Chapter 35
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Chapter 35:
We sat in his office, the familiar walls and furniture were playing heavily on my nostalgia. Rin and Artoria sat next to me, all three of us facing Zelretch who sat behind his desk as he casually browsed a few documents, seemingly content with the silence in the room.
"Which one is it?" Zelretch spoke softly, barely even glancing up but I felt the question directed towards me.
"Pardon?" I asked in confusion.
"Which of my collection were you so keen on helping yourself to."
Ah, I see. "The 300 year old Whiskey." There wasn't really a point in hiding it.
"That is a good choice." He nodded. "I'm curious, how does it rate?"
"Easily a 9/10, one of my favorites."
Zelretch slowly got up from his seat and walked over to the cabinet holding his various alcohol. "I was saving this for a special occasion, and I believe this qualifies." There was no rush to his movements as he carefully looked over the selected bottle. He took four identical glasses and set them up each infront of us. "How would you suggest taking it?" He inspected the bottle and the liquid within.
"It's not bad clean, but I prefer it with a couple drops of water." I thought for a moment before mentally checking my ring. "I have some glacial water, never touched by pollution or human hands." I offered, taking out a bottle I filled back in Skyrim. It was just a whim back then I had some free time, and such pure water was a bit hard to come by without decent effort to produce.
"Wonderful." He took the container and admired it for a moment before pouring everyone a smidge into their glasses.
"It's an acquired taste, don't force yourself if you don't like it." I said lazily towards Rin and Artoria.
"I admit, I have not tried any Alcohol from this time period besides some of the more readily-available stock." Artoria lightly picked up her glass, giving it a curiously sniff.
She probably only had anything cheap so far, probably Sake considering where she was summoned to and Rin didn't strike me as someone who would be a connoisseur of the harder varieties of liquor.
"This is supposed to be 300 years old." Rin looked at her glass.
"There doesn't exist a Whiskey over 200 years old." I said with a small smile. "Atleast, one known to the public."
"From a parallel world-line then?" Rin hazard a guess.
"Actually, it's native here." Zelretch corrected, taking a sip, leaning back and appreciating the taste. "Your recommendation was spot on." His eyes glanced to me but for a moment.
"Then how is it 300 years old." Her eyebrows furrowed, hesitantly taking her own sip. I saw her struggle to keep it down and I didn't want to laugh. I wouldn't make fun of her for that, some people simply don't like the taste.
"When Miss Aozaki joined the Clock Tower, I approached her for a joint experiment. I had some thoughts that needed confirming and the application of her own Magic would be invaluable." Zelretch quietly explained. "You may know her better as the Blue, but being as one of the few prominent figures of Asian descent I don't doubt you've heard her name a few times."
The Blue, the 5th True Magic, the name for the other Magician just as Zelretch is called the Kaleidoscope. Truthfully, I don't know much about the Blue but I do know that Time-Travel lies in its domain.
"What, so you sent some alcohol back in time?" She muttered, looking a bit put off by the taste
Zelretch let out a small chuckle. "Indeed, though the objects we sent back were irrelevant, but that didn't mean we couldn't benefit from the procedure as well. I believe Miss Aozaki also still has her own bottle she hasn't opened yet. I will need to make a note and giver her my recommendation."
"Wait, if this was the first time you opened it, how did he know what it tastes like?" Rin pointed her figure towards me.
"Oh, she picked up on that. I thought for sure she wouldn't notice." I praised with a smile.
Zelretch also smiled. "I had chosen her as my student for a reason." N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
"Time travel?" Artoria asked, tilting her head.
"A good guess, and while technically correct, is wrong." I replied. "I'm not native to this world-line and I was born about a decade from now, year-wise. I have some investment knowledge if you're interested." I said with a laugh.
"That may come in handy." Zelretch shared my amusement. "I noticed your Runecraft application, I'm surprised you chose that path."
"It was something I could immediately achieve something of note with and my resources at the time were....lacking." I frowned, thinking back to the world I was born in. I felt a bit of...regret that I had so quickly 'abandoned' it. "Though I do not regret my decision, I have found myself content with the craft so far."
