Breakfast?

I wearily turned toward where I guessed Leona was.

Thankfully, she hadn't burned the palace down during the party the night before. But keeping watch for hours, staying alert for any flicker of trouble, had left me raw and frayed.

I nearly had a heart attack when some noblewoman had snatched the last pear tart—just before Leona could reach for it.

Damn it. I need to get her back to the monks soon.

I rubbed my tired eyes.

"System, what time is it?" I mumbled, not bothering with Illusion Magic.

The sun had just passed above the horizon, casting my bedroom in a soft golden glow. Dust particles drifted lazily through the light.

[ Good morning Luca. It is 6:05 in the morning. ]

A knock came at the door, followed by Remlend's voice.

"Young master Luca, may I enter?"

A hiss sounded from the table. I turned—and locked eyes with Apophis.

~Master, you've awakened. That man has been knocking for some time now.

In the previous Round, I had Apophis locked up in his cage until Tavonneth Loc arrived. But given that a loop-defying promise tattoo already bound him and me, there was no need to keep him shackled up like an animal.

The same couldn't be said for the disfigured children.

We still didn't know how fractured their minds had become under The Alchemists' experimentation. They remained in their original cages, hidden away in an unused, clean cellar room. It was far from ideal, but it was temporary. I intended to settle them with the monks, alongside Leona, as soon as possible.

"Yes, go ahead and enter," I replied, tossing the soft blanket aside.

Remlend stepped into the room, wheeling a small cart. A porcelain washbasin steamed faintly beside a pot of tea.

"Good morning," he said with a nod. "You were up quite late last night, so I had a strong tea prepared for you. It's one of your brother's original blends. He hasn't named it yet."

"Thank you, Remlend," I murmured, accepting the cup.

I sipped my tea.

The tea was rich and dark, with a subtle floral aftertaste. Of course it was one of Jarvis's blends.

"It'll sell well," I remarked.

My younger brother was behind most of the tea blends the Frey Merchant Guild sold.

"Young master Micah has requested your presence in his office once you awoke," Remlend added. "Someone from the palace is with him."

Ah. She's arrived. Tavonneth Loc.

"Very well, I'll be going down shortly," I said. "No need to help me dress—I can manage."

Aside from the updated notebooks I wanted Tavonneth to copy over, I had one very particular request in mind. It was unconventional and would involve some discomfort, but it was the best solution I'd found for initiating the next Round at a moment's notice.

I didn't want to be at the mercy of those around me to send me to the next loop again. Nor did I care to owe any more favors to dangerous syndicate leaders.

As Remlend turned to leave, I called out, "Ah! And please have a cart of food delivered to Micah's study."

"Very well," Remlend replied and bowed.

The food wasn't for me.

It was for Leona.

Even though I could push through until the regular breakfast hour, I wasn't about to risk her feeling even momentarily hungry. In her current mental state, that wasn't just an inconvenience—it was a matter of national security.

***

"Young man, are you certain you want such a promise tattoo?" Tavonneth inquired.

The table between us was cluttered—half covered in completed journals, half in a tangle of empty mana potion vials that shimmered faintly in the morning light. The copying process had gone much faster this time, thanks to my practice with illusion projection and my ability to flip pages quickly enough to keep pace with her Echomancer Magic. I was finally keeping up with this old mage.

"Also, your conditions are quite… unusual," she added, tapping a wrinkled finger against the table. "And the theatrics when it activates are quite unnecessary, no?"

"No, no. The theatrics are extremely necessary," I said.

~Indeed. The visuals are everything.

Apophis hissed into both our minds, his voice laced with smug satisfaction.

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Tavonneth raised a brow—evidently unimpressed with the snake's aesthetic priorities.

"It's no real matter to me," she said at last, stretching out her fingers. Then, under her breath, she muttered, "Besides, it's hardly the weirdest promise tattoo I've ever done."

***

With three journals in hand and a dull ache pulsing over my ribs where the new promise tattoo still throbbed—I stepped into the dining room. Only Elda, Jarvis, and Fin were seated at the table, however.

The air was warm, filled with the scent of cinnamon-laced bread, roasted mushrooms, and butter.

The twins were speaking over one another, ecstatic to have a mage their age who they could pull in to help with their wild ideas. Fin appeared shy but quite happy, with all their loud and excited bantering over who would claim him first for their project.

Knowing him, he would be in his element around the twins in a week.

"Good morning," I said to the children, giving Fin a slightly longer smile.

"Fin, how are you settling in?" I asked, sitting down and immediately beginning to fill my plate with copious amounts of food, which I expected to vanish into thin air shortly.

Elda and Jarvis stopped talking and eagerly looked at Fin on how he'd answer.

Human, please get me more of that bean soup, the spinach-stuffed pastries, and those bright carrots. They smell delicious.

Leona's voice instructed me on her preferences, and I complied without question.

"Ah, Ridley said to meet him in the training grounds after breakfast," he replied. "I suppose I'll be there."

"Tsk."

"Hahhh."

Elda and Jarvis sighed in perfect sync—their disappointment over Fin's first claim obvious.

I nodded.

"I have something for you," I told Fin.

I slid a small leather notebook toward Fin. "You'll want Ridley's guidance, but this should help accelerate your spellwork."

"What is it?" Fin opened it slowly. His brows furrowed, then rose. His eyes flicked over the pages like they were made of gold leaf. He looked up at me, stunned.

I smiled in satisfaction and placed a finger over my mouth.

