Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

It was the stench of a corpse mixed with a hint of sweetness.

Well, it's not bad. Compared to the original, it seems that there is no change. This is good. It's like being in that greenhouse with a glass roof and projecting illusory sunlight, if you can't smell the colorful fragrance of the flowers around you, how boring it will become. Just thinking about this possibility, it seems that the world is fading.

The taste is still the same, as always. Lunixia likes delicious food and has a big appetite. After all, to support her high-intensity battles, nutritional supplements must keep up with that pace. Relying on unleavened bread that is nutritious but tastes bad, plus dehydrated vegetables and fruits, air-dried or mixed with a lot of starch, Lunixia can completely accept this kind of adventurous life, but if she has to choose, she will definitely prefer delicious food, a warm bed, and beloved companions.

Good food and people who can share good food with you, that's the best.

Well, that's pretty good.

One can't help but nod and agree. As long as a magnificent adventure is added, the equation of life will be established.

So, what about vision?

If you don't concentrate, control the blood flow, gather strength and put pressure on the optic nerve, even if you open your eyes, what you can see is just a blur. There are no clear edges, and all you can see are blocks of color that lack clear meaning. It's amazing that if you keep this kind of vision, after a while, you can see some wonderful things. You can't see the usual, specific things, but you seem to be able to see some lines that you can't see normally, and some bright colors that you have never seen before.

What is that? What should that be?

What she saw was an unknown world, but even so, it did not seem unfamiliar to Lunicia. It was clearly her first sight, but she was able to rely on her non-existent experience to judge the meaning of the "images" she saw - the ice-carved walls, the outline of the sleeping bag, a small desk, and... the colors of the soul.

This kind of novel experience was not the first time for Lunicia, but she could not say that she was already familiar with it. It was just that the few attempts made her unable to get used to it.

We cannot see the outlines of what exists in the known world; all we can see is some information that indicates its existence.

I can’t see the familiar, reassuring figure.

All that can be seen is a dark soul.

Those two souls, filled with broken and depressing colors, seemed to have a secret shame of peeping into others just by a slight glimpse.

Because of this, even if it means wasting excess energy, even if it means letting her strength slip away, Lunicia will still concentrate and try to refocus everything in front of her.

Fortunately, this method has not yet failed.

With a little effort, you can regain your familiar vision.

She has long light pink hair, a blue headband tied around her ears, and blue eyes as clear as an icy lake. She looks like a distant and dreamy flower on a high mountain. She is a beautiful half-elf.

She was sitting on the edge of her bed and looking over.

The other one was even more "interesting". His limbs, including the torso below the belly, were all made of ingenious and complex black iron mechanisms. The rest of his body was covered in white gauze and had soft light pink flesh. The construct's pupils were like rippling golden lakes, shining with a breathtaking light.

She was sitting opposite him, on the "bed" that originally belonged to Ella Hepper, looking at him thoughtfully.

For Lunicia, both Ashethelyn and Ella are her irreplaceable and most precious partners.

Today, they are also by my side.

No matter how much I have been through, no matter how many tragedies I have witnessed, no matter how much pain I have experienced, when I see their faces, when I see the gentle expressions they show to me, I can't help but think, it's so good.

It seemed that even his wavering vision became clear again, and even his weak limbs were full of strength again.

That's great.

Although she was in a lightless ice cave, gazing at the ice wall shining with a faint blue light, Lunicea felt as if she saw a sunrise that was more beautiful than any previous day.

The sun will rise and set as usual.

Until the end of the world.

……

"Ms. Luna, is it really okay?"

"It's okay, it's not a problem."

When she climbed up from the "bed", or the low ice platform with the sleeping bag, her legs almost gave out and she fell to the ground. Although the ice was covered with hay mats prepared in advance, it was not impossible to say that it would make people slip. However, when this kind of thing that would normally only happen to high school girls happened to Lunicia, it was inevitable that people would feel absurd.

After all, even though Lunicia lacked common sense and was slow, she was still a powerful and battle-hardened paladin.

This abnormal phenomenon naturally did not escape Ella's eyes. Please think about it, she is that Ella, right? Although she was completely unable to react because of this ridiculous thing that happened suddenly in front of her eyes and was unable to prevent Lunicia from falling headfirst on the ice, she could only help Lunicia up afterwards. But how could such an abnormal thing slip through her mind so easily?

"Really, it's okay?"

"It's hard to say, Ella. I suggest you keep up this momentum."

"You'll die if you say less."

"Ashe can't die, at least for now."

“It’s infuriating—!”

Ashlee was just floating in the air in a side-lying position - at first glance, it looked like this, suspended in the air, doing nothing, but if you look closely, you'll find that Ashlee is actually circling around Lunisia at a slow speed. What's the meaning of this behavior? But for Lunisia and Ella, it was just Ashlee's playfulness, after all, she had always been like this.

"Good morning, Ash. I'm sorry to have you see me in such an awkward state..."

"Will it? I think this is just average."

"Eh, average level?"

"Such as disembowelment, bleeding from all orifices, indiscriminate attacks, etc. Based on my judgment, these situations should be far too outrageous."

"It seems...that's right."

"That's so rude, Ashetherin! Lady Luna too, don't admit such a thing so easily."

