- A little, think back to the not-so-distant past.

The whistle of the cruise ship sounded leisurely, and the whole land was clear in the distance.

The winding coastline winds around a small circle here, allowing the Mediterranean waves to be tamed by the contours of the earth. The sun is gradually setting in the west, and the golden sky is slowly dyed with a deep cyan. It was not the color of a clear blue sky, but a declaration announcing the arrival of the other half of the hour.

Soon, the heavens and the earth will be enveloped in a silent cyan until they fall into infinite darkness. It's a scenery that anyone can think of that is bound to come.

It's not a tourist destination, so it's unlikely that there will be many tourists, but it is said that most of the tourists come here to see the scenery. This is not incomprehensible, although it is just an ordinary hamlet in southern Italy, and it cannot be compared to the wonders of ancient and magnificent Italian architecture. But there's no denying that the landscape is so beautiful that you can forget the passage of time.

Probably only the very few tourists who have seen this beauty by chance will imprint this small village that has never left a famous name in the world into the depths of their memory.

（…… Let's go. ）

In the sky, there seemed to be a thin layer of clouds, and the brightest stars were already faintly visible. Before I knew it, I had been here all day. If you continue to stay, you probably won't be able to go back.

There were also a few locals on the road hurrying home, and among these people, even acquaintances probably wouldn't recognize themselves.

The blue color of the originally bright sky is getting thicker and thicker. I couldn't help but speed up my pace slightly.

Woo~~~~~~~~~~

Faintly, it seemed that I heard the sound of a whistle in the distance again.

Turn the corner of the artisan bakery you once visited, cross the stone bridge, and walk over the small square. Not far ahead, is the hotel where I have been staying for the past few days.

Suddenly, his vision seemed to be blocked by something, and he couldn't help but wave his arm slightly.

The seabird's feathers crackled and flashed, and it involuntarily closed its eyes to protect its head. After a few moments, calm returned to the surroundings.

The flock of birds spread out to the sides, giving way to the passage at the other end of the stone bridge, and the view slowly opened up with this passage.

At the head of the bridge, there was a young girl.

Holding on to the railing with one hand, the cyan dress seemed to melt into it under the gradually approaching night.

It's like it's weightless, giving people a sense of softness and etherealism.

This is a young girl who should be slightly younger than herself. Her long cloud-like hair hung down to her waist, and her unadorned dress rose and fell in the breeze, and her skin was as clear as solidified snowflakes.

What a stunning peerless beautiful girl.

Even if it's the same sex yourself, your heart seems to be just grabbed by someone.

The girl seemed to notice this, and she slowly turned her gaze towards the somewhat stunned observer.

"Why, you can see me?"

The girl's thin lips opened slightly.

The wind blows and the scattered feathers of seabirds dance with the wind. The cyan is not sad or happy, but it is pressed down with an unstoppable momentum.

The ethereal girl, with slow movements, gently caressed the void that had nothing. At some point, a small card appeared in her hand.

“The_Chariot.”

It was like kneading a piece of silver soft clay, and the silver sharp edge was also in her hand, depicted by her delicate movements.

The moment his consciousness awoke from his surprise, the delicate and warm jade hand was already close in front of him.

Ahem!

Blood spurted from his throat.

The sharp sword made of silver soft mud pierced through his chest in an instant.

Wait, what's going on? What is this?

"I've avoided the point, and I'm not going to die right away. As long as you answer me honestly and answer a few questions, I promise you'll be fine. ”

Like, heard something. What is the content, it seems that I can't listen to it at all. I just know that the voice is so clear and beautiful.

Sure enough, nothing good will happen.

Nothing had happened, but the bad mood was getting darker than the sky at this time. Even if he came to Europe to relax at the suggestion of his teacher, it seemed that it was destined to be useless.

"Aha......"

I didn't know what to say, but I couldn't help but laugh.

Laughing and smiling, there were crystal tears in the corners of his eyes. It's okay, but if you can cry indulgingly, you'll probably feel better.

- No, now is not the time to think about such a thing.

Puff, puff, puff. The same rhythm is starting to get faster and faster.

The background of increasingly thick green is stained with the ethereal outline in front of you. Gradually, it became more and more blurred.

Oops, consciousness ...... It's starting to be unclear. If this continues......

Puff, puff, puff, puff –

Struggling to maintain the last shred of consciousness, he said the last word.

“…… Run......

Tilting her head slightly, the girl seemed to be a little inexplicable about her words. To be honest, even if it's myself, I also feel inexplicable. However, there is no time for explanation.

Because he was attacked, he was injured, and he was very serious. So—

The "monster" sealed in the body is also about to wake up.

So, instead of worrying about herself, she was worried about the girl in front of her.

Poof, poof, poof, squeak—

The unchanging rhythm in his chest turned into the screams of "monsters", and he was making a sound that only he could hear, desperately sucking flesh.

Before consciousness completely disappeared, it felt as if something was distorting around the body.

It's a completely alien feeling that I've never felt before.

_

When I regained consciousness again, I found myself lying among the flowers.

Why is the world so red when night falls?

The wind was blowing whirring, but there was not a hint of coolness. On the contrary, it is scorching hot.

Because the earth is burning.

Originally, it would have been impossible for such a dense flower to grow on the ground paved with stone slabs, and it would have been impossible for it to burn. I can explain the former, but I can't understand the latter.

No, it would be more correct to say that even the former cannot be fully explained.

Aren't you supposed to be on the stone bridge? From here, upwards, you can indeed see the traces of the bridge piers from the broken walls on both sides. But if you look at the last fragments of consciousness that remain, what you see now should not be just remnants.

