Rian watched the servants distributing all sorts of luxurious food onto the beautiful wooden table before him. Each of them had a diverse appearance; some were dark-skinned, some olive, and some pale white. These people were members of The Ninth Oath Maids, summoned by Emma from the Ninth Floor.
Rian looked around, then frowned and sighed. "What are you waiting for?" he asked. "Isn't this a feast? Why are you all just standing there?"
"My Lord, I believe it would be highly improper for us Floor Guardians to sit and dine with you," Belial said, voicing his opinion with a respectful tone.
The other Floor Guardians also nodded in agreement, including Emma and Asuka, who were currently standing to the right and left of the throne.
I knew it would be like this.
Rian then gave the Floor Guardians a firm look. "It's fine. Please, sit. Besides, what kind of feast is it if I'm the only one eating?"
"But, My Lord…" Belial maintained his stance.
Rian shot a cold glare at Belial, who was at the end of the table near Merlin. "No 'buts.' Sit down, all of you. This… is an order," he said, tapping the surface of the table, waiting for them to move.
Lily, who couldn't stand the sight of the food in front of her any longer, immediately pulled out a chair and sat down. She stared at the delicious dishes before her, drool trickling from her lips.
Seeing that, Emma and Asuka also took seats near Rian. The others followed suit.
Belial pulled out his chair and sat down. I have disappointed Lord Arthur. I have never seen him make an expression like that before.
Seeing Belial's somber face, Rian thought, Was that because of what I did? He decided to comfort Belial. It would be bad if Belial came to hate me because of this. He's the only Floor Guardian whose data I don't have. So, it would be dangerous if he rebelled.
"Belial, I know you respect me. I'm not forbidding that. And I'm not angry about what you said earlier. So, stop making that face," Rian said to Belial through the Message spell.
Belial immediately directed his gaze to his master, who was looking at him with a calm smile.
"My Lord… you went to the trouble of using the Message spell just to say this to me. I… am truly grateful. Foolish me thought you hated me. How lowly I am," Belial replied, his tone full of regret.
"Enough of that. Don't let this day turn sour. Aren't we gathered here to celebrate Avanheim's success and the World Conquest Plan?" Rian asked calmly.
Except for the World Conquest Plan, that is. A plan I never even thought of. This plan shouldn't be celebrated. It just adds to my workload…. Damn it, I regret choosing Emma and Belial to answer Felix and Monica's questions. If I had answered them myself back then, maybe this world conquest plan would never have existed.
Rian thought for a moment. No. Sooner or later, this plan would have come up anyway. Emma, Belial, and probably some of the other Floor Guardians already had the idea that I was the mastermind behind all this.
Rian picked up a silver spoon and knife, then looked at the luxurious steak steaming on his white plate. To this day, he still couldn't believe he could eat food like this every day. Back then, just to eat beef or goat, he had to wait for a holiday.
Rian was about to cut his steak, but was stopped by Emma's action. "Before we eat, it would be best if we first pray to the fifteen Supreme Beings for all Their grace," Emma said. Her voice echoed in the lamp-lit garden.
Asuka, Merlin, and the others joined their hands and formed a prayer pose. Rian did the same. This was a tradition often practiced by all the inhabitants of Avanheim. At first, he was very surprised to see this and had thought about forbidding it. But on second thought, if he did that, it might cause a rift in Avanheim. Besides, the tradition wasn't bad at all.
After finishing the prayer, Rian cut the steak in front of him and put it in his mouth. Meanwhile, Lily immediately devoured her food quickly, as if her stomach contained a black hole.
"My Lord, would you like to try my food?" Emma offered. Her dish consisted of noodles topped with pieces of steak.
"No, thank you, Emma. I still have plenty of food in front of me," Rian replied, pointing with his spoon.
"In that case, would Lord Arthur like to try this salad? It's much better than the food Emma is offering," Asuka said, lifting her plate so Rian could see it.
Salad, huh? I've never eaten it in my life. Can spinach or gado-gado be called salad? Rian remembered the street stall food he often bought at the end of the month. He took a little of the salad, then ate it.
Asuka's expression was triumphant. She gave Emma a mocking smile, whose face flushed behind Rian.
