Today, Lux had something more important on her mind, so she only chatted briefly with Navis before standing to leave.
Luke, on the other hand, stayed behind. He wasn't in any hurry.
"Where's Fiora?" he asked.
"She's probably in the training room," Navis replied without even looking up, clearly too busy to spare attention.
Luke got the feeling that lingering here was starting to get in her way, so he stood and left the office.
Then he headed for the so-called training room.
Calling it a "training room" was generous—really, it was just a space they'd cleared out specifically for Fiora.
She seemed to have plenty of academic credits at the Royal Academy, because these past few days she'd basically been stationed here, keeping an eye on things.
As Luke got close, he heard the crisp, ringing clash of steel from inside.
He pushed the door open, and there she was—Fiora in simple training clothes, blade in hand, striking again and again at the practice dummy in front of her.
Her swordwork was elegant. With every movement, the loose training outfit still traced the shape of her graceful figure.
The dummy she was sparring with had been modified by Navis.
Its mobility had been removed, its defenses reinforced heavily, and when it stood in place it behaved like a weighted punching toy—no matter how hard it was hit, it wouldn't topple over.
For the duelist, it was the perfect training partner.
A target that would never fall, with absurdly high durability.
So Fiora's focus shifted—away from Luke, the lazy prince who never wanted to spar, and onto the dummy.
Fiora genuinely didn't know what to do with Luke anymore.
She remembered how, at the beginning, she sought him out to push him to practice swordsmanship.
And yet after all these days, forget practicing—he hadn't even wrapped his hand around a hilt once.
If anything, spending too long around him was contagious. She'd started wanting to slack off too.
In truth, she'd already been slacking lately. Ever since meeting Luke, her former high-intensity regimen had turned into "maybe I'll do a session every few days."
Hearing movement behind her, Fiora stopped, exhaled, then grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and dabbed the sweat from her forehead.
Luke greeted her, "You're looking pretty refreshed today, Miss Duellist."
Fiora smiled at him. "Probably because I've been imagining the dummy is you."
Luke: "…"
He glanced at the dummy covered in sword marks.
Was this conversation even survivable?
Not wanting to ruin the duelist's training mood, Luke wisely retreated.
Watching everyone busy themselves, he realized something.
It seemed like everyone had something to do now.
Even Kahina.
He hadn't seen her since last time, but it wasn't because she was avoiding him.
She really was just busy.
She had to keep up with her coursework, then after school rush to volunteer at the Illuminator Church, and now she also had the printing project on top of that—of course she had no time to spare.
Seeing them all living such full, hectic lives, Luke couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Having nothing to do is amazing.
Humming a cheerful little tune, Luke strolled out, climbed into the carriage, and with a good mood said to Yurna Doer, "To the prison."
The carriage rolled swiftly toward the capital's prison.
This time, after Luke stepped down, the guards at the entrance didn't even ask his purpose—they just let him through.
And Luke went straight for the mages' dungeon on the right.
The path was smooth as butter. Inside, he ran into the same dungeon commander as last time—Dierde.
"Your Highness, you're here again?" Dierde approached.
Luke glanced at him. "Am I not welcome?"
Dierde immediately put on a flattering smile. "Not at all. Your presence makes this gloomy place shine."
Luke patted his shoulder in satisfaction. "You've got a way with words."
Then he continued forward.
"You flatter me, Your Highness," Dierde said quickly, following behind and taking a torch off the wall.
Seeing Luke head straight for the far end of the second level, Dierde already knew—His Highness had come to see Sylas again.
"Open the door," Dierde ordered.
Once the door opened, Luke stepped inside.
With Dierde following, the torchlight gradually pushed back the darkness.
Soon, Luke spotted Sylas sitting deep inside, slumped against the wall, looking like he didn't have any strength left. His bare upper body was swallowed by shadow beyond the torch's reach.
His expression was unreadable.
"Yo, Sylas," Luke greeted with a smile. "Eat yet?"
Sylas weakly lifted his gaze, swept Luke once, then lowered it again, not even bothering to speak.
At Luke's side, Dierde reported, "Your Highness, per your instructions before you left last time, for the past three days we've given him nothing but water."
"I know," Luke shot him a look. "Why else would I ask?"
Dierde froze, then stepped aside and bowed his head. "Understood. I overstepped."
So His Highness was asking just to mess with Sylas's head.
Sylas remained seated where the light couldn't fully reach. He didn't move. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved he was still alive.
Luke looked at him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"How does it feel," Luke asked softly, "being hungry for three days?"
