The Setting Isn't Something You Can Eat (Continued)

Well, it was really nothing special. The morning was mostly spent wandering around. After passing the Rhodes Island Education Center, which was still under construction, we encountered a group of unruly kids—unfortunately, because the Chernobog fall didn't happen. Rosa and Grani, or rather Natalia and Sonia, are still clearly two separate groups. Although Alina acted as a go-between at lunch, their relationship can hardly be described as good.

When I met them, they were arguing about the use of a stadium at the Rhodes Island Education Center. Rosa, who already considered herself the future student council president, decided to organize a grand student exchange at the start of the semester, while Grani and her friends were planning a rock band.

The atmosphere of the discussion was far from friendly; the two sides nearly came to blows when Miss Surtr passed by— Rosa had already roughly organized the framework of the student council in the past two days, and many Ursus teenagers who looked like descendants of intellectuals were shaking their heads and shouting behind her. On the other hand, Grani's side had gathered a large number of students from ordinary families, and they were on the same side because of the mass exodus of nobles before the Chernobog incident.

The eternal theme of struggle is between the rich and the poor, the noble and the lowly.

Miss Surtr's decision was to use the principal's authority to form a student council that united the wills of both sides. She also told them that the educational center was planned to have two stadiums.

She knew it was only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. But she hadn't intended to address the root cause by simply putting the two antagonistic brats Grani and Rosa, together. As for what kind of sparks would fly between them... ah, whatever, she'd worry about the future later.

Anyway, the most amazing thing this bunch of brats can do is blow up the school.

So she left—a process that took her half an hour and reminded her of Alina —after consulting with Persephone. She then communicated with Talulah, Alina, and Yelena via remote communication terminal. They exchanged pleasantries and sent them the clothing she had prepared during her previous textile operation via drone.

What was sent to Talulah was a black evening gown, backless, gorgeous and elegant. Since Draco didn't have to worry about the cold in the North, he simply designed it this way to highlight the Dragon Girl's temperament—and Talulah's reply was—"Since you've prepared such a dress for me, please be sure to accompany me to the ball after the quarantine ends and dance with me."

A sophisticated teacher's outfit was sent to Alina, designed for her work. It was similar to a suit but more fitted, warm, and didn't reveal too much of her figure. It was a better fit for Alina, who would be spending a lot of time at school. Alina's message read, "Thank you, Al. And I won't be going to the dance. Have fun!"

The gift sent to Yelena was a lace dress, similar to Talulah's previous one, but with a more Ursus style and a pure ice-blue and white color scheme. According to medical reports, Yelena's hypothermia was nearing a cure, and her temperature perception would gradually return to normal. Therefore, the dress incorporated Originium Arts for temperature control. Yelena's message for the gift was. "There are only three participants: you, me, Talulah. Please be prepared to stay until one or both of us collapse and are exhausted."

That concludes the message; further discussion is pointless.

So Miss Surtr had no choice but to agree, and wrote in her notebook, "I'll set aside an evening to dance with these two."

Well, it's not too bad. It's just one night, it won't take much time.

She shrugged, prepared lunch for Persephone, and then went to the hospital to visit Kal'tsit — Kal'tsit was still asleep, and her clone had actually been there all along—yes, she went to see Kal'tsit, but not actually Kal'tsit, but rather the people who were with Kal'tsit. Several Medical Operator she knew personally, Liz, and Amiya, who had come to visit Kal'tsit. Amiya seemed exceptionally happy to see her, her pointed bunny ears swaying involuntarily from side to side.

So she gave Amiya a proposal—suggesting that future trainees at the education center, as well as other contract employees in Chernobog, should follow the example of Rhodes Island headquarters operators and prepare a codename for themselves. This could also be seen as promoting corporate culture.

Amiya found no problem with the proposal and passed it. Through this proposal, Natalia became Rosa, and Sonia became Grani.

She felt good about this because it meant she would no longer be bothered by the fact that she couldn't call many operators by their real names. After all, in her previous life's game, many operators identified more with their codenames than their real names, which made her feel awkward and strange when she had to call them by their real names now.

This is a good thing, and good things don't need to be overanalyzed.

