The Simulacrum - Chapter 83~ Part 1

Let me see. Phone? Check. Keys? Check. Coat? Check. Beany? Check. Bag? Check.

After concluding that I’d got everything, I slipped into my outdoor shoes and called out, “I’m off to visit the Knights!” towards the first floor.

“Take care!” my sister responded with a muffled voice from behind the closed door of her room.

There really wasn’t much else to say, so I promptly Phased out of my living room, and a blink of an eye later I was looking at the cloudy skies hanging over the city. Or, at least, I presumed they were cloudy, as it was well after sunset. Around six in the evening, to be precise. It was cold too, and if the weather forecast wasn’t pulling our legs, we’d be getting some snow in the next couple of days. White Christmas was around the corner.

More importantly, I sneakily glanced around, hopped over a short picket fence, and continued on my way on foot. Phasing directly to my destinations all willy-nilly was a bad habit of mine I had to temper, especially now that I made it the defining trait of my Bel alter ego, so I picked a neighboring placeholder I marked specifically for this purpose and teleported to their backyard first. It was a small effort, but the last thing I needed right now was for Roland to get suspicious. That man was unnecessarily sharp at times.

In any case, I soon reached the Dracis mansion, and I could feel all nearby eyes focus on me when I got close. Security around the estate was even higher than usual thanks to the upcoming conference, though it was mostly just for show, considering the Knights were already inside. Once I reached the main gate, the nameless security guards opened it for me at once, and I slipped inside. I gave the men an appreciative nod, just on principle, and they returned it before retreating back into the heated gatehouse post-haste.

“Oh. Good evening, future young master,” a certain braided blonde maid greeted me as I entered the foyer. She was dressed in her usual French maid outfit and carried a feather duster. I had no idea why; I’ve yet to encounter a single speck of dust since the day I woke up in this world. But then again, Snowy also spent a lot of time sweeping the room and wiping the windowsills when she was cosplaying, so maybe it was a ‘maid-thing’ I just couldn’t understand? Either way, I pocketed my knit cap and gave her a reserved smile.

“Hello, Melinda. I see you’re hard at work as usual.”

“A maid’s work never ends,” she said in a tone that kind of sounded like an advertising slogan. There was a short beat hanging in the air, but when I didn’t react, she added, “I’m afraid Milady isn’t back yet. I was told she would be spending the evening in the company of Miss Sennoma.”

“I know. I’m here to visit the guests. Are they behaving themselves?”

“Yes. Surprisingly so. I believe they are in the gymnasium at the moment. Do you require guidance?”

“No, I know my way around, but thanks for the offer.”

“Understood. In that case, I’ll announce your visit to the master of the house.”

I figured she meant Abram, so I said, “Tell him I’m not planning to stay long.”

“As you wish, future young master.”

She gave me a curtsy before walking away, and I didn’t tarry for long either. By now I was familiar enough with the estate where I no longer needed any directions, and in a few short minutes, I reached my destination without any other encounters. Or rather, I ran into a few placeholder maids here and there, but they just greeted me and continued with their jobs. The fact that the term ‘future young master’ was spreading among them was a little annoying, but with all the titles I already collected, I didn’t really mind it that much anymore.

I straightened my coat and entered the side building without any reservations. I was prepared ahead of time thanks to peeping with Far Sight, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still a little taken aback by the tidal wave of grunting noises that washed over me the moment I opened the door.

The gym inside the Dracis mansion was divided into two parts. On my right, there was a pair of wide-open double-wing doors leading into a large workout area full of exercise equipment, while on the left, there was an identical entrance opening into a full-sized indoor tennis court. The net in the middle of the latter was currently tucked away somewhere, and in its place, there was a small gaggle of men dressed in tracksuits violently slamming into each other. At first glance, it kind of reminded me of rugby practice, just without any protective gear. Or a ball, if we’re at that.

The image was further reinforced when the biggest guy in the middle called out, “A’ richt, a’ body! Back intae poositions! We’ll stairt fae ten-seventeen!” from the top of his lungs, and the Squires rushed to rearrange themselves at once. Then, without any signal required, they rushed forth to dash, circle, and ultimately smash into each other again. The sounds of impacts were a little disconcerting, but it was none of my business, so I quietly entered the other door and closed it behind me.

This place was more like a professional fitness saloon, with bright lighting and some quiet yet catchy nineties pop music in the background. It was probably good for maintaining one’s tempo while exercising, I figured, and the room also provided all the other tools necessary, from complex workout machines with way too many pulleys to simple treadmills and pressing benches. Speaking of the latter, two of the Knights were currently occupying one of those, with Arnwald lying on his back and Roland spotting for him. They were, naturally, wearing the same kind of tracksuits as the rest, though they already had their casual clothes sorted out and delivered to their quarters. But then again, when else were they supposed to wear these other than when they were exercising?

