Turning her head towards the door, Delphina could see the B-8 look-alike sphere finally alighting on the stone floor. It slowly rolled towards her, before stopping short of her feet and extending its tiny limbs.
Gently grabbing the discarded apple core she'd left on the table, it deposited the core inside a small opening in its (what she could only guess at as) chest cavity.
The Lord & Madam want to know if you'll be joining them for dinner today.
"Woah, well, aren't you the cutest?"
Please refrain from commenting on my stature; I am insecure about my orb.
With this comment, the automaton stood a little taller on its 'legs', as if somehow that made itself bigger. Delphina had to take a deep breath and move on from this adorable display.
"When is dinner today?"
Approximately two hours from now. The whole family will be present. Please do not bring any weaponry.
Do you wish to be guided on time?
"Ah, sure sounds good. Thank you."
It is a pleasure, as always, young lady.
After this was said, the automaton tottered away to stand near the shifting flagstone and disappeared down the chute.
As Delphina waited for it to close fully, she turned back towards the screen, first looking at the floor where the B-8-esque bubble had come close to her.
"No, but seriously, how cute was that? Are all the automatons that adorable? They must come in different varieties, right?" As she whispered this to herself, she kicked her feet up and down. She was starting to develop cute aggression.
[13/20 questions now available due to the topic relating to keyword: Automaton.]
[Automatons were first developed during the…
"No! Stop! That's not what I wanted to actually ask!"
However, she was too late. No.69 had already begun to spiel off about the intricacies of Automaton creation.
********
How long had it been? Delphina thought that she could see the dust motes in the air, dancing in slow motion to the setting Sun's red light, which had started to filter in from where the balcony door was still open.
[And so there are now smaller, more compact house versions of automatons like you just saw!]
"But there's still no mini versions available, right? No, what am I even saying? Please ignore that I think I've gone insane, even to ask… How long did that take to explain No.69?"
[12/20 questions now available]
[Approximately half an hour]
[ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]
"Don't get cute with me, you little shit!"
Dragging her hands down her face to prevent herself from messing up her hair, she leant forward to make a point with her hands. She then pointed at the screen. To make a point. To pointedly point out that she felt that she needed to point something out to the system in front of her.
"What do you even mean by 'approximately'? And this is a follow-up question by the way, so don't even try it."
[Ah]
[I wasn't paying attention to the time previously, but you have at least an hour and a half left before dinner!]
"Please pay attention going forward, I find it odd there's no time-keeping pieces or something similar in this room."
"Actually, that's my next question. Why does Delphina not have any servants or more automata to help her? Why does everyone seem so far away outside? Does her family hate her or something? Or is it her handling of being a Sword Master that is going terribly? Because the 'no bringing weapons to the dinner table' comment from that bubble stuck in my ears earlier…"
[…]
[This system cannot fully explain due to the complexity of the situation.]
[Issuing Quest; Who Me?]
[11/20 questions now available due to the topic relating to keyword: Delphina.]
[To start with, almost all Sword Masters of this Era only use close personal automata instead of servants due to the social pressures on the lower Nobility to serve anyone from the 4 Great Families.]
"Hang on, is it really that bad?"
[It is recorded as 'highly uncomfortable' to be around Sword Masters or anyone close to being one for extended periods, as the person will feel mildly threatened at all times. Also, Sword Masters are practically revered as Gods by the masses.]
"Right. So, of course, they would keep their distance."
[People who identify as Alphas, or even rarely Enigmas, are reported to be okay with the situation. However, due to their rarity, it is hard to find them as servants. They mostly work with the Burgess Family.]
"O-o-o-omegaverse?" Delphina covered her mouth with one hand as she internalised this scream. Her thoughts started to race wildly at this implication, then as she calmed down, "Well, of course, there are beast-men in this universe, so the Omega-verse also being present isn't ridiculous."
She nodded before freezing up once again. "Doesn't that mean that out there, there's a cat-boy getting the knotting he's always dreamed of?" Delphina then mentally saluted in the direction of the balcony.
Because either way, she couldn't see the horizon to gaze off into it anyway.
[That's why Delphina doesn't have any servants or much automata around her.]
[I will have to go into the Administration archives to find out about the lack of timekeeping equipment, however. As I can't find a reason for this in Mareveil's History or Delphinas' memories.]
"Ah, yes, I see. I caught all of that and didn't miss a word."
[Was there anything you didn't understand? I've detected a change in your tone.]
Delphina was never going to admit to a system of all things, just where her brain had gone. After all, it was a cat-boy hole, not a rabbit's one.
"No, I got the gist of it, basically Delphina is just sensitive for a Sword Master because she's also stunning, and as a woman, she has to keep herself slightly more secure because her strength doesn't match her frame. So people have to get on her nerves, right?"
"You and I know it's because she has a fully utilised set of 'Life Energy' circuits, but that's difficult to see just from looking at her."
"I mean, a Glaive is her primary weapon by the looks of that walk-in wardrobe- which you have to be strong to use."
"But you can't exactly walk around with that in your day-to-day. Keeping a Longsword by her side would be a hassle, too. The ones in there seem just shorter than the length of one of her legs."
[…]
[User, you truly must be smart to tell all that from what I just said!]
"I can't tell if that was sarcasm or not, but let's just leave it." Coughing slightly, Delphina leaned to one side.
"Of course, you explained everything so well."
[Then I shall continue! The de Velasques Family is known as being relatively tight-knit as a result. However, there haven't been any other incidents to speak of, as Delphina and Pietro haven't made their way out into society properly.]
[Obviously, working in the Hunter Unit doesn't count. Delphina's independent group within the Unit still hasn't been named, by the way. She forgot to do so.]
She knew it, she'd missed something important, but she couldn't take it back now.
[Issuing Quest; For What It's Worth]
[You have approximately an hour left. Do you have any more questions you want to ask now?]