Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"Perhaps, the polar night phenomenon?"

"Is that right?"

"It is not yet the time when polar night and polar day separate. This Hyperborean continent will probably remain shrouded in darkness, without the dawn. Perhaps after a while, when summer arrives, this situation will change."

"We would have starved to death..."

In fact, it is not that serious. Considering the huge amount of supplies that Lunisia and her group are carrying, they may be able to easily and leisurely hold on until the summer comes, and they don't even need to consider any action of collecting supplies. But who knows what will happen during this period, and who dares to be so resolute to entrust their fate to the waiting in this strange ice field? Perhaps such behavior will not be more meaningful than bravely moving forward.

Moreover, whether it was Lunicia, Ashatherine or Ella herself, they could all hear something.

In other words, even Ella herself couldn't believe this conclusion.

Is this really polar night? No one can guarantee this conclusion, and a stalemate ensues, making people deeply aware that this topic is meaningless. After all, unless someone is really willing to stick to this ice sheet until summer, no one can confirm or refute it.

Here’s the interesting thing, if this phenomenon is not polar night, then what exactly is it?

Let's just stop here and not go any further, okay?

“It’s not like there’s no good news.”

"Is that so, Lady Luna? Did anything happy happen?"

"Look, Ella."

The paladin gestured casually.

"If this is the case, you can see things far away clearly even without the help of equipment, right?"

"It will be more advantageous in terms of investigation."

"What an optimistic conclusion, very Luna-like."

As for the mechanical girl, today she is still floating with her feet off the ground, as if anything that happens to those humans with their feet on the ground has nothing to do with her. She maintains an appearance and thoughts that have not changed since ancient times. She walks alone and is indifferent. Only a few things can arouse her so-called interest.

"But, did Luna try to see as far as possible?"

"Huh? No."

"try it."

"You're not planning to do anything bad."

Ella's vigilance remained high, especially in such a dangerous environment, she seemed to become even more cautious.

"Of course not. It's Luna after all."

"…Are you trying to say 'It's not the same for you'?"

"What a poetic question. What do you think, Luna?"

"Well--"

"It's not clear, is it?"

"…You're not playing any tricks, are you?"

"Of course, nature doesn't exist, this machine just reveals some amazing facts."

I don't know why, but if I try to stand still and look far away, and cast my vision to the other side of the ice field that is like the horizon, I can't see the distant end that makes the sense of distance collapse like the distant mountains I saw before. The other side seems to be shrouded in a layer of fog, hazy and difficult to reach. The world that originally had no borders seems to have been artificially added with the parameter of an end.

"B-but... wouldn't this be weird?"

"It would be strange indeed. For example—"

"In this case, how much of the scenery we can see in the distance is real...?"

“That’s the fun of adventure, isn’t it?”

The girl in the mechanism had no change in expression, but the paladin looked uneasy.

"Hey, you, don't just find excuses to scare Lady Luna!"

Only the pink-haired magician puffed up his cheeks in anger.

It seems that these two travelers are the only trustworthy people on this endless ice field.

They are also the only two remaining strands of warmth in this silver world.

Chapter 12: Snow-covered Battle Scars

This journey was not as interesting as exploring in an airship a hundred years ago.

At least that's the case so far, and there's no sign of change.

The Land of Ice, as the name suggests, is a land of ice and snow. No matter where you go, it seems to be a vast expanse of white. The concept of time loses its meaning in the everlasting darkness, and the sense of direction is worthless in the extreme whiteness. For travelers, adventurers - for the only three guests on this land, the only thing they can do is to rely on their brains' memory to ensure that they are really moving in a fixed direction, rather than circling in a certain area.

The lack of reference, at least the lack of credible reference, will eventually lead to such problems.

I don’t know which direction I’m heading towards, nor how far I’ve come.

This is a land where meaning has been eliminated and filled with nothingness.

"This feels... a bit bad."

"I agree, Lady Luna."

"Is it the same in Ella's hometown?"

"Ella, I'm talking about you."

"It's okay, Lady Luna, but could you please stop looking at me expectantly? It's a bit disgusting."

"How about just pretending that this machine doesn't exist? This machine is now a mirage reflected by the snow. Although it's not the case, how about just pretending that it is the case? Okay, let's move on."

"You are so troublesome. No, Lady Luna, this kind of ice field is also unfamiliar to me."

"Isn't it possible that only Hyperborean and the South Pole have terrain like this?"

"Maybe that's the case. My hometown is just covered with snow all year round. Although it's still cold in the summer, you can see the ice and snow melting. It doesn't look like the land is made entirely of ice."

"It doesn't matter to me, but Luna, for life forms like you, it's impossible to survive on land with only ice and no soil."

"That's right. But it turns out that Ella is from the north."

"Compared to where we are now, it's still considered the south."

Hey, what’s going on? Is this an illusion?

Why does it feel like Ella's attitude towards me is a little colder than her attitude towards Ash - Lunicia couldn't help but think so. No, maybe that's not the case. At least when Lunicia was in trouble and danger, when she needed help, Ella never hesitated to show her enthusiasm, anxiety and tenderness, but she always had a sour face towards Ash.

It is obviously like this, and probably like this, so why do I feel a little uneasy?

“It’s still hard to imagine.”

"Is it hard to imagine?"

"Although Zelhar is in the north, there is also the Elf Empire further north... But think about it, the situation in the east of the continent, Myland is already cold, and it is said that Lanmen, Prosi, and Kvalor further east are no less cold than Hyperborean. If you go further north, you might feel the same way?"

