To be honest, Nathan doesn’t know why he decided to take this “Introduction to Magitek” course in the first place. He knows he’s interested in continuing to learn something technology-related, but Doctor Robinson is perhaps the most boring teacher he has ever come across. At least it’s better than the course I dropped out of, he thinks. Doctor Robinson’s lectures consist of him droning on about some (what Nathan considers random) improvement to Magitek developed by the Empire of Niflheim which Nathan (and most of the class) ignores. However, today is different. The Queen of the Kingdom of Accordo, Camelia the First, is visiting their class to deliver a speech.

“You're actually pretty cool,” Jordan says nonchalantly as they both enter the lecture hall.

“Gee, thanks…” Nathan answers with a smirk.

They hastily make their way to some empty seats at the very back of the hall. Unfortunately, Nathan isn’t watching where he’s going and he runs straight into Doctor Robinson.

“Do watch where you're going, Mister Ashwolf. We do have a special visitor with us today.” Doctor Robinson advises, looking at Nathan sternly. At that instant, the lecture hall’s main doors are opened and Queen Camelia enters the room, flanked by several guards.

He quickly apologizes before the queen can come into earshot of the conversation. Doctor Robinson acknowledges it with a nod before turning to Jordan, "And Mister Martenis,” he briefly pauses to look at the queen before continuing, “please take care of your boyfriend here, it seems like he can't seem to find a seat.” Nathan blushes but Jordan thankfully doesn't see it, he laughs before responding, “Will do, Doctor Robinson.”

“But I'm not-” Nathan tries to say, before being ignored by Doctor Robinson as he makes his way down to the center of the hall. Fortunately for Nathan, the queen and her guards are still at the main doors and didn’t hear the conversation.

Jordan takes Nathan's hand and says, “C'mon ‘boyfriend’, those seats aren’t going to get any closer.” Nathan blushes again before carefully taking Jordan’s hand as he leads them to their seats. Queen Camelia looks straight at them and Nathan is momentarily frozen as he takes in the fierce woman, her appearance on television not doing her justice. He recovers by giving her a bow, eliciting a nod from her.

“What’s this ‘Magitek’ thing anyway?” Nathan asks when they get to their seats. It doesn't seem like Jordan noticed the short interaction between him and the queen.

“What class did you drop out of? Seems like you don’t know anything about it,” Jordan teases, pulling out his laptop.

“Doesn’t it mean ‘magical technology’ or somethin’?” Nathan guesses, trying to ignore the smile curling at Jordan’s lips.

“Well, at least you got that right,” Jordan says, a grin finally forming on his face.

“Hey! I barely know what I’m doing in life let alone this ‘Magitek’ crap,” Nathan admits, pulling out his own laptop.

“Fair enough,” Jordan agrees, surveying the people around them. The conversations that people have in the lecture hall have always seemed interesting to Jordan. Today was no different: everyone seems to be talking animatedly about the queen's highly anticipated speech and speculation goes from "she's going to force us all to join the military" to "she's going to bestow an award to one of the students."

The conversations immediately wind down as Queen Camelia makes her way down the hall with only two out of her eight guards. She gently steps up onto the lecture hall’s central platform and takes a seat in an incredibly plush chair behind Doctor Robinson as he walks up to the podium to begin his lecture.

----------------------------

The minutes just keep dragging on and on… it seems like the lecture would last forever. When is the queen going to give her speech? Well, at least Jordan’s here to keep him distracted. As Nathan had predicted, Doctor Robinson is talking about a new development to Magitek, the Magitek core specifically. Nathan had seen an article about it when he was scrolling through his social media earlier, something about Niflheim improving the core’s ability to function farther away from a Magitek generator but other than that, there weren’t any further details.

“Kinda weird we don’t know a lot about Magitek, huh?” Jordan points out, interrupting Nathan’s thoughts.

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” Nathan agrees, tapping his index finger against his laptop.

“I heard a rumor about the Empire expanding into Accordo,” Jordan whispers, trying not to attract attention from any of the other students.

“Do you really believe that? I mean-”

Nathan doesn't get to finish his sentence before Doctor Robinson interrupts him, “Mister Ashwolf, what are your opinions on these enhancements to the Magitek core?” he asks from the center of the lecture hall. Nathan instantly panics and looks around in desperation as he tries to formulate a reasonable answer.

