Ulmolg trembled. Chills crawled all over his body as his eyes devoured what was in front of him.
A beauty- no. It was a divine beauty. The forest crawler in front of him was a thing of beauty. Everything about it was just perfect to look at.
Ulmolg almost swooned right then and there. While he had seen plenty of designs of forest crawlers, mud swimmers, oceanic nets, and other machines, none had been so elegant. With such a reaction, you might ask, 'What's so good about this design? It isn't even based on the latest forest crawler, in the end, it's just an optimization of an old forest crawler.'
'Nay! It is not just an optimization of an old design. This optimization is the best! The placement of wheels, the size of the frame, the wiring of the motors, the bracing, the plating, the use of the engine, the utility, ...' Ulmolg droned on inside his head as idea after idea erupted inside him.
It was not the newest model. And somehow, Emmia had played to its strengths and heavily optimized it according to what she knew.
Ulmolg was so lost in the design that he completely forgot about the time and the fact that Emmia was next to him.
'Is it good?' Emmia thought anxiously as she watched Ulmolg tremble in silence holding her design.
Emmia fidgeted as intrusive thoughts ran through her head.
'Oh, he must have hated it....'
'I guess that's why he's looking at it for so long....'
'I wonder how many mistakes he's found....'
'Arhgghgh, this is embarrassing....'
Finally, poor Emmia couldn't take it any longer and cleared her throat to get Ulmolg's attention.
"Ahem, Sir?" Emmia asked pensively. She wasn't sure if she would set off Ulmolg while distracting him from his angry reading session.
"Ah!" Ulmolg let out a surprised shout. 'I was too absorbed!'
"Ahem-," Ulmolg cleared his throat and faced the anxious Emmia in front of him.
"Why are ye so scared`?" Ulmolg asked curiously.
"I-I mean m-maybe there was a mis-take in the design and you didn't like it-," Emmia responded with her eyes downcast.
"Girl," Ulmolg's eyes darkened at her reaction.
"Look at me," Ulmolg commanded. Emmia flinched and looked up, eyes trembling.
"I get that ye have some confidence issues, that's ye'r own personal thing. But ye shouldn't insult the creation ye make in such a way," Ulmolg warned. "If ye make something, ye should have confidence in it. Details for improvement 're one thing, but thinking that ye made a mistake, just 'cause someone 'lse is looking at it, after so much hard work? That's an insult to it and ye."
Emmia didn't respond, Ulmolg's words resonating in her heart.
"I'm not saying, blindly believe whatever ye make, but if ye make something with all yer heart, ye should be confident in it," Ulmolg ended gently. It was just a warning to Emmia for her future development. And since it looked like Emmia had understood, Ulmolg nodded to himself.
"Now, how did ye make this divine design!" Ulmolg eagerly asked.
"W-what?" Emmia stuttered in surprise.
"I'm saying, spill everything! I want ye to tell me how ye made this!" Ulmolg repeated impatiently while waving the sketchbook in front of Emmia's face.
Emmia blinked in stunned silence before widening them with excitement.
"Well, I kept trying to make a design based on whatever you showed me at the start, but then it just wasn't turning out well at all. Like at all. Then, I was suddenly hospitalized for something that I still don't know about, but that's a digression. Anyways, I ended up going to the Academy Library and-"
"Ye're part of the Nova Academy?" Ulmolg interrupted with surprise.
"Yep. But the point is that I spent days on end in the library, it's like a second home to me now. But I searched and searched, and I found some books like 'Manual for Engineers', 'Forest Crawlers: A brief history', 'Engine Design', ...." Emmia started to drone on as a lengthy list of references started to pour out.
Ulmolg listened attentively, his amazement growing as Emmia continued to talk.
Evening bled into the night as the sun set, while the both of them were still in the warehouse, talking away to their heart's content. The discussion had long since moved past Forest Crawlers and onto other machines and designs.
"Oh! Is the hardening function of the oceanic nets used to make a foothold of sorts as well?" Emmia asked excitedly.
