Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"...If Sister Sestine is dissatisfied with this, I have nothing to say...But if Sister Sestine wants to vent her dissatisfaction by chopping someone, or punish this disrespect...then chop me."

The Opera House raised its eyebrows, the Arbitrator looked incredulous, Ashethelin's face was immediately filled with hesitation, and Ella simply panicked - the Opera House did not intend to comment, the Arbitrator whispered "big idiot", and Ashethelin and Ella did not make any sound in the end. No matter what they wanted to say, those words were blocked by Lunicia's gentle eyes.

"Don't you understand clearly?"

Surprisingly, after hearing these words, Sestine simply retracted the giant sword and placed it on her shoulder - her expression was almost unchanged from before. It seemed that she was no longer surprised by Lunicia, so no matter what Lunicia said, she could deal with it with this poker face, so that no one could tell what her mood was.

Except for directly using mind reading, there is probably no other way to analyze her thoughts through her facial expressions...

"——Huh? What?"

"I mean, don't you understand clearly? What were you doing just now, or are you deliberately disgusting me?"

"??"

"Hehe, you look troubled."

The "Opera House", which had not said a word since the beginning, now moved closer to Lunicia with a smug look on her face. It seemed that if she had not had to use both hands to hug the "Arbitrator" and could not free either hand, she would have been very familiar with Lunicia's shoulders.

"Well, I will temporarily serve as the translator for Ms. Sessin, so that you can understand what this lady with a complicated heart means now—"

"If you say one more word of nonsense, I'll chop your head off."

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything more. You can explain it yourself."

"……so?"

Lunicia tilted her head, still looking confused.

"Didn't Sieli teach you The Theory of Justice? I still remember what he focused on when he talked about that book."

"Well... I only had time to learn the general outline, and the rest of the courses were delayed again and again, and then..."

After that, he went on a mission to Shuichequ, a small village on the border of Mariai, where he was attacked by zombies and cut into pieces by the Desecrated Twins. I believe that all readers know clearly what happened after that.

"...That damn old ghost..."

"Sister Sestin, did you say anything?"

"You are delusional."

"Yes, really..."

"Let's assume you really haven't learned it - and then what? Then you can make such a low-level speech? And you even say 'go to Mulande and find the best court on the continent to hold a trial'? This is really ridiculous. Even I almost couldn't hold back my laughter at this expression."

Of course, when saying this - whether before or after - Setine did not smile at all. As for whether she did not mean it from the beginning or she really could not hold it back, only she herself would know.

"Um……"

"You don't understand, do you?"

"I don't understand."

"You are just throwing the responsibility to the court. Just by saying 'see you in court', you can hand over the power of thinking and judgment to others. Just by saying 'I will support you as much as possible', it seems that you have made your position clear. In fact, do you really need to do anything? Not sure, maybe there is, maybe not. In any case, as long as you do this, no matter what the result is, you can legitimately say 'I have done the most correct thing', 'This result is issued by the court, so I will abide by it', isn't that the case?"

"so……"

"That's right, isn't it? It's an unpleasant, lazy, cowardly, incompetent, and disgusting answer. And as long as you give such an answer, you can move towards an ending that you take for granted, right?"

Sestin smiled coldly, then suddenly reached out his hand, grabbed Lunicea by the collar, and lifted her up in front of him.

"Are you kidding? I'm just giving up thinking. Is this all you've learned after studying for so long?"

"I……"

"Push all the troubles onto others, and then accept a conclusion drawn from something that has nothing to do with you, and finally call this conclusion 'justice' and call this process 'just judgment', is that enough?"

"..."

“…Unpleasant.”

As if realizing his own gaffe, Sestine loosened his hand again, allowing Lunicia to stumble backwards unsteadily.

"You think this boring woman called 'Opera House' saved you and is doing you a favor, so you should trust her. If you still have any hesitations, go find evidence and decide whether to trust her or execute her based on what you find. Alternatively, if you realize that she is guilty of an unforgivable crime but still don't want to fight her, then become her protector and jailer and use your life to enforce your own justice."