Sir Eagle was no spring chicken by any means, but he was still in great shape, so much so that the other Knight only had to help him when they reset the barbell onto the racks once they noticed my arrival.

“Brother Leonard,” the Knight with the epic sideburns welcomed me as he sat up, and after catching his breath and wiping his forehead, he added, “We weren’t expecting a visit at this hour.”

“It’s not that late,” I said as I strode over, and only then did I properly greet them. Once the formalities were over and Roland walked around the bench, I exaggeratedly looked around and asked, “Where’s Penny?”

“She was here a minute ago,” the Griffon Knight answered as he also craned his neck.

“Oh well. Let’s hope she’ll be back soon.” A shrug later, I put my bag onto the recently vacated bench and opened it up. “In the meantime, can I ask your help with something?”

“Certainly,” Anwald agreed at once, so I figured I might as well start with him. I took out a small, rectangular metal case, just big enough to snugly fit in my palm, and handed it over to him. He opened it without any prompting required, and after peeking inside, sent me a questioning glance. “A watch?”

“Don’t let appearances fool you. It’s a freshly enchanted artifact.”

“Is it now?” the man mused as he took the black sports watch out into the open and observed it from up close. It was fairly a big, rugged, yet at the same time kind of sleek instrument, with silver highlights and a black leather strap. I urged him to put it on, and he did so without much hesitation, only to freeze and stare at his wrist with a bewildered expression. “Brother Leonard?”

“Yes?”

“What exactly is this thing?”

Roland was also looking at me funny, so I flashed them a reassuring smile.

“You could feel it at once, huh? Neat. That means my reproduction of the connection array was a success.”

“Could you please explain in a way we can understand?” Mr. Griffon cut in a tad impatiently, so I reached out and lightly tapped on the lens of the watch still on Arnwald’s hand.

“Let’s start from the beginning. You remember that I took your measurements a few days ago?” They both nodded, so I continued with, “It was for the sake of this. Since you’re going to be operating in the open from now on, we can’t have you running around in your armors. It’s just way too conspicuous. So, I had an idea: since my friends already use enchanted items like this watch for quickly changing into their defensive gear, I tried adapting the same magitech for your use. There are still a lot of kinks to iron out, but a key early goal in the project was replicating the enchantment that connects you to your gear through your Oaths. Without that, you won’t even have access to mana, and couldn’t activate the rest of the tool’s functions. Speaking of which, could you put your thumb here?”

“Like this?”

Arnwald’s finger wasn’t quite at the right place, but after some finagling, I managed to get him into position and told him, “Good. Now, try to inject some mana directly into the watch.”

“I’ll tr— Oh?”

He couldn’t even finish his response, as his hands lit up with a soft green light. It only lasted for a second, after which the glow subsided, leaving the two knights completely stumped.

“Was it supposed to do that?” Roland inquired with a hint of skepticism in his voice, so I gave him a big nod.

“Yes. It’s just a simple light effect to see if the core enchantment is working.”

“So, if I understand you right, you’re planning to replace our equipment with these tools?” came the next question from the Griffon Knight, and this time I could only manage an ambivalent shrug.

“Maybe in the long term? Right now, I just want to get the connections down pat, and then I’ll give you a warded uniform you can wear in public. I don’t think I can fully replicate all the effects of your armors yet, but I’ve already hired some specialists. It’s only a question of time.”

“It’s impressive,” Arnwald commented on the side as he kept turning the light on and off. “I never knew you had a talent for enchantments, let alone such a tremendous one.”

“To be fair, there wasn’t much of a chance for such talents to bloom in the brotherhood,” Roland noted while thoughtfully rubbing his jaw.

“Indeed. I don’t think anyone could deny you’ve changed a lot in the short time you’ve spent on this island, Brother Leonard, and in some truly unexpected ways as well.”

“Indeed,” Mr. Griffon whispered with a strange glint in his eyes. “Why, you even made it onto the honors list, I hear.”

My eyes narrowed on their own as I glanced at Roland, but he remained smugly silent, so I had no choice but to ask him, “Where did you hear that?”

“From Sister Penelope,” Mr. Eagle answered in his stead, and Roland let out an amused chuckle.

“Why, she’s been bragging about it to us ever since she came home.”

“Seriously?” The two of them nodded in unison, and I couldn’t stop myself from sighing even if I tried. “It’s not exactly an achievement worth boasting about though.”

“Don’t be too hard on her,” Mr. Griffon warned me out of the blue, throwing me on a loop. “She’s been getting better lately, so please don’t scold her.”