"The runic arts are a very practical path to choose, I don't blame you for that decision." Zelretch acknowledged, not looking at all put off by my choice.
"I've never seen someone utilize Runes like that before." Rin furrowed her eyebrows. "Mostly just for single enhancements or small spells."
"Uh.....thanks?" She was still out of it.
"Its nothing." I waved her off. "I had copies anyways and they are just the basics." I looked over to my previous-self. "So....how much do you know?"
"I can make several educated guesses. I wouldn't be remiss to hear it all from the beginning."
Yeah, that's what I was assuming at this point.
Rin and Artoria looked at me intently, I guess they were loss and were curious as well. "I guess it started about a month ago when I awoke memories from my previous life and realized I was reincarnated."
"Reincarnation?" Rin and Artoria shared the same remark, astonishment clear on their faces.
"Yeah, it was a bit wild for me when I realized what was happening. A lifetimes worth of memories flooding into the mind of a normal 18 year old kid." I was a bit of a mess those first few days. I just ran a hand through my hair, thinking back to it.
"How did your memories awaken?" Zelretch asked.
"Do you not know, didn't you set this up?" I my eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. I had no memories of this myself, but I attributed it to the holes but this was in no way by chance. Something like this could not be anything but artificial intervention.
"To be honest, I haven't done more than just write down some thoughts on what you went through, I haven't even developed a proper hypothesis yet for testing" He admitted without any fanfare.
That is.....not what I wanted to hear, is it possible a 'future' him or rather 'me' did this? While I doubt he would have had events play out like they did, I had assumed he had a more 'direct' hand in my existence.
"I think we're both missing context then, I guess we'll figure this out together." I sighed, getting answers to my questions wouldn't be as easy as I thought. "It started when an Exorcist attacked me after I accidently walked up on him."
"An exorcist? Why would an exorcist attack you if you were just a normal person then?" Rin blurted out.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that? My mother is human, my father is not." I shared a look with Zelretch, apparently, he didn't know what I was either if I was reading his expression correctly.
"A phantasmal species in the modern era?" Artoria looked a bit surprised, but I didn't see any judgmental looks, interesting.
"Well, the world I came from, the Age of Gods never ended, even if the world was pretty similar to this one." It wasn't that simple, but it was enough to describe the situation.
"Curious." Zelretch scratched his chin in thought.
"How!? The Age of Gods, doesn't that mean Magic and miracles should be more open and wide-spread? Should Thaumaturgy even exist there since humanity would be closer to the Root, but then how would it be modernized to something resembling this world if that was the case? Where there new layers of Reality that overrode preexisting world-views into something that allowed for coherence? Did the Phantasmal Species develop alongside humanity, would the collective unconscious still favor us?" Rin blurted out. "That would explain your non-human blood, are you an Oni then? A Youkai of some sort?"
"Eh...kind of close, but you are thinking incorrectly." Wow she really was wrapping her head around this. Those were some good questions, its sad that the answer is kind of lackluster.
"Are you a demigod?" Artoria asked.
"Divinity!" Rin practically exclaimed, reiterating the question. "Are you a demigod!?"
"Ermm, wrong direction." I snorted, holding back a small laugh.
"What do you mean, wrong direction?" Rin questioned.
"You are thinking me something 'divine', and you are thinking in the wrong direction."
"Are you part demon then?" Artoria said plainly. I admired her ability to hold her emotions in check, I don't think most people would look so natural accusing someone of being a demon and actually believing it.
"Well....not really." I wasn't but the difference was mostly academic.
I watched Artoria furrow he brow, trying to think through it. Rin wasn't faring any better, I waited until she started taking a drink to answer. "My biological father is Satan, I'm a half-devil."
"PPPPFFFFFFTTTT" A large amount of liquid squirted across the table, landing on Zelretch's face.
There was a pregnant silence, Zelretch just blinked as liquid dropped down his face. Artoria looked utterly dumbfounded as she looked at me and even Zelretch seemed a bit taken back.
