I led the two of them toward the furnace room located beside the greenhouse.

The room wasn’t particularly large, but it housed the heart of the entire system. Thick pipes ran from the steam engine into the ground before spreading throughout the greenhouse floor.

The furnace sat beneath the boiler while various valves and gauges occupied the surrounding walls.

Clara looked around with obvious curiosity.

"So this is the thing that heats the greenhouse?"

"Part of it," I replied. "The furnace heats the boiler. The boiler creates steam. The steam creates pressure. The pressure drives the pump which circulates hot water through the pipes beneath the greenhouse floor."

Clara blinked.

I continued anyway.

"The hot water transfers heat into the soil and air, allowing tropical plants to survive even during winter.

The glass helps trap the heat from the boiler system as well as heat from outside while the circulation system keeps temperatures stable during seasons like winter."

Clara stared at me for several seconds.

Then she raised a hand towards my face.

"No."

"What?"

"It sounds too complicated."

I sighed.

"I’ve barely started explaining it."

"And I’d like it to stay that way."

Beside us, Lillith looked equally confused.

"I understood hot building."

"Thank you, Lillith."

"You’re welcome."

At least she was honest.

I shook my head before turning toward her.

"Can you fill the pipes with water?"

Immediately her eyes lit up.

"Of course."

A large magic circle appeared beneath her feet.

Moments later streams of water began flowing into the system from several directions at once. The pipes gradually filled while I inspected various joints and valves to make sure nothing was leaking.

Once everything looked ready, I grabbed several pieces of charcoal and fed them into the furnace.

The next few minutes were spent waiting.

Then slowly—

The engine began to move.

A metallic clunk echoed through the room.

Then another.

Steam hissed through the pipes.

Pressure built inside the boiler.

The pistons started moving.

The pump engaged.

Soon the familiar rhythm filled the room.

Clunk.

Hiss.

Clunk.

Hiss.

I couldn’t help smiling slightly.

The system was working.

I spent the next several minutes walking throughout the greenhouse inspecting every section. The pipes remained stable. The pump continued circulating water. No leaks appeared.

Everything seemed to be functioning exactly as intended.

When I returned, I found Lillith and Clara waiting near the entrance.

"Well?" Clara asked.

"It works."

Clara smiled.

Lillith looked pleased despite having no idea what most of it did.

I reached over and lightly patted her head.

"Thanks for the help."

Immediately her face turned slightly red.

"You don’t have to thank me for helping you."

"I’m still going to."

The smile she tried hiding afterward was impossible to miss.

A while later I glanced toward the academy grounds.

"Should we get lunch?"

Both girls agreed instantly.

We headed back outside before splitting up briefly.

Clara volunteered to get food from the cafeteria for her and Lillith while Lillith and I headed toward their usual lunch spot which was a table beneath the trees.

The moment we sat down, Lillith immediately moved closer.

Then closer.

Then somehow even closer.

I looked at her.

"Lillith."

"Mhm?"

"Personal space."

"It’s our personal space."

The next several minutes passed peacefully.

Lillith spent most of the conversation leaning against me while talking about anything that came to mind.

Sometimes she talked about graduation.

Sometimes she talked about me.

Mostly she talked about me.

"I think darling looks better in black."

"I wearing work clothes."

"You’d still look better."

"Everything is covered in dirt."

"You still look better."

I gave up arguing.

Eventually Clara returned carrying two bowls and a tray.

At first I didn’t think much of it.

Then I noticed the look on her face.

She sat down.

Placed the bowls in front of herself and Lillith.

Then stared directly at me.

The expression immediately made me nervous.

Lillith noticed too.

"Clara?"

No response.

"Clara?"

Still nothing.

Finally Clara spoke.

"Are the rumors true?"

I blinked.

"What rumors?"

She continued staring intently at me.

"The ones everyone was talking about in the cafeteria."

Immediately Lillith’s interest skyrocketed.

She scooted forward.

Then grabbed both sides of my face.

Then shoved her own face directly in front of mine.

"Speak."

"Lillith."

"Speak now."

I sighed and the explained, the hallway meeting Adrian, the insults and the duel.

Everything.

I left nothing out.

