A butler was seen standing in front of the mansion. He had brown hair with a few strands of gray decorating it and light-brown eyes.
He wore glasses and his age was estimated to be around his late sixties. He bowed as soon as we arrived at the entrance.
"I greet the Princes of the Chrono Empire."
"You may rise."
The butler straightened his back and glanced at Chislon, then smiled.
"Count Andreas, it's been a while."
"Yes. It's been a while, Joshua."
He returned his attention to us with his benign smile.
"Please, pardon my late introduction, my name is Joshua and I will be Your Highness' guide."
Soon, he eyed Fedel, Sir Ulrich, and the two knights behind us.
"I sincerely apologize, but only the names listed on the entry permit will be allowed to enter."
Alexander and I twirled around, then Fedel spoke.
"Then, we will be waiting here."
And the rest of them nodded in agreement. As it settled, we faced the butler. Joshua bowed once again and somehow his smile never left his lips.
"Thank you so much for your understanding. This way please."
The door opened and stepped in. The first time that caught my attention was a huge golden statue of the Empire's founder; Chrono Atreilight.
Its height was estimated at 15 meters and on either side, there were stairs leading to the second floor.
We stopped in front of it and Joshua said something that made me frown.
"Please pay your respects to the founder of this Empire."
Hah? What?
I saw the butler, Count Andreas, and even Alexander bowing to the statue! I was confused but followed them anyway.
I didn't know if the Arcanist Tower had such a custom. In my opinion, it looked like they were worshiping God rather than paying respects.
Or perhaps it was just my feeling?
I once heard someone say, 'A great nation is a nation that knows its history; who does not forget its history.' back in my previous world.
Maybe it was one of many ways for them to honor Chrono's merit and to keep contributing to the Empire.
After that, we tailed Joshua up the stairs and approached a Blink Sphere.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Yes."
Shortly, Joshua activated it and we were teleported into something like an iron dome. He walked forward and stopped beside it and spoke.
"I officially welcome Your Highness' to the Arcanist Tower."
–Drtt!
Suddenly the iron wall slid down and revealed err… a jungle?
Joshua walked ahead and we shadowed him into the greenhouse. Several people glanced at us but immediately returned to their work.
My eyes swept the surroundings while he explained things.
"As we all know, the Arcanist Tower was built in SOL 107 under the orders of the Second Emperor. Since the price of medicinal herbs keeps increasing every year, one of the Elders suggested building a greenhouse."
Greenhouse? I looked up and glass was seen above us. Ah, this was not a jungle but a very, very gigantic greenhouse.
"This is the Herbalist Division, many kinds of rare herbs are grown here, especially herbs that normally grow outside of the Empire. By building this greenhouse, we managed to reduce production costs by 30%."
I saw numerous herbalists checking the herbs and then writing the data they got on paper. Some were seen collecting herbs and many more.
"As for the herbs originated from the Empire, we usually acquire them from the Evimeria region. Because we support our economy to grow, of course."
Seeing the tall trees scattered all over the place, I assumed that this greenhouse was not constructed overnight and so I asked.
"Was this greenhouse built along this branch?"
"Previously the greenhouse project started from the main tower at SOL 210, but after getting sufficient funds, at SOL 322 each branch has a greenhouse."
"I see."
I nodded my head in understanding. So it meant that this greenhouse had existed for more than a hundred years. No wonder this place looked like an untouched forest.
After seeing enough we move to the next area. The iron dome slid down and a vast white hall came into view. We stepped out and I surveyed the area.
Rooms were neatly lined up. People in white robes were seen passing by and some were examining something in their respective rooms.
Few glanced at us but got back to their activity. It seemed our existence meant nothing in their eyes.
Understandably, most of the people who work here were pursuing knowledge; they were not interested in politics just like the Tower itself.
"This is the Alchemist Division."
Joshua's voice made us dart at him. Well, that clarified why there were many kinds of rare mineral stones and science tools strewn about on their desks.
In my opinion, this trip was no different from visiting a scientific research lab in my previous life.
Afterward, we went to the Elementalist Division. However, this time we were transported into something different, a large empty white room.
The floor was made out of clear glass and below us, numerous rooms were visible. Mana stones worth a fortune were stored in a room, and Elementalist lined up tidily to retrieve them.
Each room had a magic circle printed on its room floor. Some Elementalists could be seen chanting, some wrote something on the paper, and more.
"Will they notice us?"
I asked Alexander who happened to be standing next to me.
"No, they won't."
"I see."
Joshua said that they couldn't be disturbed, especially when chanting a spell; they need to have great focus and that was why we could only look at them from above.
Having had enough, we switched to our last destination; the Engineering Division. As the name suggests, we were taken to a room where Engineers were working on some metals.
I was not really into this division so there was nothing that caught my eye and soon, our trip ended.
To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed. Aside from their assets, I still couldn't comprehend what made the Arcanist Tower so secretive.
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