109 A New Assignment (2)
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For the third time of the day, Hadrian found himself shocked nearly to silence.
His mind ran rampant as he went over the ramifications of the new task that his grandfather was subtly proposing to him.
While Hadrian had already expected that he would be traveling into a different world someday, he didn't expect that it would be so soon and on his first time no less.
Contrary to what most mages think, his grandfather was quite careful and strict when it comes to travelling via the Kaleidoscope.
Not once did Zelretch allowed Hadrian, his own grandson, experience the benefits of the second magic to travel to other places and worlds.They had discussed theories and other subjects related to the Kaleidoscope in the past, but there was never any hands-on practice.
Hadrian had seen his grandfather use the Kaleidoscope to travel, and brought along some friends of his from time to time.
But most of the time, the old magician would travel alone.
Hadrian doesn't know whether to be excited or disappointed that his first time to travel into a different dimension via the Kaleidoscope would turn out to be a search and destroy assignment instead of a mere pleasant visit.
Hmm… the urge to smack his grandfather out of annoyance was slowly becoming a bit difficult for him to ignore.
Sighing, Hadrian let himself relax and focus on what was important.
If his grandfather's antics continue to grind at his patience, he could always turn to his mother for help.
Lucia von Aelfryth Schweinorg always knew how to punish the old magician in a way that he never could.
"Okay, so this Prelati is in another world, which makes sense given my own success in trying to search for him." Hadrian mused aloud.
"Did you use the automaton to find the wretch?" Zelretch asked.
"I have. It was the first thing I did, and my own search left much to be desired." Hadrian shifted his gaze to the photo, observing the subject with keen eyes. "There were a few things I found, none of which were significantly useful. They were small pieces of information, such as height, shape of a person's body, etcetera. Still, all of them match the description of this person and I suppose it's enough."
"That wretch must have casted a spell to obscure his presence while he was gallivanting in this world. I wouldn't put past him if it's the eldritch kind." Zelretch grunted.
The word 'eldritch' caught Hadrian's attention.
"Eldritch?" The young mage blinked.
"I believe it's a term that humans came up to describe the creatures that are weird, gothic, slimy and wiggly." Zelretch grinned, genuinely amused by his own words.
In response, Hadrian rolled his eyes at his grandfather's antics.
"Moving on, I have it on good authority that Prelati, or should I say, Francesca Prelati now, has returned to the other world. Apparently, after having done what he came here for, he went to mess around for a while and just vanished to the other side. Left quite a bloody mess for the detectives to clean up too, that wretch." Zelretch sniffed.
"So, what's the plan? Do you just send there with the others?" Hadrian asked.
"Sure, but let's make this official now." Zelretch cleared his throat. "Enkel, you have a benevolent and concerned client who wishes to hire you to get rid of her world of the wretched menace that goes by the name of Francesca Prelati. Do you accept this new assignment?"
"I do." Hadrian's lips twitched, amused.
"Alright, but there are conditions." Zelretch said, glasses glinting as he pushed them up his nose.
"You mentioned that before. What are they then?" Hadrian raised a brow in curiosity.
"First, you cannot have the automaton establish a link to that other world's moon." Zelretch stated in a firm tone.
Hadrian's eyes widened briefly, and then sighed before he nodded in understanding.
Establishing a link to a different world's moon was one of the automaton's features to acquire information in different dimensions.
It can be both rewarding and risky.
Rewarding as he can obtain an absurd amount of information that occurred in any dimension.
However, it was quite risky as the world that the automaton was linked to can be in potential danger if the Moon Cell's archenemy, Velber, manages to sense the former's presence.
His own world was already in danger since Velber was bound to come for the automaton in the future.
Hadrian would not know what to do if he becomes responsible with another world's destruction.
Seeing that his grandfather understood the consequences of such an action, Zelretch continued.
"Second, you can only bring two or three of your retainers with you on this assignment. No more, no less. I highly recommend not bringing your female retainers on this one, enkel." Zelretch advised.
"Huh? Why?" Hadrian asked, blinking.
"Well, it's just one of the client's conditions. She had quite put a heavy emphasis on 'no bringing the female retainers part. Her words, not mine." Zelretch added with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "Also, it's because you're young and those girls of yours might distract you from your progress with the first magic. Hormones might fly, and –"
"Alright, alright! Just stop and move on. I'll pick the guys then." Hadrian grumbled in annoyance, glaring at the old magician snickering at him.
"Heh, anyways, those are the conditions of the assignment. As for the duration of how long this will take, I suggest for you to pack the things you might need in your daily routine because this will take you quite long to complete." Zelretch suggested as he stood up from his chair.
"Why? Is it going to take a month to finish?"
"Hmm… if I were to be honest, it might take you a few years to complete this one." Zelretch mused aloud, stretching his limbs.
"Ye–Years?! What kind of assignment is this?!" Hadrian exclaimed in shock.
"One you need to train yourself and improve your research with. Remember, I told you I have a solution for you to your Velber-pest problem. This is it." Zelretch pointed out.
"Yes, but you didn't warn me of how long this might take before!" Hadrian accused.
"Enkel, if you're concerned about the time, then you don't need to worry." Zelretch assured.
"Elaborate." Hadrian commanded.
"Time flows differently between our world and the other you're designated to transfer into. If you spend a year in that world, a few hours would only pass in here." Zelretch explained.
"Why is the time difference huge?" Hadrian asked, surprised.
"The world you'll be going into is a bit behind in the years compared to our world here. The past always seemed to flow faster compared to the present." Zelretch said with a hum.
Hadrian went silent.
While he was relieved to hear the news, the young mage couldn't find it in him to be happy.
For some reason, his thoughts went to Arturia and found himself surprised by the emotion that rose in his chest.
'I have yet to leave, yet I'm already missing her…' He mused.
Even the thought of leaving Medusa and Scáthach was enough to make his heart heavy, including his other retainers and his mother.
The thought of his mother made him stop and close his eyes with a sigh.
Just after he had promised to spend some time with her, he was leaving again so soon.
Hadrian was not worried about his grandfather since the old magician would probably be watching over him via the Kaleidoscope all throughout the assignment.
His mother, on the other hand, was one of the people he was most worried of leaving behind.
His silence didn't go unnoticed as his grandfather coughed in his hand to get his attention.
Shifting his gaze upwards, Hadrian noticed the older man standing in front of him with a knowing smile.
"Enkel, I'll give you a day or two to think about this first. I know you already accepted, but it seems to me you're having second thoughts. Besides, it's already late and you're mother might barge in here to shoot me again if I keep you up any longer. Come, let us leave."
With a sigh, Hadrian followed after his grandfather to exit the room and made his way back his own chambers with his familiars in tow.
Needless to say, the young mage didn't get to sleep well that night.
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