“Uh…?”
I couldn’t help but let out a snicker of disbelief.
Well, is it really that obvious?
If it’s Linda’s repair facility, then it probably only has parts exclusive to Linda.
[The microphone setup is still not finished, Master.]
[… …]
In front of me stood a clockwork doll that looked slightly shorter than Linda, resembling a girl…
Its back was exposed, revealing the gears underneath.
But once Linda zipped up the dress, it looked seamless.
Purple pupils.
Short bobbed hair.
Pouted lips.
It looked somewhat like Linda but had a completely different impression.
I faced it and took a quick glance at the gigantic mana stone connected to it.
Immediately, it dashed forward, cautiously putting distance between the mana stone and me.
Seems it has some awareness that this mana stone is the source of its life.
“So, you still can’t speak? Can you understand if I talk?”
[No… I’ve input the language learning data, but it seems the intelligence of the main soul is a bit low…]
Seriously? Its intelligence is so low that it can’t even speak?
The part of Draken that transformed into a camellia flower and resided within me could communicate effortlessly in human language, right?
‘Ah, that guy must have been able to do it because he had been in the current world for a long time.’
It just takes time to learn, and once learned, it can use language.
Thinking about it, that makes sense.
Just inputting language data won’t make it talk right away, only machines like Linda or transcendent beings can do that.
Draken’s hardware has already degraded to human levels and can no longer showcase the glory of a dimensional being.
“The most important thing is whether the will is distorted or not.”
I’ve done my best to separate Draken from the laws of this world.
Every will expressed by Draken would turn into malice, and any attempts would manifest as attacks; I had to stop that.
With Mo Myung’s magic, I created a soul vessel.
If I trap Draken’s soul in here, my inner world would manifest.
It would be able to evade the eyes of the laws.
That was my plan, and it was successful up to this point, but…
In the end, how Draken’s will is conveyed remains the most critical issue.
“Even non-verbal expressions are fine. Express your feelings right now, Draken.”
[… …]
I grabbed its chin and lifted it, forcing it to meet my gaze.
It hesitated, trying to look away but reluctantly made eye contact.
After staring into my eyes for a while, it finally spoke up.
[#@#$%#$@]
“…!”
What a growling and creepy noise, like a voice that almost formed language.
My body tensed up, and I shivered.
No way, is it still distorted?
Are all the sounds Draken emits converting into threatening words?
I gripped my hands tightly as my will gathered.
I was ready to shatter that mana stone in half.
[Hungry…]
“What?”
[Hungry…]
The static voice made my strength suddenly fade away.
Hungry?
[Oh come on, Master. The microphone setup is still not finished.]
“….”
Naturally, I picked it up and sat it down again as Linda began adjusting it.
Watching it calmly get adjusted while it opened its mouth left me feeling deflated.
Maybe I didn’t need to worry at all.
According to Linda’s diagnosis, its current intelligence level is about that of a toddler.
But seeing how quickly it’s learning and its intelligence rising, it would soon reach adulthood.
Right now, it can only express feelings like hunger, tiredness, and sleepiness, so smooth communication might take quite a while…
How absurd.
What on earth was it thinking trying to descend into this world? What was the meaning of sending its power here, and why did it try to seize Linda?
I had a mountain of questions, but it was in no state to converse…
“Hah…”
I decided to stop by Yulia’s workshop while I was at it.
It seemed she hadn’t even had time to rest properly as she was sleeping with her head on the desk.
I heard that ever since the airship crash, she’s been helping to control the clockwork doll containing Draken…
Seems she was worried leaving it solely to Linda.
Well, in its state of being trapped in the mana stone, it couldn’t spread power like before.
She probably felt that Linda couldn’t be trusted because of her past.
It wasn’t that Yulia herself didn’t trust her; rather, it was because others were scared, so she wanted to eliminate that anxiety by participating in the control.
“Good job.”
She looked really tired.
I gently stroked her tremoring ears and pushed aside the hair that was trying to poke her eyes, planning to leave.
“Are you busy…?”
Out of nowhere, a weak grip grabbed my wrist.
