Chapter 229 43.5 Branching Paths?

SHIZU

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Shizu didn't know what to think at the moment. Even as she stared at the weird mechanical device that Shen was showing her, she still didn't know what it was supposed to be. Was it some kind of Marquean device meant to control the Vermes it was inside in? Was it a listening device meant to spy on people? Or maybe it was simply something that the Vermes inadvertently ate while it was out and about on its rampage... Still, one thing was for certain, it most definitely didn't look like it could be made anywhere else.

Marquee was just that ahead of the other two Great Nations. Even her patriotism wouldn't be able to justify that away.

"What do you think it is, Shen?" Shizu curiously asked, her fingers still trembling from all the goop she had to slough out of her body. "It's certainly of Marquean make, but it's not anything I've seen back on the [Rig]."

"I... I don't know either," Shen frowned as she held onto the device. "It looks.... foreign, almost. Like it shouldn't even exist."

Squinting at the device in Shen's hands, Shizu couldn't help but notice its distinctly spherical shape. It also had a few glowing lights on it that almost looked reminiscent of the kiosks back on the [Empire's Wrath].

"Is it even safe to hold onto?" Shizu worriedly asked. "It looks blasphemous enough as it is. And its been inside a Vermes's guts too."

"I don't feel anything yet," Shen shrugged as she casually fiddled with the device. "So I guess it's not too dangerous ta play with."

Shizu almost flinched as Shen casually juggled the device with one hand. The girl's goop-covered hands notwithstanding, there was just too little that they know of this thing to even play with it like this.

"Uhm, can you not do that?" Shizu awkwardly smiled. "It might, I don't know, explode on us if you keep doing that."

"I don't think it will," Shen smirked as she kept on tossing the device up and down with one hand. "I can fix things, remember? And somehow, I feel like this thing won't explode no matter how much we put it through."

"Okay?" the princess skeptically nodded. "But what do we do with it?"

"We study it, duh," Shen puffed up her chest in pride. "I've been lookin to try this 'reverse engineerin' thing ma book kept telling me. Gonna need some tools for it though."

"If that's the case, then why don't we head back and turn our job in," Shizu quickly suggested. "We can use the money we get there to buy you whatever you might need."

Shizu could only smile as she saw Shen's eyes glow with excitement. "Cool!~ Let's go then!"

Not even bothering to hide herself, Shen was practically leading her along as they made their way back to Centrax proper. Of course, Shizu managed to at least think about hiding the mysterious device beneath her kimono, namely in between her sizeable breasts as it made for a rather handy secret pocket... Right after making sure that it was goop-free, of course.

"You didn't answer me properly earlier, Shen," Shizu pointed out as they walked through the unnaturally paved roads of the city. "What do you think it is?"

Shen hummed before she responded, "At first look, I think it's some sorta bomb."

The princess almost felt her heart skip a beat at hearing the mechanic's assessment. Even now, she could feel the device nestled deep between her breasts, and she could almost swear that she could feel it throbbing every so often. "D-Didn't you say it won't explode earlier?"

"I did, but that's just another assessment," Shen frowned in deep thought. "Sure, I can feel that it's not a bomb, but a part a me still feels like it could be?"

The more she heard, the more Shizu could feel as if her life was about to crash into an abrupt end. She could even feel the device starting to hum now, as if it was timing itself against the beat of her own heart!

"U-Uhh, can we hurry up a bit?" Shizu nervously asked, sweat starting to trickle down her cheek as she couldn't help but place a hand on her chest. "I'm not so sure I want to keep this thing on me for long anymore."

Practically dragging Shen by the hand, Shizu made sure that they were by the administrative building before too long. Even now, she felt as if the device was slowly coming alive, as if it was truly syncing up with her body the longer it stayed in close contact with her chest.

"Oh? You're going to turn in a [Contract]?" the reception lady asked.

"Yes," Shizu almost blurted out in a panic. "Here. This can serve as proof, right?"

Handing in a piece of the Vermes's tentacle to the lady, the fact that the thing was covered in goop didn't even register to her as she waited for the lady to confirm that their job had been done correctly.

"Yes, indeed," the reception lady smiled. "Here's your one Chip as a reward."

"Thank you, thank you," Shizu practically bowed as she nodded, taking in the reward in her hands.

"Thank you for your services, miss," the lady beamed. "If you want any more.... jobs...."

Unfortunately for the poor receptionist, Shizu was already going into full-on panic mode as she pulled Shen out of the building with her. Handing the mechanic the one Chip they just earned, the princess quickly instructed, "Go and buy what you need. I'll be hiding in an alley or somewhere to get this thing off me."

"Oookay?" Shen confusedly nodded. "Wha's wrong, Shizu?"

"Just hurry up, okay?" Shizu blurted out. "We'll meet up by that bench over there later."

Practically pushing the girl away, Shizu scanned her surroundings for any sort of hidden alley that she can hide in. Thankfully, she spotted a small dingy alleyway that was nearby the administrative building.

"Okay, I can take this blasphemous thing out of my chest now."

With an urgency she hadn't shown since their [Rig] got boarded, Shizu dug her right hand in between her breasts, fishing for the device that she had so thoroughly stashed in between them for safekeeping. She hadn't told Shen about it, but she had started hearing some kind of beeping sound coming from her chest by the time she pushed her away to buy her tools. It felt like it was thrumming against the inside of her chest by now, and she was more than ready to get the unnatural device away from her body.

That was, if she could find it.

"W-Where is it?"

Worry turned into annoyance as Shizu stripped her upper body bare just to get a better grasp of her breasts. Undoing her bindings, her massive tracts of land were laid out for all to see as she practically shook them down just to get the device off of her. Still, despite everything she had done, the damn thing just wouldn't seem to pop out.

"Where is it!?" she couldn't help but cry out, her hands practically molesting herself as she fingered every nook and cranny of her chest. "How can it not be here!? I can hear it, for crying out loud!"

The incessant beeping seemed to go in line with the beating of her own heart. The faint hum it gave off in her chest only raised her alarm even further the more she fondled herself in her search. It was as if the damn thing was actually inside her, and if she still couldn't find it, then maybe...

"No way..."

Curiously, Shizu parted her breasts, exposing her sternum where she thought she had placed the device before they went back. Her eyes widened at what was happening, her fear shooting up tenfold as she fought the urge to scream out loud.

"W-What's happening to me?!"

Shizu barely managed to hold herself back, her voice echoing against the walls surrounding her as she stared at her chest. Sure enough, the glowing lights of the device were shining through her skin. Not on her skin. Through it. As in, the device was currently melting into her sternum like it was some kind of parasite.

"B-Blasphemy! Abberation!"

On instinct, the princess clawed at her chest, hoping desperately that she'd be able to take the unholy device out of her body. Unfortunately, the device's light simply blinked in alternate, red and green shining through her chest as it remained stationary.

Panicking, Shizu was tearing up as she placed a hand over the device. Sure enough, it thrummed in time with her heart, acting as if it was already a part of her body even if it was completely made out of metal and Marquean sorcery.

"I... I have to find Lady Guidance," she voiced out, her tone trembling as she haphazardly put her bindings back on. "She'll be able to fix this... Surely...."

With a singular goal in mind, Shizu focused her attention on the nearby forest. She knew that her Gods had taken the fetch quest earlier, which meant they'd likely still be gathering wood in the forest.

She refused to become the damsel in distress for the group again. No.. Not after what happened back in the Island Sanctuary.. She'll get this thing out of her no matter what it took.

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