Chapter 281: Endless Curiosity
As I escaped from the others inside the building, I hopped into the car we had used to get here and headed toward the Dragon Corporation building where Mr. Jinpei was waiting.
Asuka remarked, “It’ll be a hassle if those guys find us again,” but it felt like she was just trying to avoid the trouble of explaining things, so I decided not to comment on it.
“Is Dragon Corporation really that Dragon Corporation…?”
Asuka, who had just announced our destination, turned back to me with a puzzled expression. She didn’t seem to grasp the significance, questioning what business we had with one of the world’s top five telecommunications companies. Though, in reality, it was them who had business with us.
“Well, I can’t say for sure, but it should definitely be Dragon Corporation,” I replied.
“Ah… I see…”
I thought I had given a safe answer, but Asuka trailed off, falling silent. The atmosphere in the car grew quiet, but Ivan, Phonia, and El, who were unfamiliar with Japan, were glued to the windows, gazing outside with fascination.
“Whoa, what’s that!”
“Fast!”
It seemed they had caught sight of a Shinkansen (bullet train) passing by, and their excitement was palpable. It looked faster than our usual speed when flying through the air. While I couldn’t be sure if we could match its speed at full power, I knew for a fact that Nil wouldn’t be able to keep up.
“Maybe we should ride a train next time,” I suggested.
“A train?”
“Could it be that thing that just zoomed past us?”
Phonia tilted her head in confusion, but Ivan seemed to have figured it out, nearly hitting the nail on the head.
“It’s not that one, but a similar one that goes a bit slower.”
“Yeah! I want to ride it!”
“Then how about we eat with Mr. Jinpei and take the train back?”
“Yay!”
As Phonia raised her hands in delight, I patted her head and pulled out my smartphone to open the map app. I had already marked our apartment building on the map. It wasn’t too far from Dragon Corporation, and there were several routes we could take, but I decided to think about that later.
“We’ve arrived,” I announced.
It seemed we had reached our destination while chatting with Phonia and the others. Stepping out of the car, I recognized the underground parking lot. Asuka also got out and looked around curiously.
“Thank you for the ride,” she said.
“It’s part of my job. You don’t need to worry about it,” I replied.
“Thank you, big sister!”
Phonia said, her ears twitching as she expressed her gratitude, causing Asuka’s expression to soften.
“Well then, we’ll take our leave now,” Asuka said.
“Take care,” I replied.
After exchanging farewells, Asuka glanced at each of us, pausing for a moment on El. Without saying anything in particular, she turned on her heel and headed back to the car.
“…It’s pretty tough to stay silent for so long. I had so many questions I wanted to ask,” El sighed once Asuka was out of sight.
“You’ll have to hold on a little longer,” I said, shrugging as we made our way toward the elevator hall. I heard El let out another deep sigh.
Taking out the Entry Pass from the Dimensional Box, I felt a tug on the hem of my clothes.
“Big brother… I want to try that too,” Phonia said, looking up at me and pointing at the Entry Pass.
“This?”
I handed it to her, and she beamed, holding it up high.
“Thank you!”
When I flipped the card over to check the back, I couldn’t help but grin as I made my way to the door. However, when Phonia reached out to scan the card, she couldn’t quite reach it even when she stood on her tiptoes.
Turning slowly, Phonia’s face was filled with sadness, and it looked like she was about to cry.
“Ah, yeah… I guess it’s too high for you,” I said, trying not to laugh.
Gently stroking her head, I thought for a moment. I remembered that there were plenty of things in the Dimensional Box that could serve as a stepping stool, so I pulled out a wooden crate and placed it on the floor.
“This should do the trick.”
“…Yeah!”
Phonia’s face lit up again as she climbed onto the crate and held up the card. With a satisfying “Beep!” the door swung open.
“I did it! I opened it!”
“Great job!”
I took the card back from Phonia as she hopped down, and I gave her a hearty pat on the head.
“…So that little card is the key, huh?”
El said, nodding in admiration as she observed the card reader intently. She was examining it from every angle, muttering to herself, but if she didn’t hurry up, we’d leave her behind!
As we all stepped through the door, El rushed in last, looking around the cramped elevator with a puzzled expression.
“What is this place…?”
I lifted Phonia and let her press the button for the 72nd floor, while she gleefully pressed the close button as well.
El watched the doors close, but suddenly, she began pressing the buttons for the 71st and 70th floors in order.
“Hey, stop that!”
I grabbed her arm to stop her, and she turned back to me with a confused look. However, as the elevator began to move, her expression shifted to one of panic.
“This is a vehicle that moves between the floors of the building. If you press those buttons, it’ll stop at floors you don’t need to go to!”
“What…!?”
She seemed to understand after my explanation, but the moment we passed the fifth floor and the view outside became visible, her eyes widened in astonishment.
“Wow, it’s refreshing to see El react this way, even more than Ivan!”
I glanced back at Rio, who was double-tapping the buttons for the floors El had pressed. The buttons for the unnecessary floors disappeared one after another with each tap.
“What…!?”
Rio couldn’t hold back her laughter as she mirrored El’s reaction.