Endless Silver Machine

Liuyin was waiting for Aika at the small round table in the courtyard. When she saw him pushing open the door of the mansion and leaving, Liuyin arranged his uniform and walked in front of him.

"My face is really ugly. Did His Holiness the Pope say something?"

"A bit..."

Aika dealt with it hastily. He didn't want Liuyin to know his embarrassment.

"You must have said something self-righteous again."

He is such an easy person to see through... Aika laughed at herself in her heart.

"Next, do you want to visit Ling? Today I specially set aside time to run around with you, so give Xiao Xi to me in return."

"This kind of reward is too expensive! And Wei Xi... it's not up to me to decide..."

"What? I usually behave like Xiao Xi's guardian, but now I'm shrinking."

"Do I usually have that attitude?"

"You talk like you know Xiao Xi very well, how could you know her better than me..." Liuyin should have been angry at this time, but her momentum weakened, "But, occasionally, I mean occasionally... This attitude still helps a little bit.”

"Help? You mean..."

Liuyin, who was walking in front of her, did not turn around because she stopped, so Aika could only stop and face her back.

It's still a sunny day today. The rainy season in the Imperial City is extremely short, and it often passes without noticing.

"Well...didn't you just say that I have something to tell you...I feel like I can say it now..."

Trying to speak in a calm tone, Liuyin still seemed unwilling to face Aika directly to convey this sentence.

Aika still doesn't understand what Liuyin wants to tell her. Of course, a sudden confession is impossible. In addition, it is possible that...

"When I was at Shuoyue Academy, I got angry at you. I'm sorry..." Her little shoulders shrank into a ball, and her voice became smaller and smaller, "And... thank you for what you taught me, Otherwise, Xiao Xi and I... still can't stand together now..."

Aika remembered that half a year ago, when everyone was enrolled in Shimozuki Academy, Liuyin had come to see him alone.

"What happened at that time..." After recalling it, Aika scratched her head in embarrassment, "I seemed to have said something very arrogant..."

"It's very arrogant. You clearly don't understand Xiao Xi or me, but you act like you know everything. I'm very angry."

——I was very angry at that time. Liuyin added.

"But it's because we don't know anything that we can say that. We know everything, and we are trying our best for each other. Because we know everything, we think this is the most appropriate thing to do. No. You know when we started, we have turned our backs on each other and moved farther and farther away from each other through hard work."

"Liuyin..."

Perhaps only by turning his back to him and not looking into his own eyes, Liuyin could speak these words and convey them to the people he once hated without any reservation.

"Anyway, I have to thank you who don't know anything." After saying the words that had been buried in his heart, Liuyin turned around with relief, "Xiao Xi can finally call me 'sister'. I originally I thought I would never have such an opportunity.”

"You really... like Wei Xi..."

"Because she is a sister who doesn't live up to expectations. If no one encourages her, she can't do anything. Besides, I also like the feeling of being relied on."

Liuyin laughed softly. In Aika's impression, this smile of hers had only been shown to Wei Xi.

…………

The sanctuary has a separate room specially set up for the injured who need to rest.

The feeling here is different from that of a hospital ward. The main body is not pure white, but ordinary solid wood floors.

This is more like an ordinary residence than a nursing home.

When Liuyin took Aika to the room where Ling was placed, a medical staff from the nursing home happened to come out of it.

"Lord Liuyin."

He put his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, which seemed to be the way of saluting the Holy See.

"How is she doing?"

"The physical wounds have completely healed, and there are no abnormalities in his brain waves. He has not yet awakened."

It sounds like it's not something you need to worry about, you just need to take time to solve the problem.

"I know, thank you for your hard work."

"yes."

Leaning slightly behind him, the medical staff walked past the two of them.

"You just made people feel like they suddenly grew up."

Aika deliberately put his hand on her little head. Liuyin's body was so young that he could touch her head without raising his arms completely.

But Liuyin was not as docile as Wei Xi. She grabbed Aika's wrist without looking back and stabbed it in hard with her thumb nail.

After Aika let go of her hand reflexively, she immediately let go of Aika.

"Did you learn your lesson?"

"Yes……"

It only left a deep half-moon mark on the wrist, without breaking the skin.

Even so, it still hurts, and if you were carrying a weapon, you would undoubtedly give up your weapon.

Liuyin is different from Wei Xi, who is a barrier master. He is a national magician who directly enters the front line with weapons.

In terms of combat skills alone, she has abilities above the average level of the country's magicians.

Liuyin completely ignored Aika's pain and pushed open the door to the room.

Beside the bed by the window, Ling, who had changed into thin clothes, was still asleep.

The clothes were prepared for her by the Holy See. Her uniform had been washed and dried and folded on the chair next to the bed.

