"Goo-goo... Ga-ga..." I cradled Prince Yamato in my arms, as he reached out
his hands and mumbled incomprehensibly.
"He's definitely gotten heavier."
"Children grow fast. He's only going to get bigger as time goes on." The King
of Belfast grinned broadly as he watched his son babbling happily in my arms.
Queen Yuel, who was seated next to him, smiled wryly.
Holding the baby really drove home how adorable he was. I was engaged, so I
had plenty of siblings-in-law, but this baby was the only one younger than me.
There were plenty of younger children at Elze and Linze's place, but those
were technically my cousins.
"He's so cute. Makes me wish I had a little brother or sister." Sue whispered
as she peered in from Yamato's side, and her parents, Duke Ortlinde and Lady
Ellen averted their gazes awkwardly. Innocence could certainly be cruel.
Then, I handed over Prince Yamato to Yumina, who was waiting patiently to
receive him. Cradling her little brother, Yumina began rocking him in her arms.
"Yamato. It's me, your big sister." The Belfasts didn't come over often, so she
was probably worried he'd forgotten about her. However, she had nothing to
worry about. He was smiling more broadly than he did in my arms.
"In a few years, you may well very be holding your own child in your arms like
that."
"Little Yamato'll be an uncle before he knows it. Or well, at least I should hope
so."
"Hahaha, right..." I laughed stiffly, trying to avoid the royal couple's
suggestive words.
What in the world are they saying?! Yumina turned aside, pretending to have
not heard what they were saying, but she was visibly red to her ears.
"I'll bear Touya's child too! And if it ends up being a girl, she can be Yamato's
bride!" Sue proclaimed proudly and clung to me happily.
D-Do you have any idea what you're saying?! You can't promise a kid that isn't
even born yet to marriage!
"...Hmm. That doesn't sound too bad, actually. The Belfast family would be
included in Touya's lineage... Good idea, that." The King muttered pensively.
Huh? He's going along with that?! But I did wonder what would happen to
their relationship if that happened. Yamato was Sue's cousin, so that would
mean he'd be marrying his cousin's child. Cousins marrying wasn't unheard of,
so I figured it wouldn't be all bad. In my case, it would be my brother-in-law
marrying my daughter, and from the King's perspective, it would be his son
marrying his younger brother's grandchild. It was all a little complicated for me
to take in.
The plan was that I'd marry everyone when I turned eighteen, but I couldn't
help wondering what I'd do about Sue. Marrying a twelve-year-old was a bit of
an issue. Of course, I'd stand by my promise and marry her, but it'd have to wait
a few years. Wait, then she'd be the only one to get left out...
"It'll take four, maybe five more years before you can give birth, Sue. And that
kind of age gap isn't that big of an issue... Hmm."
"Hey there. How about you cut it out right now? There's no point thinking
that far ahead."
"Oops, haha. I was just joking." Rebuked by the queen, His Majesty smiled
apologetically.
No, that definitely wasn't a joke. He was serious. Totally serious.
"Fwah... Gwah... Mah..."
"Oh? Mother, I think Yamato is sleepy."
"Let's see... Yes, he certainly does seem to be. Alrighty, it's time for a nap."
Taking her child from Yumina's hands, the queen carried him to a bed in an
adjacent room. Yumina followed her along with Ellen and Sue.
With only the men left in the room, the duke lowered his voice and whispered
to me.
"Ah, Touya... Regarding that matter..."
"Oh right. I checked that it's safe for use, and it seems to be alright. It's fairly
potent, so make sure to take only one a day, alright? Taking too many won't
change the effect any, and you'll be sluggish the next day from the excessive
mana." I warned the duke as I handed him a bottle filled with pills. I wished he
didn't have to rely on them, though. When I told him that, the duke said that
youth truly can be a bitter thing. I wondered what he meant.
"What's that?" His Majesty asked, noticing our conversation. It wasn't much
of a secret to keep from another man, but telling the truth was a touch too
awkward.
"Oh, that's, uh... what they call, an energizing medicine... Put simply, it's an
aphrodisiac."
"What?!"
"Sssh! No need to shout, Brother!" The duke covered His Majesty's mouth. If
the ladies were to hear that, he'd be ashamed to no end. Especially with the
King's daughter there.
"The other day, the duke brought the matter up and asked if I could help, so I
had Flora make it for him. We tested it out by offering samples to clients at a
brothel, and it was quite effective. They kept going on and on for several
rounds..."
