A clear Holographic Projection appeared above the silvery-white pillar. Ophelia's figure appeared before Gawain, once again using the same "form" she had displayed at the meeting: a "vessel" that looked almost identical to the real Ophelia Norton, seated upon a pale golden throne, with countless pipes and cables extending behind her body and around the throne.
"Good evening," Ophelia's voice came from the projection, as calm and gentle as ever. "I hope I have not disturbed your rest."
Tir and the other Tirs standing nearby looked at the Princess Gandor in the Holographic Projection, then at Gawain. Hesitantly, she asked, "Should I excuse myself? Are you planning to discuss something confidential?"
Hearing that, Gawain gave the deep-sea salted fish a rather surprised look. Tir's usual unreliability must have been so frequent that hearing her say something sensible now felt strangely unnatural...
"No need," Ophelia's voice immediately came from the projection. Though that body remained expressionless, there was obvious amusement in her voice. "This is not something that requires secrecy. Miss Tir, do not treat me as a stranger. I am Veronica, whom you know well. Back in Cecil City, we discussed many things together."
"...That's true," Tir said, blinking. "But it's still a little hard to get used to all at once... I'm used to dealing with 'Veronica,' and now suddenly seeing you in this form..."
"Enough. Someone who changes herself around whenever she has nothing better to do, cuts off her own tail, and makes six clones has no business talking about other people," Gawain said, unable to help glancing at Tir. Then he turned to Ophelia. "Did something go wrong on your end?"
"The Azure Well's core control system has come back online," Ophelia said, her tone somewhat grave. "After initially repairing the perimeter pipeline monitoring system, I