Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"New orders."

"New orders? That's not like you, Lusa."

The "arbitrator" was stunned and did not immediately accept the "Opera House's" statement. After all, they were not in a superior-subordinate relationship in terms of command authority. If the "arbitrator" had objections to the "Opera House's" order, he could actually choose not to execute it and instead follow his own judgment.

However, this situation is rare. After all, as you all know, the "Arbitrator" and the "Opera House" trust each other. It is also because of this that the "Arbitrator" can immediately feel that there is something wrong with this statement.

"Indeed, this is Miss Peranxetine's request."

On the other end of the line, the Opera House was looking helplessly behind her, while behind her, Sestine just closed her eyes and let the Infiltrators massage her legs and shoulders, seemingly not intending to say anything more to the Opera House. The beautiful woman in men's clothing had no choice but to shrug and continue to shift her attention back to the communication with her best friend.

"The Great Forest of Lafkai - you can find this location by looking up the map in the mental database. Miss Perancitin hopes that you can lead your troops to conduct a forced reconnaissance of this place."

"Investigation, huh?"

"Ah, that's right." Lusa Efayeret turned around on the spot and answered in a deliberately long voice, "If possible, I hope you can also regard this as my own idea - after all, there can't be any omissions on the stage. You know, the places that the lights can't reach can only be the places that I don't want the audience to see. I'm not the audience, right? Why do you treat me like this? I should be in control of everything on the stage."

"that is?"

Leah still didn't look like she understood.

"...That is to say, the area of ​​the Rafkai Great Forest cannot be included in the reconnaissance range at present. We need someone to fill this gap."

He took out his baton from his collar and drew a circle in the air towards the area belonging to the "Great Forest of Lafkai" on the map. The Opera House seemed quite satisfied with the perfect circle he had drawn: "Too many Scouts were used inside the city of Twek, so we still can't really figure out the location of the other leading actor of this play. But it's okay. Those actors are all unreasonable. Let the Scout employees deal with them, and there will inevitably be some accidents - anyway, bring a few more people."

"It's just a reconnaissance mission, is it necessary to do this?"

"Who knows? I'm just worried about little Leah's safety."

She sat down on the electronic sand table, and then there came an angry roar from behind Lusa Efayeret: "Don't use the sand table as a stool!", so she had to jump off the sand table dejectedly and find a seat next to Systin.

"Do you really want to do this?"

"I can tell that you have reasons to object."

With a cold snort, Sestine once again closed the single eye that she had just opened because of a loud shout. It seemed that she was still not used to communicating with the "Opera House".

"Ah, you really flatter me—" There was no sense of flattery in Lusa's words. "Sixth sense, although it sounds too stupid for dolls to have a sixth sense, I am still very confident in my sixth sense."

"Oh?"

Still, Sethine didn't look up.

Lusa Ephayet of the Opera House simply glanced at her and said softly:

“The script changes, doesn’t it?”

Chapter 9: Playing and Moving the Pieces (Part 3)

When Roy von Ivanov walked through the corridor, the blood moon had faded, and the eclipsed sun climbed back into the sky. The "sun" formed by a dark red halo surrounding a dark hole did not bring any warmth, and the cold had nothing to do with this royal garden. Everything was separated, weird, and made people feel uncomfortable.

As if in response to the shining things in the sky, Roy's attire also changed. He put on his armor and looked like he was about to go to war.

In front of him, two familiar figures were walking towards him.

"Isn't this... Clermont and Mr. Barnard?"

One of the men was wearing a priest robe made of white linen, with red interlaced swords, battle axes and spears emblazoned on it. On the scepter in his hand was a sword-shaped holy emblem made of rubies. If one was not completely lacking in common sense, one could tell at a glance that he was a priest of the god of war. His expression was stiff and he did not look happy, as if he had just been through an argument, which made his still-mature face look a bit older.

The other was dressed more casually, wearing black leather armor and a brown knitted cape. A dagger, a short gun, and a water bottle were hung on the belt around his waist. He was wearing a pair of long boots with scratches on his feet. He looked like a ranger. This gentleman's expression was much more relaxed. Looking at the two of them walking towards each other, it was easy to imagine the priest being unhappy and the ranger joking and trying to lighten his mood.

The pastor called Clermont said nothing, but just nodded to Roy, while the other one, Barnard, responded seriously: "Ah, Sir Roy."

Roy gestured, not letting Bernard continue, and said, "Let me guess, were you two just attending a military meeting? It doesn't look like it went very smoothly."

"You're right," Clemont continued. "There were some disagreements on the policy for 'Natya's Legacy', but we didn't reach a conclusion."

“Oh, so…”

Even without having to say what the disagreement was about, Roy could guess it almost exactly - it was nothing more than whether to defend the city or to take the initiative to attack and gain the upper hand. Almost every meeting would involve a dispute over this topic, and neither side could convince the other, so they could only maintain their original strategy and continue to defend the city of Twick.

