Chapter 102: National Holidays

Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; VS Stargazer

“Uhm, where did he go?” Alina asks the question, we’ve all been asking ourselves, out loud. Tim just teleported away after completely losing it.

Sure, if you didn’t know about anything before Grandpa John’s speech, it comes as quite a shock I suppose, but still. Why would Tim care so much? He’s just a random dude…

Or I’m right and he is in disguise, just like I am!

“I don’t know, Alina… It’s weird. What could be more important than discussing the news with us?”

“Right,” Alina replies. “The news… How can you be so calm? This is fucking insane! I mean Earth. Holy shit! Who would’ve thought?”

I make a bit of a face at her cursing but inwardly I sigh in resignation. If those crazy things keep happening around me, I don’t think I can keep my friends from cursing from time to time… So be it.

I don’t even know what to say to Alina just now. For me, Earth is old news… How do I react to this that it’s believable?

Luckily Nick comes to the rescue. “You tell me, Alina. I don’t even know what to say. I thought being the first in my family to go to FBC would be big… But this? I don’t have the words for it.”

Lydia quickly joins in. “Imagine what we could find there. This must be a trove of treasure, right Sara?”

That’s a question I can work with, thank you, Lydia. “Yeah, all the Big Five had their companies there. In a single star system! All the things left behind are just waiting for us to be found. And I mean for us. Can you believe that the Emperor wants to use it as a training ground for the younger generation?”

“No, not at all… It’s crazy. Why would he do this?” Alina replies. “There are millions of people better qualified than we are.”

Lucy takes that moment to joke and winks at me without the others noticing. “Maybe he has a, I don’t know how many times granddaughter going to one of the colleges he wants to spoil?”

Nick snorts. “Haven’t you heard? He just exiled his own son a few weeks back. I don’t think he’s got much love for the family left.”

Huh, I completely missed that this news got out.

“Really?” Lydia asks, staring wide-eyed between Nick and me. Yeah, I haven’t told them… But it wasn’t important anyway.

“Yeah,” Nick replies. “It hasn’t been on the mainstream media, but some tabloid newspapers jumped on it like vipers after Karl Benson cried about his lost fortune.”

I burst out laughing as I imagine my hippie grandfather crying into the cameras about his lost funding.

Alina looks at me. “What’s so funny?”

I wipe a few tears out of my eyes. “Well, the fact that we jumped from Earth to Benson family drama and Karl Benson crying about being disowned. I mean look at him. He looks like a hippy. Imagine him becoming Emperor in the future.”

They stare at me in confusion, and I stare back. “Have you never seen a picture of him and his wife?”

When they shake their heads, a bad feeling starts to rise inside me. Have I messed up? Isn’t this common knowledge? Luckily Clara comes to the rescue and fires up one of the holo projectors.

A picture of my hippie grandparents appears, and Clara speaks over the speakers. “Pictures of them aren’t common, but here, take a look, that’s from about 200 years ago when Christopher Valterion was born.”

Lucy starts laughing. “Oh! Now I know what you mean.” That breaks the ice, and the others join in.

We talk a bit more about Earth and stuff, but one thing stays in our minds. We want to join the competition next year. Not only join, but we want to win it. A while later I teleport us all back down to the planet and we grab something to eat. Luckily some restaurants are still open even after Grandpa John announced a national holiday.

Everywhere we go, Earth is the sole topic people are talking about. People are completely going crazy. Some even start praising various gods for their divine intervention and whatever.

A lot of students on campus also have that gleam in their eyes. They all want to join the competition! It’s complete madness. Even the slacking students suddenly start taking things seriously. I noticed a guy being so immersed in his interface that he walked against a lamppost. The funniest thing was that even after falling to the ground, he didn’t stop mumbling complex formulas.

The next day isn’t different. Alina locks herself in her room, saying she has to study, and Lydia and Lucy ask if they can use one of the Stargazer’s cargo bays as training rooms, as suddenly all magical training rooms are booked for months.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

I happily agree and give them a lift upstairs. Luckily, Mom and Dad’s renovation of the ship included some heavy reinforcements, so that the cargo bays should easily withstand a bit of magic. At least as long as Lucy doesn’t throw around Master level attack spells.

That leaves me alone down on the planet as Nick has to help his grandmother in the café. Tim is still missing. He hasn’t returned a single time since he vanished from the Stargazer right after Grandpa John’s speech.

Hmm, that’s a good idea, actually. Why don’t I go for a visit to Benson Moon? I return to my dorm room and knock at Alina’s door.

She responds with a slightly muffled “hmmm?”

“Hi Alina, it’s Sara. I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be out for a while as well. Good luck with your studies!”

“Alright, see you.”

Then I have Clara set the coordinates for the jump room with the disguise chamber in my great-grandparents’ mansion and jump there. I enter the chamber and shed my Sara Green disguise. Then I step back outside. This time, no one is waiting for me at the exit, so I just go outside and walk around. Clara shows me a map on my interface, and I decide to check out Grandma Amelia’s office first.

It’s a short walk, and surprisingly I don’t meet other people while walking through the hallways. When I knock at the office, a female voice asks me to enter. It’s not Grandma Amelia’s voice, though.

I open the door and step inside. A young-looking blonde woman with a dark blue women’s suit and heels, standing beside a desk, looks at me. “You’re not Ben,” she states, and I shake my head.

“No, I’m not… I’m looking for, uhh, Amelia Benson. Am I wrong here?”

