Chat group: Everyone has a dream.

Another two days of training passed. There were no significant changes, except that a few spells of protection and sensory detection were invented, but these were trifles. Well, Sigmund and Ciel also noticed that Alice's mood was noticeably better than usual. Of course, it was not visible on her due to habit and Alice's own control over her face, but the slightly raised corners of her lips and the new shine in her eyes spoke for themselves.

Ciel and Sigmund didn't understand why this happened. No, they both understood that it was because of Sigmund, but why all of a sudden? Such a drastic change was too strange and unexpected, the previous week had been no different from that day, however...

Something was different after all.

And right now, Sigmund and Angelica were sparring.

- The rules are simple as always. Do not hit to kill, do not use spells directly on the target and do not drive the enemy into an endless stun. The main goal of this training is to help Angelica master new spells.

Elena looked at Sigmund seriously. The last rule was added only because of him, since the last sparring ended with Angelica simply getting sick because Sigmund was spinning her around with movement magic.

Sigmund, although physically younger than Angelique, did not care about such sparring. He would not even try to assert himself at the expense of his sister, he simply taught her a lesson that time. She thoughtlessly tried to hit him in hand-to-hand combat, ignoring other possible techniques and their combinations. In other words, she was very easy to read, because she did not use her arsenal.

- Yes!

- I know.

While Angelica was burning with enthusiasm, Sigmund remained calm.

- Well, since you are ready, you can begin.

Angelica soberly assessed her chances of winning a long-range fight against her brother. They were not just small, they were rather negative. And so she decided to try to bring the fight to a favorable position for herself - close combat.

Unlike her genius brother who developed all these spells, she was ordinary. However, she knew how to breathe and walk correctly, had better fighting skills. In addition, she was simply much larger and taller.

So she immediately used Strengthen and Dash to close the distance.

Sigmund, on the other hand, used movement magic to rise into the air. He himself stood on a multi-layered magical barrier. Unlike other mages, he was much more comfortable fighting in three-dimensional space, and it was much more difficult to fight against such opponents. Elena, Alice, and even Arthur could train Angelica in a head-on fight in two-dimensional space.

And if Angelica learns to fight in three-dimensional space at least a little, it will be very difficult to hit her with any projectiles. In addition, she will become much more dangerous.

Angelica decided not to let her brother get into position in the air, so she used Dry Blizzard to knock him down, disguising her Explosive Release - a modified Cumulative Release without the cumulative jet itself, being simply a highly compressed jet of air.

And Sigmund felt Angelica's spells perfectly, but he decided to give in a little, thereby rewarding Angelica's efforts. He quickly grouped himself and jumped back, avoiding most of the dry ice crystals, but "got caught" in a stream of compressed air. Thus, he lost a lot of altitude.

Angelica quickly gained confidence in her powers, and so she continued to fire Dry Blizzard at her brother. But to her regret, Sigmund's Interference Armor completely reflected any physical attack within its range. In addition, she could not quickly reduce the distance, since Sigmund himself was actively trying to shoot her in the back with the same spells. However, while Sigmund was firing at her in a circle, she fired at him on the surface of an imaginary dome above him, preventing him from taking the height and flying away. And she also knew the weakness of the Interference Armor, it could not reflect a large solid object.

Angelique used External Alchemy, as Sigmund called it, to use Reconstruction. To change the structure of molecules in the environment, in this case to remake the stone slabs under her feet into moving spears towards Sigmund.

Sigmund saw the approaching stakes, but even this External Alchemy had its drawbacks. There was no more matter, these stakes were large, but hollow, and therefore quite fragile. He used Active Air Mine. It allows the user to mark all solid bodies that fall into the Magic Effect Area with magical vibration waves, destroying the targets. By creating compression waves inside the target, it undergoes repeated partial expansion and compression. Because of this, even solid rock weakens and breaks due to monstrous mechanical stress. This magic sets up multiple epicenters in the area, which generate virtual waves, which cause vibration waves inside the targets. The moment the waves from the epicenter come into contact with such a target, the virtual waves become real waves inside the target and affect it in reality.

Nothing in this world is perfect, and therefore even the smallest defect in the molecular structure will cause the destruction of matter.

And so it happened, all of Angelique's stone stakes began to turn into pebbles under the influence of Sigmund's magic, as well as the floor between them. And this is exactly what Sigmund wanted. He cancelled the Active Air Mine, and then used Dry Tsunami. Small pebbles and dry ice quickly began to turn into a real Tsunami.

Angelica knew that Sigmund could change the direction of this Tsunami thanks to the Convergence Linking Magic, so she did not try to dodge it, but created a 1 by 1.7 meter Multilayer Magic Barrier in front of her. In order to prevent the swirling vortex of shrapnel from hitting her sides.

However, such advanced defensive magic, capable of protecting against both magical and physical attacks, required great concentration, but that was not what was important to Sigmund now. The Phalanx was constantly being renewed, creating a large number of different magical and physical constructs of varying density and properties for effective damage absorption. And it was precisely because of this difference in density and structure of materials that the Phalanx caused numerous dispersions of light, as well as reflection, both complete internal and normal.

