“Now, I may be a beautiful genius…” Shiro said, looking at the box of crystal cubes. “…but sce isn’t my specialty. I know a bit, but… what’ll happehe aether runs out and the Alchemy device returns to the Boundary? Aren’t a lot of pure elements a little explosive, poisonous or worse?”

  “Of course. That is why we have started small-scale.” Ixitt pointed out. “I do admit a fasation for the principles of explosions and chemical reas. I fear those of us of a more spiritual leaning are often more ied in the es, not the process. Aether is powerful, a mediator of rinciples, but that which is not truly uood will never reach the heights of true power.”

  A mediator of rinciples? An iing phrase… At Ixitt’s words, I thought of my own experiences. It seemed to be rgely true, and the same definitely applied to elements as well, otherwise Shaeu wouldn’t have grown stronger whearted to uand the actual position and effects of the air, and the movements of it. Aether costs are lessened and it’s far easier to do something we uand is possible. It still achieve potentially impossible feats, like creating matter out of seemingly nothing, but then, is that actually truly impossible?

  I wasn’t Arisu-san, with her keen i in physics, and as Ixitt went on to expin that this was just a testing device, and the actual pnned factory would fuhe separated solids, liquids and gases into a number of specially prepared holding tanks, I found myself thinking about her. A talk show, huh? I’ve been on TV before, there was the reporter in Kyoto that interviewed me, and the press feren London, but… oh well, I’m holy not sure whether I’ll be the star of the show or not. Arisu-saainly has that ice-cold charisma, and quite the backstory edy, betrayal and revenge. But in our experiments with her Room, I had realised that what seemed impossible likely wasn’t. Matter be created from nothing, right? Else how did our universe start? I think Quantum Meics allows all sorts of weirdness, like you pass through solid objects, the ce is just so small that you’d o try for many times the age of the universe for the necessary states to align…

  With those thoughts in mind, I saw Ixitt produce a small device made of silver and crystal, in which ced a blue Etherite, which surprised me. “I thought you were saving the blue ones for artificial Ether Spires?” My Eye fred, showihe description.

  Artificial Boundary To Material e – This genius work of Mortal Engineering allows a small area of your Territory that you have full ownership of ierial that is ected to a Boundary area that you also trol to be supplied with energy, pulliher aher from the Astral and dispersing it over the surrounding small area.

  I see. That’s certainly useful if it stacks, and it seems like it does… The Device shone, a rainbow glow glittering across the metal and blue Etherite. Ixitt looked to have ied some sort of fuel, a powder of red and e, and soon my Eye could notice the differen density. It’s not a huge gain, but on top of what we already have…

  “Fortunately, now we have trade with the Night Parade, our supply of higher-eherites has increased. And the artificial Ether Spires are densing a number of red and e ones.” He rubbed his hands in glee. “This device was the hardest to manufacture, I am afraid greeherites are uo take the strain. If only there was a way to get our hands on the precious indigo or violet ones…” His expression was greedy, wistful.

  “Speaking of the Hyakki Yagyō…” Shaeu said, smiling wickedly at Ginneka. “…we ow-now fulfil our promise. You will be w hard, cat.” As Ginneka made a mewling noise of surprise, Shaeu looked at Asha and Shiro. “I would test-test the ability of this thieving cat t alcohol to the Boundary. Not-not only for trade, but for my grand-grand opening of the Spring. I wish to impress, and also extract as much-much wealth from the powerful of the Court as I .” Her smile was now positively wicked. “This all depends o though.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be helpful, right?” I said, and Ginneka hurried to agree. I turo Kana’s father. “I don’t suppose you do me a favour and go shopping for booze? Get a mixture of beers, wines, spirits and some high-end stuff too. You keep a few bottles for you and your family as well. Karen- will sort you out with the money.”

  With that agreed, the girls agreed to return to the Boundary and sample the driensively, making the excuse they had to thhly test the effects and potency of the transfer. Leaving them to it, I tialking with Ixitt, admiring the device.

  “So, it’s fuelled by Etherite powder?” I asked, and he shook his head.

  “ly. The power es from the ambieher, the powder is an accelerant, a catalyst, much as the blue Etherite is. The materials are spectacur, quite unlike anything from the Seelie Court. Study of it and the Materia Tree is advang Mortal Engineering by leaps and bounds. There are still some areas they are insuffit though.” He unched into a grand speech about the types of materials he silver metal was adequate for most purposes, and the crystals aherites worked for other things, but apparently wires to transmit aether were missing, as bluesteel could be spun to transmit elements, but had very poor efficy with aether.

