"—will you finally grant me the official rank of Sage?"

Julien, for one, was not a person who liked going into something without a plan. Neither was he a person who would do something without reason. He was meticulous.

As he watched his father, King Ardiel V, laugh in an almost pitiful manner at his request, he couldn't help but smile, breaking his serious demeanor. It seems that his father had somewhat expected this too, seeing as he reacted that way. Ardiel sighed, looking up to the sky, the castle being made in such a way that one would be able to see/have access to the skies all the time. They were magicians, after all.

"You're sure about this, Julien?" his father asked, but he was resolute.

"It'll make a lot of things easier this way. You and mother will be incredibly busy quite soon and I'm also going to need a lot of materials to move forward as well. Valerie and I have to get stronger, and I also have to unleash her hidden potential… if anything, she'll be our hidden piece to trump the Saints." Julien said, revealing his plans slightly, prompting his father to raise his brows a bit, "We'll be moving around the Kingdom for a while as well, there're a lot of things I want to confirm with my eyes."

His father stared at him with a frown, the father and son duo staring at each other for a few minutes before Ardiel finally shook his head.

"No, it's not necessary for you to be a Sage yet. That'd reveal too much to our enemies." Ardiel said, propping his chin up with his left arm, "That being said… you're still the Crown Prince so you're not going to need any additional ranks to access what you're wanting. Though if you're asking for the Sage rank specifically… are you really going to make more of those orichalcum weapons?"

Julien smiled, that was far too naive if he just wanted to do that, "Not just that, father, I'll be creating the Diamantine Crystal. Several of them, actually."

At those words, his father froze, and the air around them stilled in silence, space and time warping as a barrier was put in place.

Ardiel's eyes were glowing gold, while Julien's was glowing violet, they stared at each other this way.

"You can create them?" Ardiel glared, "Julien, this is not a joke, Diamantine Crystals are no simple matter—you would need a large amount of mana just to create even a single one. And yet you're telling me you're going to make several of them?"

"I can do it. No, in fact…" Julien smirked, thinking of the special item that the Crown Prince had in the game, the one which allowed him to truly become a being that surpassed a dragon. An item that only he will find… one which he already had an idea of where it was, actually. "I'm the only one who can do it. The Emerald Tablet is not a far future for the Kingdom of Corven, your majesty. Our Knights of the Round will be unmatched." he said in a confident manner, challenging Ardiel's glare which emanated a golden aura, threatening to break him apart, to make him bend to its will, but his own royal aura was too strong, turning the tide back as their auras clashed against each other.

Ardiel grit is teeth, before clicking his tongue with a sigh. "You're… serious." he muttered, eyes closed, "Leone… just who is Julien, really? Surely, there must have been an explanation for his existence before in your world, right?" he asked, looking at him with an almost desperate gaze,

"Yes, there was one sentence that explained his existence…" Julien—no, Leone, smiled. "Crown Prince Julien of the Kingdom of Corven… is a miracle that was born to surpass not just dragons, but the deities themselves." he then sighed, "And yet… such miracle was met with a tragic fate in the original game." he closed his eyes, remembering that moment wherein the Crown Prince in the game was corrupted to the core, destroyed by a paradox that shouldn't have been.

But, that's still much, much later in the story.

"Still." Leone/Julien smiled, opening his eyes again, "I'm going to overturn that tragic fate. Turn the tragedy into a legend. So, father, once again… can you bestow upon me the rank of Sage?"

His father looked very conflicted at these words

---

Alicia blinked as she watched a red blazing butterfly flying out of her palm, which turned into a small cloud of fire after a moment. It made her frown, she really wanted to know how Valerie in the game managed to control her mana before.

Seriously, she was like one of the best mages in the Academy at the time… just how did she do it?

Alicia had already tried many times before, and yet, so far, the only way she's managed to use her mana outwardly was through her own swordsmanship. It just didn't make sense… or, rather, it made sense. She wasn't really Valerie was she? In the end she was just an outsider who suddenly was granted control of this body out of nowhere...

Alicia just clicked her tongue, this wasn't going to go anywhere, the best she could hope for is that Leone would somehow be able to help her out in this situation.

"I suppose you're wondering why your magic doesn't seem to be working the way you expected it to, right?" Speaking of which, said person had arrived. Unperturbed, Alicia turned to see Leone, in Julien's ever-so-mesmerizing form, smiling at her. She just gave him a deadpan stare, which seemed to make him laugh. "Don't look at me like that. Come on, you're just not giving your magic the freedom it needs to shine."

"Freedom?" Alicia frowned, turning her attention back to her raised palm, trying to mold the mana with less restrictions this time, allowing it to flow more freely, shaping it into her vision. It didn't take long for the red blazing butterfly to form again, but it was noticeably more vibrant and full of life. Flying around like a real butterfly around the garden. She then tried to give it instructions and make it fly as she wanted, but then… it exploded into a small cloud of fire mana yet again.

It was better this time, but it still didn't go as she'd expected it to go. After all, her mother was able to control her own mana as easily as her own hand.

