Politics was boring.

  Mikayla said that as a historian. As someone who understood just how much politics went into every action and choice that sculpted the world(s) as their inhabitants knew it. She couldn't stand it, not at all. Maybe it was because politics required an inherent ability to understand people in a way that she'd always felt she lacked.

  What was worse was that the Politics class, at least for the first few weeks, was shaping up to be the absolute worst thing she could think of; etiquette. The class project of everyone introducing themselves formally and telling each other about themselves had turned into such an endless litany of corrections that she'd barely gleaned any details about her new classmates besides their names. To say nothing of the fuss that had been kicked up when their teacher discovered that Treft was mute.

  At the very least, she'd discovered that the name of 'Ocean' was actually Geri.

  All this was to say that she was much more enthused about going into the Monday afternoon class; Magitech. She'd already confirmed that their class would be kept together throughout the whole year, unless someone dropped out or transferred in.

  But Magitech. Literal magical science. Mikayla felt like her childhood dreams of attending Hogwarts were about to come true.

  "This class exists so that Guardsmen can stay abreast of the latest developments and understand the future of combat," Nya had summarised as the class filed in after lunch.

  "So, like new types of Engraving?" Mikayla asked, fidgeting with her Core Gauntlet.

  "That and more besides. The curriculum changes based on recent developments, so who knows. It probably won't be much in the way of new information, mind,"

  "Gotcha, gotcha,"

  The same twelve students settled back into their desks. Glancing around the room, Mikayla noticed that Treft was fiddling with his Core Controller, Sekki was already preparing to take notes, and Geum looked on the verge of slipping into a food coma. Banki was playing with small, colourful lights in her hands - some kind of Technique? - and Irin was nursing a cup of something that smelled strong.

  A diminutive human woman with bushy brown hair had slipped into the classroom while she wasn't looking, leaning over the teacher's desk. She was dressed in yellow robes, and there was a prominent insignia of clouds sculpted into the shape of a road emblazoned on her breast.

  "Good morning, boys and girls," she waved, a pointer flicking out of her left sleeve and glowing with white light. The wall behind her came alive, settling into an image of the same logo that was on her chest. "I am Associate Professor Andrea, and I'm here on behalf of the White Skies Institute to make sure you're all up to date on the latest inventions we've come up with to make your lives easier! Yes? You are?"

  Following her outstretched hand, Mikayla noticed that Sekki had raised his hand, looking markedly less enthusiastic than he had before Andrea entered the room. "Sekki. Are you a saleswoman, then?"

  "Nope!" Andrea vigorously shook her head. "We send the saleswomen to showcases to convince your parents to invest in research projects. No, I am a bona fide sky-entist,"

  Mikayla blinked. "Can you say that again?"

  "Do raise your hand if you'd like to speak," Andrea rounded on her. "But of course. I am a fully accredited sky-entist. I wrote my thesis on the System's effect of standardising disparate traditions of Engraving,"

  "Do you mean 'scientist'?" Mikayla pressed. She'd heard Nocturnus and Keldryn describe science as 'sky-ence' before, but had assumed that was just a mistake in their pronunciation. There was no possible way that -

  "No, what's that?" Andrea looked quizzical. "As part of the White Skies Institute, founded by Astralia of the White Skies, I'm a proud member of the sky-entific community,"

  Mikayla digested that, then buried her head in her hands. "O-kay. Sorry. The System's got a minor glitch when it translates science - sorry, 'sky-ence' - into my language. It. It's stupid. I'll ask my faerie friend to fix it,"

  "Ah, you're the Stranded girl, then," Andrea grinned. "I need to thank you, actually, on behalf of the whole Institute,"

  Mikayla looked up. "You do?"

  "I do indeed!" The logo of the White Skies Institute vanished, replaced by a diagram of - Mikayla blinked. That was a blueprint of her smartphone.

  "The faeries sent this to us two weeks ago. It's called a phone, right? It's amazing! We're going to be poring over this for months! The sheer precision of the Engravings inside it is mind-boggling. Pay attention, class, the phone is probably going to be on our syllabus once we've figured out how it works!"

  Mikayla winced. "I think I just violated the Prime Directive . . oh well, it's probably fine. Apparently you've already got an internet, after all. Glad you're enjoying it,"

  Andrea cleared her throat. "Ahem. Getting back to our curriculum,"

  She moved back to the centre of the class, and with a wave of her hand the screen changed to an image of a Train Core in motion.

