Date: Jan 2, 2018 | Time: 1:12 PM
Location: Market District, Sylvaris
Perspective:Kaiser Everhart
I leaned back on the sun-warmed wooden bench, the kind of posture that screamed 'I own this street' while busy savoring icecream. The Market District was a chaotic symphony of haggling merchants and the smell of roasted nuts, but right here?
Right here was the peak of my current empire.
"Bibi, water," I said, not even looking up. I gestured vaguely toward a nearby fountain.
"And Ami, take this bronze coin. Go pay the man at the stall for the ice cream. Tell him to keep the change so he doesn't look at us like we're about to rob him."
Ami blinked her silver eyes, her thin black tail twitching in a rapid, rhythmic calculation. "The... the change is 14% of the total value, Master. Statistically, it is an inefficient use of—"
"It's a tip, Ami. Go," I chuckled.
Bibi huffed, her black cat ears flattening as she stood up. I heard her mutter under her breath as she walked toward the fountain.
"'From slaves to servants... what a promotion. At least the pay involves snacks.'"
"I heard that!" I called out. "And it's 'Executive Assistants,' thank you very much!"
Once they returned—Ami looking like she'd just survived a high-stakes negotiation and Bibi handing me a cup of water with a playful glare—I stood up, dusting the crumbs off my pants.
"Alright, enough lounging. To the clothing store. Move it, ladies. Time is money, and mine is currently burning a hole in my pocket."
The store was one of the 'nicer' ones in the district—the kind where the floorboards didn't creak and the mannequins didn't look like they were possessed.
The clerk, a thin man with glasses that looked older than me, looked us over with a judging eye.
I ignored him. I'm the one with the gold.
"Pick whatever you want," I said, waving a hand at the rows of silk and cotton.
"Any dress, any color. Go nuts."
Bibi hesitated, her hand hovering over a deep crimson fabric.
"Master... this is too much. We don't need—"
"Think of it as a signing bonus for my new accountants," I interrupted, leaning against a pillar.
"You're going to be handling my books. Can't have my financial department looking like they just crawled out of a cave. It's bad for the brand."
Bibi rolled her eyes. "More like servants," she whispered.
"Don't call me Master in public, it's weird," I reminded them.
Suddenly, Ami tugged on my sleeve. She was pointing at a soft, pale blue dress with white lace trim. It looked far too delicate for someone who had lived through what she had. Her ears were pressed flat, her voice barely a whisper.
"Master... can I... get this one?"
I looked at the dress, then at her small, trembling frame. I sighed, softening my gaze just a fraction.
"Sure. Get anything you like. In fact, get two. One for when you're working, and one for when you're... playing around."
As they disappeared into the changing rooms, I leaned back, my mind drifting.
I had grabbed them from that hellhole in the lower district this morning, and before the authorities could even blink. They'd been treated like property for so long that 'choice' was a foreign language to them.
Right now, I didn't want them to be tools or survivors. I wanted them to be normal kids who argued over dress colors.
Of course, I thought, my inner monologue taking a sharp turn toward the devious, to keep them in lace and my own ice cream, I'm going to need a lot more gold.
I tapped my chin.
Maybe a 'Gold Doubling' scam? "Give me 100 gold, I give you 200 in 21 days." No, these Sylvaris folks are too cynical for the classics. Investing? Manipulating the grain market? Now that's more my speed. A little artificial scarcity here, a little insider trading there... yeah, that sounds like me.
I'll own this district's economy before the month is out.
"Master?"
I snapped out of it. Bibi and Ami stepped out. Bibi was in a vibrant emerald green dress that complemented her lively black ears, and Ami was in the pale blue lace. They looked... different.
"You look... cute," I said, the word feeling a bit alien in my mouth.
"Acceptable. You won't embarrass me."
Bibi beamed, a genuine, toothy smile, while Ami's face turned bright red, her tail whipping back and forth on high speed.
I walked over to the clerk, who was suddenly very attentive. "The blue one, the green one, and that white cloak over there. How much?"
"That will be 4 silver and 20 bronze, sir," he said, bowing.
I tossed 1 gold coin onto the counter.
"Keep the change. Buy yourself better glasses."
The walk back was a blur of grease and sugar. I wasn't just a boss; I was a tour guide of gluttony.
We hit a stall selling Honey-Glazed Chicken Skewers. Bibi practically inhaled hers, her eyes widening as the sweet and savory flavors hit. I watched her realize that food could be a pleasure, not just fuel.