Listening to the chirping of seabirds, I tried to turn my mind that was not quite sober.

At this moment, a figure came into view.

In the flames, the lightly decorated garments unsurprisingly turned to ashes. However, it did not leave the slightest scar on the girl's body. The flames that had dyed the sky crimson could not even hurt a single hair of her.

The wind subsided, but the heat was far away. The girl's long hair spread out and gently wrapped around her naked body. The white skin seemed to shimmer in the light of the fire.

It's a shame that with such a beautiful body, even everything will be ashamed of it.

Since there is still room for such a feeling, it undoubtedly proves one thing to some extent.

"Can you answer me a few questions now?"

This time, I heard the girl's words quite clearly. At the same time, one thing was understood.

Ahhh Even the "monster" sealed in the body lost this time.

Forget it, that's fine.

The thin sword made of silver soft clay is close in front of you, delicate and light. But in fact, no matter how much effort you try, you probably won't break, right? Although it is an arbitrary judgment, the truth should not be far off. Otherwise, how could it be possible to defeat the "monster" with such a delicate weapon? What an amazing sword.

Oops, oops, sure enough, I started to think cranky again.

Forget it, it doesn't matter. Anyway, that's the end of it.

The only regret is that I didn't be able to apologize to my friends in the end. But if I really think about it, that kind of hypocritical apology might be better not to say it.

With a wry smile, he quietly raised his head and completely imprinted the person in front of him into his vision.

That spotless nudity is just wonderful. It should be a blessing to be able to enjoy such a work of art before dying. The only pity is that it would be nice if I were a man. Because for men, it is really enough to smile at the beautiful scenery of Jiuquan at a glance......

As soon as he thought so, he heard the maiden say:

"It's really my fault for attacking me without permission, I seem to have misunderstood something. I'm willing to apologize for this, I'll compensate you later, anything. Before you do, though, you'll need to answer a few questions, albeit differently than you had originally intended. First of all, what's really going on with your body? ”

There was no longer any hostility in those words.

Well, what a surprise. It seems that all the previous cranky thoughts were too much for themselves. Although I can't agree with the girl's approach no matter how I think about it, at least, it's just a subtle misunderstanding.

However, I somewhat understand the girl in front of me.

It's really interesting. Although it gave people a mysterious and ethereal feeling before, at this time it also looks like a girl of the same age as her appearance. couldn't help it, and some thoughts of wanting to tease her arose.

"You stupid woman who is too straightforward."

“？”

The girl tilted her head slightly, apparently puzzled by what she had just said.

"Don't just promise compensation without knowing what kind of person the other person is. Otherwise, if I am a man and I want your body, are you going to give it too? ”

The girl frowned, and even the negative expression unexpectedly matched her. After all, it's a beauty that matches each other no matter what you do, right? It's really easy to understand.

"That's not right! I'm sorry that doesn't work. In any case, I don't want to give my body to someone else right now......"

As a result, the girl, who had taken a moment to react, suddenly blushed and became a little flustered. She even took a few steps back, covering her chest with her hands.

"Hey, you really answered? Sober up, I'm also a woman, okay! Hawkers, although it doesn't seem to be so safe for the same sex now. ”

It seems that he must have taken the wrong medicine this morning.

Rolling his eyes, the red of the flames had receded. At this time, what caught my eye was the inky night sky that even the blue had begun to fade.

Although it is inky, it has a bright look, like a dream. Lying on top of a small square paved with remnants of flowers, the sky seemed as narrow as seen from the bottom of a well.

Roll your eyes again and cast your gaze on the girl in front of you.

When the light of the fire dimmed, the beautiful white and crystalline carcass of the sword-wielding girl was so dazzling that even the priceless paintings in the museum would be eclipsed in front of her.

I moved my body a little and didn't notice any problems. Logically speaking, this is simply not possible. However, it is probably the girl in front of her who kindly did something. Now, I won't think of this girl as an ordinary person anymore (but the other party is probably the same).

Ahh I understand why I have such gentle and intimate thoughts.

It's because she can defeat the "monsters" that inhabit her body, so she won't pose a threat to her.

It's just such a simple reason, but it has never been achieved. And this reason, which was never reached, she achieved.

Get up, then stand. Perhaps because the conversation had more or less dispelled the tension, the girl did not guard against her actions.

Of course, it is also possible to weigh that she is not likely to pose a threat to her. In short, no matter what the reason, I can finally stand here with a relatively normal attitude.

Think about it, what did the girl say before the topic was completely pulled away by herself?

By the way, she seems to say, how many questions do you want to ask yourself?

Well, got it. So—

"Tell me about your problem, but I can't guarantee that I'll tell the truth. And the conversation is equivalent, and before that I want you to answer a few of my questions, and I'll take this request as compensation. ”

After a brief pause, the girl nodded slightly.

"Why would you agree?"

For a moment, I guess I showed a troubled and complicated expression. It's just casual talk, but it's an alternative kind of sky-high offer. There is no reason for such an enigmatic girl to agree to such a request. With this view, I didn't expect to get a positive answer at all.

The girl shook her head slowly.

"I don't know. If you really want to talk about the reason, it probably ...... It's because you just cried. ”

“……”

The residual fragrance of the remaining flowers was soon dispersed by the evening breeze; The inky night sky will soon be completely darkened; Just as the sound of the tide is destined to gradually recede, and the crescent moon as sharp as a knife will eventually hang high in the sky, this is all predestined.

Tonight, though, is more or less different.

Silently, thick clouds piled up in the sky, and the wind became stronger.

As if weeping, raindrops poured down from the sky.