Free Web Novel"So, just how special is it?"
Pavela asked.
She stood before the brass grille door of the elevator, observing the rare, subtle expression on Margaret's face.
It was an expression that was difficult to describe.
It wasn't quite embarrassment or worry.
It was more like... a sort of preemptive sympathy?
It was as if someone were watching another person about to walk into a trap, but had no intention of stopping them, merely saying "good luck" in their heart.
Margaret remained silent for two seconds.
Then she said:
"You'll know once you see her."
"...That can hardly be considered a good answer."
"But it's the only answer for now."
Margaret reached out and pulled open the brass grille door of the elevator.
The door hinges gave a low, smooth click, like the gears of a precision clock engaging.
"Come in."
Pavela stepped into the elevator.
It was a finely crafted steam elevator.
It was surrounded by polished brass grilles, with intricate patterns carved into every copper pillar, and the joints were perfectly flush.
The floor was made of dark hardwood planks, polished to a dull luster.
A small gas lamp was set into the ceiling, its shade made of frosted glass, casting a soft and even light.
The entire apparatus exuded an air of being meticulously maintained, a quality usually reserved for furniture in a noble's manor.
Margaret followed her inside, closed the grille door, and then pressed one of a row of brass buttons on the wall.
The elevator started almost silently.
The descent was so smooth that Pavela could barely feel the movement.
Only the extremely faint sound of airflow in her ears and the rhythmic, heartbeat-like thrum of a steam pump coming from somewhere deep below reminded her that she was heading underground.
She looked outside.
The elevator was surrounded by a wide shaft.
The walls were not rough stone bricks, but polished grey-white stone, with almost no visible seams on the surface.
Every few meters, a gas wall lamp was embedded into the wall, with brass bases and carved glass shades; the light was warm and stable, without the slightest flicker.
Pipes were neatly arranged along the walls, all of them brand-new copper, their surfaces polished to a shine, with every bend being a precise right angle or curve, as if measured with a ruler.
Occasionally, branch passages could be seen, their entrances fitted with thick iron doors bearing numbered plaques, with bright white light leaking from the gaps around the doors.
The air smelled different from the outside.
There was a clean, slightly metallic scent mixed with the smell of chemical reagents.
It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it certainly wasn't pleasant either.
Pavela wrinkled her nose.
More than a week had passed since that time Margaret had come to talk to her.
She was now able to run and jump.
Although Eleanor was still not quite at ease and had the doctors check her three more times until every indicator was confirmed normal, she only then reluctantly agreed to her discharge.
Up until the moment she left the hospital, Eleanor's expression was of the sort that said, "I'm allowing you to leave, but I reserve the right to drag you back at any time."
But in the end, she still let Margaret take her away.
Pavela didn't know what kind of agreement Eleanor and Margaret had reached without her knowledge.
She could sense that when they parted, there were quite a few things hidden beneath Eleanor's expression.
And as for Margaret.
She was finally willing to say who exactly it was that wanted to see her.
...
Pavela estimated the depth.
They had already descended at least twenty meters.
And they were still going.
"What is this place?"
She asked.
"The Seventh Division of the Royal Research Institute."
Margaret said,
"It's specifically responsible for the research, development, and testing of mecha-related technologies."
"The most advanced research facility in all of Victoriana, bar none."
"Underground?"
"Underground."
Margaret leaned against the brass grille, arms crossed,
"Because some test projects... aren't quite suitable to be conducted on the surface."
"Furthermore, the underground environment is more stable; temperature, humidity, and vibration interference are all easier to control, making it the ideal condition for precision experiments."
"Of course,"
She paused,
"there's another reason—Dr. Lovelace said the surface was too noisy, with too many irrelevant people, too much meaningless socializing, and too many time-wasting meetings."
"She needed a quiet, undisturbed place where she could focus on her work."
"So the Empire gave her this."
Margaret gestured toward the shaft outside with her chin.
"The entire Seventh Division, from thirty meters to sixty meters underground, three floors of space, is all for her use."
"She can do whatever she wants, blow up whatever she wants, as long as she doesn't blow the entirety of Eisenburg into the sky."
"...Sounds like keeping a time bomb."
"Pretty much."
Margaret let out a short laugh.
"But this time bomb is one of the Empire's most precious assets."
"The Spinal Probe technology she invented put Victoriana a full four years ahead of Usar on the battlefield."
"The steam boiler design she improved extended the endurance of mechas by forty percent."
"The Neural Signal Conversion Theory she proposed is the foundation of all current mecha pilot training courses."
"So the Empire is willing to give her anything she wants."
"As long as she continues to work."
"As long as she continues to produce results."
The elevator descended a few more meters.
Pavela could see more pipes beginning to appear on the walls.
But just like above, all the pipes were arranged perfectly neatly.
