About an hour after Lia finished talking with Fae and her mothers, Connie got home. And, the moment Lia realized she had returned, she rushed over and gave her a hug. “How’d it go?” Lia asked. “Did the other gods give you too much trouble?”

  “Not really.” Connie said, returning the hug. “It was mostly just…talk. They wanted to know what you thought, if you were going to change plans, that sort of thing. I mostly just told them that it was too early to know anything for sure, but that chances were plans wouldn’t change too dramatically.”

  “That was my thinking.” Lia said. “We already knew they were preparing something for us on the other side, learning what it is doesn’t change the need to solidify things here. Speaking of, what’d Jerry say about the internet thing?”

  “He gave it the okay. Five hundred thousand Blood Money for the whole package, and if you want them individually it’d be one hundred thousand for the stream and four hundred thousand for the internet access.” Connie replied.

  “If I purchase the internet access now, can I unify them somehow when I buy streaming privileges later? As in…make it so it’d be the same as if I did a lump-sum purchase.” Lia asked. “I’d wait, but now that Fae’s mothers know the other gods are reading their mental states, they want to fully commit as soon as possible. If I get internet access now, they’re comfortable doing it now, too.”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem.” Connie replied. “I wouldn’t even need to charge you for that.”

  “Perfect. You can deduct the Blood Money from my balance whenever, I’ll go tell them the good news after dinner.”

  “We’ve got about ten minutes left, you can go tell them now.” Rose called out. “Just don’t linger too long!”

  Lia nodded. “I’ll be right back, then.”

  “Hold on a second.” Connie said. “is your tablet in your inventory right now?”

  “It is, why?”

  The world around Lia suddenly became more…real, shadows deepening and a feeling of something external touching Lia’s Mana, and then everything was back to normal. “Done.” Connie said. “Your tablet now has internet access. I’ve given it a custom browser that’ll prevent you from being traced or found out, but it should function near-identically to the one Fae is currently using. Ask her about it, she can explain.”

  “She was going to give me a lesson on the internet before I did much on it.” Lia said. “I’ll ask her then.”

  “That is a phenomenal idea.” Connie replied. “There are going to be a lot of things you’ll have a hard time understanding, and even if you’re immune to viruses and most scams due to my preparations and you not having money it’ll be good to know what you’re getting into.”

  Lia gave a nod. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

  Lia hurried off, making her way to Fae’s house as fast as she could. With the assistance of a couple of Skills and her high stats, the journey took only a couple of minutes, and her knock was answered after only half a minute more.

  “Oh, Lia, back already?” Fae asked. “I thought you were going to take a couple more hours.”

  “I was, but dinner’s not ready yet and I had some time to come give you an update. I’ve purchased the thing that gives me internet access, and the God of Commerce said that the ‘browser’, whatever that is, is similar to what you’re using now, so he advised me to ask you about it. Not now, of course, I do need to be back soon, but I just figured I’d let you know so your mothers can make the switch and you can…well, I don’t know if this impacts those notes you were making or not, but, yeah, just letting you know.”

  “That’s great news!” Fae said enthusiastically. “I’ll tell my mothers as soon as we finish here.”

  “That’s all I needed to say.” Lia replied. “I should be getting back now, unless you have anything you need to talk to me about that is either really pressing or will take less than a few minutes.”

  “No, nothing like that.” Fae said. “I’ll let you get back to your home now, thanks for letting us know!”

  “No problem. I’ll meet you tomorrow so we can go over that stuff you were going to teach me, bye!” With that, Lia left, anxious to get back to her lovers and the waiting meal.

  Around noon the next day, Lia was back in Fae’s house, a sort of nervous anticipation filling her as Fae looked over her notes one last time. “So…I heard something about scams and viruses?” Lia asked. “Apparently, I’m mostly immune to viruses and most scams due to the way the God of Commerce built this, but I’m not exactly sure what a virus is or what sort of scams could impact me when I don’t have any money they could take from me.”

  Fae paused. “Do you know about germs on this plane?”

  Lia frowned. “Germs?”

  “Uh…that might not be the name used here… how about bacteria? Or single-celled organisms. Or even tiny monsters that cause disease.”

  Something about that sounded familiar to Lia. “I…think I remember hearing about something like that? Something to do with advanced healing magic, but I seem to recall the takeaway being to just stay clean?”

  “Right. Without getting too deep into it, those little things are literally everywhere, and certain types of them that cause disease are called viruses.”

  “But…why don’t we squish them?” Lia asked.

  “What?” Fae replied, taken aback.

  “You know, if they’re so small, why don’t they die when we touch them?”

  Fae thought on that for a moment. “You know, I’m not totally sure, but I think they’re too small to squish. But, since I’m not totally sure, let’s use this as our first search when we get to it, and we can get you the actual answer.”

  “Too small to squish? Weird. Anyway, I’m distracting you, you said some of these things are called viruses?”