The moment I finished explaining, Lillith went completely silent.

The playful smile she had worn all lunch disappeared.

Not instantly.

Like she was carefully trying to control herself.

For several seconds she simply stared at me.

Then she gently reached forward and cupped my face between both hands.

Her fingers were surprisingly warm.

Before I could say anything, she leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

"Stay here."

Her voice was soft.

Far too soft.

Then she stood up.

I immediately knew exactly where this was going.

Before she could take more than a single step, I grabbed her wrist.

Lillith stopped.

Slowly she turned back toward me.

The anger in her eyes wasn’t explosive.

That would’ve honestly been less concerning.

Instead it was cold.

Controlled.

The kind of anger that came after somebody had already decided what they were going to do.

"Leon?."

"No."

"He insulted me."

"I know."

"He insulted you!"

"I know."

Her jaw tightened.

"He wants to hurt you!"

"Lillith."

"He called you a cripple."

Her voice lowered further.

"He mocked you for not having mana."

I sighed.

"I heard him."

"And then he questioned why I would ever choose you."

The possessiveness in her voice was becoming increasingly obvious.

As if merely remembering the conversation was making her angrier.

For a moment she glanced toward the academy buildings.

Then back toward me.

Then toward the buildings again.

Like she was physically resisting the urge to to throw my arm away and go to straight to Adrian.

I tightened my grip slightly.

"Sit down."

"No."

"Please."

"He deserves it."

"I’ll handle it."

"You don’t have any mana, as incompetent as he still posses his A rank mana capacity."

"Thank you for the reminder."

"I’m serious."

"So am I."

For several seconds we simply stared at one another.

Meanwhile Clara looked like she desperately wanted to be somewhere else.

Eventually Lillith crouched slightly so her eyes were level with mine.

"Leon."

"What?"

"If he hurts you—"

"He won’t."

"If he hurts you."

Her voice sharpened.

"Even a little."

I could practically feel Clara shrinking beside us.

"Lillith."

"No."

She grabbed the front of my shirt.

"If that idiot leaves so much as a scratch on my darling, I’m jumping into that arena."

I opened my mouth.

She cut me off immediately.

"I don’t care about the academy."

"Lillith."

"I don’t care about the teachers."

"I don’t care about the consequences."

The air around her seemed noticeably colder now.

Lillith leaned closer.

Her purple eyes narrowed.

"The second I see blood, I’m annihilating Adrian."

Silence.

Then she added:

"And if anybody tries stopping me, I’ll annihilate them along with him."

"...That’s not helping."

I rubbed my forehead.

After a long pause I finally sighed.

"Lillith."

"What?"

"I have a slight plan."

That managed to stop her.

The anger didn’t disappear.

But curiosity briefly won.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You have a plan?"

"Maybe."

"Leon."

"What?"

"You saying maybe is not reassuring."

"It’ll be fine."

Lillith looked completely unconvinced.

Which was fair.

Honestly, I wasn’t entirely convinced either.

————————

The carriage ride back to the Nightbane residence was significantly less peaceful than the journey there.

"This is stupid."

I sighed.

"We’ve already established that."

"No, darling, you don’t understand."

She pointed dramatically at me.

"This is incredibly stupid."

"Thank you for the clarification."

Lillith crossed her arms before leaning back into her seat.

"He has an A-rank mana capacity."

"I know."

"And you don’t."

"I know."

"And he wants to hurt you."

"I know."

For a few moments she simply stared at me.

Then she leaned forward.

"Or."

I already knew I wasn’t going to like this.

"What?"

"We could arrange an accident."

I rubbed my forehead.

"Lillith."

"What?"

"You can’t just arrange accidents."

"Why not?"

"Because that’s murder."

She tilted her head.

"I wasn’t necessarily talking about murder."

The fact she had specified necessarily did not make me feel better.

I reached over and patted her head.

Lillith immediately froze.

Then her expression softened slightly.

"It’ll be alright."

She still looked unconvinced.

But at least she stopped discussing mysterious accidents.

Eventually the carriage arrived at the Nightbane residence.

The moment we stepped inside, I started heading deeper into the manor.

Lillith immediately followed.

