"Why?"
"I have things to ask him in person, and I originally called him yesterday to talk, but you weren't awake so I just sent him away. Research is important, but things have gotten too big, haven't they?"
The executives who move Sterling City, politicians including the mayor, generals at the naval base, the Duke and old nobles, and businessn would certainly align their stories. However, hoping that word wouldn't leak out from such a large-scale disaster was wishful thinking.
"The existence of dungeons will be known soon anyway, and if we're unlucky, there might be people who saw Cyrus or you."
Daria would have planned to proceed with all this step by step, but unexpected variables had thrown everything off course. That ant most of the information they had about the future had also lost its power.
"The pirates also know they were used by Daria, and they would have taken Osdern warships and gone sowhere, so the political world will be in turmoil."
If the pirates had been completely annihilated like in the world 13 years later, Osdern's warship construction technology wouldn't have been leaked either, but more than half of them had survived intact. The technologies that Osdern's military had cherished would have been sold to enemy countries at high prices. Moreover, with such a disaster occurring unexpectedly dostically, it was a troubling situation both dostically and internationally.
"The key will be how Daria responds to this incident. I can't predict it at all."
"Still, if she has any sense, wouldn't she beco more cautious?"
Cider answered nonchalantly while stroking Esperanza's hair.
"Is that so?"
Esperanza got up from Cider's lap.
"Lord Sterling, where's the stationery?"
She roughly wrote a letter to send to Cyrus and handed it to a ssenger. Cider headed toward the chess board while Esperanza was writing a letter to that detestable guy. Cordelia and Alastair had each won one ga, and this round was the final decisive match.
"Checkmate!"
Cordelia cheerfully exclaid. Esperanza, who was handing the letter to the ssenger boy, also turned her head.
"What? Did you win?"
She stood on tiptoe and stuck her head over Cider's shoulder, but unexpectedly, the chess board situation seed like the ga was still in progress.
"That can't be right."
"It's right."
"No, it's not."
"I said it's right!"
Cordelia's eyes blazed. Alastair flinched, but looked down at the chess board again and shook his head.
"Look, if I do this. Now what will you do?"
Alastair, who had captured the piece Cordelia had just moved with his bishop, looked quite triumphant. Cordelia tilted her head.
"Huh, what was I going to do here? Wait a mont. I definitely had a plan."
Esperanza, who was hugging Cider's waist and watching the scene, whispered in his ear.
"Who won?"
"Mm......."
Cider looked at the board quietly, then frowned. Strength entered his right hand that was holding Esperanza's hand. She could guess the winner without hearing the answer.
'It's Cordelia.'
Indeed, shortly after, Cordelia moved her chess piece with a triumphant expression.
"This is it!"
Now even to Esperanza's untrained eye, it was clear that Alastair's white king was completely surrounded. Alastair swallowed hard.
"I lost?"
"You lost."
Admitting defeat was not a very pleasant thing. However, when Cordelia's eyes sparkled, Alastair couldn't help but give a hollow laugh.
Then, as if it had been listening to the sounds inside, the reception room door opened with perfect timing. A middle-aged woman with a genial appearance appeared carrying a plate full of uniquely shaped cookies.
"Count, I've brought refreshnts."
The composition was quite different from what she had seen at Avondale mansion. Black buns made of fruit cake with dried fruits and nuts wrapped in pastry, and vanilla cookies decorated with candied fruit on top were splendid.
"The count specifically instructed us to prepare traditional northern refreshnts for the guests."
Esperanza had mories of being served such refreshnts at Duke Dunbarton's house in Talmine. Her hand, which had been skillfully cutting and eating the black bun, suddenly stopped. Was that Duke Alastair Renfrew?
Since the Duke was old, it wouldn't be surprising if sothing happened to him within 10 years. The Duke she had t then seed like a different person from the current intelligent, upright but considerate Alastair Renfrew. A tired face remained faintly in her mory.
The Alastair there would have had no occasion to experience dungeons until the monster crisis occurred. His encountering Duke Galliston's subordinates on his way to Nine Holder, and thus being attacked and abandoned in Mabelwood's forest, were all consequences of Esperanza's appearance. There, Alastair would have headed to Nine Holder without incident.
Such a person would be completely different from this young man Esperanza knew now.
"Miss Hunter. Have you tried black bun before?"
"Yes."
Esperanza, who had answered without thinking, was flustered as she received everyone's attention.
"What?"
"......I'm not prying, but didn't you say you ca from Paolun?"
Ah, right. She had been too comfortable. She seed to have let her guard down too much. She had never done this at the hotel. There was only one difference between the hotel and now.
Esperanza lost her appetite and put down her fork. She couldn't think of an excuse.
