III

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Arc III Chapter 10

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27th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753

Aurora surveyed the surroundings, looking for an opening mechanism. A nearby lever, two wheels combined with an axle, appeared to be promising. The emphasis was on 'appeared', as the lever refused to cooperate. The lever did not merely appear to have ceased working. The lever had indeed ceased working, and not the stubborn kind of not working, but rather the impossible because broken kind of not working. The wheel was stuck, not moving at all despite several attempts on her part.

"..." Aurora reconsidered her strategy. There must be a reason why the wheel would not move. Something must be blocking the axle, or the cogs, preventing the gears from turning. Reality proved her right.

It took a few moments for her to identify the true culprit behind a bunch of half rotten wooden boards. The boards covered the antique apparatus of gears and weights, ropes and chains, pulleys and shafts. No wonder that her efforts had met with little success. The lever had been sabotaged on purpose. Metal rods and other junk were inserted between the gears, blocking them completely.

Fortunately, the saboteurs had refrained from destroying any essential components. Removing all the junk would be a hassle, but far from impossible. Nothing that would stop her and her improvised plasma cutter.

Aurora grinned, summoning her flame. A dance of sparks illuminated the air as her flame cut rod after rod in half before extracting them. Her purple flame cut through metal rods like butter.

"Three." Three rods were defeated with only a few more remaining.

"Five."

"Seven."

The last rod fell, and her work was done. A good kick and a gentle touch of brute force did the rest. A tiny bit of brute force never hurt to get things working.

Slowly but surely, the wheel and axle finally started moving before suddenly spinning out of control. The gears turned. The hoists and chains rattled. The ropes and weights rose and descended. The ancient machinery had reawakened from its slumber, and the gate opened.

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"Aargh!" Lambert was fuming. His blood was boiling, approaching a critical state. Enough was enough! He was seriously tempted to dump her at this point! Once again, the mystery girl had ignored his orders! Once again, the little rascal was causing nothing but trouble. No more! Times were about to change pretty drastically. No more mercy! No pardon!

"..." Lambert clenched his fists, evil plans forming in his mind. It was time to teach the girl a lesson. She was going to suffer her due punishment! He would reduce her daily rations. That was the only language the voracious, little glutton would understand. The girl would not understand, but her empty stomach would for sure. Only stale bread and water for the rest of the week and beyond. Food deprivation would teach her a much needed lesson, and help them to conserve their diminishing supplies.

"Damn it, where the fuck has she gone? She must be somewhere", Lambert grumbled, visibly annoyed. They were looking for the girl all over the place, searching the entire area, yet there was no trace whatsoever of their doll loving mystery girl. She must have somehow slipped away when they were not watching, venturing deeper into the ruins, which was troublesome. The guild had only issued a safety guarantee ... for the upper floors ...

The earth trembled. The enormous gate in front of them, thought forever immovable, suddenly parted, opening its arms. A familiar face greeted them from beyond the portal. A certain girl armed with a certain unmistakable doll waved at them from afar, delighted to see them again.

The girl and her doll hopped down the stairs, sprinting in their direction. "Sister Iris~, Uncle Lambert~, look what I've found!!! I've found a secret passage ..."

"..." Lambert's reaction was prompt. His hand smacked her little head.

The girl rubbed her head in response, strongly disapproving of his action. "Ouch, what was this for, Uncle Lambert?"

"You little rascal, you know perfectly well what was this for. Don't play dumb with me! I'm not an idiot!" Lambert narrowed his eyes, his eyebrow twitching with fury. "I'm tired of your endless excuses! You've abused and betrayed my trust far too often! Your entire behaviour is unacceptable! We're a party. We're a collective. We stand together. We fall together. Nobody here, which also includes you, can do as they please! Your actions have consequences! For all of us! I won't allow you to endanger the lives of all of us AGAIN in your pursuit of trifling amusement! Do you understand?"

"Well, ..." The girl lowered her gaze in a false display of shame and guilt. She was pretending.

Lambert's ire intensified. "I said, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand, Uncle Lambert. I made a tiny mistake. I shouldn't have run away like this." The girl ceased her resistance. She had finally come to realise that she was not blameless throughout this entire affair.

"Good, I strongly hope so. Don't do this ever again," Lambert's anger hadn't subsided yet.

Hopefully, a little token of her appreciation would improve his mood. Aurora grinned, her hand rummaging through her pockets. Her hands produced her lucky charm. "Uncle Lambert~. Uncle Lambert~."

"What?" Lambert barked at her.

"Uncle Lambert, I know you're angry, but look what I've found~." Aurora presented him with a single polished gold coin.

"... ... ..." Lambert's eyes went wide, staring at the coin in her palm. "This is ... This is ... This is gold. Pure high carat gold ..."

His gaze fell on her as her help was suddenly in high demand. "This coin ... Where did you get it from?"

Aurora deployed an innocent smile. "My doll told me there was an ancient treasure hidden somewhere deep down into the ruins. So we both went on a treasure hunt." Her doll and she nodded in perfect synchrony. "Together we explored the lower floors before stumbling across a secret passage. We then discovered a room full of treasures. There are shiny coins and sparkly things everywhere. Beyond the gate, there are many, many, many more of them!"

"..." Lambert blinked, his mouth hanging agape from disbelief. His head stopped working.

"Uncle Lambert~ ... Uncle Lambert~ ..." Aurora poked him. Lambert showed no reaction, as if petrified.

"Ahaha! Ahahahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahahahahahahahahhahaha!!!" Lambert broke out in mad laughter, with all of his anger blown away. "We're rich! Rich! Rich! Rich!!!" He nearly hugged her in the process now that riches and fortune were awaiting him and his party after she had unlocked the gate so many thought impassable.

Meanwhile, Aurora and her doll tilted their little heads in confusion. For some reason, Uncle Lambert appeared like changed. He had even stopped being angry at her, which was a development that she definitely approved of.

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