Setin couldn't help but spit.

This was not very elegant, and was somewhat inconsistent with her current pale image of a vengeful ghost, but it made Lunicia feel particularly nostalgic - it was as if the familiar sister Systine had returned, even though she had never done this to Lunicia, but she always showed such an expression when she felt unhappy, instead of a cold face, no anger, no fluctuations, but just complete silence.

Even though this expression only lasted for a short while, it still made Lunicia feel extremely warm.

"Do you understand? This is called enforcing your own justice."

"Hey! Even if you are Sister Cestin, you can't say bad things about Sister Lusa!"

"Little devil, just stop talking. I won't play house games with the puppets."

"Who are you calling a boring woman? If you're talking about me, then I want to express my firm opinion here——"

"I'm talking about you, shut up."

"……Ha ha."

Lunicia laughed softly.

"Ms. Luna...?"

"No, nothing...really. It's just that I thought of some nostalgic things..."

"..."

Sethine didn't respond.

It's like a game with no end. Both sides know what the other is thinking and what the other is hinting at, but neither will take the initiative to point it out. The ball passed back and forth between the two will never fall, and when it finally falls, that is when the winner is decided.

Now it's just a long and leisurely intermission.

"…I understand. Thank you, Sister Setine."

"Think about it yourself. As for your own 'justice', as for the 'justice' of many other people, as for blind 'justice', clear 'justice', simple 'justice', or complicated 'justice', your journey has just begun, and you will surely encounter various situations. Just worry about it yourself. It would be best if you worry yourself to death one day before I chop you to death."

"Haha...I don't think so."

"But there's nothing to worry about this time."

"Ugh?"

Sestine still had no expression on his face. He simply stuck the giant sword into the ground and half-leaned on it.

"The guards of the palace have been withdrawn, and the others who were still in the palace were killed by Grand Duke Ivanov. The city has been completely destroyed. Even if there were lucky enough to survive, there is absolutely no way to survive in the completely dark environment. This was done by Alexis Pentellier, the 'Prince of Restoration'. I, and the 'Iron Leviathan' represented by that boring woman over there, have all done 'acts of war' within the rules on this land, without even declaring war - I just don't know if Grand Duke Ivanov took it seriously, and whether he has communicated this to others."

"Grand Duke Ivanov means..."

"That pile of minced meat over there."

"Uh……"

"So, there's nothing to worry about. At least this time, the woman over there is 'innocent'."

"Hey, don't talk like it won't happen next time."

"Who knows? Are you satisfied with this answer?"

Staring at Lunicia Agris with his golden pupils, the Black Knight showed no anxiety or impatience, but just waited quietly for her answer.

Chapter 39: The Road Before Dawn (Part 3)

"..."

silence.

Lunicia was not able to give an answer immediately, but fell into silence with a look of distress on her face, which made Ashlee and Ella beside her nervous - the former could not be seen, but the latter honestly held her breath because of excessive nervousness.

They are not Lunicia, so they cannot make decisions for Lunicia. Persuade? Suggest? Overwrite Lunicia with their own will? One is silent, the other is cowardly. Such a proposal is not constructive at all, but just nonsense. The one who can make the decision here is not Sesteen, not Lusa, not Leah, not Ashtherin, not Ella, but Lunicia, and only Lunicia.

"Do not……"

She raised her face and looked at Sestine, the face she had been pursuing for so long.

“I can’t make a decision like that.”

"Oh, is it so."

Seth's reaction was very flat.

She was neither angry nor surprised, neither confused nor impatient, as if she had anticipated this result. So, just as she had expected, she also gave the answer that she should have given based on this result.

“You understand what I’m saying, but you can’t put it into practice? Or is it because it’s your first time doing this, so you can’t compare the options involving such a big issue? Either way, you can’t give an answer today.”

“…That’s absolutely true.”

