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>>2527320
You make for the inner ring, a messenger having been sent to the Genesfor residence before your approach. You end up crossing the bridge, as Tillie's home is furthest from your residence, occupying the edge nearest the chaotic peasant housing. As you near the structure, you realize that a good portion of paved ground before her home is an elevator. Miriam wouldn't notice it, but, Alex certainly does.
as you pull in, nobody comes to greet you, which is odd. The messenger did arrive first, right?

Well the door is there, perhaps Valentina should knock? Or you could try exploring the grounds...

>what do you do?

>>2527327
> start the elevator but don't ride it.

Let's touch some buttons.

>>2527327
>knock on the door
there's no need to start fiddling with, presumably, a lift for mechs

>>2527327
Knock on the door. If that doesn't work them explore the grounds.

>>2527413
Seems reasonable, supporting

>>2527503
Support

>>2527327
This>>2527426

>>2527327
Konxk konck guse whos back

We should get Miriam a mech, she's rich right? We can afford a good one.
Just gotta convince mommy and daddy

>>2527643
If we influence Miriam with alex instead of alex with Miriam, maybe we'll get some san back

>>2527646
Gotta start slow though, don't want anyone getting suspicious.

>>2527696
As far as I'm concerned any method of regaining San is a good start

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>>2527413
>>2527426
>>2527503
>>2527563
>>2527589
>>2527630
Valentina knocks the door at your orders. for a moment, silence, then you hear various thudding noises and a rush of footsteps to the door. Finally, the door opens from within, revealing a small girl... wearing a nightgown stained with oil, goggles and an apron. She's got marks on her from the oil too. It was Tillie, but Miriam had no memories of her looking so disheveled and dirty.

"M-miriam?!" Tillie stammers, eyes wide, "Why are you here?"

"I sent a messenger to say I was visiting?" You try.

"Oh! That must have been the knock earlier! The parents are out with the maid, so I couldn't get to the door fast enough!" Maid. Not multiples... Tillie was on the lower end of the nobility in this city, after all.

"Oh goddess I am so embarrassed!" The girl gulps, "I need to- ah, but there's no maid to- Oh no no this is the worst time..." She mutters to herself. She'd committed a faux pas, not being ready to receive you after a messenger was sent, but how could she? the maid was out and she was alone. You never waited for word that nobody was home either, so you'd just assumed...

Regardless, there is now a somewhat shocked lesser noble occupying the door, covered with tools and oil. What was she doing in there?

>What do you do?

>>2529992
Go insind and offer yout maid to clean her? Well you wait

>>2529992
Ask her what she was doing? She must have been pretty into it to not notice us and be in such a state.

>>2529992
>with sparkling eyes, "what are you working on."
an adventure inside the city, also possibly a non-magic mech.

>>2530119
>>2529992
Yeeeesssssss this pleases me.

>>2529992
These>>2530003
>>2530050

>>2530003
not a bad idea.
>>2530119
why not both?

>>2529992
It's fiiiine. So you were working on a knight of something? What's it like riding in one?

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>>2530050
>>2530119
>>2530372
>>2530615
>>2531149
>>2531663
Eyes gleaming, you grip the door, "What are you working on, Tillie?"

The girl is taken aback, worry plain on her face, "W-well, the examinations for the magic academy were weeks ago, and... I didn't get in.... Lesser nobility rarely have great magical talent like you, Miriam, so I thought..."

You tilt your head, thinking. A failure to get in? the only option left was, "So... you go to the knight academy?"

She jumped a little, "Y-yes, and I decided to... well, you see, a standard goddess knight is pretty easy to beat... Quixote was an example of that, so... I was modifying- ah, wait..."

"You... have a goddess knight?" You start.

"The Genesfor family ALWAYS has them, Miriam. Our territory is where the parts are made... And every student in the knight academy has a standard..." She shifts uncomfortably, "but... the demonic machine didn't use magic. It fired shots with guns like the ones the dwarves make, but better... so much better..." She stared at the floor with a frown, "Like an apostle of science weapon, but bigger... And the apostles aren't ballsy enough to come NEAR the empire..." She turned her gaze back to you, "Ah, sorry, you were missing, but, there was-"

"I visited Annabelle before you." You cut her off. Tillie nods.

"The demonic mech is not magical in nature, so I was looking over foreign patterns to try to modify my own goddess knight... Uh, I'd heard something about you needing retainers and was kind of hoping..." She gives you an eager expression, as if imploring you.

>Miriam's friend, Tillie, is in the knight academy, and expressing a desire to be a retainer for Miriam. Her combat and defensive skills are unknown, as is her class type in the academy but Miriam recalls that the girl has a passion for military history and technology in the empire.

"If you could... I mean, you don't have to, but if you did I'd be able to stick with you in the Magic Academy..." She smiles.

She probably wants a decision now, though. You could choose to give her a promise to choose her (gets rid of a retainer slot for Tillie Genesfor) or try to move on to another subject.

>what do you do?

>>2540423
Yes.
Magic knight adventure is a go. Dunno if we can persuade the parents though.

>>2540423
> Refuse

We plan on coming into conflict with the Empire, we shouldn't build close ties while we're here.

We SHOULD learn more about the apostles of science though.

>>2540423
>accept
Her familys territory is where the supplies are gained from. Wether we come into open conflict woth the empire again or not, we can both learn more about thier supply chain and how to disrupt it, or even get things ourselves if we need to

>>2540423
Acceeept

>>2540423
Accept

>>2540458
Nothing wrong with making ties with the empire while betraying them without their know how.

>>2540423
Say yes
But we will want to see her fight
Both in and out of the mech our maid can fight her.

>>2540423
Can she teach us how to pilot a mech?

>>2540423
Accept the offer.

