The Plantagenet Kingdom's "Two Mismatched Heroes" Officially Make Their Debut

"Maybe we should impose a few more restrictions on her, my Murphy. Cement Heart looks like a troublemaker, and there's no denying she's brilliant. I'm sure she'll do something that leaves us all amazed."

On the way out of the Swamp Exhibition Hall, Triss spoke softly to Murphy:

"Letting her explore around here doesn't seem like a good idea. What if she really does discover something incredible?"

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

Murphy reached out and gently fixed Triss's hair, his voice low as he said:

"Don't worry. Cement's body is beyond saving. She knows that the rest of her life is bound up with us. Someone as clever as her won't sever her last remaining hope after already suffering such a disaster.

"Besides, it wouldn't hurt us if she really did discover something remarkable.

"With your barely existent knowledge of technology, you can't analyze the technology left behind by the Creator. That's a job for a specialist.

"Isn't that why we brought Cement here ahead of time?

"All it'll take is a small discovery to convince the other side, who are still hesitating, to commit. Everything we're doing is preparation for what comes next. Triss, you know we have the moral high ground in our fight against the Black Calamity. King Louis and the Wolf Girl will have to help us with everything they've got, whether they like it or not.

"But the Black Calamity will eventually pass.

"We have irreconcilable hatred between us and them. War will eventually break out on this continent. We're only trying to reclaim what belongs to us, but the moment fighting begins, they'll form an alliance to crush Transia's rise.

"They fear us because they once joined forces to drive us to the brink.

"We need allies, too!

"The Sage Wolf and