Endless Silver Machine

"Let's make a deal, Aika-san..."

Hearing this, Luoluo only had one thought in his mind.

——Don’t promise him! Be sure not to agree to him!

After leaving the classroom, she couldn't imagine where Aika would go to contact Liuyin, but it must be a place that was not easy to find.

Following habit, Luoluo walked to the rooftop where he usually eats lunch with his classmates.

Before walking up one flight of stairs, the boy's voice could be heard faintly from upstairs.

This narrow staircase is located in the corner of the corridor, and the sound of voices can be amplified by reflections from the walls.

Luoluo was about to turn around and leave, but she could immediately distinguish one of the voices even if it was just vague.

She walked lightly to a corner where she would not be noticed by the people upstairs. Their voices could be heard clearly.

Then, she learned that Aika and Brad were hiding the deal they made without permission.

"I know, I'm going to convince Luoluo..."

At this moment, Luoluo's heart beat violently.

At that time, she didn't notice that this was the outflow of her uncontrolled emotions.

She simply escaped from the hiding place because she could not accept the decision that Aika made for her without authorization.

…………

Aika hurried back to the classroom, and was lectured by instructor Letika who passed by.

He looked around his seat. Ling and Qiu Ke were talking about something, while Wei Xi was lying on the table with the sun shining in, sleeping with her arms on her pillow.

Only Luoluo's seat is empty now.

"Ling, Qiu Ke, do you know where Luo Luo went?"

"You're back," Ling, who was struggling to find a topic to delay, finally breathed a sigh of relief, "She seemed to have gone out just now."

"Didn't you say where you were going?"

"Probably...what's wrong? Is there anything wrong with being so anxious?"

"What happened?"

Ling originally wanted to say whether she would go to the bathroom, but Aika looked like she had something to hide.

Qiu Ke didn't know why Aika rushed into the classroom out of breath.

By chance, Teacher Letika walked into the classroom at this time.

"...We'll talk about it later."

Aika could only sit back in her seat temporarily, wondering if Luoluo would be back soon.

The heartache I felt just now could only be Luoluo's mood.

The timing would have been too coincidental if it wasn't for hearing the conversation between himself and Brad.

How to explain to Luoluo...

Aika's thoughts were confused by a jumble of things, and she could only count the time to wait.

As a result, Luoluo did not return to the classroom until the end of get out of class.

…………

After class, Aika asked instructor Letika.

"Did she take leave?"

"I thought you should know since you live together."

"...Thank you, Teacher Letika."

I learned from Instructor Letika that Lolo used this reason to go home early.

Aika sent a text message to her PDA but received no reply.

"Do you want to go back?"

"That's all. I'll go back and take a look."

After briefly explaining to Ling, Aika immediately left the school building.

They originally wanted to go back together, but Aika asked them to have lunch at the "Moonlight Bath" first.

If it was really as he thought, it would be better to face Luo Luo alone.

After all, this was my own decision to make for Luo Luo, and explaining it to her was also part of my responsibility.

Rushing back to the administrator's cabin from the school building, I felt the same time as last night.

Seeing Luoluo's shoes at the entrance, Aika stood there and took a breath.

At least she got home safe and sound.

No... I don't know if everything is safe or not.

There was no one in the hall, and everything on the table remained in the same position as when they left it in the morning.

Aika threw her bag on the table in the hall and walked upstairs without even taking off her uniform.

I knocked on the door several times, but there was no response as usual.

The door was locked as a matter of course, and you couldn't get in just by turning the handle.

If it was just a simple physical discomfort, Luo Luo would not lock himself in the room at all.

Aika could only give up the forced entry and knocked on the door again.

"Luoluo, it's me, are you awake now?"

He couldn't knock gently, there was no point in doing otherwise.

This level of knocking on the door will wake you up even if you are asleep.

"You heard it, right? I felt your mood at that time. I just want to explain it to you now. Can you open the door first?"

If she was really feeling unwell, Aika could only apologize afterwards.

Rather than trivial matters like that, the first thing to do is to let Luo Luo listen to him.

Surprisingly, just when Aika was about to knock for the second time, there was a "click" sound of unlocking the door.

Aika withdrew her hand and the door in front of her opened from the inside.

Luoluo, still wearing his uniform, stood behind the door. His lowered eyes were not looking at Aika, but at the snow-white wall on one side.

"I'm sorry, brother...it's true that I don't feel well..."

She did not deny that she heard Aika and Brad's conversation.

I don't know if it's because he was lying on the bed without changing out of his uniform, but his shirt is slightly wrinkled.

Even though the long eyelashes covered her eyes, Aika had already guessed the reason why she had to do this through this covering behavior.

"Sorry, I will explain it to you carefully. Don't stand here yet."

"Um……"

Luoluo obediently turned around and returned to the room, leaving the door open to Aika.

Her back looked a little tired. Aika hesitated to help her sit on the bed, but finally gave up.

He sat on the chair in front of Luo Luo's desk. He had already thought about what things Luo Luo needed to know on the way back.

"Luoluo, where did you start listening?"

"...When Brad-san put forward that condition..."

It was already the end of the conversation, so Aika first told Luoluo the information Liuyin had conveyed to him.

Luoluo sat quietly by the bed, half-listening. She still didn't look directly into Aika's eyes, so Aika didn't know her mood now.

"The condition Brad proposed, to be honest, I did take advantage of you. The biggest problem now is immigration, and the condition he proposed is not too harmful to us..."

"...Brother, do you think this doesn't matter?"

It wasn't until Luoluo said such a brief sentence that Aika finally confirmed her mood.

