Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"Huh? Is there more?"

Today, she seemed to have a lot more to say.

“Is this your spiritual world?”

"It should be called a dream—"

"It's different from the others..."

……

"Having a nightmare?"

"...I want you to take care of it."

It's not daylight yet.

No, of course you can't see what the sky looks like from here. In a completely closed basement, it's impossible to see the sun, or even the scenery outside. If you only rely on your eyes, you can't even tell whether the blizzard has stopped. You can only prick up your ears and listen to the howling wind from the ground, like the roar of a wild beast.

Slowly waking up - no, it would definitely not be such a gentle situation. Ella was familiar with only the awakening that made people sweat coldly, or the repeated awakenings tortured by pain and inner bitterness. In this world, the only person who would pray for her peace was probably the woman called Lunicia. On the contrary, her pain might be expected by more people, and her screams were the most popular nectar.

In a simple base, in a dirty environment, in a terrifying nightmare, it was not uncommon for her to suddenly wake up because of some opportunity and feel her heart beating as if it was about to burst through her chest.

Rather, this is her daily life.

The last time I slept peacefully, the last time I slept warmly, the last time I had a sweet dream -

How far back does it go?

The twin witches' laughter was as sweet as silver bells tonight. They whispered gentle and vicious words in my ears, and held my hands with my arms, holding my five fingers holding the dagger. They were so happy that people couldn't help but feel dazed.

The same is true today. As always.

Woke up early, stared at the flickering lights. Of course, Lunicia was still asleep, she slept so soundly, it seemed that no matter what noise she made, she couldn't be awakened. Ella had seen this skill once in the guest room of the Duke of Candiano, so she was not surprised today.

As for myself——

It seemed that something happened before she woke up, for example, some unknown episodes. Perhaps it was sleepwalking, or perhaps she was acting with a thin consciousness between sleep and wakefulness. This situation was common for Ella, who had poor sleep quality. Today, it seemed that she didn't know why she was lying on the ground next to Lunicia. Her sleeping bag and outer clothes were staying in the same place, but those had nothing to do with Ella who had crawled out. Now, she was feeling the coldness of the ice through the thin shirt.

When I just opened my eyes, Lunicea's hands were still held in my arms, with a thin layer of frost on her slightly red fingertips. I didn't know what had happened.

"........."

Maintaining a delicate silence, Ella carefully pulled Lunicia's arm out of her arms and stuffed it back into her sleeping bag. Then she moved back and tried to get back into her own sleeping bag.

puff-

It didn't work out.

Along with the sound of collision, a soft and warm touch came from behind, followed by a restrained feeling from under the armpits wrapped around the torso. The intention to lie back in the sleeping bag to keep warm failed, but the intention to sit on the sleeping bag and the intention to keep warm were successful. This strange situation did not surprise Ella, nor did it bring her joy. Her expression suddenly became strange.

"So, what are you doing, Ashtherin?"

"Hold you."

Indeed, it was a hug.

Ella lowered her head in silence, looking at the black iron wrists wrapped around her chest. Unlike the cold touch in her memory, although it was still hard, it gave her a warm feeling. It was probably similar to the operation when she was walking in the snowfield before, raising the temperature of her body. Although this was for Ella's consideration no matter how she thought about it, she was not happy about it at all.

"Why do you have to do such unnecessary things?"

"Will you get sick?"

Don't answer the question with a question—Ella finally held back.

"If that's what you're worried about, why didn't you put me back in the sleeping bag or cover me with a blanket or something? That would make more sense than what you're doing now. Shouldn't the agency's way of thinking be efficiency first?"

"No such thing?"

"So now, what is this doing?"

She placed her hand on the back of the black iron's hand, making an attitude of "If you don't give a reasonable explanation, I will break free by force." Of course, she didn't really intend to do so. It was just that at this angle, Ella couldn't see Ashlee's face, and Ashlee couldn't see Ella's expression. It was like they were playing some party game, and the atmosphere between them seemed like a silent tug-of-war, as if testing who would give in first.

"I just want to hug, how about that?"

"Not even a reason."

