are, but aside from them, I think there are exactly forty," Kohaku answered.

"Forty..." Senku murmured, his brows furrowing in contemplation.

You gazed at the villagers going about their activities and instantly noticed something odd about them. Cupping both hands around your eyes to block out the sunlight to have a better look, you commented, "Erm, is it just me or does almost everyone in the village seem to have either blonde hair or blue eyes like Kohaku? Those features aren't common to Japanese people."

The scientist squinted his eyes to get a better look as well before seemingly coming to a conclusion. "This means there must have been a first generation."

(E/C) eyes swept over to Senku and with furrowed brows, you asked, "So, they aren't revived from the petrification?"

The corners of his lips pulled down into a thoughtful frown. "Most likely not."

Your gaze slid back towards the village bustling with life once more, mumbling to yourself. "Then where did they come from?"

For the first time since you had ever known Senku, who was always so confident in himself, sounding unsure as he replied, "I don't know, (Name). I really don't know."

***

As both you and Senku arrived at the main bridge leading into the village, you noticed movements out of the corners of your eyes. Just as you turned your head to see what it was, two shadowy figures leapt out of nowhere.

(E/C) orbs widened in shock at the sudden attack, your body freezing at the sight of spears, their sharp ends glinting in the sun. However, before either of the weapons could touch even a single hair on your head, Kohaku had jumped in and parried the attacks with her own daggers.

She threw a stern glare over her shoulders at the startled duo. "Don't be violent, Kinro, Ginro. This man and woman saved my life."

You let out a gasp of air, not realizing you had stopped breathing as your heart continued to pound away in your ears at what just happened. Senku, on the other hand, wasn't as fazed by the unexpected attack as you were and simply stared at the pair with raised brows.

"You can't do that, Kohaku-chan." The blond one whom you guessed was named Ginro smiled softly. "That's not good. Outsiders aren't allowed here. That's a rule. The chief's going to be angry with you."

"It's a simple fact." The brunette whose name was Kinro spoke up. "The rules are the rules."

"There are no people outside the village." Ginro continued. "All those outside are criminals who were banished before."

"Therefore, I can't let you in," Kinro added. "There's no room for consideration, even if he may have saved your life."

You furrowed your brows at what those two said, a thought popping into mind. 'Does kindness not exist amongst these people?'

"Oh?" Kohaku started in a low voice, tightening her hold on her daggers. "You leave me no choice, then. Shall we fight here and now? Oh, dear, it's two on one. You clearly have an advantage."

You shuddered at the dark aura coming from the blonde as she stared at her fellow villagers, who flinched in fear, with low-lidded eyes, blue orbs glinting dangerously. Turning to Senku, you whispered furiously, "Do something before Kohaku kills her own friends!"

The scientist turned his lifted brows to you. "Why do I have to be the one to do it?"

Your hands flailed about, nearly hitting the male in the face as you explained, "W-Well because you're the smarter one and besides, I don't know what to do in a situation like this!"

Sighing, Senku obliged and walked over towards Kohaku's jar. You tilted your head in curiosity, wondering what the scientist was up to as he pulled out his bar of soap with one hand while wetting the other.

"You're so short-tempered." Senku chuckled with a smirk as he rubbed his wet hand all over the soap, creating white foams. "And you made such a nasty face."

A lightbulb went off in your head at his action and you realized what he was about to do.

"Sorcery!" Kohaku exclaimed, her body tensing on alert which earned a giggle from you at her naivety.

Forming his thumb and index fingers into a circle, the scientist started to blow and bubbles of various sizes filled the air. Your lips widened into a wide grin and (e/c) eyes glistened with mirth at the amusing scene before you.

Kinro let out a startled cry when the bubble he tried to stab with his spear popped while tears of awe gathered in Ginro's sparkling eyes. "What is this? What are these suspicious floating orbs?"

Senku, on the other hand, stared blankly at the sight in front of him as Kinro kept popping the bubbles with his spear and Ginro looked like he was worshipping these mysterious orbs as he raised both arms into the air.

"So, that's the level you're at, huh?" Your friend frowned before a wide smirk took over, red eyes blazing with fire. "I guess I'm taking all of this, then. I'm going to get all forty of you on my side with science. This is exhilarating."

