[Vol. 8] Chapter 267: The Greatest Inventor in the World!
The first person to land shook her head, muttered a few complaints, then stood up and patted the dust off herself as if nothing had happened.
She looked like an ordinary human girl, but what made her strange was her clothing.
It wasn’t armor or any normal kind of dress, but a heavy coat made from some very smooth and flexible material that Frederica had never seen before. The odd silver coat covered the girl’s entire body from head to toe. Even her boots were connected to her pants, leaving no gaps at all.
The helmet she wore to protect her head was also unlike anything the Saintess had ever seen. It was like a big, semi-transparent ball made of an unknown material, tightly joined to the collar of her coat. Frederica even wondered if air could get inside that suit at all, how was this person not suffocating?
While the Saintess was still puzzling over the strange visitor, the upside-down “pipe” floating in the hall shook again and spat out several more figures.
This time, their landing wasn’t as rough as the first girl’s, they all landed safely on the ground. It seemed that only the first one had been unlucky.
Everyone who came out of the strange pipe wore the same odd suit as the first girl, except they each also carried a large metal tank on their backs, making them look even bulkier. Frederica had no idea what the tanks were for.
But soon, her expression changed. She fixed her eyes on the last person to come out of the hole and showed clear surprise.
This girl was different from the others, she wasn’t wearing the strange suit or carrying a metal tank. She simply wore a plain white robe and stood calm and elegant. Even though she had fallen at high speed, she adjusted her posture instantly and landed steadily on both feet. She looked completely out of place among the rest.
Frederica, of course, recognized her.
“Miss Violet? Why are you here? Shouldn’t that portal, or rather that hole, connect to the Holy Capital?”
“Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean ‘portal hole’? This is our brand-new invention, the Space Jump Machine No. 1301! Please respect its creator and use its proper name!”
Before the suddenly appeared priestess could reply, the first girl had already pulled off her helmet, revealing short white hair and a delicate, doll-like face. She glared at Frederica in protest.
“Uh… what machine number what?”
The Saintess froze for a moment, then awkwardly shifted her gaze.
“Sorry, I didn’t quite hear you. Could you say its name again?”
“Hmph! It’s the Space Jump—”
“Oh, enough already. Whoever wants to remember that ridiculous number can do so. Honestly, the only one who cares about that is her. You don’t need to worry about it, Miss Frederica.”
At this point, the priestess simply smiled and shook her head, ignoring the strong protests of the strange girl. She explained casually,
“I really was in Theo Province earlier for some business, but for certain reasons, the ruins there have been sealed up again, so I couldn’t go inside. Just when the disaster broke out there, I happened to be free, so I went back to the Holy Capital to see Edwina and share some information I had learned.”
"Later, it just so happened that she was about to start a nationwide inspection, sending people to the border to teach the testing method. I was curious about the situation here at the border, so I just hitched a ride with her~"
"I see… so the one Edwina actually sent to teach the technology wasn’t you, but—"
Before the Saintess could finish her guess, the short white-haired girl impatiently interrupted.
"Hmph! How could she handle such advanced technology? Of course it had to be me! My name is Eilush, you can call me the greatest inventor in the world!"
"...?"
This girl… why does she seem so strange?
"It’s fine. This one’s always been a bit short in the brain department. Well… since she doesn’t have a brain in the first place, it’s normal for her to act a little abstract sometimes. In short, just believe about half of what she says. And if something goes wrong, just give her a few taps like this, keep trying and she’ll be fixed eventually~"
Violet casually demonstrated by patting the strange girl’s head. A loud ‘duang’ sound rang out, but the girl didn’t seem to feel any pain. She only looked slightly annoyed and turned to glare at Violet.
"Hey! I’m very smart, okay?! If it wasn’t for me this time, with those scholar cavemen’s primitive research skills, would they have been able to develop a way to detect the so-called ‘curse of flesh and blood’ so quickly? You’re just jealous!"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes."
"Uh… ladies…"
While the two were still bickering like children, the other people who had arrived with them also removed their sealed helmets, showing their faces.
There were two young men, each carrying a longsword and with different looks and temperaments, and a strange girl with golden hair like gathered light, who clearly had features of the Lightborn tribe, but also had very dark circles under her eyes, as if she could drop dead from exhaustion at any moment.
As the only one who knew both sides, the priestess didn’t hesitate to end the quarrel and make introductions.
"This is Mr. Bevis Bernard, and this is his newly accepted disciple, Rowan, still a small fry for now, so no need to pay too much attention to him. We met by chance earlier in the Theo Province. Since they both have some ties to the Austre Empire, they just came along with us this time."
"Mr. Bevis, this is one of the three Saintesses of the Holy Empire, the Judgement Saintess, Frederica Cecilia. She wields the holy artifact [Judgement Holy Sword], is the eldest daughter of the Cecilia family of the Three Divine-Bloodlines, elder sister of the current Pope, and one of the most important people in the Holy Empire~"
"Miss Violet, please don’t tease me…"
Frederica shook her head helplessly and looked at the man with short black hair, carrying a huge greatsword on his back. Though his face looked young, his black eyes seemed to hold the weight of time and deep experiences. A flash of sharp light appeared in them.
She lightly touched the [Judgement Holy Sword] at her waist, but didn’t draw it, just felt the subtle tremor and humming from the blade. Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.
"Bevis… I have indeed heard of someone by that name. But he was said to have withdrawn from worldly affairs, rarely traveling outside, and it’s been more than ten years since he last took a student. Since the Holy Sword is both a holy relic and a sword, for it to react so strongly just by being near you, sir…"