In other words, this created a "glare", making the Phalanx practically opaque.

Sigmund took advantage of the fact that he blocked Angelique's view, and therefore quickly created several more distractions in the form of Explosive Releases from above and from the sides. Approaching her from the side.

Angelique felt the familiar magic activating, but she had no choice but to strengthen her own body even more, as Dry Tsunami was swirling thanks to the Convergence Linking Magic, everything on the sides, above and behind her was completely covered by a hail of shrapnel.

She completely lost the initiative.

And just as the Dry Tsunami ended, the Explosive Release activated, effectively paralyzing Angelica. However, she also managed to notice her brother, and therefore took a defensive stance, knowing that her brother was going into close combat himself.

Sigmund didn't disappoint her, he used Dash, approaching his sister, however he used himself as a projectile, shooting himself forward with his feet, giving him an additional spin.

/ So he's going to use the Guillotine...

Angelica's thoughts were clear, and so she prepared to counterattack again.

However, to everyone's surprise, Sigmund suddenly extended his arm to the side in front of Alice , grabbing the ground, causing him to spin like a top, and his legs hit Angelica's legs from the side.

Due to this unexpected attack, Angelique fell to the ground, however, Sigmund did not finish his attack, his legs continued to spin and hit Angelique from above using Guillotine.

All his sister could do was defend herself, so she crossed her arms in front of her chest and strengthened them even more.

The blow was strong enough to create a crater 4 meters in diameter. Sigmund quickly sat on his sister, ready to use finishing moves. Greco-Roman wrestling and any CQC were also common here, and therefore Sigmund knows finishing moves.

- Stop it! The sparring is over! Zig wins!

Immediately after this, Sigmund stood up from his sister and helped her up.

- Ooo ! Why can't I defeat you!?

Angelica was very proud of being talented. Her mother always said so when they trained together. She was not ashamed to lose to her mother, because she was more experienced and bigger.

But Sigmund?

Not only was he younger than her, he was smaller than her, he trained less than her, he also didn't know how to breathe or walk properly, but he still won!

This cannot but hurt her sense of dignity!

Just like the authority of the older sister, because she must protect her younger brother!

But how will she protect him if he is smarter and stronger than her?!

Angelica felt like she was about to burst into tears.

And Sigmund saw that his beloved sister was about to burst into tears, which made him panic a little.

He never thought that these sparrings would mean so much to Angelica. In each of his lives, traditionally, it was the man who was responsible for protecting and providing for the family. The difference of 3 measly years does not matter here, in the past, boys were raised from childhood with the idea that in the future they would become Protectors and Breadwinners. With a capital letter.

Sigmund didn't think the situation here would be any different! This is a traditional family, and a polygamous traditional family at that, which sometimes makes even him think, because the situation is strange.

In the past, he never encountered the fact that his opponent was ashamed and offended to lose to him. In the past world, he directly said that he was over 150 years old, and therefore Yoruichi and Urahara did not hold back in his training, and then did not take offense after he defeated them. Ichigo did not see anything shameful in this, Orihime was even pleased to know that Sigmund was strong and could protect her if necessary. Chad was also happy for him and did not get upset, well, and he personally killed Ishida and his father during the Quincy War .

Sigmund quickly knelt down next to his sister, helping her up.

- Come on, sister, don't cry. You are very strong and capable, it's just that I invented these spells and know their features better than you. As long as you use these spells, I know in advance what to counter you with. As soon as you learn witchcraft, curses or runes, I will immediately be at a disadvantage.

Sigmund spoke softly and without much pressure, trying to direct his sister's thoughts in a certain direction, while at the same time lifting her from the ground and shaking her off, showing concern.

Angelica looked at him with watery eyes, looking at him with hope.

/ If that's true, then... I'm not useless or talentless? So this is the same lesson as sparring with mom?

- Is it true?

- It's true. Don't worry, you're good at combining spells. I'll explain their features later.

Sigmund spoke with a smile, gently pushing his sister towards Elena. He promised himself that he would definitely lose the next duel, somehow exposing himself to her blow. He did not care about "pride" or "honor", as long as it did not go beyond a certain level. If someone spoke badly of his family and loved ones , then for the sake of principle he would speak back or, even worse, make the life of such an offender a living hell. He put the honor and pride of his wives and children much higher than his own, because that is how a man behaves.

And besides, it's just a regular sparring match between kids, so who cares who loses?

If Angelica feels better about beating him, then why not?

/ He will make a good husband and father.

Elena and Alice's thoughts were identical. After all, they see Sigmund caring for his sister and encouraging her almost every day. They already have a rough idea of his way of thinking, and so he will most likely start to give in to their sparring in order to comfort his sister.

- And that's true. In our next lessons we'll be going over offensive magic.

Elena and Alice knew that Convergent Fortification was much more protective than traditional fortification, but they were still worried about Angelica's injuries. After all, Sigmund had hit her hard. With a mass of 35 kg, Sigmund had accelerated to 80 km/h, and then used Guillotine. Most non-noble mages would have died from such a blow. It was good that Sigmund had seen that his sister was prepared for such a blow, after all, his reaction speed was much faster than this fight.

- Thank you, mom!

