Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

However, at this point, judging from the data, the group's speed is not only better than that of ordinary people, but even lower than the average.

"Hmm... okay... when I think about it carefully, it seems to be almost like that..."

Having said that, Lunicia couldn't help but sigh.

Going at full speed is only a theoretical situation. In actual exploration, there are sufficient conditions that make this "theoretical speed" impossible to achieve.

For Lunisia and his party, these "conditions" meant the inconvenience of walking in the snowfield, the increased consumption caused by low temperatures, the occasional ice cracks, canyons, man-made "wonders" on the ancient battlefield, and, of course, the change in weather. Oh, of course, it doesn't mean that sunny days turn into cloudy days, and days turn into nights, but the sudden appearance of excessive sunlight, blizzards, hail, thunderstorms, tornadoes and other things.

Except at night, when the weather showed signs of deteriorating, the group had to immediately find a way to create a place for rest on the spot - or in other words, a shelter - to rest until the weather cleared.

How did these extreme weather conditions, which were so varied that they were difficult to understand, come about? No one could answer this question, at least not at the moment. The only guess the group could make based on their knowledge was that the ancient war had completely changed... or in other words, "destroyed" the climate of this continent, leaving it with the appearance of an icy land, but with some more severe elements.

Whatever the truth, these terrible elements greatly slowed down the group's progress, just as every adventurer will encounter on their journey.

One hundred and sixty kilometers, according to common sense in the south, is enough to cross two large cities and can be considered a long hike.

But that's also why things are so frustrating.

The area of ​​two large cities is large enough for a person, but what does it represent for a continent?

For Lunisia and her group, this 160-kilometer journey meant nothing more than more ice fields, more snow pits and canyons, and more craters created by meteor explosions.

On the scale of an entire continent, the distance that can be measured by foot is indeed too short.

What is even more regrettable is that the Far North civilization, Hyperborean, at least does not seem to be a country that is keen on filling up this block of color in the Far North continent, which means that their traces will be further away from their own borders, that is, further away from the current location of Lunisia and her group.

When will the halftime break of this journey come?

……

"But doesn't it feel strange?"

By the campfire, Lunicia, wrapped in a blanket and holding a cup of hot water, suddenly asked this question.

"What are you talking about, Lady Luna?"

"It doesn't mean tonight's dinner."

"Well, I mean, although we can see various battlefields along the way. Probably battlefields. But..."

The black-haired paladin frowned, thinking carefully.

"...It seems that I have never seen a dead body."

It was quite a coincidence that someone in Lunisia, far to the north, asked the same question at a similar time as someone in the Glorious Court on Mu Continent, even though they were actually discussing different things. In this way, even if an answer could be obtained, it would certainly be a different answer.

"Yes, that's right. Lady Luna is very observant."

Ella nodded.

"Well, does Ella know the reason?"

"Do not……"

"This machine has not captured any similar objects. It is reasonable to assume that they were naturally consumed in the years after the war."

"Unreasonable judgment, answering robot."

Ella instinctively responded with a ruthless rebuttal.

"Originally, ice and snow fields are environments that are more likely to preserve corpses. Corpses will dehydrate and become mummies due to low temperatures. Those who die here are definitely not ordinary people... For ordinary creatures, the corpses should be easier to preserve."

"You can also add the extreme climate and the kind bright moon. This white land always has its own way of doing these things."

"…But it's not like there's nothing left."

What exactly was it to be called "kind" at a time like this? Was it a mockery? In any case, Ella looked choked.

"Well - not only human remains, there are no remains of other creatures either." Lunicia didn't seem to notice the strange atmosphere between the two of them. Or rather, she noticed it but didn't realize the complexity of it. "Although I don't know much about wizards, if there are mythical creatures, they shouldn't be destroyed by the weather so easily, right?"

It is hard to imagine that some creatures with flesh and blood that are strong and huge enough to rival magical materials could lose their bodies... or even their bones, simply because of weather reasons. This is also unreasonable.

"Like before, such a large-scale trace of magic can't be used just to fight ordinary targets, right...?"

When dealing with creatures of the same size and level as wizards (humans), it is definitely more cost-effective to enhance the accuracy and destructive power at the "point" level rather than blindly increasing the range of destruction and increasing the number of spells. Conversely, at certain other times, the need for such large-scale spells arises.

For example, a large army or something like that.

Like, behemoths or something like that?

"A reasonable inference. The Hyperborean War does not exist in the records of this machine. It is not like 'forgotten information', but more like 'information not yet mastered'. As a war, it has many mysteries."

Ashlee finally threw the question into the unknown.

Of course, this still worked. The small camp fell into silence once again.

Even Ella Hepper wouldn't have been in the mood to retort at this moment. Who would?

On this unknown continent, among the remains of these unknown wars? If I speak out blindly, will the remnants of the silent civilization give me a response that I don't want to hear?

Ashetherin didn't know about the Hyperberil War - this shouldn't be surprising. After all, she wasn't an omniscient question-and-answer machine, nor did she seem to have the ability to split herself. For her, who seemed to spend most of her time in the southern continent, wandering, sleeping, and doing things that were incomprehensible, wanting to appear in the Far North at the same time as the war was going on, might indeed seem a little far-fetched.

or……

Is it because of reasons that no one else knows?

……

From south to north.

From the coast inland.

From outside the pole, towards the direction of the pole.

This was like a simple bet with luck as the stakes. It was simple, and therefore inevitably boring. As long as there were no mistakes, there would be no special accidents. As long as there were no accidents, there would naturally be no more losses, whether it was the travel equipment, the coffin dragged behind, or most importantly, the other two travel companions.

The condition for victory is simple. According to Ella, find a settlement of sufficient size.

The prospect of failure is also well anticipated.

