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The entire area was left in awe at what just took place. Even the participants, were all awestruck. Mikoto and Hisao were two Fire and Earth Mages respectively, so Tachibana made them try out the Lava combo. And from then on, everyone had been stunned. Tachibana continued with the other combinations, the necessary Mages taking part and proving to the new Prince that his fiction can indeed become their reality.
But for absolute certainty, Tachibana had the Mages go through the combos more than once, and each time they got even more amazed. At this point, they started to see Tachibana in a different in a light, not like the real Prince Yuri who who didn't care about anything, but like the respectful Division Leader that he should become.
After the practice runs, Tachibana sent a message to the Mages upstairs about their activities. Since Taro had recorded everything, even Tachibana's instructions, when the battle Mages saw it, they too were awestruck. While they knew about the combos prior, seeing it in action was a whole new kettle of fish.
But one thing was for sure, it excited them to end; most, if not all wanted to get to it right away, however, they had to wait on their orders from Tachibana. Still, this caused the Fourteenth Division to be in the best mood ever since the division was created.
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"Now this is why I need your help." Tachibana started, looking the Engineer dead in the eyes. They had returned to Taro's office to further discuss the Prince's plans. The papers before Taro had the annotated sketches of a glove and a shin-high boot, similar to what they wear in the military. "On the battlefield, it may not be possible to get another Mage right away to execute a must needed combo. So with this glove, I want the Mages to be able to do that, by themselves."
"But won't it be a little..." Hiroki started but trailed off to find the right word, "...cumbersome? Take me for example, I'm a Water Mage, and let's say I'm fighting a Youma. I use a Wind glove and combine it with my element to freeze it, but then another pops right up and I need to create some mud. I'd have to switch the gloves, right?"
"But that's where Taro and his Engineers come in. They'll find a way where if possible, they combine all the elements into the glove and you'll just have to channel your Mana into the appropriate parts to produce whichever Magic you desire." Tachibana said.
"I do have an idea." Taro said while tapping his chin. He examined the sketch thoroughly —a plain and simple glove but with a Lightning Magic Circle embedded on the back of it. In fact, Tachibana had taken this idea from one of his favourite anime —Fullmetal Alchemist. "Maybe we could incorporate the elements into each finger of the glove. That way, all one would need is to channel their Mana into whichever they please."
Tachibana laughed. "Imagine wanting to combine an element and its at your pinky."
Hiroki and Taro looked to each other. "You're right about that."
"But, I leave it all to your creative mind, Taro-san." Tachibana grinned. "I know you won't disappoint."
"Of course not, Your Highness."
"Good. Now onto the other matter." Tachibana piped up with a grin. "I want to fly. I'm sure this is possible with these boots."
Taro chuckled at Tachibana's childishness. "Flight isn't a walk in the park, Your Highness. And is it really necessary? Who needs flight when we have Teleportation Circles?"
Tachibana shook his head and looked through the window. "While I was reading about the various feats of the current and past Generals, I've come to realize something about aerial battles." Taro and Hiroki looked baffled as they didn't know what Tachibana was coming with.
But the young Japanese ignored their faces and continued, "Won't it be better —easier rather, to fight without limiting oneself to a Magic circle in the air? Won't it be easier to navigate around your enemies while flying?" He looked to Hiroki, "I'm sure you agree with me."
"I do." Hiroki replied, turning his face away to his the blush. Of all previous times before Tachibana arrived, he and Prince Yuri could never see eye to eye.
"How do you expect us to get this done?" Taro asked, changing the mood totally.
"Can't you implement some form of Wind Magic or anti-gravitational thing in the shoes?" Tachibana asked. "That should be simple for people of your calibre right?"
The two Mages looked at each other in shock.
"Well, now that you said it, I think it'll be easier to use the latter." Hiroki said.
Taro nodded in agreement, "Right. as not everyone will be able to control Wind Magic." he added. "Especially the Earth Mages."
"But how will we prevent people from floating out to space? I mean, if we add zero-gravity on the shoes, then won't...?"
"Not really." Taro said. "All we have to do is adjust the gravitational pull, maybe. Instead of having zero gravity, maybe we could use 50 percent gravity or something."
Tachibana's eyes darted between Hiroki and Taro who were busy throwing out ideas between themselves. They spoke using mostly jargons which he wouldn't know, but one thing he was grateful for, Taro was onboard with his plans. Being in this world devoid of sports and the recreational activities he had back in Japan, Tachibana decided to get creative in order to quell his boredom. And what's even better, he's a Prince, who's there to tell him he can't do whatever he wanted?
"So what do you think, Yuri?" Taro asked, taking him out of his thoughts.
"Do as you see fit. But I'll like to see the first finished product before anyone else though."
"Not a problem. We'll keep you updated every step of the way."
"By the way," Hiroki joined in, "Are you doing this for the entire Self Defense Force?"
Tachibana didn't miss a beat. "Not at the moment. It's for our Division, so this is to be kept a secret."
"Yes Sir!" Both Hiroki and Taro replied with vigour.
"Good, dismissed."
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It's been a week since the Fourteenth Division began working on the Elemental Combinations; for Tachibana, it's been a week full of stress. After seeing what the combos really entailed, Tachibana didn't need to supervise his Mages, which meant, he left them to their own devices so he could focus on what needed to be done. He had to sort out the weapons his Mages needed —he had started it the day when he had first met Hiroki, but at the time, the Vice Division Leader was so frustrated that he didn't share with Tachibana a valuable piece of information which would make his work easier.
All the data regarding his Mages has been computerized.
Upon hearing this, Tachibana felt the urge to strangle the Water Mage, but he fought it down with all his willpower. Nevertheless, he worked on it for the entire week, and by the end of it all, his Mages weapons were delivered by midday, Sekai time.
In addition, Tachibana himself still had training to do with the King, and his tutoring to attend. By the time school should reopen, his family wanted him to be up to par so that no one would notice a discrepancy. And in the midst of this, he read more about Saishi's military and well-known historic battles that took place, to be able to fill the role that he had been forced into.
"I wonder what the Prince is doing right now." Tachibana muttered to himself as he slumped forward onto his desk. "It can't be worse than this."
Little did Tachibana know what hell was just about to break loose on Earth.
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