Suddenly a frown enters her face. “It is the Empress’s office,” she emphasizes Grandma Amelia’s title. “But she’s not here right now. I’m her secretary, and a meeting with a young girl like yourself isn’t on today’s schedule. Who are you anyway and how did you get in?”

Her posture changes completely, and she enters a more aggressive stand. “You’ve got 10 seconds to answer.”

I take a step back, suddenly feeling very uncertain. “I… uh, I’m Sara…”

She interrupts me with a surprised shout and all her aggression is washed away. “Ohhh! You’re the Sara! It’s so nice to meet you. I’m sorry for not recognizing you earlier. Please sit down. Your grandmother will be right back. Just ignore Ben when he comes in to deliver a few things in a minute.”

I do just so, and like she said, a few minutes later Ben comes in, delivers something, and leaves again. He looks like a stoic butler out of a story with short hair, and he even wears glasses. The only thing wrong is his age, as he doesn’t look old at all.

The secretary whose name is Victoria, or Vic as she insists, meanwhile gets me something to eat and talks a lot about herself. I just nod or make confirming sounds at the right moments.

It’s a bit weird. She already knows almost everything about me. She must be very close to Grandma Amelia. And like I said. She. Talks. A. Lot! Finally, I find a moment to interrupt her. “Uh, Vic… Do you know when Grandma Amelia will be back? I’ve got some things to ask her.”

“Oh, sorry, sorry, I completely forgot. She should be here any moment now… But things aren’t that sure at the moment. The announcement of Earth blew up every expectation we had… Oh, speaking of Earth. You have to tell me everything!” She looks at me with pleading eyes from her position in the chair across me.

Oh, so she really knows everything, everything about me! I lean back and start telling her a bit about Earth. Mostly about all the destruction and stuff, as I don’t know what exactly I’m allowed to tell her. It doesn’t matter, probably, as she already knows about almost everything anyway, but still…

Luckily, I soon hear steps from outside the door, and seconds later Grandma Amelia steps in. She immediately sees me and shows me a big grin. “Sara! Welcome, I hope Vic didn’t bother you too much?” She asks with a wink, and I can’t help it and laugh a little when I get up to hug her.

“Hi, Grandma Amelia. And no, it was all good.”

“That’s great. I’m sorry, I couldn’t be here earlier, but things are very busy right now. John’s announcement triggered an avalanche of annoyances, I have to deal with. But that’s nothing to concern you with.”

She sits down behind her desk and lets out a soft sigh. “Let me guess, you’re here for the competition, right?”

“Yes, exactly,” I reply. “Why did Grandpa John do it this way, basically banning all the more qualified people from exploring Earth for ten years? Is it just for me?”

There is a short snort from Vic, but she quickly composes herself.

Then Grandma Amelia replies. “Believe it or not, while you are important to us, you are not the center of the universe, Sara.”

She’s still grinning, but I feel my cheeks going red in embarrassment anyway.

“The original plan was to announce Earth to The Empire’s 20,000th birthday, as this was the prediction when it will be habitable again. As this is way in the future, nothing has been done for the resettlement yet. This is where the ten-year period comes in. While the youth can train their skills, the remainder of The Empire can prepare for the resettlement process in ten years. You being one of those young people is just a bonus,” she winks again.

Oh! That makes sense. I laugh awkwardly. “Hehe, okay, sorry for thinking myself that important…”

“None of that! You are important. Why do you think John invited more than just students from RMA to the competition?”

My eyes widen. Right, this is what all this is about. Nobles get privileges in exchange for great service to The Empire. One such privilege would be the exploration of the Solar System!

“Oh…” That’s all I manage to say.

I manage to compose myself a bit later. We’ve gone completely off-topic. I’m here to ask something else. “Can you say thanks to Grandpa John then, please?” When she nods, I continue. “What I actually wanted to ask earlier is how do my friends and I get selected as participants for the competition?”

Grandma Amelia grins broadly. A mischievous glint in her eyes. “By studying hard and being the best in your class, of course.”

I stare back at her. “Really? Not that I plan to slack in college, but really? Grandpa John does all this and then I’m not even guaranteed a spot?”

Grandma Amelia doesn’t reply, she just looks back at me in amusement.

Next to me, Vic’s composure shatters, and she starts laughing. “You’ve got no clue, right?”

“What?”

She can barely keep herself under control, and even Grandma Amelia shakes from suppressing her laughter. What the hell?

Vic continues. “We don’t have to pull any strings to get you into the competition. Your teammate is already taking care of it.”

Who would take care of it?

Oh!

Right, Tim!

I was right. He is more than he told us!

Grandma Amelia finally lets her grin show. “Ahh, there you go.”

“It’s Tim, right? Something’s wrong with him… I’m guessing he’s a Noble, right? Can you tell me who he really is?”

Grandma Amelia shakes her head. “He is a Noble, yes. I’ll tell you that much because you’ve already found out. Anything else? I’m not going to tell you. That’s good training for your investigative skills.”

“And it would kill all the fun,” Vic chimes in from the side.

I glare at her but can’t hold it that long before a grin finds its way onto my face. “Fine, challenge accepted. I’ll find out during my time on Earth. If so, you owe me one.”

Vic offers her hand. “Deal!”

We shake.

Grandma Amelia claps her hands. “Looks like the two of you go well with each other. Vic, you’re joining Sara during the competition to protect her and guide her a bit.”

“I am?” Vic asks shocked and Grandma Amelia grins back.”

“You are. This will be good for you, grandniece.”

Grandniece? Vic’s my cousin?!