Hunter and Mad Scien Chapter 105

Fortunately, the butler only offered words of warning and didn't try to stop her from going. Esperanza quickly forgot that warning.

Riding the white horse the butler had provided and storing the picnic basket packed by head maid Mrs. Denver in her inventory, Esperanza galloped fearlessly through the forest path behind the mansion, relying on a single rough map. The well-bred horse whinnied and threw a tantrum, but its rider had no intention of indulging its whims.

She rode for a full 20 minutes without rest. The forest path continued straight without any forks. However, weeds had grown over the man-made path, making it unexpectedly difficult to find the way.

Cool wind brushed through her hair tied down low. After riding for a while, Esperanza pulled sharply on the reins to stop and looked around.

"I can't see anything."

At this rate, even the rough map was aningless. After folding the map and putting it in her pocket, she jumped down from the horse. Then she grabbed a tree branch within reach and climbed the tree.

Standing on a thin branch, she jumped up twice more to change positions. Soon she had climbed high enough to see the entire forest landscape. About halfway through the dense forest, she could see a stone building roughly the sa height as the trees.

Even checking the rough map from her pocket, that was the only place it could be. Besides that building, there was only a crumbling warehouse in the back, but surely Cider wouldn't call such a place a laboratory.

After confirming the path, Esperanza jumped down beside the horse, mounted it, and pulled the reins. The horse was bewildered about where its rider had gone and reappeared, startled for a mont, then began running as instructed. Before long, a single-story building appeared.

It was quite substantial in scale. The research room at Avondale Mansion, which she had secretly thought was impressive, looked like child's play in comparison. This was comparable to research institutes established at universities. In other words, it wasn't a size one could maintain alone. Did employees co regularly to clean?

A horse that Cider seed to have ridden was in what looked like a garage. Esperanza stopped beside it and dismounted. The white horse seed considerably relieved to et a familiar horse. Leaving the horses to enjoy their reunion, Esperanza approached the building's entrance.

From top to bottom of the tightly closed iron door, complex locking chanisms were intertwined in multiple layers. If touched wrong, the components looked like they would open their mouths and bite her hand. A dial was attached beside the door, with a card inserted. A card with just one sentence written on it, no sender or recipient. Esperanza pulled out the card.

Suddenly she felt like she was doing so cute friendship challenge. Esperanza chuckled. It was a question not worth pondering.

She turned the dial to match the eight-digit number. Gears turned and iron bars tangled like knots were released in sequence. The massive iron door opened to both sides. The inside was so dark it was barely visible. But she wasn't particularly worried. If there was anything dangerous, Cider wouldn't have omitted explaining it.

She stepped forward fearlessly toward that dark interior. As soon as both feet entered the building, the door slamd shut. Again, click, click, the sound of locking chanisms intertwining could be heard. Only then did a faint anxiety rise. Why can't I see anything?

Esperanza created a small cluster of light with simple magic. It was dim light about the level of a bedside mood lamp, but at least she wouldn't trip while walking. Nevertheless, just in case, she carefully stepped forward. She could only see about an inch ahead. Not knowing what machines might be arranged how inside, she couldn't move carelessly.

Walking carefully with small steps, stairs appeared before long. Esperanza hesitated, then climbed the stairs one step at a ti.

However, the top of the stairs was just as dark. Esperanza gritted her teeth. At this point, it wouldn't be strange if Cider had planned all this to ss with Esperanza. After walking a few more steps, Esperanza stamped her foot and grumbled.

"Cider Claiborne, where are you doing what that you won't even co out to see ?"

Instead of an answer, a flash burst from the left. While reflexively closing her eyes and taking a defensive posture with lowered stance, when nothing happened, Esperanza slowly raised her head. The light was still in that spot. Illuminating the inside of a glass display case.

And inside the display case stood a rabbit wearing a tall silk hat and bow tie. The rabbit made of smooth brass creaked as it bent its body in greeting. Unlike its creaking body, a cheerful voice like a salesperson flowed out.

[Good day, madam? I am Attorney Bronze. How may I assist you?]

The brass rabbit said as it straightened its body. When the angle changed, the rabbit's face seed to look smug. ...For a rabbit. However, the rabbit's brass face receiving light from below was also quite eerie.

[Do you have problems with inheritance? Did you witness your husband's affair? Was your affair discovered? Did you kill your husband unable to endure it? Don't worry. I, Bronze, always promise the best results!]

Only then did Esperanza realize that what the rabbit held in its plump front paws was a thick law book, and she opened her mouth blankly.

It was different from the toy-like automatons she had seen so far. Was it a recorded voice? Thinking that way, it wasn't particularly surprising. The voice was awkward as if combining recordings of each letter. She could think of it as about the level of artificial intelligence in a smartphone.

'How on earth did he make sothing like this...'

Even thinking that, she couldn't help feeling creeped out.

[Madam?]

The cheerful voice asked again. Wait a minute.

'How did it know I'm a "lady"?'