"I-Is that right... A-Al! Share some with me!"
"You have no need of it, Brother! On the other hand, I must produce
Ortlinde's heir!"
"Be quiet! Quiet! There's another bottle!"
"Shut up!" Angry shouts lashed out at us from the other room. As I expected,
we'd irritated them...
The two men, on the other hand, held the bottles excitedly and smiled
broadly. I still didn't really understand what all the fuss was about.
"It's been ages since I visited Belfast's capital." I walked through the royal
capital with Yumina by my side. I hadn't even spent a year there, but it was still
a very nostalgic place for me. It was where I got my omni-resistant coat, after
all.
Yumina walked alongside me in her adventuring attire. The outfit was more
comfortable for her, and there was no need for her to dress up in Brunhild, so
she was used to it, too.
Our country didn't have anything resembling nobility, after all. Obviously I
was the Grand Duke, but that was more like being the chairman of the
neighborhood association.
"It's been a while since we've had a chance to hang out, too."
"Has it? I guess so... It's been pretty hectic lately." I walked along the royal
capital's streets with Yumina, a bit embarrassed as her arms locked with mine.
We'd been really busy recently, like having to go to Eashen to defeat a servile
god or constructing a bridge in Felsen. I was just telling Yumina how so much
had been going on, but...
"I think it's just you that's been going around the world like that, Touya. I've
been feeling kind of lonely, actually."
"I'm sorry. I want to spend as much time as I can with all of you, too."
"I know that. So even if I feel a bit bad for the other girls, I'm keeping you all
to myself today." That said, we did have some work to do.
Walking down the road, I saw several people riding bicycles. Bikes had
become quite popular in the royal capital. They were still fairly expensive, so
only some affluent citizens could afford them, though.
We found our objective at a corner of the main road. The Reading Cafe,
"Moon Reader." As we entered, we were greeted by the clerk, Wendy.
"Welcome... Oh, boss! It's been too long!"
"H-Hold up, Wendy! He's a monarch, you can't call him that!" The manager,
Sylvie, scolded her, but I assured her that I was fine with it. Being called Grand
Duke or something here would be all kinds of awkward.
"I've had Olba's firm take care of purchasing new books. Has that been going
well?"
"It takes a while to receive them, but there aren't any problems, really." All
the books were imbued with the [Paralysis] spell to ward off thieves and
burglars. Having said that, Sylvie motioned toward the back of the counter, to a
rack that looked almost like a photocopier. It'd been programmed to apply
[Paralysis] to any purchased books.
"The books are selling well, and our cooking's been getting a good reputation
lately, too."
Like Wendy said, Moon Reader seemed to be doing just fine. To be frank,
even if the cafe didn't make much money, I wouldn't mind too much, since this
place was kind of like a hobby to me. Still, hearing that business was flourishing
made me happy.
"Oh, I brought some new books. I picked up some popular titles in Felsen,
Roadmare, Lestia and Lyle. They're pretty hard to come by around here,
though."
"Wow, thank you so much!" The books I pulled out of [Storage] piled up on
the counter. And like always, there were some "female oriented" books
included there, too.
After that I said hello to everyone, adjusted the shop's reclining seats, and left
Moon Reader behind.
With this we had concluded our errands, so I spent the rest of the time
hanging out with Yumina.
"This place really is huge compared to Brunhild."
"Makes sense. But the bigger a city becomes, the more places that are out of
sight pop up."
That was certainly true. Outlaws and villainy could flourish in places that
evaded the law's gaze. That thought made me think that perhaps it was high
time I started bolstering the ranks of my country's knight order.
Hm...?
"What is it?" I stopped in front of a certain shop, and Yumina called out to
me. Before me was a poster plastered to the shop's window.
"A spectacle of love and adventure! The epic tale of the hero Toyya, who
challenged the deadly Black Dragon to save princess Yuina... Refreese's major
hit, delivered to you in a massive scale, finally arrives to Belfast... Touya, isn't
this...?" The poster was an advertisement for some exaggerated, dramatic play.
I thought it was just a coincidence, but upon reading the names I realized that I
wasn't imagining things.
"Look here, Yumina."
"What is it...? Scenario writer by Lil Refres, author of The Order of the Rose...
Ah!" Yumina was shocked.
Lil Refres? The author behind that pen name was surely none other than the
first princess of the Refreese Imperium, Reliel Rehm Refreese! The rotten
princess herself.
"That little... I can't believe she used us as material for her story."
