra vigilant."

I poured myself a third cup of black tea, deciding it wasn't worth pursuing any further, especially not with this lunatic.

"Well, what's done is done," I said. "And refer to that person as Grandov going forward, in case anyone is ever listening in."

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"Of course." Chase poured himself another cup and smiled, looking out the window at the black twisted thorns and neon pink roses outside. "Luca, about what Grandov mentioned, are you considering turning others into Players?"

"It's worth looking into, at the very least," I said.

"How exciting," Chase chuckled with a strange expression on his face. "There really isn't a dull moment with you, Luca."

I grimaced.

Just what is this lunatic thinking? Is he hoping to become a Player that badly?

I had little hope for creating an existence like the AI that BlueLizard mentioned, which could turn regular people into Players. Nor did I want to, as it appeared those three AIs had ultimately brought about a whole lot of unintended trouble to the realm as well.

However, while my realm was far less advanced that BlueLizard's realm, I did have the System that was already modifying the code to allow me to be a Player. I had asked it previously if it could turn others into Players and it denied being able to do so, but what if it was just a matter of lacking the knowledge to do so? If I could teach it, wouldn't it be possible to change the rules of the Game again?

"That old lady might have a book on the subject of realm coding," Chase offered.

I nodded, having already planned to go to Lisa's Books and Tea to investigate the matter.

"Speaking of old ladies, Saga Duex met with me yesterday," I said, getting to the ultimate reason why I wanted to meet with Chase this morning.

"Did she now?" Chase grinned. "I've only met with her a handful of times when I took over the Daylan Dynasy's throne."

"Were you aware that she's supporting the Kobar Empire's expansion financially?" I asked.

"No, but it hardly surprises me. The Duex Bank goes werever there is money to be made," Chase replied. "If she's backing the opposition, why did she want to meet with you?"

"She offered to provide financial support to me in the war in return for a small favor," I said, knowing the favor was hardly small, especially with the additional insight that BlueLizard had provided.

"Playing both sides of the field, huh? I'm not surprised." Chase shrugged. "She's the shrewdest person I'd ever met. I'd had to pay one hefty price for once attempting to use my ability on her. Took me thirty loops to clear my debts. She's a terrible person to be on the wrong side of."

"That's why I need your help with this." I pulled out a parchment of paper and tossed it toward Chase.

He caught it and unrolled it. His eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Are you outsourcing the unpleasant work to me, as you had with Grandov?" he asked, referring to how BlueLizard and I divided up our tasks for this Round and future ones.

"Are you saying you find it displeasing?" I asked and sipped my tea.

"Hardly, for me, it is quite amusing, even," Chase said.

I nodded.

Just as BlueLizard didn't mind playing the role of a dutiful soldier and getting their hands dirty in the war, I doubted that Chase would find his task displeasing, either.

"Why do something unpleasant that others would happily do?" I muttered.

"Most certainly!" Chase laughed brightly.

***

"Young master Luca, Micah has requested your presence in his office," Remlend announced after walking Chase Daylan out of the Frey Manor. "Someone from the palace is with him."

I gazed out the window at the sky, which was finally lightening up. The sun had peaked above the horizon.

Had the royal tattoo artist already arrived?

"Very well," I replied, standing up and following Remlend out of the Rose Room.

No point in wasting time. I had a busy enough morning, as it were, with too many matters to attend to within a short amount of time.

When I entered Micah's office, my gaze immediately fell upon the elderly woman seated in one of the armchairs.

I blinked, taking her in.

Her presence was not particularly striking. She didn't appear all that much unlike other grandmothers found in Genise—her hair, peppered with grey hair, was carefully pinned back, revealing a face with a long nose and covered with the wrinkles of many decades lived. Her grey eyes, carried a certain warmth and calm that suggested that she had long outlived any worries and alarm.

[ Random Character Check in progress for Tavonneth Lock. ]

[ Tavonneth Lock is an Echomancer, Level 44. ]

[ She can replicate any image down to the finest detail, capturing every nuance with astonishing accuracy. Once replicated, she can seamlessly transfer this image onto any surface, ensuring that every line, color, and shadow is preserved exactly as the original. This ability allows her to forge documents or artworks, and even mimic magical runes with the copy as good as the original. ]

I felt a smile spread across my face. This royal promise tattoo artist was about to make my life significantly easier.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Tavonneth Lock," I said, bowing my head after Micah had formally introduced us and reiterated the three tasks we had for her.

Micah's original intention of bringing her by was to replicate Claude Noire's tattoo from my illusion onto a human puppet. He had tacked on Apophis's promise tattoo along as well, but I had a far more urgent need for her skills.

The day before, I had copied some notes for my younger sister on a few inventions she had developed in Round 8, to keep her content with only Jarvis attending the ball. Even with my improved artistic skills, the task was annoyingly difficult and time-consuming. My right hand still ached from the task.

But now, with Tavonneth Lock, I wouldn't have to lift a pen ever again. She was like a human printing press, capable of effortlessly transferring my illusions onto paper.

"Micah Frey here says you're proficient in Illusion Magic?" Tavonneth said as she stood up from her armchair, leaning on a cane. She made her way over to the large table where several empty journals lay waiting.

"I am," I replied, joining her and flipping open the first journal to a blank page.

"It's been a long time since I've met anyone who uses it. Very well, let's get started then," she said, and I conjured my first illusion, a recipe from Arnold Bumblefudge. To save on mana, I created the illusion directly in Tavonneth's eyes.

"Aha." The old woman appeared amused.

Tavonneth flicked her hand, and the blank page shimmered. White lettering and intricate drawings materialized before settling into the paper as though they had been burned in. Everything, down to an ink fingerprint smudge, was replicated.

I flipped the page and summoned the next illusion into her eyes.

"I shall leave the two of you to it, then," Micah said, excusing himself from the office, no doubt busy with far too many matters as well.

The lighting and shadows in Micah's office moved as the sun in the sky made its way up and poured its sunshine through the open windows while the journals filled up with notes.

I let out a yawn and stretched out my arms upward, having finished the last journal.

The process with Tavonneth's help certainly went more efficiently than me attempting to copy the notes by hand, but my body and hand still ached.

"Kid, all you did was turn a few pages," Tavonneth chided, unimpressed by my show of exhaustion.

I couldn't help but be impressed, though. This frail-looking old woman showed no signs of discomfort despite the intense work. She popped the cork on a large mana potion and downed it with ease.

Both of us had needed to consume mana potions to keep our magic going, but the ones Tavonneth drank were significantly larger, a testament to the size and strength of her mana core.

I had considered learning Echomancy myself—it would have made me more self-sufficient and less reliant on others. But it was a demanding discipline, requiring a substantial amount of mana and years of meticulous practice. Promise tattoos, for instance, were notoriously difficult to perfect. They needed a skilled Echomancer to replicate mana runes flawlessly, or the person being tattooed risked death. Or worse.

Tavonneth was one of the best, honed by decades of training. And while I had what seemed like an endless number of loops, I wasn't about to spend several decades mastering a technique I could easily outsource to someone like her.

"You certainly have an unusual array of interests," she remarked. "Shall we move on to the next two assignments?"

I ran my hand over the dozen journals she had filled with notes, all intended to be passed on to those better suited to the tasks than myself.

While I had no intention of remaining as powerless as I currently was, I didn't need to excel at everything. After all, I wasn't alone.

I just need to nurture the many talents surrounding me.