Year Sixty-Six of the Father God Calendar. Ten years had passed since the st conflict happened on the Cerulean Pnet.

  During those ten years of serenity, improvement in both technological and transcendental aspects popped up like weeds in the spring. The whole globe welcomed the period of swift development.

  The Hinon Federation spread this effect. They knew that another Star Battle would soon ensue, and to prepare, they developed as fast as they could within reasonable bounds.

  All the humans felt that another Star Battle would come to them. That was why they cooperated with the Hinon Federation because they knew that it was the unavoidable truth.

  They also had to be under the Hinon Federation from ten years ago because the Federation was the one that first achieved the creation of the world-destroying weapon. Even though some people questioned the authenticity of the cim, all scientists in the entire Cerulean Pnet came to the same conclusion.

  The atomic bomb was definitely some sort of prototype for the world-destroying weapon and it was only a matter of time before the Federation invented the true world-destroying weapon.

  That was the main reason why they finally had to put aside the conflict and unite under the banner of the Hinon Federation.

  Second, the Federation along with the Thebes Independent Kingdom created Cerulean Defense Forces whose main task was to be the spearhead during the Star Battle.

  Third, the Cerulean Pnet finally arrived at the phase of globalization in which the Comberth Continent and the Heavensend Continent were connected both by sea and air.

  This caused the exchange of not only information but also culture and lifestyle.

  And one of the beneficiaries of such an exchange was naturally Tatsumi, who was in the middle of the cssroom, reading the newest manga released by his favorite mangaka.

  He wore the uniform of the Giol High School with a dark blue long shirt, along with white sleeves. His dark blue pants also matched his shirt. His desk was the standard one for the student where there was a space beneath it to store books as well as a chair where he could sit.

  ‘Yes, this is the tranquility that I seek.’ Tatsumi thought to himself while humming some songs.

  ‘Well, kid, looks like she is here again. Why don’t you just accept it that she has no malice toward you?’ Kudungga suddenly interjected, which caused Tatsumi to frown.

  He knew what Kudungga was talking about. After being paired together for ten years, Tatsumi knew that this individual was able to discern people. The problem y within himself as he could only judge people on the superficial yer. He could not see deeper than that.

  That caused him to be scared of potential disappointment. Something he tried to evade if possible.

  About the thing that Kudungga as a spiritual mentor for Tatsumi talked about…

  “Did you stay sitting there even though the css is over after a while?” a young woman’s voice could be heard ringing in Tatsumi’s ear but he paid no heed to that. Her voice was like the wind in the spring, youthful as well as invigorating one’s mind when he heard it.

  Tatsumi sighed and looked up to the one where all of this came from.

  He nded his sight on the one who had spoken. She had long, brown hair swaying gently. Her brown eyes locked with his as she let out a slight smile at him. Her uniform was actually the reverse color of the male's, a white shirt with blue sleeves.

  “Ame, what do you want from me? Be quick.” Tatsumi replied in a standard voice which he considered polite.

  “Hmm. I just wondering whether you want to go to the Kendo club after reading that.” Ame said softly.

  “So you even found out about that.” Tatsumi could only consider himself unfortunate. He did not want to be involved with someone so influential like Mikazuki Ame for a certain reason.

  ‘She is the heir apparent to the Mikazuki Heavy Industry.’ Tatsumi thought once again about the reason why he should not get involved with an influential figure like her.

  But Tatsumi himself did not consider that he had become an influential figure himself. It was because those who held a certain authority in the Hinon Federation knew about Charlene's fondness for the individual known as Tatsumi.

  In fact, many people, including those in the military even know about him. For the military, it was because Miyamoto Mamoru was the one visiting the group of immigrants himself which garnered some attention.

  Due to that, there were a lot of people who wanted to get close to anyone from the group and Tatsumi became the one most of the authoritative figures wanted to befriend.

  “I have no pn for going there. As you probably know, I have quite a busy schedule.” Tatsumi said while he closed the manga book as he already finished reading it.

  He grabbed the bag that was behind the seat and stored the book inside. He then slung the bag since it was time for him to move.

  “I see. But you have to visit the Kendo club sometimes. They are asking about you constantly.” Ame could only say that the moment she felt that Tatsumi was rejecting even her approach.

  “I will take note of that.” Tatsumi nodded. He disliked getting approached by people who wanted something from him. Especially those who wanted to get influential people through him. Seeing that Ame did not delve too much, Tatsumi had a good impression of her.

  ‘At least she is not pushy.’ Tatsumi commented in his mind. And with that, he left the cssroom and also the school grounds.

  Five minutes walk from the school grounds, Tatsumi arrived at the local distributor for the newspaper of Giol City. That was right, he was part-time working as the distributor of the newspaper that was still circuted among the people.