"The minutes of the meeting will be delivered to your desk as usual." Speaking of this topic, Barnard also looked helpless. "I guess they will still maintain the original policy. This is quite disturbing."

"I can't help it. After all, the topic itself is like this."

After a brief pause, Roy continued, "Speaking of which, Mr. Barnard, although I have hired you and your men this time, I still have no idea how you are doing."

"It's not that good, but it's still enough to make a living?"

Bernard smiled self-deprecatingly.

"I heard that they completely abandoned the mechanical puppets and re-employed ordinary soldiers—"

“Ah, that’s it.”

"Can't supply? Mariai is a small place after all, so they probably can't transport it here. The price of mechanical dolls has also gone up a lot."

"Who says it's not?" Barnard glanced outside the corridor. Under the eclipse, he could see a few wisps of black smoke in the distance, probably where the battle took place. "The most cost-effective and high-quality steel Leviathan, that company's goods have been out of stock for a long time. The middlemen have speculated on the goods of several other companies, and the price is several times higher than before."

“It’s a hassle that I can’t contact the source of goods myself.”

"So, I can't call you a security contractor now."

"Rather, it's more like a mercenary group?"

"Of course, you are the employer. By the way, Sir Roy, why are you dressed like this?"

"I plan to lead my troops to launch a surprise attack." Roy smiled. His expression now looked much more relaxed than when he faced his father. "This will definitely give those traitors a surprise. I can't wait to see their expressions."

Clemont said nothing, but raised his eyebrows.

Bernard, on the other hand, looked shocked: "What... aren't you the commander-in-chief? Are you going to the battle in person?"

"When the Rangers take action, of course they have to ensure that there are no mistakes."

Patting the scabbard, Roy's expression was full of confidence.

"Let someone else do it? Then I can't guarantee that it will succeed."

“It seems that your strength has increased again.” Upon hearing this, Clement looked him up and down and nodded, “However, if anything happens to you, our command will be…”

"Although I don't think anything unexpected will happen to me."

Roy waved his hand, indicating that he had made up his mind and didn't need the other party to say anything more: "If there is any accident, then let Miriam take over. After all, he is a priest of the Red Court and specializes in this."

"What is the situation that requires you to take action personally?"

Bernard undoubtedly tried to dissuade him, but he was obviously quite interested in the reason behind it - as a security contractor, he and Roy had cooperated many times, and that was why he chose to take on the "Tweak Attack and Defense" business. He had a clearer understanding of Roy's strength than others.

If one were to find the best hand-to-hand combatant in the city of Twick, no one except Roy could take over the title.

"Just now, the scouts sent me information that the traitors have captured three important strongholds in succession with today's dawn offensive. I plan to lead my troops to raid the stronghold in the Rafkai Forest to see if I can get any information."

“The Great Forest of Lafkai?” Clement nodded thoughtfully. “Since you have come to this point, I cannot stop you. I can only wish you good luck in fighting.”

The three of them nodded to each other to say goodbye, one walked to one end of the corridor, two walked to the other end, and then they walked into the shadows at the end of the corridor, and no one could see each other anymore.

The royal gardens during wartime were no noisier than usual. It was like the occasional bird cry in the silent courtyard. No one paid attention to it, but when it sounded, people would be startled suddenly. They would look up and watch the crows fly up from the woods and fly to the unreachable other side of the sky. After that, everything returned to tranquility as if nothing had happened.

This garden has remained the same since a hundred years ago, and nothing has changed.

The north wind howled and penetrated the bushes. It seemed as if there were ghosts crying, roaring, and whispering things that no one could understand, as if they were whispering something to someone.

Chapter 10: Third Party Pawn (Part 1)

"It looks like all residents in the plain have been evacuated."

While helping Ella to pack up the magic tent for camping, Lunicia couldn't help but complain.

After wandering around for a while, they didn't find any villages or towns with people still living in them - almost all villages were in the same condition, empty, with no supplies, houses demolished, and water sources polluted, let alone living people. After such a long time, Lunisia and her group didn't even see a single alien species. It was like they were wandering in a wasteland after the world was destroyed.

"It's a thorough strategy of clearing the countryside. I think all the residents around here have been incorporated into the strategic village or merged into a strategic village." As if she was embarrassed to let Lunicia help her so much, Ella took the initiative to take over most of the work. "But don't worry, I will always be with the savior."

"So my name is Lunicia... Ha... Now both intelligence and supplies are..."

Lunicia's eyes looked a little empty.

Ashlee tilted her head: "Can't the Godberry spell solve it?"

"We're almost out of salt, salt."

Before putting away the almost empty salt jar, Lunicia shook it in her hand, and there was indeed almost nothing left in it - although she had just replenished a batch of supplies in Nosavi not long ago, Lunicia had forgotten about salt, which is indispensable for adventurers, and thus fell into this embarrassing situation.

