Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Passing Cities
"Alright, you guys should get up and eat quickly," Senju said as he watched the two finish their milk, urging them to get ready.
"Hai," they responded in unison, getting out of bed, slipping on their shoes, and sitting at the table to wait for breakfast.
"What's for breakfast?" Yuuri asked, tapping on her plate rhythmically while humming a tune.
"Be quiet. My head still hurts a little," Chito muttered, lying there weakly as she scolded Yuuri for her noisy behavior.
"Here's breakfast," Senju announced, placing a bucket on the table.
He opened the lid, and a fresh, earthy fragrance wafted out. "Boiled taro."
"Oh~ it's taro," Yuuri exclaimed as she eagerly fished one out, only to juggle it between her hands as the heat caught her off guard.
She blew on it continuously, trying to cool it down.
Senju, meanwhile, placed a small plate filled with white crystals(sugar) on the table. "Guys, it tastes even better with this."
"What is this?" Chito asked, taking a pinch and tasting it. "Sugar?"
(T/L: Changed 'sucrose' to sugar)
"Exactly," Senju confirmed. "I had some leftover from making dim sum, so I brought it along."
He grabbed a piece of taro, dipped it into the sugar, and took a bite.
"It's delicious, you should try it too."
Chito followed suit, dipping her taro into the sugar before taking a cautious bite.
Her eyes widened slightly as she chewed. "Mmm~ you're right, this is good."
Yuuri, still blowing on her taro, leaned closer, eager to try the combination.
"Gimme some of that!" she said, excitedly dipping her taro into the sucrose before taking a bite.
"Mmm! It's sweet and soft; I love it!"
Seeing the happy expression on Yuuri's face, Chito also dipped some and ate it, and then a happy and satisfied expression appeared on his face,
"It's delicious."
"See?" Senju was very happy, because the girls liked the taste.
But Yuuri stared at the plate and held out her taro, "One more time."
"Baka, don't get so much," Chito scolded, noticing Yuuri's overly sugared taro and her strained expression as she chewed.
Quickly, she stopped her and glanced at the taro coated in a thick layer of sugar.
After a brief pause, she sighed and muttered, "Fine, I'll try it too."
The three of them leisurely ate a few taros, dipping them in sugar as they went.
The warmth and sweetness left them feeling content and a little sluggish.
Yuuri sprawled out on the floor, stretching lazily. "Chii-chan, why don't we rest here today? I really don't feel like moving."
"You've eaten too much, that's why," Chito retorted, though she couldn't deny her own laziness.
She glanced around the room—it was cozy enough to stay a bit longer.
Still, she shook her head and decided, "No, we should get moving. Hurry up and get ready; we'll leave after a short rest."
"Ugh~ fine," Yuuri replied with a small groan, reluctantly starting to pack her backpack at a slow pace.
After packing up, the three of them exited the cabin.
The sunlight was bright, and Yuuri stretched her arms lazily, letting out a yawn.
"Ahh~ so... where are we going next?"
"Right there," Chito pointed to the side, where a tower connecting to the top could be seen.
"From there, we go to the upper floor."
"Oh, go to that tower. It looks close," Yuuri said, taking out her camera and snapping a few pictures.
"Wouldn't we just go straight from here?"
"Well, that's not going to work. We're going to get out of here first, and then we'll get there," Yuuri added as she studied the route with a telescope.
After Senju had put everything away, Chito carefully studied the route.
Once everyone was ready, they left the area and began to slowly descend from the plank road to the flat ground below.
"Ah, I'm tired. Finally, we're down," Yuuri said, pretending to be exhausted.
But from the sparkle in her blinking eyes, Senju could tell what she really wanted.
"Fine, fine," Senju replied with a knowing look.
He brought out their vehicle from his inventory, and after the three of them stowed their backpacks, they settled comfortably inside.
Chito sat there touching the front of the vehicle very happily, "It's been a long time."
"Well, it's very comfortable to lie down," Yuuri in the back also lay down and waited for the car to drive.
Senju, sitting next to her, looked at the two of them a little speechless.
After a moment, the three of them moved toward the tower, and Senju sat quietly, watching the buildings around him slowly change.
Maybe Chito had already found a way, and she didn't hesitate along the way, moving forward confidently according to the route she had planned.
At noon, everyone arrived in a city, with a tower in front of them.
However, they hadn't yet entered the area where the upper floor was shrouded.
From their position, they could see the broken edge of the upper floor.
Next to the tower, there was also a broken pillar attached to the top, its original purpose unknown.
Although the city seemed small at first glance, once they arrived, they realized it was much larger than they had thought.
The buildings were well-placed, but the roads weren't as clearly defined as in the previous cities.
After entering the city, the three of them often saw huge cranes around, and the nearby roads were spacious.
They followed the road in the direction of the tower.
Looking behind them, they could still see the buildings they searched through yesterday, but here, they could only make out a vague patch of them, with some raised structures scattered around.
As they looked at the buildings lining the road, everyone decided to take a break for a while.
Sitting on a nearby platform, the three of them watched the machines nearby.
The cranes were mounted on a huge disc, and they couldn't tell exactly what they were used for, so they began to guess.
"What the hell do those machines do?" Yuuri asked, snapping a few pictures.
"I think it's a machine for lifting heavy things," Chito replied after a moment's thought.
"Probably for moving something."
"But where would you move it? Is it to the other side of the tower?" Yuuri stared at the tower in front of her, a sudden realization crossing her mind.
Senju disagreed. After all, the distance between the cranes was quite long.
"Although that's possible, I think these machines were originally used to build things. The surrounding buildings were likely constructed this way."
"Well, that makes sense, Chii-chan, let's go there and have a look," Yuuri begged Chito infront of her.
"Fine, fine, but there are a few more on the other side of the tower, so let's go over there and have a look."
After resting for a while, the three of them continued on their way.
Dozens of minutes later, they followed the road to the vicinity of the tower and stopped near a round platform, which was about three or four meters high and several dozen meters in diameter.
Senju didn't bother to look for the door, so he built a step below to lead to the top.
When they climbed up, they found that the cantilever of the machine above seemed a little short.
(T/L: Cantilevers are rigid structures, such as beams, that are fixed at one end and free at the other end.)
As they looked closer, they realized something was off with the 'crane.'
No matter how they looked at it, it resembled a fort more than a machine.
"Chii-chan, is this really a lifting machine? It looks like a chariot on it," Yuuri said as she climbed onto the platform, looking at the object with confusion.
"It's so strange. What I saw just now was indeed a crane," Chito said, also a little confused.
She looked around and noticed that the machines on the round platform were different.
The long arm looked like a crane, while the short one resembled a turret.
By this time, Yuuri had climbed into the huge 'chariot' above and started searching for things.