You sweatdropped at the expression on his face while Kohaku commented with a deadpan stare. "You make such a nasty face. That's pretty sketchy, you know."

"I can't stop them!" Ginro, who had joined his partner in trying to stab the bubbles, growled in frustration. "The more I stab, the more appear. All right, then. I'll have to use...Special Technique: Let Someone Else Handle It!"

The blond turned on his heels, leaving his comrade behind as he ran towards the direction of the village while yelling, "Hey, Chrome, it's sorcery!"

You watched the retreating teen and wondered who was this Chrome person he just mentioned when a new voice entered the scene.

"Quit freaking out, Ginro. I'm already here."

Whipping your head around, you were met with the sight of a teen with brown hair pointing at the bubbles. "I saw these from the coast. I'd be crazy not to come here right away."

A wide-eyed Senku and you stared at the brunette as he adjusted the rope headband tied around his head, a few pieces of stray hair falling in his eyes, before pointing to himself. "Hey! I'm Chrome. I'm an insanely smart, genius sorcerer!"

From beside Senku, Kohaku let out a scoff. "Looks like we won't have to go find him, Senku, (Name). This is the man I told you about yesterday."

"A sorcerer, huh?" The scientist drawled, wearing a bored expression as he introduced himself. "I'm Senku. I'm a scientist."

Then, he jerked a thumb in your direction. "And that's (Name), my lab assistant."

"Hello," You greeted with a small wave, a friendly smile tugging at the corners of your lips. "Nice to meet you."

Turning to the other two who finally left the bubbles alone, Chrome exclaimed, "Don't let him scare you with his cheap sorcery, Ginro, Kinro. You can make plenty of this stuff from coal suds."

As the brunette popped two bubbles to prove his point, you and Senku shared a look of surprise, exchanging a silent conversation before focusing on the self-acclaimed sorcerer again.

'Well, this just got interesting.' You thought to yourself, seeing Chrome in a new light.

"I wasn't scared." Kinro was quick to deny. "You're a fool if you aren't cautious of the unknown."

On the other hand, Ginro was being very honest as he confessed, "I was pretty scared."

Ignoring his fellow guardsman, Kinro questioned Chrome whose back was facing him. "Why are you here, Chrome? I have no interest in relying on your dubious, so-called 'sorcery'."

"I don't care. Do as you like." Said person replied with a wide grin as he grabbed his blue coat and tossed it aside, his eyes never leaving Senku. "But this is one thing I'm not backing down on. No one beats me in sorcery!"

"Don't get in my way, guys." He warned the pair. "If we fight here, the villagers would get caught up in it. Let's move elsewhere."

And so, the entire group moved the "fight", as Chrome claimed it to be, to another clearing not far from the village. Upon arriving, the first thing you noticed was a stilted wooden shed. Tilting your head to the side, you couldn't help but wondered why there was a lone building sitting all the way out here.

The brunette got down to business and started a campfire, a crazed look reflected in his eyes as they glowed in the burning flames. Everyone, on the other hand, had mixed reactions – you were intrigued, Senku was sceptical, Kohaku looked confused and Kinro looked unimpressed while Ginro was trembling in fear.

Evil cackles filled the air and Chrome's fellow villagers' eyes widened in anticipation of what was about to happen. Letting out a small sigh, Senku took a seat and you followed after him, deciding to enjoy the show in a more comfortable position.

"Check out my badass sorcery!" Chrome declared; a smirk stretched so wide that it reached the corners of his eyes. "Rainbow Bridge! I am the master of flames!"

As he said that, he lifted his arms into the air and threw something into the fire, causing the flames to flare up as it turned yellow.

Immediately, those who were standing flinched back in shock with Ginro shouting in a mix of terror and confusion. "The fire turned yellow! How?!"

The brunette repeated what he did before twice and the colour changed from yellow to greenish-blue ("It changed again! To greenish-blue?) to purple ("Purple?!"), wowing his audience, minus you and Senku, who had never seen anything like this before in their lives.

"Amazing. This is..." Ginro stared at the fire with wide eyes while Kohaku breathed out in awe, finishing the blond's sentence. "...sorcery."