  "Our first module is going to be about the most recent developments in Conveyance Cores, as this is something that affects everyone in Guili who likes to move around. You've all probably heard how Conveyance Cores used to work, as recently as twenty years ago,"

  The screen changed again, this time to something that Mikayla had never expected to see; a horse-shaped Companion Core pulling a wooden carriage.

  "The creation of Companion Cores, two hundred years ago, was a revolution. The introduction of tireless horses that could run for as long as they were fed Mana had global ramifications for the trade industry. But today, even these are seen as obsolete. And that can be laid at the hands of one woman,"

  Andrea brought up an image of a yaoguai woman with pale pink skin, sleek horns that bent backwards over her scalp and green eyes. Half of the class glanced at Nya, Sendo and Irin, because it was apparent at a glance that the person they were discussing had been born as another failed Yevgenia.

  "For those of you who aren't familiar, this is Allis Ruogang. Some call her the greatest Engraving genius since Astralia herself. At the tender age of thirteen, she invented the Motorized Engraving and used it to create the first prototype Train Core. Though at the time it was merely a machine that went forwards very quickly, its potential was quickly recognised, and the subsequent invention of train tracks to guide them quickly cemented the train's newfound place as the premier means of transporting passengers and cargo,"

  While the rest of the class either made appreciative noises or looked bored, Mikayla frowned. Trains had been invented less than twenty years ago? It wasn't news to her that Raibalie's technology levels were completely messed up compared to Earth's. But even so.

  "This alone was enough for Allis' name to go down in history, but she wasn't satisfied. Despite her young age, she was at the forefront of refining and improving the Train Cores in every aspect. Almost all of the Train variations were originally conceptualised by Allis, from the Steam Train Core, so named for its propensity to vent waste Mana through a funnel pointed at the sky, to the Subway, named for the underground rail networks that were constructed to minimise disruption to cities while allowing Trains to pass directly through them,"

  Mikayla frowned. Was it just a coincidence that the image of a Steam Train Core very closely matched mundane steam trains from her world and had the same name, despite apparently running on completely different principles?

  "Allis Ruogang didn't do all of the work, of course. Train Cores took a major leap forward when Tan Gao proposed creating carriages out of wood and metal that could be pulled by a Train Core. Unfortunately, the overhead cost in creating these carriages, compared to Ruogang's solution of simply Engraving Carriage Cores, reduced Tan's work to a curiosity used mostly ceremonially," More images accompanied the explanation, and Mikayla stifled a low whistle at the sight of a train carriage that looked like it was made entirely of gold.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "But Ruogang wasn't satisfied with this, because her next invention was a Train Core that could steer itself. She called it the People Carrier Core, but abbreviated this name to 'Car' Cores,"

  If Mikayla had been an anime character, she would have fallen off her chair in shock. She knew that this world had cars. She'd seen the Sports Car Core that Anza and Lahlee had used in Cliffwatch. But they'd also been invented by this same genius? She looked at the Motocross Core in her Core Gauntlet. She'd assumed the name was just an imperfect translation, but was it actually called that? Was it also the work of Allis Ruogang?

  Another spiel followed about the development of Car Cores, ending with, "But Allis recognised the demand for something smaller and more manoeuvrable, so she further modified the design and came up with this," Something very familiar appeared on the screen. "The Motorbike Core,"

  "Motorbikes!" Mikayla had called it.

  "Ahem. If you have a question, please raise your hand,"

  Mikayla's hand shot up, and Andrea raised her eyebrows. "Go on then,"

  "Just to make sure this isn't a translation issue with the System, when I say 'motor' and then 'bike', does that still sound like 'motorbike' to you?"

  "It does," Andrea was clearly wondering where her student was going with this.

  "And what does the actual word 'motorbike' mean to you? I thought this world hadn't invented motors yet?"

  "Motor is an abbreviation of the Motorised Engraving, the design also pioneered by Allis that converts injected Mana into rotational energy. It's at the core part of the entire Ruogang line of Conveyance Cores," Andrea took the opportunity to continue teaching. "As far as I know, she just made up the name. I'm intrigued by what it means in your language, though,"

  Mikayla frowned as she offered a quick summary of what little she remembered about how internal combustion engines worked, with her teacher hanging off her every word. It was one thing for trains and cars and motorbikes to exist in this world, but for them to have the same names through the translation? That was a hell of a coincidence. Especially because they all seemed to originate from the same person.

  Allis Ruogang. Could she have some connection to Earth?

  <=====}—o

  "Hey, Nya," Mikayla pulled her roommate aside as they left the class. "How hard would it be for me to talk to this Allis person?"

  "Huh? Why?"

