"You're saying... a spinning machine at the spinning mill developed a Machine Spirit?" Olmedo looked up from a thick stack of paperwork.
"That's right! It can fire on its own, and it even answers us!" The Royal Guard Captain could barely contain his excitement.
"Fire?"
"Sorry... Deputy City Lord. I meant it can spin yarn on its own."
"And?"
Olmedo set down his pen and listened carefully to the Royal Guard Captain's report.
"At first, we suspected a devil was behind it, but devils are on our side. Then we wondered if it was a ratfolk, but ratfolk are on our side too. So we went to the owner of the house. She said she knew the spinning machine could move on its own and called it the Spinning Machine God... As if there's such a thing! It's obviously a Machine Spirit!"
The Royal Guard Captain's excitement was plain to see. He was even getting a little carried away—after all, the Legions believed in that sort of thing too.
Olmedo considered this. "Have you told Annan?"
"Not yet... Should we notify Lord Annan?"
"Yes. He's always tinkering with strange things. Who knows if this has something to do with him? Even if it doesn't, I imagine he'll be interested."
Olmedo was right. The moment the message reached Annan, he excitedly told the Royal Guard Captain to take him there at once.
Before long, Annan arrived at Aip's home.
The Guards had temporarily cordoned off the mansion. No one knew whether the Machine Spirit's appearance was a good thing or a bad thing—though they kept talking about it while cradling and stroking their muskets.
Annan met Aip, an ordinary factory worker. She watched the soldiers uneasily. Only when she saw Annan approach did she let down her guard, then grow nervous.