Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

No matter what the emotion is called, loss, depression, pain or despair, it seems so thick and dense. It is definitely not an emotion that appears out of thin air. They have probably been suppressed, and they are treated as non-existent with tenacious will. Until now, this suppression can no longer stop them, and they overflow like a flood, like a nest of spiders, crawling all over the heart and whispering in the ears.

"——Rose."

"Um……"

She casually pulled off her shirt, loosened her belt, took off her long skirt, and threw her stockings on the ground. Until she had done all this, Colette did not look back. In this small world with only the two of them, no one would know what she was thinking about writing. As long as no one spied on her expression, no one would be able to see into her heart, and she would still be the fulcrum of the impeccable scale.

She tapped her back with her finger.

"Help me unbutton it."

"Why……?"

"Just like we always do."

Fingers gently climbed up the back, and the black scales on the wrist would occasionally touch Colette's skin. The scales that were not in a hardened state would not cause abrasions, but the soft and cool touch was impossible to ignore. Even after experiencing it many times, Colette would still make a slight nasal sound from time to time because of this contact.

It was just unbuttoning, a simple and straightforward job that Colette could do without any problems, but Rose's fingertips moved very slowly. However, no one would blame her for this, and it was more like the person who gave the order seemed to be happy with it, like a tacit understanding that did not require communication.

"…What about work?"

"No more."

"Not doing it means..."

"If we don't want to do it, we won't do it. We can ignore the music for now and just use the old version. Even if we rush out a new version now, the band won't be able to rehearse in time. Just keep it as it is. There's no need to change the script. The original version is perfect enough. We can just perform it according to that version... If we want to change it, we'll talk about it later."

——If there is a future, then.

The last sentence remained in my heart and was not spoken out loud.

There shouldn't be any future - I don't know why I can't say this. I should have said this more clearly, more decisively, extinguished all hope, cut off all thoughts, this is the responsible thing to do, but I just can't do it, no matter what.

Just like what is being done now.

Colette glanced at her shoulder, her heterochromatic eyes silently staring at the fingers resting on it, watching how it gently pulled down her shoulder strap, staring at the pale fingertips, and staring at the short nails.

"Do you know why the work has been postponed?"

"Well, I don't know."

"Don't be stupid at a time like this."

Turning around, she put her legs on the bed, or more precisely, in Rose's arms. Colette supported the mattress with one hand and covered her chest with the other hand meaninglessly - was there any point in doing this? If anything, it was a little reservedness that only belonged to the two of them.

"I'll take care of this side, too."

He pointed down below, and the words he spoke were still obscure but clear to everyone.

"Colette, you're so lazy..."

"Speak up."

As her fingertips penetrated the gap between silk and skin, Colette leaned forward and got close to the girl with dragon features, feeling each other's body temperature, listening to each other's heartbeats, and breathing. No matter how many times she had experienced this, she could not suppress the blush that climbed up her cheeks. Just looking into each other's eyes could make her heart beat faster. Familiarity did not seem to reduce enthusiasm, or on the contrary, it was precisely because they were familiar with each other that they would blush on their own with just a few small hints.

Wrapping their arms around each other's shoulders and necks, the girls prayed to the non-existent gods.

"Colette."

"Ok?"

"Just hug me like usual."

"Okay."

The touch of arms, the warmth of a body, the feel of scales against skin.

"Can you hold me like this until how long... until you know when?"

"Forever."

--forever.

It's such an unattainable word.

Even if you pray to God, pray that everything will not end, pray that the promised day will not come, and pray that the day of separation will never come, everything will still end, the promised day will eventually come, and separation seems to be imminent.

Both know it, but neither can say it.

Fingers intertwined, lips pressed together, skin touching each other, breaths intertwined, breaths mixed with breaths, eyes embraced each other, and rose-colored wine dripped into the golden lake, stirring up its ripples.

Even so, the distance between hearts has unknowingly become far apart. No matter how they are kept together, instinct will involuntarily make the distance between hearts grow wider and wider - even if language is not used to express everything, the answer is already known deep in the soul. It is precisely because of knowing the answer that instinct will do everything possible to protect oneself and protect oneself from getting hurt.

My heart will not be torn in two because of that day.

Obviously no one wants this.

Obviously everyone wants to refuse.

The scale still tilts to one side and falls, precisely because there is nothing that can be done about it.

……

--forever.

It's such an unattainable word.

"..."

When pain becomes commonplace, even the brain becomes numb. Even though the pain does not decrease, it will eventually make this body no longer react to the pain.

When it hurts...

What should be done?

Should I scream? Should I cry? Should I struggle? Should I beg for mercy? Should I curse? Should I scream? Should I faint? Should I tremble? Should I twitch? Should I have a distorted expression? Should I scratch with my nails? Should I cry and scream until my throat becomes hoarse, calling for my parents, calling for someone who can save me?

"Savior..."

When it hurts...

What should be done?

This was clearly a dream, but it felt so real. The pain of having my nails pulled out, my skin eroded by acid, my muscles cut, my teeth knocked out, my tendons torn, each one was exactly the same as what I had experienced before. In a world where there was no light, no tomorrow, and nothing but blood and darkness, the half-elf named Ella Heper was like a corpse, a corpse that had been tortured endlessly but had forgotten what to do and had no reaction. Only her lips were still opening and closing gently, calling out in the pain of her body being destroyed and regenerated again and again.

"Savior..."