Turning around, I found Yulia holding my wrist with a creepy smile.
Did I wake her up?
Feeling slightly guilty, I pulled a chair over and sat beside Yulia.
Then Yulia started to knead my hand and arm.
“Busy? What do you mean? I’m unemployed now, you know.”
“Hehe, Yoo Jin, you look healthy. I’m glad. The Priestess was really worried about you.”
“Why are you pretending you don’t know? I heard you were shouting as if I was about to die, in front of a lot of people.”
“Th-that was…! That was… it was just… um…”
“What is it?”
“I-I don’t know…”
Yulia was speaking smoothly before becoming flustered and stumbling over her words.
So, she actually spoke like that in front of others?
How desperate was she?
It was like having growing pains but being worried like she had some deadly illness…
Yulia seemed shy too, blushing and unable to meet my eyes.
Instead of forcing her to look at me, I focused on her ears that were revealed when she turned away.
“Huuh?!”
She jumped in surprise as I touched her ears.
But I didn’t miss, continuing to rub them obsessively, and soon Yulia began to make soft melodic sounds, slipping away from me.
Not allowing her to escape, I wrapped my waist and grabbed the back of her head.
As I got closer, I felt the soft touch pressing against my chest.
I leaned in closer, tilting my head slightly.
“Ugh?! Hah! Huhhh…”
Our lips met.
Without a peck, I pressed our lips together forcefully.
Yulia struggled to push me away, looking shocked but put no strength into her arms.
She started to lean back in the chair, her feet lifting off the ground, flailing about.
But I didn’t care and kept pushing until Yulia was nearly floating.
As she was about to lose her balance and fall, Mi Jeong gently caught her from behind.
“Huh? W-wait. Just a moment… Huh? Aahhh…”
As I momentarily pulled back to catch my breath, Yulia mumbled some nonsense, so I quickly shut her lips again.
I had no intention of letting her go, even for a brief moment.
Having met Yulia about thirteen times, I’ve come to understand.
Yulia is the kind of person who, while saying “don’t come closer,” secretly hopes you will.
The past failures were due to my ‘complacency.’
Just because she acts all cheerful in front of me doesn’t mean she has fully opened her heart.
Even though she appears disarmed around me, Yulia’s mental defense was still solid.
In a typical case, one would gradually ease the tension by talking and spending more time together, but…
With Yulia, it’s different.
This isn’t going to break easily.
The more well I treat her, the more defensive she gets.
Starting from “Why is he being so nice to me?” to “If he’s this friendly, he must like someone else,” she spirals into a pit of silly thoughts.
She ends up with a thicker mental armor instead.
The way to break through this is straightforward.
Push harder.
Keep pushing and pushing.
Even when she begs me to stop approaching, I will ignore her and keep pushing.
Even now, when she has expressed her feelings towards me, nothing really changes.
I still have no intention of stopping the onslaught.
If it’s Yulia, she’s likely thinking “Does he only like me?” or “He just accepted my confession out of politeness; there’s no way Yoo Jin likes me.”
I was personally teaching her otherwise.
“Phew! Hah, huuuh…”
Without giving her a breath, I kissed her again.
The frantic struggling that seemed like it would fall at any moment ceased.
Before long, Yulia wrapped her legs around my waist, relying on me.
After a long time of kissing, once I pulled back, Yulia’s face was a mess.
Saliva, whose origin was unclear, was stretched like spider silk.
She was breathing heavily like she had just finished an intense workout.
With a slightly pouting face, Yulia expressed her dissatisfaction.
“Hah… Something feels strange. That kiss when I was dazed… Both the touches and lips were all Yoo Jin, but the Yoo Jin I remember wasn’t that forceful. Now that I’ve experienced it today, I see it was spot on. How did you change so much?”
“It’s your fault. You keep escaping.”
“Of course I’m going to escape… when you jump at me so scarily…”
“So, you didn’t like it? You escaped because you didn’t like it?”
“… I escaped out of courtesy. I’ll have to ask you to keep holding onto me.”
Once again, Yulia turned her eyes away, her cheeks all flushed.
She just couldn’t be honest no matter how long we went on.