>>2540423
>say yes

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>>2540441
>>2540488
>>2540597
>>2540672
>>2540790
>>2542933
>>2543411

>You have promised Lady Tillie Genesfor a spot in your retinue. -1 retinue slot. you have 2 remaining

You agree to take her as one of your guardians, although she just started in the knight academy. That's fine, though, by the time both of you are finished she should have a lot of training, right?

Tillie smiles at you, "I won't let you down, Miriam! I'm sure! Anyways, the knight I was making adjustments to will be called 'Issac,' and I think it'll be quite impressive to the academy!"

You wonder what she considers impressive... Tillie is essentially a novice on mech combat and piloting if she just joined, but her family, and thus Tillie herself, are very familiar with the workings and equipment. You don't doubt Tillie has her hands on the latest goddess knight components.

"What do you mean by 'impressive?'" you try.

Tillie freezes, "Uh, well, you see I... erm... I kinda have to show you... Can't let anyone else know..."

She offers to take you to her project...

>What do you do?

>>2544517

agree to keep it a secret and accept the offer

>>2544517
Absolutely ask to see it; supporting mirams friend and our retainer is a good thing. Plus we have an eye for mechs----or at the very least levi does and she can help us help her if we wanted.

>>2544517
Full anime eyes aoe sparkle effects. and agree to keep it a secret.

>>2544535

this

>>2544528

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>>2544528
>>2544529
>>2544535
>>2544539
>>2544547

Tillie nods silently as you enter, and leads you down some stairs. And more stairs... and yet even more stairs. Finally you are in a hallway that is dimly lit and cold. Tillie leads you to iron-wrought doors and, pushing them open, reveals a huge hangar. Resting within is the massive form of a goddess knight.

"The Isaac. When I heard of the Quixote's fall, I had workers from our forges inspect the damage... and they found... this." She holds up a warped hunk of metal, but you know what it is well...

It's one of your railgun slugs. She needs both hands to lift it, "It was buried in a crater. A crater, like a falling star would make. Now here's the thing, it didn't use powder. There was no flash or bang from the weapon, so it wasn't like an orc or dwarven gun... It was something else, and I had an idea..." She paused, "Uh, do you know why a falling star makes a crater?"

You try to think. You know the answer, but would Miriam? You decide to stay silent, rather than risk sanity.

"Do you know what gravity is?" Tillie asks.

"Yes." You respond, not wanting to let her explain gravity to you.

"Okay, so, falling stars make craters because they fall so fast in gravity. That's the only thing that made sense, so how could it get gravity to go sideways? That's when I got an idea, see, our forges produce these magical rings we put in the knights, so that the one controlling it will always be upright! They control gravity. So I thought... What if I stacked a bunch of them on each other and pointed them sideways?" She grinned, pointing at the one arm with many rings, big enough for someone to move around within. "So it turns out the enchanted rings amplify each other, and stacking them amplifies it alot! so inside that tube is 50 times the gravity we feel!"

She points to one end of the hangar, where you can make out a huge dent in the wall. "The test firing went through my practice target, so... eheh, yeah."

Tillie has apparently invented a gravity cannon based off an idea from the damage you did...

"So... what do you plan to do with this?" You start.

"Oh, keep it a secret for sure. The moment something like this gets spread around, then it's going to get stolen for sure! the last thing we need is something like this on the flying city of raiders!"

She glances around, and whispers, "besides, I think this is something the apostles of science already invented, if word gets out I made an apostle-like gun, people might think I'm some anti-magic lunatic out to destroy the empire..."

She seems to know a bit more about these apostles than Annabel did...

>What do you do?

>>2544625
Ask her about those apostles

>>2544641

this

>>2544625
this>>2544641

>>2544641

>>2544625
Ask if she will be willing to go loom for the demon mach and kill and go expolring

>>2544799
I don't know if you're a new anon. but WE ARE the demon mech.

>>2544625
That's crazy talk! It uses magic.

>>2544823
We know that but she dosnt
Was just trying to get her to leave the city with us and then we do a big haha it was i

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>>2544987

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>>2544641
>>2544644
>>2544705
>>2544721
>>2544873
"Who are the apostles of science?"" You ask, "I've heard a few mentions of them."

"Heretics, the church would say. They are a group that sees magic not as a gift from the gods but a force of nature to be used and exploited like a tool. Whatever it is they are doing, they are ahead of everyone in technology. They call their goddess knights 'mechs' and they field weapons as powerful, if not MORE powerful that what I just showed you."

You blink a few times. What?

"They also oppose 'the world's will' or something like that, whatever that means, they are incredibly dangerous, but luckilly there are only a handful of them..." She whispers to you, so not even Valentina can hear, "and, from what I've heard? they're making... mechanical people... with weapons just as strong..."

She takes a step back, "But their mechs are too... glowy. they are really flashy, but it doesn't matter, since they can dissolve shots fired at them... Good thing they're in the wastes..."

You nod. This information might be useful back at the base... The Apostles sound like a good group to recruit.

"Ah, right, did you want tea?" Tillie asks, offering conversation.

>what do you do

>>2545010
we should recruit them later. Tea? sure.

I still want to see how well mini alex will go in a goddess knight.

>>2545010
Demand that she make us a hot chocolate insted

>>2545010
Yes. Tea.

>>2545010
Absolutely take some tea, we are a civilized hieress afterall. Plus we need to celebrate our new retainers position.

>>2546084
>>2545026
Supporting

>>2545010
> What keeps them in the Wastes if they're so powerful? Does nobody work with them?

>>2546438
I am now interesting in this

>>2545010
This>>2546438, and some tea would be nice.

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Work has been under quarantine and I had to pick up for sick staff, hence the lack of updates.

https://discord.gg/cFrFJ2 - discord for those who want to be notified of the latest update, or hear my excuses.