Yes, yes, that’s good.

When it hurts, there is no need to scream, cry, struggle, ask for mercy, curse, roar, or tremble. Just call out “Savior.”

As long as you call out to the "Savior", you will be saved; as long as you call out to the "Savior", you will have tomorrow; as long as you call out to the "Savior", you will have hope; as long as you call out to the "Savior", you will no longer suffer, because only the "Savior" will accept you, the you who has fallen into this situation, the you who has made you suffer, the you who is dirty and meaningless. Only the "Savior" is your value, your meaning, your hope, your future, everything about you, and the object to which you need to devote yourself wholeheartedly.

"Mr. Savior" is everything to you.

And you are just an insignificant part next to the "Savior".

Even so, she will save you because she is the "Savior".

"..."

--who is she?

He has long black hair, wears silver armor, and carries a huge pure white sword. He is not tall, but looks very reliable from behind.

--who is she?

The existence called "Savior" slowly turned around in the empty darkness.

There - there is no face.

There was only a dark and deep void where nothing could be seen.

“…Haaaa!”

He suddenly sat up from the sleeping bag, and then involuntarily grabbed his face tightly with both hands. His expression was distorted with pain and became hideous. His breathing was hot and rapid, as if a red-hot charcoal was stuffed into his body.

"Guu ...

Her nails scratched her beautiful face, leaving shallow and thin scratches on it. It seemed that only this tiny pain could pull her back to reality. The pain from the dream turned into waves of residual dull pain, which remained all over her body, as if to remind Ella what she had seen and experienced. The uncomfortable feeling lingered, as if someone was grasping her internal organs with his palm, squeezing, kneading, and ravaging her, making her retching uncontrollably.

Tears involuntarily gathered around his wide-open eyes, and tears mixed with blood rolled down until they splashed onto the sleeping bag, leaving mottled marks.

"Ella? Ella?! What's wrong? Cheer up!"

It was as if someone was grabbing her shoulders tightly, pulling her into his arms, and frantically smoothing her back and shaking her body, as if trying to pull her scattered soul back into her body.

——Yes, who is it?

"Ashe, Holy Healing doesn't seem to be having any effect!"

"At least it can treat trauma. Testing and judging, it should be a stress response caused by some kind of mental trauma."

"There is no means of sedation... Ella, hey, Ella! Calm down!"

Her wrists were tightly grasped, not to restrict her movements, but simply to prevent her from hurting herself further.

"...Savior...Sir...?"

"Hey, what are you talking about? I can't hear you clearly——"

"Luna, my Lord...?"

“Yes, it’s me. I’m Lunesia! I’m right here! So stop doing this…!”

“Ah… That’s great…”

The wounds had gradually healed under the effect of holy healing, but blood and tears were still spotted on her face. In addition, the old scars on her neck, collarbone, and shoulders made people feel heartbroken just by looking at them. However, Lunicia did not turn back, but just hugged Ella's shoulders tightly, not daring to let go.

"What nonsense are you talking about... What's the point of this...!"

"Luna-sama... nothing happened... I'm so glad..."

What was she worried about? What was she afraid of? Why was she trembling and crying? Ella herself didn't know what the dream meant or what she was thinking. Just like she couldn't understand the feeling of pain, she couldn't understand why her savior was so gentle to her.

Obviously, I am just an object, belonging to the savior "Lunicia Agris".

Maybe it was just because of her kindness and her broad mind that made her do this——

But if that's really the case, I shouldn't feel uneasy.

"Really, what could possibly happen to me?"

Lunicia sat cross-legged on her sleeping bag, pouting and looking angry.

Of course, she was not anxious - the previous events did not make her anxious, and it was still far from time to set off. Ella woke up very early, not to mention that it was still dark, so after all the trouble, it was just time to get up.

"I'm so sorry, Lady Luna..."

Now Ella was at a loss as to what to do.

No matter if it was her own gaffe, Lunicia's unhappy look, or the fact that Lunicia had not gotten enough rest, any one of them would make her feel uneasy, not to mention all three things combined. Now she looked not only restless, but she wanted to get out of her sleeping bag immediately to apologize to Lunicia.

"Let me in!"

Of course, before she could do that, Lunicia had already swiftly pushed her back into the sleeping bag.

"Luna-sama...?"

"It's no fun to be out in the cold without wearing the right clothes!——"

That being said, Lunicia herself hadn't actually put on her clothes yet. She was only wearing a pair of tights compared to last night. As a result, while she was lecturing Ella, she was still shivering in the tent.

"——A-sneeze!"

Sneezing is inevitable.

Chapter 7: A Sad Morning

"……ha……"

When the water made by the "water-making technique" was boiled, the towel was thrown in, and the temperature was neutralized with the remaining water. Lunicia felt weak.

Of course, Ella was still ordered to lie down in her sleeping bag. Except for a spell casting in the middle, Lunicia didn't allow her to do anything wrong - on the one hand, it was to prevent her from running around without proper clothes and catching a cold, and on the other hand, she was afraid that she would do something stupid again. In short, Lunicia had to take on a considerable part of the preparations this morning.

There were two stainless steel cups filled with water, one for himself and the other for Ella. As for Ashlee, she seemed to be able to clean her body automatically anytime and anywhere, so washing or bathing was not necessary, so she didn't bother.

"Ella."

"Ok?"

"...Let me help you get dressed."

"Eh? But——"

"That's it!"