I continued to talk with Genesis as we stood in the lush ferns and trees beneath the stars.

  After a while I began to notice that Genesis wasn’t getting any better over time, she was still just as anxious and troubled as she had been at the beginning of our conversation.

  I decided to search through the future message/text for Genesis’ name to see if there was anything mentioned in it about her, and while I was looking through all of the hits on that search, I asked her about what I had come here for.

  “So Genesis, would you happen to know why an artifact shop owner or manager would be greedy if I told them I had some TechnicMorph Ancestry?”

  “You told them yourself? Why would you do that?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment, “Uh, well, I guess that I’m not very proficient at social interaction and just messed up. It’s not really one of my strong suits.”

  “I see.” She took on a pensive look, “Well I can think of a few reasons why someone dealing in artifacts would be greedy if they heard that you had TechnicMorph Ancestry. The most obvious reason would be because they would know how valuable a TechnicMorph’s body would be for artifact making, but unless they are hardcore criminals they probably wouldn’t be thinking about killing you or anything like that, so it’s probably not that.”

  I nodded at that. Although a TechnicMorph’s body was indeed valuable, I didn’t have much to worry about.

  “Another reason might be because TechnicMorphs are usually great at making artifacts, or at least have the ability to become great at it, since they usually have some sort of Metaphysical Physique related to artifacts in some way. However, unless the person you were talking to was looking to take in an apprentice then I doubt this would be the reason they would be greedy.”

  I nodded once again. That shopkeeper didn’t seem to be an Artificer to me.

  “I guess the most reasonable conclusion, for someone being greedy if you told them about your TechnicMorph Ancestry, would be because since TechnicMorphs usually have a physique related to artifacts they also usually carry many different artifacts with them. So unless it’s the previous two reasons, then I would guess that whoever you told this to would probably be greedy for any unique artifacts you might have.”

  “Hmm, I guess that makes sense.”

  “Of course there could be other reasons, but those are the things I could immediately come up with. If you want I could spend some time coming up with more.”

  “No, that won’t be necessary.”

  I thought it was weird that Genesis would offer to spend even more of her free time thinking about something so insignificant. However, I couldn’t find any reason for her strange behavior in the future message. In fact, the future message barely had any mention of Genesis at all, and the few mentions of her were just surface level observations and conclusions that completely dismissed Genesis as a relevant concern.

  I was somewhat baffled by the lack of information on Genesis, despite her being one of my only close relations, so I also did a quick search for other people that I personally knew. However, just like Genesis, there was barely any information in the future message about any of my personal connections.

  My recent social failure with the artifact guy had highlighted just how lacking my social skills still were, so I thought that maybe I should try a little harder to improve in this aspect, or at least be more aware of it so I didn’t mess up like before.

  I awkwardly spoke, “Uh, Genesis, it’s a bit awkward to ask, but are you anxious about something?”

  She looked a bit surprised, “Hm? Why do you ask?”

  I tried to explain myself, “Because you seem to be trying to distract yourself, or something. Normally you wouldn’t be in this rest area of The Archives, and you wouldn’t volunteer to spend time coming up with solutions to my trivial problems like this. It all just, kinda seems like you’re trying to avoid something.”

  She looked around, “W-well, I guess. It’s not like it’s a huge deal or anything, but I don’t want to burden you with my problems when you’re already trying to deal with your own.”

  Hmm, is this why the future message said that it wasn’t a big deal, but didn’t have any further information? Well, if it’s really not a big deal then so be it, but I think I should get to the bottom of this if for nothing more than to prove to myself that my past selves actually cared enough to ask further.

  I said, “Well I’ve got things mostly under control on my end. So what is it that’s bothering you?”

  She fidgeted a little as she seemed to internally struggle whether to say anything or not, but it wasn’t long before she spoke up, “Actually, i-it’s a family problem. You see, my oldest brother, who was set to inherit the family head position in a couple of years, has recently gone missing.”

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  Her brother is missing and possibly dead? I stumbled over my words as I tried to comfort her, “I, uh, I’m sorry to hear that. I guess you're scared about him missing, and that he might be dead?”

  She slightly scowled, “Hmph, no, not even a little bit. The jerk and his supporters have never thought very highly of me.” She looked away, “It’s because of what him missing is doing to the family situation. Everyone and everything is so chaotic, and the chaos has even started to get me involved, despite the fact that I’m technically not an ‘heir candidate’ anymore. So, I’m here in The Archives trying to avoid all of the drama and family problems, but I guess I wasn’t doing a very good job of it if it was so easy to see.”

  I just stood there shocked as Genesis dropped such a huge bombshell of a personal problem. Not doing a good job? I think that it was good enough to fool me, if not even one of my past selves deemed it necessary to find out about it.