(E/C) eyes shone with childish excitement. "Wow! This brings me back to middle school where I first did the experiment and nearly burnt myself in the process!"

Meanwhile, Senku looked very unimpressed as he muttered to himself. "Rainbow Bridge, my ass. It's just a flame test reaction. You just threw salt, copper and sulfur on it in that order."

The scientist rose onto his feet and folded his arms across his chest as he questioned Chrome. "What's the copper? Copper sulfate or something? I guess that doesn't help. It's the blue crystals you picked up in the caves, isn't it?"

Said person was smirking at first until realization dawned upon him. His eyes were bulging as he stared at Senku in disbelief at how the male knew about his blue crystals. The boy began to panic, his mind running wild at this unexpected outcome when he noticed the look of disappointment on Kohaku's face.

Chrome instantly tried to convince the blonde, however it looked like he was the one who needed it instead. "You'd better not be thinking that these cheap tricks are the only sorcery I've got!"

"I didn't say anything." The female bluntly replied.

"Just wait right there!" Chrome exclaimed and dashed into the shed, the door shutting behind him as he went through his stuff to see what other sorceries he could demonstrate. "I'm going to show you something that can actually be weaponized. This one's legit, trust me!"

You were torn between being curious and feeling sorry for what the brunette had in mind next because you knew it was going to be just as unimpressive to Senku as his "Rainbow Bridge".

"He went to get something," Ginro noted.

"Is that why he wanted to relocate?" Kinro questioned.

"So he needed his tools," Kohaku remarked.

The three were so unamused by the whole situation that you couldn't help the chuckles leaving your lips.

Soon, Chrome returned with a brown-coloured ball where he proceeded to aggressively rub his arm against it before walking over towards an unsuspecting Ginro while breathing heavily and lifted a finger towards the tip of his nose, although not quite touching it either.

"Ouch!" The blond cried out when he felt a small spark of electricity, causing him to leap back slightly. "What was that attack?!"

Chrome let out a weak chuckle as his lips lifted into a small smirk when suddenly, Senku reached out a hand to grab the ball from his clutch, earning a startled gasp from the brunette.

"A ball of sulfur, huh?" The scientist examined the ball and began to explain. "You put that sulfur you threw on the fire earlier into a pot and melt it down with heat. Once it cools and hardens, you crack the outer layer, and you're done. That's a crazy way to make one of these things. A sulfur ball static generator. It's supposed to be a 17th-century invention."

"Wow," You breathed out in amazement as (e/c) eyes jumped back and forth between the sulfur ball and the teen. "You're exhilarating, Chrome, you know that?"

Senku nodded his head in agreement as he grabbed his makeshift flag, removed the cloth and wrapped it around the ball. "Rubbing it with leather instead of your hands will give you ten billion times more power. This is my flag of science."

Grinning, he began to rub the ball using said hide which produced a way more electrostatic than Chrome had, causing his hair to stand and spread out in all directions, looking very much like a green dandelion.

After that, he grabbed onto Chrome's arm and his action caused the teen to shriek in pain at the larger amount of electricity coursing through his body. "Oh, crap!"

Giggling, you clapped your hands in glee. "That was fun!"

"His head's all spiky!" Ginro exclaimed with jaws dropped wide open in horrified shock.

"It was spiky before, though," Kohaku commented offhandedly before tilting her head to the side out of curiosity. "How does that work?"

Ignoring the dying gasp escaping Chrome's lips as he collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, Senku turned to look at the blonde with a small smirk and tossed the ball towards her.

She caught the ball easily and had a go at it, along with Ginro, their hair standing up as well. Wanting in on the fun too, you bounced over and placed a hand on the ball of sulfur, a peal of laughter leaving your lips as you glanced up at the mass of hair puffing up, looking like an (h/c) dandelion.

"Hey, give it back!" Chrome yelled as he got up from the ground and threw himself forward to retrieve the ball, only to fall flat on his face again when Kohaku moved it out of his reach.

"What is this, a kid's science experiment class? Such primitive..." Senku snorted, but even he couldn't fight the fond smile pulling at his lips at the sight of (e/c) orbs sparkling with childish delight over something only kids might find entertaining.

