After a heated debate with the Tower Master, Deus gathered all his important belongings and made his way to the Third Prince’s palace.
“Welcome, Sir Deus. His Highness, the Third Prince, has informed us of your arrival.”
“Tom, thank you for the warm welcome. Where should I go?”
“His Highness suggested that you might prefer working in the basement, so we’ve prepared a space for you down there.”
“The basement?”
Deus questioned, to which Tom responded in a cautious tone,
“If it doesn’t suit you, we can arrange something else.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll take a look first and then decide.”
“And Sir Deus, since you’re the Tower Master’s disciple, there’s no need to be so formal with me.”
Deus pondered for a moment before nodding.
“Alright, I’ll try that. But did Ian really suggest I work in the basement?”
“Ah… well…”
Seeing the shift in Deus’s demeanor, Tom felt slightly nervous but answered with practiced calm,
“Yes, at first, I found it odd too, but His Highness thought it would be best for security. And our basement is actually quite spacious and well-maintained.”
“Well, let’s see it first. It’s not like you’re at fault, Tom.”
Following Tom to the basement, Deus found it better than expected. Being underground, it felt like an ideal place where unnecessary interruptions wouldn’t bother him.
“How do you like it, Sir Deus?”
“It’s much better than I anticipated. Everything seems clean and well-organized. Thanks!”
Seeing Deus’s cheerful response, Tom couldn’t help but notice the difference between him and the Third Prince. He also realized that ever since Deus entered the picture, the Third Prince had seemed to smile more.
Before, His Highness’s face had been worn out from drinking and indulging in debauchery, but lately, there was a lively expression on it.
“I’ll go inform His Highness that you’ve arrived. I’m sure he’s been eagerly awaiting you.”
“Hmm. I have a feeling something bothersome might come up… Can’t you tell him tomorrow? I’d like to avoid being pestered by Ian for at least a day.”
Deus suggested, but Tom shook his head resolutely.
“Sir Deus, I regret that I cannot disobey my master, His Highness. I must report your arrival immediately.”
Seeing Tom’s determined expression, Deus couldn’t help but laugh.
He remembered a time when Tom was much more timid, constantly nervous under the shadow of Ian’s former reputation as a wastrel. Now, Tom seemed more assertive, possibly reflecting the change in his master.
“Well, if that’s how you want it, I guess I’ll have to prepare to greet my master. I even brought a gift.”
“It won’t take long. His Highness has been counting down the days until you arrived.”
Tom left, and shortly after, he returned with Ian in tow. Seeing Deus already unpacking his numerous belongings, Ian flashed a satisfied smile.
After all, people rarely move twice without good reason. When Ian had convinced the Tower Master to let Deus come over, he had only mentioned it being a temporary arrangement. But who would be foolish enough to return a valuable engineer once they’ve joined your side?
“Deus, you got here faster than I expected. I like your enthusiasm.”
“Well, the Tower Master put up a bit of a fight at the end, but I managed to get out.”
Despite his tired expression, Deus’s eyes gleamed with excitement, and Ian felt an urge to ask him about his current projects immediately.
“Hmm, so how’s the new Detector coming along?”
Deus seemed to have been waiting for this question. He straightened up and responded proudly,
“Ian, you should consider yourself lucky to have met a genius magic-engineer like me. No one else in the empire could have developed a prototype this quickly.”
Seeing Deus acting like a child eager to show off his new invention, Ian felt like teasing him a bit.
“But Deus, would any of this even exist if I hadn’t come up with the initial concept?”
Deus wasn’t one to back down, and he retorted,
“Maybe it would’ve taken a bit longer, but with a genius magic-engineer like me around, it would have been created eventually.”
“Oh, really? I thought you’d have shed tears of frustration, staying up all night because you had no budget.”
At the mention of budget, Deus lowered his head slightly. He knew deep down that if it weren’t for Ian, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work on projects related to the empire’s administration.
“Well, there is a difference between planning and execution. Your concepts feel like they’re from another world.”
Deus’s words made Ian flinch momentarily. Deus had an uncanny sense for these things.
“Just show it to me already!”
Nodding, Deus reached into his bag and pulled out the prototype for the Detector II.
“I never would’ve imagined something like this. If I had, the achievements of the imperial knights would have been leagues ahead by now.”
“You even managed to implement the glasses design.”