You damned bitch! Emma gritted her teeth. CRACK! The spoon she was holding snapped.
"Jarvis would surely be jealous seeing us feasting here, while he's in space for a month," Felix said jokingly, then took a sip of yellow wine from his glass. "Hundred-year-old wine really is delicious."
"A month?" Belial analyzed for a moment, then concluded. "Does that mean the speed of the ship you built reaches 86.81 km/second?"
"Correct. But that's its maximum speed. Its normal speed is 55 km/second," Monica confirmed. As an Automata, she of course couldn't eat the food in front of her. She handed her plate back to Epsilon, who was standing behind her.
One month from now, I'll be able to set foot on Earth again! Rian clenched the silver knife in his hand. CRACK! The knife immediately broke.
Emma and Asuka hurriedly grabbed the knives near them and handed them to Rian. "Please, use my knife, Lord Arthur!" they shouted in unison.
The two of them looked at each other with displeased expressions. Rian facepalmed. These two are like oil and water, so hard to get along.
…
While Rian was thinking of a way to separate them, far away in the vast, pitch-black space, Jarvis was increasing his spaceship's speed to its maximum.
Octavia, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, looked at the view outside the spaceship window. Out there, there was nothing, only eternal darkness. Even the starlight, which seemed so plentiful back in Avanheim, was not visible here, swallowed by the dazzlingly bright rays of the sun.
Octavia turned to her left, to the old man who was controlling the ship with great seriousness. "Mr. Jarvis, about how long will this journey take?" she asked curiously.
Jarvis thought for a moment, then answered, "At our current speed, it will take less than a month."
"I see. By the way, Mr. Jarvis, what kind of creatures will we encounter on that planet?" Octavia asked again, reaching for a bottle of drink from the table in front of her.
Jarvis released the control lever and activated auto-pilot mode. After successfully exiting the atmosphere and the gravitational pull of the new world, he only needed to set the ship's destination on the interstellar map in the system.
A stiff, robotic voice sounded from the notification system."Ship is heading to an unknown planet, current distance 223 million kilometers. Proceed?"
Jarvis clicked the "YES" icon on the monitor screen that appeared before him.
"Instruction received. Calculating countdown."
"…3…2…1… system engaged. Destination: Unknown Planet. Estimated arrival: 29 days, 17 hours, 45 minutes."
For a moment, Jarvis and Octavia felt a vibration in the ship's body before it stabilized again. The view outside the window had now changed.
After setting the destination, Jarvis finally answered Octavia's question. "I don't know myself. But according to Lord Merlin's and Lord Felix's predictions, the creatures there aren't much different from those in the World of Monia." He stood up and straightened his dark blue jumpsuit. On his left breast was the Ouroboros angel emblem, on his right breast was the logo of the ship they were on, and on his left shoulder was the Avanheim Guild flag. "Besides, we'll find out soon enough in one months. So, hold your curiosity. I'm going to check the rear cabin."
"Thank you for answering my question, Mr. Jarvis." Octavia replied softly, then looked back at the view outside.
Seeing that, Jarvis just nodded. He pressed his palm against the side of the door, and it opened automatically.
Jarvis walked down a white corridor. He came to a door in front of him. He entered, and the door behind him automatically closed. He saw another door in front of him. When that door opened, Jarvis's body was instantly floating in the air.
"I forgot to activate the artificial gravity feature," he lamented, slapping his forehead. He pushed himself along the walls, then pressed a red button with the words "PRESS TO ACTIVATE GRAVITY" written below it.
CLICK! Without hesitation, Jarvis pressed the button. Instantly, he fell from the air and hit the floor.
THUD!
Jarvis quickly got up and straightened his clothes again. "I'll check room number four first," he muttered to himself.
Jarvis looked around the interior of the ship. "Lord Arthur is truly amazing," he murmured, looking in awe at the interior design he saw.
From the beginning until this ship was completed, he had seen with his own eyes how his Master had participated in planning and designing it. In fact, you could say that without Lord Arthur's participation, this spaceship might have taken much longer to finish. He had also overheard a conversation between Monica and Lord Arthur. There, for the first time, he saw a look of awe and incomprehension on Monica's usually flat face.
