'Not yet… not yet.' Alphonse tried to control himself outside the bathroom.
He was trying to breathe to avoid making any wrong decisions. Clearly, he had a problem now in his hands—or rather, between his legs. But he needed to control himself.
'She's not ready for the next steps yet,' he thought.
Instead, he preferred to head to the library to pass the time.
'Show me my quests again,' Alphonse thought.
| New Quest: The Greatest Sin
| What is the greatest sin?
| Reward: [Level Up]
'Hey! Making my mother come wasn't the Greatest Sin?' Alphonse thought.
| Nope
'You only answer when you feel like it?' the boy thought curiously.
| Correct!
"Tsk." Alphonse sighed at the response. "At least could you give me that reward you mentioned?"
| Let me see…
| Right. You killed a lot of people.
| Hmm…
| Fine. But it will be less interesting than a skill.
| What can I give you?
[New Affinity]
[New Status Information]
Two new notifications appeared in front of Alphonse, but another message popped up before he could read them.
| Keep going.
"You know I want to save my family and my territory. Doesn't that bother a demon?" the boy asked.
| No. Quite the opposite. To do that, you'll need to commit several delightful sins.
| Keep at it.
"Hmm." The boy nodded.
Soon, the notifications stopped, and Alphonse could focus on checking the 'gifts' he received.
[New Affinity]
| Arcane Affinity
| Hell and the Arcane are very close. You already have a natural ease with Mana, but your understanding of the Arcane will become even easier.
"Right… what do I do with that?" the boy asked himself. "Maybe…"
One of the things he needed to prepare for war was money, and perhaps this would help. However, he still needed to conduct some tests.
[New Status Information]
| Delightful Sins (00/10)
| Others need to kill monsters or save princesses to gain experience. That's not your case; you need to commit delightful sins. Each sin will grant you points; once you accumulate the required points, you will level up.
"He… it… that thing is really from hell…" Alphonse confirmed. "Screw it, if it's on my side, it could even be from hell."
The boy walked over to two shelves and picked out a set of books. "Let's start the experiments!"
In the following days, Alphonse remained holed up in the library, only leaving when he saw the baroness was going to bathe, where he forced her to receive her daily massage.
His mother was becoming more dependent on the moments she spent with Alphonse, though she still wasn't ready for the next step.
'Not yet. Soon, she will be,' the boy thought positively.
As Alphonse continued his tests, Sophie kept training her magic and combat in the mansion's outer area.
Both were focused on preparing for the Imperial Academy, which led to some minor incidents—a mana explosion here or a torrent of water there—but nothing that prevented both from continuing to progress.
"Knock knock knock." Alphonse was awakened inside the library by a few knocks on the door.
"One moment. One moment," the boy repeated while trying to wake up. His golden hair was all tangled and oily from his time in the library. His face looked crumpled from sleeping on books.
Opening the door, Alphonse saw Sophie.
"Hi! UAH!" The boy stretched. "Sophie. Is it breakfast already?"
"Yes, but not just that. The representative from the Imperial Academy has arrived; he's already waiting for us," the girl informed.
"Already?!" Alphonse slapped his face a few times to shake off his drowsiness and ran upstairs, trying to change clothes and wash his face quickly.
Once dressed, the boy rushed to the meeting room. He saw his mother and Sophie talking with the representative as he passed through the door.
The man was quite old, appeared elderly, and had a long white beard. Upon entering, the old man stood up, using a staff for support.
"Young sir, Alphonse, a pleasure to meet you," the old man said.
"The pleasure is mine. Mr.…" Alphonse awaited a response.
"Eldric. The academy sent me to assist you in the next steps leading to your and your sister's exams," Eldric explained.
"Thank you very much, Eldric," the boy replied.
"Not at all, sir. It's just a small favor the empire offers to the family of a [Sword Master]. Your father is a war hero and extremely valuable to the empire, especially in the times we are living in," Eldric remarked.
Alphonse nodded at the old man's words.
"Ah! Where was I?" Eldric said while stroking his beard.
"About the next class," Sophie answered.
"Right. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the empire is gearing up for war. There's an expectation of the war restarting in about three to four years," Eldric mentioned.