While strolling around in the afternoon, she 'bumped into' Rosemary, who had been following her for two blocks. She then took the little Feline to the amusement park for the afternoon. The kitten had a great time, though it was a bit clingy. After preparing dinner, feeding the kitten, and sending out Persephone's portion, she bumped into the clumsy Warfarin on her way back from delivering Rosemary.

This must have been a genuine chance encounter—because Warfarin was genuinely startled when she met her, and her trembling, guilty look made Warfarin play a prank on her.

It was pleasant, but Warfarin kept her promise to Closure and didn't reveal a word about the conversation—even though it would increase the Sanguinarch lady's guilt. But who told her to bear it all herself?

In short, after bullying the Sanguinarch lady until she was about to cry, Surtr finally let her go, satisfied, and headed towards the new research center in Persephone, which was now fully prepared. And so, her ordinary, unremarkable day came to an end.

Persephone's new machine looks like an ordinary bed—she spent at least five minutes arranging its exterior to make it neat, elegant, and comfortable to the touch—underneath the bed are over two thousand pipes of various uses, corresponding to many complex and specialized components. The energy supply is directly handled by the Sarcophagus; for this purpose, the Mobile City will even remain fixed to its current location tonight to maximize energy conservation.

"What should I do? Lie down?" Miss Surtr looked at her partner. "It's only been a day. I can't open that door."

"Yes, I know." Persephone nodded. "But at least you can stand by the door, right?"

"Uh... I haven't tried that." Surtr rubbed his head. "I always just walk in... no, I just pushed the door open. So naturally I didn't feel it..."

"Then let's give it a try." Persephone pointed to the bed that had already been prepared. "Lie down."

So the red-haired Sarkaz lay down on it, settling in perfectly like a mummy.

The purple-haired Maiden Doctor lay down beside her.

"Grab my hand," she said.

"Uh..." Surtr was slightly puzzled, but still did as instructed.

"This is to strengthen the connection. I don't yet have the ability to set up a device that can interfere with your ability to travel through the dream world in a single day. The purpose of this bed is simply to allow me to temporarily become a part of you conceptually, so that you can detect my presence when you use your abilities."

"It's basically just a binding device." She shrugged. "According to my calculations, without this bed as an aid, you'd have to plunge your hand into my chest and grab my heart during the ritual to ensure everything goes smoothly... Well, I don't mind if you like, it's just that the aftermath might be a bit of a hassle..."

Surtr's eye twitched.

"That's great! This is fine! There's no need to make such a heartwarming scene seem bizarre!"

"I don't think the word 'warm' applies to the current situation. But we can ignore that detail... Are you ready, Surtr? I'll go into a deep sleep in five seconds, and then you can try to use your skills."

She said this, and quietly closed her eyes.

Surtr obediently counted to five in a row—one, two, three, four, five.

"Persephone?"

"..." — No response.

And so, the Flame-haired maiden closed her eyes.

The world was stripped away from her perception, and time and space seemed to become infinitely distant—her will transcended time and space, transcended the metaphysical realm, and in the infinitely distant beyond, she touched a tightly closed door.

The door was sturdy, and she could only push it open a little bit—the concept of strength did not exist here, there was no loss, but only one-seventh of the doorway was open for her to pass through.

[I can't get in, no matter how hard I try, I can't get in.] — She thought.

[Hmm... Persephone, are you there?]—She thought in another direction.

Then she sensed a wisp of aura, a unique aura, like shards of a broken mirror, entwining around what she perceived as her 'body'.

Is that Persephone?

[Perhaps, after all, Persephone said her consciousness was a city of mirrors.]

But... what should I do? — She wondered.

A subtle thought, one that didn't belong to her, suddenly surfaced in her mind.

"Look into the door," the voice told her.

So she looked at the door—not simply walking through as before, but standing at the doorway, observing carefully.

In this observation, time has no meaning.

She stared at the door, consuming countless moments of her own mind.

The darkness seemed to be boiling, and images seemed to be forming in the nothingness—she seemed to see a sea with countless bubbles on its surface. She also seemed to see a building with endless portals within it. Many scenes kept changing in her perception. But when everything settled down, what came into view was a colossal tree with billions of fruits on its branches.

[The World Tree.]—This thought suddenly popped into her mind.

"Because I Am Surtr, this is the World Tree." — Deep within the heart, the answer to the tree's existence was found.

Then she asked the strange aura emanating from Persephone, "What should we do next?"