Settling In

After ascending the long staircase connecting to his room, Vahn carried Siegfried inside while looking over at Illya. She had sat up when the mechanism triggered, eyeing Siegfried and Da Vinci with a questioning look in her eyes. Vahn returned a somewhat awkward smile as he explained, "This unconscious man is Siegfried, the Dragon Knight, while that woman who looks like the Mona Lisa is the 'Omnipotent Genius', Leonardo Da Vinci." These words prompted Da Vinci to raise her hand in a small salutation as she chimed in, "Nice to meet you, young miss. My, you have quite an interesting body, don't you~?" Then, turning her eyes to the sleeping Irisviel, Da Vinci had an intrigued look on her face until Vahn plainly stated, "Drop it for the time being. There are other things that you'll be able to research without accidentally offending people..."

Da Vinci's only response to Vahn's words was to show a gentle smile, even as her eyes were still trying to analyze the structure of Illya's and Irisviel's bodies. Vahn was very aware of this so he shook his head in an exasperated manner before turning to Illya and saying, "I'm going to get these two settled in. There is no rush for you to hurry back so feel free to stay with your mother for as long as you'd like. If there are any issues with your 'friend', make sure to use the mirror before returning to your room. I'll stop by to check on you as soon as I get some time freed up." Since she was bothered by Da Vinci's gaze, to the point of covering her chest, Illya nodded her head without trying to keep Vahn any longer. Then, when the latter stepped out into the hallway with Da Vinci and Siegfried, he turned to the inordinately beautiful 'woman' and asked, "Do you have any intention on assuming the identity of a man in the future...?"

Understanding why Vahn would ask such a thing, Da Vinci kept her perpetual smile as she stated in a calm tone, "I will never deny that I was originally a male, but I have no intention of abandoning my new identity. The Mona Lisa is the ideal personification of beauty that I pursued throughout my entire lifetime. Unless I am required to change back, I would never willingly do so. I would rather be a beautiful woman appreciated by all than return to being a man shunned for his brilliance. I will not deny that I may have a slightly perverse nature, but you do not have to worry about me making a move on any of your companions. My interests are purely scientific, I assure you..." Though she was also tempted to point out that her primary interest right now was Vahn, Da Vinci felt his current state of mind wasn't receptive to such remarks.

Though he raised his brow in response to the fact that Da Vinci had called herself a pervert, Vahn ultimately just shook his head in mild exasperation when she began to giggle in turn. He didn't know if she always had it active but it would be very frustrating trying to keep up with a Genius who could maintain sixteen thought processes. So long as Da Vinci didn't start 'experimenting' on the girls, he wouldn't worry let her quirks bother him. In fact, her nature actually made her easy to get along with so Vahn expected they might be able to become good friends in the future. Though her body was irrefutably female, the fact that Da Vinci had lived as a man meant he could potentially treat her like one of his male companions, albeit with extra benefits...

Since he couldn't take Siegfried into the Sub-Space Projection Orb while the latter was unconscious, Vahn carried him to the physical location of Merlin's Magus Tower. By the time they got there, Merlin was already waiting with a smile on his face but, even without observing him too closely, Vahn could tell he was just a 'projection' of his illusory self. It was obvious that Merlin was temporarily trying to avoid him, causing Vahn to release a tired sigh before explaining, "I do not have anyone that can watch over Siegfried for me while I'm dealing with other things. I'm also worried that the memory link might not be functioning properly due to summoning multiple people simultaneously. Can you watch his dreams for me to see if anything triggers? Also, where did you intend to have Da Vinci set up her workshop...?"

As if he found something Vahn said strange, Merlin showed a face of confusion as he asked, "I was certain you would have Da Vinci set up in the same workshop as you? Even more than Scáthach and myself, she will be able to help you learn anything you are interested in. All we can do is provide you with answers related to existing knowledge, not help you innovate on things that never existed in this world. Since everything you do goes against the original flow of fate, there is only so much we can do to help you. That is why I wanted you to summon Da Vinci as soon as possible. Instead of trying to build a foundation in old techniques, I believe you are better suited to creating techniques that suit your interests. I'm certain Da Vinci doesn't mind helping you 'experiment' with anything you might request of her, isn't that right my dear~?"

In response to Merlin's words, Da Vinci's eyes were glimmering as she said, "It seems I have you to thank for allowing me to exist in the present. Even if your intentions were only to mess with your Emperor, I will not deny that he is the most intriguing existence I have ever observed. So long as I am allowed to take a few samples and research the things I'm interested in, I don't mind teaching anything you wish to know. If you are curious about anything, anything at all, you need only let me know~." As she said the last sentence, Da Vinci brought her arms forward a little, squeezing her breasts together with a playful smile on her face. Vahn realized that she and Merlin had a few 'similiarities' that would prove troublesome in the future but, as Da Vinci was still the 'best' possible teacher, Vahn could only accept that he had played into Merlin's hand this time around...

