Chapter 754 — Some Changes

"You must call him Your Majesty," Ropenny said, unable to resist smoothing Patty's hair. "His Majesty is busy with proper business; he has a great empire to govern, and we must not make too much trouble for him. And didn't he give you the arcane net terminal? It can keep you company too."

"Mm, I like the arcane net terminal," Patty said, breaking into a radiant smile. "You can see things happening far away on it... Mother, will I be able to travel far someday too?"

"As long as you take good care of your health, you will surely be able to go out," Ropenny said earnestly. "But you mustn't watch the arcane net terminal for too long every day."

Patty nodded quickly. "Then I'm going to take my nap, Mother."

Ropenny smiled, and the maid who had been waiting at the side stepped forward, holding a delicate and intricate crown in her hands.

It was the crown that had helped Patty fall asleep over the past few years.

Because of the severe burns and the scars they had left on her mind, Patty could not fall asleep the way other people did; only the crown's hypnotic and dream-inducing effects could draw her into slumber, and in that precious sleep she let her spirit rest within the Eversleeper's "perfect dream world."

Now Patty's body was gradually recovering, and the heavy wounds on her spirit were slowly fading, but for the time being she still could not fully free herself of the crown. Most of the time she still had to rely on its power to fall asleep.

Ropney could not help but steal a second glance at the exquisite and intricate magical artifact.

It was a creation of the Eversleeper.

Though Patty had been using the thing for years, and Ropney herself had grown used to its presence, now, looking at the crown, she suddenly felt a faint, inexplicable discomfort, as though the thing was no longer safe.

She drew back her gaze and looked at Patty. "We're not using it today."

The girl looked at her mother, uncomprehending. "Mama?"

"His Majesty has sent us a gift," Ropney Gran said with a smile, waving a hand at the maid beside her to signal that she should put the crown away, while she herself went behind Patty's wheelchair, released the wheel locks, and slowly pushed it toward the door. "I'll take you to see it."

The viscountess pushed her daughter's wheelchair out of the bedroom with its wide floor-to-ceiling windows and into the room next door.

This room likewise had wide windows and bright sunlight, and the most eye-catching thing in it was a complex device set up near the windows.

It was a "seat," yet far more complex and massive than any ordinary seat: it had a base covered in runes, an outer shell that half-enclosed it like some kind of vessel, a lid that seemed capable of closing, and several faintly glowing "pipes" behind the backrest.

The instant Patty saw the thing, her eyes widened with curiosity. "What's this?"

"An immersion pod," Ropney said, smiling as she stroked Patty's hair. "That crown His Majesty gave you specially is no good thing. We won't be using it anymore."

As she spoke, she pushed the wheelchair over beside the immersion pod, then bent down and gently lifted her daughter in her arms.

The girl was still frail, lighter than others her age, though much heavier than she had been a few years before.

Patty was placed into the immersion pod, and the comfortable curve of the backrest let her lie almost fully within it. She blinked. "Mama, it's quite comfortable in here."

Ropney tapped the tip of Patty's nose, then, following the technicians' earlier instructions, pressed the buttons on the side. "Have a good sleep."

……

As brilliant points of light scattered and danced before her eyes, a sudden sensation of falling jolted Mary awake from her dream state.

The black-haired apprentice blinked, sat up from the "immersion pod" her mentor had built with his own hands—it resembled some kind of sacrificial implement—and gave her neck a slight roll to ease her somewhat stiff muscles.

The glow of the magic crystal lamps lit the area around the immersion pod and the hidden basement chamber.

She saw her mentor sitting not far away, as though he had been waiting there for some time.

Mary hurriedly sat up in the pod, stepped out, bent at the waist to her mentor, and reported by force of habit: "Mentor, I assisted Master Kamael in the origin laboratory with completing the neural thorns'—"

Daniel waved a hand, cutting off Mary's report. "Report it later. I've brought them."

Mary failed to react for a moment. "...Them?"

"Your family," Daniel said, glancing at Mary, his yellowed eyes betraying no discernible shift of emotion. "Didn't you decide last time that you should at least see them once? I've brought them here from the countryside."