The bathroom experience had been enlightening but it was soon done and over with. Iris was coming to terms with it all.
But it still did not change the fact that she was stuck inside this room for the next three days at least.
What she needed was a plan. A plan to follow through. The first part of the mission was easy enough but it was the second part that made Iris worried.
Her current location allowed her the advantage of being able to sight the main gate as well as the Holy Jade. That certainly made things a little easier on her.
There was something unusual about the view though. But she could not figure out what it was that made her so unsettled about this place. It almost felt like something was out of proportion when she looked out.
It could be a piece of crucial information but she had no idea how she could utilize it? Without a plan, there was no way Iris would be able to take the jade away successfully.
The window of her room was also a little tricky. There was a spatial distortion between it and the rest of the world but it was not visible to the naked eye.
It was only when Iris used medical vision on it did she see the inversed color of the distortion.
There as no way to tell what it did but it was better to be careful with it. All Iris could do was an experiment with it a little while not pushing any boundaries.
One of those experiments consisted of seeing what small objects she could push out of the opening in her free time.
And they were returned by Rose in the evening, often with an annoyed expression on her face.
"Please be careful with your things" Rose was, her hands full once again with the small handkerchief Iris had just pushed out, "It is yours right?"
Her voice sounded sore but it could be due to the fact that she had to make this trip 5 times already today. It was funny to see the other starting to lose her temper as well.
"I'm so sorry. It just slipped out of my hand when I was looking out of the window. The view really is breathtaking from here" Iris's words sounded cold and empty.
Not that Rose was going to point it out. Not when this had been established as Iris's default voice tone.
"The view is good, right? Especially the main gate and the holy jade. That reminds me, it's almost time for its maintenance as well. It will be any day now" those words interested Iris a lot more than anyone could have thought.
Most people might not make out much with this small information but Iris, someone who had briefly read the spoilers of the original novel, knew a few secrets.
And those could be deadly if used by someone.
"That's a holy jade? I did not recognize it since I have never seen one before. Can you tell me about it?" Iris was not fully truthful but it was not a lie either.
Mostly, she faked not knowing much to throw Rose off of her trails.
"I don't know much either. Just that it is important and protects the settlements and is a gift from gods to us. Only council can produce it as well so people are pretty reliant on the council and the commission" she paused here, a smile blooming on her face.
"You should join the commission as well. And you still need to tell me how you cured the poison fully" Iris brushed the other off. They were both ignoring the other's questions.
This was not the first time the other had brought up this topic but Iris had ignored it every time.
Rose was only holding back for now because Rachael and the others were looking into her.
Iris had no doubt that the three days the system had given her to stay here were the only grace period she would have before they decided that they were not getting anywhere without force.
"Oops. Look at the time here. Need to go and prepare for the maintenance" Rose left but the timing felt suspicious.
This was definitely a trap. Most likely to see if Iris took this time to disappear or not from here while the defense was down.
Iris had no doubt that the commission would be watching her every move for the next two and a half days but that was no problem.
She just needed an opportunity. An opportunity that was about to come soon.
While the people of Rivendell had magic and potential, it was not enough to sustain a whole civilization. That was why the magical array of different kinds were developed - for use of greater magic.
Hole Jade was the battery that fueled such a magical array and was like an ultimate card. But it had to be removed during maintenance from the array which left the place unguarded.
It would lead to a temporary magical blackout which would deactivate any non-actively casted magic like this distortion.
But Iris could not do this on her own. She needed an alibi for herself if she wanted to get out of this prison anytime soon.
But lucky for her, she had a few people indebted to her who could help her out. She would get them to perform the crucial tasks for her.
But she also needed to be careful and plan so that they did not get caught as well. There would be a direct link to her otherwise which she could not afford.
'Hey system, do you happen to have a detailed map of this place? One which has the magical nodes as well?'
Iris needed to have a look at this place because she doubted this place was like any normal place. The slight shift in the buildings here had to be unnatural.
'The system has several maps. Please select the one user wants to see'
There was no need to see a normal map. What she needed was the special one that only a selected few had - the magic flow chart.
And one look was all it took to spot the unsettled feeling she was having.
The buildings really had been shifted in a weird way but it was because of a purpose. They were arranged in the form of an array.
It was not one Iris could ever hope to recognize because it was too low level and her memory likely had nothing about it but she could make an educated guess.
It was a repellent array, one which did not need to be fueled constantly to keep the place safe. This place would have about a week of the external barrier if these people did nothing but the power it with the residual power once the holy jade was gone.
It was enough time to think of another solution for their problem and suddenly Iris felt lighter.
She was not condemning these people to their death immediately and it also gave her a time frame of the events as well.
The MC would arrive here in a week and meet the young girl who recently lost her mother. They would become acquaintances and MC would study with her here while also solving this town's problem by finding a holy jade for them, followed by a 5 years time skip in the novel.
There was something weird about this world's timing though since the female lead was supposed to be in her 20's, not in her teen years but there was no mistaking the timeline.
This was overall weird for her.