  “For noinning the silver metal into strands, but it is a bour aher-intensive process. Wires and threads are crucial, so a workaround would be a great breakthrough.” He finished. “I had sidered one possibility…” He looked at the girls, who shivered.

  “I’m getting a bad feeling all of a sudden…” Shiro said, and Ixitt waved one hand.

  “It is nothing to be ed about. I have seen old records of silk from a spiders being used to iain magical circles and runes. Apparently the silk takes on the properties of the spider itself. So I thought that hair from those with great power would work simirly…” As he spoke, all of the girls covered their heads protectively.

  “No way! A girl’s hair is her life. If you think you’re having mine, you’re mad!” Shiro denied him. Shaeu followed up with a simirly angry refusal.

  “You would not-not wish to see my beautiful amber locks shorn away, would you?” she asked me, and I sighed. I’m not fussy, but I do love long hair on girls. But…

  “Yes, none of you would be right with short hair, but Ixitt does raise oeresting point. But we won’t be experimenting on any of you.” I promised. “We’ve all been strengthened, but I wonder, does it apply to hair as well? Ordinary hair has terength parable to steel, so…” I pulled a few strands free from my own head. “I’m curious. Run some tests.” I hahe strands to Ixitt.

  “Of course. Load bearing, aether throughput… but your hair is too short to be much use…” Ixitt wheedled.

  “If the results are good, I’ll experiment with regrowing hair with Ether Healing. If, and only if that works, we’ll ask for suitable voluo dohe girls looked extremely put off, but Ginneka was the one shivering now, seeing me looking. A shapeshifter definitely repce shorn hair…

  “I think we should ge the subject, Aki.” Shiro told me. “Now I could really use those drinks. You e too, Aki. No point being able to be in two pces at once if you ’t make use of it.”

  “That’s a good idea. I better uand Ginneka’s grasp on the Divine Favour.” I agreed. “But before that…” Ixitt was setting up a number of small silver spires. “…what are we testing?”

  “There is so much, I hardly wait to start.” Ixitt chortled. “But the key element is… sustainability. Much as I would like, we ot have Ginneka stantly returning key equipment to the mortal world.”

  “I should think not, nya. I agreed to help, but I am a woman of leisure, nya. I deserve fair treatment!”

  Ign that interje, he tinued. “You have sidered the same issue. Now…” he brought up a design schemati one of his tablets. “…the weight of accumuted trash per cubic metre varies by type, from arou thousand kilograms for steel and other metal waste, to less than two hundred and fifty kilograms feneral household wastes. A cubic metre seems the ideal volume for the alchemical devices to work with. Yes, for some wastes, such as old fridges, cars, heavy maery… a cutting process would be required. After all, damage to the waste is irrelevant.”

  His schematics showed the underground factory split into several parts. A huge ste facility, where waste would be sorted inth types. Fortunately, uraditional recyg there was no real problem if other types crept in, so that was oime and bour-intensive overhead saved. There would theransport belts that would move the waste to the cubes, heavier, more cumbersome items such as household appliances and cars routed through an automated cutting area first, where robotic arms would slice up rge objects into manageable ks.

  “I see. It’s a produ line, and again, unlike manufacturing, the roboti the line be retively cheap and crude, as we don’t need precision.” I mused. “It’ll take a lot of power to run though…”

  “Here.” He pointed. “The underground will be supplied with electricity by a bank of hydrogen fuel cells. The hydrogen is sourced from our own recyg, and the produced water be routed into a chamber for recyg and the hydrogen then resupplied. A virtuous circle. Eventually, we would repce these with our own prototype battery and geion teology, but… ohing at a time.”

  “That sounds amazing. But isn’t it impossible?” Kana asked. She had stayed behind when her father left, since she wasn’t going to be of much use buying alcohol. “I’m not the best student, I do enough to keep up appearances, but I know such free energy schemes viote the ws of… uh, I’m being stupid, aren’t I?” she flushed red, embarrassed.

  “No, not really.” Shiro ughed. “It’s kind of cute, girl. Anyway, it’s not a closed system, we are addira power from the Boundary, in terms of aether, right? So it only seems like some perpetual motion scam device.”

  Asha, who was looking at the dispy, somewhat fused, shook her head. “This world is toe for me to grasp, but… I uand you are doing it to make the world again.”

