(POV: Lumiere)
Lucretia and I strolled down from the rooftop, finding ourselves in a more secluded area of her company's exaggeratedly sprawling building.
I mean, the size was unreal, especially for less modern times like these.
Unsure of our exact location, one thing was clear – she had something special to reveal.
"Hey, are we there yet?" I asked impatiently.
Lucretia turned, offering a sly smile. "Shhh, getting a bit antsy, aren't we? It's been, what, three minutes?" she teased.
I shot her a half-opened-eyed look, conveying my underwhelmed state. "Actually, four minutes and thirty-two seconds. Try to keep up," I retorted.
She is an Integrator like me, but of course I have more experience than her.
After all, I actually know what I am and she doesn't.
She pouted, cheeks puffing up. "I can keep up way better than you could ever dream of," Lucretia declared smugly.
She turned her gaze forward, folding her arms and chuckling proudly.
With a self-satisfied sigh, she flicked her hair back.
"Truth be told, since the last time we met at Princess Genevieve's coming of age party, I've surpassed you in social class - without using my influence as a Viscount's daughter mind you. Still, it's quite surprising, considering I thought you'd have achieved a lot by now. My father had high prospects for you, but clearly, you didn't meet them."
Poshly placing a hand over her mouth, she chuckled in a slightly overconfident manner, aiming to rile me up.
Her face betrayed her joy in belittling me for laughs, but I didn't mind.
Having treated her a bit poorly before, I occasionally allowed her to revel in moments like these.
And besides, I didn't need to prove anything to her, but at some point in the future, she'll likely learn that my social class is a little "wilder" than she thinks. Hah! Great pun.
"Serena will definitely love that joke..." I chuckled a bit.
Lucretia, who had been striding about two meters ahead of me, slowed down to match my pace, grumbling and pouting as she shot me a glance.
I stopped chuckling, puzzled, and asked, "Huh? What's with that face?"
Her hands were on her waist as she kept staring at me like some sort of angry or dissatisfied bunny - actually, no, she looked more like a chipmunk with those overgrown cheeks of her. It was hard to notice that she had fat cheeks like that when her face was always so posh and smug, but when she got a little unhappy or whiny, you'd clearly see her cheeks puff up.
Laughing, I paused and used my fingers to pinch her puffy cheeks.
"Haha, your cheeks like like sweet buns!"
Dramatically clearing my throat, I pushed my chest out and raised my shoulders, saying, "Oh, yes, of course. Can we continue moving? You mentioned you have something to show me, yes?"
Dismissive of my earlier awkward soliloquy, Lucretia snapped her fingers, her eyes widening. "Oh yeah, almost forgot about that," she said. Pointing forward, she declared, "Alright, full speed ahead!" Poshly marching forward, she led the way, and I followed behind.
Soon, we reached what seemed like a dead end, although it wasn't quite literal.
I could sense people on the other side of the concealed door, which blended seamlessly with the wall.
It was a dead end in the sense that if someone walked towards here and didn't look well, they'd miss it.
Scratching the back of my neck, I calmly asked, "So, what's behind the door?"
Lucretia shot me a surprised look.
Her stare made me feel like I had something on my face.
I instinctively touched my face, ran my fingers around, even checked my hair – but everything seemed fine.
Yet, she continued to stare.
Feeling the discomfort, I finally asked, "What's the matter?"
In measured words, Lucretia asked me, "That's not possible, how are you able to see this door? I had some of the best blacksmiths in Efistes refine it with high-grade concealment crystals... even a Great Mage would struggle to discover the presence of this door."
Eh? Concealment crystals?
It definitely isn't working because the door to me looks like it was begging to be seen.
Still, I guess my [World Acuity] was just that powerful, after all, if I wanted, I could even pinpoint where exactly one of my subordinates were in an instant.
"Lucky guess?" I shrugged nonchalantly.
Lucretia eyed me suspiciously, groaned, and walked closer, fixating her gaze on me as if she knew I held secrets but wouldn't pry.
With her face uncomfortably close, I looked away and insisted, "I swear, it's just a lucky guess."
She rolled her eyes, stepped back, closed her eyes, and sighed. "Whatever, I don't care," she muttered.
Chuckling, I teased, "Well, it looked like you did."
Lucretia growled, gritting her teeth as she glared at me.
Raising my arms in a sign of peace, I said, "Easy, easy. Just a joke, no need to get offended."
She regained her composure, flicked her hair back, and declared, "Hmph! Whatever. What's important is what's behind that door." Pointing at the door, she emphasized the mystery awaiting us.
What's behind door number one! Is what Silica would say, if she was here of course.