I just smiled innocently.
It was technically correct, the best kind of correct.
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Chapter 35:
We sat in his office, the familiar walls and furniture were playing heavily on my nostalgia. Rin and Artoria sat next to me, all three of us facing Zelretch who sat behind his desk as he casually browsed a few documents, seemingly content with the silence in the room.
"Which one is it?" Zelretch spoke softly, barely even glancing up but I felt the question directed towards me.
"Pardon?" I asked in confusion.
"Which of my collection were you so keen on helping yourself to."
Ah, I see. "The 300 year old Whiskey." There wasn't really a point in hiding it.
"That is a good choice." He nodded. "I'm curious, how does it rate?"
"Easily a 9/10, one of my favorites."
Zelretch slowly got up from his seat and walked over to the cabinet holding his various alcohol. "I was saving this for a special occasion, and I believe this qualifies." There was no rush to his movements as he carefully looked over the selected bottle. He took four identical glasses and set them up each infront of us. "How would you suggest taking it?" He inspected the bottle and the liquid within.
"It's not bad clean, but I prefer it with a couple drops of water." I thought for a moment before mentally checking my ring. "I have some glacial water, never touched by pollution or human hands." I offered, taking out a bottle I filled back in Skyrim. It was just a whim back then I had some free time, and such pure water was a bit hard to come by without decent effort to produce.
"Wonderful." He took the container and admired it for a moment before pouring everyone a smidge into their glasses.
"It's an acquired taste, don't force yourself if you don't like it." I said lazily towards Rin and Artoria.
"I admit, I have not tried any Alcohol from this time period besides some of the more readily-available stock." Artoria lightly picked up her glass, giving it a curiously sniff.
She probably only had anything cheap so far, probably Sake considering where she was summoned to and Rin didn't strike me as someone who would be a connoisseur of the harder varieties of liquor.
"This is supposed to be 300 years old." Rin looked at her glass.
"There doesn't exist a Whiskey over 200 years old." I said with a small smile. "Atleast, one known to the public."
"From a parallel world-line then?" Rin hazard a guess.
"Actually, it's native here." Zelretch corrected, taking a sip, leaning back and appreciating the taste. "Your recommendation was spot on." His eyes glanced to me but for a moment.
"Then how is it 300 years old." Her eyebrows furrowed, hesitantly taking her own sip. I saw her struggle to keep it down and I didn't want to laugh. I wouldn't make fun of her for that, some people simply don't like the taste.
"When Miss Aozaki joined the Clock Tower, I approached her for a joint experiment. I had some thoughts that needed confirming and the application of her own Magic would be invaluable." Zelretch quietly explained. "You may know her better as the Blue, but being as one of the few prominent figures of Asian descent I don't doubt you've heard her name a few times."
The Blue, the 5th True Magic, the name for the other Magician just as Zelretch is called the Kaleidoscope. Truthfully, I don't know much about the Blue but I do know that Time-Travel lies in its domain.
"What, so you sent some alcohol back in time?" She muttered, looking a bit put off by the taste
Zelretch let out a small chuckle. "Indeed, though the objects we sent back were irrelevant, but that didn't mean we couldn't benefit from the procedure as well. I believe Miss Aozaki also still has her own bottle she hasn't opened yet. I will need to make a note and giver her my recommendation."
"Wait, if this was the first time you opened it, how did he know what it tastes like?" Rin pointed her figure towards me.
"Oh, she picked up on that. I thought for sure she wouldn't notice." I praised with a smile.
Zelretch also smiled. "I had chosen her as my student for a reason." N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
"Time travel?" Artoria asked, tilting her head.
"A good guess, and while technically correct, is wrong." I replied. "I'm not native to this world-line and I was born about a decade from now, year-wise. I have some investment knowledge if you're interested." I said with a laugh.
"That may come in handy." Zelretch shared my amusement. "I noticed your Runecraft application, I'm surprised you chose that path."
"It was something I could immediately achieve something of note with and my resources at the time were....lacking." I frowned, thinking back to the world I was born in. I felt a bit of...regret that I had so quickly 'abandoned' it. "Though I do not regret my decision, I have found myself content with the craft so far."
