After all the "unrelated people" left, the dorm finally fell quiet. Illusionary Feather seemed to have business today and was about to head to his room, with Blazing Heart obediently trailing behind him. The two returned to their room together.

Yayang Dorm’s room held quite a few pieces of furniture, and its uneven walls were clearly designed for soundproofing.

After all, most Inventors were tech-savvy homebodies. They preferred researching inventions in their dorms after daily classes, rushing back to tinker on personal projects. Successful inventions could be patented at the Integrated Tower before public disclosure. Once mass-produced, manufacturers paid royalties to the patent-holding Inventor. The Academy fiercely protected student patents—any infringement was treated as murder. This strict policy let every student invent without fear.

Invention rights weren’t exclusive to Inventors; other professions could create too.

Back in his room, Illusionary Feather felt waves of heat. Afternoon sun now blazed through the west-facing window, baking the space.

"Master~ So hot~ So sleepy~" Illusionary Feather barely noticed the temperature shift—his skin was wrapped in faint blue energy—but Blazing Heart, stuffed in a long-sleeved white bear dress under the scorching sun, definitely felt it.

"Then take a nap on the bed, Blazing Heart. Remember to turn on the ice-type Magic Vehicle fan. It’ll keep you cool." Illusionary Feather paused mid-step at her listless tone.

"Mm." Blazing Heart nodded, slipped past him, switched on the fan, and flopped onto the bed.

Just as Illusionary Feather reached his desk, Blazing Heart’s grumble drifted over: "But it’s still hot when the fan doesn’t blow on me~"

He glanced back. Though her face wasn’t scrunched up, resentment radiated from her. A thought flickered in his mind—he almost grasped it.

*Haaah.* He took a deep breath. Inspiration sometimes returned later. Or never. The pragmatic Inventor didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he picked up a pencil and began sketching on the paper spread across his desk.

Inventors created differently. Some brainstormed while handling materials; others perfected ideas mentally before building. Illusionary Feather preferred sketching his concepts, giving his imagination room to breathe.

Time slipped by. He finished a drawing—a modified Magic Vehicle fan. Blazing Heart’s complaint about the heat had sparked the idea. He’d originally planned a quick-money gadget, but cooling her down came first.

The sketch showed a slightly enlarged fan for wider airflow. Simple. Effective.

Just as he admired the design, Blazing Heart—who’d been rolling on the bed like a rolling pin for ages without sleeping—mumbled, "If only Master knew the Ice Sorcerer’s *Blizzard* spell... a tiny version could cool the room..."

—*Ice Sorcerer... Blizzard... altering air temperature...*

—*Wait. Altering air temperature. With magic.*

"Maybe... use magic to change the air temperature?" The words slipped out before he could stop them.

*"Remember, kid: ‘Inventors exist for ordinary people. Their creations bring convenience to the masses, not just nobles.’"* His mentor’s voice echoed. Illusionary Feather closed his eyes.

—*Ice Sorcerer (cooling)... Blizzard (magic)... altering air temperature (climate control)*

—*Inventor (for ordinary people)... bringing convenience*

"Aha! Why not build a machine that regulates room temperature?" His sudden realization made Blazing Heart lift her head. "Master?" she whispered.

"Wait a moment, Blazing Heart." He crumpled the fan modification sketches, tossed them aside, and grabbed a fresh pencil to sketch his new idea.

Blazing Heart, confused but quiet now, turned toward the fan’s breeze. Her eyes grew heavy, then drifted shut.

Silence deepened with her sleep. Only the fan’s whir and pencil scratches broke the stillness.

Hours later, Illusionary Feather set down his pencil—not because he’d finished (barely half-done), but because dusk was falling. Time to cook for Blazing Heart. Even his storming inspiration yielded to dinner duty.

Without a word, he left for the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, dinner and side dishes were ready.

A knock sounded at the door.

—*Must be Belka or Leilo.*

Illusionary Feather opened it to find Belka in crisp uniform, her crimson eyes warm. "Little Feather~ Sister’s here to mooch dinner again," she cooed, utterly ladylike.

"I know. You don’t have to announce it daily," he sighed, meeting her gaze.

Belka headed to the dining area while Illusionary Feather checked on Blazing Heart. As he opened the bedroom door, a small figure crashed into him. Sleepy-eyed Blazing Heart looked up, her gaze still hollow yet stunning—like polished black gemstones.

The trio gathered for dinner. A picture of harmony.

Though Illusionary Feather hadn’t pondered inventions while cooking, his mind raced during the meal. The machine’s mechanics were clear, but the power source eluded him. Gears couldn’t convert energy to climate control. Magic crystals? Too expensive for ordinary people.