He locks eyes with Vincent (who’s late as usual) who mouths, “It's basically bad.”

Nathan turns back to Doctor Robinson, and, in the most confident voice he can muster, says, “These enhancements are detrimental to society and further enhancements must be prevented.”

Doctor Robinson (thankfully) looks pleased with the answer and turns back to the center of the room to address the entire class, “Mister Ashwolf is indeed correct and it is up to the Lucian-Accordoan Allied Forces—us—to prevent further undesired and dangerous enhancements.” Even Queen Camelia seems satisfied, giving Nathan a slight smile.

“Nice save," Jordan whispers, once Doctor Robinson is busy speaking about another topic.

Nathan blushes, “Thanks,” he whispers back.

After Doctor Robinson finishes his introduction to the "Theories of Magitek", Queen Camelia stands up from her seat and gently walks to the podium, clearing her throat before beginning her speech, “I am sure most, if not all of you, have heard that my reign is coming to an end.”

Most of the students present nod in affirmation while some look confused. She continues, “But this class will be the first to know why I have decided to abdicate the throne.”

Uproar ensues but Doctor Robinson is quick to shout, “Silence!”

“Please continue, Your Majesty,” Doctor Robinson urges after the class settles down.

“Thank you, professor,” Queen Camelia responds. She repositions the microphone before resuming, “As I was saying, the reason why I have decided to abdicate is because I have been infected by an unknown disease that has never been encountered before.” The lecture hall starts to get rowdy again but one look from Doctor Robinson aimed at the noisiest area of the hall instantly puts a stop to it. Even through all this, Queen Camelia never betrays her regal posture, appearing calm and collected.

She continues once again, saying, “This disease seems to stem from some form of the parasite that had previously caused the disease Malaria which, as I am sure you have learned, was eradicated by Magitek a few decades ago.”

The queen pauses momentarily, perhaps expecting some sort of reaction from the class. But when all she can see are the shocked expressions on the students' faces, she begins to speak again, “With the death of the Oracle Lunafreya, I believe that my disease cannot be cured… and that my life will also come to an end.”

This time, audible gasps are heard and even Doctor Robinson seems surprised. Although the lecture hall becomes increasingly clamorous, Queen Camelia continues to speak, “Which is why I implore all of you to prevent this disease from spreading and ultimately, find a cure.”

Doctor Robinson gets up from the chair he’s sitting in and quietly mumbles, “I’m afraid we’re almost out of time, Your Majesty.”

Queen Camelia grabs onto the podium, steadying herself. She clearly looks weaker than she was at last week’s State of Accordo Address. “Again, I know that I am asking a lot from all of you. This may well be the last public appearance I make until my daughter’s coronation,” she states.

“I, on good authority, believe that this disease stems from the development of Magitek. But I also believe that you are all incredibly bright students. In the end, you will find a cure and eradicate this horr-” the queen collapses before she can finish her sentence. Her guards immediately lift up her limp body and carry her out of the lecture hall as if it were rehearsed. Almost everyone is frozen in shock.

When all of the queen’s guards exit the hall, the entire class stays silent—a rare occurrence. “Class dismissed.” Doctor Robinson announces softly. Most of the class does not hear him but when those nearest to him make their way to the exits, the rest of the class also begin to leave.

“Did that just happen?” Jordan asks, pinching himself on the arm to make sure.

“I… I think so,” Nathan answers, blinking several times.

"I guess we have different ways of making sure things are real, huh?" Jordan tries to joke, looking at Nathan worriedly.

Because Nathan doesn’t say anything, he puts his laptop into his backpack and says, “I’m going to go…”

“If you have nothing better to do, we can hang out… or something," he suggests, finished with packing up.

“Right, uh… sure.” Nathan says, awkwardly fiddling with his fingers. He quickly packs up and rushes out of the lecture hall without saying goodbye. He definitely cannot deal with Jordan right now, especially after hearing the queen’s disturbing speech.

“Is this actually happening?” Nathan thinks to himself as he walks out of the Technology Center. He tries to ignore his thoughts, increasing the pace at which he is walking. The chilly air brushes past his face as he walks towards his bike… “Why did things have to get so out of hand on my first day back?”