Ok, I really had to push myself to write this because of college now being back in session. Hopefully, the next chapter won't be delayed. This chapter is very info heavy. I'd like to thank RadioPoisoning for the helping me with some foreign vocabulary. As always, I'd like to thank my beta, redscarfninja, for editing this chapter.

The Rockwell Museum

I awoke to silence, which was weird, because there was usually an alarm blaring in my ear. I then remember where I was. A tired yawn escapes me and I try to move my arms to stretch. My right arm went up with no problem, but my left arm, however was restrained by a warm mass.

I turn my head to see Araña latched onto it like a leech, happily snoozing away with a small smile on her face. She must have moved to my bed last night… She's pretty adorable when she isn't bouncing around.

I manage to pry the green haired girl off of me and sit up. I start cracking my joints, reveling in the feeling, and then slowly depart the bed, making sure not to disturb the other occupant.

I 'I am wearing pink, silk pajamas because I enjoy the softer things in life, and my hair is down. It is pretty dark in the room where we were staying, with the only source light coming from sunlight seeping in from the cracks of the drapes.

I walk over to them and open them up. Immediately, light floods into the room and blinds me. "Ow, that stings…" I put an arm up to block the offending light. After a few moments, my eyes adjust and I look out the window to see that it was a clear and sunny day. Going by the shadows on the ground, it was probably close to ten o'clock. It looks like I slept a little later than usual, but that's ok, I needed the sleep. After I visit the museum, another 4-hour walk awaits me…

A small yawn breaks me out of my musing. I turn around to see Araña sitting up with heavy eyes, and cow licked hair. "Good morning, Araña-chan, did my bed prove more comfortable?" I tease.

Said girl blinks tiredly at me for a few seconds, taking time to comprehend my words. Her face then turns a deep scarlet, and her eyes widen. "Um, Rubi-nee, I, uh, can explain!" She blabbers out defensively.

I can feel the smirk forming on my face. "Go on…" I prompt playfully.

"I… uh…" She stumbles out, not having a valid explanation. "I sometimes sleepwalk into Mama's bed, and I guess you were the closest thing to Mama…" Her face is still red as she twiddles her thumbs nervously.

I approach the bed, letting out small giggles along the way before I climb onto the mattress and crawl towards her. I then put a hand on her head and fix her cow licked hair. "It's fine, Araña, really. We all have our habits." I then bring her into a full body hug. She was just too adorable to resist.

I feel her return the hug. "Thank you, Rubi-nee."

"Anytime." I let go of her and I see that her face was no longer cherry red. "Go get dressed. We have a museum to visit."

"Mhmm."

XXX

As we were walking out of the Inn, I left some extra tip money at the front desk. I felt kind of bad for the Inn keeper...

Walking through the streets once again, nothing had changed, except that there was bit more people roaming the streets. And also like yesterday, they all look like they wante to collapse in the middle of the streets.

"Ok, Araña, let's make our way towards…" I just remembered something. I pause briefly as I remember something. "…Museum." I have no idea where the heck the Museum is. "Araña, did you happen hear Father Mendez, or anybody really, mention where the Museum is?"

"Hmm…" she places her hand on her chin, trying to recall any information on the Museum's location. "Nope," she says eventually, making a popping sound to emphasize the 'p'.

"Great, we will just have to ask someone…" My shoulders slump as I start looking for someone who could help us. I notice a teenage boy, who looks to be around 15-16, walking in our direction. He has spikey black hair and was wearing a white collared shirt with dark colored pants. he was staring ahead, probably running on autopilot, looking like the rest of the people in this town.

"Excuse me." I wave him down, getting his attention.

He stops and looks at me blankly for a few moments before snapping out of his daze. Strangely, he starts blushing and frantically started straightening himself up. He pufs out his chest a little and broadens his shoulders. "Uh, yes! *cough* How can I help you." He says in a smooth tone of voice that also sounds forced.

