Chapter 402: Preparation

Chapter 402: Preparation

Early Morning - Mid Winter : Sirathan Acardi Laboratory

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*Beep* "Unknown device connection detected. Scanning."

-Please work this time...- Anxiously watching the monitor as a loading screen appeared, I waited with baited breath before the Lab's voice came back over the intercom.

*Beep* "Video feed detected."

My eyes instantly lit up. -Wait it recognized it...-

"Do you wish to preview it?"

"Yes!" Eagerly standing up, I spoke so fast I wasn't sure the AI would recognize what I said.

But after just a second of waiting with bated breath, the loading screen on the monitor was replaced by a window displaying the aerial view of a forest covered in clouds.

"HAHA, NO WAY!" Throwing my hands in the air, I felt adrenaline rip through my veins. -To think that actually worked!-

It had only been a few days since Father, Hera, and I finished inspecting all the satellites at that point, but while Hera and Father rushed back home to prepare for the festival, I decided to linger about for a bit to see if I could figure out how to get at least one of the four older optical satellites usable before the day Mother wanted me back by, but things weren't exactly looking great.

In order to get the satellite to connect to anything, I had to add another module to the satellite to allow it to communicate to the connection tower in the Death's Gape, and in-turn the laboratory, through quantum tethering.

It was honestly a bit of a shot in the dark, but after some trial and error, and taking the time to look at the communication modules of the other old laboratories, I managed to recreate the Acardi converter that translated traditional electrical signals into qubit, and get the video feed streamed to the laboratory with almost no delay. -Gosh, it's so beautiful...-

Not only was there not any distortion, there wasn't even any artifacting. -It's actually a clean signal...-

Now, it was true that I couldn't send any commands to the satellite, so if I wished to zoom out or aim it anywhere, I would have to move it manually. -But that's fine...-

Because now that I had a basis of communication established, it was just a matter of time before I figured out how to have the lab give it commands. -It just sucks that I'll have to put that on hold for now...- Mom wanted me at the estate in Atlas in just a few hours, so further experimentation would be a bit limited.

And while I really wanted to create a fabric of space in the void, and experiment there, the moment I tried, I found that electrons didn't care about divinity, the flow of time, or something like the fabric of space, just like space mana. That meant, in order to test electronics in the void, quantum or not, I had to find something called 'divinity's constant', essentially being the pace of time for Delphi so that the electronics would function in a way that seemed normal.

But just as it sounded.. that was something way above my pay grade. Not only did I have no clue where to even begin with gauging the pace of time, I didn't have the control over my divinity required for it.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"And for the hair..." Walking out in front of me, she squinted at me. "Maybe we leave it... Spread your wings for me."

Following her instructions, I quickly spread them out before folding them up against my lower back again.

"Let's shorten it a bit." Waving over the maids, they quickly got to cutting away at my hair. "That's definitely better. What do you think Mistress?"

Mother was quick to nod with a pleased curl in her tail. "I agree. With some jewelry and a more formal attire, he'll be good... Use white-based jewelry for his humanoid form."

With a quick nod, the tailor had a short back and forth with Mother about what would look best before eventually, they finished and left, leaving just Mother while I tried to wrap up the paperwork I was working on.

"Okay, I guess it's about time I give you a rundown on the festival now that they're gone." Sitting up, pridefully holding her wings back, Mother's warm smile slowly brightened with excitement.

Because of all the paperwork I was working on, I already had a general idea of what to expect, but Mother was quick to start her rundown regardless.

"The Coming of Age festival this time around is going to work a little differently from past festivals. Starting next week, the younger generation of dragons will leave their nests in order to travel around Bahamut and make connections with others in their generation, and others in the cities they visit. The way this will work is that, next week, everyone is going to pick a city connected to their starting city on this map."

Quickly handing me a piece of paper with a map, I looked at exactly a dozen cities that were connected in a circle around Bahamut.

"The city they choose to go to at the start will determine the direction they go around the circle, and they will follow that sequence of cities, stopping for about a month in each city until they reach the city they started in. Typically you can go at whatever pace you like for this, but it's frowned upon to leave early, so please keep that in mind. Take your time to enjoy yourself a bit." Her smile widened the longer she spoke. "Each city will have different events taking place to help everyone mix and socialize, but individual noble families will be hosting parties for those that wish to attend, regardless of status, so do whatever you want and have fun!"

Gently nodding, I continued to listen intently.

"Then, after exactly twelve months, when most people should be returning to their home city, everyone will come to Atlas, including parents to celebrate together and go over things like the state of Bahamut. This is when Hera is planning to reveal herself as Monarch, and when she wants you to expose to the people of Bahamut who you really are. At that time, we will also go into more detail about the future of Bahamut, the government, and how things will work from then on."

-Interesting...- "So that's when all of Hera's changes will finally be set in stone?"

Gently nodding, Mother's expression brightened. "It'll be the day Bahamut's future shifts toward a new horizon! The next generation will be released to do as they please, and the historians will have to mark the beginning of a new era. You and Hera will finally be able to do whatever you want without care for the eyes of the public as well." Giving me a somewhat smug look for a moment, I felt like the room suddenly went silent. "Speaking of you and Hera... Why don't you invite her to come with you during the festival?"

-Huh?- Tilting my head, I gave her an odd look. "Well I figured since she has already experienced the festival-"

"I'm not sure what her festival was like when she was young, if there even was one back then, but I can say with certainty that she's never been with you, so bring her along." Her smug look slowly mixed with pride as she spoke. "It's not like you aren't in a similar situation to her, so why not enjoy some time together?"

Pausing to think, my gaze slowly turned to the ground before smiling and continuing more softly. "Alright... I'll go see what she wants to do after I finish this paperwork."

"Hoho~," Hiding her smile with the edge of her wing, she let out a warm chuckle. "I think that's a wonderful idea~."