"Right! Ye're completely right! In coastal cities, the oceanic nets are a vital part of their defenses as well as their economy," Ulmolg stroked his beard.
"But how efficient can such nets be?..." Emmia wondered out loud.
"What do ye think?" Ulmolg asked with a smile, he wanted to hear Emmia's thoughts about the topic.
"I mean, using a hardened net as a foothold is pretty limiting, but.."
"But?"
"It helps when um- basically it should help prevent the beasts from sinking it right?"
"What feature helps with that?"
"Since it's a net, a few torn portions will not lead to significant damage and it can still float and sustain itself," Emmia answered.
"Right, and it can also be used with its original purpose, to catch the beast when it is damaged," Ulmolg added at the end.
"Uh-huh," Emmia nodded at his statement. "But what about-"
Emmia didn't get to finish her sentence as the door to the warehouse bust open, with a figure storming inside.
Startled, Emmia turned to take in the person who had walked in. It was a tall and skinny person, his hair slightly graying around the sides, and with long arms.
"ULMOLG!" He bellowed, or at least tried to. Midway, his voice cracked and he stopped to cough.
"Aye' Stannie!" Ulmolg called out to his friend cheerily.
"What are you doing?!" Stanler Chard, the manager of the factory and Ulmolg's close friend shouted at the shorter man.
"Well, I was talking with this girlie," Ulmolg pointed towards Emmia.
"H-hello," Emmia greeted timidly.
Only sparing a glance towards Emmia, Stanler continued to shout at his friend, "Do you what's the time? The Caravan leaves soon! And have you checked the office for any spare documents? Never mind, I know you haven't checked. I'll go and check, you usher this young lady out, and don't get distracted!" Out of breath, Stanler took a moment to catch it before rushing up to his office.
Emmia stared, wide-eyed, up the stairs which Stanler had rushed up.
"Aye, it's fine girlie," Ulmolg reassured Emmia. "Stannie is just like that sometimes."
Emmia decided not to comment and just nodded her head.
"Let's get out of 'ere," Ulmolg led her out of the empty factory and turned to face her.
"I'm sorry I took so much of your time," Emmia apologized suddenly.
"What? This was all me pleasure," Ulmolg snorted and waved his hand dismissively.
"But aren't you late because of me?" Emmia asked worriedly.
"Ah, that's fine, they wouldn't leave without me," Ulmolg coughed slightly to conceal his embarrassment.
"Anyways, I'm sorry to leave ye 'ere," Ulmolg's voice carried emotion. He was going to have to leave this genius here and return to Manind City, it was an understatement to say that he was feeling devastated.
Emmia shook her head, "Please don't be," Hesitating, she continued, "I don't think I would come even if I had the chance. This city is my home, and I don't plan to leave it so early."
Ulmolg gazed into Emmia's eyes, which, for once, shined with confidence.
"I see," Ulmolg nodded his head and acknowledged Emmia's feelings.
Thinking for a short while, Ulmolg's face grew serious.
"Girlie," Ulmolg started, his voice deeper than usual. "It isn't a coincidence that we're leaving the city at this time."
"Wha-" Emmia started to say.
"Listen 'ere," Ulmolg continued, his voice becoming grave. "This city is not safe. There is some danger brewing. The 'igher ups ordered to return because they found out 'bout it."
Emmia listened in stunned silence, her mind not able to process whatever he was saying.
"Even I don't know what sort of danger, but if ye decide to stay 'ere, ye need to become strong enough to protect yerself," Ulmolg warned. His intentions for this warning? He didn't want such a genius to die so easily, so he decided to warn her with whatever he knew.
Emmia just nodded, still unable to process everything that Ulmolg had told her. Before she was able to say anything, Stanler rushed out carrying a file of papers. Quickly locking the factory behind him, he shouted, "Quick! Ulmolg, let's go!"