“No, I wasn’t going to scold her in the first place, but… what do you mean by ‘getting better’?”

“She’s much less short-tempered as of late,” he told me frankly, and Arnwald nodded along as well.

“Sister Penelope also stopped speaking in a low voice.”

“It was about time,” Roland grumbled and sent me a glance like I was supposed to have something to do with that.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, that’s right. You lost some of your memories,” Mr. Griffon mused. “She started doing that after you told her that she should stop playing around and grow up.”

He was probably looking for some kind of reaction on my end, so I told him, “Sorry, but I wash my hands of this whole affair, as I’ve no idea what you’re talking about whatsoever. Still, I guess it’s a good thing that she stopped doing that; it couldn’t have been good for her vocal cords.”

The two Knights remained completely silent, as if I just said something weird, but before I could ask what they were on about, we were interrupted by a new voice.

“Brother!”

I turned towards the door, and found Penny in her school gym clothes all but dashing over to our side, with about half a dozen water bottles hugged to her chest. It looked like she was about to drop them at any second, so I met her halfway and took some off her hands.

“Easy there, kiddo.”

“Ah, thank you.” She flashed me a grin, but then it got replaced by a frown. “You should’ve told me you’re coming over!”

“I did. The last time I visited, I said I’d come by to do some calibrations.”

“But you didn’t say when!” she complained, and after we put down the bottles, she turned to me with her arms crossed. “Also, what does it mean to ‘do some calibrations’ anyways?”

“Brother Leonard meant this,” Mr. Eagle spoke up as he showed his wrist, and Penny’s eyes lit up with curiosity at once.

“Whoa! What’s that? Brother, did you buy that?”

“It can also do this,” Arnwald spoke with a chuckle, and he used the enchantment to brighten his hands again.

“Ooooh?” Penny sidled closer to him and stared at the watch with sparkling eyes. “It’s enchanted? But what does it do? Why does it glow?”

“It’s just a placeholder effect,” I cut in, and explained my plans to her as well, and once everyone was on the same page, I waved for them to come closer. “Since you’re all here, I might as well have you test yours as well.”

Saying so, I took out two more rectangular cases and handed them over to Roland and Penny, and before long, both of them were playing around with their watches like it was Christmas morning. Apparently, even the calm and collected Griffon Knight wasn’t immune to the charm of new toys.

“Wow! This is so weird! N-Not in a weird way, but it is!” Penny exclaimed, and Roland apparently shared her sentiment.

“This really does feel just like a piece of our equipment,” he noted as he repeatedly turned his own light on and off.

“That’s right!” my alleged sister agreed, but then she turned a troubled look at her wrist and added, “It’s really neat, but… does it have to be this bulky?”

“Sorry, but there are certain size limitations with the base enchantment arrays.”

To be fair, the watch itself wasn’t that big, but it was a men’s watch, so while it looked the right size on Roland’s and Arnwald’s arms, it did feel a bit oversized on hers. She probably wanted something more girly, but at the moment, I had to work with what Gowan could provide me. But on the topic of girly…

“By the way, there was another thing I promised you,” I told her with a smirk, and gestured for her to come closer.

“What is it?”

I reached into my bag, and after purposefully keeping her in suspense for a few seconds, I theatrically retrieved a larger rectangular box. Penny’s eyes opened as wide as saucers, and she let out an honest to goodness squee.

“I-I-Is that a Pearfone XI?!” I nodded. “I… Is it for me?” I nodded again. “Really? Really really?”

“Of course,” I told her with a practiced brotherly smile and handed it over. She snatched it out of my grasp like she was expecting that I’d yank it away, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You said you wanted one, so here it is. Consider it an early Christmas present.”

“Can I really keep it?”

“Of course. It’s yours.”

For a short while, Penny vacillated between being touched and apprehensive, but before long, she threw all reservations into the wind and lunged at me, catching me in a bear hug.

“Thank you, brother! You’re the best!”

“Easy there, kiddo,” I said once I steadied myself, and reflexively rubbed the crown on her head. “It’s just a phone.”

“It’s not just a phone! It’s the Pearfone XI!” she vehemently responded as she balled her fingers into fists and glanced up at me. “It’s the newest Pearfone model with the latest operating system, the next-generation proprietary CPU, the best set of cameras on the market, and a one-hundred-and-twenty hertz refresh rate Super-LED screen!”

“Calm down. You don’t have to try and sell me this thing. I already bought it,” I chided her while rubbing her noggin just a touch more forcefully. “Oh, but before I forget it, there’s one more thing.”

Once again, I reached into my bag, and this time I pulled out a smaller package.

“What’s that?” she inquired while trying to take a closer look, so I turned it around so she could see it through the transparent part in the front of the box.