Why is he acting so weird? Maybe it's the flu messing with his head.

I raise a brow at his actions, but decide not to comment on it. "Um, yeah, we were looking for the Rockwell Museum and were wondering if you would be so kind as to tell us where it is?" I ask calmly, not acknowledging his weird behavior.

He puts on a semi-confident smirk and layed a hand on the building we were standing next to, trying to appear cool, even though his cheeks were still slightly pink. "Yeah, just follow the main road all the way to that the top of that hill over there." He points in the direction of the hill. "It's the building on top of it. You can't miss it."

Oh, so there was something at the top of the hill. Well, at least I can't miss it. It shouldn't take that long to reach it.

"So, uh…" The teen's nervous remark breaks me out of my thoughts. He was blushing and looked very nervous. Seriously, what is with this guy? "After you are done with that museum, would you… uh… like to go to the café with me?"

Oh god no… This can't be happening! Anything but that! He seriously thinks I'm a teenager… Never mind that, I'm actually being asked out by an older boy! I think I'm starting to hate being tall just because of these situations. How embarrassing!

I feel my face heat up from half annoyance, and half embarrassment. "U-Uh…" I stammer out, not knowing how to handle the situation since I had never been in one like this before. "I-I think you got the wrong idea…" I take a deep breath to compose my self. That, and I'm trying my hardest not show my annoyance. "…I'm 12"

The reaction was immediate. The teen's eyes go wide as saucers and his mouth drops. He stays like that for a few moments, making me think his mind broke. It was silent, I was staring at him, sweatdropping, and I look over to see a tumble weed roll by. He then snaps out of his stupor. "I-I will… Uh… just… BYE!" He immediately bolts in the opposite direction, picking up dust. "SUCH MISFORTUNE!" He shouts as he disappears into the town.

"Rubi-nee, what just happened?" Araña asks.

"I…I don't want to explain it. Let's just get to the museum…" I sigh.

He was kind of cute though…

I smack my cheek, which was heating up, and banish the traitorous thoughts. I can't believe I'm getting flustered over a boy asking me out!

XXX

Erza Scarlet suddenly awakes from her slumber in a cold sweat. She bolts upward with a gasp, and strangely, a feeling of protective anger started welling up within her. Her fists were clenching, and she started feeling extremely irritated.

"Why do I feel like I want to punch something…" She seethes.

Despite her best attempts to restrain herself, Erza needed an outlet for this mysterious feeling of anger. So when she walked into the guild hall, she went straight for Mirajane, and punched her without warning, knocking her out.

"Mira-nee!" Lisanna shouted in worry as she ran over to her fallen sister.

XXX

The road that led into the forest and straight towards the top of the hill was made of red brick, and looked like it was meticulously kept nice and repaired. Every brick was perfectly rectangular, there wasn't a single one out of place and because of that, it was very aesthetically pleasing. It was perhaps the smoothest road I have ever walked on in this world. Just what my feet needed.

But nice road aside, the walk to the museum was actually pretty boring. Sure, there was the very beautiful forest and nature was all around us, but it kind of lost its charm after spending four hours walking through it. After about ten minutes of walking uphill, we come upon a large two story house. It looked like one of those old houses that one would find in Germany back in my old world. It was a cream color, with a brown pointed roof and decorative wood paneling making lines across the outside of the building. There were red flowers lining the bottom of the house, and above the front door, in golden letters, read 'Rockwell'.

"Are you sure this isn't just an old house, Rubi-nee" Araña questions skeptically.

"Well, I'm guessing this is his house and workshop, and they turned it into a museum." I shrug before a grin appears on my face. "Regardless, I've been waiting all day for this..." I then walk up the small steps that led up to the door, and reach for the door handle.

