Inverse System

"That should do it though. Looks like you had something erasing all your memories about the negative effects of glow stones. Well? What'll you do now?" Rein asked as he sat back down in the corner.

"What can I do… If I stop production, then the entire continent will be in shambles…" Alen stressed.

"This is exactly why I told you that we shouldn't mine them. We've grown too reliant on energy. And now that it's come to this point, it's too late for the world to return to normal," Voron informed, making Saphrilla raise her hand.

"I believe I have the solution to your problems. However, I will just need proper funding, which was the reason I came to speak to you, Mr. Alen," Saphrilla declared as she caught the attention of the two elves.

"Right… You told me something about that… The thing Uriel was researching before she died," Voron uttered as Saphrilla pulled out her perpetual motion device from her dress pocket.

"Perpetual motion..? It's the same as the glow stones then?" Alen inquired in fascination as he gazed upon the device, drawing similarities to the glow stones, who also provide power through vibration.

"Yes, however, there was one problem that it had. It's range. Unlike the glow stones, it could only affect objects in close proximity of it," Saphrilla explained, which made Alen and Voron come to a realization.

"But with Uriel's Spring…" Voron uttered.

"You can fix that issue! Voron, your daughter is brilliant!" Alen celebrated, almost as if his sickness was cured.

The two went on to discuss production for the product, calling Raxo into the room to talk with them. Voron acted as a mediator in the discussions.

"Alright! I'll give you guys all the funding you need. Our miners can work in the factories instead, I'm sure they'll be elated to hear that they won't have to mine anymore. I'll have a factory built in the city as soon as possible! We'll be glad to welcome yo—" Alen's rant was interrupted by a gruff voice.

"Now hold your horses for just a moment. You know there's a reason I've been able to leave her side for this long, right? It's because this kid here is with her. I won't be having her separate from him, you hear? She's staying in the Hasbin gulf," Voron protested, to which Rein grew a pleasantly surprised face.

Alen grew a downjected face, then Voron looked over at Saphrilla with the intention of apologizing to her.

"Sorry Saphrilla, but you know I can't—"

"I agree with you father. The factory should be in the Hasbin gulf," she remarked, which surprised everyone in the room, except for Raxo.

"Yeah, it should. The machinery we used to actually manufacture this device alone was pretty damn remarkable. That's why the gulf is the perfect place. The big ass glow stones provide more than enough power to run it. At least as a first base, we should have it in the Hasbin gulf. Eventually, when we've produced more of these devices, we can start branching out," Raxo explained, to which Alen seemed to catch on.

"Oh! I see. Well then, if that's the case, I'll have a factory-built there a soon as possible. Until then, please continue perfecting the device," Alen promised.

"Really dad?! But are you sure you can do that? What about the workers?" Raxo asked, concerned.

"Bah, don't sweat the details. I'll smooth it over with them. The real issue I'm seeing is how we're going to be branching out. Wouldn't these devices be impossible to make if it weren't for Saphrilla?" Alen asked.

"Yes, for them to work. However, I do not need to be there in the actual manufacturing process. As long as I have the finished product, there should not be any problems. All you would need to do is ship the devices to me, and I will do the rest," she exclaimed, again, Alen catching on quickly.

"Ah, I see! So it wouldn't even matter if we set up a factory in Naji, we could ship the finished products straight to the Hasbin gulf. Though, I do agree that our main one should be in the gulf," he concurred as they finished out the deal, Voron accepting it.

Eventually, Alen's adrenaline died down and they had to leave the room so that he could rest. They all exited one by one, Saphrilla, then Raxo, then Rein, but as Voron was leaving, he heard Alen call out to him.

"Voron!" He called.

"Hm? What's the matter?" Voron stopped at the threshold and looked back at Alen, who was sleepily looking at him in his bed.

"I'm glad I was able to talk to you again. Next time you visit Uriel's funeral… Tell her I said hi…" Alen requested as he fell asleep, Voron laughing as he exited the room.

"Of course, old friend."

