Elenor's face began turning green from the odor. She barely swallowed the urge to vomit that rose to her throat. The burning sensation in her nose brought tears to her eyes.
"No! I absolutely cannot stay like this!"
Gathering every ounce of willpower she had left, she tried to stand. It felt almost impossible to remain upright on her trembling legs. When she entered the house from the veranda, she lost her balance and staggered, nearly collapsing to the floor. She quickly grabbed the wall for support. With unyielding determination in her eyes, she forced herself toward the bathroom.
"First, I need to get rid of this smell!"
Just as she reached the bathroom door, her energy was completely exhausted and she fell face-first onto the floor. Her full breasts softened the harsh impact somewhat. Elenor clenched her fists, ground her teeth, but did not give up. She continued moving forward, crawling on the floor with her arms. Though her chest made crawling harder, she did not stop. When she reached the door, she forced her trembling body upward and tried to reach the touch panel—but failed, collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. In anger, she slammed her left hand against the ground. When the sound of the watch striking the floor echoed in the quiet space, she looked at her wrist with an unhappy expression. After lying there for a few seconds, a flash of realization struck her mind.
"WAIT A MINUTE! LYRA IS A COMPUTER CONNECTED TO ALL THE LABORATORIES!"
Elenor smiled cunningly and focused on LYRA's screen. The fingers of her right hand began moving frantically across the panel. Before long, she found the tab she was looking for:
[Laboratories].
When she touched the tab, she saw that only the laboratory she was currently in was connected; the link to the others had been severed. She ignored this for the moment, but when she saw the name of the laboratory, her eyebrows began twitching in irritation:
[The Rabbit's Burrow].
"…Grandfather… Even if monsters don't kill me, I'm going to die of embarrassment because of you!"
Sighing, she entered the settings and immediately changed the name to:
[Elenor's Laboratory].
"That's much simpler. Now let's focus on the urgent matter… or I'm going to throw up… UUGGHHH!"
Her cheeks puffed as liquid rose up from her stomach, but she forced it back down with difficulty. She had already lost too much food and water; if she vomited again, it would take hours before she could even stand.
She quickly tapped through:
[Laboratory Controls] → [Mansion].
"Where are the door controls?!"
She scanned the options rapidly and finally found it:
[First Floor Bathroom Door – Status: Closed].
"No, the owner of the house says 'open.' Now!"
She tapped the screen. The door mechanism worked silently, sliding open. Elenor smiled with relief, but when she smelled that foul odor again, her face twisted in disgust. Crawling, she reached the side of the bathtub.
"Luckily, I cleaned this place up a bit during the cleaning… Grandfather, Uncle Omar… I'm going to train with everything I've got just so I can beat you two! You're going to pay for leaving me in this filth!"
She turned on the water, grabbed the showerhead, and rinsed the bathtub thoroughly. When the water warmed, she plugged the drain and activated the jacuzzi mode. The tub slowly began filling with flower-scented, thick, foamy water. With difficulty, Elenor stripped off her soiled sports bra, pajama bottoms, and the rest of her clothes and tossed them aside. With the last of her strength, she gripped the edge of the tub, pulled herself up, and let herself fall into the water. As water splashed onto the bathroom floor, she disappeared beneath the surface for a brief moment. Soon after, her head emerged, and she drew in a deep breath.
"Hmm~ The floral scent masks that horrible smell at least a little… The fact that something like that came out of my body is truly disgusting."
She leaned her back against the tub. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her left wrist as best she could, she focused solely on cleaning herself and easing her exhaustion. She closed her eyes and felt the soothing warmth of the water. Yet her mind was anything but calm—training, weapons, armor, projects… It was obvious that the time she would spend here would be extremely intense.
"By the way, if my watch is a key, I should be able to start that beautiful motorcycle now. And come to think of it… what was that black metallic suitcase?"
As she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, a massive growl erupted from her stomach. She placed a hand over it.
"I haven't eaten anything properly for hours… The only chocolate I ate, I lost while vomiting."
At that moment, the watch on her left wrist began vibrating wildly. Along with the vibration, the veins on her wrist swelled slightly. Startled by a sharp pain, Elenor clenched her teeth and grabbed her wrist.
"This is really going to take time to get used to…"
She wiped the fog from the screen and checked the notifications:
[User's body condition weakened!]
[Scan result: Severe dehydration and hunger detected.]
[Evaluation: Eat immediately and consume 3 liters of water throughout the day.]
With one eyebrow raised, Elenor continued examining the watch with curiosity.
"I'll have to lie here for a while; I don't have the strength to get up. There couldn't be a more perfect time to explore what my new toy can do."
She entered the menu section. The system was quite colorful and decorated with various symbols. She began reviewing the options one by one:
[Profile]
[Sleep Tracking]
[Body Health Status]
[Laboratories] (Connected: 1)
[Vehicles]
[Locations]
[Music]
[My Handsome Grandfather's Magnificent Projects]
Elenor's eyebrows twitched again with that familiar irritation.
"Grandfather… please take a short break from being a narcissist."
Her fingers moved swiftly across the screen, and she changed the name without wasting a second:
[My Handsome Grandfather's Magnificent Projects] >>> [Altarez Family Legacy]
She nodded in satisfaction.
"Much better."
