Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

As the actual controllers of Myolander, the four major families were naturally able to dig out what they wanted from history. Moreover, they had been in control of Myolander not too long after the disaster. They probably knew what happened here a long time ago, but they just kept it a secret. "The ancient sages used great magic to save Myolander", this almost impeccable official propaganda now made people feel a little uneasy.

Galezo knew the existence of the ritual and its most basic consequences, so after hearing what Lunicia said, he was able to quickly integrate everything in his mind and turn it into a "thread" that could be sorted out and traced.

"Let's duel."

When Galezo was hesitant and confused after listening to Lunicia's words, Lunicia almost subconsciously said this sentence. This made Galezo's eyes widen, with a look of surprise and confusion. Just when Galezo asked "why", she quickly gave her answer, an answer that Galezo de Barbacro could not refuse at all.

"It takes a sword to convince you, doesn't it?"

Indeed, yes, that's right, that's it, that's how it should be, only the collision between swords can best express the warrior's mind, Galezo has always believed this, he is not a battle maniac, but some things seem to be understood only in battle, Galezo has always believed this and implemented it this way. He was just surprised, surprised that Lunicia could judge his thoughts so accurately, as if the two sides were not meeting for the first time, but were comrades who had a life-and-death friendship.

I really don't know her. She is just a strange outsider, and a holy warrior. Does she have the magic of reading minds? Or has she carefully observed me? No, doing so will only lead to the fact that the person in front of me is unreasonable. Perhaps everything she guaranteed as a holy warrior is true. She has really experienced such things several times. She and I once faced each other in the arena, and fought side by side on the third day to attack the fortress of the four major families, in order not to leave the humiliation of sacrificing others to survive.

If that was true, it would be an uprising that was enjoyable and without regrets. To have a dialogue with the four major families, to stop the darkness that was bound to come, and to carry out one's own beliefs and one's own will.

He also didn't want to be deceived or think that everything was false.

"The battle ended faster than expected..."

Yes, it was so fast that Ella could only mutter to herself.

"Because Luna has figured out her opponent's routines. In her eyes, the opponent has no secrets. She is a dancer who meshes with the gears. She can take perfect steps by winding up the spring, right?"

That's right——just as the mechanical girl said.

Almost every step of Lunicia was in the blind spot of Galezo's vision. Her sword would only hit the weak point of the opponent's attack. Amid Galezo's continuous slashing, she could still walk leisurely and dodge the attacks with only the slightest movement. She acted so relaxed that she could even abandon the weapon in her hand at the end of the battle, as if to avoid hurting the opponent, and end this dance with just her fists.

When she was knocked to the ground by a few punches, Galeazzo had no choice but to believe her experience, which sounded absurd and seemed to happen only in children's books.

What else? Had she already figured out her tactics before the battle began? After becoming the commander, Galezo had fewer opportunities to fight in person, and it was almost impossible to judge his full strength by observing him. Unless she was much older than she looked, an old monster in a girl's skin, with perfect combat skills, but that didn't match her not-so-strong strength. Vision and skills always needed strength to support them.

What else can he do except to admit it? Maybe she is indeed a traveler from some ended time and space, so who cares.

"It's really rare for Galeazzo to be beaten like this..."

Leopold sighed as he threw the towel over Galeazzo's face.

"Hey, judging by the situation, it seems I didn't win 'last time' either."

"You still want to win like this?"

"How can I admit defeat? If I admit defeat, doesn't that mean I haven't lost?"

“That’s a statement very much in your style.”

The familiar teasing between them brought a hint of smile to Lunicia's nervous expression.

"So, Mr. Gallezo's decision is..."

Hearing this, Galezo and Leopold looked at each other, and the latter just shrugged helplessly, as if to say "Whatever you want."

"Give me some time to prepare. It will definitely be done before the day after tomorrow."

"Wait a moment, Lieutenant. Please wait a moment."

"What's going on this time?"

"In whose name are you going to do this?"

