Lyla took apart her bread and ate it in bits. Since the bread was stored inside a magic box where time didn’t pass, it was still warm like it had just been baked. As its salty and sweet taste entered her mouth, she felt her body regain a bit of its lost vigor. She took a couple of spoonfuls of soup and ripped the steak with her teeth. She didn’t have the time to eat elegantly and use a fork and knife.
At this moment, Zich and his companions were on the battlefield where their lives were threatened every second. Of course, Lyla didn’t think anything would happen to them since Zich was also there, but that still didn’t erase the danger of the battlefield. Above all, Glen Zenard and the Bellids were there. Thus, while her companions were struggling, she couldn’t leisurely enjoy her meal. At least before they came back, she needed to show them that she could perfectly control this ruin.
‘I have to master this as fast as possible and join them on the battlefield.’ Lyla touched Windur’s handle, which she placed next to her. Although Zich confidently told her that it didn’t matter which sword he had, it was true that Zich was best at displaying his skills when wielding Windur. Thus, Lyla tried to finish her meal as fast as possible. In contrast, Serpina seemed to be taking her sweet time in everything.
“Tsk, tsk. You eat like a beast that has been starving for at least a month. Even if you lose your sense of history, pride, and memories, you still have the great Clowon’s first emperor, the Golden Emperor’s blood running in your veins. Can’t you at least try to keep basic etiquette?”
“I have things much more important things than that to take care of,” Lyla said while her hands and mouth never stopped moving.
“Take your time eating. I know I said it before, but eating like that isn’t good for your health.”
“Mind your own business.”
“How can I do that when you are eating like that right in front of me?” When Lyla tried to sit somewhere else with her food, Serpina stopped her. “Stay seated. I prefer to have someone to talk to while eating.”
“I don’t think the same.”
“If you are going to keep acting uncooperative like this, I am going to stop teaching you. It might be a good idea for you to rest for just a day.”
Ignoring most of what Serpina said, Lyla glared at her. “Then, I am going to halt your summoning.”
“Do as you wish,” Serpina responded like she was talking to a child throwing a tantrum. Lyla glared, but Serpina leisurely sliced her meat like she didn’t care whatever decision Lyla made. Lyla wanted to banish Serpina at the spur of the moment, but she knew she couldn’t while knowing that would slow down her learning even more.
In the end, Lyla slowed down her eating. If Serpina had made an outlandish request, it would’ve been more understandable for Lyla to de-summon her, but her request was simple.
“Okay, so what kind of conversation do you want to have? Do I have to praise Clowon and their princess or something?” Lyla asked.
“That’s not necessary. I heard so much of that while Clowon was still fine. Why don’t you tell me more about that lover of yours?”
“…Again?” The two had conversed about Zich considerably often, so it was surprising that Serpina was asking about Zich again. Lyla narrowed her eyes.
“Did you perhaps..?”
“If you are asking me if I’ve fallen in love with that guy, I hope you realize that there should be a limit to how far delusions can go too.” It didn’t seem like Serpina was lying. “I’m just curious. It really makes me wonder how I, who had no connection to something like love, am practicing it even after I lost all my memories. Furthermore, it’s to another version of Zich Brave who hindered my plans. It’s only natural that I’m curious.”
It did make sense after Serpina gave her explanation—although Lyla didn’t think she was Serpina at all.
“…Okay. It’s not that difficult anyway. Also, Zich and I aren’t lovers right now.”
“Yes, it’s a useless one-sided love. I can’t believe that you can’t even seduce one guy with my looks, and you’re suffering from such a thing as unrequited love. This is why no matter how good a tool is, if the person who uses it is no good, it’s worthless.”
Serpina’s haughty expression bothered Lyla, but Lyla suppressed her annoyance. Although Zich effortlessly maintained his advantage with Serpina, Lyla had a hard time dealing with her. It was better for Lyla to suppress her anger at times like this. So like Serpina requested, Lyla slowly talked about Zich while they ate. Like most people, Lyla enjoyed talking about the person she loved. Lyla’s anxiety that she needed to speed up or her annoyance towards Serpina gradually settled down as she talked about him.
Serpina calmly watched as Lyla talked about Zich. Since they had already talked about this topic many times, Serpina had already heard a lot of what Lyla said before. Yet, Serpina didn’t stop her and even threw in questions to go along with Lyla’s story. Like that, they conversed but not for long. Moreover, contrary to her expectations, Serpina didn’t request her to continue talking even after they finished eating.
“Quickly clean up. We have to start our lessons again.” Serpina spoke like she was commanding a servant and got up from her seat. Then, she walked toward the restriction device. After Lyla swung a couple of air punches behind her, she stuffed the plates, table, and chairs into the magic box and followed her. Serpina started her lessons again. Though she disliked Serpina, Lyla didn’t rest in her learning and soaked in everything she learned.
