Want to be human, but cube-like

……

Volume 1: Chapter 170 Love Like a Castle in the Air

"Ah! It's already this late!"

Turning her head, Ai Yin noticed that it was almost noon, and she immediately exclaimed in surprise.

Most likely, we were so engrossed in kissing today that we forgot the time.

They would usually set aside enough free time to adjust their expressions and demeanor, so that when they went downstairs and saw Xiangzi, he wouldn't notice anything was wrong.

But now it seems like there's not enough time!

She raised her hand and touched her face; it was warm. Even without looking in a mirror, Aine knew that her cheeks must be bright red.

She hurriedly wiped her lips and straightened her clothes and disheveled hair. She turned to look at Alex and saw that the other was tidying up the guitar that was placed to the side, so she went over and straightened Alex's collar.

After a long period of busy work, Aine finally breathed a sigh of relief when the two of them no longer appeared to be outwardly normal.

"Strange... It's so late, why hasn't Xiao Xiang come up to call us?"

Frowning, she checked the time again in confusion. Just as she looked up, her eyes suddenly widened.

It was only then that Ai Yin realized that the door leading from the second floor to the stairwell was not completely closed.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurried over and gently pulled open the soundproof door, which was left a crack.

Slightly guilty, Ai Yin peeked out and glanced at the corridor outside. It was pitch black and very quiet, and it didn't look like anyone was there.

"No one should have been here before, right?"

She lowered her head, looked at the ground, and muttered something under her breath.

To be honest, this is just a psychological comfort; even Ai-yin herself doesn't really believe it.

“Aine?”

Alex, who had already packed her things, walked over, looked at Aine's actions with a puzzled expression, and called out to her.

"Ah...it's nothing...!"

Shaking her head slightly, Ai Yin casually gave a perfunctory reply.

"Let's hurry down, or Xiangzi might get angry if we dawdle any longer."

Taking Alex's small hand, Aine smiled slightly, seemingly lost in thought, her mind elsewhere.

"Ah."

Tilting her head, Alex nodded in response, but a thought suddenly arose in her mind.

Following behind Ai-yin, she looked down ahead, her light pink hair bobbing slightly as she descended the stairs, and a faint sense of confusion flickered in her eyes.

Recently, Ai Yin has become more and more relaxed in front of her.

Or, to put it in terms that Alex can understand... Aine's words and actions are becoming more and more like her mother's.

Originally, their voices were so similar that they could cause Alex to hallucinate, and in Alex's memory, the pronunciation of their names also seemed to be the same.

Not to mention that inexplicable sense of familiarity made Alex unable to resist wanting to get close to, and even fall in love with, Aine, for almost no reason at all.

Now that Aine has taken the initiative to change their relationship, she is increasingly less mindful of maintaining appropriate social boundaries in their daily interactions.

This also led to Alex sometimes mistaking Aine's sweet requests for her as commands from her controller.

She didn't know whether she should express these feelings, so she remained at a loss, suppressing all these emotions deep inside.

But as time went by, the sense of familiarity she felt when facing Aine grew stronger, giving her a slight sense of disorientation.

Even though the person in front of her is Aine, she often has a fantasy that the person facing her is her manipulator, her mother.

The sense of security that came from the misplaced object of affection made her irresistibly intoxicated by it, but at the same time, she was also tormented by distress.

She was troubled by whether or not she should tell Aine about her feelings, and upset that she had poured out her feelings for her mother to someone else.

　Gradually, Alex began to have some vague guesses about the feelings she had never been able to understand before.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this inexplicable sense of familiarity she felt with Aine that she developed feelings for her.

Unlike Xiangzi, and unlike Le Nai, this special affection, in essence, can perhaps only be described as nothingness.

Like a castle in the air, the materials used to build its foundation are all Alex's fantasies, her unspeakable desires, and what she drew from Aine to alleviate the loneliness and fear in her heart after being separated from her mother...

A false sense of satisfaction.

But Aine's delicate body, so frail that she could hardly resist any of Aine's actions, constantly reminded Alex of this.

The girl in his arms, a pink-haired girl who would suffocate from lack of oxygen if she couldn't even kiss for ten minutes.

She was just another person who, in some ways, coincidentally resembled her mother.

This made it impossible for Alex to completely imagine Aine as her mother. While instinctively seeking common ground between the two, she also constantly discovered their differences.

However, Aine's fragility sometimes brings a unique kind of stimulation to Alex.

She had never imagined, nor dared to imagine, that her all-powerful mother could be nestled in her arms, her limbs limp and at her mercy.

But Alex experienced this strange feeling while holding Aine tightly.

Despite her reason telling her that Aine was not her mother, her instincts always compelled her to do more for Aine, things she couldn't do for her manipulator.

She became increasingly engrossed in this comfortable atmosphere.

So Alex began to want to maintain the status quo.

She has always loved adventure and new things, but because of Aine, her progress has been completely halted for half a month.

No more developing the Sky Island, no more exploring the city, no more paying attention to Kyubey, no more searching for the witch.

