[Book 2 Complete] Industrial Mage

The sewers were done. It had taken months, but they were done. Small victories.

The people had stopped looking at him like he was completely insane, which was nice. He'd been busy. Well, his clone had been busy. Theodore himself had been splitting time between the capital and Holden, mostly just existing and occasionally doing things that mattered. The refrigerators were coming along nicely under the Enchanters' Guild. They'd taken his basic design and were mass-producing them now. Soon every noble house would have one. Then the merchant class. Then, slowly, common people would get them too.

He stretched his body in the capital, feeling that weird disconnect that came from experiencing two bodies at once. Or not at once. More like... simultaneously separate? Language didn't really have good words for the clone thing. The point was, he was in two places, doing two different things, and somehow that had become normal. He'd dismissed his other clone because after so much training, the last thing he wanted to do was more training.

He'd mostly been chilling.

Months had passed since Seraphina's training. He'd been taking it easy, mostly. Sparring here and there with Freya when she demanded it—which was often—but nothing like the hell he'd gone through in those dimensions.

Ben and Benny had returned to the capital about two months ago. Theodore remembered that day clearly. They'd walked into the estate, seen him in the main hall, nodded once, and then proceeded to ignore his existence entirely. Not in a mean way. More like... he was furniture. Expensive furniture they acknowledged but didn't particularly care about.

It was kind of refreshing, honestly. No drama.

Theodore had tried talking to him once about some magical theory. Benny had listened politely for about thirty seconds before excusing himself to go literally anywhere else.

Message received.

Theodore's stepmothers had returned too. They'd both greeted him formally, inquired about his health, and then promptly acted like he didn't exist unless absolutely necessary.

His family was weird. But at least it was consistently weird.

The tournament preparations were in full swing at least. The whole capital buzzed with it. Merchants setting up stalls, fighters arriving from all over the kingdom, nobles making their elaborate plans for who would sit where and why that mattered more than the actual fighting.

Oh well, it'd be exciting at least.

***

Theodore was in the library, definitely not hiding from Freya who definitely wasn't hunting him down for another spar. She'd been relentless lately. Every day, sometimes twice a day, she'd track him down and demand they fight. Not that he minded usually, but today he just wanted to read.

"Found you!"

Shit.

Freya stood in the doorway, grinning like she'd just won a prize. "Come on, time to spar."

"I'm reading."

"You can read later."

"I'm reading now."

"Theodore."

"Freya."

They stared at each other. Theodore knew he'd lost already. When Freya got that look in her eyes, the one that said she'd burn down the whole library if it meant getting him to fight, it was better to just give in.

"Fine," he said, closing his book. "But only one round."

"Three."

"Two."

"Deal."

They headed to the training grounds, Theodore already calculating angles and distances, his [Parallel Processing] spinning up almost automatically now. It was weird how natural it had become, thinking in multiple streams. Made conversations interesting when he could analyze every word while also planning dinner while also wondering if that cloud looked like a dragon or a really fat pigeon.

Leona was there when they arrived, practicing forms with grandfather.

She saw Theodore and... didn't immediately leave.

Progress. Huge progress, actually. She even nodded at him. Not a friendly nod, more like acknowledging he existed, but still, it was better than the active hatred from before.

She'd changed over the months. Less angry, more focused, though she still looked at him sometimes like she was trying to figure out a puzzle, but the pure rage was gone. Replaced by something Theodore couldn't quite name. Determination, maybe? Or just acceptance that he existed and she had to deal with it?

"Theodore!" Grandfather called out. "Join us!"

"I'm sparring with Freya."

"You can spar with both."

Theodore looked at Freya, who shrugged. Then at Leona, who suddenly looked very interested in her feet.

"I don't think—" Theodore started.

"I'll do it," Leona said quietly. Then louder, chin raised: "I'll spar with him."

Oh boy.

The thing was, Theodore could tell she'd improved. A lot. Her stance was different, looser but more balanced. Her control was wilder yet under control. Grandfather had been teaching her well, though he could see some traces of Freya there as well. But she was still fourteen, still his little sister who he'd apparently traumatized for years, and this felt like a bad idea wrapped in an awkward situation stuffed inside a family disaster waiting to happen.

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"Okay," he said anyway, because apparently his mouth worked faster than his brain sometimes.

They stood across from each other. Leona's hands came up, mana already gathering. She didn't say anything, didn't declare she'd beat him this time or that she'd prove something. She just watched him with those serious eyes that looked too old for her face.

Theodore decided to take her seriously. Not full power, obviously, but not the kid gloves either. She deserved that much.

She moved first. [Mana Bolt], but tighter than before, faster. Theodore sidestepped, noted the improvement. She was already casting the next one, and the next, creating a pattern that would force him to move left—into the flame wave she was preparing.

Smart.

He broke the pattern by going up instead of left, jumping higher than she'd expected. Her eyes tracked him. Adjusting, adapting, she moved and the flame wave became a spiral that chased him through the air.

Theodore landed, rolled, came up with his own [Mana Bolt] ready. Leona had a shield up before he'd even released it. They exchanged a few more attacks, testing each other. She was good. Really good for her age. In a few years, she'd probably be terrifying.

"You're telegraphing less," he said, dodging another bolt.

