BXBX NOVEL Chapter 97 - Headquarters
"I am Noelle. Can I ask? Why would I need to go to the HQ to be questioned? Can't you question me here without leaving?" Ellena asked.
"Well... it's because we want you to use a lie detector. And lie detectors are treasures to be considered as normal artifacts, so I hope you understand." Nicolas said.
The ranker's name who assisted Ellena earlier was Manny, and after the small talk with others, he led him to her room since the journey would take 2 days.
Ellena thanked him and inspected the room she was offered. It looked like a normal inn room. A bed on the side and well-conditioned wooden walls. There was also a personal restroom, which made a difference from the inn rooms.
Ellena sighed and fell back into the bouncy, foamy bed. She sank after taking a rest and felt her pain easily disappear.
What she needed was a rest. Since she was constantly thinking of what happened, she was bothered all the time. Even though an hour had just passed since she met Uno, who has the same face as Selena, she was still stressed about it.
"Should I meet Selena? It's almost half a year since I saw her. It would be good to see her and also ask her on the way if she has a twin brother." Ellena mumbled as her mind was also currently pondering what would happen in the next few days.
She continued to rest her mind and without noticing, she fell asleep.
***
Aaron was mesmerized by himself inside the operating room. There are six mages in the room, each with their own position. 2 mages control the wings and the sails of the ship. There were also 3 who were fueling the ship with the assistance of an artifact. And the last one was the one who was maintaining the stability of the ship by maneuvering it.
Aaron wasn't finished with his curiosity. He continued to enter every room, seeming to pique his interest.
Inside the ship, there is a diner which has an open kitchen and wide space to accommodate 100 people. Nonetheless, it didn't amaze him much since he was expecting a more futuristic magical experience.
However, the only interesting thing inside the ship was the operating room and nothing more. So, he decided to return to Ellena's side and noticed that she finally fell asleep.
"I guess that was stressful for her," Aaron mumbled before analyzing what he can understand of Ellena's personality.
Ellena's personality was difficult to understand. She seems to develop, but sometimes she seems to be stuck in one idea. It wasn't stable, and because of that, Aaron was nervous about what might happen in the future.
If a time comes where he can't persuade Ellena, what will happen to her? He isn't eager to follow Ellena's destiny in actuality. In fact, he wanted her to live her life. However, they can't escape it since it's coming to them.
Aaron planned to have a path where Ellena could safely venture to progress, but on every path he makes, there are always variables that threaten her.
'Even if I created another path for her, there would always be threats,' he thought, then he rested on Ellena's stomach.
'Sighs... If only I was born as a system with high chances of getting a body, I could easily help her. But this... won't do. I needed to constantly let her decide things as I don't want her to be dependent. I will just wait for her to ask for some help.'
Even he does wait, and plan to have a body, Ellena must be present since he can't be independent without her.
Through Ellena, he can evolve into a more physically present entity, but it would also mean that he should slow her pace.
This problem bombards him. If only he could do greater things...
'But the condition of having new knowledge and experience was for me to go through with her hardships... If only in my next life I wouldn't become a knowledge-hungry person, I could be complacent.'
And after that, without feeling the time, 2 days had passed in the blink of an eye.
They finally descended on a city where the town folks weren't normal citizens but rankers and people who were associated with the guild.
Ellena could only keep her mouth open as she pondered why the guild appeared so small in the eyes of others. But what she was seeing right now was beyond her expectations.
They descended on what appeared to be a city. The area was big enough to let 10,000 people inhabit the city.
The whole layout of the city was divided into 2 districts: the outer district, where 'normal' people live, and the inner district, where the 'executives' do their jobs. Each district was divided by an enormous wall, measured at 30 meters high.
'Wow...' Aaron was left mesmerized again when they entered the inner district, which looked like a futuristic training ground for the military and air force since the layout was seemingly designed for the purposes.
"By the way, why do I need to see the direction and location of the HQ from the ship? I mean, isn't the headquarters publicly open to be discovered since you're showing the ship to outsiders? " Ellena leaked out her ponderings.
Manny chuckled a little. "You are still green, Miss Noelle. I can't answer your question since the headquarters is still secret from the outside world, despite what you think. "
"Okay... Even though I don't get it, I understand your comings."
After it, they entered a tall building, almost 10-storey.
A huge twin sliding doors opened themselves when they sensed people coming. And after that, a magnificent interior greeted their eyes, both Ellena and Aaron.
It was indeed a magnificent view. People are doing their jobs in unison, seemingly not bothered by the schedules of their paperwork. Despite the floor being divided into different rooms, they were still accessible to each other as their walls were just made of blurry glasses.
"What is this...?" Aaron mumbled as he saw what looked like an office-like floor, located on the first floor.
If that's what it is, what happens to other floors?