—*What to do?*

"Little Feather, what’s got you spacing out?" Belka asked, noting his vacant stare—nearly matching Blazing Heart’s.

"Nothing major," he shook his head, snapping back.

"Really? Tell Sister if something’s wrong." Her voice held concern.

"Honestly, it’s fine. I’ll say something if it isn’t."

"I’m done." Belka eyed his half-full bowl. "Slow eater for a boy."

"Shouldn’t the Student Council announce the new members?" Illusionary Feather deflected.

"Posted already. We’ll introduce them at next month’s Academy Festival." She paused. "Which is just a week away."

"So soon? I’ll have to attend too." He realized nearly a month had passed since arriving.

"Mm. I should go—busy tonight." Belka took her leave.

After seeing her out and clearing dishes, Illusionary Feather buried himself in his room again.

—*Finish the mechanics first. Worry about the power source later—something cheap yet effective to replace magic.*

Pencil met paper.

By 9 PM, it was time for Blazing Heart’s bedtime—a routine unchanged since her arrival. Without him beside her, unease kept her awake. Even in power-saving mode, Illusionary Feather spent one hour nightly beside her. Once she slept, he’d return to work.

An hour later, he slipped through a hidden passage into the basement.

The basement matched the dorm’s size—a fact Leilo had revealed. As a novice, Illusionary Feather hadn’t known every Mechanical Campus dorm hid such a space: a personal workshop for building, repairing, and modifying. Like Swordsmanship Campus’s weapon forges or Magic Campus’s spell sanctums.

Tonight, he didn’t build. He surveyed the space. Magic crystal stones—ubiquitous, renewable rocks formed from natural mana—lit the area. He barely glanced at them. A smelting furnace and anvil stood nearby. Sparse tools. Why such a vast space? *Probably for storing materials.*

Near the furnace lay rust-caked iron chunks—scrap metal Leilo had sourced. Delivered not through his private passage, but the living room’s shared one. Two passages total: one personal, one communal. No one would want this junk.

—*No choice. Refine these first.*

He fired up the furnace, pulled out his toolbox. The basement’s soundproofing meant no noise would disturb others—especially Blazing Heart upstairs.

He refined metal until dawn. The towering scrap pile shrank to a tenth of its size.

"Haaah." Wiping sweat, he extinguished the furnace, set down his tools, and headed upstairs.

Halfway up the passage, his foot kicked something. A magic crystal stone. As he picked it up, he felt its mana pulse. *Everywhere... renewable...* An impulse surged—but he pocketed the stone calmly. Breakfast first.

After Illusionary Feather finished his shower—he’d originally had no bathroom in his dorm, but after applying to Maria Bella and renovating the washroom for Blazing Heart’s sake, he now had a proper shower area.

Stepping out, he made breakfast. He ate with Belka and Leilo, who’d come to mooch meals, and his own Blazing Heart. After seeing off the freeloaders, he returned to his room with Blazing Heart.

Only then did he release his pent-up inspiration. It surged like a torrential river, and Illusionary Feather sketched fluidly on paper.

Blazing Heart watched quietly, not intending to disturb her master.

When he finished drawing all his ideas, he was startled. This invention could propel the Dragon God Continent’s technology forward immensely—though he couldn’t quantify it, the leap would be huge.

Illusionary Feather scanned his sketches again and took a deep breath.

—It’s been ages since I felt this excited. I can’t wait to build it.

—Anyway, with the materials below, I should have enough for two units.

As he thought this, noon arrived.

No one came to mooch lunch. After eating with Blazing Heart, Illusionary Feather told her he’d head to the basement. Blazing Heart showed no outward reaction, but a trace of disappointment and unease lingered within her.

Knowing her master had important matters, she suppressed her feelings, nodded in agreement, and only then did Illusionary Feather descend安心ly.

Today, he’d at most finish part of the mechanical assembly. The iron ore refining wasn’t done yet, requiring more time. Plus, he had to keep the machine’s weight light enough for ordinary people to carry. Otherwise, it’d waste materials and fail to bring convenience—a total failure.

Considering this, Illusionary Feather picked up a blue-iron hammer in the Subterranean Lab and began forging ordinary iron ore.

By the time he finished forging the smelted ore, over two hours had passed.

Drenched in sweat, he looked at the original one ton of iron ore, now reduced to about 300 kg. Then he planned to start assembling the mechanical parts—but first, he had to shape the refined iron manually into the required forms.

This took another two hours. Though it seemed short to him, his classmates would need four or five days. Leilo might finish in two days, but never in just two hours.

“Almost done~” Illusionary Feather wiped sweat from his brow with his right hand, exhaled lightly, and said, “Time to go up and cook for little Blazing Heart.”