"It's not very clear. Are you talking about the situation north of the Seldon Wall?"

"Is it called the Seldon Great Wall? That must be it. It's hard to imagine that there could be a settlement of intelligent species in a place like that."

"This machine has no impression of that kind of place. Maybe it has been there before, or maybe not? As the memory was shattered and precipitated in the sea of ​​data, all of these have become difficult to solve Rubik's Cube. Whether it is the ecology, the climate, or the situation of human survival, none of them can be known or understood. They are all mysteries immersed in the sea of ​​ice."

"Well... I don't really understand..."

Ella narrowed her eyes slightly.

The color that came out of her eyes was not cunning - but confusion, an lingering confusion, as if reality was nothing more than a meaningless dream, as empty and pale as this icy land, but she could not find a way to wake up no matter what.

“I don’t know how to describe it… but I don’t actually remember clearly what happened during my previous trip.”

"Before you met me, before you met Ash?"

"As you said, it happened much earlier, before Gleipnir, before Myland, before Twek, and before Nosaw. I don't remember clearly, or perhaps it's hard to understand and recall, how to cross those snowy coniferous forests, the wasteland shrouded in darkness, the abandoned towns, the dead country - all these things must exist north of the high wall, in a no-man's land, just like the cold I felt when I passed through it."

"Sorry... that sounds a bit bad."

A trace of sadness flashed across Lunicia's face. It was obvious that she did not intentionally want to bring up those difficult and painful memories for Ella. How could she cross the area that was identified as the death zone and come to the south alone? Lunicia did not want to bring up this just out of her curiosity.

"If you're about to forget, just forget it. It's not a very important thing."

"If that is your wish, I will do as you say, Master Luna."

"That's not an order."

But to Ashlee's ears, it was a completely different tune.

"Without a clear plan, there is no clear and recognizable route. Everything I encountered was just an illusion of broken crystal. In this case, it is normal that I cannot organize my memories into a complete state, just like a colorful nightmare in the dark night. At least it is not something that I cannot understand, my Bright Moon."

"...Don't suddenly say something that people can't understand. It's not good for your spirit."

“I don’t understand.”

"Even so, can you accurately pass through the forest, high walls and castles, follow a predetermined direction, and finally find your beloved Lady Luna, Dream Chaser?"

"what."

“…Indeed, that is correct.”

She is hiding something.

The pink-haired curse swordsman was cold, beautiful, aloof and cute, but that was not the reason why she could avoid the eyes of the mechanical girl. The golden lake was glittering, and under that gaze, no secret could escape. In a sense, it was precisely because Ashethelin was colder than Ella, more familiar with darkness, and drifting in the liquefied antimatter sea that she could speak these words without reservation, which Lunisia could never say in her lifetime.

This question always exists, doesn't it?

As for why Ella Heper was obsessed with the so-called "Savior", and how she was able to lock on to the so-called "Savior" - at least in Ashtherin's eyes, she could not see what was special about the young paladin named Lunicia except that she looked exactly like her. The sharp giant sword "Avenger" like a divine weapon? It could not exert its full power, and it did not come from her own, but was just something borrowed from the treasure house; the ability to listen to everything, the identity of a saint? In the end, it was not uncommon in the history of the God's Court. Even if the world did not understand what the so-called saints meant, their names were imprinted more than once in history and mythology, and it was not special; strength? There was no way to talk about it, it was better to say that she had more luck.

If - if the meeting between the mechanical girl and the paladin is a miracle, then what does the meeting between the slave magician and the paladin mean?

Let's ignore Lunesia who doesn't seem to care much about this.

"This machine is not blaming you, little star of Lapis Lazuli."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear you."

"That's really sad."

"You are not a human. Unlike Lady Luna, I will not treat you as an intelligent species."

"As long as it's not a 'hateful and abominable follower of darkness'."

"...Tsk..."

"Hey, did Ella make some weird noise just now?"

"No, it's nothing, Lady Luna, please pretend you didn't hear it."

"After all, this machine is not a human, not an intelligent species, or anything close to it. Just treat it as a physical phenomenon. Because of this, it won't care about the parts that it shouldn't and doesn't need to care about. It only cares about traveling with Luna. Well, okay, what needs to be adjusted and acknowledged is that it now also values ​​your existence. It seems that you are indispensable, my bright moonlight."

Some concealment may not be done out of subjective malice, but just an unconscious behavior of avoiding, dodging, and excluding it from the mind, so as to reduce one's thinking about those things as much as possible, so as to avoid being hurt by them as much as possible, in reality or in memory.

I can't forget, I can't forget. This is the only thing that is crystal clear to me.

However, I do not want, absolutely do not want other people to be like me.

"Don't say weird things. Wait, Ashlee, were you so busy talking that you forgot to correct your direction?"

"Discovered?"

"A-Ashe?! Is this true?!"

"I don't know. Let's reset the machine——"

"You guy!"

……

Just as the world always gives gifts to those who keep moving forward and striving, regardless of whether they have a purpose and meaning, and regardless of whether the "gift" is a reward or a punishment, it always gives those who move forward... a special experience.

For example... yes, just like what Lunisia and her group are seeing now.

"This is……"

"Crater...right?"

"That may be the scientific name, but I think Luna is concerned about their causes."

"Yes, I suddenly saw this scene..."

"Shocked?"

"If you say you're not shocked, you'd be lying. A paladin can't lie."

Crater.