Chapter 13 - kind partner

"This isn't going to work, I recommend you give up." After reading some of her records and seeing her projects it became obvious that there were too many holes and gaps.

"I don't need another person telling me this, especially the great and inspiring... what's your name again?"

"Eros, the god of electricity, steam and Machinery. Only the greatest mind in this field, even among the gods." Again she laughed, I was starting to get annoyed every time I heard that laugh. This was going to become a serious trigger in no time.

"The great Eros, the god of steam and Machinery. Revolutionary by nature, greater than Hephaestus, the only one of his name in high power! "

"Seriously, you're very good at creating stories, you're wasting your talent." I slapped myself hard across the face, and with a long, drawn-out sigh I continued to pound away, regretting every decision I'd made today.

"And who would you be? The little gambling hare? The cowardly little lion? Or do you have any other fun names to share?" She picked up a piece of metal and threw it at me, hitting me in the shoulder, which felt like it was going to break on contact. The pain was no joke.

"Watch out!" That brat knew how to keep her face shut and at least growl.

"I have a very beautiful name for a beautiful lady like me, dearest Charlotte. Loved and admired by everyone who crosses my path and even those who have never seen me know my name!" Her hands rested on her chest with an unprecedented pride for an idiot, but I must admit that the clothes hid the size of her breasts well.

"What a sweet name for a thorny, unloved flower like you. Your parents must share the same neuron to give you that name." This time I grabbed the gear that was thrown at me to avoid hurting myself.

"Get a grip!" Strangely, I noticed a label attached to the piece, and looking closely I could see a name written on it. Brothers Wall Company...

"Is it just me or is it from your work?" She shuddered, walking over to me and grabbing it from my hand as quickly as she could.

"What a klutz I am, I accidentally brought a piece home. I must be really stressed!" I picked up another item from the table with the same label.

"Twice?" She started whistling.

"It happens from time to time..." I started to pick up several of them, all with the same tags.

"I must be high on the smell of chemicals, surely Miss Charlotte hasn't been stealing from her own service without anyone seeing, very sneaky."

"Te-he" She stuck out her rabbit tongue, like a very minor accident that would lead to her complete dismissal and possibly countless problems with the police or at least a lawsuit.

Gambling addict, thief, in debt to loan sharks. Holy shit, is that bingo for how fucked up someone can be? I also need to add that her parents shouldn't know she's not studying. If anyone finds out half the story, this girl is in deep shit.

"Anyway, I respect your ideas and the project itself, You are certainly more than words, it's phenomenal that you did all this alone, I admire you so much for that, it would work with some more study and testing..." For the first time I saw her face open up, her small teeth for the first time didn't look sharp and her wide-open eyes looked like stars.

"The problem isn't with your idea or your incredible abilities. The problem is that we don't have the materials we need to make this telegraph." This time it was she who sighed.

"It's called a beeping box, telegraph is a terrible name."Sure,of course it's a terrible name.

"You must be the first to realize that. Yes, I really have no idea how to continue. I'd need a hypothetical material that doesn't exist and I have no way of knowing how to create. I'm currently trying to find a solution, it may not be ideal but there must be something that can solve my problem." 

"No, there isn't. What you need I've never seen or heard of around here and any substitute we can use will make the project more expensive, even if it doesn't seem like it at first. Any material other than that will require constant maintenance and any minor defect would render it ineffective for days until we find out where the error lies. Not to mention that the effective range of the equipment would be reduced."

What the girl needed at the moment wasn't any miraculous or magical material, but it had a very simple correlation with those crystals. Because people have developed their economy around them, they have never exploited oil, which is polluting and less efficient.

But the problem is that oil is not only used as a source of energy, but also to produce various materials, including rubber, which would be needed in this project as an insulating material.

The best substitute for synthetic rubber would be natural, but we are not exactly next to a forest and again I have never heard of a tree capable of this in this world, it must have but possibly it has not yet been exploited for this purpose.

This girl was certainly a genius, but she was limited by the technology of her time, in a world not yet globalized, where obtaining materials from across the globe wasn't possible. And, clearly, she wasn't a chemist, which sent her chances of figuring it all out on her own down the drain.

Any further research would require funds she didn't have…

Maybe I can find someone who understands about trees later, with some basic descriptions I can find one capable of producing latex.To say the least there are at least 100 nature gods if there isn't a son of a bitch capable of answering that in this city I swear I'll kill one of they.

 

"As I said from the start, give up on this project—it's a futile idea at this point." This time, she was truly downcast. I was the first person who had stopped to try to truly understand what she'd been working on and grasped it in full detail, and yet, I'd concluded it was useless. It felt like stomping hard on her face.

"Don't make that face, that way I'll end up crying together. You did everything you could with what you had and even what you didn't have, you can be proud of that."

"What matters is failure.Without money and with so many barriers, it's the end.I just wasted time trying and now what I have left is to become a cheap prostitute for some fat ugly bastard."She lowered her beret, hiding the tears that were slowly flowing, my heart felt like it was going to break in two. Knowing what others felt sometimes just meant the weight was even greater

she can become my bitch but only mine and no one else's, least of all a fat man with oily fingers.I would never abandon her in this situation.

"I was stupid, very stupid, I shouldn't have started any of this. I should have just done what I was told instead of being so stupid.a stupid whore."Seeing her hitting herself hard hurt me deeply.

"Hey, we can work together on this at a later time, with more resources. You haven't failed yet, just will take more time to finish it."She slowly lifted her beret, her still moist eyes looking at me with childish hope.

"Together?"I nodded in agreement.She was alone all this time, being treated like a stupid spoiled girl, as she herself repeated. Now she would have someone else to ease some of the burden.

"As long as you accept me as a partner, I will be the god who will bless you from now on."

For the first time since I arrived here I released my aura, this time however I didn't want to attract attention or be aggressive. She felt like a gentle breeze that hugged and comforted a hurting girl, her warmth was welcoming and gentle.I could see for the first time in her eyes some respect and reverence.

"I didn't know gods could be such low criminals.But I would never reject the one who listened to me. Even if they are the worst criminal like you."I ignored the comment, I think this time I deserved it.What mattered was only the second part.

"For now, we need to develop something simpler that can bring in quick money."

"Orario has many problems to solve besides information distribution. Even a simple bicycle or a hair-cutting machine could make a lot of profit." She grew more confused the more she listened to me.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying I already know how to get us out of this financial hole.Soon we will have more money than most have in a lifetime." I can fix her and her life.Or at least I was going to try.First some money, then this dirty mouth and finally the rude attitudes.

It's going to take some work, but when hasn't it been?

From afar I could hear loud laughter as if a bunch of drunks were approaching, the once silent street was now losing its best quality. Charlotte in front of me shivered, recognizing the collectors who were coming behind her.

"Shit! hide!"As always, she ran as fast as she could,always running away and hiding in fear of everything and everyone.But now it would be different….I put my hand on her shoulder and with a smile I reassured her

"left it with me" this time she wouldn't face it alone, after all now she was my responsibility and anyone who wants something from her will first have to go through me.