Science/Magic

Bloed, Regina, Headmistress Wave, and Eve (who had appeared beside them at some point in time) were seated around a big round table located in a spacious hall on the eleventh floor.     

This place was the meeting hall of the tower. It was an enormous hall with glass walls that provided a beautiful view of Academy City.     

Bloed never thought he would use the meeting hall so soon, although using it to hold a discussion with one of the most powerful demigods of the world was a good way to inaugurate it.     

"It's a beautiful sight." Headmistress Wave said with a sigh, her eyes fixed in the view of the city she built from scratch.     

"Thank you, headmistress."     

"Really, I never thought you would construct something like this."     

"It cost a lot."     

"Yeah, I can imagine it." Headmistress Wave chuckled slightly, ging along with Bloed's joke as she admired the view in front of her.     

However, no matter how much she liked the view, she had come here for other reasons.     

"You know how many problems this little project yours brought me? I don't know how to explain the sudden apparition of this building."     

"I thought that clubs had the right to modify their headquarters as they wanted."     

"They can." Headmistress Wave nodded exasperated. "But the problem is that your 'modifications' were too exaggerated. I can't start to imagine how many people will try to learn the secrets behind this."     

Bloed's eyes narrowed briefly, but he was still smiling.     

"They can come if they want. I don't mind."     

In fact, that was his intention since the start.     

That was the reason he was so high-profile when he built and revealed the building. He wanted to make people interested in it. That way, perhaps he could attract some people that could help him to spread technology around the world.     

And one of the people he wanted to attract the most was the woman in front of him.     

Headmistress Evelyn.     

Bloed was sure she would be a key piece in making the dream of his mother true.     

"I never thought that the 'engineering' you show me a few days ago would allow you to build something so incredible in such a short time." Headmistress Wave sighed in admiration. "Truly amazing."     

Bloed smiled. "Engineering is the way mankind uses the knowledge and technology they get through science to create wonders impossible otherwise. In fact, this is nothing. With the right resources and enough time, I can do something much better."     

"Science? Technology?" Headmistress asked with a curious expression.     

Smiling wryly, Bloed gave her a quick explanation of these two concepts.     

When Headmistress Wave finished listening to him, she fell silent.     

She then heaved a long sigh accompanied by a wry smile.     

"I underestimated you, boy. If you don't mind, can I ask you where did you learn about this?"     

"It was the legacy of my mother," Bloed replied with a small smile. However, his answer stunned Headmistress Wave.     

Headmistress Wave knew a lot about Bloed. She had even managed to piece together Bloed's true identity.     

Glenn Skysword, Prince of the Kingdom of Alterna.     

That was the reason she was stunned and confused when she heard him mention his mother.     

She knew about Bloed's mother, the Queen of the Kingdom of Alterna. However, she was sure that the Queen knew nothing about the things Bloed told her just now.     

Otherwise, she would have used this knowledge long ago to strengthen the Kingdom of Alterna even more.     

Moreover, Bloed was supposed to have a bad relationship with his family. But he could see longing and nostalgia when Bloed spoke about his mother.     

Quickly, though, she understood.     

Wave's eyes lit up and she stared at Bloed fixedly, quickly piecing together the entire picture in her mind.     

"I see... Bloed, your mother could not use mana either, right?"     

Bloed froze. Instantly, the gaze he was directing towards the headmistress turned sharp. And behind him, Regina's aura became ice-cold, as though she was ready to fight Headmistress Evelyn at any moment.     

"So you noticed." Bloed squinted.     

Headmistress Wave shrugged calmly.     

"Obviously I noticed. I don't want to brag, but I'm one of the strongest demigods in the world. Although you found a way to mask your lack of mana, I managed to detect it when you did not use any iota of mana during the welcome ceremony. In fact, this entire tower was constructed without using any way of magic, right?"     

"... You are right." Bloed nodded, but he was still staring at Headmistress Wave with a wary expression.     

Actually, he did not find it so weird that Wave managed to detect his lack of mana. She was not the first one to do it anyway.     

Plus, according to Oculus, many demigods knew that the myths about 'Cursed children stained by the Blight' were fake. These rumors were just a product born due to the people's fear of the Blight.     

Even so, he could not help but be wary when someone he barely knew mentioned his lack of mana.     

Feeling his wariness, Wave smiled.     

"Don't worry, I don't care about that. As someone that fought in the war against the Blight, I know that the rumors about cursed children are lies."     

"She is right, Bloed," Eve spoke up at that moment with her usual expressionless look. "Although some people discriminate against manaless people, neither Wave nor I are like that. We know that something like that means nothing. You and Miss Regina are the best examples of it."     

"Well, I can understand why you are so wary." Wave heaved a bitter sigh. "If I'm not mistaken, the reason you cut ties with the royal family of Alterna was due to your lack of mana, right? Did you meet the mother you spoke about after that?"     

Bloed was stunned. He could not help but admire the woman in front of him.     

Not just by the fact that Headmistress Wave knew about its previous identity, but also by the fact that she managed to deduce so much so quickly.     

"… You are right." Bloed did not deny it. "My mother, Camilla, was a great woman. She was the most knowledgeable person I had ever known, and she was also the one that taught me about science, technology, and engineering. That was her legacy to me."     

Wave smiled slightly.     

She could feel Bloed's love and gratitude towards his mother from his words, and she could imagine how great she was. After all, she managed to raise someone like Bloed.     

Of course, she was a bit miffed by Bloed's affirmation that his mother was the most knowledgeable person he had known, but she did not plan to discuss that right now.     

"Your mother sounds like a great person. I would have liked to meet her."     

"… She was." Bloed smiled bitterly, obviously saddened after remembering her.     

Noticing it, Wave and Eve remained silent for a while.     

When Bloed had returned to normal, Wave spoke up again.     

"… Mr. Bloed, about engineering and science, do you think you can teach me more about it?"     

As soon as that question sounded, Bloed and Regina behind him narrowed their eyes.     

Bloed then smiled and nodded.     

"Of course. You can visit our club if you want to learn."     

Wave's expression stiffened briefly. But she put on a smile at the next instant and nodded.     

"Very well, perhaps I will pay your club a visit."     

She understood Bloed's underlying message.     

He did not mind teaching her. However, it would be under his terms.     

In the end, even though Bloed wanted to spread the Human Confederation's technology to this world, he did not want for it to turn into a cause of bloodshed.     

And for that, he needed to control it carefully. Mainly in the initial stages.     

"Anyway, I'm very impressed with your work in this tower, Bloed." Headmistress Wave smiled sincerely, showing that these were her real feelings. "Mm, there will be some troubles due to the way you did things, but I took a liking to you, so I will deal with take care of them for you. However…"     

"However?"     

"You know that if you lose in the next War of Clubs you will lose this tower, right?"     

Bloed looked at Headmistress Wave and chuckled.     

"You don't need to worry about that, headmistress. I'm not planning to lose."     

"Is it so? I'm looking forward to your performance then."