Angor followed the direction he was told and reached the entrance he was looking for soon.
The giant surface of a mirror lied at the bottom of the horrific abyss. Everything in the area was totally dark except for what was shown inside the mirror. From his position, Angor could clearly see the Tree Spirit Garden, the Tree of Eternity, and all kinds of familiar places through the mirror.
Angor jumped down and landed onto the mirror.
The surface felt like both ice and glass, which somewhat refreshed his mind when he put his hands on it.
As Angor pondered how to call Lady Mirror out, a puff of smoke suddenly raised up.
“I was wondering which bastard moved his hands up and down my body… so, it’s you,” Someone spoke in a teasing manner.
Angor realized he still had his hands on the mirror, which meant… the mirror was also the lady’s body? Angor quickly retracted his hands in embarrassment and bowed toward the smoke.
“Good morning, Lady Mirror.”
“What are you doing here?” The smoke slowly turned into a human shape. “Sunders is not coming?”
Angor lowered his head. “My professor is busy with something, so I-”
“It’s fine. You’ll do the trick. I love both mature gentlemen and… tender ones,” said Lady Mirror. She smiled and asked, “So, care to join me for morning tea?”
Angor was still not sure how to respond. “I… came to thank you, lady. You were there to save me, or I would-”
“Show some guts and get to it then,” Lady Mirror interrupted. “Don’t thank me with your tongue. Let’s drink, and we’re even.”
Angor nodded. “I will then. Thank you for your hospitality.”
Lady Mirror floated closer and put a misty arm around Angor’s. “Let’s go inside.”
Before Angor could react, he found himself suddenly showing up in a totally different place—a beautifully-decorated hall room.
A number of expensive-looking objects suggested that someone spent a huge fortune to make this place. Even the most inconspicuous corners of the wall cabinets had well-designed engravings on them.
Lady Mirror dragged him to a corner where a carved table with golden rims and two armchairs were placed.
She waved a hand and two cups of hot tea suddenly materialized on the table.
“Sit down and let me have a gooood look at you,” said Lady Mirror as she took her own seat and held her chin while staring at Angor with great interest.
Angor could not read her expression since her facial part was all white mist. However, he still felt uncomfortable for some reason.
He tried his best to suppress the uneasiness, then put some red sugar into his cup and took a sip.
“Tsk tsk, such a young handsome fella, like a piece of freshly-butchered, juicy meat waiting to be bitten on,” Lady Mirror’s comment reached Angor’s ears, causing the boy to choke on his tea.
“Ah, you still look adorable when coughing.” Lady Mirror sipped as well. A stream of liquid disappeared as it reached her misty face.
Angor did not want to find out what kind of terrible descriptions the lady would express again, so he put down his tea and took out a one-time space capsule.
It contained his music box. Angor was hoping that he could divert Lady Mirror’s attention to his gift so that the lady would stop looking at his body.
“Oh, what’s this?” Lady Mirror’s tone raised. Somehow, Angor believed the woman just raised an eyebrow despite the fact that he could not see anything on her. “Are you bribing me for something?” Lady Mirror put a finger around Angor’s chin. “But I would like YOU to be the gift.”
“Um, no, I want to thank you for your help last time, and I don’t really have anything valuable, so I made a music box myself. I hope you’d like it.”
“A music box? Such… a memorable object. How many centuries have passed since I heard about such a thing last time?” Lady Mirror fell into deep thought. “I think it was about ten thousand years ago when some noble visitor tossed one in front of my door. God, how it hurt my ears. And I can still remember the terrible noises it created.”
“I… crafted this one, lady. It has a Tranquility Rune, so the sound won’t hurt-”
“Tranquility Rune? You know enchantment alchemy?”
Angor nodded.
“Oh, nice. We Brute Cavern does need more alchemists.” Lady Mirror seemed happy. “But Tranquility Rune and a music box? They don’t sound a good combination. Anyway, let’s check it out. Be prepared though, if it turns out to be another junk, I’ll simply discard it into the void.”
With that, Lady Mirror broke the capsule and released an object onto the table.
She was surprised a little when looking at the crystal-clear art piece.
Her impression on music boxes was still traditional, and she was not expecting something so pretty.
After staring at the object for a while, Lady Mirror spoke again. “An interesting design. I must admit I’ve never seen anything like this before. Strange, yet… well-made. You created it yourself?”
Angor nodded again. “Yes, lady.”
“Good. At least I’ll give you a ‘pass’ considering its looks.”
Still, when it came to a music box, the music it played was the most important. Lady Mirror still wanted to find out about it and toss it away if it proved to be inferior.
Following Angor’s instruction, Lady Mirror found the winding key.
Click, click!