Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"…'Opera House', what do you think?"

"Ah, don't call me by that name." The woman dressed in black and crimson, the elite specialized type 077 "Opera House" frowned unabashedly, "Please call me 'Lusa', respectable lady, 'Lusa Ephayet'. And what do you want to know, respectable lady, the schedule of my next performance?"

"The movements of Alexis, the Duke of Restoration."

Sestin raised an eyebrow, his expression barely fluctuating.

"This is a siege, and the Restoration Army has not yet attacked Tweek's supply lines. Don't tell me that Alexis is so kind that he doesn't want to see the people in the city starve."

"Oh, respectable lady, how could you deprive me of my pleasure like this?"

It seems that the elite puppet "Opera" who calls herself "Lusa Ephayeret" really wanted to say this before.

"Can a lich have compassion?"

"Of course not. Maybe, who knows. After all, he is a senior actor."

"Then kick this option out of your mind." Sestine's expression remained unchanged, "Otherwise I'll let it report to the garbage dump."

"The prologue hasn't even begun yet, how can you be so rude to me, Lusa!"

The Opera House looked distraught, but of course, Sestine's expression remained as cold as ice.

"Well, I guess they don't have the manpower to carry out this operation."

"The result of the elitist strategy, no, should we say they had to elitist the military?"

"Legacy of Natya" is, after all, just a resistance organization secretly operating in the Principality of Mariai. It is not easy to pull out such a force that can be evenly matched with the Principality of Mariai's army by improving individual combat effectiveness. They do not have enough resources to pull out another team on this basis, otherwise the current situation will not be evenly matched anyway.

"Besides, they have no reason to do so." Leather gloves tightly wrapped around slender fingertips, and the "Opera House" gently brushed across the sand table. "They are all excellent actors and will not make judgments that are unprofessional. Otherwise, it would be too heartbreaking."

"Oh?"

“They can’t fight a long battle.”

"Opera," "Lusa Ephayeret" raises her chin.

"Even if they can really cut off the supply line, the result will be nothing more than a boring and tedious battle turning into an even more boring and tedious endurance confrontation. Boring, really too boring. But they are excellent actors and will not do such sad things. If it develops to that point, as long as the Marie Principality Army in other cities eliminates the local rebels, 'Legacy of Natya' will be absolutely, completely, unsurprisingly, and undoubtedly defeated."

The gap in material and manpower will immediately become apparent. Even if ordinary soldiers cannot defeat the mages of the Restoration Army, the resources that the Principality of Mariai can mobilize and the number of powerful people who can be equal to or even superior to them are still superior.

The outcome is obvious.

"The situation is overwhelmingly unfavorable to Alexis."

Systin whispered to herself.

"So...what will they do?"

……

The light of dusk spread from both sides.

The stained glass and the wall are interlaced and opposed, like a black and white chessboard, and the light and shadow are also interlaced, forming boundaries and inside and outside of each other. The glow of dusk comes from the setting sun ring. If night falls, it is still so brilliant here, except that the dark red sun shines and the scarlet moon shines. There is no difference, no difference, day and night are all the same.

Standing on the corridor and looking into the distance, even so, you can't see the end of the royal city.

Not to mention the city called Mariae, even if it was just this palace, this small garden with magnificent gardens, Roy von Ivanov still could not see its end, its endpoint, the other side of his strange "home".

He stared in a trance.

He has loved this place since he was a child.

Many things can be seen from here, those trees, those buildings, lack of maintenance and management, like a demonic world. Under the light of the blood moon and the eclipse, there are always some unreasonable things buried deep in the darkness between the leaves, shining with strange light, attracting his sight, and then disappearing, as if they had never appeared.

Even though he is no longer a boy, even though he has grown into a handsome adult, even though he has put on armor and a cloak and commanded an army, he will still walk here unconsciously and then once again cast his eyes towards the former royal garden.

The kingdom of Nasaran is buried here.

Something was moving in the shadows between the leaves. Whenever he thought of it, whenever he saw those crawling phantoms, he would feel trembling, feeling fear, and feeling the fact that he was still alive.

Like someone is there.

