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Chapter 37: Elise Zweistein
🕑 Added 2023-09-05 04:01:59 +0000 UTCthis is a fictional story by realTensai
Mr. Zweistein’s lab looked as chaotic as ever, as Alvis once again came to learn from his mentor. Robots were active everywhere, replacing human labor. Several machines were at work, creating things Alvis probably could not even comprehend. The smell of metal and solder terrorized Alvis’ nostrils, though Alvis was an odd human being who craved this scent. All kinds of holograms were all over the place, making the lab look even more lively than it already was. Because Alvis was earlier than usual, he could take in the scenery he had already gotten accustomed to. Though his mentor was on the way.
“Hello, Alvis. You are four minutes and twenty-three seconds too early.”
The way too-human voice of his robotic mentor entered Alvis’ ears. R-18 looked the same as ever, a white robot resembling a human. For Alvis, he somehow even was human. He was his mentor, after all, and excelled in every area. Even though Mr. Zweistein was supposed to be his mentor, he was not, because Alvis failed the test he got the first time entering the lab. Yes, even though Alvis had countless loops to try, he failed every time. Though this was not because of his incapability, it was because the test was designed for him to fail. Like a boss in the early stage of a game, one just could not beat. Mr. Zweistein always added a twist to his test until Alvis would eventually fail. This just showed he did not even want to mentor him in the first place. By creating R-18, he could avoid his responsibilities.
“Yeah hello, R-18. The teacher let us go earlier today. That is why I am already here.”
R-18 just nodded his metallic head.
“Well, then, let’s not waste any more time.”
They headed to the side of the lab where they always hosted their lessons. No work was going on there, but all the stuff they needed was within reach. As soon as they arrived, their lesson started.
“So, how far have you gotten with your hologram?”
“I am already finished!”
R-18’s eyes lit up blue, clearly hinting at his excitement. Even though he was a robot, he showed emotion from time to time. This was also why Alvis felt like he dealt with a human being rather than a robot. Mr. Zweistein managed to install genuine feelings within it, again showcasing his genius.
“Quite impressive. I thought it would take you a couple of months before you could present me the end product.”
“I have been working hard.”
Alvis rubbed the space under his nose, a faint smile on his face. Whilst he tried to save Lia, he did not have time left to deal with other stuff. Though now that he was out of the loop, he could dedicate his time to the thing he loved the most; creating stuff. Never before did Alvis create a hologram. His knowledge and skill were not yet on that level. However, since he got personal tuition by R-18, those two things accelerated. And now here he was presenting the result of his work.
Alvis took out the hand-sized transparent disc that acted as the projector. He knew he could have used his holo-phone too, though he did not want to mess with its patterns. Using a self-created disc was more work, but Alvis could install the patterns he needed from scratch without worrying they would interfere with others.
“Good choice,” R-18 said upon seeing the disc.
With the disc now in his hand, Alvis could start. Everything was already installed, so he only had to activate it to show his results. By tapping the fingerprint scanner, the show started.
A blue light was emitted from the disc, spreading randomly within a designated area. It seemed like it was just flickering with no purpose, though soon a few rays started forming an object. It took a few more seconds before the round shape became clear for everyone to see. All the rays connected, and the hologram was complete. R-18 waited a few seconds to see if it was stable, though after confirming it was, he spoke up.
“Amazing,” he said, clapping his hands. “A great Globus, indeed.”
“You can watch closely.”
R-18 further inspected Alvis’ creation and noticed the details.
“I must say, it is pretty accurate. All the continents are in the right place and the seas too. Also, their size is correct. I guess the ratio is 1:84,946,666,67.”
“Wooo~ scary, it is correct to the last digit.”
Once again, Alvis could not even grasp the extent of R-18’s amazingness.
“Congratulation, Alvis. You created your first hologram.”
After hearing his mentor’s honest praise, Alvis could only blush. He tried to suppress his smile, yet he could not hide it. It was the first time he completed a task R-18 gave him. To be fair, it also was the first one. Though that did not matter. Alvis could finally create a hologram.
“I would hardly call that a hologram.”
An unknown voice echoed through the lab, making Alvis twitch in surprise. Though before Alvis could even be angry at the thing he said, he saw his hologram breaking down. It flickered like crazy and the before stable hologram now became a mess. The rays did not match anymore, letting Alvis’ best creation vanish.
“An Interfering transmitter?!”
With knitted eyebrows, he could only wonder what the hell happened.
“Master is here.”
However, as soon as he heard those words from R-18, he realized what was happening. He turned around to search for the source of everything, only to find him right next to him.
“Boo~”
A cute voice made Alvis question reality. What he saw was not a man but a girl! With his mouth wide open, Alvis stared at the small girl next to him. Instead of an old geezer with white hair and a messy look, a girl no older than ten was now by his side. Because R-18 mentioned his master was there, Alvis almost thought this little girl was Mr. Zweistein. But now, when he thought about it, he knew it could not be.
“Welcome, master.”
Hey, hey, hey, why is R-18 still calling her master?
Alvis’ brain burned, searching for ways to explain this situation. The thought of this little girl being Mr. Zweistein kept entering his head, though he pushed it away because it obviously did not make sense. He had already seen Mr. Zweistein once, so he knew he was an old man. In awe, Alvis kept looking at the girl. Her pink long hair paired with her pink pupils made her look innocent. The white coat she wore was way too big for her, which made her look even cuter.
Yeah, no way she is Mr. Zweistein. She is probably his granddaughter or something.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
The girl furrowed her eyebrows as if she could not understand why Alvis reacted like this.
“Are you Mr. Zweistein’s granddaughter?”