"The runic arts are a very practical path to choose, I don't blame you for that decision." Zelretch acknowledged, not looking at all put off by my choice.
"I've never seen someone utilize Runes like that before." Rin furrowed her eyebrows. "Mostly just for single enhancements or small spells."
"Uh.....thanks?" She was still out of it.
"Its nothing." I waved her off. "I had copies anyways and they are just the basics." I looked over to my previous-self. "So....how much do you know?"
"I can make several educated guesses. I wouldn't be remiss to hear it all from the beginning."
Yeah, that's what I was assuming at this point.
Rin and Artoria looked at me intently, I guess they were loss and were curious as well. "I guess it started about a month ago when I awoke memories from my previous life and realized I was reincarnated."
"Reincarnation?" Rin and Artoria shared the same remark, astonishment clear on their faces.
"Yeah, it was a bit wild for me when I realized what was happening. A lifetimes worth of memories flooding into the mind of a normal 18 year old kid." I was a bit of a mess those first few days. I just ran a hand through my hair, thinking back to it.
"How did your memories awaken?" Zelretch asked.
"Do you not know, didn't you set this up?" I my eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. I had no memories of this myself, but I attributed it to the holes but this was in no way by chance. Something like this could not be anything but artificial intervention.
"To be honest, I haven't done more than just write down some thoughts on what you went through, I haven't even developed a proper hypothesis yet for testing" He admitted without any fanfare.
That is.....not what I wanted to hear, is it possible a 'future' him or rather 'me' did this? While I doubt he would have had events play out like they did, I had assumed he had a more 'direct' hand in my existence.
"I think we're both missing context then, I guess we'll figure this out together." I sighed, getting answers to my questions wouldn't be as easy as I thought. "It started when an Exorcist attacked me after I accidently walked up on him."
"An exorcist? Why would an exorcist attack you if you were just a normal person then?" Rin blurted out.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that? My mother is human, my father is not." I shared a look with Zelretch, apparently, he didn't know what I was either if I was reading his expression correctly.
"A phantasmal species in the modern era?" Artoria looked a bit surprised, but I didn't see any judgmental looks, interesting.
"Well, the world I came from, the Age of Gods never ended, even if the world was pretty similar to this one." It wasn't that simple, but it was enough to describe the situation.
"Curious." Zelretch scratched his chin in thought.
"How!? The Age of Gods, doesn't that mean Magic and miracles should be more open and wide-spread? Should Thaumaturgy even exist there since humanity would be closer to the Root, but then how would it be modernized to something resembling this world if that was the case? Where there new layers of Reality that overrode preexisting world-views into something that allowed for coherence? Did the Phantasmal Species develop alongside humanity, would the collective unconscious still favor us?" Rin blurted out. "That would explain your non-human blood, are you an Oni then? A Youkai of some sort?"
"Eh...kind of close, but you are thinking incorrectly." Wow she really was wrapping her head around this. Those were some good questions, its sad that the answer is kind of lackluster.
"Are you a demigod?" Artoria asked.
"Divinity!" Rin practically exclaimed, reiterating the question. "Are you a demigod!?"
"Ermm, wrong direction." I snorted, holding back a small laugh.
"What do you mean, wrong direction?" Rin questioned.
"You are thinking me something 'divine', and you are thinking in the wrong direction."
"Are you part demon then?" Artoria said plainly. I admired her ability to hold her emotions in check, I don't think most people would look so natural accusing someone of being a demon and actually believing it.
"Well....not really." I wasn't but the difference was mostly academic.
I watched Artoria furrow he brow, trying to think through it. Rin wasn't faring any better, I waited until she started taking a drink to answer. "My biological father is Satan, I'm a half-devil."
"PPPPFFFFFFTTTT" A large amount of liquid squirted across the table, landing on Zelretch's face.
There was a pregnant silence, Zelretch just blinked as liquid dropped down his face. Artoria looked utterly dumbfounded as she looked at me and even Zelretch seemed a bit taken back.