It seemed like someone was standing there, among those messy bushes, among those thick grasses that were still lush even in the deep winter. Was it an old woman? A young woman? A strong young man? A child? A baby? A skeleton? It didn't matter. He was waving at himself, calling his own name. He obviously couldn't know who he was, but he still called that name, Roy von Ivanov, and asked the young man to walk down the castle, through the narrow path, through the fence made of tree walls, and into the maze.

This is easy, right? This doesn't require any thought, right? So do it, take a step, and -

"Roy."

"…What's the matter, father?"

At the far end of the corridor, a figure appeared.

He has thick silver-gray curly hair and a silver-gray goatee. His face is square and three-dimensional like every Muirander man. His wrinkles are as deep as if they were cut by a knife or an axe. His eyes are indifferent yet deep, and his skin color is unhealthily dark.

He wore a dark robe with no decorations except for gold borders on the edges and corners, and a row of obsidian on both sides of the opening. On his right thumb was a platinum ring with a huge ruby, on which a red eagle with a single wing and claws was flapping its wings.

That is the coat of arms of the Ivanov family.

Carida von Ivanov is the current owner of the castle.

"The hateful usurpers have not yet extended their claws to the supply lines."

"Yes."

"This is unnatural," Carida's voice was low and slightly hoarse, "They are not the kind of people who would easily give up the opportunity to put pressure on others, even if doing so is not beneficial to them."

Roy was silent for a moment.

"I understand."

He knew that his father didn't like to explain things too clearly. If he couldn't understand the meaning, it would only increase his disappointment. Unable to judge whether this disappointment would bring him more attention or leave him alone, and whether it would be a benefit or a disadvantage, Roy was unwilling to take the risk.

Even though he was unwilling and did not want to be the focus of his father's attention, he had to do it. His sister was dead and would never come back. If he could not bear this burden, it would fall on his brother in the end.

He didn't want to do this, no matter what.

It didn't matter what he was thinking, what his plans were, or what his mood was. The broad shadow just turned around in the light of the eclipse and faced the darkness again.

"Roy."

"Anything else, father?"

The large shadow still did not turn around, and he looked more like he was talking to himself than having a conversation.

"Don't be obsessed with some things when you shouldn't be obsessed with them."

That wasn't an exhortation, Roy could tell.

That's a warning.

Chapter 5: Under the Canopy of Fakes

"Speaking of which, what on earth is that over there..."

"Over there, that one?"

Lunicia squinted her eyes and looked into the distance, but human vision has its limits after all. Even if she focused her attention to the fullest and let the veins around her eyes bulge, she still couldn't see the vague shadows at the other side of the sky.

Far away in the sky, the sky seemed to become strange, the blood moon's brilliance seemed unreal, and the colors of the clouds and the sky seemed so fake, like a bubble illusion. Lunisia couldn't see clearly, so she could only judge by intuition. At least she was somewhat confident in her intuition.

"Which one specifically?"

Ella followed suit, standing on tiptoe and looking around.

She was looking up at the same sky as her beloved savior.

Just such a simple thing made her heart beat fast and her cheeks blushed.

She couldn't see as clearly as Lunicia. As a spellcaster who was not known for her physical strength, her physical fitness was far inferior to that of the paladin Lunicia. She could only see the sky as usual, with no birds or clouds. The blood moon shone all over the earth, as if it was stained with a layer of blood. The north wind was blowing, as if countless things were dancing under the bloody moonlight.

Jump and jump, tirelessly.

Jumping and jumping, as if waving to Ella.

Come on, you come too.

You are one of us, let's dance together.

Jump and jump, never get tired, and never stop jumping.

Ella didn't even look at it. Those hallucinations, or things that looked like hallucinations, lingered around her, looming and sometimes disappearing. It was especially easy to see their existence in such a strange night. If it were in the past, Ella would become dazed and unconsciously reach out her hand, wanting to join the eternal dance until she cut her skin again and bled.

But now, she no longer needs to do that.

With Lunicia still by her side, and her savior still by her side, she had no reason to look anywhere else.

"That's the sky curtain."

Following the two people's line of sight, Ashlee also cast her eyes towards the other side of the sky.

As she reported what she had seen, she stuffed the two people's mouths with one hand and the other hand. This product, which originated from druid magic, can not only quench thirst but also be used as food. If you really have time, you can eat it as a snack. For adventurers who are far away from home and shops, it is a must-have item for home travel.