Angelica was glad that her next lesson would be aimed at learning a new spell that would help her in the fight against her brother.

And despite the fact that Elena changed the program, she was happy with the circumstances, as this sparring session gave her daughter motivation.

- Hurts?

Elena, as a master of curse magic, knows human anatomy and all kinds of injuries very well, and therefore conducted an initial examination of her daughter.

- It stings and pricks a little.

- Okay, nothing serious, just some bruises. Your bones are intact, no cracks. He didn't hit your torso, your back is intact. There's a slight sprain on your ankle, but it'll heal in a day or two. You did a good job.

Elena gently ruffled her daughter's hair, causing her to smile. Angelica also begged for a hug, stretching her arms forward.

/ How can I refuse her this?

And Elena, without thinking, hugged her daughter, pressing her to her chest as tightly as possible, inhaling the scent of her hair.

Alice was busy examining her son. She didn't ask any questions, but she carefully examined his hand, which he used to brake and spin like a top. If someone else had tried to pull off such a "trick", they would have dislocated their hand at best.

Alice put one hand on his shoulder joint and grabbed Sigmund's palm with the other. She twisted his hand in different directions a couple of times, then grabbed him by the shoulder blade to check the integrity of all the ligaments and tendons, and then let him go.

/ What a wonderful strengthening spell ... Just a couple of scratches after he plowed half a meter of stone with his hand.

- You're okay, just some scratches on your palm. Let's go wash our hands and change your clothes.

- Yes, mom.

Despite the fact that Alice still remained taciturn and stubborn, her actions showed care, even her touches became much more gentle than before.

There was no point in holding a second sparring match. It already happens between Sigmund and Angelique almost every day. Sometimes it is just a regular shootout, sometimes it is hitting targets for speed, sometimes it is "attack-defense" using magic, sometimes it is a positional duel, where the winner is the one who hits the target faster, sometimes it is a contact fight, and sometimes a regular duel. Thanks to such diversity, Angelique and Sigmund are guaranteed to be ready to face any danger, including Mage Killers.

Besides, Angelica has a slight ankle sprain right now. Fighting against Sigmund would simply not be fair.

- By the way, your dad is supposed to arrive today at lunchtime!

- Hooray! Dad is coming!

- Fine.

Despite the fact that Elena brought good news, and Angelica was happy, as befits a little girl, Alice and Sigmund were much calmer.

Alice basically didn't care about Arthur and his work. She was more his secretary or business partner than his wife.

Sigmund, on the other hand, found it harder to develop feelings for his father than for his mother or Aunt Elena, since he sees him less often and spends more time with Angelica. Sigmund is not jealous, but ... A bad taste remained on his tongue.

Sigmund's only thought was...

/ Well, it's not human to act like that. I understand that you're not on good terms with Alice, but what does this have to do with me? I'm your child, no one doubts that. I'm not acting like a spoiled idiot. So why are you showing such obvious favoritism? I know that fathers are more protective of their daughters, I had 7 daughters and 8 sons myself, but this is simply wrong. If there had been an ordinary child in my place, he would have simply been offended by you and jealous of Angelica, after which he would have started to be capricious and beat her. By the age of 9, he would have been able to beat her consistently, thinking that because of her he was loved less. Even Elena would hardly have changed anything, since children are very unreasonable and emotional. Why is he deliberately stirring up hostility between us?

In short, although Sigmund felt a familial connection with Arthur, it was rather weak. He loved the same Chad in his past life or Albert and Anastasia in this one much more. It was hard for him to accept a person who treated his children like that. Even in his past life, he considered Isshin an asshole and a coward because he hadn't gathered the courage to tell his son about Masaki in six fucking months . But he had enough "wisdom" to send his son against a natural demigod, who could be equal in power to the entire Gotei combined. And the most disgusting thing is that Ichigo used Mugetsu , a kind of Bankai on steroids that squeezes all the juices out of his soul. And considering that Ichigo only used Shinigami and Hollow powers , he had every chance of going to Hell. If it weren't for Zangetsu , Ichigo would have retained a dislike for Hollow's powers , resulting in him subconsciously denying his Hollow power , thereby overloading his Shinigami essence by destroying part of his soul when using Mugetsu .

Isshin , you are a wonderful father.

Asshole of the year.

Moreover , unlike Isshin , Sigmund respected Ishida's father , Ryuken . Despite the fact that he wanted to take revenge on Yahweh, for which he was preparing some kind of plan, delusional in its essence, which was based only on speculation , but he purposefully went towards his goal. He did not interfere with his son to do as he wanted, but when he learned that Sigmund killed him, he challenged him to a fight.

They both knew it was suicide on Ryuken's part , but he couldn't do otherwise.

For this, Sigmund respected him.

Sigmund didn't care much about his father caring about him, but he would never do what Arthur did. He was just being an asshole.

But now Sigmund's thoughts were occupied with something else.

/ But mom told me that we would study summoning magic after lunch… I hope that I won't be handed over to my father's hands. Making a girl wait too long is not my style. I'm already worried that Ciel is waiting too long. Lately, we haven't spent much time together. Only 5 hours a day.

