"What's wrong with you, with an expression that you have been sent to death by your superiors and have to succumb." Aina sat elegantly on the sofa and said to Lie opposite.

"Lord Lie, please use it." The head maid brought the poured coffee to Lie, and then brought another cup to Zero.

It's been three days since I made an agreement with the Mistress of the Machine Spirit, and Lie has been going to school normally during this time, and at the same time visiting everywhere in his spare time.

At this time, Lie was lying there with his back against the sofa, as if he was very tired, and he was really a soldier assigned to send him to death. It's just that it is not the superior who is assigned to the spirit, but the mistress of the machine spirit.

…

Time goes back to three days ago, when Lie and the hostess of the machine spirit were talking in the pavilion.

She just stayed in the spirit world of Lie for a while, and soon came out... But as she said, the small actions had been completed in a very short time, and Lie was still unable to stop it despite being very vigilant.

"What did you do?" Lie looked at her with a cloudy face... Since the machine spirit said that it would not be fatal, it should not be fatal, and what can be done in such a short period of time?

"What is this?" Lie used the soul network to search in his spiritual world several times, especially the place where she had appeared after she came in, and sure enough, he found something unusual.

"Sigils?" Lie was surprised... The only thing that is out of the ordinary, just a mark?

She looked at Lie with a smile and a word, as if she was waiting for something.

Lie closed his eyes and concentrated on manipulating the soul network, trying to clear this mark... It's not the first time that she has been marked, and it's not the first time that she has cleared the mark.

“…”

Lie's face soon became ugly... After the soul network was touched, not only did it not become clear quickly, but it absorbed a trace of its own soul network, which became more complicated.

"I call this ...", she spoke, in a soft voice, "Control the sigil." ”

"Well, I'm afraid I can't understand it just by explaining it, so let's feel it directly." She sat across from Lie and snapped her fingers slightly.

“…”

"Pain~!"

Lie's eyes widened suddenly, and an indescribable pain began to appear in his head, and soon spread throughout his body.

"Yo~, can't you stand it?" She put her arms on the table and said calmly, "It's just the beginning." ”

"Pain~! It hurts~! ”

Lie clutched his stomach and fell straight from his seat, doubling the indescribable pain.

"So, what about a little more intense?" Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to laugh, but slightly distorted... Lie was in pain, unable to observe too clearly.

"Poof~"

A mouthful of blood spit out, Lie lay on the ground, his arms clutched tightly on the stone table, trying to relieve some pain, but he directly smashed the stone table.

With a "bang~", the ground was hammered violently, causing a lot of damage, but it failed to alleviate the pain.

"Whew~"

Suddenly, the pain disappeared, and Lie suddenly felt much more relaxed, sitting on the ground gasping for breath.

"Could it be that..."Lie's face was quite ugly, and he was speechless, "What kind of mark is this, similar to the 'Tightening Mantra'?" ”

"If only you understood." Condescendingly, she still sat there, leaning over to look at Lie lying on the ground, like a king.

Oops, it's really bad now, lie lying there looking at the ground, things are really out of control... If it goes on like this, it's not about becoming hers...

Lie raised her head, and she seemed to have become some kind of insurmountable existence, looking up at herself.

"No, there must be something wrong!" Lie couldn't believe that he would plant this kind of mark so easily, there must be some limits!

The pain was gone, and Ryu got up from the ground and sat there again. Gazing at eye level, Lie stared at her expression, trying to see some flaws.

"You can't be wiped out directly through the sigil." She spoke again: "Just being able to make you feel pain is really not fatal. ”

“…”

Is this what the so-called non-lethal means? If I continue like this, how can I trust you, machine spirit?

Probably feeling Lie's mood at this time, the machine spirit did not react, and seemed to be hiding.

"Don't worry, this is just an extra layer of protection for the agreement..."She raised her head and said with a chuckle, "A layer of protection that can guarantee Lie's obedience." ”

“…”

Hey, this is already serious, okay?

"Come with me." The mistress snapped her fingers again, and Lie disappeared into the pavilion with her.