The door opens before I could touch the handle, causing me yelp in surprise and jump backwards a few feet. Standing in the doorway is a tall man wearing a brown suit, with matching khaki pants and leather shoes. Underneath the suit jacket was a white collared shirt with a red tie. He had blue eyes, high cheek bones, and a rectangular shaped head with a square chin. His hair is long and brown, and is pulled back into a pony tail, with some loose strands hanging over his face. High up on the bridge of his nose were some round, wire framed reading glasses.

"Ah, sorry about that, I didn't mean to frighten you. I just saw you two waiting outside and didn't know if you needed help or not." His thin lips were set into a small smile.

"You didn't frighten me, Mister. Rubi-nee was the one who was scared." Araña declares.

I look to the brat. "I was not scared! I was startled! There's a difference!" I defend. My cheeks are now staring to heat up.

"You were totally scared, Rubi-nee! You are a scaredy cat!" She teases and stuck out a tongue in defiance.

Why that little…Why am I fighting with ten-year-old?

I take a deep breath, deciding to ignore her and turn back towards the man, who has an amused expression on his face. "Is this the Henry Rockwell Museum? And you said you were watching us, but I didn't see you looking out the window. How did you know we were out here?" I ask curiously.

"Ah, this…" He gestures to the house." Is in fact the Henry Rockwell Museum, which was also his personal residence and workshop." He has a large, proud smile on his face. "And as for me knowing you two were out here, well, it is because of this…" He then points to a small, brown crystal that was above the door. "That is a surveillance lacrima. It transmits to another lacrima inside and is one of the many marvelous inventions of the great Henry Rockwell." He then snaps his fingers. "Oh, I completely forgot to introduce myself!" He then walks towards me with his arm outstretched. "I am Victor, curator of the Henry Rockwell Museum." I met his hand with mine and shook.

"Rubina Crimson, wizard of Mermaid Heel." I introduce.

"Araña Webb, also a wizard of Mermaid Heel" Araña also shook hands with the man.

"Oh, wizards at such a young age? You sure are starting early, that's for sure. I assume you came through Lavander Town?" He asks, to which I reply with a simple, sad nod. "It has been pretty bad down there since the flu hit, but thankfully, being so far out in the forest has quarantined me from the rest, so I have been very healthy." He then pulls out a small yellow container, which looks similar to the ones you get at a pharmacy, and takes out a small pill. He then proceeds to swallow it. "Unfortunately though, living up here, in the forest, has really made my allergies flare up. With the flu outbreak happening, I can't risk going down to town and picking up some more allergy medication, so I really have to make sure I ration my supply."

"Well you won't have to worry much longer, me and Rubi-nee just got done delivering medicine to Father Mendez, and soon the flu will be over!" Araña cheers.

"Well, I want to thank you two for delivering much needed supplies." He then gestures to the museum. "Well, I think you two have been kept waiting long enough, let's head inside and I'll give you the full tour." We then follow him into the museum.

The inside was filled many weird and mechanical objects in glass display cases. The floor looks like it is solid redwood, and the air smells of wood that is centuries old and there is the faint smell of oil as well. Most likely from the many inventions that are stored here.

"This house was built 190 years ago in X590 by Henry Rockwell's father, Gerald Rockwell, who was an architect." Victor points to a black and white photograph on the wall of a man with a long beard and short, dark hair. "A year later, Henry was born in this very house." He then gestures to another old picture with the same man, who was standing next to a woman with long hair and was holding a baby in her arms. They both looked very happy. "Growing up, Henry was awed by his father's attention to detail and design when constructing architectural wonders. So initially, he wanted to be just like his father, but he eventually found his passion in tinkering when his father's expensive lacrima powered furnace broke." He then gestures to an old fashioned furnace that was against the wall. "He was not only able to repair the lacrima, but increase its heat output while decreasing its energy drain rate by 50%."

