Chapter 31: Letting it Soak

Chapter 31: Letting it Soak

I had cleaned the rug dozens of times by the time my mind finally settled. The world had just become a much more complicated place. But I would have to deal with it. I had responsibilities to meet and duties to perform. So I went to see if Beatrice was done charging.

I actually met her on my way to the library. She was just coming out of one of the doors leading to a room with cages. I hoped she hadn't been pushing herself by cleaning too much yet. She needed maintenance before returning to her more arduous duties.

She jumped a little when she saw me but politely bowed and wished me good morning. Still, I needed to improve on reading human facial features. Her eyes looked strange. Not the eyes themselves but the area around them. There appeared to be dark circles under them; I didn't remember seeing those there before. I wonder if that came from the damage the other humans inflicted. If so, maybe she could also fix them during maintenance and charging. I hoped she had had a good night charging.

I also saw that her damaged arm looked like it had been packaged somehow. It had been wrapped in cloth and tied to her chest. Presumably, this was to keep it from flapping about while she couldn't control it. That was a bright idea. I will have to keep that in mind for future damages. It would be an excellent way to prevent any further damage while charging. Especially since humans seemed to move when they charged much more than I did.

I hoped that her repairs would take less time than the previous ones. A good mechanic should take less than days to fix something as simple as swapping an outer part. I suppose if you were doing it yourself, it must be much more challenging, though. And the truth was, I envied the humans' ability to repair themselves. If I had to replace my arm, I would be utterly incapable of doing so.

So far, I was lucky enough to avoid damage. However, my wheels were starting to get almost grimy. When I cleaned the carpets, I spent half the time cleaning up the dust I tracked in myself from driving around. It took several passes, but most of the stuff eventually left my underside from being brushed off or flaking off. Sure, I could vacuum it up as I trundled along, but I'm sure my top and sides were just as gross. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Maybe I would get some sort of self-cleaning or repair power soon. But the loud voice hadn't made an appearance in a while. I had even transmuted some material to fill myself up earlier, and still nothing. I imagined if I transmuted everything, I would hear it again, maybe? Perhaps I would try that once I needed more energy again.

I considered how to convey my decision about training to Beatrice. I wasn't about to figure out how to, honestly. So she would just have to figure it out as we went along. Unfortunately, she was still damaged. I didn't think she could protect herself adequately without her arm in working condition, so training that way would be suboptimal. But I suppose we could do something to pass the time until she was fully repaired. With a series of beeps, I encouraged her to follow me and led her to the main staircase again.

Blinking in shock, Bee had an idea. "I wonder if that's why they summon demons here. I bet that Nazareth'gak’s presence weakness the barrier to the demonic realm...."

"Master, can this wait please?" she begged. "Before we go explore that area, I would like to be fully healed and a little more prepared."

She was still exhausted. Bee had spent almost the entire night researching and checking up on various demons to exercise her scan ability. She had gotten maybe three hours of sleep that night. Void made an inquisitive sound, seeming to ask why they should delay.

"We can go in a day or two if we really must. Let me sleep and prepare some materials to bring. That way, I can heal and possibly be more useful to you."

It beeped in what she took for assent. Sagging in relief as they returned to the stairwell, she carried Void back upstairs, then headed to the library.

***

Bee was both excited and nervous. If Void let her survive exploring/cleaning the catacombs, she would almost certainly reach level 10. With their recent work, she could see that she was very close already. This was just what she needed. Of course, her master would push her, but hopefully, it would keep her from dying if she got in over her head.

Rushing around to prepare, Bee made a double batch of healing salve and applied it all at once. It seemed to have worked before, and she needed to be ready soon. Bee wished to take some with her, but its potency didn't last long. She would have to bring her alchemy supplies and make them fresh in the field.

After Bee had slathered the salve all over her arm, she rewrapped it carefully. Then she started gathering the materials she would need. A complete set of equipment and her notebook of useful recipes. A backpack, since her bag was only large enough for short expeditions. She wasn't sure how long they would be in the catacombs, but it was better to be safe if they got lost. She would also need to run and grab food and water from the kitchen. As well as more supplies for her alchemy from the storeroom.

On her way to the lesser storeroom, Bee was glad that most of the minor demons had been taken care of. She hadn't seen one in days. From what Bee could tell from inspecting the cages, the regular demons were still mostly subdued or recovering from stasis. At least, she hadn't seen any out yet. Hopefully, they wouldn't wake up for another day or two. Plus, If they worked like the lesser demons, they wouldn't all come out at once.

Running through her mental checklist again, Bee began packing alchemy materials into small leather sacks. This would be an excellent opportunity for her to get stronger. She just had to make sure she was prepared. Time to see if all that research would pay off.