“Hey, big sister, are you listening!?”

Having called out multiple times, I snapped back to reality at Himari’s significantly louder voice.

“Oh, sorry, what was that?”

“Seriously… We were in the middle of discussing how we received food and supplies from the Crimson Automaton to distribute to everyone!”

“That’s right. Then let’s first divide half of it evenly. Since we don’t know how long we’ll have to stay here, it’s best to save the other half.”

“That’s exactly it! How much longer do we have to stay here?”

“Until the Crimson Automaton finishes its mission.”

“I want to know when that will be!”

“I don’t know… I can’t even guess because I don’t know what kind of mission it is.”

“Can’t you listen to the conversation a little?”

“I can’t help it; it seems to be a top-secret mission.”

“Well, can’t we at least help those people with their work… I want to finish this quickly and go home!”

Though Himari said it casually, I thought it was a good idea. Since it was a top-secret request, I figured there would be limits to what we could do, but I decided to at least ask if there was something we could help with.

It was a long shot, but surprisingly, I was asked to help out. The task was to assist with measuring instruments I had never seen before, and it looked like they were incredibly busy—so much so that they could use all the hands they could get.

“Excuse me for taking advantage of your kindness,” said Fistoria, sounding quite apologetic.

“No, I offered to help, and it’s just that I can’t stay still if I’m not doing something.”

“To be honest, I never expected a royal like you would come to help.”

I had mentioned that I was the princess of Amuria Kingdom. When it came to the topic of assistance, it seemed that Fistoria thought she would receive a servant or someone of lower rank instead.

“That said, this machine is amazing. What exactly are you measuring?”

“We are investigating a special magnetic field. We’re searching for something, but there are very few clues, and we’re trying to analyze and find it by picking up countless weak frequencies.”

Though she was withholding important details, she explained it to me as clearly as she could. I understood that they were searching for something, but what could it possibly be in such a barren place…?

“Princess Yukiha, do you ride magical machines?”

While I was jotting down the instrument’s readings, Fistoria suddenly asked me that.

“Yes, since we’re a small country with few riders, I’ve been riding since I was young. By the way, why do you ask?”

“You seemed accustomed to handling the equipment. Normally, people wouldn’t know how to operate a handle of that shape, but you were skillfully turning it and adjusting it without needing to be taught the operation methods. You can’t do that unless you use it regularly.”

Being pointed out like that made me feel unexpectedly embarrassed. I hadn’t looked in a mirror, but I was sure my face was bright red.