This time, Sylas let out a dry, hoarse sound—half laugh, half scoff.
"Not like I've never gone hungry before," he rasped. "It's… tolerable."
His voice was weak, but the disdain in it was unmistakable.
"Sylas," Luke continued, almost conversational, "do you know how many days a person can go without food? Or, better question—how many more days do you think you can last?"
Sylas didn't answer.
So Luke answered for him.
"In most cases, if you have water, the average person can only hold out about a week without food. The first three days are the worst. After that, you start getting used to the feeling of hunger. So tell me—are you used to it now?"
Sylas still didn't respond, but Luke wasn't wrong. By now, the sensation of hunger had dulled into numbness.
Luke gave Dierde a look.
Dierde stepped forward and extended the torch into the cell.
This time the firelight landed on Sylas's face—gaunt, exhausted, and even those dark eyes looked like they'd lost their shine.
Luke smiled. "The way you look right now, I'd say you've got, at most, two more days before you can't take it anymore."
Sylas stayed silent.
"You seem like you want to be freed from this life," Luke went on, still calm, still casual. "You've already endured the hardest three days. If you can just hold on two more, you'll be free."
What "free" meant didn't need explaining.
At that, Sylas finally raised his head, staring straight at the young man standing at the cell entrance.
And then he watched Luke turn around and walk away.
"Starting today, restore his normal meals," Luke ordered as he left.
"Yes, Your Highness," Dierde replied.
Dierde followed Luke out, closed the heavy door behind them, and the inside fell back into darkness.
He didn't understand His Highness's intent.
But one thing was obvious: this prince seemed to enjoy tormenting prisoners—especially by wrecking their mental state.
He left those two lines behind, then restored Sylas's food.
So what would Sylas choose?
Before Luke left the dungeon, he ran into someone.
The man was walking toward them—taller even than Dierde, broad-shouldered, back straight.
He wore the uniform of the Mageseekers. On his chest was a silver-gray badge shaped like a spiraling shell—an unmistakable symbol, a petricite graymark.
It was said to be specially made from petricite. Even though it was only the size of a badge, it carried the ability to ward off magic.
The man's face was covered by a golden half-mask that concealed a quarter of his features.
Within the Mageseekers—whether hunters, alchemists, informants, or other roles—rank was distinguished by mask color.
Basic masks. Iron masks. Bronze masks. Above those, silver masks… and then there was only one gold mask.
So there was no need to guess the man's identity.
He stopped before Luke and offered a standard greeting.
"Eldred pays his respects, Your Highness."
This man was none other than the current leader of the Mageseekers—Lord Eldred.
Luke said, "At ease."
Eldred straightened and asked, "Your Highness came to the dungeon—was there something you needed?"
Luke answered casually, "Nothing. Just looking around."
"Are you leaving?" Eldred asked.
"Yeah."
"Would you like an escort?" Eldred offered.
"No need. Handle your business."
With a wave, Luke signaled that neither of them needed to follow. He walked on alone.
Eldred and Dierde both halted, watching Luke's back recede.
Eldred quietly watched for a moment, then turned and headed into the dungeon.
After leaving the prison, Luke sat in the carriage and thought about what he knew of the Mageseekers.
"Mageseekers" was the official corps name, and inside it were many specialized positions—hunters, anti-magic alchemists, intelligence agents, and more. The division of labor was clear.
But to the public, they were all lumped together under one name: the Mageseekers, whose main duty was hunting down mages.
And the word "Mageseeker" was enough to make Demacian civilians afraid.
Because wherever they went, nothing good followed.
Like a flock of crows—an omen of bad luck.
The Mageseekers only appeared as a corps shortly before King Jarvan III took the throne. They were secretive, low-profile, and answered only to the crown—like the kingdom's own FBI-style secret police, operating with extraordinary authority.
And much like that, they also carried the power to act first and justify later, backed by royal permission.
That was exactly why their reputation among common folk was… unpleasant.
But for now, the Mageseekers didn't have much to do with Luke.
Shaking the thoughts loose, Luke focused on the scenery outside.
Meanwhile, at the Crownguard estate—
"I heard you've been tinkering with something with those people," Tianna said, called into Lux's bedroom by her niece's excitement. She stared at the horn-shaped device in front of her, baffled. "Is this it?"
She hadn't had time to pay attention to what that boy was doing these past few days. Today she finally had a spare moment, only to find Lux fussing over this strange contraption.
Its function looked obvious enough: behind the horn was a copper tube, and the tube seemed to run all the way to Luke's home.