Sigmund had heard many times that he was clingy, but he never understood why people said that to him. His two wives had been happily married to him, so it didn't bother him. He was just a little curious about why they called him clingy.

Ciel watched from the sidelines as Sigmund and Angelique interacted, but she couldn't figure out the difference between herself and Angelique. In her opinion, Sigmund treated them the same. Praised them, tried to cheer them up, cared about them, tried to guide them in the right direction, smiled sweetly at them.

However, there is something that interests her much more.

/ How can Alice and Elena share one man? I don't think I'll have any problems making friends with them ... They seem to have a good relationship, almost better than Sigmund and Angelica, but he's a special case... Is this normal here? Or is it normal everywhere? Do all women get along well with each other if they share one man?

Ciel was most concerned about these questions. She listened carefully to her spiritual pulse, but it was calm again. There was a little sadness about not being able to come and hug Sigmund, but she was sure that it would end soon. They had been working together on the Molecular Reconstruction Spell for over a week now, almost finished. After that, she would be able to spend almost all of her time with her boyfriend.

She also mentally imagined scenes of Sigmund hugging another woman, but ... That doesn't cause any great jealousy or hostility. No one will replace her, and Angelica, Alice and Elena had already made very sweet promises with Sigmund before her, so what difference does it make?

One more, one less.

However, Ciel is not yet sure of her feelings.

 ***

Lunch came quickly, Sigmund also felt his father approaching the house in a car. He felt his Reiatsu clearly, as he was waiting for him.

- It looks like Arthur will be home soon.

Sigmund looked up, waiting for a reaction from Ciel .

Ciel herself lay on the bed in Sigmund's room, while he himself lay on her chest. Even though their time together had significantly decreased, it was enough for her to at least be near her beloved for a little while.

Most of the time they just talked to each other. Now they were trying to remake the magic of the Succubus for Kido , using the material they had received from Maria. It turned out to be... a terrible thing that scared even Sigmund, since such " Kido " acted directly on the soul, bypassing the physical body. Simple sexual intercourse or masturbation would not be enough until the user stopped using Kido . Such a thing can burn out the brain in one or two minutes . And the fate of " orgasm to death" is not the worst thing that the duo of Sigmund and Ciel could do . The prototype of the 100% pregnancy spell also falls into the category of " terrible Kido ."

And the strangest thing is that these spells, like all new ones, did not get into the chat store until they were given a name. Another chat oddity that was difficult to understand.

Mio 's training while Sigmund gave advice on Kido Maria.

Maria made a large and detailed report on the use of Kido through magic. It took Sigmund relatively little time to understand the general patterns, after which he gave her several manuals describing more advanced Kido , but without a detailed explanation.

And what's most surprising is that Sheila hasn't found a single mistake yet. Yes, the manual described everything in general terms, but for an experienced magician this was enough. This is exactly what Sigmund was counting on when he gave Maria so much Kido . He doesn't remember the demons of Mio and Maria's world showing a high level of magic. Lars showed the creation of some balls, barriers and something else. Zest showed earth magic and stone golems . Mio demonstrated elemental magic, gravity magic, and Hellfire.

What impressed me most was abilities Chisato's Hasegawa / Afureia almost completely stop time. If Sigmund's memory serves him right, one night in a hotel room lasted a year and a half or so.

However, this was the true peak of the magic of the world of Mio and Maria, and also Chisato Hasegawa / Afureia was a member of the 10 gods, that is, she is among the ten strongest gods. But she was not a demon, the most impressive level of demon magic was shown by Sheila With her teleportation.

However , as great as Sheila was, she was not Sigmund's goal, she was a secondary priority. There are only a few things that are primary priorities.

Point one, Demon and Succubus Magic.

Having magic that works "just because", ignoring the laws of physics and damaging the soul is always cool. In the world of Siegmund, Saeko and Rias, few have such effective tools. Also, having a roughly comparable " reiryoku reserve " in the form of magic would be nice. Siegmund can't always rely on Reiatsu , simply because it can be bypassed by strange rules of the world, like the world of Tensura or something else. It is extremely difficult to increase the Reiryoku reserve at high levels, since there are practically no strong opponents. There is no one to fight with, no one can create enough pressure so that the soul can become stronger. Well, a strong soul means strong magic and its reserve.

He also has a special interest in Succubus Magic, as Sigmund was trying to follow in the footsteps of Kama/Mara, who has the Nega-Desire skill . Succubus Magic and the " Kidō " based on them are exactly the tools that will allow him to obtain this skill. Sigmund does not want to stop at one plan, he has several backup plans in which he becomes a Beast.

Unfortunately, Sigmund currently does not meet the minimum requirements to use Demon or Succubus/Incubus Magic. Sigmund's magic circuits have not even turned into a Magic or Spiritual Core. This will most likely happen by 5% or 10% when his demon blood becomes more substantial. Right now, Sigmund has simply received a boost in physical parameters, there is no talk of any Magic.

Point two, Mio.