Lady Monica… whose expression is always flat! To be able to make a face like that. From that alone, Jarvis could conclude that the knowledge Lord Arthur had given Monica was extremely important.
Jarvis opened the door in front of him by pressing his palm against it, then entered. He heard a soft humming sound from the object in front of him.
"It seems the engine is fine." Jarvis observed the object, which had a very complex design, with various cables connecting it. This was the Magic Fusion Reactor Engine, according to what Lord Felix and Lady Monica had said. This was what allowed the Spaceship Hope to move through the vacuum of interstellar space at a speed of 86.81 km/second, or 2.9 percent of the speed of light.
I should check the particle ducts, Jarvis thought after seeing the magic fusion reactor was still functioning normally.
Better safe than sorry, right?
Jarvis was afraid of any damage to the ship. If that happened, he would rather die with this ship than return to Avanheim with a failed mission.
Jarvis entered the reactor engine room. In here, the air was a bit hot and stuffy. He tapped a magic device on the wall. The device instantly lit up and showed 100% with no damage. After seeing that, Jarvis also checked the particle ducts from the small window of the engine room. He saw a silver pipe continuously sucking something into it. If this were in an atmosphere, Jarvis would have seen the airflow being sucked in.
After making sure everything was safe, Jarvis left the engine room and went to another room. This time, he went to the food supply room. "This is also safe," he noted in the manual in his hand.
Although Jarvis and Octavia didn't need to eat as long as there was a flow of mana into their bodies, these supplies were still brought along to prevent psychological damage. Sailing for one months in space could be very boring, and that could lead to unnecessary problems.
He remembered what Lady Monica had said to him. "Oh, this is about professionalism and standardization. Yes, you don't need to eat to live, but this is part of the rules set by Lord Arthur himself."
After a brief recollection of Lady Monica's words, Jarvis was about to continue to the next room. But he suddenly stopped, frozen in place, when he heard his Master's voice in his mind.
"It seems the Message spell can still be used. Is it because the distance is still too close?" The voice seemed to be talking to itself.
"Jarvis, where are you now?"
Jarvis put his finger to his right ear and answered."According to the ship's system calculations, we are two million kilometers away from the new world's orbit."
"Ohh, that means this spell can communicate that far." Rian seemed to nod slightly. "When you've reached a distance of 200 million kilometers from the new world, I want you to contact me. I want to confirm whether the Message spell can still be used or not."
"Yes, understood, My Lord. I will definitely contact you when we've reached a distance of 200 million kilometers."
After receiving Jarvis's answer, Rian cut off his Message spell. Jarvis immediately continued his inspection of the other rooms. After making sure everything was normal, he returned to the pilot's room.
"Mr. Jarvis, is the cabin alright?" Octavia asked, handing him a glass of water.
Jarvis took the water and drank it, then sat back in his chair. "Yes, everything is fine. I was also contacted by Lord Arthur just now."
Hearing that, Octavia was a little surprised. "Can the Message spell reach this far?" she exclaimed.
"Yes, but at that distance, I could feel the sound quality starting to degrade," Jarvis said seriously. "Actually, ever since I first left Felius Castle, some spells have produced different effects. I suspect this is related to the laws of this world." He held his chin in thought.
"If so, does this also happen to the Gate spell?" Octavia responded with a serious expression.
"Let's hope not. But it's true, the Gate spell has changed its shape. you know that too, right?" Jarvis took a biscuit from Octavia's lap and ate it.
"Yes, from its original door-like shape to a spherical one," Octavia took a book and a pen from the desk drawer, then tore out a sheet of paper. "I asked Lord Felix about this change, and he said…."
She placed the paper on the table. "Let's assume this paper is a simple representation of two-dimensional space," she said, drawing a dot on the left and right ends of the paper. "These dots symbolize two distant locations in the universe."
Then, she folded the paper until the two dots touched. "If we project this concept into two dimensions, the connection between these two points looks like a hole or a flat door. That's why in fiction it's often depicted as a regular portal."
She then rolled the paper into a small tube and pointed to the middle. "However, our spacetime is not two-dimensional, but three-dimensional. When space is folded in three dimensions, the path connecting these two points forms a spherical distortion. This phenomenon causes light from behind to bend, following the extreme curvature of gravity."