“Like you guys guessed, this place is the central base of mana. If something happens to the Brushel System, it can act as a reserve to manipulate it.”
This was very surprising information. “Then are you saying that we can control the Brushel System here too?”
“The mana connection has to be constant, and other conditions also need to be fulfilled. However, since the Brushel System has been destroyed, it’s now a useless function.” Serpina swiped the control device with her hands. “Since I’m teaching you, I guess I should teach you how to do that as well. Try injecting mana into the controls.”
Lyla began to inject mana into the controls following Serpina’s instruction.
Ziiiing! Soon, the entire ruin began to shake slightly. “What did you do?” Lyla looked at Serpina with slight suspicion.
“I called out something familiar to you and to me.”
Lyla tilted her head at Serpina’s incomprehensible words and found something coming up from below her. ‘Isn’t that…?’ It was a large glass container. The glass container was rising on a square metal plate, and it was large enough for one person to fit inside it. Lyla narrowed her eyes. It didn’t look exactly the same, but she had seen something similar to the glass container before at the secret laboratory in Shootuol. It looked similar to the one that Finel, an artificial creature created to extract her memory, was imprisoned in. The difference between that glass container and the one in front of her was that the one in Shootuol was cracked and broken and covered in dust, but this one was perfectly fine.
Swoosh! The glass container rose to where Lyla and Serpina were standing. The metal plate supporting the glass settled right next to the ring surrounding the crystal where Lyla and Serpina were standing as if it had originally been part of it all along.
Serpina said, “You probably don’t remember it, but your body was in a device like this. To be exact, it's a device placed in the center of the system. That’s how I was able to function as a memory device for the Brushel System.”
“You must have been extremely proud of your job.” Lyla sarcastically replied at Serpina’s voice beaming with pride.
“Of course. It was the greatest time of my life, and that was also what most of my life was like.”
“I really don’t understand it. How do you feel so proud of being just a part of a system?”
“You don’t need to understand it, and I don’t need anyone to understand me. A human’s life is worthless once they die anyway. Isn’t it much more meaningful to be part of the foundation that supports and helps the empire?”
“And you were fine with that?”
“You guys are the ones who seem unreasonable to me.”
Lyla realized again that the princess next to her really gave everything she had for the empire.
Serpina said, “Our conversation has gone astray. Anyway, I stored the memories that I received from the two keys inside that device.” The two keys she was referring to were Estellade and Tornium. Then she continued, “However, it has another function in case of an emergency.”
“And what’s that?”
“Adjusting the Brushel System.”
Lyla had been inspecting the device while listening to Serpina, but now she turned her head toward Serpina.
Serpina continued, “The Brushel System was usually managed by external managers, but when a fatal error that even they couldn’t control arose, I was awakened to also take on the role of coordinating the Brushel System. Since I knew a lot about it and was also part of the system, it was much easier for me to access the system compared to the people outside.”
“If it was so much easier for you to manage the Brushel System, why didn’t you manage it in the first place instead of leaving it to other people?”
“As I told you, I’m part of the Brushel System. We don’t know what kind of errors might arise if I start to operate the system with my own will as part of the system that stores memories. Thus, the only time I adjust the system is when the errors in the system are deemed uncontrollable and the whole system will collapse without my intervention.”
“Hmm. Anyway, in short, you’re saying that if I get inside this device, I’ll be able to operate the Brushel System much more efficiently, right?”
“Yeah. Of course, it’s incomparable to controlling the center from the device in the central base, and that function is useless now since the Brushel System has collapsed. Well, you’ll be able to control the ruin’s system much more efficiently there.”
Then Serpina closed her mouth and stared at Lyla.
“…Why are you looking at me?”
“What are you doing? Quickly get in.”
Lyla stared at the device. Half of the glass container opened and made an entrance for her to enter. “This isn’t a trap, right?”
“If you don’t want to, I’m not going to force you. I’m not teaching you because I want to. Oh, but don’t quit summoning me, since I didn’t break the contract.”
Lyla looked at her suspiciously, and Serpina calmly returned her gaze.
“…Fine.” Lyla turned her back and walked toward the device. The entrance to the device was higher than Lyla’s waist. She entered the entrance of the device in a swift moment.
“Try raising your mana inside it.”
Lyla raised her mana as Serpina instructed her to.
Thud! The entrance closed. Lyla was slightly surprised, but she didn’t panic and began moving her mana as Serpina had taught her to. ‘It’s definitely more efficient here.’ It was much easier to grasp the structure of the ruin here than outside of the device. While Lyla became completely absorbed in exploring the device, Serpina quietly made her move.