Is there a function that can recognize such things? And as if answering Esperanza's such question, the rabbit moved its blunt paws creakily to tap its bow tie and said.

[You need not be embarrassed. Lawyers exist for such matters. Please speak slowly.]

It's really talking...?

"...It's really talking!"

What is this?

Esperanza's back, which had been retreating, bumped into sothing with a thud. It was a glass display case identical to the one on the opposite side. The interior of the display case was illuminated with bright light. And there was a rabbit automaton with the sa appearance but different outfit.

"Why, why another rabbit?"

[Because it's a rabbit.]

What kind of perverted... Surely this entire huge building isn't filled with identically shaped rabbit automatons? If it's like this, I can understand why the butler told

not to go. Because it's really bizarre! Esperanza wanted to run away imdiately. The rabbits bowed in greeting with their poorly oiled waists.

[I am Mathematician Bronze. I am researching the solution thod for Dawson's equation.]

[I am Doctor Bronze. Did you injure your leg? You'll need to change your bandages!]

Esperanza backed away and stealthily returned the way she ca. Sohow she felt like if she showed her back, all those automatons would escape from their display cases and attack. Winning or losing aside, it was disgusting.

When she slowly went down the stairs and returned to the iron door, an automaton with wheels instead of feet stopped in front of Esperanza. Fortunately, this ti it wasn't a rabbit. If it had been a rabbit, she might have hit it even knowing it was a machine.

[I am a security guard. I'm in charge of the laboratory's security. Are you Miss Esperanza?]

"Y-yes."

Am I having a conversation with a robot right now? The voice was awkward as if playing recordings of each letter, but there was no hindrance to conversation at all.

[The count is waiting. Please co this way.]

When the security guard automaton pulled a lever beside the door, lights ca on throughout the entire laboratory.

"Ah..."

There was light after all. I did unnecessary work for nothing. The rabbit automatons seen under bright light weren't as scary as before. They were still noisy though.

A hand-like component retracted into the security guard's arm and pincer claws erged. When it turned the dial all the way with the pincer claws, Attorney Bronze, who had been noisily talking about murder and arson, stopped moving. The law book that had been swaying as the attorney moved fluttered once more then closed completely.

Esperanza followed the automaton security guard while touring the bright interior of the laboratory. The bizarre rabbit series was rather on the ordinary side. The interior walls were entirely covered with large screens and machine parts intricately twisted like circuits, except for one wall with a door. Circuits sparkled gold on the tal plate screens.

Going a bit further inside, she could see automatons with conveyor belts instead of feet moving around. There was sothing like a vacuum cleaner at the front of the belt that sucked up dust as they moved. Both arms carried brush-like dusters, cleaning dust between machine parts.

About an arm's length below the ceiling, chanical devices with four legs flew around puffing steam and touched components with their feet intermittently. Esperanza realized that those feet looked exactly like the ends of the stimulator Cider carried around.

When they found rusted parts, they separated them from the machine, opened their mouths wide, and ate the parts. Then another identical machine ca and opened its mouth to take out new parts. The stopped circuit began operating again.

'So that one's a janitor and those are chanics.'

She thought half-dazedly.

At least one thing was certain. The things inside this laboratory were over-technology that couldn't be seen even in the world 13 years later. To compare properly, it should be compared not to 13 years later but to the reality where Esperanza had lived. So parts were inferior to reality, but so parts were more advanced than reality.

In this entire vast Osdern, only this laboratory.

The sentence on the card she saw in the morning stood out in her mind.

Cider Claiborne was hiding all the achievents inside this laboratory that had advanced the world's developnt by about a hundred years.

A hollow laugh escaped. 'Do you trust ?' He should have asked 'May I trust you?' when he was planning to show sothing like this.

It was a secret that could either make him a god or completely ruin him. Soone would look at this and revere him. But soone else would fear him for building a massive palace alone in the field of magical engineering that had just begun leveling the ground and starting cultivation. Either way wouldn't be particularly beneficial to Cider Claiborne.

She could understand why Coleman had been horrified as if possessed when she ntioned going to the laboratory. He was clearly a conservative old man at first glance. He wouldn't have been able to endure this spectacle that seed to completely overturn the world he knew.

If Esperanza had really been soone who lived in the world 13 years ago, she might have fainted by now. Even living in an era of artificial intelligence, space ships, autonomous vehicles, ultra-high-speed internet, and virtual reality gas, all of this was still so unfamiliar.

[Miss Esperanza, only you may enter inside this door.]

The security guard pulled a lever. A door made of large magic plates opened.

"Um, thank you."

Speaking to machines was quite embarrassing after all. A black smiley face pattern appeared on the dark green screen covering the security guard's eye area. The security guard bowed deeply like Attorney Bronze had done earlier and turned back.

Esperanza swallowed dry saliva and stepped forward. Following a corridor that looked no different from an ordinary mansion's corridor except for being packed with complex machinery, she stopped in front of a large door at the end of the corridor.

"Are you inside?"

"...Co in."

A delayed answer ca back. Esperanza opened the door.