Chapter 21: Eisenburg (1)

Two days passed, and life seemed less terrifying than before.

Seraphina was still ever-present, but she’d stopped forcing Mili to learn things.

Instead, she’d found a new pastime—

Treating Mili like a doll to dress up.

Every morning, she’d carefully pick out clothes for Mili: sometimes a simple white dress, sometimes a light blue short-sleeved top with a pleated skirt.

One outfit today, another tomorrow…

She watched Mili change with keen interest, occasionally teasing her, amused by the girl’s blushing, evasive reactions.

Sometimes, she’d even brush Mili’s hair herself.

Aside from the daily routine of working in the western district’s test fields for a set time, Mili was free to wander the museum-like palace or stroll in the garden.

Of course, it was just planting flowers and plants.

Pretty boring.

In the afternoon, Mili crouched by a flowerbed, idly poking at the soil with a small shovel. She glanced at Seraphina, who was reading documents nearby.

Today, the woman wore fitted black trousers and a white shirt, her silver hair loosely draped over her shoulders.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled light on her, making the fearsome woman seem almost serene…

But Mili quickly looked away, focusing on her task.

She couldn’t forget this woman’s true nature.

“Come on, cry for me.” Finishing her work, Seraphina crouched beside her, pinching Mili’s cheek.

“…???”

Mili kept her face blank, struggling to stay calm.

“Why so stiff? Fake it if you have to.” She flicked Mili’s forehead lightly.

“You’re cuter with teary eyes.”

Mili bit her lip, forcing her eyes to well up.

These bizarre requests, while baffling and exasperating, were far easier to endure than the suffocating torment…

She also noticed Seraphina had recently provided her with new gardening tools and better seeds—a delicate shovel, watering can, pruning shears, even a greenhouse cultivation box…

All neatly arranged in the garden’s storage shed.

Some tools still bore factory machining marks.

The seeds were even more impressive, packaged in ornate bags with complex foreign labels—

Mili recognized a few.

Plump tomato seeds, premium wheat grains…

As for the other vegetable seeds, she didn’t know their names.

“These are heirloom varieties preserved from the old era…” Seraphina came up behind her, resting her hands on Mili’s shoulders with a hint of pride.

“I went to great lengths to get these.”

“Mm…”

Mili poked at the seed packets on the ground, unsure how to respond.

Seraphina was used to her silence, even finding it a shy charm, and snapped her fingers by Mili’s ear:

“Today, I’m taking you somewhere special.”

“Where…?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

“…”

“Come on, time to eat.” A mysterious smile curved her lips as she turned toward the garden exit.

In the afternoon, Seraphina took her to another part of Eisenburg.

The architecture here was starkly different from the palace district.

Along the way, they passed sprawling factories and bases.

Steel and concrete buildings stood in rows, chimneys puffing white smoke, the hum of machinery constant.

Giant cranes swung overhead, hauling heavy steel beams;

Workers in thick protective suits bustled between complex equipment…

“What… are these?” Mili couldn’t help asking.

“That one’s an arms factory, those are weapon depots—the one back there, a heavy machinery repair station, compatible with most models.”

Holding Mili’s hand, she pointed out each site, while Mili carefully stepped around pipes and cables.

Passing through a factory with its curtain door rolled high, Seraphina showed her a towering steel furnace in the distance:

“These are Eisenburg’s industrial core.”

“Without them, we couldn’t survive here.”

Armored vehicles shuttled along wide concrete roads, soldiers with loaded rifles patrolled, the entire area steeped in a serious atmosphere.

Mili’s eyes widened at the sight of what resembled a military base, awestruck.

She’d never imagined such a vast industrial system could exist in this seemingly barren wasteland…

It was no different from a developed, civilized society…

Compared to this, [Oasis] was like a backwater village, no wonder Seraphina could build such a formidable force in the wasteland.

“What do you think?”

“It’s… incredible…” Mili mumbled softly.

“Hm?”

“Mind-blowing!”

Seraphina’s lips curved slightly at her words: “This is just a fraction.”

They continued, stopping before an unassuming half-buried mechanical building in the complex.

It looked plain, with no windows, only small vents on its gray-white walls.

But up close, the two heavily armed guards at the entrance betrayed its importance.

“Your Majesty.” The guards saluted in unison, stepping aside.

Seraphina nodded slightly, passing a complex biometric verification system, and led Mili inside, taking a dedicated elevator downward…

When the metal doors slid open, the scene before Mili felt like another world.

—It was eerily quiet.

Only the faint hum of central air conditioning echoed overhead.

The corridor walls were pure white, the floor laid with glossy tiles, and soft, bright light strips glowed from above.

A few staff in white sterile suits and masks moved silently through the hall, pausing to salute Seraphina without a sound.

Soon, a nurse-like woman approached, bowing to Seraphina before handing Mili a light blue patient gown: “Miss, please change into this.”

Mili took the clothes, unease creeping into her heart.

Patient gown?

She looked at Seraphina, puzzled: “This is…”

“Go change.” The woman didn’t answer directly, only gesturing to a nearby changing room.

“But… I’m not sick, am I?”

“No one said you’re sick. Just a checkup and some preventive treatment.”

“…”

With no choice, Mili obediently changed into the patient gown.