21 Chapter 21: Theories

[Florence's POV]

"So, what did you learn in school?" The Marquis asked during the meal.

Despite my advantage of being the creator of 'Blood Like Rubies', we never discussed much about the elementary Rubwin academy. In other words, I didn't know exactly what was learned. However, this didn't pose much of a problem. I could easily say something brief and change the subject. This was only for small talk, after all. However, there was something that I wanted to confirm.

I looked over at Sage, who was clearly nervous. Although she was not showing anything on her face, she had been fidgeting with her fork. She was looking up at thin air which, I guessed, was probably the game-like system screen she had talked about. Making sure to subtly catch her attention, I gave a reassuring smile and then shook my head in order to tell her not to do anything.

"'God', I would be grateful if you helped me out here..." I mumbled under my breath. Nothing happened.

"Which class?" I asked.

"You seem to enjoy your fencing classes the most. Why don't you tell me about that?"

And as I expected, a response to the question popped up in my head using the knowledge I shouldn't have known. An undetectable smirk formed on my face.

"We were mostly focusing on footwork drills. We also learned the basics of parrying."

"I see. While on the topic of fencing, I received the report about the bandits from your messenger. We are currently investigating them."

"Thank you. Have you found any leads?" I asked, deciding that keeping the subject on something I am familiar with would be for the best.

"Nothing much, however, we couldn't find any reports of a gang that matched the description of the people who fought you. As you said, it probably was something a noble purposely set up."

"I see,"

For the rest of the meal, the Marquis and I had small talk, occasionally including Sage in, who clearly looked like she wanted to be left alone to her own thoughts. While it was fun to see her tortured expressions, it may not be beneficial if her opinion of me dropped, so I decided against continuously adding her into the conversation.

"I suppose I shall take my leave then. Thank you for the pleasant meal." I politely said to the Marquis before heading to my room.

Due to my injury, most classes of mine were canceled in order for me to rest. "I guess this is more than enough time to get my thoughts together," I said out loud, "There are only a few pieces I need left before I can fully develop a theory, and luckily, Sage seems to have them all."

I knocked on the door of Sage's room.

"Good evening," Sage curtsied as she opened the door.

"Good evening" I replied "would you like to accompany me on the terrace? It is quite nice outside."

"It would be my honor," she smiled back.

After she finished ordering some snacks and making sure no one was outside with us, Sage decided not to beat around the bush.

"I suppose we left off with the system, right?" she said before continuing. "So as I said, the system is similar to a game screen. With stats….."

As she continued with the explanation, I checked through my theories, canceling some while prioritizing others with this new information.

"I see. Thank you for the explanation," I commented when she finished "Now that I think of it, you haven't introduced yourself, have you?"

"Oh! I forgot, sorry. Nice to meet you. I am Wisteria, a 16 year old 12th grader."

"Nice to meet you, Wisteria" I smiled.

'Haven't I heard that name before…?' I thought, rummaging through my memories. 'Oh, right. That person who was going to shadow an employee. She apparently excels in coding and engineering.'

I stashed that bit of information for later due to its low priority.

"If you don't mind, would you be okay with sharing the conversations you had with 'god'? It may help us learn about and how to get out of this place."

"Oh yeah, speaking of that, once 'god' accidentally sent a message to me that he was apparently attempting to send only to the system. I think it may be of help."

"Hm? You mean the system was not created by 'god'?"

"I thought that too, but perhaps the system has a mind of its own or something? Additionally, apparently, I have to have a certain amount of 'authority' to communicate with the system. The guidelines didn't really explain what exactly authority is, but I am guessing that if we manage to communicate to the system, it would be a big boost for both getting out of here, and taking revenge on that abomination of a god."

"Revenge? You mean for the missions he gave you?"

"Oops! Yes, I mean that." She said while simultaneously shrinking in embarrassment.

"I see where you are coming from. I would be happy to help you. I was forced to come here for no reason, so I certainly dislike him too. Only if you are fine with it, though."

"Really? Thank you!" Lighting up, she proceeded to share information about the message "After getting rewards generated by the system for my mission, he sent a message saying 'What are you doing! Do you know how much divine power I used to just bring her here? If you use so much divine power, I may actually die! I brought her here to restore my divine power, not deplete it!'. My theory is that he consumes divine power to do magical things like making the system and also for living. By doing the missions he gives me, I somehow help him regain divine power."

"I see your point..." I said after arriving at a similar conclusion myself. "Why not test it out?"