The Mechanical Era

Waking up first in the morning ahead of Lisa, Sofia goes down to take a bath for the day, using a scented rose soap. She picks out a black training uniform and heads. She first tends to her garden she maintains, watering some planets, then go out to meet Friedrich.

When she arrived at the training arena, she found it to be devoid of life, with none of the targets set up. She appeared to have arrived earlier than expected and decided to try out some things first.

She starts by first setting up the target practices for them to shoot at. There were many in the storage room nearby. She grabbed two of them at a time, setting them up in a horizontal line. After she had done placing about ten, Sofia backed away to gain some distance.

She reached out her left hand and cast a spell. A ball of the earth starts to form, ready for her to shoot. She aims for the 3rd target to the right, and fires. The rocks whooshed in the air, hitting their target on the spot. Sofia smiled at the accomplishment.

She then took a deep breath. Still holding out her hand, she conjures a water ball. Concentrating hard, she moved on to the fourth target and fired at it. Before it could even make it halfway through, the water ball disintegrates to steam from how fast it went.

"Having trouble with a water spell Princess Sofia?" someone from behind asked. It was a voice familiar to Sofia. She turned her head around to see Friedrich in the distance, wearing his black practice uniform, walking towards her.

"Prince Friedrich! You startled me for a second. When did you make your way to the training arena?" she asked.

"I just arrived as you cast the earth spell. It was fine, to say the least. Though I was left disappointed by the water spell. Do you require any assistance?"

"Why yes Prince Friedrich. I do. My water balls just don't seem to hold together. They crumble before they reached their target." she replied truthfully.

"Can you cast it again? I want to see it properly."

"As you wish. Do you want me to spell out the incantation?"

"If it is easier, then sure."

Sofia held out her hand again and aims again at the 4th target. Concentrated, she spelled out the incantation.

"Oùest leau."

The ball yet again fractured to steam. Friedrich stood there with his right hand on his chin, clearly thinking.

"Try to concentrate harder on the ball itself," he replied.

"I beg your pardon?" Sofia asked.

"You were concentrating on the target itself, correct?"

"Yes, I was. Is there a problem?"

"There is. Concentrating on the target means that the balls are more likely to break up faster. Here, I will show you." Friedrich held out his right hand and conjured a water ball. He turns his head to Sofia.

"First you conjure the water ball like this. You focus on putting your mana into the ball itself when concentrating on it. Only afterward, you fire the ball at your target."

He turned his head towards the target and fired. The water ball had managed to keep itself together this time and hit the target.

"You will get better the more you practice. It took me a few months to achieve this."

"Alright then. I will test out your method." Sofia held out her right hand this time, mimicking Friedrich's movement. She muttered the spell under her breath. A waterfall appeared in front of her hand.

After a little time, she aimed at the middle target and fired. This time it went halfway before it splintered to vapor. Sofia was happy with the result, evident because of the smile on her face.

"How was my spell that time Prince Friedrich," she asked Friedrich.

"That was pretty good Princess Sofia. Even my first time wasn't as good as that," he responded, looking genuinely surprised.

"Thank you, Prince Friedrich."

"Are there any more spells you have any problem with?"

"There is the fire spell. Is there any difference between that and the water spell?" Sofia asked.

"As far as I am aware, not really. Anyways, shall we start our training?" Friedrich asked.

"Oh yes. Of course, we shall," she replied.

...

The once blue sky had turned orange. Friedrich and Sofia were both sweating and breathing heavily after hours of training. Friedrich turned to Sofia and complimented her.

"I am astonished at your performance. You looked as if you improved a lot in those few hours."

"Thank you, Prince Friedrich. I managed to learn a lot from you as well. It would have taken a good part of my youth to learn to know what I do today. I am truly grateful." she said with a smile.

"Though there is a question I like to ask," Sofia said.

"Ask away," he replied.

"Where did you gain such valuable insight into your knowledge? It certainly does not seem to come from the academy classes," she asked.

"Oh, I learned them all from my elder brother."

"Elder brother?"

"Yes. He taught me in secret every summer what he had learned. I strive to be better every day for him."

"How come we never heard of him then?" Sofia asked. Friedrich stayed silent while Sofia stood there waiting for an answer.

"... he kept it all a secret." he finally said.

"If you say, you Prince Friedrich."

"When will we hold the next practice session?" he asked Sofia.

"I need time to arrange it, Prince Friedrich. I have something else planned for the 4th. I will let you know..." She looked at him and spotted a single piece of the red petal on his hair.

"Um... Prince Friedrich, you got a flower petal stuck on your hair." she picked up the petal and held it out in the palm of her hand for him to see.

"Looks to belong to a red tulip flower," Sofia remarked.

"Oh, it must have come from the garden," Friedrich replied

"You make visits to the academy's garden, Prince Friedrich?" Sofia asked in curiosity.

"No. I was just called there to help out a teacher. Though I would like to get into it."

"Well coincidentally, I maintain a private garden I received when I arrived at the academy. You could visit anytime you want to."

"Really?"

"Yes! You can even help me plant new ones the day after tomorrow. I will even introduce you to some of my friends. They would be delighted to have another pair of helping hands. I promised to make you some friends. Remember?" She replied.

"I gladly accept your offer Sofia," he said while smiling. His heart the inside started beating profoundly at the mistake. Before he could apologize, Sofia simply smiled.

"You are welcome Friedrich," she replied.

...

Kant sat in his office, writing on a piece of paper. He wrote more recipes that he wanted to make in the future. Just then, the door received a firm knock.

"Enter."

Arjun entered the room, holding a stack of papers in his hands.

"Here is the last batch of disputes for this week sire," he said.

"How is the registrar coming along," Kant asked while still looking at the paper on his desk.

"The registrar has been completed sire."

Kant turned his head to Arjun instantly.

"Already? And the employees?"

"All hired. When should I open it?"

"The day after tomorrow then. Inform of the registrar's existence to the merchants via notices all over the city. Use the printing press to make the notes."