Setting aside distractions, he shifted his mood and walked back to his room.

As he opened the cabinet at the corridor entrance, a small figure扑 into his arms. Though silent, her worry was palpable. Though Blazing Heart appeared expressionless and taciturn, Illusionary Feather sensed her fear.

—Why this strange feeling? She was just hugging him, not even trembling.

“Alright, Blazing Heart, master’s all dirty. I need a shower.” Illusionary Feather reached to pat her head but remembered his sweaty, sooty hands. Unwilling to dirty her hair, his hand hovered awkwardly mid-air.

“Master, bath, together.” Blazing Heart spoke her thoughts word by word.

“Mm.” Illusionary Feather agreed without thinking. Later, after showering together in his room’s bathroom and drying Blazing Heart’s hair, as they walked to the entryway to turn into the living room, a knock came at the door. Opening it to find Belka outside, Illusionary Feather suddenly remembered—still towel-drying Blazing Heart’s hair.

“You two…” Belka saw them in thin clothes, clearly just showered, and their actions suggested they’d bathed together. She was speechless.

After a stunned pause, she snapped back: “Did you two just shower together?”

Illusionary Feather really didn’t want to answer, but Blazing Heart replied without hesitation: “Mm~ bathed with master.”

“Feather little brother, come inside and explain.” With Belka’s terrifying expression, Illusionary Feather couldn’t refuse. The three moved to the living room.

As Illusionary Feather cooked and explained, Belka listened while using a fire-type Magic Fan to dry Blazing Heart’s hair.

When he brought out the dishes, they were still drying her hair—probably because Blazing Heart’s hair was thick and long.

—That fire-type Magic Fan is identical to the ice-type one except for its attribute. Isn’t it troublesome for drying hair?

—If only it could be made smaller.

“Exactly.” Illusionary Feather muttered without thinking.

“Feather little brother, what’s got you so excited? Recalling little Blazing Heart’s body?” Belka turned to him.

“Absolutely not!” Illusionary Feather stammered nervously under her gaze.

“Good.” Belka said, resuming drying Blazing Heart’s hair.

After dinner, Belka, seemingly worried about something, decided to stay over.

—Leave it to fate.

The three sat in Illusionary Feather’s room: Belka and Blazing Heart on the bed with a cool breeze blowing, Illusionary Feather at his desk, mentally disassembling and reassembling parts.

“Feather little brother, let’s all sleep together tonight.” Belka wore Illusionary Feather’s light blue pajamas—Blazing Heart’s clothes were too small for her—as she coaxed him.

“Then you two sleep together tonight. I’ll take the other room.” Illusionary Feather ignored her, speaking selfishly.

“Master~ I want to sleep with you.” Blazing Heart said expressionlessly.

“See? If Feather little brother doesn’t sleep with us, Blazing Heart will be heartbroken.” Belka added quickly.

“Then I’ll sleep with Blazing Heart. Sister, you take the other side.” Illusionary Feather said abruptly.

“Hmph~ Is Feather little brother chasing sister away?” Belka puffed her cheeks uncharacteristically.

—No, I can’t agree.

“Alright, if that’s how it is, no choice.” Illusionary Feather’s body betrayed his thoughts.

—What’s with today? First, showering with Blazing Heart out of nowhere, now agreeing to sleep with Belka.

—Anyway, just one hour.

Self-soothing this way, Illusionary Feather soon lay on the bed with Blazing Heart and Belka.

The bed was large; even with three people, it wasn’t cramped.

An hour later, Illusionary Feather slipped away quietly. Belka and Blazing Heart slept embraced.

Illusionary Feather worked alone in the Subterranean Lab on new inventions, even making a miniaturized fire-type Magic Fan perfect for drying hair.

The next morning, he made breakfast—his daily routine.

He was supposed to attend class today, but disillusioned with Yayang, Illusionary Feather had no intention of going. After asking Leilo to excuse him, he locked himself in the Subterranean Lab again.

By noon, he’d finished assembling the device and pondered some matters.

—Next, smelting mana crystals. If successful, I might even achieve that.

After a quick lunch, Illusionary Feather returned to the Subterranean Lab to smelt mana crystals.

Yayang’s smelting furnace was top-tier in the academy. In just an afternoon, he produced about two buckets of mana crystal liquid. Time for experiments?

Eager for the experiment, Illusionary Feather didn’t sleep that hour at night.

When he went down to experiment, he forgot many things.

As he poured mana crystal liquid into the energy tank of his air-regulating machine—the Mana Stone Air Conditioner, or Magic AC—he got excited seeing the Subterranean Lab’s temperature drop. But then he froze, spotting Blazing Heart in white attire, barefoot, standing opposite him.