"Jarvis. Elda." I handed them each a journal. "These are for you."

The twins opened the journals at the same time. Their reaction time was faster than that of Fin.

"How'd you—this… I never shared…" Jarvis stumbled over his words, flustered.

Elda had an equally perplexed expression.

It was understandable. The notebook covered the inventions and breakthroughs they would make…. On research that they'd kept under lock and key.

"You can talk to Micah if you have any questions," I said, passing the responsibility on to my wise brother, as I had done in the loop prior. I intended to reveal the truth to the twins, but here and now was not the time.

I pulled the Ring of Boundless Bloom from my pocket and placed it between us.

"This is also for you, Jarvis."

"What is it?" Jarvis examined the ring closely. Both Fin and Elda leaned in, looking on curiously.

[[ System, bring up the item description and warnings for the Ring of Boundless Bloom. ]]

I couldn't very well remember it off the top of my head.

[ Of course. ]

The System replied with familiar blue screens.

[ Description: A ring that grants the wearer heightened attunement to living mana, allowing them to sense and identify potent sources of mana in their surroundings, such as ancient trees or sacred groves. When near these sources, the wearer can channel the abundant living mana to enhance their Vitality and Nature Affinity by up to 250 points. The ring can also be used to induce rapid growth in plants or force transformation upon creatures, bending them to the wearer's will. ]

[ Warning: Prolonged exposure may lead to unpredictable mutations or destabilization. Handle with caution. ]

Scanning the text, I summarized the description and warning for Jarvis.

"Amazing," Jarvis muttered as he put on the ring and glanced across the table spread of food. "I can feel where there is living mana, though, to be fair, it's quite faint. Thank you, Luca."

"What do you see or feel?" Elda inquired, curious.

"This, this, and this," Jarvis pointed to three dishes on the table. "Are particularly high in living mana compared to the rest of the dishes, it would seem."

I blinked.

The three dishes were the ones that Leona pointed out and requested more of.

Does she prefer mana-rich food? I suppose that makes sense. She is a magical creature, afterall.

"How high is the mana concentration?" Elda inquired. "I thought you told me that most crops are pitifully low in mana."

Jarvis nodded. "They are—even these dishes aren't that impressive in terms of mana as a living ancient oak tree is. But they are the best when compared to the rest of the food on the table."

Ah.

A thought occurred to me.

Did Leona eat as much as she did because it was the living mana that she was ingesting? If so, it explained why she seemed perpetually starved and eager for a meal. This realm had been sucked dry of living mana.

[ Intelligence: +1 ]

[ Intelligence: 112 ]

I scoffed when I saw the notification.

So that's what it was.

"That's why Father is considering importing food from the second continent," Jarvis explained to Elda. "Unlike this continent, that area has yet to be touched by the dead mana infection. The food is richer in mana and tastier, too. I've already imported a couple of plants for my experimentation."

Elda leaned in, green eyes gleaming at me. "So… do I get any additional presents?"

I smiled. "You do. And it's explosive."

She clapped, delighted.

I pulled out the mana gun from my light coat. The gleaming steel and copper weapon shimmered faintly under the dining room light. I turned it in my hands and demonstrated the grip, pointing the barrel toward the floor before passing it, butt-first, to my little sister.

Upon my request, Lisa provided me with a book on how mana guns functioned. The text also featured several other arcane devices that I knew my sister would salivate over. There were no blueprints, but the illustrations were sharp and detailed, each page dense with cross-sections and annotations.

She and Leo might be inspired enough to reverse-engineer their own versions. I should share the location of her shop with Elda so they can pour over the text themselves.

In Round 8, I had only had Fin tag along to Lisa's shop. But wouldn't everyone else benefit? My siblings, Fin and Leo, were each brilliant in their own right, but brilliance had limits when confined to the known. A place like Lisa's shop could expand their sense of what was possible—and in future Rounds, it would help me craft even richer notebooks for them.

[[ System, please add to my starting reminders: Introduce my siblings to Lisa's Books and Tea. ]]

[ Understood. Added. ]

"This design…" Elda's eyes twinkled with excitement as she turned the mana gun over in her hands. "I can't wait to see what it does. Is this an ancient artifact?"

"No, but it is a secret artifact," I said, watching her grip it with care. "If anyone asks, claim you created it."

She narrowed her emerald green eyes at me, expression cooling.

"I don't like taking credit for someone else's accomplishments," she said. "That's also quite dangerous in its own way. I'll avoid bringing it out unnecessarily."

"That's fine as well," I replied. "But I hope you'll create a variation you can claim with a clear conscience. I only have this one, and the mana bullets are limited. I hope that you can make a version that can be mass-produced."

Elda examined the weapon in silence, her fingers lightly tapping the edge of the grip—already evaluating how it was built.

"You won't have to do it on your own," I added. "There's a magical reverse engineer I'll introduce you to today. He's your age. He might even be able to help with your fireworks as well."

Elda's eyes widened. "He's our age?"

That perked up Jarvis as well. "Who is it?" he asked, curious.

The twins were peerless. Children their age didn't discuss ignition runes or famine-resistant crop engineering. They'd always had only each other. That's why even Fin's arrival had meant something.

I smiled. "Leo Jarbez. You'll meet him later today."

After breakfast, I'd meet him and Sarka Jarbez in Father's office and make my introductions once again.

A flicker of unease stirred in my stomach.

Ah. I wonder if Leo remembers the previous Round.

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