“While I was at it, I also got you a protective case. I tried to go for something unicorn related, and this was pretty much the only one that wasn’t just straight-up tacky.”

She remained silent for a while as she stared at the embossed silver unicorn crest on the back of the rugged black case, and I was just about to get worried when she snatched it out of my hand and exclaimed, “It’s so cute! I love it!”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

I flashed him another of my brotherly smiles, and it was only then that I noticed that the other two knights in the room were giving me odd stares, so I blurted out an uncertain, “What? Is there a problem?”

“No, I wouldn’t say so,” Roland responded ambivalently, while Arnwald seemed to be considering my question a bit too deeply.

“Please excuse me for being frank, Brother Leonard, but I believe losing your memories might have been unexpectedly fortuitous.”

Before I could ask what he meant by that, Penny detached herself from me and gave me a beaming grin.

“I’ll go show this to Duncan! He’s going to be sooo jealous!”

“I believe Brother Duncan is still in the middle of interception drills,” Mr. Eagle noted, but by this point, the girl was already halfway out of the room, so he slowly shook his head and picked up a water bottle.

I was just about to ask him what he meant before, but I was caught by a quickly approaching Mr. Griffon.

“Leonard?”

“Yes? Is there a problem?”

“No, not a problem, but more of a question,” he answered a touch hesitantly. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but if I understood it right, you copied the ability of our equipment to grant us the power of mana, right?” I nodded. “Does that mean you could, if given time, completely replicate the enchantments on them, and create brand new armor set?”

“Depends. I can probably do it with your gear, or my armour, but things like Cal or Ascalon are impossible for now, and Penny’s armour is also a little troublesome.”

“But it is possible,” he stressed, and once I nodded, he sent Arnwald a meaningful glance. “So we not only have the King in our ranks, we might also be able to expand our numbers for the first time in centuries.”

“I hear you, Brother Roland. This is certainly going to prove an advantage.”

An advantage in what sense, I couldn’t tell. Nor could I ask, because Penny returned in the company of the ornery Mr. Minotaur.

“Sae noo ye’r throwing yer gear around just tae impress Penny-gurl, huh?” he grumbled the moment he got into earshot, so I flashed a toothy grin at him.

“Hello, Duncan. I’m also happy to see you.”

The guy could only muster an irritated ‘Bah!’ at my chipper response. In the meantime, Penny came over to my side and tugged on my hand to get my attention, and then pointed at the bag still on the bench.

“He has a watch too, right? Can I show it to him?”

“Sure, be my guest.”

There was no need to say it twice, as she already fished out the last watch-box by the time I finished speaking. He was much less impressed than the rest, though considering his personality, it was expected. Once I confirmed that his enchantment worked as well, I cleared my throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Thanks for the cooperation. Please put the watches back into their cases and return them to the bag. Now that I know the connection arrays are operational, I can start working on the functional arrays.”

“Whit foonctions?” Duncan blurted out, and so I had to explain my plan with these second-generation Magiformers for the third time today. Once I did, the big guy uttered, “Ur we aff tae wear uniforms? Whit kind?”

“The design is still up in the air, but once the prototypes are functional, modifying the outfit itself is relatively simple, so I can listen to your requests then. Any other questions?” The group remained silent, so I closed my bag and said, “In that case, I think I should get going and—”

“Wait, brother!” Penny called out to me in a hurry and even grabbed hold of me. “You just came here!”

“True, but now that I gave you your phone and tested the enchantments, there’s nothing else for me to do here,” I pointed out, but she shook her head and pulled me along.

“There’s plenty of things to do! We haven’t trained together in ages!”

I was feeling hesitant about that, so I tried to excuse myself by telling her, “Are you sure? Don’t you want to get familiar with your new phone first?”

“I can do that any time! Come on! Let’s spar like we used to!”

I really wanted to refuse her, but she was giving me the dreaded puppy eyes, and as much as I wanted to deny it, they were annoyingly effective.

“Oh, fine. But only with training weapons.”

“Of course!” she beamed at me.

“Och? In ‘at case, ah an’ a’ challenge ye!” Mr. Minotaur declared out of the blue with a wolfish grin plastered on his face, but it wilted the moment the girl dragging me along sent a glare at him.

“I’ve got dibs, Duncan! Wait your turn!”

“Aye, aye, sure… ” the big guy grumbled, and even though I still had my reservations about this sudden sparring business, the thing that disturbed me the most was definitely the sickeningly wholesome looks the older Knights were giving us. Not that I could see them for long, as I was soon ushered into the other room for a whole evening of exercise that, in retrospect, turned out to be quite agreeable, a few small bruises notwithstanding.