I looked over my shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"Following you."

"Why?"

"You said you had preparations."

"I do."

"I want to watch."

I stopped walking.

"Lillith."

"Mhm?"

"You’ll probably interrupt my work."

She immediately shook her head.

"I won’t."

Then she looked up at me with what could only be described as weaponized puppy eyes.

I sighed.

There was absolutely no winning against that.

"Fine."

Immediately she smiled.

A few moments later I looked toward her again.

"Actually, do you have a collection of shields here?"

Lillith blinked.

"Shields?"

"Yes."

She thought for a moment.

Then nodded.

"Follow me."

The manor was enormous.

Despite having visited countless times, there were still entire sections I had never seen before.

Lillith happily dragged me through several hallways before leading me down a staircase and into a wing of the manor that looked more like an armory than a noble residence.

Eventually she stopped in front of a large wooden door.

Then pushed it open.

I stared.

Rows upon rows of shields filled the room.

Tower shields.

Decorative shields.

War shields.

Ceremonial shields.

Some looked ancient and appeared practically untouched.

Several were decorated with gold, silver, gemstones, and enough other noble nonsense to buy a village.

I slowly walked inside.

Lillith looked very pleased with herself.

After a few minutes of looking around, I finally found something interesting.

It wasn’t impressive.

Actually, it looked remarkably boring being just a simple metal shield.

Small.

Light.

Functional.

It only covered roughly a third of my front.

Compared to everything else in the room it was practically invisible.

I picked it up.

Then blinked.

"...Huh."

It was surprisingly light.

Exactly what I needed.

Lillith watched me inspect it.

Then frowned.

"Darling."

"What?"

"Why are you holding that pathetic thing?"

I glanced down.

"It seems perfect."

"It looks terrible."

Before I could respond, Lillith casually walked over to a nearby rack.

Then grabbed one of the largest shields in the entire room.

I stared.

The thing was enormous.

Its surface was lined with gold decorations and intricate engravings.

It looked less like a shield and more like a castle gate.

The fact Lillith lifted it one-handed was deeply concerning.

She carried it over and proudly presented it to me.

"Use this one."

I stared at the shield.

Then at her.

Then at the shield again.

"Lillith."

"Yes?"

"I physically cannot lift that."

"You can try."

"I can’t."

"You haven’t tried."

I pointed at the shield.

"I don’t think you understand how heavy that thing is."

"It isn’t heavy."

I slowly closed my eyes.

Then reopened them.

"Lillith."

I pointed at myself.

"I am not you."

For several moments she simply stared at me.

Then her expression slowly changed.

"...Oh."

"Exactly."

The realization seemed to hit her all at once.

"...Right."

"Right."

For perhaps the first time all day, Lillith actually looked slightly embarrassed.

Meanwhile I quietly picked up the original shield again.

It wasn’t flashy.

It wasn’t impressive.

But it was light.

And more importantly—

I could actually carry it.

Lillith watched me walk toward the door with it.

Then folded her arms.

"I still think the big one looks cooler."

"I’m trying to win a duel."

"The big one would help."

"It would crush me."

She considered that.

"...Fair point."

With my newly acquired shield in hand, we left the armory together.

Unfortunately, judging by the thoughtful look on Lillith’s face, I was beginning to suspect she was already planning ways to secretly replace it with the giant one.

After leaving the armory, I headed deeper into the manor while carrying the shield under one arm. Lillith followed directly beside me, still occasionally muttering about how much better the larger shield would’ve looked.

"It would’ve looked ridiculous."

"It would’ve looked majestic."

"It would’ve crushed me."

"It would’ve looked majestic while crushing you."

I decided not to continue that conversation.

Eventually we arrived at one of the manor’s workshops. The room was normally used by blacksmiths and armorers employed by the Nightbane family.

Weapon racks lined the walls while several anvils sat near stone furnaces. Various tools occupied workbenches scattered throughout the room and the faint smell of coal still lingered in the air from earlier work.

The moment I entered, I began looking around for an empty bench.

Lillith meanwhile simply watched me.

"What are you doing?"

"Preparing."

"For the duel?"

"Partially."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

That usually wasn’t a good sign.

