"Morning, Julian." Leila greets her son.
"Morning, Mother. Where's everyone else?" he asks, yawning. It's rare not to see his father and brother at breakfast.
Leila's tablet is open in front of her. She's holding a stylus — apparently, she's been working. A cup of freshly brewed cappuccino, still steaming, rests beside the tablet.
She takes a sip. "Your father's gone training. After seeing Thea so happy and refreshed from her workout last night, he got the itch to train too."
Julian chuckles. "He still hasn't given up on joining our exploration team, huh? And Arthur?"
"He's already off to the office. Today's contract-signing day with the Zarathis and the Sandrinards."
"Ah, that's right! Today's the day! Two huge contracts at once. Arthur's amazing — he actually got the Sandrinards to agree to our price!"
Leila smiles softly. "Yes, he is. I'd rather he fight his battles like this than go exploring. Every time he does, I'm at home worrying." She sighs, her voice tinged with affection and exasperation. "And now your father wants to join him."
"Mom, don't worry. Arthur knows what he's doing. And as for Dad, the next Montrose exploration team is massive — he'll be surrounded by people who can protect him."
Leila nods but doesn't look convinced. "What about Thea? Is she up yet? Or maybe she's still asleep? I wouldn't be surprised if she is, not after last night's training."
Leila sighs again. "She's now officially another family member who keeps me worrying. She's already gone to her gym. Said something about being idle for too long."
"Whoa! Seriously? Nice, Sis!"
Leila shakes her head with a faint smile. "I'll never understand kids these days," she mutters to herself.
"Morning!" Theo enters the dining room, looking refreshed and happy.
"Morning, Thea," Leila greets back, beaming. She loves seeing this new spark in her daughter — it's one of the reasons she hasn't tried to stop her from training.
"Hey! Morning, Sis! I take it you like your new gym?" Julian grins.
Theo opens the fridge, grabs a milk carton, and drinks straight from it.
"Hey!" Leila shouts lightly. "Glass, please!" She quickly hands Theo an empty one. "Jesus, Thea! You're getting more and more like your brothers! You're a girl! You need to remember that!"
Julian bursts out laughing. "Drinking it straight is fresher, Mom. Right, Thea?" He winks at Theo, who grins but obediently pours the milk into the glass.
"Sorry, Mother. It won't happen again."
Theo mentally scolds himself for forgetting that he's currently living in a young woman's body. He's still high from the rush of freedom last night — the exhilaration of using magic again without fear has been more addictive than he imagined.
"And Julian, I love my new gym." Theo smiles widely as he takes his seat.
Leila chuckles. "You're turning into a gym freak. Just remember you're going out with Claudia today."
She closes her tablet, gathers her things, and heads for the door. "Have a nice day, children."
"You too, Mother," her children reply in unison.
"So," Julian turns his attention to Theo. "You really like the gym? Seriously? Anything there you don't understand?"
Theo swallows his PB&J and nods. "I absolutely love the gym, Jules. Right now, I mostly use the treadmill. I'll try the other equipment soon, but for now, I'm sticking to the treadmill until I can run five minutes without feeling like I'm about to pass out."
"Okay." Julian chuckles. "And you just called me Jules. It's been a while since you've called me that. Welcome back, Sis."
Theo grins back. "So, what were you and Mother talking about?"
"Ah, I was just wondering where Dad and Arthur are. It's weird not seeing them at breakfast."
Theo gestures for him to continue.
"Dad's training too. Seeing you all happy and pumped last night made him itch to train." Julian laughs. "And Arthur? He's already at the office. Today's the big-deal-signing day." Julian sing-songs the last part.
Theo blinks a few times while chewing. He remembers that Montrose Corporation recently sold their newest version of the Aegis — the M-Aegis Ultra — to the two governments that had experienced the torrential rain and the wind-fire pillar about ten days ago.
He remembers because those incidents coincided with his own magic: his water spell to wash his underwear, the sprinkler malfunction, and his wind-and-fire spell to dry them. He'd racked his brain for any explanation — something involving wind and fire near him — but found none.
Ever since discovering the magic detector (whatever its real name is), Theo's been wondering how far it can sense magic. Did it detect anything when he used his spells last week?
Like Arthur, his mind reaches the same conclusion. But without access to the same detailed data his brothers have, he can't be sure if the phenomena were truly linked to him.
That uncertainty is exactly why he'd pushed himself so hard last night — casting shields, training his body, and activating the Aegis Y. He didn't want to risk another "incident."
If it was me who caused those two events… does that mean, in this body, I'm that powerful?
If that's true, then what does that make Thea? How could she be this powerful in a world without magic? And how can the Montroses use the space pouch if they don't even understand the concept of magic?
Theo shakes his head lightly. I have more questions than answers. I can't figure them out yet. First, I need to be fit — ready for anything. Meaning… keep training.
But curiosity gnaws at him.
"Jules, I keep hearing people talk about dungeon explorations. What exactly is that?" Theo decides to take a risk and asks.
Julian looks up from his meal. "Hm? Dungeon explorations? It's what teams do before mining can begin. You remember dungeons and Heartstones, right?"
Theo answers slowly, as if recalling a distant memory. "Heartstones are those stones that hold energy, and we can harvest that energy for use. Dungeons are where they're found."
Julian nods. "Exactly. That's the simplest way to put it. Explorations are needed before we can mine safely — mostly because those Heartstones are guarded by what we call Haelions."
Haelions! Theo's mind sparks. That means 'holy beasts' or 'bright guardians' — another magic language similar to mine!
Seeing Theo's interest, Julian continues. "Those Haelions are no joke. During the first exploration, they killed a lot of people. They really don't like us taking the Heartstones."
"We struggled to fight them — until we discovered they could be killed with Heartstones themselves."
Theo nods, listening intently.
"If you want to know more, there are videos you can watch," Julian adds, noticing his sister's genuine curiosity.
"I think I will."
"You know," Julian leans closer, mischief gleaming in his eyes, "with HB, you can do those explorations without worrying about getting hurt by any Haelions."
Theo looks at him with interest — and a knowing smile slowly forms.