In the blink of an eye, Lie came to a strange and familiar space... It's strange because Lie hasn't been here a few times, and it's familiar because this is the internal space of the artifact.

Well, to be specific, it was created by the Mistress of the Machine Spirit in the space inside the artifact... Family?

No, the palace to be exact, she's really full of desire to conquer... Lie looked around, this place was in a mysterious space, and there was no boundary in sight.

Some ornate ornamental thrones existed, and she did not hesitate to sit on them, and if she wore a crown, she would be more like a monarch.

"Ahem, it's actually pretty good here." Lie coughed twice and continued: "At the beginning, we were in a hostile state and wanted to destroy the other party, so it is normal to imprison you here, but it is already very light. ”

Lie believes that if she had obtained a higher authority than herself, she would have suffered a long time ago, where would she need so many things?

"As agreed," the Mistress of the Machine Spirit spoke again, "on the condition that you give yourself to me... Now, whether you want it or not, you have to do it. ”

“…”

Lie closed his eyes, and from the beginning he knew, he had been trying to erase the mark she had left in his spiritual world, but it had no effect.

"Don't be busy, if you want to eliminate it on your own, it's impossible without a few months of effort." The Mistress of the Machine Spirit said, "And in a few months, what I want you to do is probably done." ”

“…”

Yeol stopped talking, but looked at her, waiting for the following.

The mistress of the machine spirit did not sell the guanzi, and with a wave of her hand, a light gate appeared not far from the spirit... An erected oval with a circle of light around it and a swirl in the middle, which doesn't know where it leads.

"This light gate leads to another world, all Lie needs to do is walk in and live according to my instructions."

“…”

It's as simple as that? Lie had already sensed that although the Mistress of the Machine Spirit was as arrogant as before, she had changed a lot, and it would not be so simple to think about doing so many things just to let herself go to another world.

Could it be that there are many existences in that world that they can't compete with, and they will definitely die if they enter it? It is not impossible to destroy herself by such means, with her character.

"Don't worry," the Mistress of the Machine Spirit tilted her head and said softly, "It's not a terrible place on the other side of the Light Gate... Rather, it's a place that Lie hopes for. ”

“？？”

Lie became more and more confused about what she was going to do.

"Okay, when the winter break begins, Lie will come here, and I'll open the door." The mistress of the machine spirit said, "Now, you can go." ”

“…”

Lie didn't have time to think about it anymore, so he took a step back and left the space, returning directly to his room where he lived.

When Lie was gone, the Mistress of the Machine Spirit was still sitting on the throne, stunned.

"Poof~"

In less than a minute, blood flowed from the corners of the Mistress Spirit's mouth, and she seemed to be extremely painful.

The machine spirit appeared, but it was very different from the machine spirit that appeared next to Lie... Although the appearance is identical, this machine spirit looks even more... Serious?

That's right, it's serious, and it's completely different from the machine spirit next to Lie who exudes an aura of trouble.

"The machine spirit should not have commented on any of the hostess's actions, but...", the machine spirit helped her up, and continued, "If you do this, if the man finds out, the situation may be out of control." ”

“…”

She looked at her hands, waited until she felt better, and then stepped down from the throne and into the open space that had been prepared early in the morning. Several magic arrays had been inscribed here, and with her arrival, they gradually shone light.

"Pain sharing—" As she stepped into the magic circle, the light gradually flooded her.

"The reason why the mark placed by the hostess can be completed quickly under the protection of the male host is that it is not a mark for control at all, but a shared sense of pain... In other words, when the man or the woman is hurt, they will pass on some of them to the other. ”

"This is supposed to be used for both sides to defend, but if one of them doesn't know, he will indeed think that it is a control mark similar to the Tightening Spell."

"I'm going to start healing, wake me up when the time comes." She closed her eyes, completely overwhelmed by the light emanating from the magic array.

The machine spirit looked at the hostess and sighed... In the past, the hostess of the machine spirit endured the pain and used self-harm to make the male owner feel the pain.