I just smiled innocently.
It was technically correct, the best kind of correct.
Chapter 35:We sat in his office, the familiar walls and furniture were playing heavily on my nostalgia. Rin and Artoria sat next to me, all three of us facing Zelretch who sat behind his desk as he casually browsed a few documents, seemingly content with the silence in the room. "Which one is it?" Zelretch spoke softly, barely even glancing up but I felt the question directed towards me. "Pardon?" I asked in confusion. "Which of my collection were you so keen on helping yourself to." Ah, I see. "The 300 year old Whiskey." There wasn't really a point in hiding it. "That is a good choice." He nodded. "I'm curious, how does it rate?" "Easily a 9/10, one of my favorites." Zelretch slowly got up from his seat and walked over to the cabinet holding his various alcohol. "I was saving this for a special occasion, and I believe this qualifies." There was no rush to his movements as he carefully looked over the selected bottle. He took four identical glasses and set them up each infront of us. "How would you suggest taking it?" He inspected the bottle and the liquid within. "It's not bad clean, but I prefer it with a couple drops of water." I thought for a moment before mentally checking my ring. "I have some glacial water, never touched by pollution or human hands." I offered, taking out a bottle I filled back in Skyrim. It was just a whim back then I had some free time, and such pure water was a bit hard to come by without decent effort to produce. "Wonderful." He took the container and admired it for a moment before pouring everyone a smidge into their glasses. "It's an acquired taste, don't force yourself if you don't like it." I said lazily towards Rin and Artoria. "I admit, I have not tried any Alcohol from this time period besides some of the more readily-available stock." Artoria lightly picked up her glass, giving it a curiously sniff. She probably only had anything cheap so far, probably Sake considering where she was summoned to and Rin didn't strike me as someone who would be a connoisseur of the harder varieties of liquor. "This is supposed to be 300 years old." Rin looked at her glass. "There doesn't exist a Whiskey over 200 years old." I said with a small smile. "Atleast, one known to the public." "From a parallel world-line then?" Rin hazard a guess. "Actually, it's native here." Zelretch corrected, taking a sip, leaning back and appreciating the taste. "Your recommendation was spot on." His eyes glanced to me but for a moment. "Then how is it 300 years old." Her eyebrows furrowed, hesitantly taking her own sip. I saw her struggle to keep it down and I didn't want to laugh. I wouldn't make fun of her for that, some people simply don't like the taste. "When Miss Aozaki joined the Clock Tower, I approached her for a joint experiment. I had some thoughts that needed confirming and the application of her own Magic would be invaluable." Zelretch quietly explained. "You may know her better as the Blue, but being as one of the few prominent figures of Asian descent I don't doubt you've heard her name a few times." The Blue, the 5th True Magic, the name for the other Magician just as Zelretch is called the Kaleidoscope. Truthfully, I don't know much about the Blue but I do know that Time-Travel lies in its domain. "What, so you sent some alcohol back in time?" She muttered, looking a bit put off by the taste Zelretch let out a small chuckle. "Indeed, though the objects we sent back were irrelevant, but that didn't mean we couldn't benefit from the procedure as well. I believe Miss Aozaki also still has her own bottle she hasn't opened yet. I will need to make a note and giver her my recommendation." "Wait, if this was the first time you opened it, how did he know what it tastes like?" Rin pointed her figure towards me. "Oh, she picked up on that. I thought for sure she wouldn't notice." I praised with a smile. Zelretch also smiled. "I had chosen her as my student for a reason." N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n."Time travel?" Artoria asked, tilting her head. "A good guess, and while technically correct, is wrong." I replied. "I'm not native to this world-line and I was born about a decade from now, year-wise. I have some investment knowledge if you're interested." I said with a laugh. "That may come in handy." Zelretch shared my amusement. "I noticed your Runecraft application, I'm surprised you chose that path." "It was something I could immediately achieve something of note with and my resources at the time were....lacking." I frowned, thinking back to the world I was born in. I felt a bit of...regret that I had so quickly 'abandoned' it. "Though I do not regret my decision, I have found