Ami was drawn to a vendor selling Candied Apples. The fruit shimmered with a faint glow. When she took a bite, the light reflected in her silver eyes, and for a second, she looked completely at peace.
We found a small cart selling Steamed Beef Buns. We sat on a low wall, all three of us huffing as the hot steam rose into the evening air. I took a bite of mine, watching them laugh as Bibi accidentally got flour on her nose.
To finish it off, Roasted Cinnamon Walnuts. We shared a bag as the evening finally dipped below the horizon, the warmth of the nuts lingering in our hands.
By the time we reached the inn—a quiet, respectable place I'd secured for them to stay—the two of them were dragging their feet.
I opened the door to their room, and they both collapsed onto the plush beds, looking like they'd just run a marathon.
Bibi sprawled out, her energy finally spent, while Ami sat on the edge of her bed, still clutching her new dress.
I pulled up a chair and sat down, crossing my legs.
"Not bad for a first day on the job, right?"
Ami looked at me, her shyness still there, but the fear... the fear was starting to melt. Bibi just let out a long, happy groan.
"Best... job... ever," she mumbled into the pillow.
The room was dim, lit only by the flickering amber glow of a few mana-lamps. Bibi was sprawled across the main bed like she'd been shot, her black tail hanging off the edge with zero dignity left.
Ami was sitting up, back against the headboard, her silver eyes tracking me.
"Alright, enough of the food coma," I said, my voice cutting through the quiet.
"I don't hire people based on how well they can finish glazed chickens. If we're going to be 'business partners,' I need to know what I'm working with. Tell me about the lives you had before!"
"And don't give me the 'we were just kids' line. Everybody's a 'just kid'."
Bibi groaned, rolling onto her side to look at me. "Master, you're a fatty. Literally. We just ate half the Market District."
"I'm a visionary, Bibi. Visionaries don't sleep. Now, talk. What was the Valerius household like back in Elysium?" I threw the name out there—a guess based on the high-quality embroidery I'd seen on their old rags.
Ami flinched slightly at the name, her tail giving a sharp, rhythmic flick. She didn't look away, though. She watched my mouth as I spoke, her posture softening every time my tone leaned more into sarcasm.
"Our... our father, Elias," Ami started, her voice a fragile thread.
"He was a professor. A mathematician at our school. He used to say that numbers were the only language that didn't lie. I... I wasn't like the other students. My memory is actually quite average—I can't remember a grocery list to save my life—but the logic? The formulas? 100/100. Every time. It was like the world just... made sense in equations."
"A math prodigy who can't remember where she put her shoes. Fantastic," I teased, giving her a lopsided smirk.
"I'll make sure to get you a ledger and a very loud alarm clock."
Bibi let out a weak laugh, propping herself up on her elbows. "She really was a disaster. I was the one who had to handle the 'people' side of things."
"Before... everything, I was pretty popular at school. Top of the social ladder, helping Elena—our mom—with her environmental research. She was an ecologist, always obsessing over how the mana-flows affected the greenery in Elysium."
Her smile faltered for a second, a shadow of grief passing over her lively face. "We had a garden. A big one. I miss the way it smelled after the rain."
I felt the mood starting to dip into the 'melancholy' zone. Not on my watch. I don't do depressing.
"So, what I'm hearing is I have a socially elite gardener and a calculator with amnesia," I said, my voice dripping with mock disappointment.
"Great. I'm basically running a circus. You two better be ready to grind. We're going to be taking the boat to Elysium a lot in the future—mostly to reclaim what's yours and maybe scam a few of your father's old colleagues—so my accountants need to be sharp. No slacking."
Bibi's ears perked up. "Wait, you're actually planning to take us back there? To Elysium?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Only if you're useful," I said, though the 'aura' of my confidence probably gave the answer away.
"But for now, tell me about your hobbies. And don't say 'I don't know.' That's a given. What do you do for fun when you're bored?"
Bibi sat up fully, her energy returning. "I love climbing! Trees, buildings, whatever. And I used to dance. It's the best way to burn off boredom."
Ami looked down at her hands, her silver eyes shimmering. "I... I like star-mapping. Calculating the distance between celestial bodies based on their light-refraction. It's fun."
"And... I like puzzles. The harder, the better." She looked up at me, her gaze intense, searching my face.
"What about you, Master? Or... Sir? Do you even have a hobby, or is it just 'being mysterious'?"
I chuckled, a low, genuine sound. "I'm hurt, Ami. Truly. If you must know, I'm a fan of high-stakes strategy. I play a mean game of cards—mostly because I know how to read every twitch of an opponent's eye."