"Hmm…" Alicia started to think about how exactly her mana worked—or rather why she was so bad at controlling it herself. "So it's freedom then? But how would I be able to control it if I just let it flow as it wants to? Wouldn't it then just flow out of me in complete chaos…?"

"Well," Leone sat down next to her in the bench, then continued, "It's only natural for us to think that, I suppose. Science, and to an extent, Mathematics, the fundamental building blocks of our old world, are very rigid, no?" Alicia nodded, making him smile as he continued his explanation, "But magic—or rather, arcana, is different. In this new world we live in as Julien and Valerie, it's their science. Their fundamentals…"

"Yeah, that's fair, but I already knew that." Alicia huffed, rather annoyed at his lecturing tone.

"Yes, but… have you ever tried to let go of your old self?" Leone said, this time looking straight at her.

Alicia frowned, "What do you mean? Isn't that my identity?"

"No, no, I don't mean to forget yourself. I meant to just… let your body dictate the flow of the magic itself. And instead of trying to control it in a rigorous and precise manner, try to just guide it instead." Leone smiled, "I know it's hard for you as a researcher, seeing as control is everything—how control is part of you, Alicia. But this time… how about giving yourself the leeway to do something unexpected? Right now, we're not Leone or Alicia, we're Julien and Valerie of this world. Let yourself be her, and not discriminate or separate the two beings that are ultimately you."

Alicia blinked as she let his words sink into her mind for a moment.

She always did have a feeling that there was a wall. That barrier that just kept her from fully utilizing her own abilities… specifically her own mana. The only way she was even able to utilize it barely was through the aid of an unconventional tool. A sword.

That was the main reason she'd focused on that so heavily, as ill equipped she was at the start to handle it… but, well, now she's suddenly very powerful with a blade.

So why did she want to use magic properly then? Other than the fact that it was something she'd always dreamed of since coming to this world, she also very much wanted to push Valerie to her limits. Really, it's rather astonishing to consider how powerful she got in the game if one put their time into letting her grow. If she could reach that point earlier, then maybe she and Julien really could stop the tragedy from befalling this Kingdom.

But until now… she has never been able to fully utilize or control her own magic.

… so, just as she always did, she listened to Leone's advice.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she felt the flow of mana inside her, it was lively, it was bright, and incredibly passionate, and yet it was also potent, focused, not chaotic unlike others with the same fire-like attribute.

Truly, a reflection of Valerie as a whole.

Opening her eyes, she released the mana hiding inside of her and let it flow out as it wanted. At first, it seemed to explode in a sudden burst of power, but just as quickly as it did so, it formed a calm, focused aura of magic power, making Valerie glow like a flame. Raising her hand, she formed something out of it, but instead of forcing it to be a butterfly, she let it awaken into the form it wished to be.

A form which turned into a majestic phoenix. Flying around her and screeching momentarily before fusing into her again, making her close her eyes as she felt the mana within her suddenly evolve.

Her very core heating up and cooling down, rebuilding itself… then she opened her eyes. Still in it's beautiful violet shade, but now with a small hint of vermillion.

Alicia—no, Valerie felt much different now.

She felt alive.

The world around her was clearer, and the mana that she was only able to detect faintly before, was now crystal clear. She blinked, looking at her slightly glowing palm, a flame busting above it for a moment as she thought about it, disappearing just as quickly with another thought.

It was like… a new muscle.

"Crazy." Valerie couldn't help but speak so, "This is really crazy."

"Right? And wow… it seems you inherited your mana core from your mother too." Julien said, laughing, "Dear me, to think my fiance would have an absurd mana core as well…"

"Huh?" Valerie tilted her head at him this time, confused, "What do you mean?"

Julien just smiled, "You, my lovely fiance, have a Type 3 Intrusive Mana Core. One which, in due time, would be comparable to that of an Elder Drake."

Valerie just blinked. "What."

Julien started to narrow his eyes at her reaction, "You… you don't know what an Elder Drake is, do you?"

"N-No! Of course I do! It's a… it's a large and old dragon! That has wings! And is also powerful! Very!" Valerie quickly tried to deny his accusation,

"... No. They're not large at all. In fact… they don't even have wings…" Julien muttered, before sighing, "Now I'm really starting to understand why your mother was worried for you, did you even do anything other than train your sword and magic?" he asked, staring at her intensely.

Valerie opened her mouth, and was about to make an excuse, but after seeing his face, she turned to the side and muttered in trembling voice, "I… I didn't think it would be too important at the time…"

Julien just sighed, then grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him, "Alright, lecture time it is. You were a researcher weren't you? You're going to love reading all these books I'm about to give you."

"P-Please be gentle…?"

"You've escaped this for long enough, Alicia."

"Nooooo!" Valerie whimpered.

For all she was a top-researcher and was very acclaimed back on Earth, she absolutely hated studying or reading. She just liked doing the experiments.

The amount of repairs her research laboratory had to go through, however, was nigh uncountable.

It was only natural that she would be called "Mad Alice".

---