The sun had just begun its lazy descent when Gareth returned, arms outstretched, face red, and somehow… holding a chicken with the solemnity of a royal offering. The Hot or Not Stick had just recently been completed.
"I found one!" he announced, as if we were mid apocalypse and poultry was currency.
The hen clucked once, unimpressed by the attention.
Isolde raised an eyebrow. "Where did you find it in such a short time?"
Gareth looked away. "Let's focus on the science."
I nodded, trying to appear professional while holding a piece of chalk and a glass tube filled with ethanol. "We're not here for boxing training," I said, thinking of Rocky. "Just calibrate the world's first Hot or Not Stick with live poultry data."
Mnex chimed in, dry as ever. "Yes. Truly a defining moment in scientific history. Let's hope she doesn't explode."
I crouched and carefully slid the bottom of the thermometer under the chicken, right beneath her fluffy, skeptical dignity.
"She looks offended, young lord. Please be quick," Gareth said.
"She's about to be immortalized in scientific legend," I replied. "Hold her steady."
Gareth did his best to keep the hen still without losing a finger. The glass tube remained in place, pressed gently into warm feathers. A minute passed. Then two.
"Mnex?"
"Thirty-seven point five degrees Celsius. Right on target. Mark it."
I used the chalk to draw a neat white line on the side of the tube. Then I added a tiny chicken silhouette.
"There," I said, stepping back. "Behold. The Sacred Chicken Line."
Isolde stared at the tube, then at me. "…You're naming your measurements now, young lord?"
"It's branding."
By the time we cleaned up and set the chicken free who promptly pecked Gareth on the shin and strutted off like a disgruntled celebrity, the sun was already dipping behind the hills.
I felt it all at once. The weight of the day, the tinkering, the mental overclocking. Even the chicken had more energy left than I did.
I think Mnex's night shifts are taking a toll on me.
Perhaps thinking that going to bed early today would help Mnex finish his plans quickly, I told the others I would sleep and stated that we could continue with the humidity meter tomorrow.
Although my mind was asleep, Mnex checking on me and working all night was the most evident factor for me to understand how exhausting this job really was.
Ah, if only it were like in animes. An OP character, conquering the world with an army of dragons just because I wished for it.
If only these schematics were suddenly ready just because I wanted them to be.
Hundreds of talented assistants at my command…
Well, those aren't things that will happen in reality anyway.
It's better if we continue with our thermometer, hypocaust, and sewer project.
"Mnex?"
"Yes?"
"You got this?"
"Always."
I handed over control. The world faded.
The next morning, when I opened my eyes, a scroll was already lying on my desk. Rolled tight. Smelling faintly of ink, sweat, and something metallic.
I hadn't drawn it. But I knew who had. Technically, it was me. But it wasn't me. It was Mnex.
While I was truly wondering how he managed to work like this all night, the door suddenly opened.
Nobody knocked on the door.
"Good morning, Henry."
I froze.
She walked in, her steps soft but deliberate. Her eyes scanned the desk, blueprints, scrolls, a half eaten pear, ink stains.
"Good morning, Mother?" was all I could manage in the face of this unexpected development.
"You've been quite busy," she said finally.
I nodded, cautious.
"Ignoring your mother for three days. On the first day, I said nothing because of Robin. On the second day, I heard from your father that you were developing a plan to help him. I should've objected right then, this is too much for a three year old child.
I suppose Robin must've influenced that decision. But you should know that Robin…" she paused, choosing her words carefully, "his family works the land. He'll learn all he needs by staying close to the soil.
You, on the other hand, must study things no one else needs to know."
"Hmm… I don't understand, Mother. Like what?"
"Heraldry. Since you're already working like this, it's time."
Then she spun dramatically and said, "Also…"
She paused, looked over her shoulder.
"This will be your punishment for not visiting your mother for three days. Hmph."
And she left the room.
I was still staring at the spot where she had stood when Gareth walked in.
"Young lord, by Lady Adelaide's order, you will begin your training after breakfast today. For your new project that we discussed yesterday, another day…"
"No," I cut in. "We'll continue after the lesson. Please complete all preparations."
After breakfast, the scholar arrived, wearing far too much fabric for someone teaching basic heraldry.
"Lord Henry," he said with a slight bow. "It is an honor to begin your instruction."
I glanced at Mother, who gave me a look that screamed hmph.
"For today," the scholar continued, pulling out a thick parchment, "we shall begin with an overview of the noble houses of the western bloc. Five in total. All bearing crests drawn from birds of the sky."
He unrolled the scroll on the table with the pomp of someone revealing a royal treaty.
"These symbols are not merely decorative," he intoned. "They reflect centuries of culture, intent, and ideology."
I nodded like I cared.
"Mnex?"
"Scanning… Uploading the initial data. File format outdated. Decoding parchment protocols... done. Upload completed."
The scholar began droning. "The House of Vance bears the double-headed eagle…"
"I understand," I interrupted. "The crowned mountain and open wings. To show their ties to central authority."
"The Godfrey crest shows…"
"Three falcons over a mountain. Ring, sword, scroll. Unity, defense, knowledge."
"...the swan of House Sterling…"
"Diplomatic. Quiet. Loyal."
"The peacock of House Beaumont…"
"Grandeur and splendor."
"And finally, the owl of House Thorne…"
Mnex chimed in. "Looks sleepy. Isn't. Moves at night. Dangerous and paranoid."
"House Thorne's owl has hawk-like features," I added. "A deliberate design to seek power while hiding under the symbol of wisdom. Power over wisdom."
The scholar blinked. "That is… a very advanced observation for a beginner."
I shrugged. "It's in the scroll."
Then we moved on to the nobles of other regions.
According to the scholar, it took noble children three to five months to memorize all the crests and meanings of the kingdom's houses.
I finished in a single day.
The scholar was in shock, babbling to my mother, "This child is a genius, I'm telling you, My Lady!"
Mother, meanwhile, was rubbing her temples realizing the punishment she'd imposed had backfired spectacularly.
I'm sorry, Mother.
You can be sure I'll visit you at least once a day from now on.
For someone who's lived alone for 28 plus another 1000 years, learning what it actually meant to have a family…
That was worth more than all the heraldry lessons in the world.
The sun had climbed to its peak, baking the dirt outside into something between bread crust and evaporation. We met again in my room, me, Isolde, Gareth, and the hen.
Gareth was holding both thermometers like he was about to conduct a symphony. With poultry.
I joined him, holding a strip of cloth soaked in water.
"What are we doing now, young lord?" Gareth asked.
"New version," I said. "Now with added moisture."
Mnex chimed in. "It's called a wet bulb hygrometer. You take two readings one dry, one wet and the difference gives you humidity."
"…We're measuring air water," Gareth concluded proudly.
"Never say that again."
We tied the wet cloth around one thermometer and placed both sticks side by side.
A few minutes later:
Dry bulb: 37.
Wet bulb: 34.
Mnex: "Moderate humidity. Within range."
I looked at the hen, the thermometers, the notes.
Two days ago, I didn't even have a stick.
Now I had temperature. I had humidity.
I had a system.
And if I could measure the world…
Maybe I could change it.