Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

Of course, no one else could testify to this. After all, it was rest time, and there was no one at the entrance of the city hall and the office. Although many places had implemented a three-shift work system after the world lost the distinction between day and night, there were still four hours of rest time every day, and Lunicia and Ashlee walked out just within these four hours.

So, what awaited them was only an empty street.

Lunicia clenched her fists so hard that the leather and cloth on her palms rubbed against each other, making a creaking sound. As if she felt something was wrong, she let go of her hands again, but her fingertips were still tense. She did not take any action simply because she had no purpose.

Her steps gradually became farther and farther away, and because of this, only Ashlee could see her tiny movements.

"Luna, you don't look happy."

"It's normal to be unhappy, right? After all, my request was rejected and I couldn't even say anything to refute it."

“Because there is too little information.”

"maybe."

"No, that's not right." Ashlee walked quickly to Lunicia and shook her finger at her. "It's not maybe, it's 'that's it'."

"Yeah?"

Lunicia was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "Why are you so sure?"

"No matter how good a liar is, he or she cannot completely control his or her physiological condition." Ashtherin looked at Lunicia's brown pupils seriously and said softly, "For me, the area where sight, hearing and smell can be captured at the same time is actually equivalent to a constant 'Field of Honesty' spell. Based on the records and analysis of the above three, I can clearly determine that at least half of Count Nikita Kuridel's remarks were improvised, less than half were true, and the rest is impossible to judge."

“But we still couldn’t refute him.”

He started moving again.

Lunicia did not plan to go back to the refugee camp. If she received assistance, she would consider doing so. But going back in disgrace and then giving the Logorides couple a "I'm very sorry" reply... the thought of this scenario made Lunicia feel bad.

Of course, she didn't think that the Rogolides couple or other refugees would have any opinion about her failure. They might even comfort her and tell her not to care about it. She was just feeling uncomfortable psychologically.

“This requires a social investigation of sufficient scope and depth.”

"And it's hard to do with just the two of us, isn't it?"

"You sound really discouraged."

"This is the first time I've seen such an aggressive jerk."

Lunixia wanted to puff out her cheeks to express her dissatisfaction, but she couldn't do it in the end - she felt really depressed. This was not a small matter that could be failed if it failed. This matter was directly related to the food source of thousands of people in the refugee camp, and then directly related to their lives. It was also for this reason that Lunixia felt that she should do this well no matter what, but she failed.

"What should I do next..."

Just when she was about to finish saying this, she suddenly found that she could not see anything in front of her eyes.

Her legs and feet stopped moving involuntarily, and her body tilted forward uncontrollably, and then she fell heavily into Ashlee's arms. Ashlee's limbs and torso looked so frail and weak, but she actually held Lunisia's body firmly, not using any more force to make her uncomfortable, nor any less force to cause a loss.

"You're so tired, Luna."

"No... I think I'm fine..."

"Not at all." Ashethelin shook her head seriously. Of course, Lunixia couldn't see, so she could only helplessly stretch out her arms, put one hand on Lunixia's back, and the other hand on her knees, and gently picked her up. "Even a paladin can't be busy all the time. Do you remember when you last slept?"

Lunicia leaned on Ashlee's chest, covered her head and shook it vigorously, but this did not seem to be enough to alleviate her visual problems. At best, it went from pitch black to blurry, and it was still a long way from being able to really see.

"Um... two days ago... three days ago? It should be two days ago."

Even though she felt a little nauseous due to the dizziness, Lunicia still tried her best not to let her words be affected.

"Two days ago, Luna." Ashithelin roughly assessed Lunicia's physical condition, and her usually cold tone couldn't help but carry a bit of helplessness. "Soon after you came out of the waterwheel canal, you took a three-hour rest by leaning against a tree trunk. In order to get to Nosavi as quickly as possible, you didn't fall asleep again on the way. In other words, you haven't slept at all since then."

"That's a bit long..."

"Even dragons cannot fly all year round, and in the darkness without day, evergreen trees will wither and die. Go to sleep and close your eyes."

Ashetherin's voice became light and soft, like an ancient, mysterious and extremely beautiful lullaby. Her mouth was filled with beautiful words that Lunicia could not understand at all. Surrounded by the soft voice, Lunicia closed her eyes little by little, leaned her head on Ashetherin's shoulder, and fell into a deep sleep.

The knight was held in the arms of the mechanical lady, bathed in the glow of the red moon, and walked away with light footsteps.

……

"Well, it's an interesting monitoring report, but when did you install the monitoring devices and pinhole cameras in the City Lord's Mansion and the City Hall?"

"Use Scout...when someone has been drinking."

The executed man shrugged, while the silver-haired woman was playing with the small display in her hand with great interest. The display was playing the debate that had taken place in the city hall exactly as it happened, without missing any details, except that the viewing angle was not very good.

"Since you've checked the surveillance, what have you learned?"

"What if I said 'as you see it'?"

"Ha, then I definitely won't believe it."

"I think so." The silver-haired woman put the bottle aside. "There is someone lurking in the shadows. Of course, I don't know who he is."

