Without a proper way to decline her request without appearing rude, Orion was forced to incline his head in agreement and make his way into the office.

  He could have probably claimed urgent duties, but Lucina already knew he was supposed to wait for her to draft a reply, so it wouldn’t be very effective.

  No, it’s best to just get it over with.

  The mayor’s office was nearly identical to what it had been during his last visit. A few additional decorations obscured the beautiful silverite veins, including a painting of a particularly stunning vista of Silverpeak from above and a statue that, after a moment, Orion decided was meant to depict a dragon—if the sculptor had been under heavy drugs at the time.

  “Hello there,” he heard, and turned to face his fate.

  Lucina’s niece didn’t share her formidable height, surprisingly, but she was still noticeably taller than the average girl her age.

  Based on her facial features, she couldn’t be much older than him, but she had at least five inches on him, possibly more.

  “Good morning,” he replied, nodding slightly.

  He immediately noticed how her gaze lingered on his shockingly white hair and purple eyes, and he had to resist the urge to instinctively bare his teeth.

  His features were unusual, and even worse, they seemed to attract the attention of teenage girls. Orion was horrified to learn of his “success” and desperately hoped he wouldn’t have to turn this one down.

  “You must be Lucina’s niece,” he said, trying to move the conversation.

  “I am,” she replied timidly, glancing at him from beneath her eyelashes. She could be described as pretty, and the very expensive clothes she wore, featuring a layered gown with frilly sleeves, placed her firmly in the upper echelons of society.

  The effect was somewhat diminished by the fact that, while sitting, her head was level with his. Orion revisited his estimate and concluded that she had to have at least seven inches on him.

  “I am Orion, her friend's son. I just delivered a package to her and will leave as soon as she gives me the reply.”

  “It will take me a while,” echoed from behind, and Orion felt his spine go rigid. He had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.

  “I am Electra, daughter of Argyle. Would you like some mou? I had my chef prepare it fresh,” the girl said before his thoughts could start spiraling, and he accepted with a sigh.

  “That would be lovely, thank you. It’s been harder to find some quality brew that isn’t the basic stuff these days.”

  Apparently, that was the right topic because Electra’s face lit up, and her lips curled into a happy smile, showing that despite her significant height, she still had delicate features. “Oh, I know! I’ve had to use sooo much of my allowance to pay for the specialty varieties. At least Daddy told me that the Crimson Wheel Consortium has secured a trade route through the north-east, so we shouldn’t be in this dreadful situation much longer.”

  Orion raised an eyebrow in surprise. Perhaps this won’t be as terrible as I feared?

  “Is that true? I heard something was keeping them away from such direct intervention.” He commented, taking the cup offered to him and then doing a double-take, not having noticed the man who had handed it to him at all.

  He wore a professional butler uniform, complete with a bow tie and a silver tray upon which rested the teapot. His hair was slicked back and grey, and he sported a truly impressive handlebar mustache.

  “This is a Lakeshore variety, young lord. It is a favorite of Archmage Ipsosil and is said to help with recovering from heavy mana usage,” the man shared in a polite tone.

  It was a moment's work for Orion to activate his glasses. They didn’t feel particularly hot yet, so he felt he could push them a bit.

  [Albert Stone - Lv. 97] [Master Butler - E-Rank]

  A bit stronger than I expected. Well, this guy’s class is E-rank, so he can’t be that dangerous, but he’s very sneaky. I bet he could stab me before I noticed him move.

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  “Thank you,” he inclined his head politely, and, taking a sip, he turned back to Electra.

  The familiar, milky caramel flavor of mou flooded his taste buds, but this specific brew had fresher, brighter notes, reminding him of a cool breeze on a hot summer night.

  It was brewed skillfully, and he couldn’t help but say so, thanking them once more.

  Seemingly enjoying his attention, Electra’s cheeks warmed before she launched into an explanation that surprised him with its depth. “Daddy handles a lot of the security that the Crimson Wheel contracts out of its own forces, so he has first-hand information. There was a vote last week, and the High Council decided that, despite conflicts between factions being considered private matters until one party requests intervention, the other factions can enhance their military standing in response to the prolonged nature of such conflicts. So the Crimson Wheel was able to finally put out bounties everywhere for both adventurers and mercenary companies like Daddy’s to handle road security.”

  Orion tilted his head. He hadn’t known there were restrictions on military forces, but after a moment of reflection, it made sense. Without some compromise to ease the tensions, establishing the Magocracy would have been impossible, much less for it to survive this long.

  That was likely the reason the conflict dragged on for so long. If disputes between the factions were codified, there were very few incentives, aside from economic ones, driving them toward a solution while simultaneously isolating the warring enemies to maintain peace for the others.

  It didn’t work perfectly, as evidenced by the long line of refugees heading toward Silverpeak, but it likely helped prevent an outbreak of open war.

  The vote by the High Council to allow expanded security measures likely indicated that everyone was beginning to get annoyed with the elves and necromancers.