With her index finger, she pressed the rolled-up paper until it formed a circular bulge. "This bulge is what, if viewed from the outside, would look like a full sphere. The gravitational effects and the bending of light around it are direct consequences of general relativity."
Octavia looked at the paper for a moment, then pushed it toward Jarvis. "So, the spherical shape isn't an aesthetic choice, but an unavoidable result of the geometry of spacetime itself."
Jarvis thought for a moment, digesting the new knowledge. "What do you mean by 'that's why in fiction it's often depicted as a regular portal'? Hasn't the Gate spell always been that shape, before we came to this world?" he asked with a confused look.
"I don't really understand either, but that's what Lord Felix said. And Lord Felix heard it from Lord Arthur," Octavia replied casually. "But I suspect it's because of the change in the world's laws, so the way the spell works produces a different effect."
"Hmm, I see." Jarvis accepted Octavia's logic.
"Also, what is 'general relativity'?" Jarvis asked again.
Octavia took a biscuit, chewed it, then drank some water before speaking. "It's a scientific theory that Lord Felix came up with after searching for a solution to a crucial problem while building this ship. Lord Felix got it from Lord Arthur. Lord Arthur himself said it was a relic from the other Supreme Beings before they left."
As she said that, a sad expression appeared on Octavia's beautiful face.
"I see. The Supreme Beings truly are amazing. Even after they've left, they still help us," Jarvis said, trying to comfort Octavia while patting her on the shoulder.
…
Several weeks had passed since they left the new world where Avanheim was located.
On the fourth week after their departure, Jarvis stared at a very large blue planet in front of him.
The distance between the Spaceship Hope and the planet was now only 23 million kilometers.
Jarvis looked at Octavia. Octavia nodded.
Jarvis pressed his index finger to his right ear and activated the Message spell. Soon, a noisy static sound filled his ear. Jarvis narrowed his eyes slightly. Then, the static disappeared, replaced by a beep… beep… beep….
This was the sound that usually occurred when the Message spell didn't reach its destination.
Seeing the change in Jarvis's expression, Octavia asked anxiously, "How is it?"
"As we suspected, the Message spell didn't reach Avanheim. It seems the distance is too great," Jarvis replied.
"Then what? Are we still going to continue the mission?" Octavia asked, worried.
Jarvis reached for a cup of coffee on the table and drank it. "Don't worry. The goal of our mission is to get the coordinates of this world." He pointed to the blue planet outside the window. "Communication is a secondary issue. Lord Arthur must have anticipated this. We should land soon. That way, we can confirm whether the Gate spell can still be used."
Jarvis then typed a landing simulation on the keyboard and looked at the results. "Estimated arrival in 3 days, 1 hour, 27 minutes."
Jarvis pulled the control lever. Instantly, the ship's body experienced a violent vibration before stabilizing again. The view outside was still as dark as ever, but the light reflected from the planet in front of them let Jarvis and Octavia know that they weren't stationary.
"I'll prepare the equipment for landing," Octavia said before leaving the pilot's room. Jarvis just nodded in permission.
…
Three days later, the Spaceship Hope successfully arrived in the orbit of this alien planet. Jarvis and Octavia were no longer wearing their blue crew uniforms, but their respective combat armors. Jarvis wore a full-plate silver-white Knight's armor. Behind him floated a purple scythe. As for Octavia, she wore the maid armor typically worn by The Ninth Oath Maids, holding a silver wizard's staff.
"It seems the civilization on this planet is quite advanced compared to our World of Monia." Jarvis saw very bright night lights on the land surface through the monitor.
"Foreign object detected," a warning sound came from the system.
"Just as Lord Belial predicted. They do have advanced transportation technology," Octavia said, pointing to a moving object in orbit on the monitor screen.
"We'll just ignore them," Jarvis replied. "Right now, our focus is on landing."
He activated the landing feature. Since this planet had an atmosphere, he had to activate the anti-friction feature first. After that, Jarvis turned the controls to enter this alien planet.
