B2 | Chapter 46 - Grandfather

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B2 | Chapter 46 - Grandfather

Theodore POV

Everything hurt, despite the healing. That was the thing about [Healing Touch]—it closed wounds and mended bones, but it couldn't do much about the bone-deep exhaustion that came after burning through way too much mana.

He should probably be more worried about Juliana's expression right now. Should be. But honestly… He was still riding the high of what had just happened.

He'd made Freya stop holding back. Sure, it hadn't been easy and he'd recklessly used purple fire, but still, it was progress.

The [Healer] Juliana had brought dismissed herself with obvious confusion. Hard to blame her. She'd been summoned to tend to what should have been two half-dead idiots, only to find them sitting around chatting like they'd just finished a pleasant sparring session.

Juliana waited until the woman was out of earshot before turning back to them. Her arms were crossed, jaw set in that particular way that meant someone was about to get their ass handed to them verbally.

"Sit," she said.

It wasn't a request.

Freya, who'd been leaning against what remained of a stone pillar, slid down to sit on the ground. Theodore was already seated, though he shifted uncomfortably under Juliana's glare.

Oh she was pissed.

He knew it was better to just let her vent in these moments.

"I don't even know where to start. Do you have any idea—any idea at all—what you two just did?"

Theodore opened his mouth to answer, but Juliana held up a hand.

"Don't. That was rhetorical." She sighed, settling down on a relatively intact piece of stone "Well. That was something."

Theodore and Freya exchanged glances.

That tone was... not what they'd expected.

"You're not going to yell at us?" Freya asked cautiously.

"Oh, I'm absolutely going to lecture you. But let's be honest here. You two are adults. Reckless, possibly insane adults, but adults nonetheless. I can't exactly put you in time-out."

"So... we're not in trouble?"

"I didn't say that." Juliana gestured around them. "Look, this is Theodore's facility, so technically he can blow it up if he wants to. But it's also rated for Rank 4 maximum, and you two just turned it into a shithole. I'm more concerned about the fact that you both clearly have no idea what you're actually capable of."

"We got a little carried away," he said.

"A little carried away. Right. The way a hurricane is a little windy."

Freya shifted beside him. "In our defense—"

"No." Juliana's voice was sharp. "There is no defense for this. You're both experienced fighters. You know your capabilities. You know how to exercise restraint. And instead, you chose to have what can only be described as a magical pissing contest."

"I mean, we did learn some things."

"Such as?"

"I can make Freya stop holding back."

Freya snorted. "You can make my Familiar go completely insane, you mean."

"Same thing."

"Is it, though?"

Theodore ignored her. Juliana sighed. The moment lingered.

"I learned I don't have to hold back as much as I thought," he said.

Juliana stared at him. "You don't have to hold back."

"Right."

"Theodore, you were unconscious on the ground. How is that not holding back enough?"

"Well, I mean, I was still conscious when I did the fun part."

"You're insane. You're both completely insane."

"Hey," Freya said, "I was trying to be careful. It's not my fault my Familiar went berserk."

"Your Familiar went berserk because you weren't being careful," Juliana shot back. "You know how it reacts to certain types of magic. You should have been more cautious."

"I've never seen it react like that before," Freya said defensively. "Theodore's fire did something to it."

Juliana's gaze snapped to him "Right, about that. What was that purple fire anyway?" She waved vaguely at a crater that was definitely deeper than it had any right to be. "Because from where I was standing, everything was going normally until suddenly it very much wasn't."

How did he explain something he didn't understand himself? How did he tell them that sometimes, when he reached for fire magic, something else answered instead?

"Well, see, the thing is..." Theodore scratched the back of his head. "I actually don't know."

"You don't know." Juliana's tone was remarkably even. "You summoned fire that can apparently disintegrate matter, and you don't know what it is."

"Look, it's not like it came with an instruction manual," Theodore said defensively. "It just... happens sometimes. When I'm really pushing myself."

"Just happens."

"Yeah. I'll be doing normal fire magic, and then suddenly—" He made a vague gesture. "Purple."

Freya leaned forward. "Wait, you can't control it?"

"Oh no, I can definitely control it. But I don't like to use it."

"Theodore, that fire cut through Rank 4 defenses like they were made of paper. Fire doesn't do that. Not normal fire."

"I know it's not normal fire," Theodore sighed. "But I don't know what it is. You think I haven't tried to figure it out? You think I haven't spent hours trying to understand why sometimes my flames are orange and sometimes they're purple and why one of them can apparently eat through anything?"

The words came out harsher than he'd intended. He was frustrated, had been for months now. Ever since he'd first summoned that purple flame and watched it consume his own arm, he'd been trying to understand what the hell was happening to him.

But there were no answers. There certainly were no convenient system messages explaining this shit. Just him, his magic, and a growing pile of questions he couldn't answer.

Freya cleared her throat. "If it helps, my Familiar seemed to recognize it. The fire, I mean. It reacted like... like it was starving and had just seen a feast."

Both Theodore and Juliana turned to look at her.