Staring at Leopold's slightly dissatisfied expression, Galeazzo said "Hey".

"……What's the meaning?"

"You don't intend to take all the credit for saving Muirander?"

After looking at each other again, the two soldiers burst into laughter and patted each other on the shoulders.

"Of course not! The 'Mulland Young Officers Club' will always be the solid backing of the citizens of Muirand!"

The Muirand Young Officers Club - some people think that this name represents some kind of ominous sign, and that factionalism in the army may swell because of this name, or that a group of powerful officers may develop into a small group with too much energy because they get too close to each other, so this joke-like organization will not even have a chance to be established, and will just disappear and become a topic of conversation for some people after dinner. However, some people do not think so. Some think that this may not be harmful, while others think that the time has not come yet, and they still need to think more and be tempered more.

They, or the country, are like a floating boat sliding into the abyss, trembling with the footsteps of the end. Some people are overly optimistic and think that the end is still hundreds or thousands of years away, while others feel that the end is approaching, and in order to slow down its pace, they have to hysterically use everything they can. The future belongs to these young people, so how should they face this Muirand, or what kind of Muirand do they want? Some people think that the successors should maintain the status quo, while others hope that they can come up with their own answers.

Intellectuals among citizens, people in the lower classes, even reformists among the nobles, and young officers always pay attention to topics related to the living conditions of the lower classes and the reconstruction of the Northeast District. How to make the small boat of Muirand more solid, how to face the increasingly decadent world, it seems that these topics attract the attention of young people more than banquets and gossips. Under normal circumstances, they have no contradictions with the camp of the four major families. As long as the four major families do not take a tough attitude of never giving in and suppressing to the end, they are always willing to negotiate and communicate - unless things have reached a point where they cannot be compromised.

These people were called the "Muirand Progressive Front" - unknowingly, this unsystematic organization, including the "Muirand Young Officers Club", seemed to have become a force that could not be underestimated within Muirand.

"Myuland Advance Front... huh..."

The young man's brows were full of worry, and the thick dark circles under his eyes were enough to prove that he had been worried about something recently, so worried that he even lost sleep. Although some people called him an "academic poet", the irony of this name was far greater than the reality. Generally speaking, he was not such a sentimental person.

"What? Did you say something just now?"

"No, nothing, nothing at all."

The young man immediately denied it.

He refused to admit that he had run out of ideas and could not carry out his own ideas, so he had to seek help from people he subconsciously rejected. In a sense, he was just like them, a group of very "stubborn" people.

"Oh, really?"

Galeazzo didn't seem to care. He still had a lot of things to do. Those old acquaintances could temporarily take over his and Jian's work and handle the command work on the front line. The three ladies could also greatly reduce the combat pressure on the front line - but the three of them were also the source of trouble. The overly explosive news brought him a lot of pressure out of thin air, so that he had to give up commanding the troops and do something else. For him, this meeting could also be regarded as a small break before he went to gather his trusted partners.

"…So, what exactly brings you here so late at night, Mr. Francesco Stuart?"

"..."

Francesco did not answer immediately.

It was as if he was not used to this kind of meeting, or perhaps he was still struggling internally, not knowing whether to do what he had originally planned. The conflicting thoughts forced him to raise his head, give his answer, and let everything come to an end, such as the chaos in the city - such as the disputes in his heart, everything must come to an end.

Even though it was painful, he vowed to bring it to an end, so that dawn could come again.

"Some things cannot be passed through the hands of others... They must be conveyed by me personally, and I must personally confirm your opinion."

"for example?"

"I have been thinking about what the duties of the followers of the Goddess of Death are. We follow in the footsteps of Goddess Lucy. What can we do... and what should we do."

"Are you here to seek my advice? Or to engage in a philosophical debate?"

Even as he spoke sarcastically, Galezo de Barbacro's expression became serious.

It was an intuition that even he himself could not explain, something like revelation.

"Hear me out."

