"Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress and Lady Leticia I have arrived as requested."
"Long time no see, Dustin; I thought you forgot about us."
"Now, now isn't it a good thing he came to visit after very long weeks since preparing for the ceremony."
Ouch!, that hurts. I know I was trying to attract less attention from the royal family's enemies, but them saying that really hurts.
Man, having this guilt, I can't bear to look into my siblings' eyes. Yes, I have two new siblings, the first being Serafina and the second being Dylan.
Though they are only a year apart from each other. Lady Leticia took care of both of them the majority of the time because their mother was always busy.
I don't think it's the same for others because my father's wives don't complain or argue with each other. Which I think is rare in nobility, well if i based it from what i read and watched.
"My apologies. I was very busy with something and got too absorbed in it. I apologize for the long wait, even though I promised you, Lady Leticia."
"That's all well and good, but I think you should apologize to someone else, don't you think?"
"Huh?"
I was a bit confused, then looked around and found that Serafina was beside me. Seeing her pouting face is really cute, but I need to erase her grumpy feeling if I want to live a peaceful life from now on.
"Apologies, my lady, for this gentleman had not been able to attend to your needs."
"Hmph!"
She turned her head grumpily.
"I'm very sorry, Fina. Big Brother won't do it again. I was just very tired during the event. Can you forgive me, please?"
She kept turning her head. And I continued to coax her.
It wasn't until three minutes later that she gave up and gave me a hug. So I carried her and got to my seat.
"It seems to me that the goddess' tear work very well, huh?"
"Though it was disappointing, it didn't give you a rank close to what it was before."
They said to me as they saw how I carried Fina easily. And yeah, many people have ideas on what my rank would be, saying it would exceed my great grandfather or the hero and founder himself, but it was nothing more than a fantasy bet that will never happen.
And I believe my previous teachers would have agreed with their reaction.
"But still, it did great. I can carry Fina so easily without any problems."
"That's fine if that's what you want."
We continued to talk, and in the middle of the conversation they talked about the school competition this upcoming year at the magic academy here in the empire.
Apparently they since it is the last competition that brother Logan will attend so they came there as a sign of support.
And this reminds me that they assigned a tutor for me.
"Oh yeah, I received your letter. Who is the tutor?"
"You don't have to worry if you know him. Although we weren't able to get in contact with your teachers before, his skill won't be any lower, and it's more like he might be better than most of them."
"I am really grateful for it."
"And I have given permission for you to use the facilities in the mansion you lived in. After all, you and your teacher are going to have practical lessons after all, especially the ones that you requested."
Hearing that, I understood that Kiara had said something about it to my mother.
"I guess she really cares for me, huh?"
"Thank you, mother."
The talk ended after I had afternoon tea with them. And as we were about to return home, I confronted Kiara in the carriage.
"Kiara."
"Yes, your highness."
I can tell from her reply that she admits that she was the one who talked to my mother about it. And I could tell by her tone that she was prepared for what I was about to say.
"Thank you."
"Huh… your highness?"
"I mean it, you did a lot for me even though I was being pushy. You did your best for me. And I am very grateful for that."
"Your highness."
"So thank you, and I still hope that you can tolerate my pushiness from now on."
"Of course."
After a short conversation, we returned to the mansion.
~~~~~~~~~
A few days have passed, and the tutor will arrive today, so I am now at the front door waiting.
And it opened.
"Hello everyone".
My tension relaxed. It was professor Philip.
"Good morning professor Phillip.".
"Oh your body is absorbing mana quite well huh?"
As he said that I saw him having a scout- no the energy quantifier.
"Is that the new and improved energy quantifier?"
"Yeah, it is so. And seeing you, it is really true that you are rank C."
"Huh? It can also see other people's talent rank?"
"Oh, no it doesn't. I simply make references from the surveys and polls that we conducted."
"Heee that's nice"
Good thing I modified my clothes or it might have been dangerous not to mention creating thin roots was a really good idea.
My clothes have geometric pattern parts made from Titan's rock shells which I positioned to cover my roots in a certain way. I would not have been able to do this without Dustin's natural intellect and my knowledge from my previous life.
The design is in a way that creates illusions against this tech. I noticed that it can't really see through Titans skin. But since I need to create a good alibi I need something that can blend with my roots to avoid suspicion.
So with the right positioning the clothes will create positioning that can cover certain parts of my root. At the same time showing little mana to my body. Plus with a great placement of my roots it will mostly be impossible to see my roots rank if I don't forcefully absorb or release my mana.
"Right, let's go to the library.?"
"Huh? But I have to wait for my-. No way?"
"What is it?"
"Wait, you're my tutor?"
"Yeah? Isn't it obvious?"
~~~~~~~~~~
I was stunned and scared at the same time. I mean, this is the fearless professor who barged in at a special event unannounced.
Right then let's first start on what you understand about what you understand right now. Here are test papers with different subjects that we are about to learn.
As he said that he gave me a whole stock of paper.
"I'll answer all this?"
"Yes, why is it too little?"
"No this is alright, I'll start right away."
Saying that I answered the papers. And as I was half way done it was time for lunch. Meaning a break from overusing my brain.
"It's lunchtime, professor; here's your food."
Kiara said as she set our lunches near our table.
"I guess it's break time. Let's continue after eating."
"Thank you."
Then we ate, but as we were eating, I asked something I wanted to know.
"By the way, professor, why are there no topics related to core creation?"
"Huh, you read the books here at the library, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you should know why."
"Huh, but I don't know?"
"What why?"
"I don't know?"
Hearing that he looked for something at a certain section of the library. And returned without carrying anything.
"Haa, I guess that book hasn't been returned yet, huh."
"What is?"
"Basics and fundamentals before creating a core. It is only one book, with no second volume. But it is like a complete set of ideas already."
"What is it about?"
"It is like this. You know that before a child reaches the age of seven, they can't cast magic, right?"
"Yes, it is mostly impossible."
"Well, not before your accident, though. Anyway, there is also a prerequisite when making a core. And it is also age related."
"What is it?"
"One needs to be fourteen. Do you know why?"
"No."
That is twice the required age to use magic. Don't tell me there is also a requirement when one reaches the age of twenty eight?
"It is said that a person achieves something after reaching the milestone of seven years."
Oh, so the next one is twenty one and not twenty-eight, huh?
"And what are these milestones?"
"The first one is the magic passage, the root, and the second is the magic path. The passage is absorbing mana. While the magic path is the path taken when one chooses to be a warrior or mage."
"There is more, right?"
"There is, but it is better to stay here now since this is what you needed to know. So, which route are you going to take?"
"I don't know, but I want to try many things to decide what I want to do."
"I see, but it is best to know what you want early on. But it is good to try many things to find your own path. Alright, then let's continue your tests."
"Yes professor". I answered back to him as I finished drinking. But I lied about not having a path because I already have one I want to take.
And for that path to be taken, I need to try various skills to solidify it. But this is the first time I heard of having the fundamentals of core creation. I wonder where it is. Well, it's not like I need it, but it wouldn't hurt to read it.