Edea: Hero Summoning Conspiracy

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Later that day, Kazuya had gathered every one of his new subordinates to the spacious bas.e.m.e.nt of the residence. After a detection formation was cast on their temporary base, he gave Nell authority over it as well as some of the detection features to those that were chosen as guards.

"Does everyone have their bracer devices equipped?" Kazuya asked as he stood in front of the 25 who had their souls bound to him.

Everyone felt puzzled after being given a pair of soft, cloth-like bracers that strangely fit onto their arms. They had not felt or heard of such material before. These included those of them who were former adventurers and mercenaries.

That was not the only thing that they were curious about. Their new master started leaving several strange and small devices around the property that they had never seen before.

One of the largest had been mounted on the bas.e.m.e.nt ceiling where they were currently seated.

"We already have them on. Can you tell us what these and the other stuff you've placed around the mansion are for?" Nell had answered in favor of everyone.

Very few found it as a surprise but Nell had been assigned to be in charge whenever Kazuya was not present. They were all instructed to follow her commands as long as they did not coincide with the unbreakable rules that Kazuya had set.

"They are devices that you will find very helpful as well as one of the means of identifying anyone that is on our side. Now, I advise you all to calm yourselves and answer all of the questions in the registration process." Kazuya grinned as he raised his arm in front of his c.h.e.s.t and pulled up his own sleeve to reveal a similar device.

"Rucy, activate nearby devices, and begin registration procedures."

A holographic image that appeared to be a small human appeared on Kazuya's arm.

"[Yosh! Finally, it's Rucy-chan's turn! What about the authorization settings, master?]" the small holographic girl cheerfully made a guts pose.

"A fairy!"

"I've never seen one before!"

"I thought they were extinct!"

"[Wrong! I am not a fairy! Rucy-chan is Rucy-chan! I am the master's very own creation and master's most reliable helper!]" the small hologram faced them as her voice got transmitted from each of their devices.

All of them were startled to hear the voice coming from the devices on their arms and immediately froze. Though they wanted to take them off by reflex, they were more fearful of what Kazuya might do if they broke the strange devices they were just given.

"For now, set their privileges to 'new recruits'. I will leave them in your care whenever I am not around so make sure that they do not slack off and learn what they need to." Kazuya ignored their reactions and gave his holographic assistant his orders.

"[Understood! Leave it to Rucy!]" the holographic assistant disappeared in front of Kazuya.

Not a second later, multiple Rucy-chans appeared on the devices that everyone had. She wasted no time and immediately hurled questions towards the new recruits as well as informing them of the basic functions that they were able to access on the devices.

"(This is amazing…)" Nell couldn't help but think as she got an orientation of Rucy's basic functions.

Just a simple wristwatch or even a pocket watch for them was a luxury they never even considered they needed. Yet, Kazuya had given them something that had what they could do as a minor function. They could even send each other messages or contact one another as long as they were within the range of each other.

Nell glanced at Kazuya who had begun working on carving the items he had promised Raizer while waiting for the process to finish. She couldn't help but wonder just what Kazuya had in store for them and if they would be deserving of the favor Kazuya was giving them.

"[I'm done master~ I've completed making a profile for each of the new recruits!]" Rucy had projected herself on top of the table where Kazuya worked on his carving.

"Good. I'll leave you to assess each of them when I'm not present. You may separate them into groups and have them learn via the priorities of what they need to learn." He instructed.

Edea was a world that had an abundance of mana, due to that convenience, there were very few and limited advances in their civilization. Such convenient devices that were found on earth would have been redundant or a luxury in the eyes of those who were capable of magic or feats that a normal person on Earth may not have been capable of.

The new recruits that Kazuya had obtained were people who had suffered under the unfairness of the capital. While the differences between social or even capital standings on earth may have been negligible regulated by laws, the same could not be said in Edea. Even the heroes who strived to change that were only able to scratch the surface.

"Listen up!" Kazuya stood up and faced them again.

"Starting tomorrow, all of you will follow the schedule that will be given to you strictly. Aside from a little private time and sleeping, all of you should learn and train as much as you can as our stay here in Maynira will not be longer than just a few months!" he announced.

"Each of you should make good use of this time to learn everything you need to know and have the minimum required strength to be able to survive the journey that will come after we leave the capital! Remember, while you might think I am strong and can take of you, it should be me that should rely on you as your employer. Prove to me that I did not make a mistake by taking you out of that black-hearted merchant's grasp!"

"We will not let you down, master!" the stocky guard got down on his knees to pay his respects.

Many of them felt the same and followed the action.

"Ronald, right?" Kazuya approached the guard.

"Yes!"

"From now on, you will be the leader of the guards. Make sure to train well to be worthy of the position." Kazuya patted his shoulder.

"I will not let you down!"

He was truly happy for being recognized. From the start, Kazuya had not called referred or even treated them like slaves. Though he would order them, all of them did not hold it against him as they knew their own standings.

They were people who were extremely s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e about how people treated them as they were not in their current predicament by choice. For them, they have already considered themselves lucky to have been purchased by such a unique individual. What made them more touched was that Kazuya had given them orders to better themselves rather than to serve him better.

"Nell, Lucia, come with me. The rest of you will stay here and listen to what Rucy has to say. Remember, I may use her to speak on behalf of me when I am not present so make sure to listen to her words and lectures as they were my own." Kazuya gave a quick reminder before taking what he had been carving and left the room with the two girls.

They went to the large living space where the two girls sat across Kazuya. The girls did not know what he wanted from them and nervously waited for him to speak.

"The two of you do not need to follow the same schedule as the rest. Rather, I will have you two focus on harder tasks." Kazuya felt a bit hesitant but he took out two thin rectangular objects that many people on Earth would recognize as a product of Kazuno Technologies.

Kazuya demonstrated how to use the item and shocked the two. They assumed that it was some magical device that turned into a magical window that would show them various images. They were dumbfounded to see that some of the images even moved.

"Use these to access information about techniques that will help you get stronger. I have made it so that you would need to master the skills that you would need to access. You can think of these as something similar to a book."

"A book…" Nell's cheek twitched.

She had never heard of a book that was capable of such things. Even magical tomes would never be able to do the miraculous things that Kazuya had just demonstrated with the expandable magical window in his hand.

"Once you think you have mastered the techniques that you have access to, show it to me I will then remove the restrictions and let you see the next set that comes after. If I am not present, Rucy can judge in my stead. Just make sure to follow her instructions so that she will be able to test you." Kazuya explained and then turned to the silent Lucia.

"In your case, it is a bit complicated. Though I did sense potential in you for magic, Rucy does not have the capability to assess magical spells without the proper facilities. You will need to wait for me to personally assess you before I can grant you access to advanced knowledge in your device."

"…un" Lucia nodded and accepted the device.

"I did not expect you to be able to cast intermediate level magic. Though it may not have been perfect, I believe that with your potential, it may not be long until you can call yourself a real magician. Did you have a teacher?"

"… mother…" she spoke in a sad tone and lowered her head.

"I see…" Kazuya didn't pursue it any further as he had already heard a little about her past.

 Kazuya said no more and told them to do their best. He went up to his room and told them that he was going to work on the products he had promised Raizer.

"Lucia…" Nell moved closer to her.

"I'm alright, Nell-san." The little girl who had remained quiet spoke in a clear tone.

"You may not think it is any of my business but I think you should tell him… we are already bound to him after all."

"I have a feeling he already suspects it. He may just be avoiding it like me." Nell sighed and took another look at the devices on her arms that now seemed invisible.

"What makes you think so?"

"Because… I felt it. Our master may be the same as me."

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