  He spent some time and got some income based on his sales. Tatsumi did this so that he could have the resume of someone with some skills. He wanted to rely on this experience to get a higher-income job.

  After he did that, he returned to the local distributor building before he clocked off to go home, along with the money he earned that day.

  As Charlene had said to him, the location of his home was quite close to his educational facility. That was why he could walk to his home rather than take public transportation.

  When he arrived at the gate to the rge mansion, he was greeted by the guards there. They all knew each other ever since he first came to this pce.

  “Hello, Mister Grant. How is your day?” Tatsumi usually said this and this time it was no different.

  “Ah, good afternoon. Some people want to enter the premises through the back but we managed to drive them off.” One guard who was identified as Grant said this with a hearty ugh.

  “Is that so?” Tatsumi clicked his tongue in annoyance. Then he asked, “Is there any important guest that coming to my home?”

  “Well, Miss Charlene came here some time ago and still has not left,” Grant said truthfully about everything he had witnessed.

  “What!?” Tatsumi could not stand still and ran directly inside. Grant sighed ruefully while understanding the young man.

  Tatsumi then opened the door quite with a force so the people inside realized that someone was coming. The people in the living room all stared at Tatsumi.

  ‘Kid, you should not be impulsive.’ Kudungga commented.

  ‘But this is Miss Charlene we are talking about! She is the most important person to me!’ Tatsumi argued.

  ‘You are right but you have to learn that being impulsive means you have to be in a lot of trouble. Don’t you know it?’ Kudungga tried to advise and Tatsumi could only accept it.

  But his agitation was understandable. Charlene was the person who helped him away from the problem back then to the current pce where he could develop both physically, intellectually as well as spiritually.

  At this moment, everyone in the mansion knew that Tatsumi had already come in so they looked at him as if trying to know something about the earlier disturbance.

  This included Charlene and Annie. Both of them came to this pce because they had something to discuss with Tatsumi specifically.

  “I was thinking about searching for you in the Giol High School but it turned out to be just a thought. Alright, there is something I have to give.” Charlene said.

  “What is it?” Tatsumi asked.

  “Well, let’s go to your room. We can talk in detail there.” Annie added. She smiled mischievously but she was going to follow them.

  Tatsumi nodded and they went to his room. His room was quite tidy since he often cleaned it himself. Tatsumi liked things to be orderly so he had done this numerous times and even Feng Mo and Hua Fei praised him for it.

  There was a study table with a chair set. Charlene and Annie sat on it while Tatsumi sat on the bed because the room was quite rge for a person but space was still limited.

  “I have in my hands the recent models for something that can be called retivity. Here, read this part.” Charlene gave Tatsumi a piece of paper while pointing at the important part.

  Charlene and Annie saw that Tatsumi’s expression was serious when he read it. Then he furrowed his brow as he realized the issue.

  “Miss Charlene, I am not an expert in physics so I don’t know how far you can imagine about this but is the issue you want to tell me about the speed at which the photon moves?” Tatsumi was also confused by this since he had only barely entered the topic of modern physics in high school.

  ‘This is her recent topic so she definitely thinks about this often. But why is it that she is asking for my word on this?’

  Tatsumi thought for a while before he started to tackle the matter.

  “Miss Charlene, the movement of the photon which is the carrier of energy is constant according to your current model. What I want to ask is whether this applies to all observers?”

  “Yes. That is exactly what I had thought for a while. The speed of the carrier of energy had to be constant and could be applied to all observers and also to all inertial frames. What I want to know is, will this be the pilr of reality in which we are in?” Charlene asked.

  Tatsumi held his nosebridge. He was taken aback by what Charlene had said. She had discovered something monumental but he could barely follow even with all his knowledge.

  ‘Wait a second. The photon moves the atom it interacts with. By extension, it also moves the other atoms, creating an effect. It means that the movement of the photon itself is the speed of…causality?’

  “Sister Charlene, I think this is really the foundation of reality that you are hitting. Put it this way, the photon moves at a constant speed but it still takes time, right? Then this speed can also be called the speed of causality. It works in the confines of causality itself and I think nothing can surpass it.” Tatsumi tried to expin what he thought.

  Charlene had her eyes shining at the concept. She had never thought about her model like this so she was fascinated. Annie too was surprised when Tatsumi could interpret the paper he had just read this way.

  ‘No wonder Charlene wanted to hear his opinion. He really is a treasure…’ Annie thought while smiling at the two.

  “You are right. The speed of the photon cannot be surpassed by any object. Otherwise, the causality itself is broken.” Charlene nodded, confirming that Tatsumi’s thought was correct.

