Chapter 565: 71. The Copy of Consciousness
“This is where you’ll rest, the rooms are all clean, but I’ll be entering the room once a week to maintain the cleanliness, so if you have any secrets or anything you don’t want me to see, you’d better stash them away in advance…”
Heidlin led Fisher and Ilois ahead of her as they neared the guest rooms deep in the corridor, where they had heard the mechanical clatter—this was where Philis, Balzac, and a mechanic named Celti resided.
In search of the legendary Frost Snow Phoenix Tree, Valentina had hired several assistants, but Heidlin and Helldor weren’t among those she had paid for; they were originally from the Turand Family.
“Here is the key to your room, you can check to see if there’s anything else you need inside, but don’t take too long, as we’ll be starting dinner soon. The dining room is downstairs; just follow this corridor when the time comes, I need to go and make some preparations…”
Heidlin handed over the keys with a smile to Fisher and Ilois. Their room was right at the edge of the corridor, with Celti the mechanic’s room right across from theirs, which at that moment, sounded as if it were being demolished.
However, that thunderous noise abruptly ceased as Fisher and company approached, and after a second’s wait, the door cracked open, and a little girl with a metal mask emerged. She wore a greasy short shirt and braids typical of Kado, and had a maltose lollipop in her mouth. Blue hair and black eyes flashed with a hint of scrutiny, especially after seeing Ilois in her nun’s attire. The girl scanned Ilois from top to bottom and then smiled with a clear fondness, saying,
“Oho, I thought someone from the old country had come, but it turns out to be a demi-human, not bad, not bad… Oh, right, Helldor, didn’t you have something you wanted me to look at? You should come over now while I have the time.”
“Zizz… Sorry for the bother, Celti.”
Helldor exhaled a breath and, after greeting Fisher, entered the room. Through the gaps in the wooden door, he seemed to glimpse the outline of a steam machinery flickering with magic light, but once Helldor was inside, the door closed, preventing him from fully discerning the interior mechanisms.
“That kid is Celti, a steam mechanic from Kado, a rebel of the Church state. She is sure to have many common topics with you both.”
Heidlin covered her mouth and giggled, pointing out that one of them was an Nali Scholar rebel, and the other was a demi-human nun who broke traditions. Of course, they had a lot in common with that mechanic from the Church state… But if one were to be precise, their entire team was far from ordinary.
After arranging rooms for Fisher and the others, Heidlin temporarily bid them farewell and left. Fisher and Ilois exchanged glances and decided to first check their room and return outside to meet up after a few minutes.
Ilois, who had never seen such a spectacle, followed closely behind Fisher all the way, and her false pregnancy symptoms grew even more intense. Her hands never left her abdomen, and fortunately, the understanding Heidlin did not inquire, which spared Ilois additional discomfort.
The room assigned to Fisher was quite spacious, with a private washroom. Directly in front of the bed was a ship’s chord window, where one could see the East Ocean approaching twilight outside, and the ship’s frame was slightly shaking due to the rumble of the engines, signaling the imminent departure.
But just as Fisher had entered his room, the cardinal’s card in his pocket suddenly emitted a series of urgent beeps,
Fisher furrowed his brow as he walked into the room. Without taking the card from his hand, he saw a strangely shaped miniature mechanical figure sitting on his bed, its body shimmering with faint blue light, making it look like a mechanical puppy.
Just as Emhardt in Fisher’s pocket was about to poke his head out, Fisher quickly grabbed him and gently threw him towards the door, meeting his puzzled gaze, Fisher whispered,
“Wait for me at the door… if you don’t want to get electrocuted.”
Emhardt opened his mouth but obediently stayed at the door. He hadn’t seen anything within the room but still gave Fisher a suspicious look.
You damn scumbag, what mischief are you up to now, keeping even the great Book Knight in the dark about the specifics.
But Fisher didn’t care to pay him any mind, simply quietly closing the door and turning to face the room, approaching the bed. The machinery on the bed flickered with a glow, and then from within came a familiar monotone noise—who else could it be but the cardinal?
“I’m pleased to see you again, Mr. Fisher, I thought it would be later before you reached the Northern Realm. My fellow cardinals have seen you, so it was I who took the initiative to look for you. It just happens that with just yourself, you’ve caught the Turand Family’s line, which can save us a lot of effort.”
Fisher dragged a stool over to the bed and, listening to the cardinal’s message, glanced at the direction of the door,