The village itself no longer exists, so it is naturally impossible to obtain supplies from it. For this group of people who have no intention of getting involved in the war, both the stronghold of the Principality of Marie Army and the ranks of the "Legacy of Natya" Restoration Army are places that they should undoubtedly avoid. This puts them in a dilemma.

"Hmm."

It sounded like Ashlee still couldn't understand.

"In terms of physiological function, three days without salt intake will not have much impact?"

"That's right..."

Today's Lunisia is still not pleasant.

If I think about it carefully, it seems that nothing good has happened to me since I left Zerhal and took a carriage to the Principality of Marie. First, the carriage was lost, then my subordinates were killed, and then I fought with the cultists and was cut into pieces. Then I had to fight with Sestin, my mentor and predecessor. It would have been fine if it was just a battle, but in the end, I was cut in half by a sword. I don’t know how I survived...

"Wow, so living in this world is so difficult?"

"For most people, it shouldn't be that difficult." After cleaning up the traces of the camping, Ella nodded with satisfaction at her work results. "But does the savior have any plans for the next schedule? Although I will always accompany the savior no matter what the savior does, where he goes, or what he wants, if he keeps wandering in the wilderness like this, even the savior won't be able to bear it."

"Can't you just call me Luna?"

This almost made Lunicia have the illusion that "Could it be that my name is actually ugly?", so much so that when she repeated this sentence again, black lines almost hung down from her forehead.

"Ah, no." As if she had sensed the meaning in Lunicia's tone, Ella covered her lips in a panic. "The name of the Savior is very nice, and the voice of the Savior is also very nice... Lunicia Agris, this name is much better than the name 'Savior'. Only such a name is worthy of you who should walk among the flowers, walk in legends, and walk in the palace."

"You, it's too embarrassing for me to say that..."

The compliment was so excessive that it made Lunicia's cheeks blush. She couldn't help but turn her face away slightly, not even daring to keep her eyes on Ella's beautiful face.

"You need not be so shy. You will certainly be able to fully deserve such praise sooner or later."

Both her expression and voice showed that what she said was genuine.

"Lunicia is indeed a good name, but what does this have to do with your unwillingness to call Luna by her real name?"

Ashlee tilted her head. Rather, Ella Hepper's explanation made her even more confused, unable to understand the causal relationship.

"It is a great honor for me to serve the Savior, to walk the same path as the Savior, and to be stained by the glory emanating from the Savior. If I still use these meaningless lips to recite the Savior's name, it would be simply greedy—"

"alright!"

As if she couldn't bear it any longer, Lunicia closed her eyes and waved her hands. Her fair cheeks were flushed with red, and they were about to steam in this cold weather.

"So I'm not such a great person. Even if I achieve brilliant achievements and gain powerful strength a long, long time from now, I still hope that everyone can treat me the same way as now. It's really too shameful to be like this... Well, Ella, can I be considered your savior? Please just call me 'Luna' from now on?"

“Please, please, please, please, please…”

Now it was Ella Hepper's turn to blush. She seemed to have a blockage in her brain and she stammered for a long time without being able to utter a single sentence.

"Then... Lady Luna...?"

"Don't call me sir either."

Lunicia seemed to be so happy all of a sudden that she couldn't help but reach out and touch Ella's head, which scared her a little. She let out a soft moan like "Hmm?!" and couldn't help squinting her eyes. That slightly timid feeling made people understand her thoughts at once. She didn't know whether she should accept Lunicia's touch openly, or give in to shyness and inferiority and just shrink back.

She had no hesitation in offering herself as a gift, but became flustered when Lunicia took the initiative. In Lunicia's eyes, Ella Hepper was really an incredible girl.

"Just call me Luna, okay?"

"Uh... then, Luna...?"

"Yeah, good, good~"

Having achieved her goal, Lunicia instantly felt in a good mood, as if eating the magic berries for three consecutive days was not a problem at all. She even felt that she could eat the magic berries for another week without any problem.

"So back to the previous topic - I plan to go directly to Sister Systine."

"Can you do it? We don't have any information about her here. This Great Plain of Ekstof is too vast. Even Luna... well, even Luna would find it difficult to find the hidden main camp of the Iron Leviathan, right?"

"This is indeed a problem." Turning her head, Lunisia looked at Ashlee again, "Ash, do you have any solution?"

"In fact, there is something new here."

Ashlee lowered her eyes slightly, as if she was listening to something.

Chapter 11: Third-Party Pawn (Part 2)

"A new discovery...?"

Of course, Lunicia knew that this was definitely not a visual discovery. Although this was a plain area, it was not flat enough to see the horizon at a glance. It was more like a hill. In this terrain, it was difficult to find more useful information even if you looked far away.