Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"……I……"

Just as Lunicia opened her mouth, she suddenly felt someone patting her on the shoulder.

Looking back, the "Opera House" had been standing there without knowing when. She was holding up the "Arbitrator's" body with one hand, and the other hand had just moved away from Lunicia's shoulder. The former just closed her eyes, neither looking at her nor looking elsewhere, while the latter was staring at Lunicia's face quietly, without saying a word, just snuggling in her sister's arms.

"...In the end, I only have one thing to say to you."

"..."

"Thank you."

"……well?"

There was no greeting, no exaggerated modifiers, no excessive movements. Lusa Efayeret just stood there gracefully and simply said this one word, that was all.

Why should I thank them? There may be many things to thank them for, such as letting my sister go, or saving me once. Even if I know that they came in to disrupt the situation, the only thing left is the word "thank you".

"Also..."

A little advice for life? Or something like that, anyway, it was just an unreliable proposal from an unreliable mind - muttering like this, Lusa finally decided it was better to just say it out loud.

"…It's okay to admit defeat this time, but just make sure you don't lose next time, right?"

"...!"

Lunicia's breath paused.

"...?"

Ashlee tilted her head, confused.

"..."

Ella turned her head away, as if she wanted to say something, but she hesitated to say it.

"Hmph...just doing unnecessary things..."

Setin smacked his lips, but didn't stop it.

"Well... I understand." Lunicia looked at Lusa Efayeret and said for no reason: "Me too, thank you very much."

"Okay, okay, you're the one who made the choice, right? The lady over there is obviously getting impatient, so don't keep her waiting too long."

"That's right."

Once again, she turned her face to where Sestine was, and once again looked at the figure solemnly: he had always liked to wear all-black armor and hold that exaggerated black giant sword. Even though he had changed so much compared to three years ago, becoming so sharp, so cold, with pupils dyed gold, black hair bleached, and many new scars on his face, in Lunicia's eyes, that figure overlapped with the past more than once.

"—I choose 'yes'."

"Ah, really? He over there, you can stop pestering the little girl and come over here."

"Can't you have a little more respect for a talented playwright, musician, director, and conductor like me? Besides, I have a disabled partner with me, and not only do you not lend a hand, but your attitude is so rude—"

"I gave you an option this time, but you should know clearly in your heart..."

"Yes, I know."

"..."

Lunicia smiled.

"This is just giving the power of thinking to Sister Systin. Even if I retain some options myself, it is ultimately just deceiving myself - in fact, I have already given up, and after giving up, I have chosen a path that will not cause me much loss."

After looking at her companions on both sides, she continued:

"I didn't do anything. I just enjoyed the ending that Sister Systine prepared for me."

“…Not bad.”

Instead of laughing, Sesteen Perancine smacked her lips.

Even so, anyone could tell that she was in a good mood - different from the battle in Nosavi. The more passionate mood at that time would never be reproduced here. Even so, she still hid something under her cold appearance, something brighter and more cheerful.

Something that makes her feel more relaxed than cigarettes, alcohol, or anything else.

"You passed."

“So strict.”

"In exchange for the captives, let me tell you some information. Listen carefully, remember it, and don't forget a single word."

Hearing this, whether it was Lunicia, Lunicia's companions, or the two constructs who had almost nothing to do with it, everyone tensed up at the same time. In the words of the "Opera House", the play has come to an end, and it is precisely at this juncture that we cannot relax. Once we relax, it is almost like losing everything.

"The first one. My purpose."

Sethine raised his index finger.

"My goal is revenge, just like the code of conduct of the Black Knight. I will not tell you the object of my revenge, nor will I tell you my methods. I will not tell you anything related to this. I will only tell you one thing. Anything that stands in my way of revenge will be crushed by me, including you."

"……revenge……"

Chewing on this short word, Lunicia's expression became complicated again.

Black Knights - They swore to bury those who committed great crimes even at the cost of their purity. They are the outliers in the Paladin group and are as disturbing as the "Oathbreakers" in a sense. Some Black Knights take a broad concept as their enemy, such as evildoers, undead, or demons that no one has seen for a long time, while others take one or more specific beings as their enemies.

Obviously, Sydine belongs to the latter.

She is fulfilling her mission, she is practicing her creed, she is carrying out her destiny, so she cannot be questioned, and anyone who questions her will inevitably be torn to pieces.

"I killed Grand Duke Ivanov, and the Great Lich Alexis...died at your hands. Congratulations! You have also practiced the way of revenge and avenged the innocent victims of this city."

Unable to tell whether it was a sincere congratulation or some kind of sarcasm, Lunicia could only choose not to respond.

"Second. A suggestion."

Sethine held up another finger.

"...I don't need to say anything about what you want to do with Shen Ting. Have you seen the note I left for you?"

"—!"

The note she accidentally found when she dragged her luggage out of the abandoned hotel in Shuichequ, the note that said "Be careful of the Temple", once again broke into Lunicia's mind. It was undoubtedly the handwriting of Sessine Perancitin, and now her words confirmed it.

"I saw it."

Just from the wavering expression, Sestine had already grasped the situation. She continued:

"That's easy - just follow through on what's written on the note."

Chapter 40: The Road Before Dawn (Part 4)

“I don’t understand.”