"This is about us, right Touya? Judging by the advertisement, it looks like a
perfectly normal story..."
I don't know about that. It's kind of suspicious. I'd bet it has handsome fencers
or dandy dukes or something like that. Well, guess I'll just have to see it to find
out. Depending on the content we might have to forbid them from making
future performances.
The next performance in the capital theater was in about twenty minutes.
"Alright, let's check it out."
"Sure. It feels a little weird, but it should be fun." Yeah, watching a play that's
blatantly modeled after you was strangely off-putting. Still, so long as it didn't
drag my name through the mud I couldn't care less whether or not the story
was interesting.
I spent the next two hours watching the play with Yumina. Thankfully, my
concerns were unfounded, and it was a pretty average story. Though of course,
it was pretty far removed from what actually happened.
I didn't fight the Black Dragon one-on-one, and Yumina was taking refuge in
Belfast's palace. It wasn't so much a dramatization as it was a whole new story.
It might as well not have been me but some other hero. The guy playing Toyya's
role was really handsome, though. And the girl playing princess Yuina was cute,
but nowhere near as cute as Yumina.
It was a story filled with harrowing adventure and exciting romance, so overall
it was definitely worth a watch. When the play ended, the audience cheered
and applauded. Seemed like that rotten princess could write a decent story
after all. Surprisingly enough. Really surprisingly enough.
It was already getting dark out when we left the theater, and stars had
already started to dot in the sky.
"It was really fun! Especially the scene where he confessed to the princess
before fighting the Black Dragon! I was holding back tears!" Having heard
Yumina say that, I imitated the hero from the play and knelt down before her,
taking her small hand into mine. Yumina was shocked by my sudden action.
"Come what may, I pledge to protect you and become your sword and shield.
So please, grace me with your smile. I would know no greater joy than to have
you by my side, smiling. My love is yours. Now, and forevermore." I recited the
hero's lines. I might have remembered it a bit wrong, but it sounded about
right.
I looked up at Yumina, only to find tears in her eyes.
Wh-What, huh?! Did I say something to upset her? I straightened up in a hurry
to apologize, but Yumina shook her head and wiped her tears away.
"It's fine. I was just happy to hear those words coming from you, Touya..."
O-Oh. That's good, then. I was scared for a second there.
But using lines from a play to move her felt a bit pathetic, honestly. I should
have conveyed my own feelings, instead.
"Those lines... are what I really feel for you. I always want you to smile,
Yumina. At first it was all sort of ambiguous, but now I can say for sure. I really
do love you, Yumina. Please stay by my side. I want us to be together forever,
always smiling. I'm so grateful I met you. Thank you so much."
"Touya..." Yumina clung to me. Gently embracing her small body, I basked in
my joy. These girls were my treasure. I wouldn't forgive anyone who would hurt
them. And so, I swore to protect them with everything I had.
After embracing for a while, we naturally drew into a kiss and smiled at each
other.
"Let's go home."
"Yes." We made our way back under the night sky, hand in hand.
◇ ◇ ◇
The next day...
"So you went out with your fiancee and completely forgot about my request."
"You're right. I'm sorry." We were in Babylon's Library. Fam was seated on a
chair, and in front of her was me, apologizing on my knees.
She wasn't visibly angry, but there was a certain pressure to her that didn't
allow me to get a word out.
"And during your date, your head was full of dirty thoughts, was it not,
Master? I suppose it stands to reason you would forget, then."
"That's not it!" Cesca, who was standing next to her, served us tea.
The hell are you doing here anyway?!
Either way, it was true I forgot about that promise, so I apologized to Fam
earnestly.
"I'll buy it next time, I promise."
"I cannot wait that long." She shot me down immediately. I knew that was the
kind of girl she was, but she really had nothing going for her in terms of social
skills.
The promise was just that I would get her books from the world down on the
surface, but apparently she was looking forward to it too much. Now she
wouldn't forgive me.
It must have felt just like when you expected the books you ordered to be
delivered, but then they got held up and didn't arrive on time. I could
understand her irritation.
"As such, I expect Master to accompany me today. We shall go shopping. We
will purchase at least a thousand volumes today."
"A thousand?!"
"I am referring to ten series of titles that number over a hundred volumes. It
is not very much, numerically speaking."
Wait, huh? Really? Come to think of it... When I consider there's definitely
more than ten manga series that have over a hundred volumes in my old world,
it really doesn't seem that odd.