The rude interruption did not make him feel annoyed. Instead, he was somewhat grateful for this perfect pause, which allowed him to sort out his confused thoughts, or perhaps to cheer himself up.

"It is our duty as the messengers of the Goddess of Death to stop more deaths from happening..."

He suddenly raised his head, and his eyes flashed with flames.

"But this should never be based on sacrifice and death caused by our own hands."

Chapter 69: Footprints of the Pilgrimage

"call----"

Lunicia couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief after sticking the sword into the ground, or rather, into the pile of corpses.

"Ms. Luna, you work so hard as soon as you get up..."

It was hard to tell whether Ella's tone was a complaint or a compliment, so Lunicia could only smile and say sorry.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to stretch my body beforehand."

"Stretch your body... What are you planning to do today, Luna-sama?"

"Yeah, that's right."

The intensity of the battle at night was much higher than that during the day. Lunisia thought that she could not maintain the defense line by herself, but fortunately, she had the help of the city guards and other reinforcements. In the middle of the night, reinforcements from the Guards Division, the Alexandrian Church, and the Young Officers Club arrived here, but the number was much less than originally expected. The rest were probably sent to ensure the safety of the city.

It seems that because the polluted area has expanded, not only the northeastern district, but other places in the city seem to have begun to turn into dark areas - this also means that as the evil spirits in the northeastern district become more and more powerful, enemies are beginning to appear uncontrollably in other places.

Of course, all of this is completely unknown to Lunicia, and Galezo can only rely on his authority to barely obtain some information. Although the order in the city can still be basically maintained, the intelligence is in chaos. Where has become the danger zone, how much loss has occurred, and how many casualties have there been.

The city is extremely short of manpower at this moment, and I'm afraid we can't rely on them for the time being.

Although she had been fighting continuously from noon to the early morning yesterday, Lunisia still took eight hours to rest and slept until noon. Ella certainly hoped that Lunisia could get enough rest every day, but she could also see that the reason why Lunisia chose to sleep for eight hours under the tight schedule was probably because she had something to do today, so she had to recover to her peak condition in advance.

"Maybe it has something to do with Rose."

"Well……"

The appearance of this name obviously made Ella feel uneasy. Her body was tense and she looked like a cat with its fur standing on end. Lunicia was quite embarrassed about this. She certainly understood why Ella was so nervous. After all, she had already told Ashlee and Ella everything about Rose and Colette during the review. Ella was probably very hostile to Rose because she had hurt her so badly.

This was really embarrassing, but it didn't make Lunicia feel bad. Instead, she felt a little happy.

"That's right, after all..."

After all, neither Colette nor Rose are "enemies".

They were not the ones who should be faced with swords, even though they were standing on the side where the ceremony was being performed.

It was not until "the last time" that Lunicia finally understood where the missing piece of the puzzle was. If you ignore those scattered corners, narrow gaps, and illusory narrow spaces, and connect them together, you will end up with something that cannot be stitched together perfectly. Those elements that are roughly mixed together can form a truth at first glance, but that truth is so incomplete that it can't serve any purpose except to deceive yourself.

Why did you only react now?

The three most important elements of the ceremony are the host of the ceremony, the process of the ceremony, and the sacrifices required for the ceremony. Obviously, the sacrifices account for one-third of the total, and are also important things without which the ceremony cannot continue. However, I have always ignored them in a way that I take for granted, thinking that "as long as I disrupt the process of the ceremony" or "defeat the host of the ceremony", I can "rescue the girl who is the sacrifice" and "let everything end."

How foolish I am to realize this only now. I had clearly thought of the importance of sacrifice a long time ago, but I still believed that all I had to do was pick up my sword and kill them, and all the problems would be solved. It was obvious that the biggest problem lay with the sacrifice itself, wasn't it?

That was not a girl who was forced to become a sacrifice.

That is the "clear sound" that sacrifices oneself in order to save everything and become a hero.