"But!" He exclaims. "I'm sure you two aren't here to learn about furnaces, so let us continue." He gestures for us to follow him and he leads us into an open room. In the center of it was something that looks very familiar. "This here is Henry Rockwell's first major invention, the horseless ethernano powered four wheeled carriage. But you may know it today as the magic four-wheeler." Beside him was a magic four-wheeler, but it looks… Older, but yet not too different from what Celia has.

"Seeing how horses required food, water and shelter, combined with the fact that it was harder for elderly people to ride them, Henry scavenged parts from wagons and carriages. With the help of the local blacksmith to create specialized parts, he made a machine that ran on the very thing that made all magic possible. It was this invention that caught the eye of the nobility of Fiore." He then walks over to the wall that has a picture of a teenage boy that looked to be around the age of 16 in front of a building that looks straight out of Rome.

"At the age of 15, Henry Rockwell got sponsored to attend the Royal Acedemy of Engineering in Crocus, where he excelled and eventually graduated as Valedictorian two years later. He was the first non-mage to ever achieve such a feat." All I can do was be in awe. I wish I was that smart in school, to be the absolute best. But I was a master procrastinator, and I had problems motivating myself.

"What's a Valedictorian?" Araña questions.

"It's someone who is top of the class, and usually delivers a graduation speech." I quickly answer.

Victor nods. "You are correct. It was during his time at the academy and the next several years, that he started inventing his best work." He then walks over to a wooden mechanical hand in a glass case. "He was the one who created the first practical prosthetic arm. It was fully functional, and had a surprising range of movement."

Wow, even though it was made of primitive materials, it can probably do things that prosthetics from my old world could only dream of.

"Henry Rockwell invented a lot things to make everyday life easier. Things like the modern lacrima light, battery, and most importantly…" He then walks over to a green, glass like sphere. "The communication lacrima. This allowed for long distance communication, and this was very important because it allowed the King to more effectively administer the country."

"What about the thought projection spell? Didn't they have that?" I question.

He smiles. "Ah, you see, the thought projection spell didn't come along until another 50 years, and it was Rockwell's communication lacrima that actually inspired the spell in the first place." He winks. He starts to explain more about the various inventions Rockwell created that served the common good. Everything from powered wheel chairs to more compact music players, and these inventions does not look that much different from the modern versions I had seen in this world. Victor then brings us upstairs and into a bedroom with a large bed with a lacrima in the center of the headboard.

"This invention in particular was one of his favorites. It is a bed with a lacrima that emitted sleep magic when activated. It was invented for his mother, who had trouble sleeping often."

"Mama has one of those! Whenever she is sick or has trouble sleeping, she uses it. I didn't know this guy invented that!" Araña chirps. "I loved sleeping in her bed because I would always get the best sleep from it."

I didn't even know this existed… I could get so much sleep! No more internal alarm clock waking me up early. No more getting not enough sleep… Actually, if I were to get one, Kagura would most definitely want one, and then she would be even harder to wake in the morning… Well, there goes my hopes…

"Ah, yes, the bed invention was especially popular among the nobility Fiore. The King even had one." He then sighs, a small frown appearing on his face. "Unfortunately, though, it was the last invention before one of the most terrible events of the 5th century, The Great Magic War…" He says in a sad tone as we follow out of the room. He then leads us back downstairs, and down the hall, past the room with the magic four-wheeler. We walk into another open room, but this one is filled with various pictures of soldiers and battlefields. The display cases held various weapons and military equipment. "The Great Magic War was the biggest conflict that Ishgar has ever seen. It was a conflict that was proceeded by decades and decades building up military power by the other countries of Ishgar, Fiore included. Combined with nationalism and various alliances, the continent was a powder keg, ready to be lit."

