After some time of pondering and wondering if what he just read was really meant by his uncle, he looked at Rius who was patiently sitting beside him.

“Is Amé serious?” he asked. Rius tilted its head. “I have even yet to ask for a replacement of my eyeglasses…”

Then he stared at the “flocom”—if it really was one. It was bigger than the typical ones, which were maybe three-quarters of this flocom. And it’s matte green, not glossy monochrome. And it wasn’t working on mana pearl? Would he need to pour mana into it every now and then? What kind of invention was this. And, why had he never saw Amé working on this? It was too astray compared to what projects he was working on, which were typically weapons and bionics.

Ah, but first, he should try activating it. Better start in something than stay at nothing.

He first used up the 2 mana pearls he bought, or what remained on them—to no avail. Next, he unknotted the leather pouch containing 3 kilos of the aether sand, then he put his right palm on its rough surface. As if he was just healing a person, he absorbs the mana from the sand and poured it into the flocom. After a few minutes, the blue sand had all turned to grey powder. But the flocom wasn’t showing any sign of activation. Was it broken? Was he just wasting his time? No…he felt the odd machine actually absorbed all the mana he was pouring. But what now? Should he buy another bag of aether sand…

“Hmm, maybe, I can do this…?”

Without absorbing mana from anything, he poured out his own mana into the flocom. There is no prohibition in doing so, but it is dangerous to use one’s own mana, as full depletion of mana reserve almost always causes instant death. And usually, it is felt by the one practicing it, that his mana is depleting. But this time, when Nero did it, he felt no depletion in his reserve whatsoever, nor was it even decreasing considerably. Or, maybe he lost his senses when he used the aether crystal? Could his mana core be broken so thoroughly it’s just numb?

But there was no apparent damage or manifestation of mana depletion on his body. “Tsk.” If his Sirilion’s Eyes could just see his own soul then he wouldn’t be wondering this aimless.

After almost an hour of continuous pouring out of mana (he expected he’d just fall down anytime and die…but then he actually felt finally that his mana reserve had slightly decreased), the flocom whirred, buzzing loud enough to shake the working table slightly, then its creases opened up, lining its matte green surface with silver lines. Soon, it stopped whirring, then all its creases closed. Then it slowly floated above his head level, then some creases moved and showed two symmetrical triangles, which looked like a pair of aggressive silver eyes—unlike the circular eyes of the typical flocom. Then it seemed to blink.

Suddenly, it spoke in a small, robotic voice, saying, “Hmm… Am I awake? Or am I still dreaming?”

“You’re…uh, awake…” Nero was a bit confused. Do flocoms do that? They activate so eerily like that?

“Oh, I see.” It seemed to ponder. “Then, hi! I’m…hmm, you can call me ‘Lion.’”

“Hi, Lion…” Nero greeted, still very much confused. “You’re a…uh, a flocom, right?”

“Flocom…” it murmured, “yeah, ‘floating companion’…I remember. That’s right. I’m a flocom. And you’re a…human?”

“Yes, that’s correct. But, if you’re a flocom, why do you have a name?”

“Obviously, my previous owner gave it to me…ah! Where is he? Or, are you him? You look kinda similar…”

Nero scratched his chin. “No. I think… Let’s just say I’m your new owner, I guess.”

“New owner...” Lion seemed to ponder. “What’s the date now?”

“It’s…Year 306 now, 12^th of July.”

“306…I see.” There was hint of sadness in Lion’s tone. It’s so subtle yet sincere that Nero almost felt sad also. “What’s your name, sir?”

“Oh,” he forgot to introduce himself, “I’m Nero. Nero de Silva. A healer.”

“De Silva? I see…”

Lion then floated all around, observing the whole workplace. Rius, who was sitting beside him, stood up and followed the floating machine, his nose twitching every now and then. The machine, in return, seemed to observe the dog.

“What do you intend to do now?” it asked as it continued wondering about.

“Now…well, I’m tasked by an old coot to sell everything here, then I’ll…” He thought for a couple of seconds. “I’ll just travel, I guess. Oh, I still need to get my signet as a healer.”

“Okay. I’ll help you as much as I can…seeing that you’re my new owner now and whatnot.”

It felt like the flocom was forced to serve him—it irritated Nero slightly. “What help can you give me, though?”

“Many things. I can record things the feeble mind of a human would forget. Also, I can make at most three semispherical barriers, in various sizes. With that, I can virtually carry everything, and also protect you. You’ll find it really useful.”

“Wow. That’s good.” He meant that; how could a flocom have such an array of capabilities? Last time he check, at most they could only carry a basket of groceries and communicate with one another over long distances. “Then, let’s take down everything, pack them. Let’s see if we can sell it down the market.”

“Everything? We should at least leave your quarter for last, as you still need a place to sleep. Or, do you think you can sell everything here within this afternoon?”

“Oh. That’s a good point, Lion.”

“You’re really still just a kid, huh,” the flocom mocked. “Well, it matters not. I’ll assist you as much as I can.”

With the way Lion talked, how articulate it was, Nero sometimes forgot it was just a flocom, just an intelligent machine. But then again, he never had a flocom, so maybe the level of its articulation was typical…? Either way, he’s glad that Amé had left him a reliable companion. It took away some of the loneliness already. And some of the anxiety as well. And even fear, at best.

It took them a few hours more than Nero expected (his poor eyesight was a hindrance), but they had taken everything down, packed them with ropes and sheets of clean clothes, and compiled and stacked them neatly in his quarter, which was the last tent they left standing. But since the sun had already set, they decided to come down the market tomorrow. He just prepared his and Rius’ meal, set the things they would bring to the market tomorrow, then called it a night.