However, that smile faded and red eyes softened as his gaze travelled to the wooden shed. "Chrome, did you think all this up by yourself in this primitive village? You gathered all these potentially useful minerals and scientific materials in that shed by yourself?"

"Yeah, that's right. That's a problem?" The brunette in question, who had finally gotten his ball of sulfur back, replied defensively. "Kids collect everything. They smash things together, mix them, burn them...And if something crazy happens, that's sorcery. What else could it be?"

You smiled knowingly at Chrome, eyes lighted with admiration as they glanced up at the shed, thinking to yourself. 'Check it out, Tsukasa. Even if you kill Senku, even if you kill anyone, even if you reset science...There's always someone who'll try anything, and humans will inevitably create a technological civilization.'

Smirking, Senku approached the teen and leaned forward, startling the other at the sudden close proximity. "Chrome, the way things are going, you're ten billion percent one of the people Tsukasa is going to kill. Your only choice is to join our kingdom of science."

The poor boy blinked his eyes in confusion. "Tsukasa? What are you talking about?"

"I'd love to have you and this entire shed of science in our kingdom." Senku cackled as he made his way towards said shed and began to climb up the ladder leading into the building.

"Senku!" You cried in horror over the scientist's lack of manners and hurried over, tugging on the bottom of his coat as you tried to pull him back down. "You can't just invade someone's property without their permission! It's rude!"

"You're not getting it, jerk! Get down!" Chrome yelled before declaring, "I challenge you to one last fight, then. It's a duel! If you lose, you'll grovel and leave the village for good. If you win, I'll give you everything, shed and all."

"Challenge?" Senku questioned, not the least bit bothered at all.

"I'll show you some insane sorcery. I've never lost in my whole life." Chrome exclaimed confidently, pointing a finger at the scientist. "Arithmetic! Fight me in a battle of numbers!"

"I'm pretty sure Senku is going to go undefeated," Kohaku commented and you nodded your head in agreement.

The brunette stood no chance against the scientist and he was instantly defeated without a second thought. You winced as Chrome fell onto his hands and knees, accepting his loss without so much of a choice while Senku got what he wanted in the first place.

He had acquired his first citizen, Chrome and his shed into the Kingdom of Science.

"Well, at least Chrome has the guts to challenge Senku." You glanced down at said person who was mumbling how he could have lost so easily. "We got to give him that at least."

Kohaku simply shrugged before heading over to Senku and you chuckled at her expected response, glancing down at Chrome and stretched a hand towards him. "I, for once, think you're amazing, Chrome. Besides, I haven't seen Senku had this much fun in ages."

Brown met (e/c) as Chrome hesitated, but when he saw the sincerity reflected in those orbs, he allowed you to pull him onto his feet. Dusting off his pants, he let out a snort at what you said about the scientist. "If your definition of fun means making me look stupid, then yes, he's having the time of his life."

Chuckling, you shifted your gaze over to Senku who was like a child on Christmas morning as he entered the shed. "I know it may not look like it, but I know Senku. So, trust me."

The teen furrowed his brows, still a bit doubtful yet decided to take your words on it since you were a close friend of the scientist. Seeing the disbelief written on his face, you smiled in amusement and gestured to his shed. "Let's go before Senku drives himself insane with your collections."

A wide grin spread across his face and he nodded in agreement. With that, the two of you headed on over to where Senku and the rest were.

Time skipped

"This is exhilarating!" Senku exclaimed red eyes glimmered with excitement. "How many years did it take you to find all this stuff, dude?"

"Woah, I've never so many minerals in one place before." You breathed out, (e/c) eyes wide in awe as you glanced around the small room filled with many jars of various shapes and sizes holding all sorts of materials – some lining the shelves while others were scattered across the floor. "I'm impressed."

"See that? It's awesome, isn't it?" Chrome replied with a hint of pride reflected in his eyes. "You may have wrecked me in sorcery and arithme—I mean, I was off my game today anyway..." His face fell upon remembering his defeat, but he perked up once more. "But my collection is the best there is!"

"They're all just rocks." Kohaku wore a deadpan expression as she mumbled beneath her breath and you overheard which led to a snicker.

For the next few minutes, the room was filled with Senku's and Chrome's excited chatter as they went through all of the latter's collections while you stood to the side,