"What do you mean, recognized it?" Juliana asked.

"I don't know exactly. But the way it went crazy, the way it tried to consume the fire even when it was destroying me..." Freya shrugged. "My Familiar has been with me for years. It's never reacted like that to anything. Not even to really exotic fire magic."

"So what you're saying is that Theodore's mystery fire is so unusual that it drove your ancient, experienced Familiar into a feeding frenzy," Juliana said slowly.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"That's... not reassuring."

If Freya's Familiar—something that had been around far longer than any of them—had recognized his fire, what did that mean? Where had it seen something like that before?

"So," he said finally, "anyone know any good books on mysterious fire magic?"

Despite everything, Freya snorted. "I think we're going to need more than books."

"Yeah," Theodore agreed, looking at the purple-tinged scorch marks scattered across the training ground. "I think you're right."

Juliana was quiet for a long moment.

"You know," she said finally, "there might be someone who could help with this."

"Oh?"

"Grandfather."

Ah. Of course. Why hadn't he thought of that sooner?

Juliana was already continuing. "He's seen more magic than probably anyone alive. Been around for what, two centuries now? Maybe more. He never talks about his exact age, but..." She shrugged. "Point is, if anyone's encountered something like your purple fire before, it'd be him. He's strong enough that weird magic wouldn't phase him. And old enough that he might actually have answers instead of just more questions."

Strong. That was putting it mildly. Theodore had seen Grandfather fight exactly once in his life, years ago, when some Rank 5 had been stupid enough to attack their estate. The old man had ended the entire conflict in about ten seconds.

And that had been him holding back. Theodore was sure of it.

"Plus," Juliana added, "you know how he gets about family. Especially when family might be in danger from something they don't understand."

Right. Family. The old man  had always been protective of them in his own quiet way. Never overbearing, never intrusive, but always... there. Always aware. Always ready to step in if needed.

"He might know what it is," Theodore said slowly. "Or at least know someone who does."

"Exactly. And even if he doesn't, he's got connections we don't. Resources. Access to libraries and archives that most people will never see."

That was true too. Grandfather moved in circles that Theodore barely understood. Had friends and contacts scattered across the continent. People owed him favors. Big ones, from what Theodore could gather.

If there were answers to be found, Grandfather would know how to find them.

"The question is whether we can get to him," Juliana continued. "I mean, we could send a letter, but something like this... it feels like the kind of conversation that should happen in person."

"We'll see," Theodore said. "We'll be making our way to the capital soon anyway."

"Oh yeah, perfect"

"There's still some time," he added. "I need to do some things before we can leave."

"What kind of things?" Freya asked.

Theodore considered how to explain this without sounding completely insane. Because honestly, his to-do list was getting a bit ridiculous.

"Well," he said slowly, "I've got to create a bathhouse."

Both women stared at him.

"A bathhouse," Juliana repeated.

"Yeah. You know, for bathing. Hot water, comfortable setup, all that."

"Why do you need to create a bathhouse?"

"Because I want one?"

Freya snorted.

"Also a refrigerator," Theodore continued. "Maybe a few of them, actually. And some other quality-of-life improvements."

"A refrig—what?" Juliana stumbled over the word. "Refridge-ator? What is that?"

"For keeping food cold. It's very convenient."

"Theodore, we have ice magic for that."

"Ice magic requires constant attention. A proper refrigerator just works."

He could see them trying to figure out if he was serious or not. Which was fair, honestly. It did sound a bit weird when he said it out loud, for this world anyway.

"Why call it a refrigerator?"

Theodore blinked. Why did he call it that? The word was just... there. Always had been. Engrained so deep in his brain that he'd never even thought about using a different name for it.

He shrugged and didn't answer her.

But the thing was, he'd gotten used to certain conveniences in his previous life. Things that made day-to-day living more pleasant. And now that he had the knowledge and skills to recreate some of those things, why wouldn't he?

"Anything else on this list of yours?" Juliana asked.

"Few other projects. Nothing too exciting."

That was mostly true. The bathhouse and refrigerator were definitely on the list. Along with better heating systems, maybe some improved plumbing, possibly some other stuff.

But there was one other thing he was dying to figure out.

The clone skill. Or spell. Or whatever the hell it was.

He'd been thinking about it more and more lately. The convenience factor was just too appealing to ignore. Being able to be in multiple places at once, handle multiple projects simultaneously, maybe even research different things in parallel.

It would change everything.

The problem was figuring out how to actually learn it. He had the mana crystal that supposedly contained the skill, but understanding how to extract and internalize that knowledge was proving tricky.

He'd need to study it more carefully. Really focus on it.

"Well," Juliana said, "as long as you don't blow anything else up while you're working on your projects."

"I make no promises."

"Theodore."

"Kidding. Mostly."

The truth was, he probably would end up causing some kind of minor disaster while working on his projects. It seemed to be a pattern with him. But hopefully nothing as dramatic as what had just happened here.

"So," Freya said, breaking into his thoughts, "when can I get into that bathhouse thing?"

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