Chapter 692: Project Proposal

I heaved a sigh of relief once the reintroduction of Ana and Beruel went relatively well.

Even though I spotted Jane glaring at Beruel more times than I could count, no incident occurred.

Ana seemed excited to be in the presence of Jane—a bit too excited, to be honest.

She was here to work, wasn't she?

'Well...'

I knew Jane would find Ana charming and incredibly useful once the work started, but my main worry was Beruel and Jane. Fortunately, I knew I could trust her with separating personal affairs from official matters.

"You don't need to be so apprehensive, Jane. I no longer have any interest in the Fairy Sanctuary. You can keep ruling it, if you desire."

Beruel's words were gentle, and his eyes were genuine. His sudden change really surprised me, if I was being honest.

I could only hope that it was the same for Jane.

"Whatever. Let's discuss the project. That's why we're together, right? Jared?"

'Ah, I suppose this was my queue.' I thought to myself, as I moved to stand in front of all three of them to present the in-depth analysis of my proposal.

"I want to mass produce weapons that can be wielded by our soldiers and the bulk of the military."

My encounter with Nether had shown me how useless Mana or Miasma was in its presence. Even if one could use it, the output would need to be crazily immense.

That would be a completely inefficient and unwise approach when fighting a war. When searching for an alternative, I finally found a solution.

"We'll use Aether as a base. With enough energy from the [Strength] Arcana, and with a technology capable of withstanding the output of Aether bursts, we can make even our base soldiers capable of fighting against Nether."

My major problem was that this was just a recent idea that I developed. In the absence of enough time to further develop the concept, as well as my occupation with other affairs, I couldn't build it up more than I had already done.

I needed all three of them to work on the concept and make it into a reality. To achieve that, however, they needed to work as a team.

"Aether is the main source of power for these weapons. That means we'll need lots of it." Jane spoke.

I nodded, summoning my Arcana in an instant.

The [Strength] Arcana can produce Aether, but it can also transform the Mana I inject into it and turn it into Aether.

As a result, we can't run out of juice as long as we have a functional source of Mana.

I was hoping for a way we could develop conduits in each weapon that ensured they could transform their Mana into Aether when utilizing it, but that was far too complex to be ventured into now.

We needed to focus on what could be achieved within the short period of time we had.

'Time slows down in this world place, but still...'

"It is satisfactory just to be able to mass produce weapons that utilize Aether as it's energy source. I'll give you a sample of what I'm talking about."

By showing them an enchanted jar filled to the brim with Aether, I was giving them something to work with. Furthermore, by properly using it as a sample, they would be able to achieve the desired results.

"How will we get the Aether fuel, though. We need to charge these, after all." Jane asked.

"Leave that to me. I'll prepare your fuel, or batteries, as they may be. I'll bring them to you at intervals, so you have a constant supply of Aether."

Just as Mana could be stored in Mana Crystals or Stones, I would be producing concentrated Aether.

"I can assume we have an accord, can't I?"

*

*

*

'YESSSSSSSS!!!' I gave myself a fist bump, as I flew out of the hall.

Not only did Jane agree to take on the project, but I could see the flames in her eyes—how excited she was to explore this new source of power.

Not just that, but I also got a new information on the Soul Project:Omega.

'Looks like it'll be right on schedule. You did a good job, Jane.'

Since they were already getting busy, I showed myself out. It would have been nice if I had someone to see me off, but I understood the situation.

'As long as the work is done...'

************

"Alright, listen here... there are a couple of ground rules that need to be laid out if we're going to be working together." Jane slammed her hand on her table, her hardened expression focused on her two new co-workers—or more like subordinates.

"First of all, this office is my space. No one is to disturb me when I'm in here. It's very critical for you to understand this, understood?"

Ana and Beruel nodded their heads, causing Jane to break into a relieved smile.

"Secondly, since we'll be working on a couple of things at once, it's gonna take a lot of our time and efforts. You all have to be as dedicated to this stuff as I am."

They nodded in agreement.

"If you have any other motivations, or perhaps a personal reason for this, let me know now."

Silence pervaded the room at this statement, and finally, Ana raised her hand to speak.

"Go on."

"I..." The young girl started, having a somewhat conflicted expression.

"... I plan on reviving someone I lost. Both his body and Soul are not available. But, I haven't given up. I hope that by working with you and learning more about Aether, I'll get closer to a means of resurrecting him."

Beruel instantly shot Ana a surprised look, his jaws completely hanging open.

However, a few seconds later, he raised his hand as well.

"What is it?" Jane nearly snapped at him.

"I promised to help Ana with her experiments, so if she's doing this for her dead boyfriend, I'm all for it too."

"H-he's not my—"

"Fair enough..." Beruel raised his hands in surrender before Ana could say more.

As Jane watched their exchange, especially Ana's determined gaze, she was reminded of herself in the past—how she had tried everything possible to resurrect someone she cared about too.

'Talking her out of it would be hypocritical and unfruitful...' Afterall, Jane remembered just how adamant she had been back when she lost Lewis Griffith.

'She'll eventually realize the futility of it.'

Miracles rarely happened—and unless her 'boyfriend' got Reincarnated, she had already lost him forever.

'Its quite unfortunate. But... I don't dislike her.' Jane smiled at Ana.

Something about the little girl resonated with her. Somehow, she knew within herself that they could work well together.

'Maybe even... haha, that would be interesting indeed.'