  “And of course, to profit greatly.” Shaeu puffed out her chest proudly. “Money makes this mortal world-wo round. Without wealth, our dreams are simply that-that. Dreams. But yes, the mortal world has many-many wonders and delights I would not-not be without now I have tasted them, but there are the ugly things too. Dirt, waste, poverty, crime. All-all should be eliminated in the world we will i. There are simir issues that pgue the Seelie Court too. Inpetence. Malice, enemies within and-and without. Lack of eai, boredom, maise.”

  “Yeah. I would say there’s no way that humanity ever pull together, but… an outside threat such as whatever might be ing could do the trick. But we’ll pn for the worst. Carry on.” I said to Ixitt, who theailed a rge number of Alchemy devices, where cubic metres of waste were poured in, disassembled, and the materials moved te ste tainers of various types. Some were pressurised, fases, others were heavily reinforced due to taining deals, and there were some others made of special materials to store incredibly hazardous elements with high oxidising or basic properties. The ste tanks were then mobile, able to be moved on a system of rails to go outside to be taken away, and rept ste tanks easily slotted in.

  Shiro whistled, seeing an animated demonstration of it. “Damn, the start-up costs are going to be brutal.”

  “Indeed. And that is not all. Above-ground, there will be a sed facility.” He showed details of more produ-lines. “These are the produ site for the proposed battery teologies, as well as the joint project with Ichijou house. With access to materials from below, the cost basis should be reduced to the minimum.”

  “So what are you doing with that Mayumi girl?” Shiro asked, and Ixitt brought up more schematics.

  “They wanted on-tech, being as Ichijou house is the premier manufacturer of armaments in Japan.” He pointed out. “And also some other profitable side projects, such as light and strong posite materials. Even split between us, I anticipate rge profits, Though our battery and recyg teologies are not in scope of the agreement, and the wealth from that falls to us.”

  “Hinata will be smiling so much her head will explode.” Shiro smirked. “She’s got quite the rivalry going with that irl. Friends hate to lose to each other. It’s probably why Yasu is so wound up right now. His harem dreams have been stolen by one of his friends. If you started going out with Hisano, that would push him over the edge, Aki. I’m almost tempted to see it” Her grin was wicked.

  I held in a sigh. “e on, she’s just a trainee. Sure, now I know she’s Yasu-san’s cousin, I’m keeping more of an eye on her, but… there’s nothing going on there!”

  “For once I believe Akio.” Kana jumped in. “I’m in ge of the trainees, so I spend a lot of time with them. Though Hisano- is grateful. She’s ged a lot. She’s got some fidenow. But she’s not stupid. She knows her pce. Going up against us is too big an ask for any normal girl. That way only heartbreak lies.”

  “Us, huh? Think highly of yourself, don’t you, Kana?” Shiro said, and she ughed proudly.

  “Of course I do. You should too. After all, we’re the ohat Akio pursued!” She struck her chest for emphasis.

  “You’re right.” Shiro said, a little surprised. “I hought about it like that.”

  “Ba topic…” I ged the subject, as it was getting a little unfortable. “What sort of volumes are we talking? Getting the waste to the site and the refined materials out might be challenging based on the location of the site.”

  “Of course. I have pnned for that as well.” Ixitt said proudly. “Schematics for underground tunnels with transportation trains leading to the Sagami bay. Goods be shipped in via sea, or by road and rail.”

  “Shit, aren’t tunnels uokyo like a hundred billion per kilometre? And these ones look bigger and deeper. I doubt even Mayumi’s rich family swallow that cost upfront.” Shiro pointed out.

  On seeing the pns, I had a fsh of inspiration. “No, but… if we have access to a lot of wielders of earth element, and potentially even just a rge number of those who use aether… coupled with artificial Boundary to Material es… no… ugh… I see my ether being spent brutally…”

  “Yes. If you purchase the nd along the proposed route…” Ixitt wheedled. Fortunately most of it was under existing roads, so the nominal ownership agreement would apply and I wouldn’t o spend moo buy it.

  “It’s one hell of an iment, but even if you think long-term… having a rge underground recyg facility and produ lines could be useful in an apocalypse.” Shiro pointed out. “Moving the on produ lines below-ground…” she poie open spa the schematic that wasn’t being used. “…we have to prepare for the worst, right? And…”

  “Yes. A smaller tunnel, just for people, linking to our prospective new home iral Tokyo.” I traced the line. “Basically, everything will be a fortress. A very expensive fortress.”