Mio has already been said many times, there is no point in repeating it anymore. Besides, all her potential usefulness for Sigmund as an ally is now practically zero. Ciel is already the strongest being in Sigmund's world. He has nothing to fear next to her ... But this does not mean that he likes to hold on to a woman's skirt. He just feels uncomfortable with it, and so he will become at least as strong as Ciel. Moreover, he has a good option in the form of the world of Tensura .

But Sigmund is not going to abandon the girl to her fate either. He will at least offer help.

Point three, already mentioned Chisato Hasegawa / Afureia .

Yes, she is not attractive to him as a woman/lover/wife, but that does not make her any less of a target. She is a true goddess who has shown the highest level of Time Magic and Sealing. Not to mention that she can bestow her blessings on others, which is good for Sigmund. This will be very useful to him in the future, not to mention that he wants to make his family stronger. Also, like Maria, she has multiple forms. Human Form/Personality Chisato's Hasegawa , which has good stealth. Goddess Form/ Afureia , in which she can use all of her divine abilities. Maria can also use multiple forms, which is very convenient.

Well, the most important thing is that to get the "complete template Chisato Hasegawa / Afureia » Sigmund only needs to hit her with the Book of the End and get her blood. By the time Sigmund goes after Afureia , he will be a full-fledged Incubus, and therefore he will 100% receive the A-rank Self-Modification skill. This rank is more than enough to change his structure and body as a whole for specific needs right during the fight. To rebuild his body to a given template with the acquisition of all capabilities, Sigmund will simply need to change his body with the help of Self-Modification, and for this he does not need much, just a drop of blood or tissue.

All the information "template" Sigmund will get from using the Book of the End, God Magic will not be a problem for him, he just needs to have the minimum requirements to use Magic. Afureia , as a member of the 10 Gods, could very well have lived through the time or even personally participated in the creation of humanity and the Hero Clan ( Afureia was not a member of the 10 Gods at that time), which would be very useful for Sigmund, as it is the basis for obtaining the Nega-Genesis skill . Also, those Gods were described as having powers that go beyond their dimension, Chisato showed that she is able to manipulate spatial dimensions and time, so it even makes sense.

And even if Sigmund fails to copy Afureia's "template" , he will still be able to use her skills thanks to his own skill "Under the Mask of Other People's Faces".

Sigmund can already be called a perfect doppelganger .

Point four, Basara Toujou.

Being an analogue of Ichigo Kurosaki , it's only natural that Basara is of scientific interest to Sigmund. From his father, Basara inherited the Hero and Dragon bloodline, which allows him to use dimensional attacks . Sapphire he received a demonic bloodline, the ability to heal his wounds with Magic and Gravity Magic. Also speaking, the Demons of the world of Mio are essentially Evil/Dark Gods, which puts them a step above similar demons of the world of Rias . And from his second mother, Raphaeline , Basara received the bloodline of a God. And the funniest thing is that Basa received not just the bloodlines of all four main races, but the bloodlines of their strongest representatives.

By getting a template of such a crazy hybrid into his arsenal, Sigmund will become noticeably stronger, not to mention that it will also help him in becoming the Beast.

Basara also has Brunhilde at his disposal , a demonic sword that greatly resembles Zanpakutō and Sacred Gear. If Sigmund learns its exact spiritual/internal structure, he will be able to recreate it. And whether it will be at least somewhat effective and expedient is another story.

- Okay, I'll go meet my father.

As much as Sigmund wanted to stay in Ciel's arms , he had to go meet his father. That was the family rule. Not that the rule was bad, because just coming home knowing that you were expected and met was damn nice.

This was exactly the little detail that Sigmund really liked about Orihime . She always ran to greet him when he returned from school or other business.

Because Tsukishima was an orphan at the time, he did not have the start-up capital to start making money on the stock exchange or simply buy shares of some company to get passive income, and so he went to part-time jobs. He was quite knowledgeable about electric drives due to the fact that in his second life he was quite capable of small things (third, if you count his life before reincarnation). He was a mechanical designer, developing various electric drives for the army during the Great War and World War II.

Consequently, he immediately got a part-time job as an electrician, saved up for the exam to obtain a rank, and then got a job in some company.

After a hard day at work, it was so nice to see Orihime running to greet him .

Ciel also noticed the tone of Sigmund's voice.

- Judging by everything, you don't like him very much.

- I wouldn't say so, I just think that he's raising children incorrectly. It's as if he 's doing everything badly on purpose, so that later he can watch my squabbles and discord with Angelica.

- Is it that bad?

Ciel began to think that scaring Arthur wasn't such a bad idea.

Sigmund shook his head.

- Nothing like that. It is quite natural that a boy and a girl will be treated differently, but Arthur sometimes goes too far. Besides, it is not uncommon for families to have a "favorite" among the children. This is a common problem in families, and sometimes there is no such problem, but the children themselves invent it. If there were an ordinary child in my place, he would think that he is not loved. Alice rarely shows love, except for hugs and moderate praise. Elena constantly grabs Angelica, and Arthur also spoils her. Against this background, Alice, to put it mildly, lacks empathy . And if Elena were not so loving, the child could think that no one loves him at all.