I set the shield down before turning toward her.

"Actually, can you do something for me?"

Immediately she straightened.

"Anything."

"Outside with the worker wagons there should be a small glass jar."

"A glass jar?"

"Yes."

"Very descriptive."

I pointed toward the courtyard.

"It should be labeled Mg."

Lillith blinked.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that on this glass jar you’ll see a big label that says Mg."

She stared at me for several seconds.

Then sighed.

Before I could explain further, she turned and headed toward the exit.

A few moments later she paused in the doorway.

"If I bring it back, do I get a reward?"

I immediately knew where this was going.

"No."

"One kiss."

"No."

"Half a kiss."

I looked at her.

"What exactly is half a kiss?"

"I don’t know."

"Then how are you offering it?"

Lillith thought for a moment.

"...Good point."

Then she smiled.

"So we’ll do one kiss."

Before I could object, she disappeared out the door.

I sighed.

Somehow I had the feeling I was about to regret asking for her help.

Still, with Lillith gone for the moment, I finally turned my attention toward the workbench.

Various pieces of metal lay scattered across the surface while several tools hung from hooks nearby.

Tomorrow’s duel was approaching quickly.

And while Adrian thought he knew exactly what kind of opponent he was facing—

I intended to make sure he was very, very wrong.

As I began sorting through the materials on the workbench, my thoughts briefly drifted back several months to shortly after the gunpowder facility in Blackwater had been completed.

The mine had never been intended as an iron mine.

Some people seemed to forget that now.

The entire reason we had reclaimed the place in the first place was because of the nitrate-rich earth buried throughout the tunnels.

The gunpowder facility consumed enormous quantities of nitrates and Blackwater happened to possess one of the largest deposits I had seen since arriving in this world.

Those rats as scary as they where where a big hell, which also ment the same for their waste.

The iron, coal, and various other minerals we occasionally dug up were mostly a bonus.

A very profitable bonus.

But a bonus nonetheless.

As production expanded, workers dug deeper and deeper into sections of the mine that had remained untouched for decades.

New tunnels appeared every month and with them came all sorts of strange materials that nobody had any use for.

One of those materials was a pale gray stone that kept appearing alongside the nitrate-rich earth.

The miners hated it.

It clogged carts, occupied storage space, and couldn’t be turned into gunpowder.

Most of it was simply dumped outside alongside other waste material that had been excavated from the mine.

I remembered one foreman approaching me specifically to ask if he should start throwing entire wagon loads of it away.

Naturally, that immediately caught my attention.

In my experience, useful things had a habit of disguising themselves as useless things.

I spent most of that afternoon inspecting the discarded piles myself.

At first glance the material looked completely unremarkable.

Pale gray with white streaks running through it and none of the characteristics I normally looked for in iron-bearing rock.

Most people would’ve ignored it.

Unfortunately for Finn, I wasn’t most people.

The next day I hauled several samples back to my workshop and started running tests whenever I found spare time between managing the gunpowder facility.

Most of the early experiments led nowhere.

The stone behaved differently from ordinary limestone, but not enough to tell me exactly what it was.

Still, the results were interesting enough to keep me coming back.

Weeks passed.

The workers eventually stopped asking questions.

Finn eventually started referring to the entire project as my rock obsession.

Then one evening I finally got a result worth paying attention to.

The amount of metal I managed to isolate was tiny.

Barely enough to sit on my fingertip. At first glance it looked completely ordinary, but the moment I picked it up I knew something was strange.

It felt far lighter than it should have.

I remembered immediately grabbing a similarly sized piece of iron from the workbench and comparing them. Then doing it again because I was convinced I had made a mistake.

The result never changed.

The metal remained absurdly light.

That was the moment I became interested.

Because I recognized what it might be.

After that, every pile of discarded white stone in Blackwater suddenly became valuable.

The workers never understood why. One month they were throwing the material away and the next I was paying people extra to collect every fragment they could find.

Finn spent the better part of a season making fun of me for it.

Then again, Finn had also spent months making fun of the steam engine, the railway, and the gunpowder factory.

His track record for identifying bad ideas wasn’t exactly impressive.