The body of the ship Hope shook violently as it entered the atmosphere, moving at a speed of 50 km per second. The force field generated by magic protected the ship from atmospheric friction. The heat generated from the friction created an orange glow, making the Spaceship Hope look like a falling meteorite.
The monotonous night scene was decorated by an orange light with a long tail, before finally disappearing in the air.
Inside the ship, Jarvis's face finally showed an expression of relief, as did Octavia's.
"We've finally arrived on this alien planet! A month-long journey has ended, Octavia!" Jarvis shouted joyfully, his enthusiasm completely at odds with his old face.
"Yeah! Let's use the Gate spell right away!" Octavia replied, no less excited, her hands trembling with joy.
"Yes, but not here." The joyful smile on Jarvis's face faded, replaced by a serious expression. "The natives of this world must have noticed our presence because of the light Hope produced just now."
Octavia nodded in agreement. Jarvis then controlled the ship to follow the vast ocean, searching for land.
"Look! That's an island!" Octavia pointed.
"We need to find a large landmass, at least larger than that island. Do you want to let the Supreme Beings set foot on such a small island?" Jarvis asked.
"Of course not. But we don't have a map of this world," Octavia replied.
"That's why, before entering this planet, I already took pictures of its surface." Jarvis opened the interstellar map, then clicked on the icon of this unknown planet. A blurry world map opened up.
"It's so blurry," Octavia complained.
"What can we do? But this image is enough to tell us where the land is," Jarvis said, taking another sip of his coffee.
Soon, they saw a bow-shaped island off the coast of a continent. From up here, they saw the island was bathed in yellow lights.
"It's so bright. This place must have a lot of inhabitants," Octavia exclaimed.
Jarvis didn't waste any time. He lowered the ship toward the island and looked for a secluded spot. He saw a mountain covered in a green forest and decided to land there.
Carefully, Jarvis landed the ship on an empty patch of ground near the forest. THUD! They were jolted slightly.
"We've finally arrived. Such a long journey. I'd say this is the longest and most tiring journey I've ever taken," Octavia said with relief, though her expression showed happiness.
"Let's get off now." Jarvis turned off the ship's engine and walked toward the exit, followed by Octavia and two green-brown knight golems behind her.
As he stepped onto the ground, a cool, fresh air immediately greeted him.
"A very different smell from the new world," Octavia said, looking at the forest scenery in front of her.
"Octavia." Jarvis's firm voice snapped her out of it. His gaze seemed to say, use the Gate spell immediately.
"I'm sorry. I'll use it right away." Octavia pointed her magic staff forward.
"Eighth-Sequence Magic: Gate!" she said loudly.
A bluish-black dot appeared, then instantly expanded into a 12-meter-tall sphere, almost matching the height of the ship Hope. Octavia immediately ordered the knight golems to enter it. Feeling her connection with the golems was not broken, she smiled happily. "Mr. Jarvis, it seems the Gate spell is still functioning normally!"
A moment after she said that, a young man dressed as a Victorian-era Magician stepped out of the portal.
"Lord Merlin," Octavia and Jarvis exclaimed, then paid their respects.
Merlin nodded with a smile, then looked at his surroundings. "So, this is our neighbor's backyard?" he said with a slightly joking tone.
"Lord Merlin, how could you enter the Gate so quickly?" Octavia asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Because Lord Arthur has been waiting for a whole day in front of the Gate coordinates you left," Merlin answered in a soft tone, as if trying to calm her heart.
"Lord Arthur…" Octavia whispered softly, her face tensing between being moved and in disbelief that her master would be willing to wait that long just for her.
Then, a female figure wearing black armor with silver patterns stepped out. The figure held a short, metallic-black staff with a futuristic cube at its tip, which was constantly changing shape and color.
"Lady Emma," Octavia and Jarvis greeted enthusiastically.
"You have worked well. Leave this matter to me, Lord Arthur, and Merlin," Emma said softly from behind her helmet.
Then, a man wearing full-plate black armor with purplish patterns stepped out. On his back spread two pairs of jet-black angel wings made from a wild, irregular collection of dark energy. After that figure emerged, the Gate spell shrank into a small ball and finally disappeared.
"So… this is the other world?" the armored man said.