  “Of course, this is all assuming we scale the teology.” Ixitt had finished assembling his devices. “And for that, we o know just how Ginneka’s abilities work. Hehis setup.” He poio the structures, which my Eye told me were Artificial Warehouses. He took out a number of small metal balls, and they vanished inside. “Noait. One we will force to draiher within it rapidly, a couple as trols, one we will try and see if we replenish the aether manually, and these…” he pulled out more devices. “I would see if we vert electricity to aether. After all, lightning is electricity, no?”

  At his mad-stist grin I found I was getting ied myself. I miss crafting items. I haven’t do in a while, not needing to, having Ixitt and Bjarki on hand. But… I still have a few ideas of my own, and some of the skills and csses help out in other ways. Perhaps I should get involved. I have the ability to be in two pces at onow, so surely I have some extra time…

  ********

  “Seems to work just fine.” Shiro grinned, a little red-faced, as she poured out more shots of whiskey. “Go on Tsukiko, drink up. This is really good stuff! You too Eri. No point w about being underage here, is there?”

  Shaeu had needed no invitation and was rather intoxicated already. Empty beer s were scattered around her, faint traces of aether still ging to them as she drank from her own bottle of strong spirits. Ginneka was curled up into a ball, sipping at some sake, and her bemused brother also had some liquor in his hands.

  Meanwhile, I was also watg Ixitt’s experiments, and the results were exceptionally fasating. As expected, exhausting all of the aether more rapidly would dismiss an object, but it could be supplemented when Laverna’s blessing was already applied, much like I could keep people with inferior Chakra works in the Boundary by topping them up with Chirurgery. What was even more iing was that Ixitt had moved into testing basic items, such as a brick, a bar of iron, bluesteel, dwarven iron and silver, and the materials from my Buildings and the Materia Tree. Bluesteel and the dwarveals vanished back to the Boundary more quickly, as we had anticipated, as they were not native to the Material, but…

  “So why do the resources from the Tree st lohan even bricks or iron bars?” I mused.

  “I believe it might be their special nature.” Ixitt was overjoyed at the results. “They are extremely sensitive to ether, elemental energies and perhaps more…”

  “Yeah, adhere the least.” I agreed.

  “It seems that the effibued aether is high, and perhaps…” He moved several more outside the area of the artificial e. “…it absorbs some of the ambieher. If so, the differen density should show a time varian their existence here.”

  “If it follows some sort of linear rule, that would firm it.” I suggested, and Ixitt agreed.

  “In additioroying the object seems to hasten the departure.” Ixitt cluded, looking at a number of destroyed objects. “But ging it iain ways…” He looked at the pool of molten iron I had created by melting a bloetal. “…has seemingly no effe the time it remains. Now, I wonder… what about alloying?”

  As we discussed this, I was also the alcohol. Drinking it didn’t make it disappear, as it wasn’t destroyed, at least not immediately, but I was still half-expeg it to vanish eventually. Would that remove the effect, as if it was never drunk in the first pce? If so, that has both plusses and minuses… I have to say, testing the booze with the girls is more enjoyable though, especially… I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the girls ply Tsukiko-san with alcohol. It was then my attention was ba the Material though, as a military motorcade pulled up at the base of the shrine, and out got several soldiers, including one of the military Chosen I didn’t know that well, esc a downcast and submissive woman.

  Ohey arrived at the Shrine where Ixitt was setting up a portable fe, ready to begin mixing together various substahe soldier saluted me. “Oshiro-san, we have brought the prisoo be handed over into your custody. If you could sign this…” He pushed some dots my way on a clipboard, and after sing them to make sure nothing was untoward, I sighem.

  “In that case, I will be going.” He said, but not before shooting a sharp look at Nie Ling, who shrunk uhe anger. As they left, I pushed down my plex feelings about her and offered my hand.

  “How does it feel to be outside?” I asked, and after a moment she shook my hand lightly and I could feel her trembling, her eyes watery.

  “It is… not unpleasant.” She said in ese. “But… I don’t know what my future holds, or what the right decision was.”

  “Who ever does? It’s lovely when the easy thing is the right thing, but quite often we have to choose between a number things. For tonight you’ll have to stay here at the training school. Don’t worry, there’s a number of spare rooms avaible still.”

  She nodded. “I uand. I… suppose that is all I hope for. I ’t return to a, not now.”

  “No, even if we’d let you go, which isn’t really an option, you wouldn’t have a good time there.” I agreed. sidering the damage the invasion caused to already fragile Japan-a retions, and also the fact she betrayed their so-called Department for Managing Divine Mysteries, she’d be whisked off for interrogation, and likely liquidation. She knows too much.