It's like falling into a trap of intimacy, living this kind of life day after day, which is almost a waste of time.

Although neither Aine nor Shoko noticed Alex's psychological changes—they probably couldn't understand that it was just a matter of not going on adventures or seeking new things for half a month, which was perfectly normal for an ordinary person.

But for Alex, half a month is sometimes enough time for her and her mother to completely complete a game.

However, today, this status quo that she cherishes is likely to be broken.

After thinking it over, Alex followed Aine to the stairwell of the burger shop on the first floor.

"Ellie, come and check again, is there anything that's not tidied up properly?"

Feeling guilty, Aine turned around before pushing open the door and asked Alex a question with some unease.

"...No."

Alex answered with her lips pursed, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere than on whether Aine's clothes were neat or not.

“…Phew, Ellie…”

As Alex had predicted, after a few seconds of eye contact, Aine let out a long sigh, her expression somewhat conflicted, and slowly said something.

"If Xiaoxiang asks later, just tell her directly."

She lowered her head and used her fingertips to play with the strands of hair that hung down in front of her chest.

"...our relationship."

…………

PS: The second person to start dancing right after Xiangzi was surprisingly Alex.

However, it was quite difficult to write about Alex's emotional changes clearly and concisely; most of the time was spent on refining and polishing the text.

Volume 1: Chapter 171 The Demon Blade Red Jade

But to Aine's surprise, nothing happened throughout the day.

As usual, business started normally.

Xiangzi didn't question why they came down so late, and he seemed calm and composed, showing no signs of anything amiss.

As always, they were busy until the afternoon. Only then would Lena come over, play a duet with them for a while, and then take a nap in the shop, or suddenly disappear again.

Another ordinary day has passed.

Feeling inexplicably guilty, Ai-yin, unusually, didn't dawdle until evening. Instead, before it even got dark, she volunteered to take Rakuna home, who had been called home for dinner by a text message.

This time of day is definitely not the time when familiars are active, and there is probably no danger. Besides, the shop needs Alex to cook. After receiving a guarantee that Aine would send her a message to let her know she was safe when she got home, Alex watched the two of them leave.

So, after serving the last wave of customers for the day, a silent atmosphere instantly enveloped the burger shop.

By this point, even if Alex was slow to realize, she should have understood that something was definitely wrong with Xiangzi.

She seemed unusually quiet today.

"Xiangzi, everything's packed up."

After removing her gloves and washing her hands, Alex took off her apron, walked out of the kitchen, and spoke softly to Xiangzi.

Teaching by example is indeed a very effective way of educating. With Aine, who has a high EQ, by her side every day, Alex has learned some social skills to some extent.

At the very least, she knew that she couldn't directly ask Xiangzi what was wrong at a time like this.

Instead, wait for the other party to bring up the topic first.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work... Well then, I'll go upstairs and rest now..."

But Xiangzi didn't seem to have any intention of saying anything to Alex. Her eyes flickered, and she ended the conversation with just a few words, without even making eye contact with Alex.

They hurriedly turned into the stairwell.

It looks like they're running away from something.

Alex was left alone, standing somewhat bewildered in the burger shop. She opened her mouth, but could only remain silent.

She only knew that Xiangzi seemed a little off, and she could also tell that Aine seemed to have some complicated feelings for Xiangzi. She could also connect the dots and figure that it was probably related to her current relationship with Aine.

But Alex didn't understand what had happened to them that caused this situation.

Ultimately, Alex still couldn't understand these complex emotions.

If it were a normal, ordinary person, perhaps they would be able to understand?

Suddenly, a distressing thought popped into her mind. Alex casually pulled out a chair that Xiangzi had just arranged, sat down, took out her phone, and glanced at it with her eyes lowered.

I'm home!

It was almost two hours ago that Ai-yin sent the message, but Alex was busy in the kitchen at that time and didn't have time to reply to Ai-yin at all.

Keep up the good work!

However, Aine probably understood, and she even sent over a rather cute emoji.

【Thanks for your hard work!】

Perhaps it was because he was constantly staring at his phone, or perhaps...

She clicked on the message just as Alex was reading it. Only ten seconds after the message was marked as read, and before Alex could figure out how to reply, Aine sent another message.

【Um, I just finished. Does Aine want to come out and play?】

After thinking for a moment, Alex typed a line.

Her news has always been rather bland and uninteresting.

[Waaah~ But I've already taken a shower... Maybe I can play with Ellie another day~?]

A dejected bunny emoji was attached and sent along with the message, making Alex smile slightly.

By the way, did Xiaoxiang... say anything to you?

The next moment, Ai Yin shifted to another topic, leaving Alex somewhat at a loss for how to respond.

No, but Xiangzi seemed a bit down. She packed her things and went upstairs to rest.

After making a slight guess, Alex replied with a comment.

"Oh, I see... Let's stop here then. Ellie must be very tired after all that work, so please remember to get some rest!"

After briefly ending her conversation with Aine, Alex glanced at the time; it was just past evening. She stood up and looked out the window at the bustling traffic.