He points to a map of Ishgar. "And when the King of Joya was assassinated in the country of Stella, it created a power vacuum that Minstrel was more than willing to exploit. Fiore, Caelum, Stella and Bosco were enemies of Minstrel and did not want the already massive country to acquire more land and resources. So, when Minstrel invaded Joya, the four countries formed the 'Quadruplice Alleanza' or the 'Quadruple Alliance' and entered the country to push back the Invading Minstrel." He then points to the countries next Minstrel. "Unfortunately, the countries of Desierto and Midi had an alliance with Minstrel, and came to help with the invasion and combat against the Alliance. Now, war was common in this period of time, and the people of both sides thought this war would be a quick one, but there was one thing that made this war different from the rest."

He walks over to a staff with a spherical orb on top. "This was the first war that fully employed mages in the military. Before, mages were so little in number, that only the nobles and academics knew how use magic. But, the ruling class of many countries saw the military benefits of having mages in their armed forces. So, anyone with even the smallest of magical ability was conscripted and taught how to use magic for war. So, when this conflict broke out, it was finally time to see just how effective magic could be." He then grimaces. "The country of Stella was absolutely devastated, with rural areas being completely destroyed, the people being caught in the crossfire, and the rivers and lakes running red with blood. But, even though the Alliance was losing a tremendous amount of lives, they had one advantage." He now gestures to the staff behind him. "Henry Rockwell invented many things during the war, one of them was this staff that absorbed ethernano at an accelerated rate, and transferred the excess to the user. This either allowed the user to super charge their magic or refill their reserves. So, this allowed the Alliance to slowly push Minstrel and their allies out of Joya. And for a long while, it looked like the war would be quick as everyone hoped, despite the massive amount of lives lost, but that's not what happened."

He then walks over to another map, but this one is extremely detailed and has differently colored lines showing where the fronts of each side was. The Alliance is blue, and Minstrel's forces are red. But there is a third color, which is green, coming from the east. It was the Pergrande Kingdom. But it looks way too big, and nothing like it did today. I then notice that several countries are missing, like Iceberg, Bellum, Sin, and Enca.

"Seeing the chaos in the west, the Pergrande Kingdom saw the opportunity to expand it's empire while the the other nations were fighting each other, so just as the Alliance was going to push the others out of Joya, the Kingdom attacked through it's borders with Bosco, Stella and Desierto. This caught both sides off guard, and they retracted their armies to go push back the invaders. At this point, both sides were running low on mages, and Pergrande had plenty to spare, so they started teaching anyone that was able to bolster their forces." He then walks over to a large, narrow object that I somehow failed to notice when I first walked into the room.

It is a missile. It didn't look as high tech as the ones in my previous world, but that is definitely a missile. My eyes go wide, and I cannot form any words.

"What's that?" Araña asks curiously.

Victor makes a sad sigh. "This is one of Henry Rockwell's most devastating inventions. It is a self-propelled bomb that could be fired and hit targets miles away. It was named a 'missile', and with the now overflowing number of new mages that were recruited, the death count of the war skyrocketed. The deaths were mostly on Pergrande's side. The death count was so bad, that the Kingdom made peace with Minstrel and its allies to focus all its forces on the alliance. This plan failed, and eventually, the people of the northern region of Ishgar got sick dying for a Kingdom that kept feeding them to the meat grinder of war. So, a popular revolution sparked, and after a civil war, the country of Iceberg was formed and declared independence from Pergrande. The newly formed country made peace with the Alliance. This allowed the Alliance to focus its attention on Minstrel, but by that time, Minstrel and its allies were sick of fighting, and the conflict was extremely unpopular. So they negotiated for peace, and the war officially ended after ten long years, and an estimated 15 million combined deaths."

"Why…Why would anyone fight in something like that?" Araña asks, her voice was quivering and she was shaking.

I put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. It seems like this world has had its own version of WW1 and it was just as deadly. "Sometimes, people just can't get over their differences, and they fight. War is something Humans have always done and will continue to do, Araña-chan. Maybe one day it will come to an end…" I reassure.