"And I enjoy 'people watching.' You'd be surprised how much you can learn about a person's soul just by watching how they handle a dropped coin."
I stood up, the chair scraping against the floor. I walked over to the window, looking out at the lights of Sylvaris.
"Alright, I've heard enough," I said, turning back to them.
"I know your roles now. Ami, you're officially the Head of Finance. You handle the gold, the ledgers, and the market projections. Bibi..."
I paused, a mischievous glint in my eye.
"...you'll be the servant."
Bibi's jaw dropped. "The WHAT?!"
"I'm kidding," I said, waving a hand dismissively.
"Mostly. You're going to be my Field Agent. You've got the social skills and the energy. You'll be my eyes and ears in the places where a 'mysterious mastermind' like me stands out too much. You'll gather intel, charm the marks, and maybe climb a building or two if I need a window 'unlocked.'"
I walked toward the door, stopping with my hand on the latch. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, we start turning those math skills and social graces into cold, hard gold. And Bibi? Try not to purr in your sleep. You're too loud for Ami to sleep."
I closed the door behind me, hearing Bibi's indignant "I do NOT purr!" followed by Ami's soft, rare giggle.
Not a bad haul for one day. A calculator, a scout, and a lot of people in Sylvaris who don't know they're about to be broke.
I spent the late afternoon weaving through the stalls of the Market District, my eyes scanning for assets rather than trinkets.
I listed a crate of high-grade mana vials—expensive, but necessary for the "experiments" I had planned. Then, a few salvaged circuit boards from a traveling merchant who didn't know the difference between "junk" and "foundational tech." I grabbed a stack of leather-bound notebooks for Ami—the "Head of Finance" needs a place for her equations—and a set of weighted throwing knives and a specialized lock-picking kit for Bibi.
Finally, I snagged some premium fountain pens and a heavy cloak for myself.
Every empire starts with a shopping list.
By 5:34 PM, I found myself at Requiem, Sylvia's guild. The air inside was thick with the scent of old wood and the metallic tang of sharpened steel.
"Kaiser! How are you?!" Marcus called out from behind the reception desk, looking up from a mountain of paperwork. "Your party leader and the rest of the party are out. They're on an expedition in the Western Reach—low-level monster culling and resource gathering. They won't be back until the 6th. You missed them by a few hours."
"Four days? I might actually die of boredom by then," I quipped, leaning against the counter.
"Tell them I dropped by."
"I'll let them know." Marcus paused, his eyes shifting toward the stairs.
I followed his gaze. Alina, the second guild master, was descending the steps. She'd just returned from a quest, her armor dusty and her cape slightly frayed.
Those purple eyes of hers were as sharp and cold as ever, scanning the room before settling on me.
Aww, look at her. She's definitely hitting a growth spurt. Getting taller, looks more like a proper guild master every day. Cute.
Her expression remained a frozen mask of indifference, though. Welp, some things can't be fixed with a growth spurt; her personality is still set to "Permanent Winter." I didn't want to deal with a lecture on "guild etiquette" or why I was breathing her air, so I just gave her a small, knowing smirk and turned toward the door.
I could feel her gaze burning into my back as I walked out. She definitely noticed me, but I'm too busy for teenage angst right now.
[Time: 9:00 PM | Location: The Inn Dining Hall]
Dinner was... informative. Mostly in the way Lucas and Celia looked at me.
They sat across from me, picking at their stew with a level of aggression that made the spoons tremble. Lucas looked particularly "done," his face a picture of stoic suffering, while Celia's red eyes were narrowed into lethal slits.
"So," I started, breaking the silence with a cheery grin.
"How was your day? Did you two save any kittens? Rescue any damsels? Or did you just spend the whole time thinking about how lucky you are to know me?"
"Kaiser," Celia said, her voice a low, dangerous purr. "The 'incident' at our quest. The one where a sticker magically helped me and the 'miraculous' day saving clutch?"
"Sounds like a beautiful story," I said, taking a slow sip of my water.
"Very heartwarming. Five stars."
Lucas sighed, rubbing his temples. "Bro, you realize how much I planned?! That 'miracle' took the fun out! I was so prepared..."
"Maybe you are," I teased. "Maybe I'm just that good. You're welcome, by the way. They call me hero."
"Your middle name is 'Problematic,'" Celia snapped, slamming her spoon down.
"And because of your 'heroism,' the Guild has assigned us a specific quest to 'investigate the anomaly.' Which means Lucas and I are going to be stuck in the outskirts for the next three days clearing out a nest of Stalkers. It's a specialized hit. We leave at dawn."
