Stone Mage: Revenge of the Villain System

Edelweiss had noticed Calla Lily to be deep in thought in her office as an Apprentice for the Theatrics class.

“Person in a light path….. He mumbles crime, but what crime?”

She knocked on the wooden door to gain her attention.

“Am I interrupting something important? You have been mumbling to yourself more frequently.” She said.

“Oh. Edel, I didn’t notice you…..” She said, a little quieter than usual. “What brings you here?”

“I was….. Planning to have you test my Heartstone Glass and gain fedback, do a bit of field research and trials…. but if it’s too much with all the work you have to handle as an apprentice, I can find something else—-“

“No, no. Lily would be happy to test Edel’s glasses.” She said, smiling sweetly at her friend.

When in Lily mode, she has a habit of speaking to Edelweiss in third person. Only to Edelweiss though, and to no one else.

She got it from her father, who does the same thing with people he was fond of. They like mentioning the other person’s name or their nickname, like she does with Headmaster Yeshwa._.

And of course, as Calla, she calls her ‘my princess’. Even though Edelweiss came from a pretty near middle-class family, just in the bare minimum of aristocracy.

It may be annoying to some, but Edelweiss was long used to it since theu were children.

Edelweiss took a very secure and simple hexagonal glass with a monacle in it. She opened it, and the first thing that Calla noticed was the dark color of the monacle.

“Dark glass… Does it help with figuring out Heartstones?”

Edelweiss nodded. “Yes….. Somehow, obsidian was a very good material to seek out hidden magical properties, or see past illusions.”

“Obsidian….” Calla narrowed her eyes as she heard this stone.

Edelweiss doesn’t know what she was narrowing her eyes for. But Lily had been becoming more and more secretive these days.

She just continued to explain her device.

“I don’t know exactly the scientific reasoning for that, but I hypothesized that it had something to do with canceling out light, which gives existence to color. The more color was taken away, the more it only leaves out the grayscale of things and outlines become more vivid.”

She demonstrated every part of the monacle for its utility.

“The outlines are the ones that determine the magical aura of the Heartstone, which the detector on this little ridge right here will determine.”

“Then, when you insert this earpiece from the chain, you will hear the tiny automaton inside telling you the detected Heartstone.”

Lily wore it over her tall nose bridge. “I hear nothing yet.”

Edelweiss sighed. “At the moment, it takes about 40-60 seconds of looking directly, but I’m improving it to identify Heartstones quicker.”

“Perhaps in time for next year’s Science Exhibition, I’ll be able to improve it to just one second.”

Lily nodded. “So I just stare at you for about a minute?”

“Yes.” Edelweiss said, standing clearly in her vision. “Then we wait.”

” Well, waiting is no problem for Lily because I like staring at Edel. You’ve grown into a beautiful flower in such a short span of time.” Lily grinned, sounding a bit Calla.

The older she got, the more the distinction became blurred, as her ‘real self’ and her ‘performing self’ really do not have much difference besides confidence and the way she handles herself.

But the core of her thoughts were always the same. Edelweiss does not mind this merging, as it will always be her friend to her.

Calla was only created as a person by Lily to be better at socializing, after all, but she was already improving by herself so there was no need to perform sometimes.

She continued to praise her friend while the 60 seconds was still not up. “Your body has matured now, not to mention that you appeared slimmer. Not that I mind the adorable Edel with chubby cheeks, I find that so adorable.”

“Thank you.” Edelweiss said with just a crossed hand. “I do prefer me with less baby fat.”

“Years go by so fast… Someday, Edel will forget about Lily and find some handsome man to marry.”

Edelweiss scoffed. “Unlikely. And didn’t you promise to have a whole island where you, me and Don will live together in seclusion?”

“I did but….. Deep down, I also felt it was unlikely.” Lily sighed. “Only Calla can say and believe that with outmost confidence. I know that neither of you would really want a life like that with me.”

Edelweiss wanted to contradict that statement, but in truth, she was also not quite sure yet.

The pressure that the Iridice family puts on her was too much, and she still felt the need to prove her worth to them.

In fact, she was relying very much on these glasses to work just to gain their favor.

Well, that and to save the animals from constant unnecessary hunting because of hunters that cannot distinguish Heartstones. Every year, hippopotamuses with Fool’s Gold Heartstone or Pyrite gets mistaken for actual gold.

The hunters that work for nobles that love fine golden skins ends up killing them to the point of extinction. And when they learn they were not real Gold, they just discard the dead carcasses into the sea, polluting it.

Many animals also suffer this way, like Red Spinel Owls mistaken for prestigious Ruby Owls, or Tsavorite Garnet Deers confused for Emerald Deers.

The variety in color of some Heartstones causes these confusion, and with the help of her monacle, perhaps this confusion can be avoided along with the overhunting.

“I heard it!” Lily finally said. “The tiny automaton have a really adorable voice, it made my ears tingle a bit. It said ‘Opal Heartstone, white variant’. “

She handed it back to Edelweiss. “We should do more field study and try it on more students.”

And there was a certain student that she wanted to try it on the most. Figuring out the Heartstone.

Edelweiss nodded. “Yes, we could try on the theater performance this Week’s End. People won’t notice and they are bound to stay still on their seats.”

She folded the lace of the monacle and placed it back on the box. “But we must handle it carefully, obsidian is very fragile. It is a good and sharp stone, but once struck can shatter like glass.”

Lily nodded. “Lily will save the date for it then, I can procure tickets for Edel.”

She had been working with Lovushka’s troupe after all for the plays revolving gods, and knew that Ronin will be there to watch too.

She planned to use it against Ronin as proof….. But did not expect the results later on, as well as the other truth they have found with this glass.