I didn't have any pressing matters to attend that day, so I didn't mind going
shopping. Isn't this the first time Fam will be leaving the Library, though?
"I see. Impressive, Fam. You get to go on a date with Master. I cannot let this
chance pass by. I will be accompanying you as well, Master."
"Huh? No way, you're coming too...?"
I've got a bad feeling about all this...
"Ah, so I alone do not satisfy you. Very well then, let us call the sisters."
"Hold up. That'll only make more of a mess, so please don't."
"I am afraid you are too late. So long as we are in Babylon, we are continually
in-link, sharing any information regarding you, Master. The sisters have already
been informed." What kind of system is that?! I'm getting kind of scared, here!
"It seems the Tower's Noel and the Rampart's Liora have abstained from
participating. The Alchemy Lab's Flora is also too busy at the moment." Fam
was already confirming the sisters' attendance from the terminal on top of her
desk.
Wait, you decided already? Noel probably just said she's too sleepy, and Liora
got stuck taking care of her. Flora should be making that drug Duke Ortlinde
asked for the other day.
If you think about it, it makes perfect sense for nobility and royalty to be that
occupied with producing heirs. They have second or third wives, even mistresses
if need be, because there's no real future for them without an heir. In other
words, that drug is something that's desperately sought after by nobility and
royalty alike.
That being the case, I knew it wouldn't hurt to have more of it on hand, so I
asked Flora to produce some more the day before. As a matter of fact, the
Emperor of Regulus asked for some, too. But it wasn't for him. It was for his
son, Prince Lux.
Lux didn't have any children, after all... It was a grave affair for the Regulus
Empire.
As I was pondering that, Rosetta, Monica, and Parshe all appeared in the
Library's teleportation circle.
"Are we going out, sir?! That'll make for a good change of pace, sir yessir!"
"Get me like, something totally yummy to eat, Master."
"It's-a been too long since I hit-a the surface world. This should be lots of
fun."
Fam, Cesca, Rosetta, Monica and Parshe... Am I going to have to take all five
of them out? Makes me feel like a teacher taking a kindergarten out on a field
trip. I hope nothing bad happens...
"Let us begin by purchasing everything from this shelf all the way to that
shelf."
"Everything?!"
I took them to a large book store in Belfast, and Fam said that all of sudden.
She preferred to read storybooks and technical manuals. She also read things
like self-help books, pictures books, and dictionaries, but didn't seem to like
them as much.
The shelf was packed with story books, historical tomes, travel journals, and
magic theory books. The Library probably had much more advanced books on
magic theory, though.
Either way, the books Fam asked for piled up on the counter. The girl at the
counter looked at the sight wide-eyed, but when Fam placed a platinum coin on
the counter, she immediately smiled at her like she would at an honored guest
and began pricing the books with a grin.
Books were extremely valuable in this world. They were fairly expensive, so
the commoners rarely got a chance to buy them. Since most of their patrons
were nobles, book shops tended to be heavily secured, and being as suspicious
as we were, the guards' attention was fixed on us. We're paying. Relax!
"Master, Master. I have found this lovemaking manual, The Garma Sudra.
Could you purchase it and try it out on me?"
"Put it back!" I drove away Cesca, who ran up to me with a dubious pink book
in her hands.
The Babylon sisters all accompanied me in their maid uniforms. They stuck
out like sore thumbs. Maid outfits were hardly subtle, after all.
"I've collected what I wanted from here. Master, let us continue."
"You're buying more...?" Fam seemed to be in a good mood. Her expression
was as blank as it ever was, but her gestures felt more lively, somehow. She
skipped just now, didn't she? Seeing her do that with her blank look was a bit
creepy.
Having paid for the books and received our change, I packed the books into
my [Storage] and we moved on. When I looked to the side, I noticed that Cesca
had managed to sneakily purchase that sex manual. She worked in the castle as
a maid, so I paid her a wage, of course. It was no surprise she had money on
her, but that book was fairly expensive... I wondered if it was okay to let her do
that.
"Master. I say that if what's bothering you is the price, buy it. But give it up if
what's making you buy it is the price."
Geez, no need to be so smug. I didn't even say anything! Anyway, she was free
to use her money however she pleased. I simply kept quiet.
Rosetta and Monica didn't seem interested in the books at all. I looked over
dubiously at Parshe, who picked up a book related to architecture. If that klutz
were to knock over a shelf, things would turn very ugly.