"Oh, so you're going on a little sibling retreat? How family," I mocked, leaning in.
"Just try not to get too distracted by each other's 'aura' while you're out there. I'd hate for my favorite bodyguards to come back with scratches."
Lucas's eye twitched. Celia's hand drifted toward the hilt of her fork.
"You," Lucas pointed a finger at me, "are going to stay here. You are going to behave. And if I come back and find out you've started a cult or sold the inn, I will personally—"
"Crash out? Is this era?" I laughed, standing up as the tension reached the breaking point.
"Good luck with the bugs, kids! I have actual work to do. Don't miss me too much!"
I didn't wait for a response. I bolted before Celia could actually launch a chair at me. I made it to my room, locked the door, and fell onto the bed.
January 2nd. Productive day. Tomorrow, the real work begins.
[Date: January 3rd, 2018 | Time: 08:30 AM | Location: The Silver Oak Inn, Guest Room]
I knocked on the girls' door with a rhythmic flourish. I didn't wait for an answer—I'm the boss, after all—and stepped inside.
Ami was already awake, sitting by the window with a piece of scrap paper, her fingers moving in a rhythmic tapping motion as she did mental math. The moment she heard my voice, her ears twitched and she went still.
Bibi was in the middle of a stretch, looking far more rested than she had yesterday.
"Morning, team," I said, tossing the list of supplies onto the table. It landed with a satisfying thud. "I've got the list. Ami, your ledgers and pens are in it. Bibi, your 'tools' are at the bottom."
I pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at them both with a sharp, expectant grin.
"Now, let's look at this list of assets I've scouted. We have four days before my temporary party gets back, and by the time they do, I want this city's economy to be sweating."
"Ami, I need you to calculate the market fluctuation for items over the last week. Bibi, you're going to gather intel about the businesses."
Bibi leaned over, her cat ears twitching with every line she read. Ami stood a step back, her silver eyes scanning the list with the speed of a high-end processor.
"Master?" Bibi looked up, one eyebrow arched so high it nearly disappeared into her messy black hair.
"I understand the notebooks and the mana vials. I even understand the throwing knives. But... sulfur? Saltpeter? Charcoal? And what in the world is a 'circuit board'?"
"It's Dwarven technology," Ami whispered, her voice hesitant but precise.
"The Dwarven Union uses them for their... 'calculating engines.' They are incredibly rare in human lands. Master, why do you need the components for... black powder? And these copper wires?"
"Because, my dear Ami, magic is grand, but physics is a law even the Gods have to obey," I said, leaning back and crossing my arms.
"The world thinks the Dwarves are the only ones who can make 'computers.' I intend to prove them wrong. And as for the sulfur... let's just say if anyone tries to break into our future headquarters, I want them to experience a 'high-efficiency rapid expansion of air'—also known as explosives."
Bibi blinked. "You're making a PIPE BOMB!? Master, that's... that's actually terrifying."
"It's only terrifying if you're on the wrong end of it," I shrugged.
"Now, roles. Bibi, you're our Social Hub. You're going to be out there in the marketplaces, the taverns, the docks. I want you reading the newspapers and, more importantly, listening to the gossip."
"Adventurers love to brag during meals. I need intel on which businesses are struggling, who's taking out loans they can't pay back, and what the Guild is hiding."
Bibi puffed out her chest, her tail swaying proudly. "Leave it to me! I can talk to a brick wall and get it to tell me its life story."
"I don't doubt it. And Ami," I looked at the younger sister, who flinched slightly before locking eyes with me. "You'll take everything Bibi finds and look for the patterns. Market fluctuations, probability of success for our ventures, the math behind the tech. You're the brain that keeps us from going bankrupt."
Ami's tail gave a small, contented flick.
"I... I can do that. Statistics don't... they don't lie."
"Exactly. Now," I stood up, stretching my limbs until my joints popped.
"Bibi, take the gold and the list. Get as much as you can. Avoid the high-end shops for the chemicals; hit the alchemist scraps and the back-alley merchants."
Bibi grabbed her new cloak. "Ready! Come on, Ami, let's go. It'll be like a scavenger hunt!"
Ami didn't move. She looked at the door, then back at me, a soft flush creeping up her neck to the tips of her ears.
"I... I actually... want to stay a bit. I want to... talk to Master. About the... calculations."
Bibi let out a low, mischievous giggle, nudging Ami with her elbow. "Oh? Just the 'calculations,' huh? You just want more one-on-one time with the boss!"
