Endless Silver Machine

The meeting place sent by Tiruya-senpai was not far from Shigezuki Academy. It did not enter the business district, but was located in a small cafe nearby. Ling walked all the way here, and after opening the door, she immediately saw senior Lucia's red hair that was like dancing flames.

"Hey, good afternoon."

Tirua-senpai, who raised her head, raised her hand slightly and said hello to Ling who was walking towards her.

Tirua-senpai is now wearing winter casual clothes, and the atmosphere she exudes is completely different from when she was wearing Shigezuki Academy uniform. In the eyes of people around her, maybe she is just a sister here waiting for her sister.

"Good afternoon, Tylua-senpai..."

This is the first time that Ling and Senior Tiruya have met in such a private setting since they entered school. She knew in her heart why Tirua-senpai requested this meeting, so she was confused about what attitude she should take.

On the way here, Ling simulated various ways in his mind, but none of them satisfied him. However, when I saw Tirua-senpai for the first time, the name she was accustomed to being called in the "Discipline Team" blurted out.

Pulling out the chair, Ling sat across from senior Tiruya.

"Can regular afternoon tea be okay?"

"OK……"

Tiruya-senpai placed an additional order from the waiter who came over, and the money for the cup was charged to her account.

It was always Tiruya-senpai who spoke first, so Ling could only choose to follow her wishes. Before entering Shimozuki Academy, Ling always thought that Tiruya was the same age as him and never thought that she would be his senior.

That's why Ling is so entangled in his attitude now. In the "Discipline Team", Tylua-senpai treats herself and other team members equally, and Ling cannot see through her thoughts at all.

During the period when the winter vacation was approaching, I kept looking for excuses to avoid the invitations that Senior Tiruya sent out from time to time after the training camp because at that time, I was not mentally prepared.

"Thanks……"

The steaming tea cup was delivered to Ling's table by the waiter.

"How do you feel about the 'Discipline Team'?"

Tiluya stirred the small spoon in her cup and looked at Ling.

"Nothing to be dissatisfied with..."

"That's good if you think so. To be honest, someone has applied to withdraw from the 'Discipline Team' before. Except for the incident at the end of the semester, the rest of the semester has been passed safely. But once there is a need for us, the burden will not be ordinary. It’s so heavy that it’s hard for some people to stick to it. It would be great if you could keep this kind of thinking.”

Senior Tiruya still had her usual attitude, as if she was just the senior who was patiently enlightening the junior.

Ling began to doubt the significance of this meeting. Did you call yourself here just to confirm this kind of thing? She tried hard to suppress the anxiety in her heart.

"Tirua-senpai."

"Um?"

"Why do you want to serve as the vice president of the student union and the leader of the 'Discipline Section' at the same time? Isn't this very hard?"

"Haha, many people have asked me this question." Senior Tiruya smiled, "Actually, there is no particularly noble reason. The leader of the 'Discipline Team' must be a second-year student. This is not right. Written rules. The person who was originally expected to be the team leader because of her ability was a friend who was in the same class as me. After serving for a period of time, she felt the pressure was too great, so she came to me for discussion. So. I temporarily took over this task on her behalf, and I didn’t expect that I would have to do it for more than a year.”

"If you say so, senior sister, you..."

"But everyone knows that I am only the nominal leader. If I find someone suitable for this position, I can safely educate that useless president."

"Am I the only one who doesn't know?"

"Maybe so."

Ling didn't know what to say next.

Tiruya might no longer be the leader of the "Discipline Team" at any time, which should have made him breathe a sigh of relief. But where does this feeling of blockage in the chest come from?

"I……"

"Let's not talk about work today, let's talk about other things." Senior Sister Tiluya changed the topic, "You should also have something you want to ask, right?"

The shop was so quiet that it seemed like there were only two people left. The small spoon touched the edge of the tea cup and made a crisp sound.

Tirua-senpai gave Ling the opportunity to start. The days of wondering each other's thoughts have finally come to an end.

…………

When Aika and Wei Xi said goodbye to Senior Lilith in the big library, the night had already begun to fall on the horizon.

Not a single light came through the windows of the caretaker's cabin.

"Aren't they back yet? It's almost dinner time."

Aika inserted the key into the keyhole, took the lead into the dark hall, and turned on the light. Wei Xi, who came in later, arranged her boots and Aika's shoes at the entrance.

"I suddenly had an interesting idea."

"Brother Aika?"

"The two of us will make dinner today and give them a surprise!"

"But, Brother Aika, you don't have any experience..."