"Well, um."
"I think there was a maid from Dunbarton origin at the mansion. You secretly mingled with the maids again."
Cider suddenly said. Esperanza realized this was a newly added setting and quickly nodded. Whether Alastair would believe it or not, they just needed to align their stories on the surface.
"Ah, so that's what happened. It's food that's not commonly eaten even in Nine Holder, so I was curious where you had encountered it."
"Alastair Renfrew, you asked too many questions. It seed like you were interrogating."
Cordelia, who had also gotten tense, grumbled. The atmosphere beca a bit awkward. Esperanza leaned against Cider's arm. Should she have just been honest? Anyway, it wasn't like Alastair Renfrew would sell that information sowhere. Through two dungeons, they had built their own trust.
And since the existence of dungeons would eventually be revealed to the whole world anyway, it wouldn't be a problem if Alastair Renfrew knew a little more than other people.
Just as Esperanza was about to open her mouth to tell the truth, there was a knock on the reception room door. It was Millen. He bowed and spoke in his usual emotionless voice.
"The laboratory setup is complete. However......."
"However?"
Millen's glance toward Alastair was only for an instant. Only Esperanza could catch that look. What?
Only after going up to see the laboratory could she understand the reason for that look. Over Cider's back, who had stopped at the door fra, so object was visible.
"Blackboard......."
She hadn't thought of it at all. Alastair Renfrew knew nothing about research equipnt used by magical engineers. Therefore, he had prepared a laboratory that scientists would use within common sense. A fairly large movable blackboard occupying one side of the laboratory was the result of such reasoning.
Thinking about it, it was natural. Unlike the research facilities at Avondale mansion, Glailly House, or the Royal Magical Engineering University lecture halls where money would be spent on research, there was no way a hastily prepared laboratory would have proper screens.
Research in poor environnts wasn't that uncommon either. If he thought he couldn't research without screens, he wouldn't have co to Sterling in the first place. When researching at Colonel Donovan's residence or Mabelwood mansion, Cider just used notebooks and produced decent results.
But this research was much larger in scale and higher in difficulty than those studies. The spaceti machine was a massive chanical device that filled an entire warehouse. During the research process, there would be a continuous need to check the overall structure. So sothing like a screen or blackboard was necessary, but the problem was that unlike other tis, Cider couldn't use his left arm. It had beco very inconvenient.
Esperanza, looking down at the forearm wrapped in thick bandages, said.
"I'll get a potion from Cyrus."
Cider looked around the laboratory as if he had a headache and eventually answered in a low voice.
"That would be good."
Anyway, this was the situation where he had to take the first step in great spaceti machine research in this laboratory equipped with only the basics. There were people who made great inventions in small cabins, but Cider Claiborne, who had abundance of money, facilities, and materials, had never thought he would be in such a state.
"You can rest until I get the potion back."
How was the scale in Esperanza's mind moving? At least he seed more important than returning a week early. How affectionate. Cider smiled and answered.
"I don't want to."
However, even saying that, he knew better that the situation was not easy. Cider, who sighed heavily, first brought a scripture lectern and placed it next to the blackboard. Then he opened a book on it and began copying sothing.
"What are you writing?"
"Formulas for establishing basic magic power structure. And this side is the basic magic power circuit...... The old machine is already 10 years old, so I can't use the sa parts. So the formulas need improvent too."
On one side of the lectern was a research notebook brought from the abandoned building where the old spaceti machine had been. Cider looked at the pages carefully, then began copying the contents exactly.
Watching that scene, she felt strangely irritated inside. Cider had started this research for Esperanza. It was what Esperanza wanted. She knew that, but seeing him completely focused, her mouth went dry.
Cider, who was about to turn the page with his chalk-covered hand, called to Esperanza who was just watching with a dark expression.
"Could you turn the page for ?"
Esperanza, who had been leaning against the lectern, turned the page with a sullen expression. It was full of complex diagrams and formulas.
"Are you copying all of this exactly? Then is it finished?"
"I'm copying it exactly. It's not finished."
"The blackboard is full though?"
Cider took his eyes off the blackboard and gestured with his chin toward another blackboard standing on one side of the wall.
Using two blackboards?
"......What are you writing over there? Are you copying over there too?"
"No. What I'll write there is different."
Esperanza looked at the circuit Cider had drawn. Doing one more like this? In a state where one arm isn't well and soone else has to turn pages? It seed impossible even working all day.
Esperanza, who couldn't watch anymore, got up.
"I'll do it. I just need to copy all this, right?"
Cider opened his eyes wide and looked at Esperanza. He looked at her with a face full of questions, then soon gave a bitter smile.
"Write, you say. It would be drawing."
That guy, really.
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