Some pipes were very thick, over half a meter in diameter, their surfaces covered in pure white insulation material and secured tightly with brass bands.
Some pipes were very thin, only the thickness of a finger, but they were numerous, distributed across the wall in a precise grid pattern, with a small valve at every intersection.
There were also some pipes that were transparent, allowing one to see various colored liquids flowing inside.
Green, blue, purple, and even a strange fluorescent yellow.
"What are those?"
Pavela pointed at the transparent pipes.
"Coolants, lubricants, chemical reagents."
Margaret said,
"The laboratories of the Seventh Division need vast quantities of these things."
"So the entire underground space is like a massive circulatory system, with pipes connecting every lab, every testing ground, and every storage room."
"Dr. Lovelace said it's more efficient this way."
"She doesn't like wasting time transporting materials."
The elevator continued to descend.
Pavela noticed some changes.
The gas lamps on the walls were beginning to grow sparse.
They were starting to be replaced by another light source.
A pale blue, bright, and cold light.
It leaked out from the gaps around the doors of the branch passages.
It shone from behind glass that looked like observation windows on the walls.
The color of the light made the atmosphere of the entire shaft... feel different.
Pavela looked into one of the observation windows.
Behind the window was a room.
In the room was an operating table.
Lying on the operating table was... something.
It was covered by a white cloth, its shape unclear.
But the silhouette beneath the white cloth—
It didn't look quite human.
Nor did it look quite like a mecha.
It was more like something in between the two.
The elevator descended a few more meters.
Another observation window.
This time Pavela saw more clearly.
There was a row of glass jars in the room. freёwebnoѵel.com
In each glass jar, there were... organs soaking?
No, they weren't real organs.
They were some kind of bionic organs made of metal and some semi-transparent material.
Hearts, lungs, livers.
They pulsed slightly in the glass jars, as if they were still alive.
Pavela's throat tightened.
The elevator continued to descend.
The gas lamps on the walls had completely disappeared.
Only that pale blue light remained.
It leaked out from the door gaps and observation windows in all directions.
It dyed the entire shaft in an eerie color, like an underwater world.
Pavela saw more rooms.
In one room, a mecha arm suspended in mid-air was disassembling itself; parts fell to the ground one by one, then flew back up to reassemble themselves.
In another room, a wall was covered in skeletal specimens of various animals, with a corresponding mechanical structural design diagram next to each skeleton.
In yet another room, there was a massive glass jar filled with a thick [N O V E L I G H T] green liquid; countless tiny, glowing particles floated in the liquid, like something living.
The smell of the air changed as well.
It was no longer just the clean smell of metal and chemical reagents.
It was a more complex, unsettling scent.
Like a mixture of disinfectant, preservative, engine oil, and some indefinable odor of organic decay.
Pavela frowned.
The elevator's descent began to slow.
As if it were approaching some destination.
Pavela looked at Margaret.
Margaret's expression remained calm.
The elevator descended a few more meters.
It stopped.
Margaret slowly pulled open the grille door. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"We're here."
Her voice was a bit lower than usual.
Pavela stepped out of the elevator.
Then she froze.
What lay before her was not a corridor.
But a massive, empty space.
The ceiling was so high the top couldn't be seen; only countless thick pipes and steel beams could be seen extending into the darkness.
The floor was polished black marble, smooth as a mirror, reflecting the pale blue Arc Lamps overhead.
At the end of the space was a colossal door.
A double iron door, over five meters high and three meters wide.
The door's surface was covered in intricate copper decorations that looked like ancient runes.
At this moment, that door was making a sound.
A rumbling sound.
As if something massive were moving behind the door.
Or perhaps the door itself was vibrating.
Pavela stared at the door.
She could feel her heart rate accelerating.
The rumbling grew louder.
And then—
The door began to slowly open.
The mechanical locks gave a series of crisp clicks, gears turned, and bolts retracted.
A brighter pale blue light leaked from the gap in the door.
Pavela's back began to feel cold, and her hand instinctively reached for her waist.
Though there was nothing there.
The door opened very slowly.
One centimeter, two centimeters, three centimeters.
Light spilled from the gap, casting an ever-widening band of light across the floor.
Pavela saw—
A cat.
A white cat wearing a black top hat.
It walked out from the gap in the door.
The cat's gait was elegant.
Its tail was held high, and its whiskers twitched slightly.
The top hat was perched perfectly straight on its head, and beneath the brim was a pair of blue eyes.
The cat walked to the doorway and stopped.
It tilted its head up and looked at Pavela.
Pavela looked back at it.
The two creatures stared at each other for about three seconds.
Simultaneously, they tilted their heads to the side.
"Meow?"
The cat made a puzzled sound.
"...Meow?"
Pavela also made a puzzled sound.