---

After leaving Siegfried in Vahn's care, Vahn took Da Vinci into the Sub-Space Projection, something that caught her interest almost immediately as she looked around with glimmering eyes and stated, "How intriguing. This place seems to operate on a completely different set of principles than the real world, all why using those very same principles as a template. Tell me, does the orientation of objects within this space directly coincide with those in reality? If you change the location of one, would the other update in accordance with its new location?" Since everything she was experiencing thus far was something 'new' to her, Da Vinci had an almost child-like wonder about her. It was almost as if she had lacked stimulus for a long time and, now that she had things that interested her again, she was eager to learn everything about the new world she had found herself in.

Vahn did his best to explain the principles that allowed the Sub-Space Projection Orb to work, even though his own understanding was still a bit lacking. Da Vinci listened on with glimmering eyes the entire time and, by the time he had finished, she confidently nodded her head and said, "I will make this one of my current projects. I want to recreate a Sub-Space Orb to put the theory to the test. If Space and Time bend in the ways you mentioned, it should be possible to create an isolated space within the Sub-Space Projection that uses the current time dilation while allowing for the existence of a second Orb within. I will need to study the Space-Time Orb as well but, as you mentioned it is possible to have physical objects within a metaphysical space, I do not believe it is as impossible to achieve as you stated."

Though it sounded like Da Vinci was claiming she would do the impossible, Vahn knew that there was actually no such thing as 'impossible' from the start. Since she even had the [Pioneer of the Stars] Innate, literally allowing her to make the impossible possible, Vahn had no doubt she would eventually be able to pull it off. By researching things alongside her, Vahn knew his own knowledge and comprehension would increase exponentially, something Merlin no doubt intended when he kept insisting that he summon Da Vinci. Since developing the Soul relied on comprehending Laws and increasing the rank of your Innates, Vahn knew that Da Vinci was essentially the 'key' to his own power increasing greatly in the future. This, combined with Scáthach helping him master his physical body and combat abilities would significantly reduce the time it took for him to reach Tier 5...

Following Merlin's 'advice', Vahn brought Da Vinci to his own lab located beneath the Armory of Camelot, one of the most secure places within the entire Ivory Castle. Even if he went all out, the surrounding walls would even be able to tank the destructive power of his [Magia Erebea], at least for a while. This was the location of his primary forge and workshop as, even with the Space-Time Orbs, the memory fragments were always limited since they lacked the ability to use Innates. Though they could eventually reach the point of being able to produce masterpieces through pure skill, Vahn could greatly outperform them in the real world by relying on the increased focus and elemental manipulation his [Will of the Emperor] granted him. Thus, instead of just leaving everything to his memory fragments, Vahn still had a workshop where he would experiment with new concepts in a controlled environment.

Da Vinci looked around the area with a great deal of intrigue visible in her expression, taking note of the fact that Vahn had an Atelier, Forge, and a workstation for treating materials and fabrics to turn into clothing. It was all neatly organized, elevating Vahn's status within Da Vinci's mind since it was evident he took his research very seriously. Many of the materials present were things she had never even seen before, including some of the fabrics, so she was very interested in analyzing everything the first chance she got. Before that, she turned to Vahn with sparkling eyes as she asked with a bit of excitement in her voice, "Is this going to be my workshop in the future? Am I allowed to use all of the tools here~?"

In almost every other circumstance, Vahn would have immediately denied such a request, even to a God, but Da Vinci would be one of the future pillars of his Empire and his own strength. With that in mind, he gave a curt not but explained, "So long as you do not modify anything I am working on, I do not mind if you treat this workshop as your own. If you want to expand or change anything, feel free to do so as long as it does not compromise the structural integrity of the castle. Your title will be decided upon later, but you essentially have free reign to research anything, so long as it does not invade the privacy of the castle's residents and put them in danger. For large projects, you will have to pass them by me for approval but I will not refuse so long as you have a reasonable justification for whatever you intend to implement."

While nodding her head in understanding, Da Vinci followed up Vahn's words by asking, "How do I go about requestion research materials? Does your Empire already have a system for allocating resources?" In response to this, Vahn pulled a chunk of Mithril out of his Inventory, causing Da Vinci's eyes to flash in excitement as she stated, "My, you get more interesting by the moment. Did you create that from nothing? I did not sense even the smallest fluctuation of mana..." As she was speaking, Da Vinci walked over and grabbed the mystical ore from Vahn's hand without any sense of 'propriety' at all. The only thing that mattered to her was the 'answers' to her questions while things like status and titles were only 'troublesome' matters that other people relied on to flex their power over others.