Sighing, Ella seemed to have given up. She relaxed her body and simply leaned in Ashlee's arms. She even leaned back hard, as if to suppress the soft touch from behind in revenge.

The shamelessness of this mechanical puppet was far beyond her initial imagination. It seemed that no matter what vicious words she hurled, the other party would not even frown, let alone get angry. In this case, it would be too difficult to think of how to make her consciously distance herself. So Ella simply gave up doing such a meaningless thing - let her do whatever she wants, the fact that he hated her would not change anyway.

However, despite being treated like this, this mechanical puppet was still very resilient. Even Ella couldn't help but admire it.

"You don't mind if I work like this?"

"Why would you mind?"

Although she said this, there was no sense in Ella's tone that she wanted to seek Ashetherin's opinion.

Rather, when she started asking the question, she had already begun to feel around on the ice with her palms. By the time Ashlee gave her answer, she had already found the pen that she had kicked somewhere while sleepwalking. She then took out the ink and magic book and placed them on the small desk at the head of the "bed".

"Are you going to write till dawn?"

"What's the point... Even if it's daybreak, the blizzard won't stop yet."

"Stay here and wait until the next dawn?"

"Perhaps there will be no night light either."

Ella unscrewed the cap of the pen and held it in her hand, raising the tip slightly.

"——It's because I'm familiar with this kind of place that I hate it."

"It's okay even if I don't go out of my way to recall it?"

"It's not just the location, weather or time that's annoying."

Ella wanted to turn around and glare at Ashlee Lin fiercely.

Unfortunately, however, from this angle, we cannot see her face that is flat but makes one's heart beat faster.

Chapter 5: The Girl Who Wakes Up from a Dream

"The light flows, creating filthy colors. Today, the world still saves itself. At the moment of dawn, the dream constructed by the magic of the souls collapses. Then, we are resurrected again."

“…? What are you talking about?”

“Some words no one cares about.”

"Don't distract me."

"Really? Then you're really sorry? The door in time can be fake, the brown sea water can be sweet, and the apology of this machine can be real."

"..."

There was absolutely no hint of apology in those words.

Ashlee's tone was very calm, and her expression was also very calm. At most, the corners of her mouth would be slightly raised or drooped to express her mood in this way. Even so, Ella had figured out some patterns during their time together, or in other words, methods to simply judge her intentions.

Although it was indeed because of this experience that she and Ashlee were able to launch coordinated offensives, Ella often felt that it was better for this experience not to exist, and it would be better if it did not exist from the beginning.

"It's okay to be distracted for a while, right?"

Extremely abruptly, Heitie's index finger touched Ella's chin, and the slender and beautifully structured fingertip slid slowly from bottom to top along the contour of the cheek to the side.

Ashlee's fingers, like her body, were not cold now. Instead, they radiated warmth like a real human body. Even so, this overly intimate contact made Ella's body tremble. Not to mention her body tensed up, she even got goose bumps.

Now she was being held tightly in Ashlee's arms, and her body was relaxed, leaning against the soft embrace. Even if she tensed her body, she couldn't break free from it. As a result, she could only let Ashlee do whatever she wanted.

“What’s wrong with it…?!”

Knowing that Lunicia would not wake up easily, Ella's attitude during this period of time has become much more unbridled. For example, she would never dare to make such a loud noise at the beginning. She should have struggled hard here. Although there was no possibility of breaking free, she had to show her attitude. However, because she was holding a pen in her hand, Ella did not dare to move at all. She could only twist her body in vain, as if she wanted to slip out like a loach.

"So, what is Ella doing now?"

"can not tell?"

"Please give me some advice, Miss Binghua?"

"...I would be more pleased if you didn't use strange names every few sentences."

What? This frivolous guy - Ella would sometimes think in her heart with some annoyance. Of course, whether the attitude is frivolous is another matter, but the pointed-eared ice flower, the traveler, the moon, the ivory, the musical instrument, the rose, the lamp, the lines drawn in the mind, the flawless sapphire, the dancer... How many different names have been used so far? And there will be more and more in the future, which may not necessarily have a clear meaning in these names, but that feeling still makes Ella feel annoyed.

It’s weird.