The Death Sentence raised his eyebrows, obviously not noticing this: "Even without directly detecting the fluctuations of magic power, you can still detect creatures in the 'Shadow Escape' state?"

"Who knows?" The silver-haired woman didn't answer directly, but just straightened the strand of orange hair hanging down from her shoulder. "The same conclusion can be reached from logical reasoning. How could the death-fearing and conservative Kuridel dare to talk to a sword-wielding paladin alone without guards? Even if he is sure that the other party will not kill people because of character issues, he still cannot go against his usual style."

"What you said makes sense, but we haven't found any evidence that Count Kuridel has ever hired someone like him."

"Of course it won't be through legitimate channels."

The silver-haired woman snorted coldly and poured herself another full glass of golden wine.

"Is it a reward from Grand Duke Ivanov, or from Zerhar of the Holy See?"

There was only coldness in her tone when she mentioned these two names.

"That girl from the machine should have noticed this, because she was clearly on guard when she left."

Realizing that the previous topic was not very good, the executioner quickly found a new one to change the subject. Of course, the silver-haired woman did not care much about it and simply replied: "Her eyes are much brighter than mine."

“You can’t tell from the video.”

"There is another biggest doubt."

"what?"

"Can't you see?" The silver-haired woman sneered and drank the wine in the glass. "Why would the lazy and cowardly Count Kuridel appear in the city hall in the middle of the night?"

"..."

The executed person did not reply, but from her expression it was clear that she had indeed thought of some possibilities.

"Turn the surveillance to 'Natha's Legacy'. I want to see what those guys are doing now."

Chapter 19 Relief (Part 7)

The refugee camp is more lively in the early morning than late at night.

Of course, when we say early morning, we actually just mean the time after the sky changes from a blood moon to an eclipse. It is neither beautiful nor pleasant, and the temperature will only rise a little, but it is not enough to allow people to escape from the fire.

The pink frost condensed on the tent, which was not something that could be left alone. If it was left alone, the tent would soon become cold and wet. The children who could not do physical work took action. All those who were still alive walked out of the warm fire and picked up sticks or stones to scrape the pink frost, trying to clean it up before it melted.

The men began trying to add more campfires or expand the size of existing ones, while the women were busy repairing tents, helping the men, taking care of children or solving some obvious hygiene problems.

No one wants to be idle, except those who are too old, seriously ill, or have limb problems to move.

Laziness not only has no benefits, but also brings death. This dangerous environment makes them focus on the things in front of them, and hope to make their bodies warmer through labor, so as not to die suddenly in the cold wind of the snowy moon.

Fortunately, unlike Muirand in the north, Mariai has less rain and snow in the snowy months. If it were to encounter rain and snow under the current conditions, everyone would be convinced that the death toll would increase greatly, and the Nosavi City Hall would never give them any additional supplies or relax any conditions.

Even so, the temperature continues to drop.

As the Snow Moon fades and the Cloud Moon arrives, the temperature will quickly drop to around minus 15 degrees Celsius. Coupled with the attacks of roaming bandits, the population of nearly a thousand people in the refugee camp is likely to be reduced to half before the end of winter.

There is no hope, that's all.

Or at least it used to be that way.

I don't know who started it, but people started to spread this nonsense. It was the month of Mao, which was the end of September. Some people said that the suffering would eventually end, and someone would come to help these hopeless people. At the time, it was just a joke, a joke that was caused by hallucinations or other factors when people were overworked or hungry. Later, this rumor spread more and more, and almost everyone knew about it, but not many people took it seriously.

Ernest also knew about the existence of this saying, and discussed it with his wife Alida, but they still had no clue. They didn't know who the saying came from, nor what purpose it implied. They could only hope that it was just a kind of self-consolation in a difficult situation, used as a motivation to escape from the sea of ​​suffering.

And today, this rumor seems to have undergone some fundamental changes.

Someone whispered that there was food.

Some whispered that there were people willing to help them, though not many.

Some people whispered that the days of suffering were about to come to an end.

At this time, Alida was looking for a few familiar women to help her cut the large pile of black bread that Lunicia had sent earlier.

People from the city hall would deliver the relief drinking water and black bread here at the junction of normal people's breakfast and lunch, and the women had to cut up the black bread before that and distribute it together with the remaining drinking water. On the one hand, this was to prevent people with weaker bodies from eating too much at one meal and upsetting their stomachs, and on the other hand, it was also to prevent trouble at the city hall - they did not want to delay the distribution of the food until the afternoon, nor did they want to give the people from the city hall any reason to deduct the already small share.

Contrary to Ernest and Alida's expectations, this sudden breakfast did not seem to cause much commotion in the refugee camp. The children might ask questions out of curiosity, but the adults, as if they already knew something, simply took a small piece of bread and a glass of water with both hands. They did not ask questions, were not surprised, and were not curious about where these came from. They just kept muttering about miracles and the name of hope.

There were no images of Ernest and Elida in their eyes, and no teachings of the goddess of death in their hearts.

It was obvious what else occupied it.

This should have been a good thing, but it made Ernest feel uneasy.

The proverb goes: If something doesn't happen when it should, there's definitely something wrong.