"B-Bibi! Stop it!" Ami pouted, her tail lashing back and forth in embarrassment.
I chuckled, patting Ami on the head—her hair was surprisingly soft.
"As much as I'd love the company, your sister will get lonely out there. Besides, I need your eyes on those circuit boards if you find any. You're the only one who knows if they're fried or salvageable. Go on. Don't make her wait."
Ami's face fell into a tiny, adorable pout, her silver eyes lingering on mine for a second longer than necessary. "Fine... but we will discuss the... math when I return."
"It's a date," I teased.
She turned and scurried after Bibi, her face glowing red. As the door clicked shut, the silence of the room rushed back in. I groaned and collapsed back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Ahhh... finally. A nap. Between the 'miracles' and the workout this morning, my energy is in the negatives. A little nap won't hurt... I've earned it."
[POV: Ami | Location: Sylvaris Market District - 'The Scrap Heap' Shop]
The market was too loud. The voices of the merchants felt like jagged needles against my ears, and the smell of raw meat and unwashed bodies made my nose wrinkle.
I stayed close to Bibi's shadow, my mind occupied by the list Master had given us.
Sulfur: 2 parts. Charcoal: 3 parts. The ratio is inefficient for maximum combustion, but for a pipe bomb... it works.
Why master use pipe bombs?
Bibi was haggling with a large man over the price of copper wiring, her voice bright and distracting. I drifted toward the back of the shop, where the "useless" items were kept. My eyes scanned the piles of rusted iron and broken glass until they snagged on something... odd.
It was tucked behind a crate of cracked mana-shards. A small, rectangular object, barely the size of a finger. It was a motherboard component—no, something more specialized.
A memory unit?
I reached out and picked it up. It was cold. Wet. Even though it was inside the shop, the surface felt like it had just been pulled from a freezing sea. It was damaged, the delicate gold tracings interrupted by deep gouges and calcified sea-salt.
As my fingers brushed the center chip, a sudden wave of calm washed over me. The noise of the market faded into a dull hum.
The anxiety that usually lived in my chest simply... vanished.
"Hey! Kid! Don't touch the scraps!"
I flinched, nearly dropping the object. The shopkeeper, a burly man with a scarred lip, was glaring at me.
"S-sorry," I whispered, clutching the small stick to my chest. I didn't want to let go. I couldn't let go.
"How... how much for this?"
The man scoffed, eyeing the piece of junk. "That? It's scrap. Probably doesn't even have enough copper to melt down. Give me... 10 silvers."
"Ten?!" Bibi piped up, appearing at my side, her eyes narrowing.
"For a piece of wet trash? You're dreaming, old man."
I felt a strange, desperate cling to the object. "Okie... I'll pay."
"Wait, Ami—" Bibi started, but I looked at her with a pleading expression she couldn't ignore.
The shopkeeper paused, looking at my small frame and my hesitant eyes. His expression softened just a fraction.
"Look, kid... I was just being aggressive 'cause you were poking around. Give me 5 silvers and take the junk. I don't even know why I kept it."
I quickly handed over the coins, my fingers trembling. "W-where did it come from?"
"Some scavenger found it by the Celestine Seashores," the man grumbled, tossing the coins into a wooden box.
"Said it was buried in the black sand. It's a piece of junk. I tried to see if a Dwarf could fix it, but they said it's impossible. It has water inside the functions."
"It's dead."
"Why do you even want that, Ami?" Bibi asked, curious.
I tucked the object deep into my pouch, feeling its cold weight against my hip.
"Maybe... maybe Master will need it."
"It feels... important."
"Everything feels important to you," Bibi laughed, grabbing the bag of copper wire.
"Come on, we still need the sulfur!"
I followed her, but my hand stayed on my pouch. The object wasn't dead. I could feel it.
It wasn't just data; it was a heartbeat.
[Narrator Voice]
In the quiet bustle of a morning market, a small act of curiosity passed unnoticed by the world. Ami, a beastkin saved by the whims of Kaiser Everhart, had just made a purchase that would alter the fabric of the future.
She thought she was buying a gift for her Master.
She thought she was salvaging a piece of broken technology.
She had no way of knowing that she had just recovered the "Death of History"—the central core of the weapon that once brought the Avatars to their knees.
A relic of the Great War of Asura, the most terrifying slaughter in the records of any race, was now finding its way back to its rightful owner.
The "False Genius" was about to reunite with its own core.
And the world was not ready for the engineering that would follow.