"Lady Bauxia, it has been a long time." Angel performed a standard greeting.
Bauxia took out a lace folding fan and opened it slightly. The patterns on its face were the playing-card suits currently quite popular in Sky Mechanical City.
Opening the fan, Bauxia smiled as she used it to cover her lips. "Has it? Why does it feel to me as though our last meeting was only yesterday?"
Angel replied with utter seriousness, "Perhaps Lady Bauxia has been so absorbed in her research that she lost track of time?"
Bauxia chuckled softly without answering, instead turning her gaze toward Olao beside Angel. "Oh? Is this tall little brother your newly recruited assistant?"
Angel said, "More or less. His name is Olao, and for a very long time to come, he'll be conducting alchemy research alongside me."
Though Olao was the subject being researched.
Bauxia raised a brow. "So this little brother Olao is someone you consider trustworthy?"
Previously, both Antonio and Midora had noticed Olao, yet neither had asked about his identity. Bauxia, on the other hand, had immediately asked about him. This alone showed that Bauxia did not have much trust in Angel. She could try to trust him because of his status as a Research Institute member, but it was difficult for her to trust the people around him.
Antonio and Midora, however, trusted Angel, and thus trusted the Olao he had brought along.
The difference between closeness and distance was plain to see.
Angel did not mind. He himself had not had much contact with Bauxia, so her caution was perfectly normal. "Yes, he is someone I trust."
After a pause, Angel continued, "Don't be fooled by Olao's youthful face. In terms of his actual age, he is quite old."
In other words, Olao was no