"That's me call. Okey, girlie, stay safe," Ulmolg bade farewell and followed Stanler. A few steps away, Stanler called out, "Sorry for rushing out like this young lady, we have the Caravan to catch, I hope you understand. As an apology, if you ever come to Manind city, just drop by our factory!"
With that, Stanler dragged Ulmolg as the two of them disappeared around the corner.
In all this, Emmia just stood there in silence.
'What does great danger mean?'
'What's going to happen?'
'The manufacturing district has been less active all of a sudden,'
'Maybe it's the same with the other districts as well,'
'That probably has to do with the danger that Mr. Ulmolg mentioned,'
Emmia shivered as she realized that night had fallen over the city, emptying the streets for the most part. 'I should get home,' Emmia thought, clutching her bag, she started to walk back in the dark, her pace just above walking, and right below running.
Emmia started to wheeze as her breath came out short, the bag digging into her shoulders just like before. Lost in her thoughts, Emmia walked right into someone on the road.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Emmia bowed her head as she apologized, before hurrying on.
The man in the garbage collector uniform, Ron, just stared at the girl's back before shaking his head. 'Wierd girl,' Ron thought to himself as he recalled how her face had immediately shifted from expressionless to flustered in such a short period.
'Anyways, another long day of work,' Ron thought to himself with a sigh. Life was just not easy for him, but at this point, he had just given up complaining.
Clutching his bag, he remembered the incident yesterday. Ever since his divorce and social expulsion, Ron had resorted to sleeping in parks at night. At least, that way no one would bother him. But that day, Ron had seen mind-boggling things. A cloaked man who just disappeared and then a young boy who floated in the sky. After that the wind started to pick up, sending shivers down Ron's back not just due to the wind, but also to the power exerted here.
'Not safe!' Ron thought to himself, gathering up his things and leaving the area without a further ado. A good distance away, Ron had looked back to find the sky above the park empty, no floating boy.
'The strong are immeasurable," Ron thought to himself with a shiver.
Rubbing his face he tilted his head to catch sight of a cloaked figure, one that looked identical to the one in the park.
'Huh?' Ron furrowed his brows at the sight. Ron had an inkling that the floating boy had shown up due to this mysterious cloaked figure in the first place.
'What is he doing?' Ron thought with confusion, as he watched the figure knock on a door, wait, and then enter it to disappear inside.
Scratching his beard, curiosity overtook Ron as he headed up to the same door cautiously.
Looking left and right, Ron hesitantly knocked on the door, waited just like the cloaked figure, and turned the knob. But to his surprise, the knob didn't turn, indicating that the door was locked.
'Maybe they locked it after entering?' Ron thought to himself as he backed away. That's when the door clicked open as an elderly figure peeked through.
"Who is it?" The elderly man asked with a yawn.
"Ah!" Ron let out in surprise. The elderly man didn't fit the proportions of the cloaked figure at all, and even Ron's intuition told him it wasn't him.
"My bad, wrong door," Ron managed to get out before leaving promptly to save himself from the embarrassment.
'Wierd, I could've sworn that it was that door,' Ron thought to himself as he started to get on with his daily activities.
----------------
Emmia closed the door behind her with a sigh.
She was finally home after rushing back. 'Seril will be pretty mad at me,' Emmia thought to herself as she dropped her bag. Exhaustion swirled through her body as she quietly walked into the living room, trying not to alert Seril.
'Huh?' Emmia thought to herself, 'where is Seril?'
Cautiously, she looked around, trying to find where Seril was.
'Not on the couch, not in her bedroom, not in the bathroom...' Emmia noted after a quick search.
'I guess she is still out on some work...' Emmia sullenly went to the kitchen to heat up some food.
Suddenly Ulmolg's warning resurfaced in her mind, 'this city is not safe...'
'Is Seril doing something like that....' Emmia thought before stopping herself. Her sister was strong. Nothing could harm her. She would always be there for her, unlike her adopted grandfather..... Or at least that's what Emmia repeated to herself that night right before she fell into a tumulous sleep.