Book 11: Chapter 338: The Possibilities of Magic Engineering (part 1) |
“You’ve traveled in one before?! That’s so cool!”
“Yes, they were huge machines.”
Alma and Iris’ conversation took various turns before circling back to the continental railroads, which allowed Mira to join back in, leading to a lengthy conversation between the two.
That had been the objective of the sushi party all along, allowing those two to establish a friendship as quickly as possible, and it had been quite successful.
This was the first time they had met, and Iris was already very friendly with Mira, as well as seeing her in an admiring way.
And the longer they spoke, the more time they had for their stomachs to settle down.
By the time they could move again, the three began to clean up after lunch, until Alma intervened and said she would take care of it, and that the other two should just sit back and rest.
It seemed like Alma really wanted to let Mira tell Iris many stories about the world outside.
“Well, if that’s what you want.”
It was not limited to her adventures in dungeons like the Ancient Temple or the Primal Forest either, also mentioning the various cities she visited, the different sceneries she saw, and so on, which Iris listened to with much attention.
Eventually they were interrupted by a sound like a harp being strummed.
“Hm? What was that noise just now?”
Only Mira, Alma, and Iris were there, and none of them had made that sound.
That made Mira wonder just what that had been, and Iris quickly gave her an answer “That’s the signal that one of the Twelve Apostles is here!”
As it turned out, there was a sound notification system linked to the doors leading into the room, which would produce a different noise depending on which key was used.
The Twelve Apostles would produce a harp sound, while Alma’s resembled a piano.
“Hmm, I see. So there’s a system like that in place too. I wasn’t informed.”
Mira nodded in approval, while also glaring at Alma. That was the kind of information she really wanted to have beforehand, especially as she had to work as Iris’ bodyguard.
But Alma seemed rather flustered, and not because of Mira’s resentful stare.
“Oh no…she’s actually coming here directly…”
She muttered to herself as she headed to the sink and began washing the dishes with extreme care.
Mira could only wonder what was happening, and it did not take long before it all became clear.
“Good afternoon, Iris. And you too Mira, thank you again for agreeing to be the new bodyguard.”
The visitor turned out to be Esmeralda, who politely greeted everyone there. She was there looking for Alma, who had been missing for a long time by now.
“I had a hunch I’d find you here.”
Esmeralda said with a sigh, seeing Alma in the kitchen washing dishes.
“There’s still a lot of work left to do.”
She added that while she walked toward Alma. Her voice was calm, but it conveyed a lot of pressure.
“I would go, but look at all these dishes I still need to wash.”
All Alma could do was try to come up with such excuses.
As it turned out, the main reason why Alma had decided to do all the cleaning herself was so she could stay there for as long as possible, neglecting her office duties.
“In that case let me help you get it done faster.”
Esmeralda was already used to Alma’s excuses, so still looking perfectly calm, she entered the kitchen and began washing the dishes at a terrifying speed.
Meanwhile Alma tried to sabotage those efforts however she could.
But in the end, it only took around three minutes before Alma no longer had any reasons left to be there.
“Well then, I’ll leave the rest in your hands, Mira.”
Saying that, Esmeralda took hold of Alma before she could resist, and began dragging her away.
But before Mira forgot, she brought up the issue from earlier. “Before you go, could you tell me about all the defense systems installed here?”
“Wait, don’t tell me she didn’t brief you on anything yet?”
Esmeralda’s response was filled with a dangerous tone.
“Ummm, so a lot happened and umm…”
Alma just looked away nervously. After all, one would have expected that to be the first thing she told Mira about.
Then again, Iris had lost consciousness from being too hungry, and they had to rush getting lunch ready, which Alma claimed made her forget about it.
“Hmm… It’s also my fault for being delayed. Don’t blame her too much for it.”
To be precise, Mira had spent way too long talking about summoning on the phone, delaying her return. That was still eating at her consciousness, so she decided to shoulder some of the blame for Alma.
Having a third party’s opinion seemed to work, as Esmeralda said “Alright, I understand,” and calmed down.
“I’m really sorry about all that, Mira. There’s a lot of people waiting for us so I can’t explain everything, but I’d swear we prepared a guidebook…”
Saying that, Esmeralda tugged lightly on Alma, urging her to do something.
“Ahhh, right, that guidebook. You should find everything you need in it, and Iris should be able to tell you a lot too.”
In response, Alma brought forth a small booklet that was branded as ‘ultra top secret’, which detailed all of the defensive systems installed in the oracle’s room.
“Alright, got it.”
As soon as Mira took the booklet, Alma was dragged out of there by Esmeralda.
“Now then…”
With Alma going back to work, only Mira and Iris remained in the room.
That also meant that Mira was fully in charge of Iris’ safety now, so she decided to start by reading through the booklet…when she noticed that Iris was looking at her, like she was expecting something, or looking forward to something.
(What’s getting her so excited now..?)
Mira could not understand that reaction, and wondered about it until their gazes met.
That seemed to be the signal Iris was waiting for.
“Let’s go then, Mira! I’ll show you around!”
Since Alma had mentioned that Iris also knew a lot, Iris had been looking forward to giving Mira a tour of the room and all its secrets. That was why she looked so excited.
Receiving a direct explanation from the person living here was also better than reading about it in a booklet.
“Okay, I’ll count on you.”