Chapter 2

UMS.

Unified Magic System, a system developed by experts in the Ancient Era that can more or less accurately measure how powerful a person is.

This came into existence because many races used to have their metric of measuring strength, which in essence made things messy.

UMS says that any individual's strength, regardless of whether they are humans, angels, monsters, or demons, can only exist between 0-100 Levels.

Even dragons and phoenixes, the mythical beings couldn't break through 100 Level.

Nowadays, UMS is widespread and used all over the world. A person can get their own official UMS Card or UMSC for short, it is distributed by a special organization.

Radiant Church in Human Realm; Monster Association in Monster Realm; Dark Pavilion in Demon Realm; and Heaven Temple in Angel Realm are the organizations responsible for issuing UMSC in their particular realm.

These UMPCs were special, not only can they measure one's strength, they also functioned as an ID card. You can also store and withdraw money from it. They were multifunctional.

When Ace found out about this, he was startled, thinking this is definitely required on earth.

Now one might wonder if these UMSCs were safe to use and whether they can be used to keep track of someone? When asked, in response, these organizations obviously said that it was safe to use and many big shots vouched for it but who knows for sure?

While other organizations were busy convincing the masses, Dark Alliance being the badass they were simply issued a statement: "Trust us or not, we don't give a fuck."

Plain and simple. Soon, people just got used to it. UMSC began a major part of society.

After gaining an understanding of UMS, Ace learned some facts and cleared some misconceptions about magic.

Firstly, one cannot learn magic before they turn 16. An ironclad rule. It's because their mana core isn't fully developed until then. If one forcibly tried to do it, it may cause irreversible damage. Some madmen tried to go against nature, except they failed miserably.

Secondly, a person has access to all magical elements, they just need to have enough understanding about them to use them. What it means is that: one isn't restricted to learning about elements they have an affinity with. This gave birth to some really versatile mages over the years.

Thirdly, Words like Mage, Magician, and Magus are interchangeable. However, Magi is a special word, used to define a person who is blessed by mana. They have many advantages over normal magicians.

…

Ace read books until it was evening, then he decided to stop for the day. He glanced outside the window to see the clear orange skies which looked particularly beautiful.

'Sunset here is even more beautiful than earth.' After watching for some time, he stood up, stretched his body, and yawned lightly.

He placed the books back on the shelf and proceeded to leave the library. While leaving, he came across Kaguya and her personal maid Ai. Kaguya was still reading some books.

He thought for a moment and went towards her.

"Sis Kaguya, you are still here?" As he stood near her and looked at the book she was reading, Ace smelled the wonderful fragrance wafting out of her youthful body.

"Aren't you too? Do you have anything to say?" Kaguya didn't take her eyes off the book and asked with a tone that appeared impassive, feeling Ace sit beside her. Ace rarely took the initiative to talk to her, so she was a bit surprised internally.

"Hum, aunt and second sis are coming back the day after tomorrow, right?"

"It appears so."

"Let's go eat outside tomorrow together. It is quite boring at home. We haven't gone out in a while."

"Go out to eat together?" Kaguya crooned, taking her eyes off the book and focusing on Ace who was smiling faintly. "What's the matter with you all of a sudden? Didn't you used to say that you don't like wasting time."

Although she was already thinking of what dress to wear tomorrow in order to impress Ace, she still questioned, because she has to maintain her cold outlook.

"I am not really wasting time here. Haven't you heard that occasional breaks make your brain work faster? It's just to refresh ourselves."

"Hmm, I've read about it. Fine, then. Let's go out tomorrow." Hearing him say this, she saw no reason to refuse and hence generously accepted his proposal.

'Date! It's a date! My God! I am going on a date with Ace, is this really happening? What happened to my brother today?' While outside, her face remain unchanged, inwardly she was jumping in joy.

"Thanks sis." Ace stood up with a faint smile and suddenly tapped on Kaguya's lips with his own. It was just a fleeting kiss but, Kaguya was immediately frozen like a statue.

"Ace-sama, you can't do that." Ai hurriedly said. She was also completely taken aback by Ace's sudden kiss.

Taking a look at Kaguya, she saw her entire face going red, even the root of her tender white ears were infused with redness, and steams were coming out of her head.

"Huh? What do you mean? I read it in book that it is normal for people who like each other to kiss."

"It doesn't work like that if you are blood-related…" Ai's words trailed off towards the end as Kaguya glared at her discreetly.

"Sis, are you alright? You face is all red?" Seeing the opportunity, Ace advanced and touched her forehead with his own forehead to determine whether she is struck with fever or something.

As a result, Kaguya was once more out of commission for a good minute. Strange incoherent words came out of her mouth.

"Hmm, you seem fine. Anyway, I am going back to my room, be ready tomorrow morning, alright?" Not overdoing it, Ace backed away as he felt that Ai might get suspicious.

Kaguya nodded dumbly in response, her eyes glazed and her face completely red. She looked nothing like her usual cold self.

Satisfied with her response, Ace went away.

...

The following morning.

Ace praised the craftsmanship of this world's fashion designers after examining Kaguya's current outfit. She was sitting on his opposite side gracefully like a highborn alongside Ai, with a cup of fragrant tea in her fair hands, as the carriage carried them towards their destination.