'Hmm, little do they know,' Alphonse thought. The boy noticed a worried look on Isabelle's face for a few seconds before she composed herself.
"Because of this, we are increasing the number of classes. Instead of having two classes per year, there will be six," Eldric explained.
"Six?" Sophie asked.
"Yes, one class every two months. That's why I had to come quickly to Hohenberg; the next exam won't be in three months but in two weeks," Eldric explained.
"Two weeks!?" Sophie and Alphonse responded in unison.
"Exactly," Eldric confirmed.
"Then we need to head to the capital by next week," Alphonse responded.
"Yes," Isabelle confirmed, looking down. She had hoped to have at least a few more months with her children before sending them to the academy, but now that time had been substantially shortened.
"Additionally, I need to register you for the exam right now," Eldric stated.
"Alright, what do we need to do?" Sophie asked.
"It's quite simple. I need to know which course you will take and what your specialization will be," Eldric explained.
Sophie and Alphonse had already prepared for this. The academy had three-course options: Swordmastery, Arcane, and Strategy & Management, with Swordmastery and Arcane being the most coveted.
There were countless options for specializations, ranging from something simple like Blacksmithing or Animal Husbandry to War Magic or Weapon Smithing. Typically, the specialization granted access to special teachers and classes.
"I've already decided. I plan to take Arcane and specialize in Healing Magic," Sophie explained.
"Great!" Eldric replied, noting it down on a piece of paper. After finishing writing, he tore off part of the paper, and as soon as he did, the entire sheet vanished. "There, I've sent your registration."
Transportation spells were among the rarest and most difficult to perform, but with light, inorganic objects, they were more straightforward, though still expensive. Alphonse had studied enough about arcane properties and magical objects to know that the academy had invested heavily in them by sending an assistant with such material.
"And you?" Eldric turned to Alphonse.
"I've also made my decision. I will take Strategy & Management and specialize in Artificer." As soon as Alphonse finished speaking, everyone in the room was surprised.
"Are you sure?" Eldric asked.
"Yes, I've thought enough about my options," the boy responded.
Sophie and Isabelle wanted to ask how he had come to that decision, but they chose to discuss it with him later.
Once Eldric finished writing on another parchment, he again tore part of the paper, which soon disappeared.
"Your registrations are complete. Remember to be on time for the exam," Eldric commented as he stood up. "Unfortunately, I can't stay any longer. I still need to visit other baronies in the region."
Sophie stood up alongside Eldric. "No problem, I'll escort you to the entrance."
While they said their goodbyes, Isabelle took the opportunity to understand Alphonse's thoughts.
"Strategy & Management? Artificer? What are you thinking, son?" Isabelle asked.
"In our baronial position, even though it's one of the smallest classes of nobility, with my [Mage] profession, I'll unlikely be on the front lines. So, Swordmastery wouldn't benefit me. As for Arcane, just one year of training wouldn't give me enough advantage to impact the war. Magic takes a lot of time to study," Alphonse explained.
However, there was one part he was lying about. With his ability to quickly understand the Arcane, he could become powerful with just a year of training.
But he wanted to avoid being close to people who might recognize his spells, especially his specialty in Mind Control.
"Finally, Strategy & Management will always be useful, whether in combat or peace," the boy concluded.
"But isn't Artificer a type of magic? Aren't they the mages who create items?" Isabelle asked.
"Yes. We have a little over a year to gather the funds to support ourselves during the war. During the trip to Montefalco, I noticed how the nobles were pouring piles of gold into Mana Lamps, and you saw that even the empire is investing in magical items. I believe we can manufacture and sell magical items here in Hohenberg," Alphonse commented.
"But doesn't that require rare materials and a huge investment? Not to mention that each item takes months, if not years, to be ready?" the baroness inquired.
"Yes, which is why it's a gamble. I want to see if it's possible, but it can't be our only option," the boy explained.
"…right," Isabelle concluded.
Her son's plans made sense, but many bets were being placed at once. She also needed to figure out how she could contribute. But most of all, she was happy that her eldest children would study 'Strategy & Management.'
'If Alexander were here, he would never allow this,' she thought.
Alphonse left his mother in the meeting room and returned to the library.
"She's worried, but I can't show what I'm doing yet. No one would imagine what an Artificer could be capable of."