Chapter 26: Puppet Girl
2016-01-07
Author: Floating Tower (诸生浮屠)
Soren was not too familiar with the Eastern Kingdom.
He had spent most of his past time in the Underdark, and although he had traveled through the Eastern Kingdom, it was merely a brief glance. One of the tasks he received there was even to assassinate the Eastern Empress. Soren was one of the few professionists who had fought against the Eastern Empress, so he had a clear understanding of her strength. Now that his identity was vastly different, there was naturally no need to antagonize the Eastern Empress for a small reward; it would be best to win her over if possible.
“Map?”
Hearing Soren’s words, the dance maiden in front of him immediately showed a bit of disinterest. She smiled and said, “Please wait a moment, guest.”
With that, she swayed her slender waist and went upstairs.
After a few minutes, the Eastern Dance Maiden came back out, raising her hand to place a parchment map in front of Soren, lazily saying, “I wonder if this guest is satisfied?”
It was a map.
The entire terrain of the Eastern Kingdom was marked, almost including all the oases and cities, and even the routes were clearly indicated.
However.
After Soren finished looking at it, he frowned and said slowly, “This is not what I wanted; it’s garbage.”
This was merely a topographical map.
Ordinary Eastern adventurers could easily obtain this; it only marked commonplace things, but none of the information Soren wanted was there.
He looked up at the Eastern Dance Maiden in front of him, slightly releasing a hint of the aura of a legendary professionist, and said slowly, “I want a map that documents all discovered underground ruins and secret realms in the Eastern Kingdom.”
“This kind of garbage is of no use to me.”
Whether it was an illusion or not, the Eastern Dance Maiden suddenly felt Soren was completely different now. At first, she had thought he was just a capable adventurer, but now he felt like a primitive ferocious beast. Her gaze lightly brushed over her neck, and she felt as if he could snap it at any moment, as if she were merely wiping away a speck of dust.
Suddenly, her cold sweat began to pour out.
It seemed she had encountered someone extraordinary; this could possibly be a legendary-level noble.
“Your… Your Excellency!…”
The Eastern Dance Maiden’s tone changed abruptly, trembling slightly. She cautiously said, “I do not have the qualifications to complete such a transaction.”
“If needed, you can come back tomorrow.”
Ruins map.
This already exceeded the range of transactions for an ordinary adventurer and was well beyond her authority. At the very least, someone at the level of a Butterfly would need to be in charge to conduct the transaction Soren required.
Tomorrow?
Soren frowned again upon hearing this and said, “Alright. Arrange a room for me.”
“I will wait for you for a day.”
Having a map or not was a different matter. Even as a deity, Soren could not be all-knowing. Waiting an extra day was not a big deal.
“Your Excellency!… Please follow me!…”
Perhaps realizing that Soren was a legendary professionist, the Eastern Dance Maiden’s expression became much more respectful. In a soft voice, she said, “Your room is this way. Lady Alice should be back tomorrow.”
Alice?
She should be the one in charge here.
Soren did not really care. After the Eastern Dance Maiden arranged a room for him, he quietly read a book.
A day passed quickly.
The next day, a maid invited him to the third floor, looking like the person in charge had returned.
“Please come in.”
A gentle female voice came from inside the room. She appeared to be quite young.
Soren pushed the door open and immediately saw a girl dressed in an exquisite blue and white floral long skirt, with beautiful short golden hair, and a red headband. The girl had a delicate and charming face. She looked quite young, perhaps around sixteen or seventeen years old. Her features seemed to lean more towards the southern races of the continent, unlike the indigenous people of the Eastern Kingdom. She sat at a desk, flipping through a thick book, with several palm-sized exquisite puppet girls busy at work nearby.
They were organizing data, and one of them was napping on another thick book.
“A puppeteer?”
Soren looked at her in surprise. Most puppeteers in the Eastern Kingdom specialized in alchemy; they were experts in creating golem puppets.
However, the girl puppets in front of him were vastly different from those wooden puppets he had seen yesterday.
They were not even products of the same level.
These girl puppets were not only exceptionally agile but also had rich facial expressions. They were all dressed in gray and white maid dresses, and their skin appeared very fair, though it was unclear what material was used to create them.
“What exquisite puppet dolls!”
Soren had never seen such high-level puppet dolls. In terms of the application of certain alchemical processes, they might even rival the one he encountered with his Demon Avatar in the Bottomless Abyss.
“Could they be advanced alchemical constructs?”
If they were indeed advanced alchemical constructs, then the girl who looked very young in front of him should be a legendary-level puppeteer.
“Lilith.”
The girl who was flipping through the book looked up at Soren and quietly said, “Please allow your guest to have some tea.”
As her words fell, one of the puppet girls who was organizing the books stood up. She slightly adjusted her maid dress with her delicate little hands, and then her slender figure floated up, with hands no larger than an adult’s finger, holding a nearby teacup, pouring tea, and delivering it to Soren.
She had flown over.
This was simply unbelievable!!!
Soren had never seen such a peculiar alchemical construct. The girl puppets were enchanted with at least ten spells or more, and whether it was strength, speed, or intelligence, they far exceeded other golem puppets.
It was as if they were living intelligent beings.
“Are they really advanced activated constructs!?”
Soren’s pupils constricted slightly; he had started to suspect some things. These girl puppets were all truly living beings who had been infused with souls through special spells.
“Please enjoy.”
The puppet girl named Lilith floated in front of Soren, gently curling her fingers around the hem of her skirt, performing a lady’s gesture, and in a slightly cold mechanical voice, said, “My name is Lilith, and I am the head maid of the master.”
Incredible!
Soren felt that this puppet girl in front of him had completely surpassed the level of ordinary golem puppets. Ordinary golem puppets possessed a certain level of intelligence and could act according to their master’s commands. However, the intelligence level of the girl puppet before him was simply too high. Even the expressions on her face were so vivid, and her intelligence level was probably at the level of a Tower Spirit.
“Um?”
At this moment, the girl who had been reading also closed her book, raised her gaze to focus on Soren, and slowly said, “Is the guest looking for high-level maps? These are not exactly cheap!”
………………(To be continued ~^~)
