"Alright, time to continue working." Javier turned away.
The moment he did, a sudden punch landed in his gut, sending him flying.
He looked up to see Liana, a terrifying aura radiating from her.
"L... Liana? Ehehe... chill?"
"What did you say earlier, young master~?" Liana asked, her voice sweet.
"Ah... I... I donāt know what youāre talking about." Javier glanced away, avoiding her eyes.
Gloria appeared behind Liana with a gentle smile. "Ara~ if Iām not mistaken... it was something about intentionally falling, just to see our reaction~?"
Gulp... now Iām finished, Javier thought.
"Hehehe... come on, I didnāt say anything about that... you know."
"Donāt play with us like that, young master! What do you think would have happened if youād fallen from that height and Buddy didnāt catch you, huh!?"
"Chill, Liana. Jeez... I already activated the barrier on my body when it happened. You know, magic... magic..."
"Magic? So you think magic could save you from that, right? Maybe your magic could also save you from... THIS!" Liana started pummeling Javier with non-stop punches.
"Eek! Leave the face out! Leave the face out!!"
Meanwhile, inside the Armand Manor.
"Dear~ you look good in that tuxedo! I canāt wait for our vow of marriage soon~" Francesca smiled, adjusting the collar of her husbandās outfit.
Garius, meanwhile, could only sigh inwardly.
Ugh... Itāll still be a week before the vow of marriage, and Francesca already insists on seeing me in this golden tuxedo. Sheās way too excited about all this.
He glanced at Francesca, who was practically glowing.
"Now, honey~ how about you wear that wedding gown too? I want to see you in it."
"No~ not now, dear~ Youāll see it when our vow of marriage happens. For now, take off that tuxedo our youngest prepared for us and try on the new sovereign armor. Soon youāll become king of Armand, and weāll finally have full independence~"
Garius just shook his head and let Francesca have her way, too tired to argue as she fussed over every little detail.
After a while, Javier was sprawled out on the ground, bruised and swollen.
Damn. Women are scary.
He sat up and looked at his mana rocket, a grin spreading across his face.
Alright... time to get back to work!
Javier was about to step onto the platform when Liana caught his arm.
"Donāt use that thing! Itās dangerous!" Liana said, worry in her eyes.
Javier sighed and pulled something out of his dimensional storage, slipping it on.
Liana and Gloria tilted their heads. "Young master? What are you wearing?"
Javier exhaled softly, giving them a sidelong look as he adjusted the straps. "This is what I call a full-body safety harness. Itāll stop me from falling, if youāre worried about that. Here, try pulling it."
Liana tugged, and Javier was dragged right up to her.
"See? Nothing to worry about." Javier produced another item from his storage. "And these are barrier runes to attach to the harness. Just in case. This..." he pointed at two more items, "is an anchor device, and this is what I call a coupling, or connecting device. These runes here? Theyāll trigger if they detect a fall. So thereās really nothing to worry about."
"Are you sure, young master?"
"Yes. And if youāre still worried, Iām sure Buddy..." Javier glanced at Buddy and the other Pekko nearby, "or any of the others will come to the rescue, just like before. If you donāt trust Buddy, just tell Pikko or Peanut to stand by in case heās being lazy."
"Cuquawked!" Buddy stomped his talon on the ground, glaring at Javier and puffing out his chest.
"See? Even Buddy wonāt let anything happen to me. So you all can relax while I finish this. I need to get this launched before nightfall, if people see something like this flying across the sky at night, theyāll panic."
Javier walked over to the platform and locked the connecting device into place. He glanced at Liana.
He let out a sigh as he noticed both Liana and Gloria still watching him, faces tight with worry.
"Haa... fine. You all stay down here, grill some meat or have tea and chocolate nearby. If you see me fall, you know what to do."
"Mmm... be careful."
"Yes, yes." Javier replied, pressing the button to rise.
As he checked over the mana rocket, Javier lost himself in the work, tinkering and fitting parts, completely focused.
Down on the ground, Liana, Gloria, and the others looked up with concern.
"Looks like young master is in his own world again," Gloria said softly.
"Mmm, yes... heās always like that when heās inventing," Liana replied.
"I wonder what this huge thing is for. He mentioned... space?"
"Mmm... I donāt really know what heās talking about. Something about planets and things weāve never heard of."
"Is it a magic thing?" Mimi asked.
"Who knows."
Delyaās face turned dreamy as she looked up at Javier, completely focused on his work.
"Danna-sama~ Heās so cool... and handsome~"
"Nya!? Of course! Heās my husband!" Mimi shot back, puffing her cheeks.
Felicia just sighed, her tail swaying, then glanced at Liana and Gloria. "Liana... Gloria?"
"Yes?" Gloria and Liana looked at her.
"What should we do?"
Liana glanced around and let out a breath. "Letās just set up a table here. Iāll prepare the tea."
"Iāll get the chocolate and biscuits," Gloria said.
"Iāll help," Felicia offered.
"No, you three stay here. Just in case our husband falls from that thing," Liana said, then turned and glared at Buddy. "You! If you notice your master falling, donāt wait, prioritize his safety!"
"Cuquawked!" Buddy squawked, puffing up his chest before strutting over and sitting right beneath the platform.
While at the top of the platform, Javier was checking the holo screen and adjusting the mana rocketās settings.
Hmm... all these safety measures, just in case this rocket canāt reach orbit... if this world even has an orbit.
I wonder if this planet is a sphere like Earth?
Does this worldās space have low orbit, mid orbit, and high orbit like back then? Or is it completely different?
Javier smirked, rubbing his palms together. Canāt wait to find out.
He rubbed his chin, thinking. If this planet really has something like some kind of barrier...letās hope not.
Heh... what a dumb thing to worry about. Still, just in case this mana rocket canāt break through to space because of something like that, Iāll just have to modify the Sky Eye to fly even higher and hold altitude above Armand and Arjam.
Once this is done, weāll be a nation... no, not just a region anymore. An independent nation with the most advanced magic tech in the world.
Nope! The only one! All thanks to this genius! Javier puffed his chest out with a smug grin.
( End Of Chapter )