Ciel once again turned over in her head all her knowledge about the family and Siegmund's family, but it made her confused. Ciel knows that she really wants children. It was obvious to her. When she saw the simple drawn pictures of spirits that Siegmund showed, her heart ached. She wanted to hug and kiss each of them, she felt a kinship with them. And judging by what she managed to see, Elena and Alice feel the same way about their children. Except that Elena also loves other people's children very much, but considering that Siegmund is also Angelica's brother , then this is normal.

Ciel herself sometimes wanted to pamper Angelica and rub her cheeks, not as often as Sigmund, but she still wanted to.

However, now she began to feel that she was not quite ready to become a mother anytime soon, as it was a very difficult matter.

Ciel needs to prepare well before becoming a mother.

Well, and then ... Having received enough knowledge and, perhaps, support from the outside, she will force Sigmund to give her a child!

No, 10 children!

After all, this is exactly why she racked her brains and developed all these Kido for 100% pregnancy with Sigmund!

At some point, the hair on the back of Sigmund's neck stood on end and he felt a shiver run down his spine.

He had a clear idea that he had just dodged a bullet.

And he remembered again his F-rank Luck and EX-rank Luck with women.

***

Alice found Zig quite quickly, as he was sitting on one of the living room sofas, calculating another formula for the "Reconstruction" spell, or rather, pretending to be calculating something.

/ Damn, how I miss the "Great Sage"... With him, any calculations would be a piece of cake.

[Total Score: 922 OD]

It was a large sum, but it was not enough to get the necessary skill, and Zig was frankly sorry to spend OD on it, when he could potentially get his regeneration and "Predator" for 200 OD. Yes, Sigmund, on principle, will not put any of his installations there for the transition between worlds. The world of Tensura is overflowing with strong creatures, and therefore dangerous.

Sigmund had already agreed with Saeko that she would wait at least two and a half months before going to Veldora . Veldora wouldn't notice the difference anyway, and Saeko would be able to accumulate enough OD. By then, she would have accumulated 194 OD, or even 310 by the time she met the goblins. This would give her additional freedom in choosing abilities from the shop, giving her some understanding and control over the situation from Sigmund's explanation.

Of course, Sigmund helped her acquire the skill Magic Perception.

Magic Perception – 100 OD.

A very useful skill, especially against any illusions, but it was expensive.

And Sigmund wanted to get it for free.

- So how is your research going?

Alice decided to while away the time while waiting for Arthur. She did not feel the languid anticipation before Arthur's arrival, did not want to brag about her achievements like Angelica or spend time with him like Elena. Alice was bored just standing and waiting for Arthur. The daily affairs of Elena and Angelica did not interest her much, unlike her son's magic.

Zig shrugged.

- Not as good as I would like. There is progress, but it is still tiny. The restructuring of matter is happening, but not as I would like. Additional manuals with a detailed explanation of the atomic structure of the material are needed, as well as materials for practice. Right now my maximum is a tiny diamond 8 millimeters in size, full of cracks.

To confirm his words, Zig took a pencil out of his pocket, the tip of which glittered and shimmered with different colors.

Alice picked up the pencil and began to look at it carefully under the light. Elena and Angelica also came up and began to examine this "trinket" with interest.

- This is a diamond.

For Alice this fact was obvious. Sigmund's talent became obvious from that moment.

- Zig, is this diamond only on the tip of the rod?

- Yes, the penetrating power of this spell is practically zero. In addition, the wooden rod is full of impurities that will worsen the final product.

Sigmund lied, because his spells do not have penetrating ability as such. Only after the spell is formed can it acquire "penetrating ability". In any other case, before the stage of full embodiment of magic, Sigmund can use the spell even 10 kilometers away from himself, even behind several concrete walls 100 meters thick, there is no difference. Sigmund just needs to know at what point to use his spell. He needs to feel that space.

With Magic Perception this wouldn't be a problem, but with Great Sage the possibility of "friendly fire " would be reduced to zero.

- Why not just use graphite dust?

- It's not enough for me, I need to create an atomic lattice of the correct shape. When using dust, the distance between the dust is too large to do everything correctly.

- We can use Convergence and Absorption magic.

- I already use them, but I need more materials. Besides, by this logic, it is easiest to carry out the reaction in a solution, since the movement of molecules at a relatively high concentration is maximal there. Besides, I will not have to simultaneously destroy the atomic structure and reassemble it, which will simplify the spell.

- Then why not destroy the entire graphite structure with the same Active Air Mine? Vibrations of sufficient force will destroy the material, after which it will be easier to rebuild it.

- Then the carbon will interact with something else. The vibrations don't just destroy the structure of the material, they transmit energy, and with the energy received, the carbon can interact with hydrogen in the air or something else. In the same solution, there will be only distilled water, there will be fewer complex compounds and impurities.

Angelica and Elena heard them perfectly well, but they barely understood the essence of the conversation. They knew that the topic was connected with diamonds, but they did not understand how exactly. Angelica looked at her mother with a silent question.

/ Do you know what they are talking about?

Elena smiled crookedly at her daughter, Angelica smiled too, after which they looked at Sigmund and Alice.

/ And I don't know what they're about either. Let's just listen to them further.

Unknown to them, this strengthened the bond between them.

- That's true ... But why don't we just use the catalyst to create a diamond? That's what synthetic diamonds do.