The room was eerily quiet, even the insects chirping outside the window sounded louder than the two people talking.

"How long will you stay here?"

"After Professor Cocona's work is over, we should go back."

"...I just received a notification from above that the investigation of the Nemesis Society has been handed over to another team."

"Because you have to take care of us?"

"How could you give up the mission for such a reason!" Liuyin realized that his voice was too loud, and immediately lowered his voice, "When I went to Cocona's place, the mission was handed over, and getting to you has been delayed for a long time. It’s been a long time.”

Liuyin has always been very busy. She has been involved in the task of tracking down the Nemesis Society. Because Shun, her student, existed in the Imperial City Defense Bureau, the Holy See and the Imperial City Defense Bureau formed a cooperative relationship on the issue of the Nemesis Association.

Suddenly relieved of his heavy burden, Liuyin did not show a very happy expression, rather he felt very complicated.

"Is there going to be nothing to do for a while?"

Aika asked tentatively, Liuyin hesitated for a moment, and then nodded reluctantly.

"I plan to go home and stay for a while. Shun has been staying at the Imperial City Defense Bureau headquarters recently, so he should be back too."

In this case, everyone lives together again.

Aika recalled the unforgettable time when the four of them disturbed Liuyin's mansion for the first time.

“Although it’s relatively free, there is still work, and it feels like ‘just do it if you have time’…”

Liuyin said that she likes to feel dependent, so it is understandable that she would feel unwilling to do so.

"It's a rare holiday. Let's take a good rest. The Pope should also consider this."

"Although this is the case..."

"Wei Xi is also back. Wouldn't you like to spend some time with her during this period?"

"You don't have to worry about..."

In fact, Liuyin has figured out the reason why the task has been reduced, but Aika's attitude makes her unhappy no matter what.

"Since you want to go back, then Ling..."

Aika suddenly thought of this question.

"Do you want to take her back to my house?"

"...Professor Cocona doesn't particularly need us. Wouldn't it be more convenient to take care of her if she is taken home? Everyone is at home."

This proposal is a bit hasty, but Aika's proposal does make some sense. But if there is an emergency, Ling will not be able to get professional help immediately.

"Ask the people here."

Liuyin pressed the button on the bedside, and a moment later, the medical staff she met at the door came to the room.

She explained the situation to the other party, and then got permission to discharge the patient after another detailed examination.

"Is that okay?"

After the other party left, Aika asked quietly.

"You brought it up first, why are you still asking me questions?" Liuyin glanced at him angrily, "Is this 'indecisive'?"

"...Who did you listen to..."

"That's what everyone says."

"Everyone……"

Ling rarely takes the initiative to contact Liuyin. "Everyone" refers to two or more people, so it should refer to Luoluo and Wei Xi...

Although she had heard them say this many times in person, Aika still couldn't admit it.

"The inspection won't take long, what about Cocona? I heard that Shun took the two of them home, and you are here again now, leaving Cocona alone underground?"

"Almost forgot!"

"If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have reminded you..."

"I made an appointment with Professor Cocona to pick her up during dinner. What time is it now?"

"It's just a few minutes until dinner time."

"..."

Aika could only silently take out her PDA and send an apology message to Professor Cocona. The signal should not be received underground, but at least sending it now can be used as a "probation" prop.

…………

After picking up the angry Professor Cocona from the underground of the Imperial City Defense Bureau, she was ready to let the innocent Liu Yin use her body to compensate for her dissatisfaction.

"I'll sit in the passenger seat, and you two can take your time to deal with it."

Only at this time, Aika sent the confused Liuyin and Professor Cocona into the back seats without any hesitation.

"Wait a minute! Why me!"

When he closed the car door for the two of them, Liu Yin suddenly rushed to the car window and started knocking on it.

"Sorry, I don't want this either..."

While Aika was making an unintentional apology, she watched the tearful sound on the car window being dragged into the darkness by Professor Cocona behind her. Her little hand patted the glass a few times, and then gradually lost strength.

Aika, who sat back in the passenger seat, heard the faint sound of "playing" coming from the back seat, and he could only try his best to pretend not to hear it.

"You are really cruel, but you did a great job." Shun started the engine with one hand, "Would you like to turn on the amplification in the back?"

"You are the real cruel one!"

In this way, Professor Cocona will forgive herself.

Choosing to abandon Liuyin for the punishment of dozens of design drawings was a helpless decision.

I believe Liuyin will definitely choose to forgive herself when she communicates with Professor Cocona.

This result is really wonderful, just like a dream. Of course it is an impossible dream.

After getting out of the car, Aika was immediately punished by the exhausted Liuyin.

…………