Chapter 20: on

  The rain started to pour as rad and team ehe grand museum. In Prismara, July was the rainy season. Though Prismara was close to the northern hemisphere, this year had seen a steep fall in temperature all over the world. Frequent rain didn't help as overall temperatures plummeted over the months. People were eagerly waiting for summer to arrive early.

  Nadeko was filled with excitement as every er of the museum dispyed historical artifacts. Even though rad and Nadeko both were from the history department, their is were in stark trast - Nadeko was the top scorer while rad ranked lowest. The new owner of rad's body was an engineering major, so Dev didn't have muterest in history either. However, after ing to this world, Dev was eager to learn more about history, believing there could be clues to help him return to his world.

  "Where is the uff of Alexander Gustavo?" Nadeko asked rad as if they were already friends.

  rad frowned. "Huh? How would I know?"

  "So go find out first," Nadeko ordered.

  "Hey, did you fet we're not friends? I beat your boyfriend. Why are you me around like we know each other?" rad retorted.

  "See Cra, your brother's true colors," uro Cra. "He's just good in front of his sisters. He's actually a terrible person."

  "Sister Nadeko, my brother is a good person," Cra defended.

  "Hey, don't try to turn my sister against me. That won't work," rad said annoyingly.

  rad looked at Nadeko with narrowed eyes.

  Notig his gaze, Nadeko said, "See Cra, your brother is now looking at me. He wants me as his girlfriend even though he knows I have a boyfriend who is way richer and more handsome than him."

  "More handsome? That guy? You've got some jokes," rad said sarcastically.

  "Hey, just because you have a good face doesn't mean it cover your terrible personality. Jared is a way better guy," Nadeko snapped.

  "What did you just say, you bitch?" rad raised his voice.

  "Stop, you two!" Cra intercepted them both.

  "I don't know what happened between you two, but I know you're both good people, so please don't fight," Cra said, looking at them with angry eyes.

  "Yes sister, why are yuing with him when he saved us just now?" Maya asked her older sister.

  rad and Nadeko looked at each other. A moment of uanding passed between them as they recalled the earlier i - rad moving without hesitation to protect them, Nadeko's genuiurning to relief.

  It's such a pain. It's not like I don't like her, it's just that she pisses me off so much. Though, seeing her scared earlier...

  "Hey..." Nadeko said while looking away, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve.

  "Huh?"

  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things about you. Thank you for saving me and my sister earlier. It... it must have been scary for you too, but you didn't hesitate.”

  Is she for real? I didn't know she could apologize sincerely.

  "Ah... No... I'm also sorry for calling you a bitd for what happened in css. I holy admire your efforts towards history," rad admitted.

  "Really?" Nadeko asked.

  "Yes, actually I want to learn more from you. I was just in the library looking into some history books."

  "Huh? I 't believe it. Why didn't you ask earlier? ime, invite me over. We go together after css," Nadeko suggested with sparkling eyes.

  "Ahem..." Maya interrupted. "A minute ago you were arguing, what happeo that? And sister, you have a boyfriend, so don't act too cozy around Mr. rad."

  Because he is mine.

  "Huh? What are you talking about? We're just cssmates. What does that have to do with me having a boyfriend?" Nadeko asked, tilting her head.

  rad looked at Maya with the same fusion as Nadeko. Seeing rad's gaze on her, Maya started to feel flustered.

  "Now that you've cleared your differences, we explore the museum," Cra said excitedly while grabbing her brother's arm. "Especially with two history students here to teach us many things, it should be fun!"

  "Hey Cra, I didn't know you were so gy to your brother. It's as if you're airely different person," Maya said teasingly, through her eyes held a hint of . Growing up as the younger sister, she'd always watched how Nadeko handled retionships. But tely, somethi different about both her sister and Cra.

  Cra remained silent.

  Maya gnced between rad and her sister, remembering how differently Nadeko acted around Jared. With rad, there was a natural flow to their arguments and reciliation, uhe careful way Nadeko spoke around her boyfriend. Being the younger sister meant Maya noticed these things, even if she didn't always speak up.

  Well, she does feel different. I think she might like me more now. Holy, I don't mind her being gy. I have ied rad's memories, so I know how much Cra and rad used to fight. She never showed this side to rad before. Now she feels like a little girl appropriate for her age. Wait, I think she's already over twenty, so it's not like she's a little kid anymore. But in this world people tend to live longer. I know people get married ie thirties and that is normal for this world. My Sister Isolde for an example is just in her right marriage age acc to this world's standards but she is still single. I do worry for her.

  Sigh. rad let out a sigh thinking of the future of his sisters.

  "Hey rad, what kind of books were you reading in the library?" Nadeko asked from beside him.

