"This character means 'mana.'"
"You've been reading it as 'camel.'"
Munnu looked offended.
"...That explains a lot."
Nearby Outlaws burst into laughter.
One nearly fell off his chair.
Another shouted,
"So THAT'S why he kept asking why camels flow through machines!"
Even Persia looked up briefly.
"...Idiot."
"I heard that."
"Good."
---
The lesson continued.
Surprisingly...
Munnu learned quickly.
Not perfectly.
But quickly.
Kai eventually realized why.
"You've been memorizing symbols."
Munnu shrugged.
"Can't read."
"Can remember shapes."
"...That's actually impressive."
"I know."
---
As the afternoon passed—
Kai helped translate dozens of salvaged documents.
Most were useless.
Old maintenance logs.
Broken machinery.
Supply records.
Nothing important.
Then—
He found a damaged notebook.
Its pages were almost destroyed.
Only fragments remained.
Kai frowned.
"...'Mana compression ratio...'"
"...'Circuit stability...'"
"...'Failure probability...'"
The remaining lines were unreadable.
Munnu looked over.
"Useful?"
Kai slowly closed it.
"...Maybe."
He wasn't sure.
But every mention of circuits now made his chest tighten.
Not painfully.
Just...