"So..." Aika bowed her head towards Wei Xi solemnly, "I will be responsible for the physical work. Wei Xi, I leave my guidance to you."

"Eh... eh eh eh!"

Wei Xi's thinking was short-circuited again.

"Well... although I don't know how to cook at all, I just do a little chore every time... I don't know how much ingredients should be put in. I can't move the pot filled with water, and I can't hold the knife steadily..."

The more Wei Xi talked, the more frustrated she became. Her inherent inferiority complex was infinitely amplified at this time.

"So, I'll do it. You just need to tell me what I should do." Aika touched her head and asked her to lift it up. "We'll start after changing clothes." Bar."

"Okay, okay, please give me more advice..."

"I am the one, please give me some advice...Pfft!"

After the two said this face to face, an awkward feeling arose spontaneously. Aika couldn't help laughing, Wei Xi's face turned redder and she buried her head deeply.

"Then I'll go back to the room first."

"..."

Wei Xi silently followed Aika to the second floor, and the two of them walked into different rooms.

…………

"I don't have my apron..."

Standing in front of the cooking table, Aika discovered this problem.

Wei Xi's apron is the one she wore at Liuyin's house before, with a little yellow duck pattern woven on the chest.

"Forget it, let's just do it like this." Aika originally found it troublesome to wear an apron, "What should we do first?"

Wei Xi was taking out vegetables and meat wrapped in ice from the freezer and placing them in the basket next to her.

"Thaw the meat in water first..." She held the whole piece of meat in her hands, "It's so cold!"

My hand accidentally slipped, and the whole piece of meat fell into a bowl filled with water, and most of the water inside splashed out.

Fortunately, Wei Xi was wearing an apron now, otherwise her clothes would have been soaked.

"Is it okay..."

"Yeah, sorry!"

She didn't bother to wring out her apron, but quickly wiped the water stains on the table with a rag.

"Take it off first."

"Eh?"

"Take off your apron and dry it first. I'll clean it up here."

"No! This is my mistake..."

"Then put it here first. You can dry the clothes first and then pack them up."

Aika gave in.

"……sorry."

Wei Xi repeated it in a low voice and untied her apron that was splashed. The caretaker's cabin was not equipped with a special device for drying clothes, so it had to be hung next to the central heater. The area soaked by water is not large and it only takes a few minutes to dry out.

Instead, Wei Xi put on Luo Luo's apron.

Luoluo's apron was a bit too long for her, and it made it even more difficult to move around after wearing it.

"You wash and peel the vegetables, and I'll cut the meat."

It was already doomed that it would be impossible to cook as sumptuous dinner as usual for the rest of the evening, and we were short on manpower, so we just kept it simple.

"I will make sure I don't make any mistakes again..."

"Take your time. Ling and Luoluo just responded to my text messages. They will be back around seven o'clock, there is still an hour."

"OK……"

Wei Xi stroked a strand of hair hanging down with the back of her hand.

Aika's kitchen knife fell on the chopping board, and the tapping sounds of varying degrees of severity continued to come from beside her, echoing in her ears.

With this as an accompaniment, Wei Xi showed a faint smile.

…………

Within the expected time, Ling and Luoluo returned home one after another.

The dinner prepared by Aika and Wei Xi was beyond their expectations. In Ling's words, when they received a text message from Aika asking when they would be back, they all thought it was Aika and Wei Xi who were about to faint from hunger and sent a "distress signal", so they sped up their return.

While Ling and Luoluo went back to the room to change clothes, Aika and Wei Xi put the dinner that had been prepared on the table.

"Abby and Xixi invited me to play in the southern part of the imperial capital during the winter vacation. Both of their homes are there." Luoluo told the dinner table what happened after being taken away by two friends in the afternoon, "And let me I’ll help ask Sister Ling if she has time to come together.”

"I still have time, but..."

Luoluo and Ling looked at the two people who were excluded from the invitation at the same time.

"I asked them at that time if my brother and Xiao Xi could come together. They said that if you two don't have separate arrangements, you can come together." Luoluo's eyes were very complicated, "Brother, Xiao Xi, between you two Is there something you are hiding from us..."

"Abby and Xixi should know, Luoluo, didn't you ask on the spot?"

As soon as Ling heard this statement, he immediately understood something.

"I want to hear my brother say it himself."

Luoluo looked straight at Aika.

The movements of Aika and Wei Xi's hands stopped unnaturally.

"Actually it is……"

"Brother Aika."

"Um."