The beauty of the dress lay in its simplicity, which when wrapped around Kaguya's dainty figure exuded a strange temptation. On her side, Ai wore her maid outfit which emphasized her bust. They really were a feast for his eyes.

Noticing his gaze, Kaguya was shy but she still maintained her persona and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ace shook his head lightly in response. "Nothing, it's just that you are looking very beautiful today."

Kaguya's face flushed immediately hearing his compliment. Initially, she was a bit down when Ace ignored her even though she wore her best outfit but now she was satisfied.

On her side, Ai couldn't help but take a second look at Ace with her intelligent eyes. She felt that Ace was acting quite differently since yesterday. Yet she just couldn't put a finger around the why or how.

"Ai, you are looking beautiful too."

"Thank you, Ace-sama. You are getting more handsome yourself." Contrary to Kaguya, Ai replied to his compliment in a respectful manner.

She wasn't flattering him though. With inky-black hair, mysterious purple eyes, tall and solid build, Ace definitely has the foundations to become an extremely handsome man. It's just that since he was quite young, his features were more cute than handsome.

As he would grow up, the contours around his face would get refined, and his body would get taller and muscular, making him quite a charmer.

When Ai said this, Kaguya's eyes lit up. She was eagerly waiting for the day when Ace is all grown up. At that time perhaps they can…

'Wait for a minute, if he grows up, won't he get seduced by outside vixens?' Suddenly, she was conflicted. Does she want him to grow or not?

"Thank you. By the way, where are we going? How long would it take to reach our destination?" Ace asked, looking at Ai. He has no idea about the outside world since the previous Ace rarely went out.

"We are going to Cuisine Pavilion, it is located on the edge of Inner Zones. We should reach there within an hour at our current speed." Ai replied before continuing, "It will take a while, would you like a cup of tea?"

"Sure."

They were currently in the Capital City of Crimson Night Kingdom. It was the Ancient Kingdom, which simply means that its history dates back to the Ancient Era. Its lineage is at least 5,000 years old.

The Capital City was extremely massive, spanning over 2500 square kilometers. In comparison, New York, the biggest city on earth spanned just over 1200 square Kilometre, with both land and water area combined. You can understand how big it is.

It is divided into four Zones: Outer, Middle, Inner, and Royal.

Outer Zone is the densest area where lower-class people, who have no ties with nobility live. Like peasants and adventures.

Middle Zone is where most businesses set up their headquarters. Low-class noble households who uphold the title of Knight, Baron, and Viscount also live here.

Inner Zone is where High-class noble households who uphold the title of Count, Marquess, and Duke live.

And Royal Zone is naturally where royalty of Crimson Night Kingdom lives. The entirety of Royal Zone is actually a fortified castle, with massive majestic walls surrounding it.

…

Cuisine Pavilion.

As Ace stepped out of the carriage, he was immediately greeted by a signboard.

"Do you know about Cuisine Pavilion?" Kaguya leaned towards him and asked faintly.

As Ace has begun talking with her more and more since yesterday, her cold persona was also subconsciously fading away. Thus she talked more than usual.

Ace was busy observing the four powerful-looking guards that were escorting him when he heard her. Secretly disappointed that he couldn't see through their levels which only showed '???', he responded, "I only know that it is operated by Nakiri Household."

Nakiri Household was also a house that held the hereditary title of Dukes. They were only slightly less powerful than Shinomiya Household. Ace felt like he has heard the term 'Nakiri' somewhere but he couldn't remember where.

"Correct, but do you know that it is one of the only four three star rated restaurant in the entire Human Realm?"

"Really? Amazing. But who rates these restaurants?"

"World Gourmet Organisation, W.G.O for short. They are pretty mysterious." Kaguya replied, her eyes smug as she felt proud of teaching her brother.

Ace didn't care about it. He was busy remembering where he has heard these terms. Thankfully, he didn't have to think much. As he stepped inside the luxurious yet simplistic restaurant, he heard three simultaneous voices.

"Erina. And Alice too."

"Kaguya?"

"Hey, Kaguya!"

Ace looked at the two girls who appeared to be around the same age as Kaguya.

One of them has purple-pinkish eyes and long, honey-blonde hair that flows just above her lower back. The other was a fair-skinned girl, with snow-white short hair and red eyes.

Both of them were extremely beautiful and had pronounced breasts and buttocks even at their tender age. They looked like budding flowers.

Seeing them, his eyes immediately lit up. As Kaguya went forward to greet them, he followed behind her and used [Observe].

…

Target: Erina Nakiri

Race: Human

Age: 13

Level: 6

Affection: 0

Fetishes: Vanilla, Kisses

…

Target: Alice Nakiri

Race: Human

Age: 13

Level: 6

Affection: 10

Fetish: Hidden Play

…

If now Ace doesn't remember who they were then he surely deserves a thorough beating. While he didn't watch Shokugeki No Soma, he was familiar with the beauties that anime has to offer. Ahem, don't ask why.

From his limited knowledge, he knew that Erina and Alice were both heavily involved in cooking. And it turned out that even in this world, this didn't change.

Seeing their levels, Ace wasn't surprised. In any case, they were from the Duke household, how can they be gauged by common sense?