  Then the two of them got involved in the possibilities of things beyond their current reach and the possibilities to get there.

  “Have you also studied transcendent energy sources?” Tatsumi asked. He read the part where Charlene considered mixing in the effect of the transcendent energy sources and wanted to know her thoughts on it.

  “Yes. The schors from the Thebes Independent Kingdom are also interested in the information we have about our current technology so this can be considered a friendly exchange.”

  Charlene then expined her thoughts about it to Tatsumi.

  “Miss Charlene, I can only say what I said because I can understand you better not because I understand all of the calcutions and models you have proposed so please don’t ask me about this anymore. I really don’t know.” Tatsumi even had to beg Charlene about this. It was because he truly did not know about all the things Charlene had done.

  The fact that he could get an idea himself was because he often read Charlene’s postutes and theories. If not for that, even he would be confused about what Charlene had written on the paper.

  “But your insight into it makes me think more about it,” Charlene replied with a smile. She did this for that very reason.

  “Now that the two of you are done with your business, let’s eat. Someone’s been calling for dinner already.” Annie added after they were done with their matter.

  “Sister Charlene, please stay and have dinner with us.” Tatsumi invited.

  “Sure.” Charlene accepted the offer.

  “Me too, then!” Annie was the first to get up and opened the door outside.

  After that, they all had dinner which was delicious enough that Tatsumi asked for a second. Then came the moment when Charlene and Annie had to go back.

  “Please consider what I had said before,” Tatsumi said.

  “Of course. Even now, I am still thinking about what you said.” Charlene nodded before she and Annie went away while the guards were accompanying them.

  Tatsumi breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Charlene go away of his sight. He then closed the door of the mansion and went directly to his room.

  This time, he opened the book of the subjects reted to high school. He wanted to revise everything that he knew so far and tried to verify it. Two hours passed in that manner before he closed the book and pced it in a stack, before he changed his clothes and went to bed to sleep.

  -

  In another pce within the residence of the Mikazuki family, they had a special guest.

  “Hmm, alright. The report is concise and good enough for now.” Said the man with blond hair and blue eyes. If Charlene was here, she would recognize the figure.

  “Sir Tesna, I am gd to hear that compliment. Thank you for putting your trust in my family.” A middle-aged man with a mustache said with a serene tone. But his eyes did not hide his excitement.

  “Wait!” Tesna said to him while signaling that the matter was not done yet.

  “Yes, what is it?”

  “About your daughter who has been appointed as the priestess for our Congregation, how is she?” Tesna asked and stressed that this was important.

  “She is doing well. In fact, she is approaching Number Two. She said that she did this not because of the mission but purely out of curiosity. As far as I am concerned, that is a good sign.” The middle-aged man said in a deliberate effort to highlight the result.

  “Do you know why I want her to get closer to Number Two?” Tesna asked again.

  “I am sorry, sir. I don’t know about the details so I can only assume that Number Two is important to the Congregation.”

  “That is not wrong. The most important thing for us as humans is to safely win the Star Battle. Individuals who assisted in that greatly are the ones who the Congregation wanted to protect. Did you know this?”

  “I honestly don’t know.”

  Tesna took a deep breath before he continued, “From a certain time forward, the Father God has been communicating through your daughter. She is the third important person to our Congregation and that is why I elevated her to the position of the priestess of our Congregation.”

  Of course, the middle-aged man realized what Tesna had been alluding to. Since his daughter was the third most communicative individual with the great Father God then Number Two was definitely the second while Number One was the first in line.

  ‘I see now. So the Father God Congregation is aiming for individuals who have been communicating with the Father God.’

  ‘But for what?’

  Tesna then said something with a strange term that the middle-aged man had never heard.

  “Well, according to Father God himself, there are people who affect the civilization in such a manner that they provide the breakthrough when there is an obstacle. The individual is also endowed with the fate of the entire civilization in them. They also have their great luck and providence. They are what the Father God called Star Child.”

  “Star Child…is my daughter one?” the middle-aged man wanted to know that so he asked.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. But it is confirmed that Number One and Two are definitely Star Child.” Tesna replied in a manner that left no discussion.

  The middle-aged man sighed but he knew that since the task his daughter had to take was not easy, it would probably be better to do something rather than just wait.

  “Oh, yes. There is something that has to be conveyed to you, sir. Please take a look at this.” The middle-aged man handed Tesna a letter.

  Tesna opened the letter and he noticed the special seal the letter had. He recognized it as something from the research institute at the Thebes Independent Kingdom.

  As he read the letter, his eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed. His expression was a bit indifferent but he knew that the letter was important enough that it warranted his full attention.

  After that, Tesna quickly went from the Mikazuki family’s residence back to the Hinon Science Institute.