"I don't understand... do you?"

"you do not say."

Lunicia spread her hands.

Her expression was far less bitter and heavy than before. Now, all that was left was a slight sense of helplessness.

"They told me to be careful with the Divine Court, but they didn't stop me from going back to Zelhar. Isn't that contradictory?"

Pinching her chin, Lunicia looked a little distressed again - for this inexperienced paladin, the teachings from her former colleagues and former teachers were full of incomprehensible elements. There was no doubt that what Sesteen Peranxetine said was definitely not useless nonsense, but how should she understand it and how should she think about it?

"Ah, Lady Luna."

"Ella - so it's not Luna-sama, it's Luna, Luna."

"Then Luna."

"Oh, forget it, you..."

Subconsciously, I turned my gaze towards the figure that suddenly walked in.

He looked up and down at that thin figure, her long pink hair, her blue headband, and her eyes that were clearer and bluer than the headband. He couldn't help but stare at her overly beautiful face, which was as cold as a flower on a high mountain. Then, as if he felt that this was really too rude, he averted his gaze and coughed twice.

"that is……"

"It's okay." Ella Hepper didn't show any displeasure, as if that look didn't mean an offense, but made her feel quite useful. "Don't worry about me, there's nothing wrong."

“…Is that so…”

"uh-huh?"

Ashlee still tilted her head.

I don't understand. The strange way of getting along between the awkward people and the frank people is undoubtedly a strange thing that I can't understand at all for Ashatherin, who has hardly ever gotten along with anyone. If we talk about how puzzling it is, it is almost the same as the problem that is bothering Lunicia now - in a nutshell, I just don't understand it.

"Strange Luna, and also, strange Ella."

"Who knows? Maybe the inexplicable construct is even stranger."

"Ahem, no quarreling allowed!"

"No problem, Lady Luna."

"What is a quarrel? ... Retrieving——"

"I think we can figure this out without searching... Anyway, Ella, do you have any idea?"

"The clue is...?"

"That's it." Lunicia pointed her index finger out, "It's a weird suggestion that makes people confused."

After making such a strange suggestion, Systine Perancine refused to say another word on the topic. No matter how much she pressed him, the answer she got was just "it won't be good for you if you continue talking about it." Analyzing from this perspective, the conclusion is that if we go too deep into this topic, something bad will happen.

"Is it just that she simply doesn't want Luna-sama... um, the possibility of Luna understanding? Although she is a vicious woman who can hardly be called a woman, it is undeniable that she doesn't want Luna to get too deep into it. Telling some seemingly plausible riddles will probably make Luna feel frustrated."

"In that case, compared to this indirect method, Sister Sesteen is more likely to directly give a wrong target."

After some hesitation, Lunicia expressed the opposite opinion.

"Black Knights are different from traditional paladins... that is, 'white knights' like me. They don't have such strong moral constraints. It doesn't matter if they lie or are a little cruel. Sacrificing one's own justice is part of the price. The ultimate goal is revenge. Telling me a completely false destination will allow me to completely get rid of the problem..."

"What about the possibility of stopping it directly?"

"Verbally emphasizing 'a certain place cannot be approached', 'a certain thing cannot be touched', 'a certain thing cannot be investigated' will only have the opposite effect on me. Cutting off my hands and feet, seriously injuring me so that I can't move... Whether she can do it is another matter, but she won't do it."

“You won’t do that…?”

"Too tough, it doesn't match her style."

"..."

——Too strong...? Incompatible...?

I'm sure everyone who heard this statement would be confused! But let's just leave it as it is, and pretend that Lunicia never said such a statement full of mysterious confidence.

"So, what she meant was that she would not stop Luna from doing what she wanted to do, but she hoped that Luna would be more careful in the process, is that right..."

"Well...that's how it should be."

"Since you say you need to pay attention, then there are things that need attention."

At some point, Ashethelin quietly sat on Lunicia's back. The latter was so focused on thinking that she didn't even notice that there was an extra person on her back. It seemed that she had transformed her own mass into something else. Ashethelin seemed to be able to freely adjust her weight through this method. Now she has become much lighter than before, and even Lunicia can't feel the existence of that weight at all.

"There is an existence that needs attention... The Divine Court... Don't stop me from contacting the Divine Court... But I have to be careful..."

Lunicia pondered again.

“It’s very contradictory…”

"Hehe... this is where Lady Luna's thinking is immature."

Ella chuckled, and Lunicia's frown relaxed.

"What does it mean?"

After leaving some meaningless words, Sestine took the "Opera House" and the "Arbitrator" and left - she did not intend to stay any longer, and Lunicia and her group had no ability to keep her. Besides, instead of trying to keep her at this time, it might be more useful to focus more on the mess on Marie's side.

It's not that Setin really "said nothing" -

"Although I really want to say goodbye...but I'm sure we'll meet again."

She said goodbye just like this.

"The next time we meet, it will be time to end it."

It was a statement that didn't give people a good feeling - but compared to something so far away, solving the current mystery was obviously more important.

"Ms. Luna is too obsessed with one thing."

"Persistence...?"

Lunicia was so focused that she even forgot to correct the address and listened attentively to Ella Hepper's speech.