“Of course! The first Detector was a bit cumbersome, so now all you have to do is press different buttons on the side of the glasses to change functions. It’s much more user-friendly.”
“Mind if I try it out?”
“Go ahead. I’ve already tested it several times myself.”
At Deus’s encouragement, Ian put on the Detector II.
He pressed the first button on the right side of the glasses, and his body’s condition began to appear in colors similar to a traffic light.
The first function Ian had requested was to display muscle condition like a stoplight.
Having worked out to survive while employed in the planning department, Ian had studied muscles extensively to ensure his exercise was as efficient as possible.
After intense workouts, it was crucial to allow the muscle fibers time to repair and grow. Overdoing it without understanding this principle could lead to muscle tears.
In a fantasy world where physical strength was vital, such accidents were likely even more common.
There was nothing more wasteful than losing valuable talent in the knight orders to injuries during training.
“So, Ian, what do you think? Do you like it?”
“Considering you’ve been cooped up in a lab, I thought your muscle condition would be worse. But you’re actually in decent health.”
Deus shrugged and said,
“To work long hours in the lab, you need to stay in shape. Burning out from overexertion is a disgrace.”
“That’s a great mindset. The prototype seems well-made. How long does it last?”
“As long as you don’t keep it on all the time, it should last about six months.”
Six months was a decent lifespan.
Satisfied with the first function, Ian activated the second one.
‘So this is how mana moves…’
As soon as Ian activated the second function, he began to see the mana particles in the air, glowing blue.
He could even clearly see the mana stones inside Deus’s bag containing the Detector, Scanner, and Pad.
‘With this, I should be able to recruit that guy who was the First Prince’s sword.’
This function would be enough to bring Raymond, who had been a loyal bodyguard of the First Prince in the original story, over to his side.
“Ian, creating the second function was a real headache… It’s amazing you even thought of it, but implementing it almost made my brain explode.”
“This might be worth a bonus. Is there an amount you had in mind?”
At Ian’s offer of a bonus, Deus held up both hands, displaying ten fingers.
Ian shook his head slightly, prompting Deus to lower his left hand.
“That seems fair enough.”
Ian pulled five gold coins from his spatial pouch and handed them over, and Deus reacted with the joy of a child.
“You seem unusually excited, considering you hardly have anything to spend it on.”
“Hmph, someone like you with plenty of money wouldn’t understand. You’ve got to save up while you can.”
As they continued chatting, Ian thought of a new hypothesis while using the Detector II’s second function.
‘If I could see how mana moves when casting magic, could I potentially shorten the casting process?’
Inspired by this thought, Ian asked Deus,
“Deus, have you tried casting magic while wearing this?”
“I haven’t had a chance to test that yet. I just finished it last night, and this morning was when it was completed…”
As Deus emphasized how hard he’d been working, he suddenly realized the implication of Ian’s question and exclaimed,
“Ian… why have you been pretending to be a wastrel all this time?”
“Deus, I think you should see for yourself. Want to try casting a spell?”
At Ian’s suggestion, Deus cast a 2-circle spell, Barrier.
“O great force, protect us, Barrier!”
As Ian closely observed Deus’s casting process, he came up with a few more hypotheses.
“Deus, it might be possible to cast magic without even speaking the incantation.”
Excited by the prospect of a new research topic, Deus’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he eagerly discussed it with Ian.
Not understanding a word of what they were talking about, Tom quietly closed the door and left the room.
He thought to himself that he should bring tea and snacks in a few hours.
***
Tom tried to dissuade Ian from visiting the Imperial First Knights,
known as the Sun Knights.
“Your Highness, please reconsider.”
Tom had never been so assertive in trying to stop Ian from doing something, making Ian feel uneasy, as if he was missing something important.
He realized he’d never read about the Third Prince visiting the knights in the original story.
“Tom, did something happen between me and the Sun Knights?”
“Your Highness… don’t you remember?”
Tom’s question made Ian think,
‘Oh, this can’t be good…’
“Um… I think I might have overdone it with the drinking that time?”
“Yes, exactly. That day, Your Highness drank heavily, and afterward, all the knights guarding our palace resigned.”
Tom’s explanation made Ian realize that the reason he had no bodyguards wasn’t because of the palace’s security but because of something his previous self had done.
It was all the fault of his past self’s reckless behavior.
Cliche Novel 