On the other hand, because of the forbearance on the spot, the hostess was more seriously injured. Coupled with the consumption of the previous planting mark, the reason why the male owner was given a period of time was mainly to treat himself.

As an artifact, the machine spirit knows very well the things of the male host and the hostess, such as how the hostess has come over the years.

When she was first imprisoned, the hostess was extremely angry and vowed to do everything she could to eliminate the man after she appeared... It's just that time does change some things sometimes, such as the mood of the hostess.

From the anger at the beginning, to the calm life, the hostess's mental journey has undergone many changes. Of course, the machine spirit also did a lot of things, and even sent the hostess out briefly several times.

I don't know when it started, but the hostess began to think, thinking about everything she did in the world of the ship's mother.

"Why did they end up almost all together? It's just an ant..."

For the first time, the hostess became curious about the man, and really began to think about the man..."What kind of person is he?" ”

With the help of the machine spirit, the mistress learns what Lie is doing... Obviously, this is very inconsistent with the hostess's worldview, and she is becoming more and more incomprehensible.

"In the eyes of the machine spirit, the male protagonist may be a... People who live in dreams? ”

It's hard to say good in every sense of the word... The machine spirit's judgment is not entirely correct, but it can be considered to have some truth. Lie is indeed living in a dream, but because of the existence of the machine spirit, Lie can indeed do it, not just dreaming, but realizing it.

Got the artifact and had great power, but he didn't hesitate to choose to repair the world of the ship girl that was gradually collapsing... If you obviously have an artifact, it will be no problem to create as many such worlds as you want in the future.

After many years, the hostess finally came out and received the same privileges as the male host.

Observing the life of the male protagonist from the dark, the hostess became more and more puzzled, could it be that his wish was to become a girl?

Ahem, that shows it's impossible... Or is he just a gentleman?

"Boring desires, false routines..."

After observing for a while, the hostess was very disappointed in her heart, she wanted to see different things, but they were all things that seemed to her to be illusory.

"Let me see your ugly scene..."

So, under the interference of the hostess, the original trajectory of the male owner changed lanes.

…

Support Department.

"Minister? Minister! Shiyu saw that Lie finally woke up from his daze, sat back in his position and said, "The last square table meeting of the first semester, let's start, minister." ”

In the past few days, Lie visited Aina and her friends, and finally ushered in the winter vacation. And now, the support department is holding the last meeting of the first semester.

"Minister, is there really no activity during the winter break?" Lena raised her hand and asked for everyone.

The event doesn't have to be a commission, it's nice to go out on a trip together, even if it's just a regular party.

However, Lie shook his head and said with some loss: "I'm sorry, because of some things, it is difficult to make more arrangements in advance now." ”

Under the coercion of the Mistress of the Machine Spirit, Lie must travel to another world... It's an unknown world, and you don't know what awaits you, even if it's all gone.

In such a situation, how dare Lie make any guarantees... Fortunately, the agreement between the two parties is guaranteed by the artifact, and as long as she completes her request, Lie can come back.

In every sense, it's unsettling.

However, these are the troubles after that, and Lie is now with his own members.

"Alright, let's change places today." Lie stood up and said to everyone with a smile, "Next, let's go to that pancake shop... Anyway, it seems like I haven't been there for a long time. ”

"Hooray!"

“…”

Today is the last day of the first semester, and the teacher has announced the winter vacation before school, and it will be more than a month from tomorrow.

For Lie, he has visited all his friends... Except zero.

Zero has been accompanying himself to meet his friends as usual these days, and at the same time full of longing for the winter vacation... Yes, for them, it's just an ordinary winter vacation.

But for Lie, will it be the beginning of a journey to hell?

"Zero, go back to your room and rest." After playing with the members until the evening, and then playing with Reina and Chiyo until midnight, and after the sisters left, Ryu said to Zero, "Have a good dream... Bye. ”

With a "snap", the door of Lie's room was closed, and Zero looked at it in a daze, then returned to his room and began to sleep according to the Master's words.

Tomorrow will be another day.