"Yes, that is something I wish could happen. This war was a major event that changed everything." Victor interjects." It brought a lot of bad things, but it also provided the catalyst for the modern Ishgar as we know it. Because of all the mages that were war veterans, Magic guilds started popping up, the revolution of Iceberg inspired more revolutions and the countries of Bellum, Sin and Enca got their independence. Technology advanced… and the members of the Alliance got rich and became prosperous, despite of all the lives they sacrificed…" That last bit of his speech sounds like he was holding back some strong emotions. Probably because this war seemed very pointless. "But, this war also saw the end of Henry Rockwell's drive to invent."

I raise a brow. "Why? Did something happen to him?"

He nodded. "During the first test fire of several of his missiles in live combat, Rockwell went to the front to observe the test. What he saw horrified him. The missiles that were used contained a highly corrosive lacrima powder, which upon inhalation, burned and corroded you from the inside out. So, when they fired the missiles against an army of one hundred thousand, their screams could be heard for miles." He walks over to a picture that depicted a gruesome scene. There was a field with charred and corroded skeletons littering the field.

Araña gasps at the sight.

I feel a wave of intense nausea hit me, and I suddenly start feeling overheated and a putrid smell fills my nostrils. Flashes of fire and death fill my head, and then the image of nothing but charred skeleton piles surrounded by ruins of a previously thriving village. I hear the screams of anguish and fear. I hear my sister's voice telling me to live. A dizzy spell overtakes me and I stumble a bit before forcing myself to calm down. But it wasn't working, and I start breathing heavily, and I fell a bead of sweat run down the side of my face.

"Are you okay, Rubi-nee?" Araña questions with concern.

"Y-Yeah, it's just that picture brings up some bad memories." I say, panting heavily. "I'm fine." I take several deep breaths before the feeling of panic and nausea calm down, and I return to normal.

Araña and Victor eye me for a bit, before Victor eventually continues his lecture. "After witnessing what Fiore was using his inventions for and how many live were lost, his inventor spirit died. He refused to invent again, and lived here for the last fifty years of his life. Dying at the age of 80 years old." He gestures for us to follow and leads us into a room with several book cases and a wooden desk with a closed hardcover book concealed within a glass case. "This is last journal, and because it is made of paper, it is in a box to protect it from degrading over time. So, we cannot read it. And even if we did open the box, there is a genetic lock on it. So only those who are decedents of him can open the journal, and Henry Rockwell never married. So what lay inside will be forever a mystery."

He then wipes his head with his arm. "Phew… Well, that concludes my brief summary on the life of Henry Rockwell. If you want a more detailed account, I recommend taking a look at a book that covers his life, as it would take several hours to explain every little detail. Feel free to look around a bit, and if you want an explanation on a certain item, I'd be happy to explain."

"Okay, thank you," I say, nodding.

XXX

We spent the next hour looking at everything in the Museum. It was amazing how much Henry Rockwell did for Earthland. I knew that he was a visionary, but I didn't realize the extent of his genius until now.

"Well, we have to get going now. If we stay any longer, it will get dark." I say while standing at the door that led outside.

"Well, that's too bad, you two were wonderful guests." He says with a small smile.

"I found all this very interesting, because I'm an arcane engineer myself and Rockwell is someone I looked up to. So learning about his life was a special experiance." I say.

"Oh, so you're aspiring to be a great engineer as well? I wish you the best of luck!" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two dark metal coins, then holds out his hand towards me. "Here are some genuine Fiorian Jewels from the 7th century. It is made of cast iron. Rockwell had so much money from royalties, that his will said to give it away to charity. Unfortunately, the Jewel underwent a major reform and they stopped using cast iron to make coins. So, the Museum has a huge stockpile of these coins, and so I give these away as souvenirs because there are so many." I take the coins from him and give one to Araña.

"Thank you!" We echo each other.