  “I never asked for this…” she said again, and I sighed.

  “I know. But then a lot happens in life we didn’t want, we just have to make the best of it. It’s not like I’m going to torture you. But you will work hard.” I promised sternly. She flinched, but nodded after a moment, aowledging her position.

  As I gnced over at the busy Ixitt, I outlined her first task. “Now, if you could send a few people into their dreams, bringing them here… that would be a good start.”

  “Here?” She seemed incredulous. “This is reality, not a dream.”

  “Hey, to them, we are but a dream. Just like the butterfly dreaming it erson. It’s all about perspective.” I said softly, and I was thinking that her whole situation was a matter of perspective, different from wherever she was standing. Yes, it’s easy to decide from one viewpoint, but… that’s not how life works…

  ********

  “We meet again.” Eri said coolly, and Nie Ling looked down, chastened. Eri let out a bored, irritated sigh at that. “Oh, do grow up. I get you like feeling sorry for yourself, but… one of the victims of your invasion is here. She died and nearly had her spirit eaten.”

  At that, Nie Ling seemed surprised, and the elegant Tsukiko-san nodded regally, though her faintly red cheeks and slight sway betrayed that she was rather drunk. I gnced over at the others, and Shaeu shrugged, her smile cheeky.

  “Yes, I am Matsumuro Tsukiko, the Diviner. I was killed by that which threatened you. If it was not for these who risked their all to save me…” She looked at me, Shaeu, Shiro and ratefully. “…I would . As it is, I am here in spirit, uo return to the life I lived. And many would envy me. But for the Definite being overthrown by those who do not know how to give up…” Her smile was genuine afelt, and somehow alluring. “… not just those that died as a direct result of your as would ment. No, how many thousands, tens of thousands would be devoured? The great golden-eyed fiend is rapacious, ravenous. It would eat a until nothing remains.”

  “I know that…” she whispered. “But I surely have the right to look out for myself?”

  “If yooou do…” Hyath growled, having been quiet up until now. “…then yooou ot pin when we use yooou for our own ends. Hyath… I have dooone bad things, I know it, though I dooo not remember.” She looked away, her silver-violet eyes full of deep emotions. “…so I make amends. If nooot to the victims of my as, then tooo those who wish to stop future sadness. The world is cruel. I dooo sympathise. For Akio and the mistresses I wooould do terrible things, worse than to the Myids.” She shuddered. “But sympathy will nooot stop me using you. Now, dry your tears, woman. Self-pity is ooonly a temporary fort to yourself, it will never heal yooou. Only doing for ooothers will save your heart. Trust me, Hyath knooows well.”

  “She is right.” Shaeu agreed, going over to give Hyath a hug. “We did not-not show the Myids mercy, for they deserved none. We have killed, and perhaps we could have handled matters in other ways. But there is no-n back the past. Only the future. You made your choice. It might have beeween a bad-bad and a worse, but you still chose. Now prove yourself worth the sacrifices you forced on others. If so, I will say-say your choice was right. If not-not…” she didn’t finish, but the withering pt in her amber eyes in.

  “I… all right. I know.” Nie Ling pouted. She looked to Daiyu for sympathy, but she had o give, being oher side of the battle, despite their circumstances and flight from a being simir. Seeing that, Nie Ling sighed bitterly. “I’ll pay for my survival.”

  “Good. And if you do, one day… no, let’s not talk about the future. But the now. So…” I poio a number of Mortal Engineers waiting eagerly, as well as the leader of the weaselkin musis, Tillyae. Shaeu had long wa mortal music to the Boundary and lower Astral, but a Throne slot for Tillyae seemed wasteful. But if she be sent to the Material for a few hours here and there, she learn our songs and teach them to her musis. I wonder if they would actually give bes like their own songs do?

  As she set to work, struggling at the cept of sending them the other way, I asked Shiro to buff her. She rolled her eyes at me, but she did it, and soon the first couple of weaselkin vanished, and over ierial my other body watched in surprise as they appeared, blinking and fused for a moment, the shimmer of aether around them visible even to the naked eye. “At st… helpers!” Ixitt crowed triumphantly, and as several more appeared, including Tillyae, I grimaced. Wow, unlike all those who had a Throhese ones are here in their ordinary appearance… just wow. Eg my sister, I pinched my nose, feeling a headache ing on. So it works, but this plicates things a bit…

  ShipTeaser