Chapter 55: Claire's Inquisition (part 2)

"Then, how about that air purification thingy?" Claire continued with her questioning, although the slight change in her intonation suggested that she was nearing the end of it. 

"Extending the pattern from earlier, I would say the sixth stage?" I guessed, no longer able to use my earlier line of thinking to come up with any sort of reasonable estimate. 

At that point, Claire smiled widely before casually moving all the way back to my chair until her knees were just an inch away from mine. 

"Dear, if what you said was true, my father would never allow me to put myself as a part of the deal," Claire smiled, too engrossed in her own line of thinking to realize the weight of what she just said. 

'Do I mention it?' I thought while trying to stop the warmth spreading in my lower body from affecting my face.