"The sky curtain...?"

Lunisia could understand the meaning of the word itself, but in the current context, she didn't quite understand what Ashlee was referring to.

"Yes, it's the sky dome. Luna, have you ever had a crystal ball? A crystal ball with a bonsai in it."

"Ah... that kind. I think I received one before. I remember it was a birthday present."

Lunicia didn't have a birthday. To be precise, her birthday was the day she came to the Glorious Divine Court. Although almost everyone didn't know about Lunicia's existence, except for Sestin, Cieli and Evelyn, everyone else who knew about the existence of the "Saint" would more or less prepare some gifts on this day. They were not expensive, but they were all thoughtful.

"Luna." Ashlee tilted her head, her golden pupils seemed to reflect the moonlight, shining with a soft glow, "We are like bonsai in a glass ball, right? The sky is fake, and the sky above our heads is just a fake thing. What Luna can vaguely see now is the end of this fake sky. The weird but normal world ends there, and the dream ends here. What follows is reality, which is an extremely faraway place, a place without sky."

"Well……"

Lunicia was stunned for a moment and even forgot to move her legs.

"W-what?!"

Then she seemed to be about to jump up in surprise, and for a moment she couldn't control the volume of her voice.

"Don't you know, Lord Savior?"

“No, no, this isn’t a question of knowing or not…” Lunicia couldn’t help but look at the sky twice more to confirm that she was not dazzled, and then pointed her finger at that place, “So that was fake?!”

Ella nodded: "Yes, that is fake. Miss Ashlee, do you know the origin of that canopy?"

"No corresponding information was found in the database."

Her golden pupils flickered slightly, and Ashlee finally shook her head.

In this world where the Internet connection between the prayer cells is almost cut off and only the local LAN is still operating, Ashlee is almost completely unable to collect any useful information from the free prayer cells.

Beneath the newly written information, there is a sea of ​​data so huge that it makes people feel shudder. It is like a dark abyss. Perhaps something useful can be found in it, but no one dares to do so. No one knows what is lurking in the darkness, and no one knows whether they can escape safely after finding what they want.

Perhaps, the information about that piece of sky is also hidden at the bottom of the data abyss. After all, it is something built on this land. Even if it is deleted or hidden, there will always be clues left.

However, she couldn't swim into the bottomless ocean right now. After all, compared to this kind of thing, taking care of the two girls in reality was her more important responsibility.

"I know a little bit, savior."

"So just call me Luna... Hey, you know what?"

"Maybe you've heard a little about it?"

With a slight smile, Ella slowly walked in front of Lunisia, pointed her finger towards the sky, and drew it from one side to the other.

There was no change in the sky. There was only a blood-red moon on the cloudless sky. There were no stars or things recorded in the Lunician knowledge. It seemed that even outside the false sky, there was no beauty that only existed in books - for example, the bright moon like jade, and the brilliant stars in the sky.

However, the girl's slender fingertips, like a meteor, streaked from one side of the sky to the other, attracting Lunicia's attention.

"My teacher told me that on the eve of the sixth calendar, a group of people predicted the world's decline and destruction."

Ella's voice faded away again, unlike the voice of that clingy girl. It became hazy and distant, as if telling a story from the past in a dream.

"They are unaware of the existence of the Savior, and hope to save the world in their own way. It is said that in the far north, on the northernmost side of Mu Continent, is their former base."

"It's called the World Relief Agency, Chiba."

Chapter 6: Walking Under the Blood Moon

"So this canopy was also made by them?"

Looking up, Lunicia once again examined the sky.

If this was indeed a man-made thing, then Lunicia could conclude without hesitation that this was absolutely the worst man-made product she had ever seen.

This starless sky is neither exquisite nor beautiful. The alternating blood moon and eclipse sun are quite confusing in terms of functionality and the feeling they give people. As lighting, they are too dim. As decoration... who would hang something that is full of ominous and terrifying atmosphere in the sky as a decoration? This is a work full of failure in every aspect.

With this thought in mind, Lunicia's expression suddenly became subtle, and as if she could see through Lunicia's thoughts, she shook her head slightly.

"That... was not supposed to be what it is now."