  Genesis noticed my stiff expression, “It’s stupid isn’t it? Compared to your problems, mine are insignificant right?”

  Her talking jolted me out of my thoughts, and I responded, “No, Genesis, your problems aren’t insignificant. It’s not like I can really do anything to help you, but I can still support you and talk to you about it, even if I’m dealing with my own stuff. So I would like to help if you allow me to.”

  She nervously played with her hair, “I guess it’s okay, if it’s fine with you.”

  I nodded, “Alright, then I’ll need more information then. What exactly is the current problem you’re facing, and what is it about the situation that makes you so anxious?”

  “Well… since my oldest brother is gone, and there isn’t long before the Head of house position has to be handed over to someone else, all of my siblings are scrambling to gain followers and support to solidify their positions.”

  Seems fairly simple so far, “Okay, so are you also trying to do that? Is that why you’re stressed?”

  She shook her head, “No, my status as a vassal is pretty much set in stone, since my Personal Talent isn’t the pure bloodline Talent. So, I’m not stressed because I’m trying to change anything like my siblings, I’m stressed because everyone else is trying to get my support.”

  I smiled, “Oh, you’re popular now and that’s making you anxious?”

  “No, it’s not that, I’m not super introverted like you, Radiant.”

  I put my hand to my chest in mock pain, “Oof, that’s harsh.”

  “Oh please, now be quiet and listen.”

  I didn’t make any move to respond, so she nodded her head and continued.

  “The problem is that literally all of my siblings are trying to pull me to their side, and the pressure just keeps escalating. I can handle it for now, since the conferment ceremony won’t happen for another two or three years, but unless I make my stance clear on who I support, then I’m worried that one of my more aggressive siblings will start to make threats or take action against me; and even if I do decide to support someone, then the others will switch from trying to win me over, to trying to sabotage me.

  “Honestly, I was thinking that I would just stay neutral, and if it got too much then I would remove myself from the equation and hide away until it all blows over. The only problem is that I wouldn’t have anyone to lean on once I leave, since my siblings will undoubtedly have spies on all of my known contacts. Hopefully my oldest brother will make his way back before then and everything will work itself out.”

  “Hmm, seems like a long term problem.” Maybe that’s why none of my past selves ever noticed anything? Yeah that’s gotta be it, I’m not that bad of a friend. “So there isn’t any immediate problem that’s giving you so much stress?”

  “Oh no, there’s a lot of immediate problems. The most frustrating problem is that everyone assumes that I’m backing one of the others, so nobody will leave me alone despite me telling them that I’m not choosing a side.”

  I nodded, “I see.” I thought for a moment before responding, “Well, are you sure that they will just accept you being a neutral party? How much influence would your participation bring?”

  She scratched her neck and said, “Ugh, I don’t know. Shouldn’t they just see that I’m focusing on my own things and not getting involved? It’s not like my participation will automatically win them the succession rights.”

  I shook my head, “Genesis, you’re thinking about this too emotionally. Just because you aren’t getting involved doesn’t mean that they’ll assume you’re remaining neutral.”

  “That doesn’t make sense, why wouldn’t they when it’s obvious?”

  “Genesis, Genesis, Genesis.” I sighed, “I can tell that you’ve never done any backroom deals or cloak and dagger politics. Just because you aren’t doing anything, doesn’t mean that everyone will trust what they see. And that’s not even taking into account the fact that your siblings might be trying to make it look like you’re supporting them and not the others.

  “Unless you actively get involved and make sure it’s crystal clear that you are neutral, then they’ll always have suspicions about you. There’s probably a lot more to keep in mind, but I’ll have to think it over and get back to you.”

  Genesis looked like she was tasting something especially sour, “Thanks Radiant, I’ll take it into account. I can’t imagine how bad things could’ve gotten before I recognized it myself.” She ran her hands through her hair, “I always seem to get emotional when others question my abilities or actions. I wish I was more rational and detached like you.”

  I grimaced as I thought about where that had led me, “I don’t know Genesis. It’s a blessing, but it’s also a curse. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve detached myself so much that I’ve lost sight of things that I should care about. So you don’t need to change yourself to be like me. After all, that’s my job.”

  She smiled at my attempt to lighten the mood.

  I said, “Well, it’s getting pretty late, so I’m going to get to bed now. I’ll see what more I can come up with and try to get back to you by the end of tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, me too. I was already tired before I even came to The Archives. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

  I nodded, and we both disconnected from The Archives.

  I opened my eyes back on my bed in the hotel, my thoughts filled with questions about what the future message’s lack of information said about myself and what I was lacking.