And the distance was at least half a mile.
Yet Lux insisted that even from that far, the two ends could transmit voices to each other.
Even for Tianna, that was hard to believe.
She knew that with something like this, sound could carry over short distances.
People had tried it before—but as soon as the distance got any longer, it failed, and they gave up.
But this tube was running well over half a mile.
"Okay, it's not the main thing we're building, but this is still really impressive," Lux said, trying her best to describe it. "The sound goes whoosh, straight to the other side."
Tianna smiled. "Do you know how far Luke's room is from here?"
"I know it's far," Lux nodded. "But Navis said if nothing goes wrong, it should work."
Navis?
Tianna faintly remembered—some little girl from House Menck who rarely left home.
She wondered if the girl had inherited any of Durand's talent.
But no matter what, Tianna didn't believe it.
If that girl truly could make something that carried voices over half a mile, she would've been famous long ago.
Thinking it over, Tianna asked, "Whose idea was this?"
Lux answered, "The prince's idea, and Navis executed it."
Hearing it was the boy's wild imagination, Tianna found it a little less surprising.
"Then demonstrate it," she said.
Lux took a deep breath, leaned close to the horn, and shouted, "Hello! Anyone there?!"
The sound clearly traveled into the tube.
But the two of them sat in the room and waited.
And waited.
No response came.
Lux said awkwardly, "Maybe His Highness isn't home yet."
"Or maybe it never reached him," Tianna said with a light smile. She clearly didn't take it seriously—she treated it like childish nonsense—and stood to leave.
Lux stared at the silent horn and sighed, dejected.
At dusk—
Luke returned home, and the moment he stepped into his bedroom, he heard a strange sound.
It seemed to be coming from the speaking tube.
He leaned closer and found that from the line connected to the Crownguard estate, a steady thud-thud-thud kept coming through.
Like someone on the other end was tapping something nonstop.
"What are you doing?" Luke asked into the horn, confused.
A few seconds later, Lux's delighted voice burst out of the horn.
"There's a voice! It's His Highness's voice! Auntie, Auntie, come look!"
Hearing her voice fade away, Luke became even more confused.
After a short wait, Tianna's voice came through.
"You said that boy spoke to you? Then where is he right now?"
Luke thought for a moment, then said into the horn, "I'm here."
A few seconds later, Tianna's shocked voice snapped back.
"Where?!"
Luke went silent for a beat. "At home."
High Marshal… did your IQ just catch whatever Lux has?
What kind of question is that?
It was also the first time Luke had ever heard Tianna react this strongly.
"I told you it would work!" Lux's voice chimed in triumph.
At that very moment, in the Crownguard estate—
Shock was written all over Tianna's eyes. The instant a voice truly came out of that horn-like mouthpiece, her composure cracked.
Her battle-hardened calm had just met a brand-new trial.
Because the voice on the other end…
Was coming from over half a mile away.
What did that even mean?
It meant something no one had ever achieved before.
She stared at the speaking tube line several times before turning to Lux.
"Something this important—why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Lux gave her a deadpan look. "If I told you sooner, would you have believed me?"
Auntie, did you forget the expression you just had five minutes ago?
And now you're blaming me?
Seeing Lux's innocent face, Tianna realized she'd lost her cool.
After forcing herself to steady her breathing, she stood and hurried out.
Three minutes later—
Luke nearly jumped out of his skin when Tianna appeared, vaulting directly through his window.
Tianna barely glanced at him. She ignored him completely, went straight to the speaking tube, and said into it, "Lux. Talk to me."
The room fell quiet.
A few seconds later, Lux's voice came through.
"Hello? Auntie? Can you hear me?"
At that, Tianna finally believed it.
She turned to Luke, who looked openly displeased, and her thoughts surged like waves she couldn't stop.
She hadn't expected the boy to create something this powerful right under her nose.
And half a mile wasn't something to scoff at.
If used properly, that distance alone could change how countless things worked.
And it didn't even seem like half a mile was the true limit.
Once her breathing was steadier, Tianna asked, "What's the maximum range?"
Seeing how serious she was, Luke answered, "We haven't tested it yet, but in theory, distance is no longer the thing limiting how far sound can travel."
That answer disturbed Tianna's calm all over again. Her eyes flickered as she started thinking hard.
Distance is no longer the thing limiting sound.
The implications of that were enormous.
If it could break beyond half a mile, the speaking tube wouldn't just be "a way to talk."
And most importantly, Tianna noticed the speed wasn't slow either.