This statement is not 100% correct, but it is true in most of the time, and it is obvious that the Logorides couple do not want any accidents to happen at this time. No, to be precise, they do not want any accidents to happen at any time unless the accident itself can prove to be beneficial.

The abnormal events did not stop because of the Rogolides' expectations, the reality was just the opposite.

Of course, it was not unusual or unexpected that Lunicia did not come. Neither Ernest nor Elida, nor their young son Carlos, thought that Lunicia could easily convince the Lord of Nosavi to provide more help. Instead, they thought that Lunicia would definitely return empty-handed and was probably sulking in a hotel or something like that. What they should consider was how to comfort her and not let her feel too disappointed.

She was a good child, thoughtful of others, and of course distressed by her own powerlessness, and they could all see that.

The abnormal things mainly refer to... the first day was normal, but on the second day, when the Nosavi official who was responsible for escorting the relief food should have appeared, he, his servants, and the porters did not show up.

The official in charge of the escort was not a likable person, or rather, he was a very annoying person. Not only did he like to look down on people and speak in a cold and unfriendly tone, he also seemed to be very easily angered. However, Ernest did not hate his presence. After all, his presence meant a new batch of food, which meant that these refugees could live a few more days.

But he didn't show up today.

If something doesn't happen when it should, something is wrong.

This made Ernest feel extremely uneasy.

Not long after, something else happened that made him even more uneasy.

Just as he was using the few herbs he had to prepare medicine to treat the injuries of several injured refugees, a group of uninvited guests he had never seen before came to the refugee camp.

They have similar black hair, similar light orange pupils, and different faces but they have something in common: not as three-dimensional and upright as the Muirand people, but a softer version of the Muirand people, more symmetrical overall. They have a pale skin color, and they all wear a black robe with some symbolic meaning, with black and white diamond patterns on the edges, and two pointed cloth belts hanging from their shoulders, with complex and dazzling diamond patterns sewn on them with bright yellow silk threads.

Ernest did not recognize this appearance, nor did he recognize this attire, but his experience as the bishop of the goddess of death told him that this attire undoubtedly carried some symbolic meaning, but his experience was not rich enough to tell him what it symbolized.

Most refugees would not pay as much attention to outsiders as he did, but something else attracted them, causing them all to put down what they were doing and look over.

That is black bread.

There was enough brown bread for everyone.

There were several carts full of brown bread.

Chapter 20 Relief (Part 8)

The leading man did not linger around the refugee camp for too long. He soon walked towards Ernest with big strides as if he had found his target. Ernest did not intend to play dumb. He could tell at a glance that the other party was undoubtedly walking towards him, so he did not dodge or avoid. While helping the refugee who was applying medicine to finish the bandage work, he stood up from the ground, faced the man, and tried hard to straighten his back.

Of course, he couldn't keep his back straight, no matter how hard he tried.

Long-term malnutrition and overwork have ruined his body. Even though he used to be a leader, the refugees tried their best to ensure that he had food every day, no matter how he tried to refuse. However, his physical condition was still much worse than that of many refugees, as evidenced by his overly curved spine.

Even so, he stood up straight as alertly as possible and stared closely at the "visitor" in front of him.

"Excuse me," the man took off his hat from his head, placed it on his chest, and bowed to Ernest. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Ernest Logorides?"

"Yes...it's me. Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

"Oh, excuse me."

The man smiled and continued, "I am Pentellier... Alexis Pentellier. My comrades and I have brought food for you. We are very sorry for what happened in the Principality of Lanmen. I'm sure you are not living well here. Please gather the residents here so that we can distribute the food."

"Of course, that's what I should do."

Having said that, Ernest was somewhat alert in his heart, but he realized sadly that this alertness only distinguished him from his compatriots without any extra benefits - those compatriots who saw all this, it seemed that only the carts of black bread existed in their eyes, or the black-haired men who brought all this, with a strange light flashing in their eyes, a light that was different from the reverence for the goddess, it was more turbid and more shining, as if they had thrown their inner beliefs aside.

Ernest was not willing to gather everyone together; the situation obviously did not allow him to do so.

With the temptation of food and a little encouragement, the refugees gathered together with unprecedented enthusiasm - at least not since they came to Nosawi. They crowded together around the familiar wooden platform. At some point, the gallows next to the wooden platform had been dismantled and replaced by a pile of iron boxes. Next to them stood two strong men covered in cloaks, who looked at least two meters tall. Just looking at them made people feel scared.

At the front of the wooden platform, a pot of boiling warm water was placed there. The water was scooped into portions with wooden bowls and distributed to the refugees sitting around along with pieces of black bread. Everyone received the warm and clean water that they had almost never drunk since coming here, and the bread in their hands was bigger than any time before.

It was not the brown bread cut into small pieces, only one-fifth the size of a single serving, but a whole piece of brown bread!

"Eat, comrades."

Standing on a wooden platform, Alexis Pentellier was holding up his hands. In his hands, he also held a wooden bowl, a wooden bowl filled with warm water. This seemed to bring him closer to the refugees, making them feel that he was a person similar to them.