  The longer they fought, the more instability would gradually spread throughout the entire Magocracy. This was likely meant to signal to the warring factions that they needed to either start winding things down or face the consequences.

  “That is very interesting. And you say your father has a mercenary company?”

  Electra nodded, taking a sip to prevent herself from answering too quickly and coming across as too eager. Orion caught a glimpse of the butler stifling a smile from the corner of his eye and had to admit it was somewhat cute.

  “He does. He’s Argyle the Red, known all across Cyril, you know? His company has a perfect record, and it’s said that any bandit who catches sight of him gives up on their life of crime and becomes an upstanding citizen!”

  Orion almost laughed in her face but contained himself. That was more self-awareness than he had in his past life, so he felt very proud of himself for noticing the social boundary. “I see, he sounds fierce.”

  Electra nodded proudly.

  “My brother is a powerful warrior, but he’s also a softy. He sent Electra to me because his latest job would have required her to either live alone in his manse in the capital or follow him into the field. And the lady here does not enjoy mud on her snakeskin boots.” Lucina rumbled, finally reappearing.

  Orion took the opportunity to study her, noting that the glasses were performing exceptionally well today. He would need to test whether that was a permanent change or a temporary enhancement, but he suspected that his encounter with the System and his rank-up had significant effects on them.

  [Lucina Silverpeak - Lv. 112] [High Lady - C-Rank]

  I have to admit I expected her to be stronger. Not that being in the third tier is anything to scoff at. She’s only about twenty-five levels below Asteria, yet her presence is so imposing that I automatically assumed she would be more powerful.

  That was something he needed to keep an eye on. Appearances mattered very little in a world where the System served as the great equalizer. A giant could be much weaker than an old witch who devoted her time to caring for the Sanctum’s gardens.

  “Ugh, why would I want to join him when he’ll just be killing bandits and wrestling with monsters?” Electra wrinkled her nose.

  “See, too much of a lady. Well, she’ll have to learn to handle some indignities while staying with me. I will not stand for any member of my family to be helpless before danger.” Lucina commented lightly, clearly enjoying the look of horror that was spreading across her niece’s face.

  She then turned around and handed Orion a sealed letter with one hand while holding a small pouch in the other. “The letter is for your mother, while the pouch is for you. My men were a bit too jumpy, and I’m thankful you kept your cool.”

  Orion accepted both with a curious look. He slipped the letter into his clock’s inner pocket and tied the pouch to his belt. “Very well. It was a pleasure to meet you, Electra, and to see you again, Lucina. I must be off now.”

  And with that, he stood up and left. He had paid his dues; there was no need to subject himself to more socializing than absolutely necessary.

  Once Orion was far enough from the tower that no hidden archer could spy on him and he finally felt safe enough to slow down, he searched for a spot to rest.

  The entire debacle took no more than an hour, yet he already felt exhausted. I’m just not used to social situations like that. The Sanctum certainly doesn’t require us to adhere to high standards, except for religious ceremonies.

  There was also the fact that he’d risked his life facing those guards, but he doubted it would have gone this far even without Lucina interfering. A guard had recognized his garb, so at most, he would have just faced an annoying inspection.

  Sitting on the rim of a stone fountain that merrily splashed water into a wide basin where colorful fish swam, Orion finally opened the pouch Lucina had given him, his curiosity winning over caution.

  Inside, there were several silver coins, sufficient to purchase a new piece of equipment if he needed it, along with a rectangular prism of crystal.

  Taking it out of the pouch, Orion noticed that light reflected off it strangely, and it didn’t take long for him to realize it was slowly drawing in ambient mana to do so.

  Tilting his head, he cast the basic Torchlight spell and was treated to a luminous display as light reflected off every facet. Every color of the visible spectrum was represented, making for a beautiful trinket.

  Orion was ready to dismiss it as an oddity when he noticed that the strain of casting the spell, minor though it might be given its simplicity, was even less than usual.

  Ever since he received his new class, he’d found that casting magic came to him easily. Once, he had to focus fully on a formula for it to come to life; now, he only needed to vaguely remember the concept for it to happen. However, that didn’t account for the ease he was currently experiencing.

  [Verification Principle] explained the reason for that.

  The crystal, simple as it may seem, served not only as a reflective surface for the physical light he’d conjured but also for the metaphysical quality of Light mana.

  This still adheres to Snell’s law. Or rather, Ibn Sahl’s law, though it seemed to operate on an additional dimension.

  The discovery wasn’t groundbreaking since Orion’s General Mana Field Theory already posited that mana operated through an additional dimension. However, it could be seen as proof without requiring incredibly complicated experiments.

  The mere thought that such a simple object, likely given to him as a bauble, could bring him closer to confirmation of his magnum opus…

  “Well, isn’t that cute. Have you just figured out the principle of Foci Refraction?” A smooth, elegant voice interrupted his celebration, and Orion looked up.

  Pointed ears, perfect but slightly inhuman features, and long, elegant hair. It was an elf, and he was quite sure he recognized which one.