When the group rejoined in the living room, Voron introduced himself to everybody, Rein and Saphrilla noticing 2 kids sleeping on the couch where Xenia was previously. They looked familiar, and upon further inspection, they recognized them. They were the 2 kids they had saved from the slave rings during the Ranger Academy entrance tournament. They seem to have found their way to Voron safely, which put a smile on both Rein and Saphrilla's faces.

"You taking good care of those kids Voron?" Rein asked, concerned for their safety, knowing Voron's capabilities as a guardian.

"Hahaha! If anything, they're the ones taking care of me! Criselor is one tough guy! When the two found me, I was actually being attacked by a gigantic slime. If it weren't for him, I'd have been done for!" He laughed as he felt a punch on his arm, an angry Saphrilla looking up at him.

"That is not something to be proud of. You should be more careful, father," she voiced, this being her way of expressing her worry.

"So you're Rein, Saphrilla, and Emria's dad, huh? You look somehow less… strict than I thought," Xenia sounded, Voron turning his attention to her with a gratuitous expression.

"Ah, you must be… Vossen, was it? I heard what happened earlier… You have my deepest gratitude for protecting my daughter," Voron bowed, which made Xenia laugh nervously.

"Oh, hahaha. No need to thank me. I… Didn't do much. Ultimately, it was him over there," she pointed to Rein.

"Ah, I've been meaning to ask. What is your relationship with him? Do you like him? I honestly expected him to be a lady killer," Voron insinuated, to which Rein facepalmed.

"O-oh, no sir… I have nothing against him, he's a great guy… But I already like someone," she declared in the heat of the moment, forgetting that Quint was there as well.

"Say what?! Sis, you can't be serious," Quint panicked, Xenia putting her hands above her head in defense.

"Oh yeah, how's it going with Clyde? Made any progress?" Rein questioned.

"Wha—?! How did you know it was him…?" She uttered, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"Clyde?! That fucking bastard… Next I see him, we're gonna have a little 'talk'," Quint threatened, making the rest of the room laugh, Xenia frantically telling him to stop his line of thinking.

Suddenly, they heard the doorbell ring, Raxo's mother running to check who it was. She looked through the peephole, seeing a group of royal soldiers waiting in front.

"Oh my, it's a group of Orthlys soldiers," she informed as gasps emerged from the group.

"Shit! Rein, go hide. They're after you," Quint said frantically, Rein scoffing at his gesture.

"No need. Open the door Miss Tincer," he instructed, to which she did.

"Good evening Miss Tincer. I'm sure you and your husband have already noticed what has happened with the Echo company building. We are currently doing a search to find the culprit. Not that we suspect that he may be hiding in here, but may we do a quick sweep of the house?" The soldier's requested respectfully.

"Why of course. You may search the house as you please," she let them in, the 6 soldiers bowing down before walking into the house.

As they entered the living room, they found an unusually large group of people quietly talking around the couch, with 2 kids sleeping on it. They scanned each person and didn't bat an eye at any one of them, making them move onto the next room in the house. They continued sweeping the house for any sign of the culprit, eventually turning up with nothing. They returned to the front door and apologized for the inconvenience, then left the house in a hurry.

"Sir, even if we do find a young man with black hair and red eyes, how will we know if he's the culprit?" One of the soldiers asked as they left the Tincer estate.

"Use your head, you idiot. There's no way we'd know. But we still have to put them under temporary arrest and bring them in for questioning. Our isn't to make judgments, only decisions."

The soldiers ran to the next house and continued checking each house until they eventually reached the last, of course, never turning up with the culprit they'd hoped to find.

"Anyways, I'll be going now," Voron said as he picked up the 2 kids. "Take care of Saphrilla and Emria, Rein. And most of all, take care of yourself. I'll talk to you when I find a solid enough lead," Voron said as he parted, both Saphrilla and Rein waving to him as he left through the front of the city, hopping back on his carriage and heading south west.

"Well, I guess we should get going too then, huh? *yawn*, I am feeling pretty sleepy. Where's Becca by the way?" Raxo asked as she picked up her bags, wearing them over her shirt as she switched out of the dress earlier.

"Ah, she left a little bit earlier. She said she would be back soon. I wonder what's taking her so long?" Raxo's mother replied, invoking a suspicious feeling in everyone's unconscious.