She couldn't help asking, "You and that little girl from House Menck made this?"
Luke immediately replied with a solemn face, "Strictly speaking, I only provided the concept. Navis is the one who actually built it."
He wasn't trying to be modest.
That really was the truth.
He'd only offered the idea—clearing up the question in Navis's mind and helping her understand what "sound" actually was.
After that, Navis somehow taught herself everything else.
It was like she'd been awakened.
Not only did she use runic creatures to remove the distance constraint, she also engineered stabilizers that made the transmission steadier, more continuous, and faster.
That was the truly important part—the device and the shell plating worked together.
But to Tianna, Luke's answer sounded like deliberate deflection. She even suspected that the little girl from House Menck was a convenient shield Luke had placed in front of himself—
Someone to take the attention and the trouble, so he could keep slacking off in peace.
Very clever.
But it didn't matter.
A tail like his couldn't stay hidden forever.
Having decided that, Tianna said, "Take me to meet the girl."
Luke glanced at the darkening sky outside and replied, weakly, "It's late. I don't really feel like moving."
The next second, he realized he was airborne.
Yes—Tianna grabbed him one-handed and, in two moves, had him dumped into the carriage.
"You just need to use your mouth," she said flatly.
Luke: "…"
Two hours later—
Tianna dragged Luke to see Navis first. The poor girl was so terrified by the High Marshal's sudden arrival that she stammered so badly she could barely form a sentence.
Fortunately, Luke calmed her down.
And Navis's performance afterward earned Tianna's approval.
Then Tianna took Luke to the royal palace.
Father and son hadn't seen each other in a long time, and the moment they met, they acted as if they'd crossed oceans and battlefields to reunite—exchanging concerned questions, warmth, and over-the-top affection.
Tianna, standing nearby, was utterly speechless.
Like she'd personally committed some unforgivable crime and plotted to keep them apart.
Once Luke was no longer needed, Tianna had someone send him home.
By the time he returned, the sky was fully dark.
The moment he entered the living room, he saw Fiora and Lux already there.
Fiora sat on the sofa reading. Lux sat happily eating ice cream.
When Luke walked in, both women looked up briefly, then dropped their gaze again and continued what they were doing like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Luke blinked, scratched his head.
…This is my house, right?
"Why are you standing there like an idiot?" Lux asked, glancing at him oddly.
Luke walked into the living room. He meant to say something, but the thought vanished from his head.
So he stopped trying.
His stomach was growling anyway, so he headed into the kitchen to start making dinner.
When dinner was finally ready, Luke realized that Fiora and Lux—who'd been in the living room—were now seated at the dining table.
They'd even set out the utensils themselves.
Seeing that, Luke finally remembered what he'd wanted to say earlier.
How are you two doing this so naturally?!
"Do either of you feel like you've been coming to my house for meals a little… frequently lately?" Luke asked, his expression complicated.
"How is it frequent?" Lux said righteously. "It's every day."
Luke: "…"
…She wasn't wrong.
Luke's home was basically in the middle. With that short distance, either of them could show up whenever they felt like it.
The first time mooching a meal might've felt awkward.
Later, it became routine.
Lux's logic was: if you do it long enough, it's not mooching anymore.
After a dinner that left all three of them stuffed, each wore an expression of pure satisfaction.
Lux, barely finished eating, was already eyeing Luke's new inventions again.
Remembering what she'd seen in the basement earlier, she asked, "I saw a bunch of wooden barrels down there. What's inside?"
Luke answered casually, "Beer."
Lux sat up straight, surprised. "You can brew alcohol?"
Luke gave a humble smile. "I know a little."
By "a little," he meant he could brew a little of everything. It counted as cooking.
Demacia already had alcohol—rum was the most popular, then wines and fruit wines, and finally ale.
Beer was essentially an upgraded form of ale.
And what Luke was making…
Was basically an upgraded version of beer.
Fiora glanced over and asked, "How many more days?"
She didn't like drinking, but she couldn't deny she was curious about something Luke brewed himself.
Luke thought a moment. "About four more days."
He was using a quick-brew method—normally it only took a week, meant for faster drinking.
If he used other methods and let it settle longer, it would taste even better.
Lux's eyes brightened. "Is it good?"
Luke shot her a look and laughed with disdain. "Are you even old enough to drink? And you're asking that?"
Lux immediately glared. "So what if I'm not! I can't ask? You're only a few months older than me—what are you so smug about?!"
Luke chuckled. "Sorry. Even one day older, even one second older, is still older."
He looked at her even more condescendingly.
