[["Teacher!" Galleo ran towards the fallen Sisario as he helped him up.
"I'm ok! I'm ok!" Sisario shouted, but obviously he wasn't as every time Galleo let go of him, his legs would collapse and his hands that normally trembled every time he held the heavy metallic parts could no longer hold onto them for more than 2 seconds.
The sad and obvious truth couldn't be denied any longer.
Sisario was too old now to work]]
"Then? Then what happened?!" Duke could no longer hold his curiosity.
"Did he finally beat the bear with his own two hands???" Duke asked with genuine curiosity as the story he heard from Galleo was... somewhat jumbled.
"Yes, I think it was his second or third bear... I forgot" Galleo answered but he was suddenly having a hard time remembering what happened next regarding his teacher. It was like something blocked his memories.
"I... I don't remember?!... huh" Galleo sighed as his face firmed.
But then, after thinking intensely about his past, Galleo's relaxed face suddenly changed.
Duke will never forget that face he saw on Galleo that day, and Benjamin was all too familiar with that expression.
It was the face of a sad and broken man.
"He suddenly collapsed... and became too old to work" Galleo had a hard time answering Duke.
Galleo felt lumps in his through as his repressed memories slowly began to emerge again.
"I asked my parents if-if... If he could stay with us for a while. Teacher didn't have anybody left after his wife and daughter fell to an epidemic... "
[["Mama! Please let Teacher stay here for now, he doesn't have anywhere else to stay!" The young Galleo sincerely begged his mother.
"..." Galleo's mother couldn't answer her son's request immediately as they too were having financial troubles.
"Alright, but make sure you're the one taking care of him alright?" Galleo's mother knew just how important Sisario was to her son, being his only teacher for 3 years now and all, and so agreed]
"Sisario just got weaker and weaker... And so I decided" Galleo tried to articulate his words but with much difficulty.
"And then? What happened?" Duke became even more curious and worried about Galleo as he noticed Galleo's speech becoming even more sporadic by the minute.
Benjamin just watched in silence and in suspense.
"I decided to prove Engineering did have a place in this world..." Galleo's were filled with regrets.
["Teacher! Look at this, I've discovered that Air goes up whenever it's heated! It shows many intriguing similarities to water!" Galleo enthusiastically showed his teacher the little Alchemy test he conducted.
"Hmm" Sisario happily nodded when he saw Galleo's test, impressed by the young lad before him... And also somewhat guilty.
"I wonder what would've happened if you studied real Science instead of my Engineering" Sisario sighed as he saw Galleo's undeniably blooming genius before him and a dreaded sense of guilt consumed Sisario as he asked himself [Am I leading a genius of this generation to the wrong path?]
"What are you saying, Teacher?! What I learn, and what I accomplish in the future, is all because you were there to encourage me! Who else gave me the time and understanding to bloom to who I am today? None of those snobby professors would've ever given me the chance to prove myself..." Galleo sighed.
"Kehehe, I know I'm pretty smart, not gonna lie. But this was all because of the groundwork you laid before me, Teacher!" Galleo respectfully spoke]]
One of the many reasons Galleo respected his Teacher so much was due to the fact that despite Sisario never having any formal education in the Sciences considered by Venicia to be "real science", Sisario engulfed himself with many different branches of education such as Arts, Poetry, Alchemy, Architecture, and even Medicine that he used and integrated into his machines.
Through Sisario, Galleo learned from an early age that every field contains knowledge that could contribute to one's Science or Field, a real-life Phenomenon we call The Medici Effect here on Earth.
This was why Galleo learned Painting, Arts, Physiology, and even some Earth Magic. But, as the loyal man Galleo was, despite everything he knew, he still considered Engineering his main Science.
Sadly, this made him a target of belittlement and ridicule over the years to come. If people only how much Galleo actually knew...
Another reason Galleo looked up to Sisario was that his sheer ability alone impressed the Principal of the Venician Academy enough so that he gave Sisario a section of the Academy that dedicated itself to Engineering, a Science many scholars in Venicia looked down upon as but a minor sub-branch of Blacksmithing.
Although the section was only one room and the fact that only the students considered unteachable like Galleo were put in that section, it was still nonetheless a great achievement for a once illiterate Blacksmith like Sisario who rose from the ground up and was self-taught.
"Yes... I wanted to show those snobs the potential of Engineering!" Galleo's distraught voice began to temporarily regain enthusiasm. Remembering that fateful competition.
[[*Clank Clank* *Ting Ting Ting* Galleo began to work on the parts for his machines. Due to the fact that Engineering in this world was neglected due to the people seeing Magic as a better alternative, Galleo had to forge his own parts from scratch.
Galleo repeatedly worked the smithy again and again until he perfectly created the delicate parts needed for his inventions as his teacher continued to motivate him.
"Hmm, good, very good. Although this part could've used less hammering hahaha" *Cough Cough Cough*
In the morning Galleo worked the forge as his mother brought him juice, and in the night he worked on designs and his "Machinistic Blueprints" as he called them (They're just normal blueprints) while his father chanted [Good job son! May the Gods watch over you!] in the background.
*ACHOO!* Galeo sneezed one night. "Brrrr, is there a ghost?" Galleo felt a sudden chill as if someone was watching him...
"No one there..." Galleo murmured, not knowing it was just his overly supportive father in the background... staring... watching... supporting.
The day he waited for finally arrived.
Galleo wanted to prove to the Scholastic world that Engineering HAD something to prove. And so what better way to do so than win the hearts of the great Philosophers.
Luckily for Galleo, he lived in the very city they lived in.
The Philosophers, a group of enigmatic figures who dominated every field of "real" science within the Continent.
Every three to five years the Philosophers held a competition to see who would be qualified to enter their ranks. It was an informal competition, and so sometimes 1 person got to join, sometimes 5, and most of the time no one got to join. But Galleo was sure his invention would at least impress the Philosophers enough to give him the title of Philosopher-Candidate.
And so there he stood, waiting for hours under the searing heat of the Sun, waiting for a Philosopher to approach his work surrounded by thousands like it, in the hopes that his product would be chosen]]
Galleo's eyes shone in enthusiasm as he remembered the first Philosopher to approach him during that hot day.
But enthusiasm quickly changed into despair as he remembered that fateful competition.
That fateful competition that forever sealed his fate... as a loser.