CHAPTER 185: PRESSURE RISING

Cooking area.

"Master, why’d you tag along?"

Demi quietly sidled up to Pergina, looking totally confused.

Pergina put on her serious face:

"A young woman and a young man, alone together in a room! Master’s here to keep you from doing something you’ll regret!"

"What are you saying!!!"

Demi’s face went bright red. She was just thinking, just thinking—how could she do anything here!!!

Pergina smirked like she knew better:

"Go show off those cooking skills! Young Master Carlos is still watching..."

"Oh crap! Did Young Master Carlos hear that?"

Demi looked over nervously.

Seeing Young Master Carlos ’curiously’ checking out a boiling kettle, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Young Master Carlos, that kettle’s nothing special—it doesn’t do any magic tricks."

Pergina and Demi walked over.

Carlos smiled like he knew a secret:

"Nothing special? No... this little thing holds the power to change the world!"

"What?!"

Demi was blown away, shooting her master a weird look.

What kind of amazing alchemical gadget are you hiding now!

But Pergina didn’t buy Carlos’s words one bit, because this kettle was definitely something she’d made herself!

Besides boiling water, it really didn’t do jack squat!

Carlos focused on watching Pergina’s reaction.

’Cool as a cucumber.’

He pointed at the kettle and kept going:

"Look, the water’s boiling and the lid’s getting pushed up."

"That’s totally right!"

Demi nodded enthusiastically.

Young Master Carlos was so sharp to notice this!

She hadn’t even picked up on it herself.

"...Isn’t this basic stuff?"

Pergina looked like she wanted to roll her eyes. Which household’s kettle didn’t do this? What was the big deal?

’Hmm? Is she playing dumb?’

Carlos was testing with steam principles that hadn’t shown up in this world yet.

According to the intel, the Western Sage’s research into this should’ve already gotten started.

Carlos kept pushing:

"The steam from one kettle’s water pushed up the lid. What if we used a huge kettle? Wouldn’t it push up an even bigger lid?

Following that logic, a giant kettle could pack even more punch—maybe enough to lift several tons of rocks, right?"

As Carlos laid this out, scenes started playing in Demi’s head as she mumbled:

"Yeah! Exactly! If... if we could use this force as power, then... then..."

Carlos’s words seemed to flip some switch. Demi’s brain went into overdrive as all kinds of inspiration started exploding.

’Boom! Boom! Boom!’

Steam actually started rising from her hair—a sure sign her brain was working overtime!

Meanwhile, Pergina’s expression stayed totally chill (and confused).

So what if it gets pushed up? What’s that got to do with me?

I’m not gonna waste my time making some giant kettle.

How much work would it take to boil that thing?

Besides, there’s no point—we’ve got plenty of water to drink.

Carlos’s eyes got a little narrower. He had the full picture now.

’Master Pergina, even though you’re playing it cool, your apprentice just gave you away!’

’Agh! That piercing look again!’

Pergina kept her game face on while internally losing her mind.

How many times now? Say something!

Spit it out!

Ask me questions!

What’s with all the smiling without talking?

Suddenly,

"Thud!"

Demi hit the deck!

"Demi!"

Pergina freaked out and rushed over to check.

She saw her apprentice with a scrunched-up face, pale as a ghost, and steam pouring off her head—pretty scary stuff!

"Demi! What’s wrong? Don’t freak Master out!"

Pergina scooped up her apprentice and apologized to Carlos:

"Young Master Carlos, I’m really sorry. I gotta get Demi to the Sacred Medical Institute right now."

Soon as she finished talking, she bolted!

"Mental burnout..."

Carlos was about to follow when suddenly Red Spirit’s info came through their soul link.

’Found traces of the Black Poison Faction?’

Weighing his options, Carlos caught up and shoved a bag of gold coins into Pergina’s hands.

"Please take this bag of gold coins to cover Miss Demi’s medical bills."

"This doesn’t feel right..."

Pergina felt the weight of the bag—it was crazy heavy. Her look toward Carlos got as warm as possible.

Carlos’s voice carried real regret:

"I’m really sorry. I just got urgent news that I gotta handle. I can’t come with you..."

"Then get going and take care of your business. With gold coins... I mean, with me here, you can chill!"

Pergina got how swamped people like Carlos were and kept hustling while carrying Demi.

"Thanks for being cool about it."

Man, in the end, it was his testing that made Miss Demi collapse. Carlos felt like garbage.

And Red Spirit had just sent seriously important news, so Carlos couldn’t tag along.

Lucky for him, Master Pergina was totally reasonable and didn’t give him grief.

Carlos watched Master Pergina take off, slapped his mask back on, and headed toward the Second District Security Office...

...

Rock Sand City, Second District, Second District Security Office.

"Captain Barossa, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Second District Security Officer Willie had tiny eyes like two green beans. He was pretty shocked by the garrison troops showing up.

"Security Officer Willie, my mission this time is to search the Second District slums! I need you to back me up."

"Search?"

Second District Security Officer Willie’s skinny eyebrows shot up as he flat-out refused:

"I’m afraid that’s not the garrison troops’ turf."

"Huh?"

Barossa never saw the security officer shutting him down coming!

"This is Commander Marin’s direct order!"

He glared with those tiger eyes, hammering the point home.

Who knew Second District Security Officer Willie would still shake his head:

"Sorry, I haven’t gotten orders from Chief Security Officer Freeman. I’m afraid I can’t play ball."

Barossa immediately blew his top, angrily laying into him:

"Willie! You dare blow off Commander Marin’s orders?"

Willie’s mustache twitched a little, his eyes full of attitude:

"Barossa, when’d you pick up this act? Remember, I’m the Second District Security Officer. By the book, I gotta follow Chief Security Officer Freeman’s orders first."

Hearing this, Barossa’s face got all scrunched up:

"...You’re saying the Chief Security Officer..."

"Hold up right there. How you think is your business, but the orders I got were to handle searches in my turf on my own."

Security Officer Willie really emphasized the words "on my own."

"Let’s bounce! We’re outta here!"

Hearing this, Barossa had no choice but to wave his hand, signaling they were leaving.

According to the rules laid down when Rock Sand City got started, the garrison troops were mainly supposed to handle fights outside the city, while security officers dealt with all the crap inside the city.

If the Chief Security Officer wasn’t having it, Barossa couldn’t mess with district business no matter what.

’What a headache. The Chief Security Officer’s a real pain to deal with.’

"Safe travels! Don’t let me keep you."

Willie’s thin mustache wiggled as he grinned, watching the garrison troops clear out.

Just then, a fireball dropped from the sky:

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"

Red Spirit read the soul waves of everyone around, slowly figuring out the whole situation.