Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"Who is Lady Luna talking about?"

"That girl who was wearing unusual and weird clothes."

"Probably not. When we met that 'Ophelia', Ashlee had been acting strange for a while—"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's the opportunity that made you become the strange person you are now."

"Yeah."

Lunicia hesitated: "Although it doesn't seem to be a bad thing... I think the current state of Ashethelin is not bad either."

Ella tilted her head.

"Ella has also started to tilt her head. That is to say, I feel that the current Ashelyn with a subtle sense of concern is actually better than before. Before, Ashe also cared about me and would stand up for me in times of danger, but in terms of the way she speaks, maybe it's more interesting now? She can also make jokes."

"Although Lady Luna said so." Ella paused, "But I still have to say that it's a bit disgusting to put this feeling on her now. If this situation continues to develop, I mean, if her incoordination continues to increase, it will definitely become more disgusting."

"Oh, will it——"

"That's really rude of you to say."

"I think it's pretty good. Anyway, back to the topic, since it's not related to Ophelia, it must be something else... I didn't seem to have this feeling when I was climbing the stairs."

"It was the same when we were camping - well, thinking back to when we were camping, I also think it's better for her now."

These words came out of Ella's mouth with a hint of helplessness.

"……Door?"

"Door."

"'Door of the Firmament'..."

The gray horse's gait was quick and steady.

The tall buildings in the distance seemed to be getting closer and closer. Amid the sound of tireless horse hooves, the girls chatted as they rode along with the horses, approaching the city that they had passed by in a hurry but had not yet had time to touch.

Chapter 18 The Beginning of the First Day

The density of buildings will increase as you get closer to the city center, and the same is true for the height of buildings. The closer you are to the city center, the higher the price of land, especially in a big city like Muirand. Not to mention the undeveloped outer areas, the prosperous areas are extremely expensive. I'm afraid that only the prices of the old buildings in the mountaintop area that are worth a lot of money can be comparable to them, or even higher.

"On this basis..."

"In that case, why not choose a hotel that's a little further away?"

Lunicia shook her index finger.

It is said that when riding a horse on the roads in the city, one needs to show the corresponding documents, otherwise a fine will be imposed. Taking this into consideration, after entering the city, Lunicia dismounted her mount and the group continued to move forward on foot.

"If the hotel is located in a remote area, its convenience will be reduced."

What Ella said made sense. For a group of people who were spending these three days with the goal of "traveling", if the location of the hotel they chose was too far away, it would inevitably take some effort to reach scenic spots. However, Lunicia did not seem to have changed her mind.

"If you live near the city center, the travel expenses will be ..."

"Don't worry about the travel expenses, Lady Luna."

Ella looked confident, even her faint smile seemed full of confidence, as if no matter how much money Lunicea spent in these three days, she could afford it without any obstacles.

"Isn't it always bad to be too extravagant?"

"This should be considered a reasonable expense, Lady Luna."

The two were discussing the issue of funding, while Ashlee seemed to be floating in the air in a half-lying position, looking at the tall buildings around with interest, and occasionally attracting surprised glances from passers-by. Flying carpets or griffins floating in the air were not uncommon, but living people floating in the air were rarer - although that seemed to be somewhat different from the standard of living people, such as her limbs and her slender metal legs.

"Luna."

"Ok?"

Lunicia turned her head and looked at Ashlee, but the latter did not look back at her. Instead, she looked past the streets and houses and looked at the gray sky far behind, with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Those who eat 'beef' should stay in 'inns'...So you should eat beef for lunch and stay in a comfortable inn at night."

"..."

"..."

Not only did Lunicia open her mouth and be speechless, even Ella couldn't help but turn her head sharply and face Ashatherine's still calm face.

By the way, Ashatherine just spoke in Zeelandic, and in Zeelandic, the pronunciations of "beef" and "inn" are very similar.

“…Ella.”

"Yes, Lady Luna, I am listening."

"Ashe..."

"Yes."

"…Told a bad joke?"

"……Yes."

"..."

After a brief exchange, the two fell into silence again.

The north wind howled past, and even though it was blocked by the barrier, tall buildings, and mountains, its power was far less than that outside the city, it was still quite cold, and pedestrians around couldn't help but pull up their collars and hat brims to avoid the pain of having the cold air poured into their clothes. Lunicia and Ella Hepper also shivered, of course, their reasons were more or less different from others.

"...Why, isn't it funny?"

Only then did Ashlee turn around and look at the subtle, even twitching expressions on the faces of her two travel companions.