“Blazing Heart, how did you come down?” Illusionary Feather had never worried she’d have ulterior motives for his inventions, so he wasn’t flustered—just curious why she’d descended.

“So I’m less important than these machines in master’s heart.” Rarely did Blazing Heart speak like this. Illusionary Feather didn’t know whether to feel happy or heartbroken.

He immediately dropped the bucket of mana crystal liquid, ran over, grabbed Blazing Heart’s hand as she tried to leave, and pulled her into his embrace. “Silly girl, master makes all this for you.”

Blazing Heart didn’t stiffen or pause; she simply felt at ease.

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“…”

After this back-and-forth for a long time, Blazing Heart finally believed him. She leaned weakly against him. He carried her back, showered again, and for once, Illusionary Feather slept early—only 10 PM.

The next day, after eating, Illusionary Feather brought a Magic AC upstairs and tested it in his room. It worked. The temperature dropped—not by magic, but by mechanics. Such things must be rare.

After the successful test, Illusionary Feather told Blazing Heart he’d go to the Integrated Tower, asking her to stay home. Though reluctant, she agreed—because he’d said, “If you’re good and stay home, master will reward you when he returns.”

After leaving campus, Illusionary Feather took a Magic Vehicle nonstop to the Integrated Tower, heading straight to the Academy Head’s office.

“Knock knock knock~” Though anxious, he didn’t forget basic manners.

“Come in.” Only after Maria Bella’s permission did Illusionary Feather push the door open.

Entering, he saw only Maria Bella’s back—her orange hair tied in a ponytail, hanging behind her, eyes gazing out the window.

Only after he entered did she turn around.

Seeing him, she showed slight surprise. “Long time no see, Illusionary Feather.”

“Yes, it’s been a while since our first meeting.”

“What brings you here?”

“I have an invention to patent.”

“Things brought to me for patents—if worthless, they’re just embarrassing.”

“What if I said it could globalize Magic Vehicles?”

“Impossible?”

Maria Bella seemed startled by his words but quickly masked it.

“Explain.”

“I have something interesting here that can improve the air temperature in your office.”

As he spoke, Illusionary Feather produced a rectangular black iron box from somewhere. It had buttons, and the top part looked like louvers.

“This?” Maria Bella looked at the Magic AC Illusionary Feather held out.

“Yes.”

“Can it really change the air temperature here?”

“You’ll see soon.” Illusionary Feather pressed a button. The Magic AC began blowing air at a different temperature.

Maria Bella also felt the air temperature drop. Though reluctant to discourage him, she voiced her thought: "Isn't this just like the ice-type magic fan? It's simply inconvenient to enlarge."

"Just wait a moment, and you'll see."

Sure enough, after a while, the entire Academy Head's office cooled down.

"It really is different, huh."

"Told you so. And it doesn't even run on magic."

"What!"

Next, Illusionary Feather roughly explained the magic air conditioner's original internal power source. Maria Bella's usually stern face kept flashing with surprise as she listened.

Finally, Maria Bella granted Illusionary Feather a patent. She said this invention would likely become a global bestseller soon and handed him a money-storage card.

"There's one more thing."

"Go ahead. About popularizing Magic Vehicles worldwide—as mentioned earlier. Can I borrow one before that?"

"...Alright. Take this card and claim one at the station ahead." After pondering for a long time, Maria Bella pulled a crystal-like card from her desk and passed it to him.

Illusionary Feather took it without much thought. As a newbie, how could he know this was the highest-tier free material collection card—the Crystal Card?

After claiming a vehicle under the station staff's astonished stares, he stored it in an unknown space and rushed back to his dorm.

The moment he returned, Blazing Heart unusually opened the door for him. While Illusionary Feather changed his shoes inside, she watched him close his eyes and tilt his head up.

—A reward? Did she think he'd kiss her?

Seeing her gesture, Illusionary Feather guessed her thoughts. But being a man of his word, he simply walked over and kissed her forehead. Blazing Heart actually blushed—a rare sight.

Her crystal-like cheeks flushed with a hint of red.

—She's becoming more human.

Illusionary Feather had no time to dwell on it. He immediately returned to the Subterranean Lab.

When he emerged again, it was already noon two days later.

If Belka hadn't visited daily these past few days, Blazing Heart would've nearly starved.

Illusionary Feather's face glowed with triumphant joy as he stepped out.

—The world might undergo a complete transformation because of my invention.

—What no one knew was that this monumental thing was simply because the master wanted his little pet—oops, correction—the brother wanted his sister to spend summer in cool comfort over such a trivial matter.