Alice knew that some failures can demotivate a person, especially a child. She was already very pleased with Sigmund's progress, and therefore offered him an alternative option.

- Then it's not a Reconstruction spell, but merely a technical process for creating diamonds recreated with magic. In any case, I'll need testing materials, consumables, reagents for conducting quality reactions for other compounds, a chemically resistant chamber for creating a solution, and other devices.

Sigmund thought for a couple more seconds, then added.

- Although if I create a spell that splits matter into atoms, then that would be a different story. Then I would need not a chemically resistant bath to create solutions, but an isolated chamber that can withstand a vacuum and a vacuum pump. Working with elementary particles will in any case be easier than with simple and especially complex compounds. After our modifications, Direct Synthesis can already create the necessary complex compounds with specified chemical characteristics. With its help, I have already created a diamond, so the diamond template already exists ... In addition, such a spell that splits matter must be very expensive in terms of mana , and therefore it is logical to reduce the minimum mana requirements by reducing the thermal energy of matter to zero. And at a temperature close to absolute zero, the inertness of atoms leads to the fact that when using Direct Synthesis, carbon becomes an almost ideal Diamond crystal, since defects in the crystal lattice become less active, and lattice vibrations are minimized. With Convergence magic, there will be no impurities as such, and with Direct Synthesis, I will regulate the atomic lattice myself, which will lead to the creation of the Perfect Crystal. This can lead to an increase in its durability, the ability to accumulate mana , and a decrease in energy leaks…

Angelica and Elena understood little, since they did not study physics and especially chemistry so seriously and thoroughly. To put it simply, they were scholars, while Alice, Sigmund and the other alchemists were techies.

The most they understood was that Sigmund was very smart, and that he had come up with a way to create a very high-quality diamond.

Ciel , despite being a genius too, also understood little of what Sigmund was saying. She was a genius in the spiritual and magical parts, maybe in the ability to read people and so on, but in the scientific field? Ciel was the same kind of humanities as Elena and Angelica.

But Alice understood the monumental and gigantic power of Sigmund's theoretical achievement. If he could really create such a spell, then during their conversation he had already created a whole technology for creating various materials. Diamond is simply the easiest to obtain. Sigmund can create anything. Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, other precious stones, any hydrocarbons, nanomaterials like carbon tubes or graphene .

The technological potential of this spell is limitless.

- I need to write this idea down urgently!

Sigmund immediately ran to his room for his notebook.

Even Sigmund himself was horrified by his own conclusions and theories. He "only" needs to create a spell capable of splitting and dispersing any matter into atoms.

And with all this, he will need to find that balance whereby "matter splitting" does not turn into "matter explosion". Sigmund has a lot of power, a small mistake is enough for him to use Reiatsu for such a spell.

And he doesn't want to use "matter explosion" in his own backyard!

Alice didn't stop Sigmund from running to his room. She was very pleased that she had indirectly helped her son advance in his techno-magical research. So pleased that she even began to smile.

Lately she has started smiling very often, which is not typical for her.

As for Arthur, whom they were waiting for now? Alice didn't give a damn about him. Any adequate person would understand that such an idea was much more valuable than some "minute of honor" when he was welcomed home. And if Arthur didn't like it, she would cover for her son. Arthur could always say his indignation to her face ... If he dared, because he was afraid of her.

/ After all, if it is so important for him to see his son, who is waiting for his arrival, then he can wait a little longer outside.

And it was at that moment that Arthur drove up to the house and opened the door.

- I'm back!

- Hooray! Dad is back!

Being an ordinary girl, Angelica immediately threw herself into the arms of her father, whom she had not seen for a long time. And Arthur happily hugged his daughter.

A little later, Elena came up to him and kissed her husband.

- Welcome back, Darling.

- Yes, I'm back, Darling. Did you miss me?

- Yes!

Angelica answered without thinking, touching her parents with her simplicity.

- I missed you so much... Especially the time we spent together.

Elena answered very honestly. Although she enjoyed watching her children grow up, and she considered Sigmund her child, but as a woman she lacked male attention. She had not felt any definite male attention and closeness for a week and a half!

She is a healthy and young woman, she has needs!

And realizing that only Angelique was hugging him around the waist, Arthur looked at Alice. Alice herself, as always, stood to the side, her arms crossed under her chest. Arthur did not immediately realize that Sigmund was not there, since over time he began to stand next to his mother more and more often. Arthur did not know why, but he attributed it to his early rebellious period and Alice's influence. Sig was not a stupid boy and saw his relationship with his mother.

But what could Arthur do in this situation?

Fight with Alice even more?

Yes, he is afraid of her!

It took him three years to gather up the courage to spend three nights with her!

Arthur knows that she almost killed half of her relatives because of some small quarrel, and here is an open conflict. Arthur is not at all sure that he can survive a quarrel with her.

Besides, it's becoming more and more difficult for Arthur to understand Siegmund. Angelique was an ordinary child who needed her parents' attention, and Sieg could spend days without leaving the library. He can understand youthful maximalism, but Siegmund's aspirations to reach the Root or obtain True Magic... seem like an obsession to Arthur.