"I'm sorry, but since I'm a paladin, I can't lie—"

"There are other options besides 'tell it all' and 'lie', right? Lady Luna is not used to this kind of thing, but if it continues like this, you will be led by people like Ashlee."

"It's also very rude to say 'someone like Ashlee', Ella?"

“~~~~~~~~~~~!”

Is this a counterattack to what happened just now? Gritting her teeth, an incomprehensible sound came out of her throat. It seemed that Ella could no longer find any words to protest.

Are they like this every day? Lunisia could only smile helplessly and say "Okay, okay" - what would they talk about and do when they sleep? Lunisia often thinks about this question, and finally puts it aside with the excuse that "it doesn't seem important". Should we say that she is really careless, or is her unconditional trust particularly valuable?

"Good morning, Ella."

Lunicia tilted her head slightly as she said a belated greeting.

"Ah, good morning, Lady Luna."

"It is--"

"Eight o'clock in the morning, Lady Luna."

"It's not that early."

"But it's not too late."

"If I were to let this machine comment, since it doesn't need to sleep, there would be no concept of morning and evening."

"That's why your opinion is of no reference value."

"But for Luna, who is on a leisurely journey, this is also a way of life that can be referenced. Look, the night watchers have filled the moon with ancient sorrow, making it a mirror for you at night. Why do you need to plate it with silver?"

"...That's an unpleasant thing to say... Don't lead Lady Luna astray."

Ella turned her face away slightly, trying not to change her expression.

"Have Ella and Ash already washed up?"

"I cleaned it with magic."

"This machine can automatically remove surface stains, including those inside the mouth, so you don't have to do anything. It's a groundbreaking invention, isn't it?"

"That's why you always have that disgusting smell, okay?"

"Have it?"

"some."

"I don't know because I don't have a sense of smell."

"You have it, right? You definitely have it, right? This has to be a lie, right?!"

"This is the stardust buried in the deep-sea pearl shells."

"So, there does seem to be a special smell on Ashe..."

"Oh? What does it taste like?"

Ashlee changed her posture while floating, and then sat steadily on Lunesia's shoulder. The anti-gravity suspension was enough to perfectly offset her weight, making her like a ball of cotton, and Lunesia couldn't even notice the tiny extra mass on her shoulder. But when her black iron fingertips brushed across Lunesia's cheek, the latter couldn't help but notice the lazy warmth.

“The smell of corpse.”

Ella frowned and gave the first answer.

"It smells like a corpse wrapped in honey. It's just like using environmental scents or perfume to cover up the smell of a murder scene. Fortunately, this smell doesn't drift too far, otherwise you will definitely attract more people to watch."

"Then, this machine's judgment will not be limited to onlookers, but also include a certain degree of public order disorder."

"So you have this kind of self-awareness...?"

"Well, just like Ella said, it tastes about this."

Lunicia's expression looked a little uncertain.

"After all, I'm not very familiar with the smell of corpses."

"Although it's not obvious, it is indeed the smell of a corpse. It should be more pungent to some people."

"You're fine with Ella, right?"

"A little bit at a time."

As if she had revealed something terrible, Ella's expression showed some fluctuations of panic. This was really rare, for Ella, who either blushed because of Ashlee's tricks, or became turbulent because of the waves around the savior, or was as quiet as the ice flower that never melted, this expression was not obvious, but special enough, and was even more tempting.

Temptation, what is temptation! ——Lunicia couldn't help but shook her head violently, which attracted Ella's confused gaze again.

"Then it must be the smell of a corpse."

"It's a very common admission."

"This machine's opinion is meaningless. Would Luna be confused?"

"But... no..."

Lunicia's words were somewhat hesitant.

"It seems... a little tempting...?"

Paladins, especially White Knights, cannot lie, so this must be the truth.

The consequence of telling the truth—or rather, telling the truth without reservation—was that her two companions were speechless for a while. Ella looked like her brain had suddenly crashed, probably unable to understand what the sentence meant, both literally and semantically. As for Ashlee...

"Luna."

"Ah, are you there?"

"Are you ok?"

"So it's okay now?"

It seemed that Lunicia thought that Ashlee was still referring to the fall she had just experienced.

"...No, it's nothing. Just think of it as the machine's dream mumbling, telling the story of the neural network constructed between the dodecagonal corridor and the purple thorns, about the story of the lost king in the dream."

"Do you still dream?"

Ella selectively ignored the conversation just now and resumed complaining about Ashlee.

"perhaps?"

"You don't need to sleep."

"Even so——I can still dream, even though this machine is not human."

"Eh, eh? Did I say something weird? Are we arguing?"

"I don't think so, Lady Luna. This level is very common for us - so, is it a daydream?"

"Daydreams, yes, that's right, daydreams, foamy butterflies, you are more poetic than this machine expected, Ella."

"I'm not praising you?!"

"This machine will record it as a compliment."

"..."

"Hehe... Then, let's continue with the topic just now."

"Were you laughing just now...?"

No, no, the corners of her mouth didn't move, her eyes didn't change, she just made an incomprehensible sound from her throat. Ashlee ignored Ella's question decisively. What's going on? You were just happily arguing with her.

"Hey, do you want to continue? Where do you start?"