The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: A Strange Device

The moment I returned to the Starlight, I was greeted by three familiar figures.

Draven, Cedric, and Astra were waiting in the main hall.

Astra was still in her Fifteen-Tailed Celestial Fox form, her tails spreading behind her as she watched the entrance. The moment they noticed me, all three immediately hurried over.

"Master!"

"You three."

I stopped and looked at them.

"How have you been while I was gone?"

"We’ve been perfectly fine, Master," Cedric answered first, giving me a polite nod. "We spent most of the time here, so there wasn’t really anything that could have happened to us."

Draven, however, clearly had a different opinion.

"You disappeared for almost a week without telling us where you were going, and you didn’t take any of us with you."

He crossed his arms and looked genuinely offended.

"Why?"

"I already told you."

I sighed.

"That was something only I could do, and besides, it wasn’t time for you three to come with me yet."

Draven opened his mouth as though he wanted to argue, but Astra suddenly moved closer and climbed onto my head, settling herself comfortably between my hair.

I glanced upward.

"...You’re getting rather comfortable up there."

Astra’s ears twitched.

"I like it here."

"Is that so?."

I didn’t bother arguing.

I certainly can’t tell them that I simply didn’t want to bring them.

Earth is a completely different world from this one, and knowing Draven, the moment he sees something like a car, an airplane, or a skyscraper, he’ll probably cause a commotion and start asking questions until someone’s ears fall off.

And if he discovers modern entertainment...

I didn’t even want to imagine it.

I’d rather not find out what kind of disaster that would create.

I decided to change the subject before Draven could start another interrogation.

"Anyway, how has the situation been while I was gone?"

Draven tilted his head.

"Here?"

"No. The kingdom."

"Oh."

He scratched his cheek.

"Nothing particularly interesting happened. Everything has been pretty quiet around the capital."

He paused.

"Although I did sense a demon outside the city a few days ago."

My expression became slightly more serious.

"A demon?"

"Yeah."

Draven shrugged.

"I went to investigate, but by the time I reached the area, the presence had already disappeared."

"You didn’t pursue it?"

"Not really."

He smiled innocently.

"I figured chasing it might eventually lead me into the Demon Kingdom, and I didn’t feel like accidentally blowing half of it apart."

I stared at him.

"...At least you showed some restraint."

Cedric quietly sighed.

"That is probably the first time I’ve heard Draven describe not destroying something as restraint."

"Hey, I can be responsible."

Draven looked offended.

"When I want to be."

"That’s reassuring."

I smiled faintly.

"Aside from that, everything has been peaceful?"

"Pretty much."

Draven shrugged.

"We’ve mostly been staying here, eating, training a little, and playing around."

"I see, then that’s good."

I nodded.

Then I remembered something.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the smartphone Jun-ho had given me.

The three of them immediately noticed it.

Draven leaned closer.

"What is that?"

I looked at the phone in my hand.

"This?"

"Yes."

He stared at it with open curiosity.

"I’ve never seen anything like that before."

I couldn’t help smiling.

"Well, you’ll understand soon enough."

I unlocked the screen and opened the camera.

Then I turned it toward the three of them.

Astra tilted her head.

Cedric leaned slightly forward.

Draven narrowed his eyes.

"What are you doing, Master?"

"Smile."

"Smile?"

Before any of them could ask another question, I pressed the button.

CLICK.

The screen displayed the picture.

All three froze.

Draven’s eyes widened.

Cedric’s mouth opened slightly.

Astra stared at the screen in complete silence.

I looked at the photograph.

It had captured the three of them perfectly.

Draven’s expression was still halfway between suspicion and confusion, Cedric looked surprisingly composed despite clearly being caught off guard, and Astra’s tails filled most of the background behind them.

The result was actually rather cute.

Astra’s ears were raised slightly, her star-filled eyes reflected the light from the hall, and every strand of her white fur appeared remarkably clear.

Draven suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"Master!"

"What?"

"How are we inside that thing?!"

Cedric immediately looked at the screen again.

"Is this some kind of... forbidden magic?"

Astra’s tails suddenly puffed up.