  “Right.” Fae said. “Viruses make people sick, and computer viruses make computers sick. Or, not actually sick, but they can slow down your computer, steal your stuff, and do all sorts of nasty things. Fortunately, you won’t have to worry about them with your device, but if you ever use a normal way to access the internet, you’ll want to know how to avoid them. As for the scams…it’s mostly be people trying to learn stuff about you that they could sell to others. Just don’t let anyone online know who you are or where you’re from and you’ll be fine.”

  “I understand.” Lia said. “Sorry for keeping you from your prep, I’ll wait until you’re ready now.”

  They were interrupted by a knock on the door, causing Fae to give Lia an apologetic look. “Do you mind if I get this?” She asked. “I’ll be as brief as possible.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “No sweat.” Lia replied. “I’ll stay here so I don’t intimidate whoever it is accidentally.”

  “Thanks.” Fae replied, hurrying over to the door. She opened it, and Lia was able to see a look of puzzlement cross her face. “Connie, right?” She asked.

  Now it was Lia’s turn to be surprised. She hurried over to the door, and, sure enough, Connie was there. “Connie?” Lia asked. “Is something wrong?”

  Connie gave Lia an embarrassed look. “No, I just figured…well, it’s going to be awkward with Fae teaching you things, and we can trust her to keep her mouth shut, so I thought maybe we could head back home and we could, you know, explain to her about me.”

  “Oh.” Lia said. “Well, if you trust her, then I don’t see why not. Fae, let’s take this to my place.”

  “Um, okay?” Fae said. “Give me a moment to grab my things.”

  Once she had, they began the walk back to Lia’s home. It was silent for a few minutes, but Fae eventually broke it with a question. “So…there’s some secret about you that most people don’t know, then?”

  “Yeah.” Connie replied. “You’ll understand once we can tell you, but it’s sensitive information right now.”

  “I did wonder how an otherworlder aside from Izumi got involved with the Swarm.” Fae mused. “Something to do with that, I assume?”

  “Yeah.” Connie replied. “It’s…a complicated story that is hard to fully explain, but it’s going to come out eventually. Probably soon, even.”

  Lia gave Connie a surprised look. “Soon?” She asked. “Are you sure?”

  “I think…yes. I mean, after this plane I’ll officially be joining the Swarm, I thought we could do it then.”

  Fae stopped. “You’re not part of the Swarm?”

  “We’re almost there, you’ll understand once you know.” Connie said. “It’s very complicated.”

  “Must be.” Fae said.

  After another couple of minutes, they were in Lia’s living room, and Lia could tell Fae was nearly bursting with curiosity. “So…how are we doing this?” Lia asked.

  Connie sighed, turning to Fae. “I’m not a normal human. My true identity is that of the Goddess of Commerce.” Her voice took on that edge it did when she wanted to make it clear it was her speaking, the knowledge worming its way down into Lia’s soul, despite Lia already knowing it to be true.

  Her voice returned to normal as she continued. “Former God of Commerce. Yes, I changed sex because of the Swarm. And…yes, I am in a serious relationship with Lia, Rose, and Amelia. I can’t get too deep into everything, but I’m limited in the aid I can give due to the rules of the gods.

  “At this point, due to my…position, I am the de-facto head of the faction of the gods that support the Swarm and I am actively working to do what I can to help. Aside from Lia, Amelia, and Rose, you, Izumi, and Lia and Rose’s families are the only ones who know the truth, so don’t reveal this to anyone other than them, okay?”

  Fae stared blankly at Connie, and Lia could practically see Fae’s mind working. “U-understood, Your Worship.” She said.

  “Please, treat me as normal.” Connie sighed. “While I’m here, I’m just another person. When my identity is revealed, you’ll need to show respect in public, but in private, just be at ease.”

  Fae nodded slowly, and Connie gave another sigh. “You’ve got a question, I can tell. Ask away.”

  “Well…” Fae said slowly, “would I be mistaken in assuming you initially got involved due to wanting…whatever it is Lia uses to buy stuff from you, and then as you two got to know each other things escalated?”

  “That’s…a remarkably accurate analysis of the situation.” Connie said, giving Fae an impressed look. “Lacking in the details, but that’s more or less what happened. Well, I just figured I’d make it less awkward for Lia to dance around the topic when she’s learning, I have business to attend to now, so I’m going to head off.”

  Lia gave Connie a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks.” She said. “Love you, I’ll see you at dinnertime.”

  Connie, face crimson, squeaked out a quick “love you too”, and vanished.

  “Well…that was…not what I was expecting.” Fae said. “Um…do you mind if I take a moment to compose myself before we start?”

  “Go ahead.” Lia said. “I know it’s surprising.”

  Fae looked through her papers for a couple of minutes, then looked up at Lia. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  Lia gave her a smile. “I’m ready.”

