Cain has many gifts, each better than the last.. that isn't to say that their personality is too.
the drinksmiths gift is just.. him, his original self atleast. chronically tired, overworked yet very smart.
but they get progressively worse really, he has yet to summon everyone but the collectors gift for example seems to be a she.
coming from a cultivation world, she is obsessed with jewelry, money and anything of value.
she owned an auction house in her world selling rare pills, furniture and cultivation techniques. she is the smartest in terms of business out of all our lives but also the greediest, which was exactly why she now helps him with the academy management for as long as Echidna isn't in training.
'that isn't to say that they'll be here for much longer.'
you see, he needs three things.
personal strength, connections and wealth.
personal strength and connections, albeit less on the latter is something his main body will be responsible, as such he will be fully utilizing the academy to grow as powerful as he could, along side making allies of the nobles from the noble class.
Echidna on the other hand will be sent out of the academy, using Delilah's help to establish himself in the underworld, learning about the collectors past he had come up with an idea.
you see, there are many ways to exert influence in the underworld, and each will be taken care of by a separate gift as a different identity, appearing unrelated on the outside.
Echidna will be offering services akin to the Sicilian(Italian) mafia, such as extortion(protection services for a fee) infiltration and financial crimes.
The playboys gift, who's name he had found out to be James. will be in charge of drugs, brothels and so on.
the collectors gift, which he had learned to be -i don't know Chinese names- who will be in charge of her old business, auctions. selling of rare items and or creatures
-also for those this bothers first of all just read another book, second of all its the underworld idk what kind of business u expected and lastly the mc isn't a good person, don't expect him to be. this will be explained through the story later on-
point is, Cain will be taking care of the underworld for many reasons, like obviously wealth, connections and most importantly subordinates, a lot of the reincarnates already have ties to big families so a force to fight them is a necessity, he is planning on expanding upon this when he reaches the Maren empire long in the future.
before he could continue these thoughts however the saintess arrives, bringing him a warm cup of hot cocoa, it is winter after all.
since he had spoken to her their relationship has deepened far more, mostly due to her kind nature, wanting to help him since what he's doing means a lot to her which gave him an excuse to interact far more with her.
during this time he has deliberately only shown himself as this very kind person, willing to help with anything he can. building a good image around her, almost like a saint.
the reason for this is in order for him to get her to betray the other reincarnators, including the hero he will need her unconditional trust, so he's basically just going to try to build a relationship as genuinely and as slowly as possible.
along with his relationship with the saintess his one with Olivia has also grown substantially, since to her their lovers now, they better get to know each other much better.
thus she has consistently brought him on dates twice a week, and often hangs out around him. that isn't to say she's forcing herself, she genuinely seems to be enjoying being with him, albeit she does seem to get awkward a lot whenever they lean even slightly to close.
another advancement they had made was going public as a couple.. which quickly brought outrage throughout not only the academy, but the whole world, Olivia an elven princess entering a relationship is a huge deal, much less with a human especially upon learning he's a commoner.
as far as he can tell Olivia's mother seems quite supportive of her daughter, and her father vehemently against it, though he hadn't really spoken to them for him to know.
going back to reality, he thanks Ariana for the hot cocoa, explaining his progress
"iv managed to make a replica of the robot that's fully functioning so far.. but in order to make legs for your sister i will need to meet her personally and examine her legs, since i need the correct shape and size of them, along with where they actually stop working.. so i know where i actually need to connect the legs too."
looking at Ariana, he can tell she's overwhelmed with happiness and sadness, since this means Cain can make her new legs, but it will take a long time since they don't know when they are actually allowed out of the academy.
"once again i would like to sincerely thank you very much Cain.. you really don't know how much this means to me.."
"its nothing.. i actually kind of needed to do something similar to this for another project.."
after she inquires about it however he reluctantly refuses to explain further, since its his trump card against the elite class.
soon enough though he finds Delilah, drowning in a mountain of books in the library
"researching gravity isn't easy huh.."
"nope.. but its our main card against sylvia.. and il be the one who needs to use it.."
noticing her stressing over it, he checks if anybody is nearby before he sits her down on the ground next to him allowing her to rest her head upon his thighs
"hey!-"
"quiet. unless you want people to see us."
"hmph.. fine.."
pouting while secretly grinning she nestles further into him, noticing all her stress and anxiety flying away
'its amazing what a relationship can do to a woman..'
Delilah had always been self dependent, the type of person who would hide her pain as if its a weakness, used to simply sucking it up. but now that she does have someone she can trust, even depend on. that habit quickly changed
humans are adaptable creatures, we don't like the prospect of change but once we get used to it we don't want to let go, this is the same. almost like coffee, that miraculous drink he had shown her, now she couldn't imagine herself without coffee, or him for that matter.
the second she had let her guard down she had realized there was nowhere for her to go, she had already surrendered to this dream.. and she cant seam to wake up from it.
'so this is what its like to be murphy huh..'
despite all these thoughts she realizes just as much as she's entrapped by him, he's just as entrapped with her, his relationship with Olivia is built on lies, his one with Ariana is on manipulation, theirs is on mutual trust and gain, they know the other has their own secrets but the simple fact that they know the other has one is a form of trust.
take for example someone telling you they have a secret that they cant tell you between someone who lies that they don't have a secret you don't know about, despite not telling the other the secret you still gave them your trust through this simple action.
she's aware of Mania and Ariel but she isn't scared of either really, Mania is almost self imposed. she's practically forcing herself on Cain like a one sided love which it is.
and while ariel is someone he can trust he will always love her more.
take this situation for example, after a car accident you lost your memory, months later you fall in love with a girl, you begin to go out and you genuinely love her until this other girl shows up saying she was your girlfriend before you lost your memory.
sure the past you loved her but the you right now has found a new love, no matter how hard either side tries he can never become the him from before and she can never view him as her true boyfriend.
-if you still find this hard to understand than refer to the son of hades novel(peak btw) and the relationship with moraine and neo-
thus basking in this truth, she lets herself drift to sleep, forcing Cain to maintain an illusion for the next 9 hours, unable to move and consuming his mana. luckily its already night time thus not many came, allowing him to not need to keep it up at all times.
later on on his way to his dorm, he spots a certain student walking towards him. the only other reincarnator to get something from the treasury at the exam, Sophia. who swiftly pushes him up against a wall her voice brimming with rage
"why did you mess it up! why!"
"what in the shit are you talking about..?"
"the story dumbass! do you even know how much you changed you fucking idiot?!"
suddenly, the dots clicked, when coming to this world he had entertained the idea this had been some book he read, maybe a show he watched or a game he played but he could never remember which, turns out it was because he never read it.. it was Sophia who did.
-CHAPTER END-
its been a bit huh? i do wanna apologize for not writing for like 3 weeks lol, but iv had way to many tests recently and when i get home i wanna just rest, i do like writing but it can sometimes feel like writing an essay or something when im exhausted so sorry! i will obviously be trying to be more consistent but no promises(sorry)
peace!