"Master... d-did you seal our souls inside it?"

I stared at them.

"...Huh? Why would I do that?"

Draven pointed accusingly at the screen.

"But we’re there!"

"Then?."

"Then what happened to us?"

"Nothing happened to you."

I turned the phone so they could see the screen more clearly.

"This is called a photograph."

"A... photograph?"

"Yes. Think of it as a painting, except the device doesn’t require someone to spend hours drawing it."

I pointed toward the camera.

"It captures the appearance of whatever is in front of the lens and stores that image inside the device. That’s why you can see yourselves on the screen."

Cedric slowly nodded.

"So it records what it sees."

"Exactly."

Astra leaned closer.

"Then this isn’t magic?"

"No."

I shook my head.

"It’s technology."

Draven stared at the phone.

"Technology...?"

He repeated the word slowly, as though trying to understand some ancient concept.

"So this little thing can capture someone’s appearance without using magic?"

"That’s basically the idea."

Draven looked genuinely impressed.

"Then it’s some kind of world-class relic."

I almost laughed.

"World-class relic?"

I shook my head.

"No. It’s just a device."

"A device?"

"Yes. It works through technology rather than magic. The principles behind it are completely different from the magical devices you’re used to seeing."

Draven stared at the phone again.

"So there are things in that world that can do this without magic."

"Much more than this."

I opened another application.

The three immediately noticed the colorful icon.

"What’s that?"

"A game."

"A game?"

I tapped the screen.

The application opened to a first-person shooter featuring heavily armed soldiers fighting waves of undead creatures.

The moment the first zombie appeared on the screen, Astra’s ears stood upright.

Cedric leaned forward.

Draven’s entire expression changed.

"What is that thing?"

"A zombie."

"It looks like a monster."

"Yeah."

I started the game.

The character on the screen raised a weapon and fired into the approaching horde.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Draven nearly jumped.

"There are monsters inside it!"

I sighed.

"I told you It’s a game."

"But they’re moving towards him!"

"Because it’s a game."

"They’re attacking that man!"

"He’s the player."

"Then let me help him!"

Draven reached toward the phone.

I pulled it away before he could touch it.

"You can’t help him from there."

"Why not?"

"Because as i said it’s a game."

Draven looked at me as though I had just explained something completely unreasonable.

Astra, meanwhile, had already transformed into her human form.

"Master, master."

She pointed toward the phone.

"I want to try."

Cedric looked equally interested.

"Master, if this is a game, are we allowed to use it as well?"

Draven immediately joined in.

"Me too!"

I looked at the three of them.

Their expressions were almost identical.

I sighed.

"Alright, alright."

I handed the phone to Astra.

"All of you can use it."

The reaction was immediate.

"Yes!"

Astra’s eyes brightened.

"Really?"

Cedric’s expression softened into a rare smile.

"Thank you, Master."

Draven practically grabbed the phone from Astra.

"Give it to me first!"

"Draven, wait!"

"Move, Cedric!"

"Don’t push me!"

Astra calmly stepped aside while the two began arguing over who would get to play first.

I stood there watching them.

As expected.

They’ve gone completely crazy over it.

I couldn’t help smiling.

It was actually rather amusing.

The three of them had lived in a world where magical artifacts were considered extraordinary, yet something as ordinary as a smartphone had managed to capture their attention almost immediately.

Now I’m wondering what else I should bring back.

I crossed my arms and thought for a moment.

A television would be interesting.

I immediately shook my head.

No, that’s useless unless I also bring some kind of power source and entertainment system.

A computer?

That could work.

Although explaining the internet to them might be more trouble than it’s worth.

I glanced toward Draven, who was already yelling at the game character for missing a shot.

Definitely not the internet yet.

Then another thought entered my mind.

A car.

I paused.

That might actually be interesting.

Draven would probably lose his mind the moment he saw one.

I imagined him staring at a moving vehicle for several minutes before asking whether it was some kind of mechanical beast.

Ares sighed inwardly.

Maybe I’ll bring one next time.

Although knowing Draven, I’d probably regret that decision within five minutes.

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