We began walking back to Lavender Town and I start inspecting the heavy iron coin. On one side is the crest of the Fiorian royal family, which is a four pedaled flower that is surrounded by stylized brackets. The other side has the number five with the Jewel symbol. Jewels stopped being coined and turned into paper money about fifty year ago, but from the few coins I have acquired, they were made up of copper, or some other shiny metal I couldn't identify. I suspect the reason they stopped using iron, more specifically cast iron, was because cast iron did not absorb ethernano very well. The low levels of ethernano made it hard to store it in requip spaces, and vaults that used magical storage systems. Of course, it could still be affected by magic, like magnetism magic worked very well. This is because the magic is directly controlling the magnetic fields, not the cast iron. The control of magnetic field allows someone to do all sorts of stuff with metal. I also produce a magnetic field as a side effect of my lightning magic. Lightning naturally produces a strong magnetic field, and my magic is no exception.

So caught up in my thoughts, I just now notice that we have arrived back in town and were walking through the streets. It is early afternoon already, and we didn't have time to waste. I then notice an arm poking out of an alleyway and I breakoff from Araña to investigate.

"What's wrong, Rubi-nee?"

"I see someone." I say as I walk over to the person in the ally. I get a look at the person and my eyes widen. It was the same boy from earlier. "Araña! We got another one!" I shout over my shoulder. I put a finger on his neck to check his pulse, and it is steady, but like the Innkeeper from yesterday, he has a fever and… low magic levels…

Ok, a flu shouldn't be draining magic reserves, in fact, most diseases didn't drain magic at all. And the ones that did, looked nothing like a flu. I thought maybe the Innkeeper was practicing magic and that's why she had low magic levels, but for this boy to also have low magic levels in a town that has mostly non-magic users is very suspicious.

"Such misfortune…" He groans out.

I sigh and pick him up and put him over my shoulder. Thanks to the strength I have acquired over the years, the older boy felt as light as a feather.

"What's wrong, Rubi-nee!" Araña shouts in concern.

I turn around to face her, the unconscious boy groaning away. "He must have collapsed from the flu, but I'm starting to think it's not the flu, or even a sickness…"

Araña's face scrunches up. "Not a flu? What do you mean?"

"I mean, both this boy and the Innkeeper had low magic levels, but there are no sicknesses that drains magic power that are like a flu. The sicknesses that drain magic power are usually not infectious and are easily curable." I explain as I start walking towards the church. Araña walks beside me, confusion still on her face.

"What are you saying, Rubi-nee?" She asks.

"Basically, if my hypothesis is correct, then all the people in the church will have low magic levels. Which means something, or someone, is draining their magic power, causing magic exhaustion, which causes flu like symptoms. If my hunch is correct, our job is not done and we need to find what's draining every one of their magic."

When we got to the church, I checked all of the people that were bedridden, and sure enough, they all had low magic levels.

Someone is going to pay for this.

XXX

Ok, Rubi keeps being mistaken for a teenager, so it was inevitable that she be asked out, much to her dismay. She is the height of someone who is 3 years older than her, so she is currently the height of Erza. That's why she keeps getting mistaken for a teenager. Anyone who has watched A Certain Magical Index or A Certain Scientific Railgun will recognize the boy who asked her out.

Big Sister!Rubi is fun to write.

I'm not good at describing houses. Basically, the Museum looks like those old German houses, like the ones in Bavaria.

I really wanted to world build in this story, and those who remember back in chapter 7, Rubi mentioned the The Great Magic War. I wanted to expand on it. Those who are history buffs will see some of the parallels between it and WW1. I'm sorry for the massive history lesson, but this was an important event in the history of Ishgar (In this version anyway). Henry Rockwell in this story was centuries ahead of his time. Before you criticize how he could build a missile, this world has magic. Magic can do some really weird things and is very versatile. Also, the missile was equivalent to a German V2 of WW2 when it comes to capability.

Rubi still has some trauma from the raiding of Rosemary, and sometimes certain things will trigger flashbacks. Like burning skeletons in a field of death.

Rubi has finally caught on, and knows something is up. It's time to investigate!