Nausicaa stood blankly, staring at the scene before her.
Sunshine cascaded down as she, clad in her soft armor, stood at the tri-forked crossroads of the city. Right ahead was a tall building, with the words "Rosewater Pavilion" on the sign shimmering with light, and illusions of rose petals floated down.
To the left was a fountain, though it was unclear what secrets lay hidden within it. The water spraying out was not only bright but also spiraled like a snake, continuously shooting upwards toward a glass corridor in the sky.
On the right stood a spiral staircase, allowing one to step onto aerial streets at various heights.
"Where is this?" Nausicaa frowned, glancing around.
Didn’t Angel say that the monocle was a communicator? So why, after using it, did she appear in this city with such a peculiar style?
Moreover, there seemed to be quite a few people in this city. Nausicaa saw silhouettes passing on an aerial corridor overhead. A distant giant chimney was emitting thick smoke, indicating people were operating inside.
She was completely at a loss; everything here made her feel unreal.
Yet the feeling of the ground beneath her feet, the rhythm of breathing the air, the warm sensation of dawn’s light on her body all gave her feedback that this place was no different from reality.
As Nausicaa was engulfed in doubts, someone suddenly called her name from behind.
"Are you Nausi...ca?"
Nausicaa turned around in confusion and saw a young woman in a mint green puff-sleeved court dress standing behind her. She held a lace-edged folding fan, and upon seeing Nausicaa’s face, she joyfully hid half her face with the fan: "It really is you, Sister Nausicaa!"
Straightaway, the young woman abandoned all regard for ladylike demeanor, flung her arms wide, and lunged at Nausicaa.
Nausicaa instinctively reached out, embracing the tender female body.
"I missed you so much~" The young woman not only clung to Nausicaa but also nuzzled against her neck, speaking in a sugary, pretentious tone.
"Miro, weren’t you in the Mirror World? How are you here?" Nausicaa looked at the woman in her arms.
Miro continued to nuzzle before saying, "I am in the Mirror World. I came here to do a task, and while I’m at it, see if there are any handsome young gentlemen."
"But don’t worry, even though I love men, I love you too~" Miro seemed concerned that Nausicaa might be jealous and added another line.
Nausicaa: That’s not what I wanted to ask...
Nausicaa was just about to speak, to continue inquiring Miro about the situation here, but Miro preempted her and said, "After the New Star Competition ended, I’ve been waiting for you to return, but you never came back—I thought something might have happened to you... Later, Mother told me, after the competition, participants have the chance to challenge the Endless Corridor, and that’s probably where you’ve been, which is why you haven’t returned."
Miro gazed intently at Nausicaa, while the question Nausicaa was about to ask got swallowed back down, and she ambiguously nodded: "Madam Brin was right, I was indeed undergoing a self-challenge, which is why I didn’t return."
"So that’s how it is! You don’t know how worried I was about you." After Miro’s string of sticky words, she seized Nausicaa’s questioning opportunity and continued, "Right, what’s the Endless Corridor really like? They say you get rewards for every level you pass?"
Nausicaa hadn’t actually entered the Endless Corridor, so she didn’t know how to answer and remained vague: "Once you get stronger, you’ll have the chance to experience it yourself. About what I asked you earlier—"
"Getting stronger, I want that too, but my talent is too poor, I’m still stuck at Advanced Apprentice level." Miro interrupted again.
Nausicaa: "With Madam Brin’s guidance, you definitely..."
Miro: "My mother is just a Third-Level Apprentice, she can’t teach me much. Besides, she prefers designing and sewing clothes over teaching me anything."
Nausicaa: "Madam Brin was once a Golden Invitation, she’ll quickly..."
Miro: "Don’t talk about her, every time I hear my mother’s name, it’s like a thousand frogs croaking in my ear, so annoying it drives me crazy. We’ve just reunified and should talk about something else."
Nausicaa actually wanted to say, Madam Brin’s nagging might be a thousand frogs, but as Lady Melo’s own daughter, you deserve ten thousand frogs.
Though wanting to say it, Nausicaa refrained, first not wanting to hurt the girl’s feelings, and second, finding no opportunity to say it. Because Miro always jumps from thought to thought, hard to hear others when she hasn’t finished speaking her mind.
Like now, Miro had already leapt to a new topic.
The topic arose, as flower rain began to fall in a part of the sky corridor.
"Oh, it’s the Blue Water Corridor! Today is Flower Rain Day, usually on Flower Rain Days, two people do the maintenance. One is Chuyao, the other is Jero! Hopefully, it’s Jero, I haven’t seen him in ages, seeing him would motivate me for a week’s work!"
Once Miro finished speaking, she pull Nausicaa toward a spiral stairway to the side: "Let’s go check, it must be Jero!"
Nausicaa hadn’t even reacted before Miro had already pulled her to the twenty-meter-high Blue Water Corridor.
Upon reaching the corridor, they saw not far away a male apprentice performing maintenance.
Even though this young man had his back to Miro, showing not even a bit of his face, Miro still took in a breath sharply.
"It’s Jero! It really is Jero!" Miro quietly shrieked into Nausicaa’s ear.
"I’m really so lucky today, first meeting you, now seeing Jero! Could it be the god of luck is blessing me today?"
Nausicaa was all too familiar with Miro. After all, during her time in Apprentice Town, she lived next to Madam Brin and her daughter Miro.
All these years, thanks to the friendship with Madam Brin, she naturally witnessed Miro’s transformation from girl to young woman.
Ever since Miro reached the age of budding blossoms, her eager heart blossomed along with it.
Her greatest daily hobby was admiring handsome, beautiful men.
To what degree, you ask? Just like the "God of Luck" she mentioned. There wasn’t a goddess of luck in the world, but the phrase associated luck with a goddess to imply good fortune; yet Miro openly changed it to god of luck, because in her eyes, no goddess could make her heart leap, only a god could.
Sometimes Nausicaa even felt sympathy for Madam Brin.
"Shall we go chat him up?" Miro said, bashfully spinning around a little: "Do you think I’m dressed a little inappropriately today?"
With sleeves that puffed so large, a skirt that billowed so wide, it wasn’t inappropriate, it was excessive.
Of course, these were words Nausicaa didn’t say. Instead, Miro’s rare quietness gave Nausicaa the chance to feel out the surroundings and her own situation fully, finally preparing to steer the conversation back on course.
Nausicaa: "Whether it’s inappropriate can wait, I have something very important to sort out, something extremely important, concerning life and death."
Although Miro usually lacked sensibility, seeing Nausicaa’s serious demeanor made her tone down her demeanor: "Did something happen to you?"