Chapter 400: Serval and Clara Get Arrested

Chapter 400: Chapter 400: Serval and Clara Get Arrested

The operating principles of the Ruin Grader were clearly very different from the technology used across the galaxy.

Even a mechanical genius like Serval found herself stumped.

After poking around for quite a while, a single question surfaced in her mind.

How does this thing even move?

What governed its actions?

There were no chips.

No circuitry.

Nothing but a single core driving the entire machine.

Was this really something designed by humans?

Even Clara fell silent.

The technological foundation of Teyvat was obviously very different from everything they had learned.

"Big Sister..."

"Should we ask Big Brother?"

Seeing that they weren’t making any progress, Clara suggested asking Su Ran for help.

"Well..."

"That... wouldn’t be a good idea."

"The Boss is busy spending time with other girls right now."

Serval looked rather reluctant.

Interrupting him now...

would probably earn her some retaliation later.

That boss of theirs really was something...

Not long ago he’d even said he was interested in her, yet the moment other girls showed up, all his attention shifted away.

It was enough to make Serval question her own charm.

She wasn’t unattractive, was she?

Yet she still found herself completely overshadowed—by younger girls...

and by a few ancient monsters as well.

For a moment, Serval couldn’t even decide whether she was too old or too young.

Somehow, she felt like she wasn’t winning in either direction.

"Clara."

"We absolutely cannot interrupt the Boss’s romantic moments right now."

"Otherwise we’ll end up getting the short end of the stick later."

Serval explained the pros and cons with an unusually serious expression.

Having once worked in Belobog’s Technology Division, she understood workplace politics very well.

Getting along with the boss was never the wrong choice.

"...The short end of the stick?"

Clara looked down at the pretty little shoes on her feet.

Back in the Underworld, she hadn’t worn shoes at all.

It wasn’t until arriving on the Xianzhou that she’d started wearing them.

Hearing Serval’s explanation, she mistakenly thought Su Ran would buy her shoes that were too small in the future.

If that happened, she’d have to curl her toes just to fit inside them.

"Alright."

"Don’t worry about something that small."

"The Boss absolutely spoils you."

"If it weren’t for all those bad women occupying his rooms, you wouldn’t have had to squeeze into the same room as me back on the Xianzhou."

Serval rubbed Clara’s head affectionately.

Children really did have special privileges.

If she hadn’t noticed that nearly everyone around the Boss—aside from Clara— were mature women, she might’ve started suspecting he had some strange preferences.

"You two over there."

"What are you doing?"

While leading a patrol through the outskirts of Inazuma,

Kujou Sara suddenly noticed the pair.

More importantly, there was an ancient Ruin Machine lying in front of them.

She immediately approached with caution.

Please don’t be Fatui...

If they were, she’d first determine whether they belonged to Lord Su Ran.

If they did, she could pretend she’d seen nothing.

If not...then she’d have no choice but to bring them in.

"We’re dismantling this machine."

"For research! Just... research!"

Serval hurriedly explained.

Unfortunately...

Kujou Sara had never received a Synesthesia Beacon.

The two parties couldn’t understand each other at all.

"...Do either of you speak the local language?"

Completely unable to understand them, Sara developed a headache.

Perhaps she really did need further education.

Teyvat possessed many different languages, though the Seven Nations generally shared one common tongue.

Minor languages, however, were a real nuisance.

At her age, was she really expected to attend the Akademiya in Sumeru

just to study linguistics?

Serval and Clara looked at each other, then simultaneously shook their heads.

That actually made Sara laugh.

"If you don’t speak it..."

"Then how are you understanding me?"

The suspicion only grew stronger.

"Very well."

"From now on, I’ll ask yes-or-no questions."

"If the answer is yes, nod."

"If it’s no, shake your head."

"Understood?"

"There are too many suspicious points."

"Take them into custody."

"Bring them to the Tenryou Commission."

"We’ll wait for Lord Su Ran or Her Excellency the Shogun to decide what to do."

After asking a handful of questions,

Sara reached her conclusion.

The two had mysterious origins, possessed unusual powers, and locking them in prison seemed inappropriate.

Yet allowing them to wander freely was equally dangerous.

The safest option

was to escort them to the Tenryou Commission first.

Furthermore, they had repeatedly pointed toward the sky.

Sara even began suspecting they might have come from Celestia.

Even if they weren’t, they could still be visitors from beyond the world.

Just as they arrived outside Tenshukaku, and Sara was preparing to take them to the Commission, a small figure noticed the commotion.

"Little Shogun!"

Seeing the little Shogun, Sara blushed slightly in spite of herself.

"..."

Being called the Little Shogun felt rather strange to the Raiden Shogun.

If she weren’t currently reconstructing the Eternal Dream that belonged solely to herself, she wouldn’t have lent her body to Ei.

As a result, she had become the "Little Shogun."

Now,

she was finally experiencing what Ei’s perspective was like.

Not only was everything physically lower, but she couldn’t even display her full strength.

"We’ll leave the title aside."

"What exactly did these two do?"

For the moment, her attention focused on the older girl and the child.

Especially because both of them contained mysterious powers within their bodies.

That piqued her interest.

"I discovered them in the wilderness."

"Since we couldn’t communicate, I suspected they were illegal entrants."

"I intended to take them to the Tenryou Commission to verify their identities."

Illegal entrants...

What an outdated term.

Ever since the strange dreamscape had appeared some time ago,

Inazuma practically no longer had such cases.

People now worried more about what might happen to anyone entering Inazuma without permission.

Ironically, that had significantly reduced trouble.

"We’re not illegal entrants!"

"We came here with the Boss!"

Serval stared at the tiny girl, whose appearance strongly resembled both Makoto and Ei.

A thought couldn’t help surfacing.

Whose child is this?

Miss Makoto’s...?

Or Miss Ei’s...?

"...Who is your boss?"

The little Shogun’s gaze sharpened slightly.

"Su Ran."

"...Wait."

"You can understand our language?"

The Little Shogun almost laughed.

Please.

This was one of Su Ran’s newest creations.

Not some outdated model produced by the Plane of Euthymia.

Even though this tiny puppet had merely been assembled from leftover materials after crafting her current body, its functions were remarkably comprehensive.

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