Such an unimportant matter shouldn't cause such a strong reaction.

On his solitary journey, on the long road across the north and south, he encountered many things that should have been annoying. Disgusting ugly humans, hateful filthy followers, dangerous monsters, and the ever-changing and harsh environment, no matter which one, was like a stain on clothes, making him hate it from the bottom of his heart.

However, Ella always treats it with an indifferent attitude.

Wrap yourself in unmelting ice, use a thorny appearance to deal with the outside world, kill the enemy when you meet him, distance yourself from the malicious, cross the chasm when you meet him, you don't need to contact the world, and the same goes for others. Just close yourself off, as long as you close yourself off and treat everything with this cold and hard attitude, you will not be affected, nor will you be hurt. After all, you are just a slave of the savior.

So, just open your heart to the Savior.

Other people are unnecessary things, whether for oneself or for the world, only the savior is necessary.

Even when faced with things that should be disliked or disgusting, she could treat them as nothing to worry about, such as stones or weeds on the roadside. However, when faced with Ashlee's little frivolity, she actually felt unhappy and even showed that unhappiness on her face. Even she herself couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her.

"Want a more permanent name?"

"Can't you just call me 'Miss Ella' like before? Although it's better not to talk to me."

"It's not impossible—"

"Can you stop talking to me now?"

"Of course I'm talking about the former. 'Shadows, dreams and forms are what separate and weave this life.' Miss Ella, are the words you write also part of you?"

"..."

It's so persistent that it's annoying, and isn't this the topic getting back to the topic again?

Ella Hepper couldn't help but sigh.

Sometimes she would wonder if she had spoiled her a little too much, this mechanical puppet - and then she would immediately deny this possibility, being decisive and straightforward, leaving no room for maneuver, without any procrastination, how could such a thing be possible?

“I’m taking notes.”

"Diary?"

"There's also a diary in it... You can't read Zhongbei language?"

"This machine should not have shown any proficiency in languages ​​either."

"Really? I remember telling you that this is a diary..."

When she was in Tweek, Lunicia had borrowed the magic book from Ella out of curiosity. This was what Ella was writing now. Whether it was the leather cover or the silver amaryllis and baby's breath embossed edging, it was the same as it was then. This book, which already looked ancient and mysterious, seemed to become even more mysterious as Ella Hepper wrote.

Neither Lunicia nor Ashethelin could understand the "Zhongbei language" written on it. Although Ella did not intend to hide it from Lunicia, the fact was that she was the only one who understood what was written on it.

"I also explained the knowledge related to the magic book." Ashlee pulled her hands out from Ella's armpits and began to massage her shoulders. "This may not be the first time I've heard of this knowledge, 'A door you've closed forever, and a mirror waiting for you in vain', but I haven't found any relevant records."

"Then you should know what I'm writing."

Ella seemed to have no time to spare. She didn't turn around to give her a blank look, but just continued writing furiously.

Similarly, even though she now had the opportunity to break free from Ashlee's restraints, she still did nothing. She just leaned in her arms and refilled the ink in her pen.

"'As that which is blotted out with fire and salt,' knowledge."

"It seems that your mind has not rusted and rotted yet."

For most secret codex mages, the magic book is something that they wrote themselves and grew with them. The magic book is a medium of memory and knowledge. In addition to the excerpts of other professional spells, the rest are words that can carry memories and knowledge in the mind of the writer. This is what Ella once explained to Lunicia and Asheselin.

Ella's narrative is generally in the form of a diary. Even if you can't understand the words, you can still get a glimpse of it from the format of her writing. The boundary between each article is the date. She first records the date, and then writes about what happened or the information collected after the date, accompanied by some hand-drawn illustrations and symbols as supplementary explanations of the content.

In those pen-drawn illustrations, Ashlee always saw familiar things.

A clock mounted on the Alexander Cathedral.

The silver-white rapier "Rest".

Coat of arms of raspberry rose, oleander, iris and purple pansy.

Red eagle flag with wings and claws.

A human brain bound in layers of spikes, chains, and runes.

A train suspended in mid-air.

Stretched shadow.

Dragon crystal tree.

Belvoir's Coffin.