Lunicia sighed. She was also not ashamed or regretful. She did not cry out in pain as if someone had stabbed her in the back. She only had a helpless smile - she really had no secrets at all, and was easily refuted, easily accepted what others said, easily seen through, and easily accepted her own failure.

Even if the other person was not someone else, but that Sesteen Peranxetine, why would she act so immature and naive? However, just as she accepted everything else, she also accepted her immaturity and naivety. Should she say that she was convinced, or that she had given up on herself? Neither, it was just that she couldn't give any other answer besides this.

Just like the problem she is facing now.

"...Then I won't pursue it this time."

Seth snorted.

"Let me give you another question that's even simpler than this one."

"What? You..."

"What?" Staring at Ella with his cold golden eyes, Sestin still did not show any emotion. "I am Lunicia Agris's master and the leader of her Paladin training. I have been with her for eleven years and watched her grow from a little girl who couldn't even hold a sword steadily to an adult Paladin. Is this enough to serve as a supplement to 'what'?"

"...!"

One could almost hear the sound of something being bitten, and a streak of bright red flowed from the corner of Ella Hepper's mouth, and she herself seemed unaware of it.

“Ella…”

Lunicia noticed it immediately.

She tried to reach out her hand and touch her cheek. Whether she had broken her teeth or bitten her tongue, she could use holy healing to treat it. She didn't understand why Ella did this, what she was thinking, or what her mood was. She was just worried and reached out her hand instinctively.

Reach out your hand, as if this can heal all wounds and solve all difficulties.

"……don't want……"

A light and thin voice that no one could hear escaped from between her lips, and Ella subconsciously avoided Lunicia's palm. She was refusing, resisting being touched.

But why is that? No one came to answer, no one could respond to Lunesia's confusion.

"I'm sorry... Lady Luna, I'm fine... It's okay..."

Flustered and confused, not at all like Ella Hepper.

This was Lunicia's first feeling, and also the first feeling that Ella showed. She seemed to have just realized what she had done unconsciously, and she carefully covered the corners of her mouth, carefully avoiding Lunicia, not only avoiding her palm, but also avoiding her gaze, just like the sun was too dazzling, so she looked away, so she covered her eyes, as if she could avoid the heat of the sun by doing so.

Sestine just watched, not doing anything, not expressing any opinions, as if what was happening now had nothing to do with her.

Yes, it really has nothing to do with her.

"...The first question requires you to choose 'your own justice' or 'Marie's justice'. If you feel that your brain is not enough, I will give you a simpler question."

"..."

Systine looked down at Lunethia.

"We are now in a state of war. Although you are just civilians who appeared out of nowhere and have no affiliation or stance, our soldiers are now in your hands... In other words, they have been captured by you."

"Hey, are you acknowledging the individual rights of the construct puppets? This may be different from what you said before. I remember it clearly, Lusa, what 'it's just a pile of scrap metal, how can it have human rights'..."

"Don't interrupt."

"Yes, yes, please continue."

After being glared at, Lusa Ephayet just shrugged her shoulders, still with the attitude of watching the fun and not minding the trouble. And it was obvious that she had no intention of repenting. I'm afraid she will still do so next time when she can interrupt.

"Since they are prisoners, let's make a deal - hand them over to 'us', and I will pay an equivalent amount afterwards."

Setine remained expressionless. Even though she had clearly drawn a line between the two sides to distinguish "you" from "us", she still did not show any emotional fluctuations. She was used to it, or it could be said that she had already prepared herself mentally for this.

"That question - you just have to answer 'yes' or 'no'."

"..."

"This is a proposal that complies with the rules, and it's only for you. Because you can't represent anyone else but yourself, and at most the two... 'people' around you, so there's no need to worry about anything, and there's no need to make excuses for yourself about who you're responsible for. You just need to answer 'yes' or 'no'. That's all."

That'll be fine.

It is more of a pity than an inducement.

For you now, as long as you can do this, it is enough.