Wei Xi took a deep breath. She had already thought about what she wanted to say a few hours ago.

After listening to Wei Xi's explanation of the incident, Ling and Luo Luo were completely speechless. Going abroad is not a trivial matter, and Aika and Wei Xi will have to live in a foreign country for a month without any support. There were so many things to complain about, and they had no idea where to start.

"Just like Wei Xi said, if we go to the Tebiri Kingdom, we won't be able to accompany you during the entire winter vacation."

"The Tebiri Kingdom is also being rebuilt now, right? Remember, their rebuilding speed is not as fast as that of the Bisi Empire. There should still be many inconveniences..."

"Hey, is that so?"

"The reconstruction speed is indeed not as fast as that of the Bisi Empire..." Wei Xi confirmed Ling's words, "However, all normal life problems have been solved long ago, so there should be nothing to worry about..."

"What about money? Going abroad requires a lot of money, right?"

"This, Shuoyue Academy will provide..."

Wei Xi gave reasonable solutions to the problems that Ling was worried about.

"Xiao Xi, you..."

"I'm sorry, I'm here to ask for your help." Aika also bowed his head to Luoluo and Ling, "Although from the perspective of safety, Ling is more suitable than me. In terms of life, I am not as good as Luoluo. But , since Wei Xi has come to ask me for help, I don’t want to disappoint her.”

Saying such words in front of Wei Xi herself, Aika felt like her face was on fire. But he had already promised that he would work with her to persuade Luoluo and Ling. So now I must put down my dignity and tell them what I am thinking.

"If you can only be accompanied by one person, it would be more convenient to have a boy..."

Ling's words basically agreed to their request.

"Wait a minute!" Luoluo discovered a blind spot in his thinking, "The exchange study only starts in February, so if you go before then, you don't have to be subject to the academy's number limit, right?"

"That's right..."

Aika was speechless for a moment.

"But what about Abby and Xixi's invitation? Do you want to refuse?"

Ling reminded Luo Luo, she had just forgotten this in the excitement.

"this……"

"I personally think it's not a good choice to change my mind after agreeing."

"..."

Silence fell on the table again. As the person involved, Wei Xi looked at the faces of the three people alternately. She had already thought about this situation, but she didn't expect that it would be so painful when she actually faced it. She opened her mouth slightly, but nothing came out.

"There's nothing we can do about it..."

In the end, Luoluo had no choice but to agree to Aika and Wei Xi's too bold decision.

"But," she added a condition, "brother, Xiao Xi, if something happens that neither of us can solve, you must contact us immediately. The idea of ​​'taking a gamble' is absolutely not allowed, do you understand? "

“My sister’s words will definitely be kept in mind.”

"Luoluo, sister Ling, don't worry! I will take good care of brother Aika and will never let him take risks!"

After getting the consent of Luoluo and Ling, Wei Xi finally relaxed.

What she was most worried about did not happen. If it really turned into that situation, she would make up her mind to reject Principal Phyllis's request.

…………

The next day, Aika and Wei Xi came to the principal's office together. After confirming Aika's thoughts, Principal Phyllis briefly explained a few things to note before letting them leave.

The departure date was set for the last day of December, four days later. It is estimated that it will take a day to travel to the Tebiri Kingdom by airship from the neutral area.

With the help of Luoluo and Ling, Aika and Wei Xi prepared the things they must bring to live in the Tebiri Kingdom. After that, the two of them immediately followed Abby and Xixi to the Southern District of the Imperial Capital.

In the remaining days, Aika was forced to learn some basic knowledge about airships and magic ships due to Professor Cocona's mandatory requirements. Professor Cocona insists that humans should not get into machines they do not understand.

With the experience of making dinner together for the first time, plus the fact that Luoluo and Ling were not at home these days, the "Moonlight Bath" was closed, and the two had to prepare three meals by themselves. The efficiency of Aika and Wei Xi's cooperation has improved a lot compared to before.

In the first few days, Luoluo contacted Aika no less than three times a day. This was the first time that my brother was in a place that he couldn't reach and could only find a sense of peace of mind from his words.

During the phone call with Luoluo, Aika repeatedly promised that if there were any problems, she would contact her proactively, which made Luoluo's contact frequency decrease.

This year is coming to an end. Looking back on the past year, it is no exaggeration to say that it has been very fulfilling. Along the way, everyone stopped and walked, bumped and supported each other. What I gained during this year was not only profound memories, but also growth, both physically and mentally.

Although we are separated in two places during the New Year's Eve, our hearts are still connected to each other.

So convinced.