"Shut up and fight," she snapped, but there was less venom in it than before.

They continued, Theodore offering occasional corrections that she pretended not to listen to but definitely incorporated immediately. It was almost like teaching.

Finally, Theodore decided to end it. He created an opening, let her think she had him, then [Blink]ed behind her and tapped her shoulder.

"Dead," he said simply.

She spun around, frustration clear on her face, but also something else. Not quite respect, but maybe the acknowledgment that he hadn't humiliated her. Hadn't made a show of winning. Just ended it cleanly.

"Again," she said.

"I promised Freya—"

"Again."

Theodore looked at Freya, who was grinning. "Go ahead," she said. "This is more entertaining than beating you up myself."

Rude. But probably accurate.

So they went again. And again. Each time Leona lasted a bit longer, learned a bit more. She never won, but she improved. By the end, she actually managed to singe his sleeve, which made her smile for about half a second before she remembered she was supposed to hate him.

"Same time tomorrow?" Theodore asked as she was leaving.

She paused, didn't turn around. "Maybe."

But he knew she'd be there.

And that weirdly made him a bit happy.

***

Theodore's clone in Holden inspected the new water wheels being installed along the river. The mills would grind grain faster, more efficiently. Food production would go up. People would eat better. Small improvements that added up to big changes. That was the goal, anyway. Moreso, he was planning on introducing better crop rotation and possibly seeds if he could imbue them with life affinity mana properly. He'd already made significant progress with the contaminated soil and [Heal] had been doing good work, so it would only require some more purifying the land on his part to make it return to a good state.

Meanwhile Theodore Prime was dealing with Alden back in the capital. His brother had finally returned from his tour with his fiancée, and there was going to be a family dinner.

The dinner was exactly as awkward as expected. Alden looked good, Theodore supposed. His fiancée—Lady Rosabeth—was pretty in that noble way where everything about her seemed carefully constructed.

"Theodore," Alden said when he arrived.

"Alden."

And that was basically their entire interaction for the night, though it did raise some eyebrows. Namely Leona and Rosabeth, given that Alden seemed to have greeted him with a smile, which was strange to them. Alden talked to Father about trade agreements, to Mother about wedding preparations, to Maximillian about military movements. And he then talked with Theodore asking about his latest escapades, which Theodore told happily enough.

Ben and Benny were there too, having their own conversation about something involving swords and honor and other knightly things. They'd mastered the art of being in the same room as Theodore without ever actually acknowledging he existed. It was actually impressive.

"Could you pass the salt," Benny said at one point, looking vaguely in Theodore's direction but not at him.

Theodore passed the salt.

"Thanks," Benny said to the air.

Yep. This was his family now.

"The tournament begins in three weeks," Father announced suddenly, cutting through the various conversations. "I trust you're all prepared?"

Murmurs of agreement around the table. Theodore just nodded. He'd been registered months ago—Maximillian had handled it, thankfully. One less thing to worry about. Though knowing how cheeky he could be sometimes, Theodore wondered if there was a surprise waiting for him when the tournament started.

Freya would be competing too. She'd signed up the day registration opened, eager to test herself against real opponents instead of just beating up Theodore and occasionally Senna. She'd gotten stronger these past months. Scarier, if he was being honest. The way she fought now was less wild fury and more controlled devastation. Grandfather's teaching, probably, combined with whatever she learned from her daily attempted murder sessions with Senna.

"Theodore will be participating," Mother added, beaming at him like he'd already won. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Silence.

"Indeed," Father said finally, which was basically him being enthusiastic.

"I'm sure he'll do adequately," Alden said, winking at him.

***

After dinner, Theodore wandered the estate gardens. It was quiet out here, peaceful. The kind of place where you could think without interruptions.

"You're brooding."

Or not.

Maximillian stood behind him, hands clasped behind his back in that formal way he had.

"Just thinking," Theodore said.

"About the tournament?"

"About everything."

They stood in silence for a moment. Maximillian was good at silence. Comfortable with it in a way most people weren't.

"You've changed," Maximillian said finally.

"Have I?"

"Yes. You're..." He paused, seemed to be searching for words. "Quieter. And far less… angry."

Theodore hadn't realized he'd been angry before. But thinking back to the original Theodore's memories—his memories—yeah, there'd been a lot of anger there. Anger at his family, at his situation, at himself.

"Is that good?" Theodore asked.

"I think so. Mother certainly thinks so. Father... Father notices more than he says."

"What do you think?"

Maximillian was quiet for a long moment. "I think you're trying. That's more than you did before."

It wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement, but from Maximillian, it was practically a declaration of brotherhood.

"Thanks," Theodore said.

"The tournament will be difficult," Maximillian said, changing the subject with his usual lack of subtlety. "There are participants from across the kingdom. Some from beyond."

"I know."

"Do you? Do you understand what you're walking into?"

"I have some idea."

"I hope so." Maximillian turned to leave, then paused. "Leona's been asking about you."

"Has she?"

"She wants to know why you're different. I told her people change."

"And?"

"She said that's not good enough." A tiny smile crossed Maximillian's face. "She's very much like you, you know. Stubborn. Determined. Too smart for her own good."

Then he was gone, leaving Theodore alone with his thoughts again.