Lux hadn't had her coming-of-age ceremony yet.
Only after that would she be considered old enough to drink.
It made Lux miserable. Seeing alcohol she couldn't touch, she still refused to give up and asked, "Then do you have anything else that tastes good?"
Luke paused, then a spark hit him.
…He actually did.
After his cooking skill hit LV7, he'd unlocked far too many things—food and drinks alike.
They were like strings of data etched into his mind; he could "flip through" them at will.
"What is it?" Lux's eyes practically glittered. The second she saw his expression, she knew he'd thought of something, and she stared at him expectantly.
Luke smiled. "Can't make it tonight. Tomorrow."
Lux didn't even have to ask—Luke was already craving it now that he'd remembered.
It was a drink perfect for summer—honestly, a summer necessity.
If Luke could return to his old world, just that one formula alone would make him rich.
Even Fiora looked mildly interested.
So, with anticipation for tomorrow, the two women finally went home.
That night, after Luke finished writing his essay, he lay down on his bed.
Not long after, the speaking tube carried Lux's voice.
"Hello? Your Highness?"
"Are you there?"
"Good evening?"
"Can you hear me?"
"I know you're listening—answer me!"
"Really not there?"
"Are you sneaking snacks again?"
Luke lay there, listening to the nonstop chatter, and finally answered with a tired sigh. "What is it?"
A few seconds later, Lux's voice came back, delighted. "Why did you only reply now? Where were you earlier?"
"I wasn't here earlier."
"Oh. Then are you here now?"
"If I'm not dead, then yeah—probably."
"Oh! You're still there?"
"I'm here. Now—say what you want."
Luke could practically picture the bored blonde on the other end, talking endlessly into the mouthpiece.
Then Lux said, "Nothing. I just wanted to see if you were there."
Luke: "…"
"Don't you think it's amazing?" Lux continued. "We're so far apart, but we can still talk."
"Yeah. Amazing."
"Right? So do you think there's something that could let us talk even if we were, like, ridiculously far apart? Like across the whole world?"
"I think there is."
"Then do you think there's something that could let us see each other from really, really far away?"
"Probably."
"Then do you think there's something that could let us see each other and talk at the same time from far away?"
Luke rubbed his forehead. "If you're out of topics, go to sleep. It's late."
"Oh… okay. Good night. Sweet dreams."
"Good night."
The speaking tube finally went quiet. Luke exhaled in relief.
He closed his eyes, about to sleep—
Then the speaking tube spoke again.
"Are you asleep?"
"If you don't want me to sleep, just say it."
"No, no! This time it's really good night. See you tomorrow."
"…"
Luke didn't answer. He just covered the mouthpiece.
Apparently Lux had installed her speaking tube beside her bed too. It really was perfect for lazy people—lying down and talking without moving.
The next morning—
Luke woke naturally, looked outside, and saw the sky was still early. He could probably sleep a little more.
He reached up, pulled down one speaking tube mouthpiece, and said into it, "Bring me water."
Then he let go, and the mouthpiece automatically retracted back into place. That line was connected to Yurna Doer's room.
Luke lay there spacing out.
Soon, Yurna Doer—already changed into her maid outfit—pushed the door open, placed a glass of water beside the bed, and slipped back out.
Luke took a couple sips and couldn't help thinking: this was the convenience of progress.
Normally, he'd have to drag himself downstairs.
Now? He could stay in bed, say one sentence, and the water arrived.
"Check-in," Luke murmured.
He didn't feel like going back to sleep, so he did his daily check-in.
[Congratulations, Host has obtained Rare Exotic Fruit: Crimson Ice Lotus]
[Congratulations, Host has obtained Standard Skill Upgrade Card]
Another skill upgrade card.
These past few days, the rewards had mostly been rare exotic fruits, and Luke's inventory was already stacking up with them.
After a moment's thought, he used the upgrade card on Gecko Wall-Run.
[Standard Skill Upgrade Card used successfully. Congratulations, Host's Gecko Wall-Run has been upgraded to LV5 (Mastery)]
A skill reaching level five was a qualitative leap.
This was a massive boost. Luke could feel his lower abdomen warming, and soon a surge of energy flowed outward, streaming into his arms.
His bones subtly adjusted, becoming better suited to climbing, better suited to agile movement.
And there were no side effects.
It felt like a full-body massage—pure comfort.
When the sensation faded, Luke wanted to go test it in the backyard, but some mysterious "formation" sealed him into the bed.
So he had no choice but to abandon the idea for now.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810