This is not the date I wanted.

Meng Yue sighed speechlessly.

"I don't know... I have no impression of what is recorded there."

Artemisia seemed to have not recovered from the shock yet and shook her head blankly.

"Well, you have just escaped from the wolf's den and entered the tiger's mouth."

With a sigh of sympathy, Mengyue took out another document from her bag.

"This is a flight passenger list. It says that your partner arrived in Japan on the same flight the day after you arrived in Japan."

"Everyone... are you here to see me?"

Hearing Mengyue's words, Artemisia showed a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"Well, after all, in their eyes, DEM is undoubtedly a shady company. Naturally, they won't let you get involved again. In fact, it is true. After your memory of the experiment was erased, you joined DEM again. In order to prevent them from interfering, your existence was erased from your partner's memory and sent back to London."

"As for why they didn't delete your memories of them, or why they didn't just kill your companions? I can't guess. Maybe Westcott's brainwashing technology is not perfect, and they are afraid that too much manipulation will make you useless. Or maybe they want to prevent you from betraying them after your memories are restored, so they keep you as a hostage for backup. Or maybe Westcott just has some weird mental cleanliness obsession."

After listing all the possibilities that came to mind, Meng Yue shrugged.

"By the way, I also have information about DEM's brainwashing techniques. Do you want to see it?"

"..."

Artemisia did not say anything, but was lost in thought with a very distressed expression, looking as if she was about to swallow a bowl of extremely bitter Chinese medicine.

If you can swallow it, there is still a glimmer of hope; if you can't swallow it, you will be sick for the rest of your life.

Meng Yue was not in a hurry to hear the other party's reaction. She took advantage of this time to enjoy the pasta and coffee. After all, these things were too shocking for her and she needed some time to digest them.

"…I can't believe what you're saying."

Finally, Artemisia slowly shook her head.

"…Whether it's these documentary evidence or my speculation about amnesia, they are all unilateral evidence and one-sided statements provided by you. Moreover…"

"And I'm an elf. These are probably false information I provided deliberately to alienate you and DEM. Is that what you think?"

Artemisia remained silent, obviously because Mengyue had hit upon her concerns.

Meng Yue was not surprised by Artemisia's answer. After all, she and Artemisia were in a hostile position, so such doubts were natural. Since Meng Yue could easily come up with so much confidential information, then on the other hand, there was also the possibility that all this information was forged.

The same medicine has completely different credibility if you get it from a kind and gentle old doctor and from a suspicious and shabby old man.

(Pah, who is this suspicious and shabby old man?)

After unable to help but complain to herself in her heart, Meng Yue continued.

"Well, I don't deny that I want to alienate you and DEM. But that doesn't mean these things are false. In fact, the fact that you accepted my text message and came to see me alone means that you really felt that there was something wrong with DEM, right? For example, Westcott was going to take all the citizens of Tiangong City as hostages or something like that?"

"—"

Artemisia tried hard to keep her expression calm, but in Mengyue's eyes, her clasped hands on the table still revealed the hesitation in her heart.

"But... Director Westcott said it was just a joke."

Artemisia swallowed and said uncertainly.

"You don't really believe what he said?"

Meng Yue asked back with a sneer.

"I don't know... but he did give up on the hostage plan."

"I see. He just took advantage of the situation and got away with it. Westcott really knows how to flatter himself."

"What do you mean?"

Artemisia couldn't help but frown.

"It's simple. He didn't stop the operation on his own initiative. He was forced to stop because we dismantled the bomb."

"You guys? How is that possible?"

Artemisia's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Why can't it be us? Is it because I'm an elf?"

Drawing circles along the rim of the coffee cup with her fingers, Meng Yue asked Artemisia as a matter of course.

"Then may I ask Artemisia, can you tell me how many people I have killed as an elf so far?"

"Well--"

Artemisia was speechless for a moment. Although the Hacker was called the most dangerous spirit to humans, her space shock was too small to hurt anyone, and the magicians who fought with her were disarmed and incapacitated before any casualties occurred.

“Hehe, hahahaha—yes, that’s the expression. I love seeing the speechless expressions on the faces of you magicians when this fact is pointed out to me.”

Mengyue raised the corners of her mouth happily, and her eyes curved into crescents.

"you--"

Seeing Mengyue's reaction, Artemisia couldn't help but feel a little angry and embarrassed.

"Well, in return, I'll give you a piece of advice."

Restraining her smile, Meng Yue spoke earnestly.

"Pay attention to Westcott. He is different from others. Social rules, morals, laws - in common sense, ordinary people, even those who have committed great crimes, are bound by these things somewhere. But he is different. He just uses these things to disguise himself, making others think that he is no different from ordinary people. In fact, if he really wants to, lying and killing people will not even make his heart beat faster, let alone blink his eyes."

"..."

Artemisia opened her mouth speechlessly, wanting to say something in rebuttal, but she didn't know where to start.

She was in a state of confusion. Reason told her that the elf in front of her was an enemy and could not be trusted. Even if she did not kill anyone now, it did not mean that she would harm humans in the future.