  "Oh, I was looking into books reted to ons in war, but I didn't find much," rad expined.

  "That makes sehose kinds of books are usually in military schools. rad, are you perhaps ied in joining the army of Aurelius? The way you fight seems like you're very strong arained. Holy, I've never seen someone fight like that."

  "Yes, yes! You felt like some kind of superhuman!" Maya said excitedly.

  Cra looked at her brother, also fused about his sudden strength.

  Well, I have pretty much trained my entire life, even as an engineering student I never skipped.

  "Well, I practiced a lot. I'm not that good. If you see a true fighter, you wouldn't eve a ce to blink," rad said to Nadeko.

  "Really? Wow, the world really is huge."

  Well, there's Anira. She could beat me without even blinking, I think.

  "rad, look there... it's Alexander... let's go!" Nadeko jumped iement as she grabbed rad's hand and pulled him toward the se.

  "Hey... slo-"

  Cra and Maya were dumbfounded by Nadeko's as.

  Maybe making them friends wasn't a wise choice after all.

  Cra looked at her best friend and asked, "Maya, are you sure your sister has a boyfriend?"

  "I think..." Maya hesitated.

  "Hey, let's not fall behind. Let's go!"

  When rad and Nadeko reached the se, an old diary page was showcased as if it were jewelry.

  "A diary page of the legendary queror Alexander Gustavo. He was truly the man among many. I don't think anyone match his majesty," Nadeko said with passion in her eyes.

  "So you like strong men, huh?" rad said with a smile.

  Nadeko gave him an odd look.

  "Well, Alexander was really special. No matter what I read, it's said he couldn't be defeated. But the most fasating thing about him was his in. Nobody knows exactly where he came from. Some say he was a hidden noble, some said he was actually a bastard child of the king, others suggested he was a sve. There are many myths surrounding him too - people believe he was a demigod who was very close to being a god. His fighting style remains a mystery to this day."

  Nadeko listened ily to rad. When he finished, she said, "rad, you know so much. It doesn't seem like you have low scores. Do you score low iionally?"

  "Ah..." rad scratched his head, at a loss for words.

  "You don't have to say... well, what you said about Alexander is true, and that's what fasated me since childhood. Our family isn't very well off financially. Growing up, my dad was my hero, but after his passing, the books about Alexander kept me from being lonely. It's like I have some special bond with him even if we're epochs apart."

  Maya and Cra joihem. Cra grabbed her brother's arm again.

  "What is that, rad?" Cra asked.

  "That's a diary page left behind by Alexander. It's written in a cryptiguage, but there's a close retion to Monoglif, so some letters are identified by schors," Nadeko expined, lifting one finger like a teacher. "For example, there was mention of someone named 'An-' - the full name wasn't identified because of the cryptic letters used ter, which are very different from any current nguage."

  "Some schors believe that might have had huge signifi the war of the 5500's."

  "Is that so? Thank you, Sister Nadeko," Cra said.

  "Just Nadeko."

  "Okay..." Cra replied softly.

  An... An... Anira? Yes, she knew Alexander Gustavo, so it's natural for him to mention her name. But why cryptic letters? Is there some kind of secret?

  "rad, what do you think Alexander used in the war?" Nadeko asked suddenly, snapping rad out of his thoughts.

  "Huh? Oh, swords maybe? It's an ongoing discussioween historians and archaeologists."

  "I think he used firearms," Nadeko said seriously.

  "But professor said that's debunk-"

  "No, you fool. Our professor doesn't know everything. I truly believe there was something mysterious about Alexander, as if he wasn't a normal human..."

  That part you're absolutely right about. He was an Essentia like me.

  "Look at that thing in the ter of the museum."

  "Huh, where?" rad turo look.

  In the ter of the museum stood a gss case surrounded by ropes and guards who watched every movement carefully. Inside, a rusted stone aal object ced with precise care. Below it, written in Heraphant: 'Uified object of Alexander.'

  What is that...

  rad's eyes widened. tless houghts flooded his mind. His engineering knowledge from his past life sparked reition - the oxidation patterns oal, the specific way it had degraded over time, the apparent meical pos visible despite the rust.

  Is that a... gun? Wait, guns are useless, it's not like no one knows that. But why is it heavily guarded? The degradation pattern isn't natural for this world's timeline. From an engineering perspective, the metal position seems... wrong for this era. Something is odd about that thing.

  "I believe that's a firearm Alexander used in his bottles. I don't have any basis for that, but it's my instinct," Nadeko whispered to rad.

  rad didn't say anything, only nodding slightly as his mind raced with possibilities.

  Alexander Gustavo’s on.