If the spirit or body reaches its limit before victory, or irreparable damage occurs, it is a complete failure.

I don't know whether to say it's good news or bad news.

On the tenth day of the journey, after the commonly used and useful portable heater was lost in a storm, Lunisia and her companions discovered that the surrounding terrain was no longer as simple and boring as before, but just a pure white ice field.

——Until now, they finally arrived at the hilly area on the other side of the plain that they had seen from a far distance before.

It is not like the towering snow-capped mountains in the conventional impression, such as the Kanserle Peaks where Muirand is located.

Seen from a distance, or from a wider scale similar to the distance, they are just "cute" undulations that happen to appear at the end of the plain. There is not even anything that can be called difficult to climb. It seems that they are merely marking the boundaries of this vast and seemingly endless ice field.

But for Lunisia and her group, these small hills have another meaning.

"If--"

Lunisia stood on tiptoe and looked towards the other side.

Originally, her sight seemed to have no end.

Only the mist in the far distance marked the limit of her eyes themselves, making the place beyond that limit blurry.

And now, her sight had truly reached an end - those hills that were nothing special.

"If you say, go over there."

Her fingertips also reached there.

"Does it mean that we will arrive at a new place?"

Is the city that has never been found right there?

Chapter 16 Mid-range Nodes

Before entering the city, it is inevitable to cross the hilly area covered with heavy snow.

This place is different from the rugged road to Myoland - the latter is not only a slightly developed road, but also has trees and vegetation, and traces of monsters and animals can be found. Food and resources can be obtained from the surrounding areas during the journey. However, this hill in the Northern Continent is simply rocky undulations exposed on the flat bottom. There is almost no life on it, not even a piece of moss or a dead branch.

Apart from that, the road specifications are completely different.

All you can see in the south during the winter are snow-covered mountain roads. Even if the soil has changed due to moisture and low temperatures, it has not deviated from the "normal" range.

Here? Here it was more like climbing over a crust of ice covering the rock and soil.

There is not much difference between hills and ice fields. In this permanently frozen land, it seems that no matter where humans go, all they are greeted with is smooth, cold and hard ice.

The structure of the hill is not complicated, and its height is, as mentioned before, unremarkable. But even so, it is still difficult for ordinary climbers to climb it in a short period of time without preparation and planning. If there are some unexpected factors, there may be other worse consequences.

"Um--"

Lunicia studied the rock wall in front of her.

The black rock wall, which was not covered by ice or snow and was almost completely vertical to the ground, was emitting cold light under the sunlight behind the gray foggy sky, as if it was not rock but metal, or like the surrounding objects, it was an ice crystal forged in the severe cold.

"Just crawl over there?"

Then, Lunicia came up with a proposal that was very much in her own style.

"This machine can carry Ella and Luna and fly over together."

Ashlee proposed another plan. It would undoubtedly be faster to fly directly there, as aerial mobility was an irreplaceable advantage.

"As a short-distance means of transportation."

Ella didn't object to this either.

"Although it would definitely be faster to fly there..."

Instead, Lunicia showed some hesitation: "What should I do if I get attacked in mid-air?"

"I will throw both of you out at this time."

"Is this how you deal with it?"

It sounds like what's being carried isn't passengers, but something like an aerial bomb.

"Although the maneuverability of this aircraft is 'excellent' by conventional standards, there is no guarantee that it will be able to perform sufficiently effective evasive maneuvers with two more passengers. The specific situation depends on the type of attack, and there are also types that are easy to evade."

"In that case, I'd better just climb honestly. Where's Ella?"

"If that's your choice, Lady Luna, then let Ashlee fly in the sky by herself."

"If I only bring one person, this problem won't arise, right?"

“…I can climb it, too.”

"Luna is another matter, but what about Ella? Climb the mountain with a sword?"

Theoretically... it's not impossible, but it's still too difficult to do it with a long sword.

The long sword at her waist did not protest against such comments, but just quietly slept in the scabbard as usual, as if it was really a pair of harmless and ordinary swords. However, because she knew their nature, Ella finally chose to give up this idea helplessly. The overly sharp magic sword could certainly be inserted into the rock wall as easily as cutting into butter and tofu, but it might as well continue to imagine that this kind of sword would only slide down like cutting into butter and tofu, and it would be impossible to use it to create a foothold.

The sharpness of the sword is not like the magic attached to it, so there is no possibility of adjusting it at will.

Besides, if it is not sharp enough, how can it be called a magic sword?

"So, how is it, Miss Ella?"

"…………Okay, then you are responsible for transporting me there."

"Of course, with great pleasure, Miss Ella."

"But you can't go much faster than Lady Luna. You don't have any physical limitations, right? Just hold me and keep flying."

"Ah ha ha……"

"Hold? Of course."

Ashlee bent down - the mechanical parts on her hips collided slightly with each other, and in the severe cold surroundings, the sound seemed a little louder than usual - this made Lunicia and Ella wonder what she was doing, but this light question did not last long.

The black mechanical right arm hung down and rested behind Ella Hepper's knee, while the other hand supported her back, and then exerted force in a counterclockwise direction. In this way, Ella's body, which was always tense and immersed in instinctive alertness and tension, also lay on its back between Ashatherine's metal arms.

"This body is no heavier than a lychee. Is this what it feels like to hold the moon in your hands?"

"Ah, it's a princess hug."

"W-What's with this posture? Can't you use a more normal one?!"

"This machine's judgment is that this is normal now."

It can indeed be said that there is nothing abnormal about it.

However, if Ella wanted to make her short flight, which would not last long, less dangerous or bumpy, she had to make some other preparations, such as "actively" stretching out her arms, hooking them around Ashlee's neck, and then forcing herself to shrink her body into Ashlee's arms, and so on.

"you----!"