"Alright, let's check out the book store in the imperial capital, then." After we
left the shop, I opened a [Gate] in an alleyway to Regulus' imperial capital,
Gallaria.
From there we went to Refreese's capital, Bern, Mismede's capital, Berge,
Ramissh's capital, Isla, Lihnea's capital, Nimue, the Roadmare Union's central
capital, Paneramea, Lestia's capital, Lestin, and Felsen's capital, Pharma. We
went from country to country, buying every single book Fam specified. I'm
pretty sure we bought well over a thousand books.
"Master, I'm getting hungry and stuff... Feed me, if you could." As we walked
along the streets of Felsen's capital, Monica whispered with a tired expression,
contrasting Fam's brisk, albeit expressionless, gait.
"I've been well fed ever since I've entered your service, Master. So like,
skipping meals for the first time in a while and stuff is totally taking its toll on
me."
"Well fed... It's just ordinary food, you know?" Strictly speaking, the sisters
could generate energy from magic and light, so they didn't need to eat for
sustenance.
However, I thought working them to the bone and not giving them anything
to eat would be terribly cruel, so I'd been providing them with the same meals
we had. They could still ingest food, and could discern what tasted good and
what didn't, so they each gradually developed their own tastes in cuisine.
"It was pretty bad when we were working with Doctor Babylon... All we had
to eat were calorie bars and liquid food."
"That was-a pretty unpleasant..." Rosetta and Parshe spoke heartily.
So that's how she treated them... It feels a bit heartless of her.
"No, it was the doctor that didn't have any interest in food whatsoever, sir!
She was the kind of person who always said anything was fine so long as it
quelled her hunger, yessir she did. She didn't want to waste time on eating, so
she had only one meal a day. There was even a time where she tried to live off
Flora's pills."
"And we had-a to have the same diet she did. After all, only Cesca and Liora
can-a cook."
"Just because we could doesn't mean we were ever motivated to. No matter
what we'd make, the professor would always say it was just okay."
"She was a problematic person to live with, wasn't she...?" Hearing that made
me feel bad for them, so since we were in Felsen I took them to a nice
restaurant. It was a stylish little place. They didn't demand a dress code, so we
entered no problem.
They handed us a menu and took our orders, and soon enough the table was
stacked with delicacies.
"It's delicious! Delicious I say!"
"I get it, I get it. Settle down and eat already." I answered Monica with a wry
smile as she chomped on a mouthful of meat. While I was pondering how lucky
I was to catch a seat near the table's edge, a steak the size of a sandal slapped
onto the side of my face with a splatter.
"Ow!"
"Ahaaa, I'm-a sorry! I keep-a trying, but the steak! She cannot be cut!"
Parshe, who was sitting opposite of me, apologized as she tore the steak off my
face and put it back on her plate.
That clumsy little... She isn't doing this on purpose, is she? Earlier she said
"allow me" and poured a whole salt shaker's worth of salt into my salad.
"Parshe isn't at fault here, sir! It's just how she is. Please allow me to drop and
give you twenty in her stead, sir!" Rosetta, who was sitting next to me, offered
a black handkerchief. That was considerate of her. I took it and begin wiping off
the sauce that clung to my face and... immediately noticed a weird smell. I
spread the handkerchief and find that it wasn't an handkerchief, but an oily rag.
"Oh? Where'd I put the handkerchief while I was changing, again?"
Rosetta began rummaging through the pockets of her maid uniform, while I
silently pulled a wet towel out of [Storage] and used it to wipe the sauce and oil
from my face. Being around them was exhausting...
Incidentally, Fam just started reading the books she bought earlier, and
hadn't touched her food at all.
"It's going to go cold, you know?"
"There is no reason for concern. It is still perfectly edible when cold."
This girl... The least you can do is take your eyes off the book when you're
talking to me.
Why is her personality like that? Oh, come to think of it...
"Your personalities are partially based off of Doctor Babylon's, right?"
"That's right, sir! The professor divided her personality, and granted each of
us an emotion to serve as our core. I myself have the professor's urge to create
as my core, sir!"
I see... The professor's desire to "create things" is the emotion at Rosetta's
core.
I glanced at Fam, who was still engrossed in her book.
"So that means Fam is..."
"Intellectual thirst."
That made sense. The desire to "know many things" was the basis for Fam's
heart.
"Parshe's is 'ambition' and Monica's is 'sincerity.'" Parshe and ambition...
Well, I guess she never gives up no matter how many times she screws up. And
Monica is sincerity. Well, she really is honest. Both to others and to herself.