However, her emotions refuted her. Is this girl who can blend in with the crowd without any sense of incongruity, come to the cafe to drink coffee like ordinary people, and talk to her really someone who must be annihilated by force?

If what she said was true, then what was the justice she insisted on? What should she believe in?

"Well, if you can't believe my one-sided statement and can't help but doubt DEM, you can go to AST to confirm it yourself. After all, they are the ones who actually dismantled the bomb."

"Otherwise, you can choose to start a war against me right here. But please think about it carefully--"

Looking at Artemisia who was in confusion, Meng Yue spoke word by word.

"Even if I and the other elves are destroyed, will the future you expect really come true?"

"………………ha."

A period of silent silence continued, and then Artemisia let out a long sigh of exhaustion, and the tense atmosphere surrounding her relaxed.

"Thank you for showing mercy, Miss."

Meng Yue said with a smile.

"Don't get me wrong, I just don't want the fight to affect innocent people. I will confirm and judge for myself whether your words are true or false."

"Yeah, that's enough. Well, let's stop talking about boring topics and eat. If you think the pancakes and tea are too cold, you can order more."

"No, that's fine."

Shaking her head slightly, Artemisia picked up the knife and fork, cut a small piece and put it in her mouth, then took a sip of the black tea.

She is truly worthy of being a young lady. Even eating a dessert is so elegant.

"It tastes good, thank you for the treat."

After wiping her lips with a handkerchief, Artemisia placed a piece of Yukichi-san on the table.

"Hey, didn't I say it was my treat?"

"I don't want to owe the elves a favor."

Having said that, Artemisia calmly left her seat.

"Finally, let me ask you a question, Liang Yi Meng Yue."

"what?"

"Why are you so sure that I will come to you as promised?"

"Ah... Because someone told me that you can't join DEM with your personality, and there must be something fishy. That's why I contacted you."

"Who?"

"Tobiichi Origami."

"...That elf?"

After a moment's recollection, Artemisia remembered the spirit that was equipped with a manifestation device and fought with her in the universe.

"Because she's an elf like you?"

"No, because she is my family." Meng Yue shook her head gently and denied, "It is important for people to have a few friends with whom they can confide in this world. If you are suspicious of everything, it will be very tiring."

"Yeah……"

After sighing, Artemisia said nothing more and left the coffee shop.

(Well, everything is going well.)

Meng Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, she felt a little guilty towards Artemisia.

She sympathized with her situation and wanted to talk to her with equal respect. Otherwise, she had other simpler ways to make Artemisia betray DEM directly.

Moreover, this conversation was unfair from the beginning. Although Westcott's attention was now focused on Shidao, he should not use the "Divine Eclipse Volume" to investigate the private lives of his subordinates, but if it were to be exposed, the consequences waiting for Artemisia could be imagined.

Even so, for Meng Yue, it was a win-win for her as she had defeated a powerful magician on the other side without any bloodshed.

16 The World in Memory (IV)

==============================

"...Hey, what is that?"

"Hmm? Ah, that's a traffic light. The color of the light indicates whether you can pass or not. Red means no, green means yes, and yellow means the transition between the two."

"What about that one?"

"A mailbox. Once you put a letter in it, it will be delivered to a designated place."

"And that one?"

"A vending machine. You put money in and buy a drink."

The boy took Mio for a walk on the streets of the city.

Two weeks had passed since Mio appeared in front of the boy. After reading all the books in the house, Mio could speak Japanese fluently as if she had lived in Japan for many years, and she also had a certain understanding of etiquette, manners, and social common sense. After a discussion with Mana, the two decided that it was time to take Mio out to get familiar with the city.

Along the way, Mio was as excited as a child who came to an amusement park for the first time. Every time she saw something new, she would ask the boy questions with curiosity, and the boy would patiently introduce it one by one.

To be honest, for the boy, traffic lights, mailboxes, and vending machines were just commonplace things. In contrast, the curious Mio was more interesting in his eyes.

"Um--I'm so sorry, it seems like I'm the only one asking questions from now on."

After noticing the boy's gaze, Mio paused somewhat awkwardly.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." The boy shook his head and explained to Mio, "It would be unreasonable to ask you not to be interested in those things when you see them for the first time."

"But you don't seem to be interested in any of those things. You just keep looking at me. Did I say something weird that made you impatient?"

Mio said with an uneasy look on her face.

"There is no such thing."

Seeing that Mio had some misunderstanding, the boy denied it with a wry smile.

"It's true that the things on the street are already common to me. But this doesn't mean that I'm bored or impatient. As for why I've been looking at you..."

"--Um?"

Facing Mio's overly pure and innocent gaze, the boy felt his cheeks inexplicably getting hot, and he turned his head away and answered hesitantly.

"Um...Mio looked so cute. I was so mesmerized without realizing it...I'm sorry."

"I see. That's good."

Seeing that the boy didn't seem disgusted, Mio couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

However, while Mio was relieved, the boy couldn't let it go. He thought he had mustered up the courage to say this, but Mio's indifferent reaction made him feel like he had punched the air.

"Um...even though it may sound weird for me to say this, aren't you angry?"

"Huh? Why?"