“My gramps name is Mr. Zweistein, so, of course, I am his granddaughter,” she said, shaking her head as if she was speaking to an idiot. “But I am Mr. Zweistein too.”
Question marks formed on Alvis’ face, as he obviously did not understand what she meant. Upon seeing that, the girl sighed and then went on to explain herself.
“You are not the smartest, are you? I am the one they call Mr. Zweistein. The genius inventor who revolutionized the world,” the girl said, no sign of her even doubting what she said. “And because I already know your below-average brain can’t even comprehend what I say, I will further elaborate. The old man you thought was Mr. Zweistein is my grandfather. However, he is a mediocre inventor at best. The brain behind everything is me. He is only acting as my representative to the media. Also, he does all the tasks I don’t want to do, like teaching classes.”
“Wait, wait, wait! Don’t tell me you are serious?”
“Sigh, you are a slow one, are not you? R-18 tell him how it is.”
“Yes, all she said is true. This is my creator and master, the famous Mr. Zweistein. But it would be more correct to refer to her as Ms. Zweistein.”
The facts bombarded Alvis, not letting him indulge in his convenient opinion. How could this girl be the person he looked up to? This little snooty girl? There was no way it could be the truth.
This was what he truly wanted to believe, yet to his misfortune, he was not a moron. Alvis was a rational person and no matter how unserious this girl looked, he knew he could trust R-18. With R-18’s confirmation, Alvis had no other choice than to believe her.
A deep sigh escaped Alvis’ mouth, a sign of his mental state. There were still a lot of things that did not add up, yet he would believe them.
“Judging by your look, you finally understood. Took you long enough.”
Alvis’ brow twitched as he faked a smile.
You have to calm down, Alvis. She is your mentor.
“So why did you show up now after all this time? Is not this beneath you?”
He could not understand why his sublime mentor felt so gracious as to show herself before her unworthy student. Ignoring the sarcasm in his voice, she answered.
“Well, you are right, but I can even make someone like you great!”
She said that with a proud smile on her face while opening up her chest. Seeing that, Alvis’ brow twitched once again.
“Meaning?” he asked, not knowing what she was up to.
“From now on, I, Elise Zweistein, will take you on as my apprentice!”
——
As Alvis made his way home, the sun descended, marking the end of a special day. Though Alvis was not yet sure if the special was something positive or negative. After Elise told him she would teach him from now on, he initially wanted to refuse. Alvis liked R-18 well enough, and he just did not want to have this arrogant brat as his mentor. His pride would not allow it.
But yet again, his brain was his biggest enemy. Just because of his pride, he could not waste the chance to learn from the biggest inventor of their time. Even if that meant dealing with a cheeky girl who thought of herself as the pinnacle of the human race.
In the end, his rational mind won the internal conflict. That was why he would accept Elise as his mentor.
And yes, there is no way I will call her Ms. Zweistein!
Calling a nine-year-old Ms. was too much, even for him.
Consumed by his thoughts, Alvis did not care about his surroundings. However, a wave of malicious killing intent forced him back to reality. Alvis widened his eyes, searching for the source of this phenomenon, only to see an elf clad in white standing before him.
“Alvis Silva.”
It was as if his deep voice immediately entered Alvis’ mind rather than ears, pulling him into a state of trance. By circulating mana through his body and also activating his mind protector spell, Alvis kept his sanity. He would not fall into his trap.
Even though there were several uncertainties, one thing was clear: this man was an assassin! Alvis had faced off against an entire organization of those people so he could identify them on the spot. They all had the same malicious scent on them. And this elf wearing white was no exception.
“What do you want?”
Alvis kept his voice low, his eyes focused on every movement of his opponent. One odd movement by him would be enough for Alvis to kill him. The killing intent Alvis emitted was not inferior to his. Alvis had experience in killing assassins, so he would not waver to add one more to his list.
The tension between them became so thick it felt suffocating. However, the elf continued.
“I am just a messenger.”
“Who sent you and for what?”
“My boss, the leader of the Assassin Guild.”
Alvis’ heart beat wildly as soon as he heard that. He had hoped his and Lia’s concerns had been unnecessary, yet once again, reality slapped him in his face. Of course, there would be consequences after they had destroyed one of his branches. Though what this consequence would be, he would now find out.
“You have two options,” the elf said, his eyes cold. “The first, you become the leader of the branch you destroyed and work for our boss. Or the second. You defy us and become our enemy!”
His words kept repeating in Alvis’ head, but the more he thought about it, the worse it became. Denial would be the easiest answer, but Alvis knew he could not afford that. He had to pick his poison. Either he becomes the boss of the Assassin Organization he worked so hard to destroy or he becomes the enemy of an even bigger organization.
Shit!
“Don’t worry, the leader will give you one month’s time to decide.”
The elf went over to him and handed him a card. Reluctantly, Alvis accepted it.
“This card has the location of our hiding. You will have to speak to our leader directly if you choose to accept. If you don’t come to us within the next month, it will mean you declined the offer. And you surely know what will happen to you if you do.”
“You will come to kill me, don’t you?”
“——”
The elf did not answer, which in itself was answer enough. After that, he just vanished.
Only now could Alvis breathe out. The killing intent that had been weighing down on him vanished, letting him calm down a bit. His thoughts were still all over the place, yet one thing was sure.
Alvis would never work for such an organization!
Not only because he did not want to, but mainly because of Lia. Lia had suffered her whole life under the Assassin Organization, and Alvis was the one who finally saved her. How could he join forces with them?! Even if it meant choosing to fight against even more assassins, Alvis would never betray his wife like that.
His resolve was clear, yet he glanced at the card which lay in his hand. The name of the city in which the Organization was immediately caught his attention.
Awaniko...?! This gotta be a bad joke!