  “So…the first important thing to know is to not believe everything you read on the internet.” Fae began. “People do lie on there, and sometimes spread misinformation to further their goals. So, take everything you read with a grain of salt, and to make sure to get multiple sources if something seems strange.”

  For some time, Fae continued to teach basic principles to Lia. If she got a notification that she was the certain number visitor to a site and had earned a gift, it was a scam, never trust people who claimed to have get rich quick schemes or would give money if she did one little thing, any claim to that there were people nearby interested in her was probably another scam, what a browser or search engine was…things like that.

  And, finally, it was time to use a search engine for the first time. She followed Fae’s instructions, obediently typing in the question “why don’t we squish germs”. When she hit the enter button that had popped up, a listing of answers came to her.

  “So, you’re going to want to ignore anything after the first page.” Fae instructed. “Generally speaking, the first page is where all the most relevant stuff will be. There are rare exceptions, but you shouldn’t need them for now. If you do, chances are you’ll be wanting a scientific journal, and I’ll get you set up with a subscription so you can browse some of those later. For now, you should see something in the top, perhaps a forum where someone asked a similar question or an article about it?”

  “I do.” Lia said. “Should I press it?”

  “Yes.” Fae confirmed.

  Lia obediently pressed the text, but nothing happened. Frowning, she looked up at Fae. “It’s not doing anything, what am I doing wrong?”

  Fae peered over at the tablet’s screen. “Show me where you pressed.” When Lia did, Fae nodded understandingly. “You need to press the title, not the preview text.” She said.

  Lia did so, and the page immediately changed. “Oh.”

  “Well, what’s it say?”

  Lia scanned the article quickly. “Looks like…the force of our steps is spread out too much to affect the things, but if we put in enough force it’d squish them?”

  “And is this a trustworthy source? Who’s saying it?”

  “Well, I don’t see a reason someone would lie about this, but it looks like it’s from some…”Scientific Planet” site?” Lia supplied. “So…I don’t know, it sounds trustworthy, but I’m not sure. What do you think?”

  “I’m not familiar with it personally, but it’s probably a publication that seeks to give science facts in a more digestible format.” Fae mused. “It’s probably accurate enough for our purposes, but it won’t get into any real detail. Sometimes they even put out information that’s correct on a day-to-day scale but breaks down when you get into really technical stuff, but as long as you’re not making anything with that knowledge it won’t be relevant.”

  “What do you mean?” Lia asked. “How is something right normally but becomes wrong if you get into it?”

  “Well, things don’t work the way daily life leads us to think they do. If we completely ignore magic and the gods, is time absolute? As in, can you change the flow of time?”

  Lia frowned. “I don’t see how, no.”

  “Well, it turns out, you can. Kind of. If you’re going extremely fast, then time changes. You actually experience less time than people going slower than you.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.” Lia argued. “Why would going fast make you experience less time?”

  Fae shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t know. But, way smarter people than me have measured it, and it’s true. Connie would probably know the answer. Point is, at the tiniest of levels, the things we think are true may not necessarily be true, but that’s usually not at all relevant for daily life. But, if you’re building something very, very technologically advanced, those things might be relevant. Now, do me a favor and look up…let’s say…water. Just type in water into the search engine.”

  “Um…okay?” Lia said. “Now what?”

  Fae looked at the screen. “See that top result? The ‘allpedia’? That’s an online encyclopedia. The big ones go by different names depending on what plane you’re on, but from what I can tell basically every plane has one. That’s going to be a super important resource for you; you can use it to learn all sorts of things about Yasato and its technologies. Go ahead and tap the link.”

  As Lia did, a screen with a picture of water and a bunch of text popped up.

  “Good. Now don’t take anything on there as absolute truth; anyone can edit these things, and while that results in good enough accuracy for most things, sometimes people like to edit things as jokes or to make someone or something look better. Here…see that little number next to this word?” Fae asked, pointing at a word.

  “Yeah, what about it?”

  “Go ahead and tap it.”

  As Lia did, the page immediately scrolled to the bottom. “What’s all this?”

  “These are the sources.” Fae said. “Articles have these to back up the information within. If you want more technical details on something or want to fact check it, the sources are where you want to go. There should also be a tab near the top called ‘talk’ or ‘discussion’ or something similar, there you can see what people why are editing the article are saying; if there’s something controversial, it’ll probably be brought up there.”

  Lia nodded. “I understand. I’ll browse through this site later to get an idea of where to start.”

  “Fantastic. I’ll be doing the same so I can know what technologies to recommend you look into first.” Fae said. “I’m not totally sure what Lim has that Yasato doesn’t, so I don’t want to accidentally recommend something you won’t be able to research yet. Now, let’s talk about forums…”

  also get the speed of light as a result for how fast that light is going.

  always moves at the same speed, and distance and time will literally distort to make it happen, it's wild. And also completely and totally irrelevant for the daily life of 99% of the population.