What's the point of living your life striving to achieve the virtually impossible when that life is slipping through your fingers?

Live in just one laboratory?

Well, that's not life at all.

In simple terms, society, represented by Arthur, did not understand the genius. A classic story of a genius meeting an ordinary person.

- By the way, where is Sigmund? Is he sick?

- He is currently finishing our joint project. I thought that it was much more important.

/ She… doesn't want me to spend time with him?

Arthur wasn't happy about this thought, but it was just a thought. He needed to see for himself before drawing any conclusions.

- Oh, well, at least he be free before dinner?

- He'll be free. Oh, and welcome back. In the meantime, I 'll go check on Zig.

Alice was still in high spirits, and therefore smiled. Even the arrival of Arthur, who would take up her time with her son, did not diminish her joy at achieving Sieg.

The smile on the face of the eternally calm and indifferent Alice could not help but worry Arthur. He had an uneasy feeling that she was planning something.

/ Is she really plotting something against me?… Although that's unlikely.

Arthur decided to ignore it for now. He could figure it out later.

- Okay, Angelica, let's go to the restroom, it's time to wash our hands and sit down at the table. Lunch is supposed to start in 10 minutes.

- Yes!

Ciel watched this performance with noticeable interest. Even though nothing seemed to have happened, she was interested in observing the dynamics of the relationships between the members of the Sieg family.

Ciel was able to draw some conclusions.

Despite the fact that Zig was at odds with his father, he was a good husband, at least he sincerely loved Elena and Angelica. He had a quiet confrontation with Alice, which is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. Alice does not care about Arthur, and Arthur himself is afraid of her.

For children, each parent is important in their own way. The parent of the same sex becomes a role model of behavior. Ciel often saw how Angelica, consciously or not, adopted the habits of Elena and rarely Alice. This appeared in different ways, somewhere in the desire to look as stately and majestic as Elena , somewhere to be as calm as Alice . Angelica tried to look like them.

The parent of the opposite becomes a model of behavior with this very opposite sex. Ciel was not too lazy to read a couple of books on this topic on the Internet in her world. Often girls from prosperous families choose a partner similar to their father. Exactly the same with boys, but with slight differences. Hence the Oedipus complex.

/ But Zig's situation is special. Because he is already a fully formed individual, he does not need a role model of behavior, and he does not need a model of an "ideal wife" either, but because of his formed model of behavior, it is difficult for him to accept a father who acts in a way that he would not do. And this leads to the fact that the relationship between them is very strained ... It is definitely too early for me to become a mother. I need to learn more about these interactions.

Lunch came quickly, Arthur sat at the head of the table, to his right was Elena, a little further away sat Angelica. Alice and Sigmund were just arriving, and so the others waited for them, Angelica asked her father about what he had been doing all this time. Arthur, in turn, talked about funny moments in his recent teaching practice.

Sigmund stepped forward a little and pulled out a chair for his mother. Alice was very pleased to feel even such a small manifestation of concern.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome, Mom.

Arthur saw this interaction, but he didn't care. As if he would be jealous of his son, and especially of Alice.

After this, the homunculi began to set the table.

- Zig, I heard that you started creating your own spells. Is that true?

- Yes, my mother helped me a lot throughout the process. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to do so many spells.

Of course it was a lie, but it was a harmless lie, and Alice liked it, so why not?

- I see. Can you demonstrate them later?

- Yes, sure.

- And I want to give you a small gift. I know that you wanted to spend your vacation with the whole family, including Albert and Anastasia. I contacted Albert and resolved all the issues, so you can go pack your things after lunch. Tomorrow we are going to the countryside to relax for the next week.

- Really? Hurray!

Angelica, being an ordinary child, was happy to hear such an offer.

- For a whole week? You must have worked hard all week for this vacation. Thank you, we haven't gone on vacation for a long time.

/ Hm? Is he imitating Alice? Well, that's normal for a child.

Sigmund was much more reserved, but his thanks were sincere. Arthur did not find it strange . But inside, Sigmund felt that he had let Ciel down once again .

/ My common sense has bitten me in the ass. I had already forgotten about this conversation 4 months ago. Yes, my calculations were correct, Arthur is a lousy manager, it took him almost 2.5 months to approve this vacation. I literally didn't have enough days to come up with a reasonable way to drag Ciel here... Hmm... Maybe I should arrange a "fateful moment"? With Ciel, it wouldn't be that hard to come up with a story about a fairy, like the Lady of the Lake and her sword. In this era, only a few people know about fairies: Zelretch and a few others. A story about a divine spirit that didn't have time to cross over to the other side of the world wouldn't be crazy. The Clock Tower was built on the corpse of Albin, who also didn't have time to cross over to the other side of the world. The story doesn't seem far-fetched. Well, the catalyst would be some Caliburn, a sword of Kladenets, or another sacred weapon. Luckily, I have enough spare material from unsuccessfully enslaved Noble Phantasms. Reworking Caliburn into something remotely similar to Harpe or Guandao wouldn't be difficult... Damn, that's a great idea!

- Well, I've covered all the important points, so let's begin our lunch. Enjoy your meal.

- Bon appetit.