Chloe had long heard of Machine Souls.
Even for a Moth Chasing Flame member like Chloe, who had seen all manner of strange technology, such a thing was bizarre enough to defy belief. Awakening the soul of steel—she had never tried anything like that before. No, she had never even imagined it.
Chloe could be considered a master at manipulating souls, mainly because the Transcendence pathway she followed gave her a natural advantage in that regard. Whether it was perception or various communication techniques, she was far more adept than others when dealing with souls.
Yet all that experience and skill had hit a wall when it came to Machine Souls.
The Type II Engine before them was the first steam engine to develop a Machine Soul. Chloe had been deeply intrigued the first time she saw it, and she and the other Moth Chasing Flame members had studied it for a long time. The result was... no progress whatsoever.
Chloe and Monica—one skilled at communicating with souls, the other even the creator of Machine Souls—had both hit the same wall here.
They could barely communicate effectively with the Machine Soul—or, more simply put, the Machine Soul could not be bothered with either of them.
Theus, on the other hand, was clearly an ordinary person, yet he always seemed to win the Machine Soul's favor.
"So, what did you discover from sneaking in here to experiment today?" Chloe asked tentatively.
Monica's face darkened. "Silly still refuses to talk to me."
It was practically becoming Monica's obsession. She had gone to great lengths to successfully summon Silly, only for it to ignore her whenever it pleased while answering Theus's every request.
It was not as if Monica had never tried. Theus had told her quite a few tricks for getting along