Perched atop the slanted roof of Luthar's shop, Liliruca Arde kept an eye on the servo-skull as it tightened the final bolt on the steel fra of the relay dish.
Her small hands crossed over her chest, she stood like a boss surveying her junior. The early morning wind tugged at her cloak, but she ignored it—eyes focused on the task. Around her, a trio of floating skull-shaped drones humd softly, their optics flickering as they scanned the area.
"Connection node stable," one of them chirped in a tallic voice.
"I know," she muttered, not looking up. "See myself."
Behind her, the rhythmic clanking of tal echoed as the servitor climbed the steps, arms full of cables, signal cores, and a large power relay. Once, he had been the proud and cruel captain of the Soma Familia. Now? Now he moved like a dosticated hound—silent, obedient, and entirely unrecognizable. If not for the cloth covering him, forget the children—even the adults might get scared from one look.
Liliruca didn't need to look to know it was him. She could feel the wrongness in the air. Not fear, not anymore. Sothing colder.
The servitor paused at her side and set the equipnt down with reverent precision.
"Order complete," it said in its hollow voice.
She tilted her head, studying him with narrowed eyes. "Funny," she murmured. "You used to bark orders at . Now look at you—carrying my tools, obeying without question. You don't even get to grunt anymore."
She sighed as she connected the last interface line, testing the signal strength. A thin green glyph flared across the panel.
Perfect.
As the signal uplink began pulsing, Liliruca straightened, dusting her gloves. The skull drones hovered to attention, scanning the periter for interference.
She glanced sidelong at the servitor. "Do you even think in there? Or are you just bones and wires now?"
The servitor did not reply. It didn't need to. Whatever humanity it had, whatever pride—it was long gone. Reduced to code and servos.
Liliruca's lips curled into a crooked smile.
"I am thinking... how would you feel if you could get your emotions and voice back?" she muttered. "It would have been perfect. I could order you around, then give you so shocks ti to ti. Maybe take out a few limbs of yours."
Of course, she wouldn't do such a thing—she might not be a good person, but torturing soone wasn't her style.
She took one last look at the dish now locked in place, silently relaying pulses to the underground sanctum. Once the full network was up, Luthar would have uninterrupted communication across the district.
She turned, descending the ladder with practiced ease as the servitor trailed behind her—silent, mindless, obedient.
Liliruca didn't look back. Instead, she entered the shop, letting the door close behind her.
Behind the counter, Elna looked up from the logbook she'd been updating. She was sharper now—more comfortable. Less of the wide-eyed, uncertain girl who'd first arrived from the slums. She handled the ledgers efficiently, with none of the hesitation that used to mark her every movent.
"Well, I finished my job here. Once the communication device is ready, you can communicate with or Luthar in the future," Liliruca said as she brushed dust off her gloves.
Elna offered a faint smile. "Well… I still don't really understand what you're doing up there, but thank you for the hard work."
Liliruca shrugged off her gloves and walked over to the counter, tapping a finger lightly on the terminal nearby.
"It's a communication device," she said. "Kind of like this terminal, but instead of typing or sending ssages, you just talk. No magic stones, no ssenger runners."
Elna blinked. "Just… talk?"
Liliruca nodded. "Yeah you can Speak into it, and soone far away can hear you instantly—like they're standing right next to you and if they say sothing near their device you can also listen there Voice"
"That's... impressive." Elna tilted her head. "So it's like magic?"
"It's not magic," Liliruca said with a smirk. "You should just be ready tomorrow. I'll send the machine."
"So is Mr. Luthar is going to start selling this thing?" Elna asked.
Liliruca reply "Currently, we only plan to install it in the shop, the church, and Hephaestus's workshop. Once we have a proper facility to produce them, we'll rent out the service."
She moved past the counter, heading toward the back hallway, but paused just long enough to glance over her "You've changed. In a good way."
Elna's smile grew just a little. "Having a steady job and money does change things."
"Hmph. Don't get too cozy. And keep an eye on the thieves."
With that, Liliruca pushed through the door and stepped outside.
The servo-skulls hovered into formation above her without needing a word. The servitor trudged close behind, still carrying the empty casing crates from the dish assembly. Silent. chanical. Faithful.
She gave them a brief glance, then pointed toward the church's outer gate. "Let's move."
The streets were still quiet. Early rchants were only just setting up stalls, and the sky had yet to fully brighten. Her boots clicked against the worn stone path, each step asured, unhurried. She kept her hood low—not out of fear, just a habit.
As they entered the church, she gave a small wave of her hand.
"Back to post," she muttered.
The servitor peeled off without a word, heading toward his docking position, where he would enter standby until called again. The servo-skulls dispersed on their own, splitting off into programd flight paths or returning to their charging nests around the periter.
With her entourage dismissed, she entered the side corridor—familiar by now. She passed empty rooms and quiet altars with barely a glance. Her focus was straight ahead.
At the narrow corridor, she pressed her hand against the side panel and waited for the rune to scan her. The lock disengaged with a soft hum.
The lift was already waiting—an enclosed platform nestled between iron rails. She tugged the lever. With a smooth hiss, it descended.
She leaned back slightly, arms folded as the walls slid past. Dim lights flickered along the shaft, glowing runes carved at even intervals. She'd grown used to this descent.
The lab's door slid open ahead—thick, seamless tal parting silently. Cool air t her face, tinged faintly with copper and arcane static.
She stepped inside.
Two people were already at work. Luthar stood over a fresh blueprint, double-checking arc lengths and asurent calibrations. Nearby, Hephaestus had completed another batch of enchanted alloy parts, her expression calm but focused.
Liliruca stepped forward, boots echoing slightly across the steel floor, arriving in front of Luthar and preparing to inform him about the installation of all three communication devices.
Authors note : finally the last chapter for this week if you want more than 20 chapters you could go to patreon and subscribe link is below
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