As he had mentioned several times before, Vahn plainly stated, "Most of your questions would be answered by the memory link. The simplest way to explain it is that I have a form of energy that does not exist within this world. You can think of it as using the Laws that govern Creation to shape the energy contained within my body into a physical form that is entirely indistinguishable from the actual material. I am also not limited to things like raw ore either, as I can even create conceptual items that have never existed so long as I have enough reserve energy. This is the main reason for Merlin's earlier words as there is a woman named Scáthach who 'knows everything' within our group. Her ability is absolutely useless when it comes to the items I produce, however, so it isn't wrong to say I am 'creating what does not exist', even though this isn't exactly the truth of the matter."

The entire time Vahn was speaking, Da Vinci was looking at him as if he were the most interesting specimen in existence. Since even Akasha and her superiors treated him as such, this wasn't far from the truth, especially for those who sought to know and understand everything. She was beginning to look forward to the future as, compared to the 'boring' existence she had been forced into during her lifetime, it seemed far more interesting to research alongside Vahn. Even if he was beginning to hide it well, she could tell that he was still 'very' interested in her body and, though it might only be a fraction of her interest in his, Da Vinci was already thinking of several methods to convince him to allow her to study him. With that in mind, she gave a small nod in response to his words before asking, "Is there any place to sleep in here? I've always treated my workshop and my room as one and the same. I can't stay calm if I'm away from my research for too long..."

Having already expected her to say such a thing, Vahn brought Da Vinci to an adjacent room where a large magic circle was present on the floor. He was intending to use this room for the production of Homunculi in the future but, if the 'experiement' with Irisviel proved to be a success, that may no longer be necessary. As for the magic circle on the ground, its only purpose was to increase the mana density within the room, making it an ideal place to meditate and relax if you knew how to make use of it.

Though Da Vinci's eyes were drawn to this formation at first, she quickly lost interest in it before answering Vahn's questions about where she wanted everything arranged. He brought out a small but comfortable bed for her before setting out a large wardrobe and allowing her to pick out a few outfits. She ultimately only decided on a few simple changes of clothes, asking instead for a few roles of fabric since she intended to make her own outfits. As a result, Vahn also gave her a set of the [Aegis Mk 5] and [Aegis Mk 6] before entrusting some of the outfit templates that he had been working on. Some of this included lingerie, a topic that Da Vinci seemed a little 'too interested' in since it hadn't been prevalent during his time. Other than some simple knickers and cloth breeches, synthetic fabrics were exceedingly rare while acquiring fine silks was something only the rich and affluent could afford.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Vahn ended up talking about the significance and function of lingerie with Da Vinci for the better part of an hour. He watched as the latter drew up several designs that made his own seem rather amateurish but, instead of being annoyed, Vahn was more interested in seeing the masterful designs brought to fruition. The fact that Da Vinci actually began to 'lecture' him on why certain designs were important was rather eye-opening, especially since she hadn't even known anything about the subject just an hour prior. This didn't seem to matter, however, as Da Vinci was even able to design unique seam patterns that would amplify the aesthetic quality of the lingerie while also making it easier to move in. From this, It was clear that her could learn a lot from studying under Da Vinci in the future...

Before he could get side-tracked too far, Vahn brought an early end to Da Vinci's excitement by remarking, "I'm going to go check on Illya and her mother. This conversation has been fun but I have other things I need to take care of. I'll probably be spending a lot of my time here in the future so we have plenty of time to discuss such things in greater detail later. For now, I could take you to meet with some of the other castle residents or you can stay here and continue working on your own projects while I'm away."

Though she had been moderately annoyed that Vahn had interrupted her when she was in the middle of designing a 'masterpiece', Da Vinci still listened attentively to his words. When given the option to choose how she would spend her time, she unhesitantly stated, "I will leave it to you to introduce me to the others later. For now, I'll stay here and familiarize myself with the workshop. I'm not that interested in socializing so unless they come to me, I won't be spending too much time outside of our workshop. It isn't an exaggeration to say that every minute I am distracted from my work, humanity has been set back by several days in whichever field I am working on. Though I will make an exception for things that interest me, please do not expect me to attend any kind of formal social situations in the future. My time is better spent here, not wasted on maintaining pretenses~."

Hearing Da Vinci's words, Vahn felt an urge to furrow his brows but managed to keep a straight face as he nodded his head and said, "I'll see you in a few hours then." It was clear that something had happened to Da Vinci to make her unfond of people but, considering her peerless genius, it was very likely that it was the resentment of others that turned her off to such things. If he didn't know there were heights even further above anything Da Vinci could reasonably comprehend, Vahn might be put off by the fact she managed to design better lingerie than him in a single hour, even though he had spent what amounted to years on it. If you tried to compare your accomplishments side-by-side with Da Vinci's, you would always come up short since things that you had to make an extreme effort to accomplish seemed almost second nature to her. Depending on the situation, she would have been isolated from most people as, more often than not, humans couldn't tolerate being made to feel inconsequential compared to another human...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Bruh, have you seen this body? I'm good (U w U)...','Merlin is a troll','Humans hate geniuses, even though they are also extremely reliant on them xD...')

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