myself content with the craft so far." "The runic arts are a very practical path to choose, I don't blame you for that decision." Zelretch acknowledged, not looking at all put off by my choice. "I've never seen someone utilize Runes like that before." Rin furrowed her eyebrows. "Mostly just for single enhancements or small spells." "Uh.....thanks?" She was still out of it. "Its nothing." I waved her off. "I had copies anyways and they are just the basics." I looked over to my previous-self. "So....how much do you know?" "I can make several educated guesses. I wouldn't be remiss to hear it all from the beginning." Yeah, that's what I was assuming at this point. Rin and Artoria looked at me intently, I guess they were loss and were curious as well. "I guess it started about a month ago when I awoke memories from my previous life and realized I was reincarnated." "Reincarnation?" Rin and Artoria shared the same remark, astonishment clear on their faces. "Yeah, it was a bit wild for me when I realized what was happening. A lifetimes worth of memories flooding into the mind of a normal 18 year old kid." I was a bit of a mess those first few days. I just ran a hand through my hair, thinking back to it. "How did your memories awaken?" Zelretch asked. "Do you not know, didn't you set this up?" I my eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. I had no memories of this myself, but I attributed it to the holes but this was in no way by chance. Something like this could not be anything but artificial intervention. "To be honest, I haven't done more than just write down some thoughts on what you went through, I haven't even developed a proper hypothesis yet for testing" He admitted without any fanfare. That is.....not what I wanted to hear, is it possible a 'future' him or rather 'me' did this? While I doubt he would have had events play out like they did, I had assumed he had a more 'direct' hand in my existence. "I think we're both missing context then, I guess we'll figure this out together." I sighed, getting answers to my questions wouldn't be as easy as I thought. "It started when an Exorcist attacked me after I accidently walked up on him." "An exorcist? Why would an exorcist attack you if you were just a normal person then?" Rin blurted out. "Oh, did I forget to mention that? My mother is human, my father is not." I shared a look with Zelretch, apparently, he didn't know what I was either if I was reading his expression correctly. "A phantasmal species in the modern era?" Artoria looked a bit surprised, but I didn't see any judgmental looks, interesting. "Well, the world I came from, the Age of Gods never ended, even if the world was pretty similar to this one." It wasn't that simple, but it was enough to describe the situation. "Curious." Zelretch scratched his chin in thought. "How!? The Age of Gods, doesn't that mean Magic and miracles should be more open and wide-spread? Should Thaumaturgy even exist there since humanity would be closer to the Root, but then how would it be modernized to something resembling this world if that was the case? Where there new layers of Reality that overrode preexisting world-views into something that allowed for coherence? Did the Phantasmal Species develop alongside humanity, would the collective unconscious still favor us?" Rin blurted out. "That would explain your non-human blood, are you an Oni then? A Youkai of some sort?" "Eh...kind of close, but you are thinking incorrectly." Wow she really was wrapping her head around this. Those were some good questions, its sad that the answer is kind of lackluster. "Are you a demigod?" Artoria asked. "Divinity!" Rin practically exclaimed, reiterating the question. "Are you a demigod!?" "Ermm, wrong direction." I snorted, holding back a small laugh. "What do you mean, wrong direction?" Rin questioned. "You are thinking me something 'divine', and you are thinking in the wrong direction." "Are you part demon then?" Artoria said plainly. I admired her ability to hold her emotions in check, I don't think most people would look so natural accusing someone of being a demon and actually believing it. "Well....not really." I wasn't but the difference was mostly academic. I watched Artoria furrow he brow, trying to think through it. Rin wasn't faring any better, I waited until she started taking a drink to answer. "My biological father is Satan, I'm a half-devil." "PPPPFFFFFFTTTT" A large amount of liquid squirted across the table, landing on Zelretch's face. There was a pregnant silence, Zelretch just blinked as liquid dropped down his face. Artoria looked utterly dumbfounded as she looked at me and even Zelretch seemed a bit taken back. I just smiled innocently. It was technically correct, the best kind of correct.