I turned my eyes to the perverted maid, who kept panting while zealously
reading the sex manual she'd bought.
"I take it she's lust or carnal desire..."
"To be exact, hers is curiosity... I believe that choice of words would be far
less objectionable..." Even Rosetta looked somewhat taken aback by Cesca's
behavior.
Incidentally, Flora's was "devotion," Noel's was "sleepiness," and Liora's was
"compassion."
That crazy doctor actually had devotion and compassion for others...? Of
course, the sisters aren't all made up by single emotions. Other various
emotions that splintered off from the professor surround their cores, and each
of them developed their own personalities.
"So Doctor Babylon is like the sum of all of you, or your basis... She sounds
like a truly impressive person."
"If she were a bit more normal, sir! She would have surely left her mark upon
history. However, as she was prone to mood swings and didn't care at all for
fame or reputation, there were hardly any people she could consider a friend,
no sir."
She was a loner, then... I suppose given her personality, no one would have
gone out of their way to get involved with her.
"There were those foolish nobles that kept bothering the professor for her
inventions. But she like, totally taught them a lesson and stuff."
"That brings-a back memories. She had them all tied up naked to-a the palace
pillars."
"Yes, they were upside down, too. That was totally awesome, hah..."
...Huh? I'm getting deja-vu for some reason. Am I imagining things? But she
sure did some nasty things in the past. Pretty scary, to be honest.
"By the way, there was one more part to Babylon... the Research Laboratory.
What's the person who manages it like?"
They have part of the professor's personality, so that alone should make them
abnormal. In that case, I should probably learn what kind of person they are.
"I don't like her." Monica said flatly, chewing on her meat. Weird. I never
expected to hear Monica talk like that about someone.
"That's because the Research Laboratory's manager likes to pamper Monica,
sir!"
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"It's like, totally annoying and stuff, you know...? She keeps trying to hug me. I
can't stand it when people stick to me like glue."
"The Research Laboratory's terminal gynoid is-a hard-working and-a
responsible, though. She worked often as-a the professor's assistant. She was
also in charge of-a providing maintenance for our bodies." Parshe answered,
finally successfully cutting off a piece of meat from her steak.
Serious and hard-working, huh... Maybe it'll be fine, then... Liora, Rosetta, and
Monica are on the diligent side too, but they each have their own issues.
"The Research Laboratory's gynoid helped-a the professor on many of her
experiments. She even helped in making most of-a us, with the exception of
Liora and Flora. She's the third sister, after all."
The third sister, huh? Each Sister had a number assigned to them. If I recalled
properly it went something like:
#20 - Preliora
#21 - Bell Flora
#22 - ???
#23 - Francesca
#24 - Irisfam
#25 - Pamela Noel
#26 - Lileleparshe
#27 - High Rosetta
#28 - Fredmonica
That sounded about right.
"Aren't there any units from before Liora's time?"
"There were, but all the ones before number eighteen were animal types, and
numbers eighteen and nineteen were made to be short-lived, unlike us."
"I see..."
It's a story from five-thousand years ago. I can't blame them. I guess she must
have used special cells to grant these girls their longevity, then. They're a cross
between a magical life-form and machine, after all.
"Hmm, but wasn't there a numbered capsule after mine in the Research
Laboratory? Number Twenty-Nine, right? I was looking forward to someone
being newer than me, but Babylon got like, totally split up and stuff before she
woke up... What happened to that?"
"There was a capsule there, but it was empty."
"Maybe it was-a spare?"
"You think? There were lots of capsules in the Research Laboratory... Why
like, totally go to the trouble of putting a number on it and stuff for no reason?"
"Maybe the professor was thinking of making us a new sister!"
"A new-a little sister... I hope-a she's in the Research Laboratory." The three
of them were getting worked up, but I turned my gaze to Cesca and Fam, who
were still immersed in reading.
I wonder why they're not taking part in the conversation... They shouldn't be
reading all the time. Well, one of them is reading a dirty book, too...
They had me follow them around all day, but it honestly wasn't so bad every
once in a while.
Still, the day's events reminded me that there was one more Babylon left to
find. We found the Frame Gears, so I wasn't sure if we needed much more, but
if their sisters were out there, then I wanted to help them meet. Being alone
was pretty sad, after all. And there was even a chance for two more to be at the
Research Laboratory.
As I wondered just who I'd wind up meeting next, I quietly sipped my juice.