  "Because her 'genius, revolutionary inventions' look a hell of a lot like technology copied from my world. Trains, cars, motorbikes. If she comes out with an aeroplane or helicopter next that's just even more proof. If she knows about my world's technology, then she might know a way for me to get home,"

  Nya hesitated. "Well, it would be tricky. She's a busy and high-profile woman, it would be hard to convince someone like her to meet with some random student, even if it's an official request coming from the Han family,"

  "There's a better way," Both wheeled in surprise to see Sekki had joined them. "Apologies, miladies, couldn't help but overhear. If you need to meet with Lady Ruogang so badly, nevermind the official channels. Just sign up for some Engraving classes at the White Skies Institute and use that as a pretext to hang around, you'll run into her eventually,"

  Mikayla considered the idea. "I'd have to learn Engraving,"

  "Is that a bad thing in itself, though?"

  ". . Good point," She turned back to Nya. "How hard is Engraving to learn?"

  "I cannot attest to the difficulty, but paying for any course at the White Skies Institute is beyond your means. They are prestigious, and set their prices accordingly," Nya shook her head. "But hardly beyond the means of my family. I can write to my parents and ask if they will sponsor you?"

  "Worth a try, right?" Mikayla grinned.

  "Nothing wrong with taking advantage of wealthy contacts, I always say. For whatever my word's worth at least!" Sekki jovially contributed.

  Mikayla quirked an eyebrow. "Hey, Sekki. This might be a culture clash thing, so sorry if this is a stupid question. But what exactly is the deal with you and Geum?"

  "Huh? Oh. I'm his manservant," Sekki looked a bit disgruntled to admit it.

  "Manservant?" Was that translating correctly? "But you're both teenagers. You're his . . employee?"

  "More or less. You know who Geum is, right?"

  "I'm guessing he's the son of some important nobleman," Genre savviness came in handy sometimes.

  "You could certainly say that," Sekki found her guess amusing for some reason.

  "There are three tiers of nobility in Guili," Nya pulled her aside, doing her duty as Mikayla's tutor. "Families such as mine are Dukedoms, the third and lowest tier, characterised by wealth and power. The uppermost tier is the Emperor and his household. The second tier, though, are Dynastic Lords, the families who once ruled the vassal cities all over Guili. Before the reforms brought about by the Kaiju Collapse, the Old Blood families were equal to the Emperor in every way that mattered, even if in theory they were his vassals. Their powers have been curtailed since those days, but they are still not to be trifled with. Geum is the only son of Lord Sang Gwandaehan Leishun, and therefore he is the heir to the Leishun dynasty, the rulers of Leicheng City,"

  "That's mostly correct," Sekki nodded. "And then there's poor me, the son of a maid in the Leishun household. Pretty much born into the role of being his number two," Sekki's tail flicked back and forth and he slouched a bit as he explained. "I've been with him as long as I can remember. Backing him up, helping him study, cleaning up his messes, you get it,"

  "Ah, yeah. I see how that would happen," Mikayla nodded, humming. "So, not someone to piss off, no matter how much of an ass he is,"

  "Oi. It's not like he's a bad person," the leopard-like Yaoguai intervened.

  "He called me trash," Mikayla reminded him.

  "He just needs a bit of a poke now and then. And that's what I'm here for, anyway," He leaned in. "Don't spread this around, but his father specifically ordered me to make sure Geum doesn't get too big-headed or drunk on his own superiority. I'm the only non-noble who regularly tells him no, everyone else is too afraid to. So don't feel like you have to bow and scrape if he says something out of line, okay? In fact, I'd appreciate it if you gave him a good punch when he deserves one,"

  Mikayla raised her eyebrows. "I'll keep that in mind," Could she really take that at face value? She was hoping to make friends here, but was that the best way to bond with Geum? Was Geum even the sort of person she wanted to befriend?

  Well, maybe that didn't matter, not immediately. Sekki seemed nice, at least. Maybe he could mediate between her and Geum, in the worst case. Entirely rejecting him was probably unwise, too - but she didn't want to throw her pride away, either. "I'll give him a chance. But if he calls me trash again, I'm gonna sock him good,"

  Both yaoguai cast her a confused look. "Is giving someone a sock some kind of declaration of war where you're from?" Nya hesitantly guessed.

  Mikayla digested that. Then she moved to the nearest wall and beat her forehead against it. "Gah, goddamned colloquialisms - I did it again. Hegemon damned colloquialisms - I'm going to punch him,"

  Nya looked even more confused. "How does your culture associate striking someone with socks?"

  ". . I honestly don't even know how to start explaining that one,"