"never mind."

After holding it in for a long time, Lunicia finally uttered a word.

"I'll just listen to you guys...I'll stay in a hotel closer to the city center for the next three days?"

"uh-huh."

"If Lady Luna agrees."

Ella Hepper smiled.

"Then it's time to think about the most important thing."

Suddenly, Lunicia's expression changed, and her aura became serious, causing Ella and Ashlee to look at her sideways, waiting for her next sentence.

"What's for lunch today?"

……

"What's for lunch today?"

Hearing this, Rose looked at Colette, at the face that she never got tired of looking at, with a question on her face.

"Why not just ask the servants what to eat for lunch?"

"……no."

After hesitating for a while, Colette finally gave a negative answer.

"No."

"Hey~ why?"

"Why are you talking about that..." Colette couldn't help but sigh. She put on her coat and stood up from the table. "I still don't want to have dinner with Ludovit and the others. Just inform the servants. They won't tell me what to do anyway. As long as I don't leave this city, I can do whatever I want..."

She couldn't help but pause, as if the last word was particularly difficult to say.

"……free."

"Colette, Mr. Ludovit is..."

"It's my father. Calling him by his first name isn't very nice, is it? I'll be more careful next time."

Rose couldn't help but look worried. Even sitting on the edge of the bed and swinging her legs, she couldn't get rid of the worry. She didn't seem to understand what the worry in her heart was. On that innocent face like a child, the worry was no different from the worries about clothes, eating, and sleeping. They all came from the deepest part of her heart.

"If Colette doesn't like it, it's okay if she doesn't do it."

Her slender red and black dragon tail swayed, revealing what she was thinking.

"..."

The only answer Colette could give was silence.

"it does not matter."

"really?"

"Ah."

"Rose can help Colette with anything."

"……Um."

"Rose can do anything for Colette as long as Colette tells her. Rose can do anything for Colette, no matter what it is, as long as Colette wants it."

"Only this time..."

With a smile that didn't seem forced at all, Colette's voice seemed to have returned to its previous state.

"Forget it just this time. It doesn't matter. These are what I want, what I am willing to do. These are my dreams and my wishes."

That's what she said.

……

"Ella."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Lady Luna?"

"Do you know what special food there is in Muirand?"

"I do not know."

"Hey--"

"I'm so sorry, Lady Luna."

Ella's face showed a somewhat embarrassed look.

"This time I didn't do my homework well..."

"It's okay, it's just a small matter." Lunicia waved her hand indifferently, "Where's Ashe?"

"Ashe doesn't need to eat."

"That's right..."

Because there was no need to eat, he would not pay attention to things like food. What's more, Ashlee might not have been here before - even if she had been here before, it was unknown how long ago it was, and it was possible that it had been completely deleted from her memory.

"But Ashley still knows a little bit."

"……what?"

Neither Lunicia nor Ella seemed to have expected this answer.

Ashlee didn't care about this at all. She still lay in the air in a seemingly comfortable posture, looking at the surrounding scenery while floating, enjoying and responding to the gazes of passers-by.

"The villages and towns in the mountains... the cities in the mountains... I don't know when those humans started to exist here, and I don't know how long they will continue to exist like this. They raise cattle and grow potatoes and grains at the foot of the mountain... Well, Luna, they have been eating beef and making wine with grains for who knows how long."

“Ah, yeah.”

Lunicia tilted her head.

“Maybe now, right?”

"At that time, it didn't seem to be as cold as it is now. The temperature in the mountains is almost the same. In the mountains, there are more cold foods than hot foods, and most of the food in a meal lacks temperature."

Ella looked at Ashlee with interest, but Ashlee didn't care. Her attitude didn't seem to change at all.

"But why does Ash know this?"

Lunicia also seemed quite interested.

"Who knows. Maybe Ash has been here before."

This was not really an answer, but her two traveling companions would not take it too seriously. This brought about another bit of reverie. Lunicia could not help but let her thoughts drift with the winter wind, guessing about things she did not know. When did the mechanical girl come here? Was it decades ago, hundreds of years ago, or thousands of years ago? At that time, Muirand must not have been as prosperous as it is now. What would the scenery be like then? What did she experience, encounter, do, and create here? Was she remembered by people, and did she become something passed down from generation to generation by the bards?

Story, or legend.

Like a page in a book, like a tile in a temple, like a note in a poem, the girl named Ashetherin always makes Lunicia imagine so much.