She continued browsing:
[Internet]
[Contacts]
[Map]
[Flashlight Mode]
[Scans]
[Crime Scene Investigation]
Elenor's eyebrows lifted in surprise. She kept scanning the remaining headings in the menu:
[Journal]
[Training]
"Yes, I'll need to set this up within two days… For now, let's check the others. I'll leave the detailed review for later."
[Monster Guide]
[Plant Guide]
[Material Guide]
[Chemistry/Alchemy Guide]
[Registered Spells]
[LYRA Miniaturization Field]
[Lie Detector]
Elenor's gaze lingered on the lie detector.
"A lie detector? Grandfather never disappoints. I'm sure this will be extremely useful in the future—no doubt about that."
[Sync Status] (Permanent/Stable)
"Well… as long as it's useful, I suppose it's not that important. Still, the idea of a network of micro-cables spreading through my body like a parasite is unsettling…"
After letting out a deep sigh, she stopped browsing the menu and tapped the [Sync Status] tab. The watch's hologram technology activated instantly, projecting Elenor's body above the bathtub. The image then turned transparent, revealing her internal organs in intricate detail. The sight both sent a chill down her spine and filled her with profound admiration. She began examining the flawless and complex structure within her own body with intense focus.
"It has spread everywhere except my brain—organs, muscles, bones, my vascular and nervous systems… It's even in my optic nerves… From a medical standpoint, this is absolutely impossible. And yet, right now, I am living proof of that impossibility."
Elenor let out a deep breath.
"I both wonder and, to be honest, fear what my grandfather would have created if he had built a true artificial intelligence. Even thinking about it is exciting."
Unable to resist her curiosity, she focused on the head region of the hologram and clicked the question mark there.
[Establish brain connection?]
• Yes
• No
Elenor began reading the description to understand what this operation might grant her.
[Brain Connection: OFF]
[Connection Result: Control of the brain, memory, and recollection is transferred to the user. Through LYRA, you may upload information directly into your own brain, gain full access to your memories and seal them, or replay them at will. The connection can be activated or deactivated at any time; however, if the user resists during the process, the operation will be canceled.]
[Warning: Although the process is under user control, severe headaches will occur both at the start of the connection and when it is terminated.]
[Recommendation: Either keep it permanently active or do not use it at all.]
[Warning: A minimum interval of 4 hours must be left between activation and deactivation; sudden changes within this period may cause serious damage to the brain. However, during the first connection, all information is collected in LYRA's backup memory. In the event of possible damage, the device can detect missing data and restore it.]
[Warning: The information-upload process is not unlimited; it may be performed only once per month and in a limited amount. Overloading may burn your brain or reduce you to an empty shell devoid of consciousness. This limitation has been permanently integrated into the system by its creator, Soren Altarez.]
[Absolute Rule: Never tamper with this process. If you attempt to do so, you will be punished by the system. This rule is permanent and cannot be altered.]
[Creator's Note: My honey bun~ Don't meddle with this function. Honestly, it was a somewhat unnecessary addition. But emergencies happen, and even if you had a photographic memory, you might need to learn some things very quickly, so I wanted to include it. Still, I don't want to burn my granddaughter's brain! I'm serious—don't touch this process!]
As she continued reading, the magnitude of the risks caused Elenor's eyebrows to rise. Among the system notes were also warnings that prolonged headaches, exhaustion, and severe thirst would follow any information upload. It was additionally recommended to have mana in reserve to make the procedure easier.
"This is both disturbing and fascinating… But I have no doubt that every one of these steps would involve intense pain. Still, being able to access my memories… If I could develop this in a way that aids intelligence gathering, it would be incredibly useful. LYRA's memory truly is like a bottomless well; Grandfather wasn't exaggerating when he called it a mega-computer."
Elenor's eyes lingered on the "seal memories" option. Her mind drifted, unbidden, to that nightmare of a night when her family had been murdered. That memory had tormented her for years like a shadow clinging to her thoughts. Now, the horrifying memories of the integration had been added to it. This was the real reason she constantly kept her mind occupied with projects; the moment she was idle, those traumas surfaced. Taking a deep breath, she exited the brain-connection tab.
"I don't want to activate this for now. I'm not safe enough yet; my body is weak, hungry, and dehydrated. Unless I have no other choice, it's best not to tamper with my brain."
She shifted her gaze away from the head region of the hologram and back to the overall structure of her body. Seeing her own insides so clearly still left her conflicted; one part of her felt admiration, while another shuddered. As she continued examining, she paused when a notification appeared near the ovarian region and looked at the screen in surprise.
[Freeze menstrual cycle?]
• Yes
• No
This process had always been torture for Elenor—extreme fatigue, relentless pain, and an endless irritability.
"It seems there's no permanent damage… Grandfather truly is a genius. He's accomplished something medically impossible. Considering LYRA's theoretical capacity, it actually makes sense."
She hesitated for a moment, but the rational voice within her prevailed.
"Should I do this? Yes, I should. I'm in the shelter and safe for now, but the outside world can change at any moment. Anything that affects my decision-making ability or physical performance is a risk to me. I trust your invention—and your love for me, Grandfather."
With determination, she pressed the "Yes" option.
[Process starting. Please remain still.]
Before she even understood what was happening, the black veins in her lower abdomen suddenly swelled and began writhing beneath her skin like snakes. Caught completely off guard, Elenor let out a scream of agony that echoed against the bathroom walls.
"AAAAAAAAAA!"