That was also the problem he needed to face head-on, how to make Luo Luo accept it and eliminate this suppressed dissatisfaction.

Just let her accept, not understand, Aika believes that Luoluo will not misunderstand his intentions.

I don't want her to be in danger, I don't want her to be hurt... These words have become weak after experiencing so many events.

"For me, his request can just solve my problem, so I will accept it. If I don't use you as a bargaining chip, everything will be impossible, so I must apologize to you."

"..."

"And... just like Senior Sister Lilith, her parents asked her to stay at Shimozuki Academy. If she stays here..."

"Brother, is it because I don't have the talents of Sister Ling and Xiao Xi that I'm so troubled?"

Aika was dumbfounded. He had indeed made such a comparison, but speaking to Luo Luo in person was too cruel.

"...This is not a question of talent. Your magic is stronger than any of us, and you can also use healing magic. In terms of talent, you will not lose to anyone. But if you also take into account the support of magic equipment It’s a different matter.”

Aika was not trying to deal with Luo Luo, he really thought so, so he could say it with a clear conscience.

If Orchid Heart can respond to Luo Luo, this balance can be broken immediately.

But ever since it stopped the rampage of the Light Flame Sword, Orchid Heart fell into silence once again.

Until now, no one knows what the true ability of Orchid Heart is.

"The magic costume my mother gave me was not a decoration...it was just because I rejected her."

"I know that without the Orchid Heart, there is no way to prevent Ling from being recaptured from the Light Flame Sword. But, why did you say that you rejected her?"

Aika always thought that Orchid Heart did not respond to Luoluo's call, but Luoluo said that the reason was himself.

Luoluo reached behind his neck and untied the necklace around his neck.

The water-blue teardrop-shaped gem flows with a color as blue as Lolo's long hair.

"Brother, you should have heard the name of Orchid Heart's ability."

Only once, on the night when he stopped the Light Flame Sword, Aika heard Lolo say the words to activate the magic suit.

After that, she never said the name of that ability again.

"...'Absolute royal power'?"

Taken literally, this ability name exudes a very dangerous aura.

Moreover, the atmosphere is completely opposite to Luoluo's own personality.

"Well, is this the name of that ability? Orchid Heart told me in my heart."

Luoluo's way of explanation can only be understood by users of magic equipment.

There is no specific way to use the magic equipment's ability, but you can understand everything about it very naturally from the bottom of your heart.

"Its ability is to force others to obey my orders..."

So at that time, she calmed down the Light Flame Sword with just one word...

Even though it was only explained in a very simple way, Aika already understood the horror of this ability.

Luoluo's words are the king's words, and all subjects must obey them unconditionally.

"You can really just take it literally..."

It was obviously a very powerful ability, but Luoluo's expression did not contain the slightest sense of pride, but seemed to be avoiding something taboo.

"I hate this ability. It's so weird to change other people's minds casually!"

Her tears overflowed with her trembling body, not only because of her disgust at the forbidden ability, but also because she was even afraid of her own ability.

"I don't know when it will happen. The people around me become what I imagined. Even if my mind has been changed, I won't notice it!"

She held Orchid Heart tightly in her hands, covering her face and crying.

The silver hanging chain was stained with her tears and dripped from the curved bottom onto her legs.

"This kind of ability...I don't want it at all...I never said it out loud..."

If it's just an ordinary necklace, just throw it away when you can't accept it.

But this is a gift given to me by my mother, and I can't let it go easily even if it is soaked in tears.

"The ability of Orchid Heart was already activated when I lost my memory. Because I wanted to escape from reality, I forgot everything except my brother's things..."

It was an attachment that could not be severed, a short week that was engraved in the memories of the two of them like poison.

"In that case, if I tell my brother that I want you to fall in love with me, it will become an order..."

Luoluo raised his head. Since the tears have already been shed, there is no need to hide the red eyes.

Even though this was a look she thought was unsightly, she couldn't get Aika's answer without looking into his eyes.

Even if the answer was only superficially true, Lolo wanted to know.

"Brother, do you really like me?"

Aika finally understood that all Luoluo's actions in "Mystis" were just to confirm this answer.

Whether it was her excited expression in the intensive care unit, or coming to the boy's room late at night and calling herself to the deck to talk at night, it was all to conceal her true purpose.

Luoluo is also a fragile girl. Aika always forgets this unconsciously and takes her strength in front of him for granted.

That night on the deck bathed in moonlight, Aika did not warm Lolo with a hug, but instead she smiled with relief.

The smile that seemed incomprehensible at the time is now filled with helplessness and sadness.

--Very good……

At that time, there was only the struggle in desire in her mind, and Aika only vaguely remembered what she said at that time.

Since she wanted to prove whether her feelings were affected by the "absolute royal power", all she had to do was do something she didn't want.

At that time, I had already proved it to her with reason. So now, is she still pursuing this answer?

No, this time is different from that time. There is no need to ponder her thoughts now.

The so-called fragility is just a flaw that can be repaired with the cheapest adhesive.

This is not to belittle her feelings, but to understand what she really needs.

Perhaps, the current self should be grateful for the simplicity of the past.

So now I can answer her question.

Of course, not just worthless words, but showing her with actions...

——Show how much you cherish her and how much you value her.

When they embraced their fragile bodies, their emotions were once again connected through the magical path.

Heart-to-heart communication is transmitted to each other through the connected bodies.

The cheapest adhesive is not worthless, everything has its own special value.

But its value will only appear irresistible to those who need it.

This afternoon, no one will come to the caretaker's cabin to disturb you.

The relationship that had been questioned and fragmented in the past was finally repaired at this moment.

…………