She is the weight of the scale, but she is also the one who holds the scale. The ritual can be destroyed with traps, and obstacles can be killed with swords, but the girl's heart cannot be bent by force.

Lunicia originally thought that the girl was being coerced, so she planned to rescue her before the ceremony began. But since she was "doing it voluntarily", Lunicia no longer planned to use this method, which might make the girl feel sad or even unfortunate. If casualties occurred due to obstruction of the ceremony, or if the ceremony failed and caused some regrettable consequences, she would definitely take all the blame on herself, on the self who could not be a "hero".

"Isn't this a bit too difficult, Lady Luna?"

Ella expressed her concern at the right time.

She would not question Lunisia's decision, but this did not prevent her from feeling uneasy about it. She hoped to get Lunisia to think about other ways - what if Colette was unwilling to change her mind? This was a difficulty that she was destined to face, a barrier-like difficulty. If Lunisia could not save Colette because she could not convince her, or if she caused a greater crisis by stopping the ritual, such as being unable to stop the remains of the evil god from heading south, would she be overwhelmed by the heavy sense of responsibility? All these made her panic, a panic caused by worry.

"No, I can definitely do it. Don't worry, Ella."

Lunicia gave Ella a gentle smile, as if to comfort her.

In a way, she was very—very—stubborn.

Although she would choose a more labor-saving and better solution if she could find a better way, she would not ignore or bypass the difficulties if she could not find a better solution. She would definitely challenge and try to break through at all costs, as long as the cost was limited to herself. She did not want others to suffer because of her, but if she only had to consider her own safety, she would not compromise with the difficulties in her eyes, no matter if they were people waiting for help, rampant evil, or doomed disasters.

There is a proverb by Muirand that goes, "If you don't fall into a ditch, you won't take a detour; if you don't hit a wall, you won't turn around." If this is applied to Lunicia, things will become "If you fall into a ditch, get up and keep walking; if you hit a wall, keep hitting it until it collapses." Perhaps she is indeed a problem, but everyone lacks awareness in this regard.

Since we have encountered an evil noble who uses a ritual of human sacrifice, we must thwart his conspiracy. His goal is to save the city, so after thwarting his conspiracy, we must do our best to protect the city. It would be unwise to want to kill the evil god with just this sword, so we must unite all the forces we can unite and use all the methods we can find. Even if we will fail in the end, we must be able to proudly say in front of Goddess Lucy, "I tried my best."

This is how Paladin Lunithia survives.

This is more like a competition between two paranoid people, comparing which side is more persistent, and Lunicia seems to be completely confident of winning.

"Well, if Lady Luna says so..."

Although she was still worried, since it was Lunicia's decision, Ella would follow it.

After all, she didn't have anything she really wanted to do. It could be said that what Lunicia wanted was what she wanted, and Lunicia's wish was her wish - Lunicia's dream was her dream.

"..."

Ashlee remained silent.

She just looked far away in a certain direction, as if she was thinking about something. She seemed to deliberately reduce her presence, so much so that Lunicia only remembered her after she finished talking with Ella.

"Ashe, what are you thinking about?"

"Let Ella and Luna do the work of convincing Colette and Rose."

"Hmm...eh?" Lunicia was stunned. "What's wrong? It sounds like you're going to do something else."

Ashlee admitted openly, "That's right. Miss Rose is not the type who likes to listen to Ash reciting poetry, so it's just right for Luna to persuade her. A pessimist like Ash doesn't have the confidence to persuade Miss Colette."

Ella gave her a confused look. "Pessimism? Who?"

"Don't worry about it, Miss Lunaist."

"..."

"Anyway, there's something Ash is concerned about that needs to be investigated in the library."

"I went to the library to investigate a few times before, but I didn't seem to find any more valuable content..."

It was the largest library in Myland, a building that symbolized the light and dark side of Alexandria, but Lunisia found it incredible that she could not find any useful information from it. This was certainly not a blame on Ashtherin, who was in charge of this, but she simply couldn't understand it.

“Because the previous approach was too gentle.”