Esther, who didn't know how long it had taken her to regain her composure, sat on the deck against the edge of the fence, letting the icy sea breeze blow on her back.

When she had the strength to raise her head again, the crimson moon was already hanging above her head. But through the green curtain held up for her by the Clover, everything Esther saw was green.

Tomorrow night is the full moon, and the babbling will be even worse then......

Esther lifted her knuckle-covered palm and removed the asymmetrical jewel necklace from her neck. She could feel the illusory cracks on the outside of her skin closing in, rings of interlocking rings emerging and receding, occasionally shining a little from under her clothes.

The green curtain of light around her collapsed and vanished.

An unfastened iron crate was kicked next to Esther, and there was a soft thud on the fence.

Alexander was sitting on another box, as if using the weighted box as a bench, much more stable than a chair, and his scrutinizing gaze fell on Esther through the thick lenses, as if he was still in a state of some contemplation.

"Thanks, you don't have to wait for me all the time." Esther lifted the box, placed the necklace neatly on the black satin inside, covered it with two layers of glass, and fastened the lid of the outermost case.

"We can't use it again for a week."

The repeated cries for help faintly came from Esther's ears, making her sigh, "I know, I'm suffering from that negative effect right now. ”

In fact, it was the first time she had felt the effects of an extraordinary object so strongly, and although it wasn't a whisper, it was enough to hear a voice repeating pleading and shouting.

If you wait until the full moon falls tomorrow night, I don't know if this voice will change much, and perhaps the whispering will suddenly be amplified, causing the person who uses it to face the threat of death.

Esther glanced overside of the ship, and all she could see was the endless sea: "Where are we now?" ”

"It's not good luck, but it's not bad either. We're back in the raging waters between the North and South Continents, but in a safe lane. If all goes well, it's only a three-and-a-half-day flight from the port of Behrens to the east. ”

Esther couldn't help but smile, the bone fragments on her body gradually melted under her skin, and she rubbed her exposed arm: "It's quite close to the target, it seems that my luck is not too bad, let's go back." ”

"Seeing that you and Aaron always act on instinct, I almost believe that there will always be such 'good fortune' in favor of you." Alexander's voice was a little hoarse.

Esther realized that he had probably been sitting on the deck from the evening until now, waiting for him to recover...... It also includes monitoring her for any changes so that she can take countermeasures at the first opportunity.

After all, there was another box sitting under Alexander.

Although the buzzing and concurrent headache subsided, Esther was still a little dizzy, and she didn't rush to get up: "Yes, after all, it's a lucky way." ”

"It's different," Alexander looked up, his eyes calm and indifferent, though he smiled kindly, "you did steal Mary's thoughts, and the contamination on the key, you didn't have the corresponding items on you that were contaminated, so it should be your own ability." ”

Esther was silent for a few seconds and rubbed her hair twice: "If you're really curious, yes, the aperture on the island before was also the ability of the 'fate' path, and it still belongs to the high sequence. But I don't know why I can use the power of two extraordinary paths, so sometimes it's hard to control it. ”

Alexander nodded, "I know what you mean, but I'm not trying to get the inside story out of this. ”

Esther was stunned for a moment: "Is that so?" I thought you were worried about my impact on Aaron. ”

"I'm a person who doesn't like to believe in luck, and I don't think it's as straightforward as Thoma, but 'luck' is quite a vague thing for me." Alexander took off his glasses, revealing those dark gray eyes like a valley, he took a handkerchief from his bosom and gently wiped the lenses, "Now that I think about it, you feel the same way for me." ”

"Do you feel too sane?"

Alexander paused as he wiped his lenses: "Maybe that's why, so I habitually deconstruct everything around me and establish the whole through one-sided construction." ”

Esther looked at the pitch-black sea outside the fence: "You think I'm an unstable factor, and it's hard to form a stable whole. ”

"You're right. So I suggested to Aaron that when writing to his teacher, consider a plan to recruit you as a member of the organization. ”

Esther's eyes widened blankly: "What do you mean ......?"

Alexander put back on the heavy glasses of the bottle: "Are you interested in joining the organization behind us?" After experiencing this incident, I think it can give you more trust. Mainly, with you, the Clover's means of escape seem to be more stable. As you can see, there are not many people in our fleet. ”

Esther opened her mouth, but said nothing, and after a moment of silence, she shook her head silently.

Alexander showed a relieved smile: "Unexpectedly, it was Thomas who guessed the result correctly this time." ”

"You don't seem too surprised."

"If you say yes, I'll find an excuse to delay it, and that's our plan."

Esther smiled back: "No, you meant that when you said that, I can feel it. But you can't promise me, and if I do do go straight to it, it will prove that I am even more suspicious, and I may be coming for your fleet. ”

"Mary is a good boy, but unfortunately not as smart as you."

Esther's smile was a little forced: "Maybe it's because I paid the price for my sluggishness, almost lost the people around me, and then I did lose something." ”

"It's all part of growing up, and the sea is just as cruel." Alexander stood up from the box and held out his hand to Esther, "You don't want to blow a cold wind here all night, do you?" We have classes to go to tomorrow. ”

Esther clasped the palm of the old gentleman's hand, "Thank you, I promise I won't sleep in class." ”

Esther didn't sleep all night.

When you close your eyes, the voice that keeps calling for help will gradually become clearer, but there will always be a barrier that is difficult to hear.

When a person endlessly cries for help in her ear, it is really difficult for Esther's personality to sleep peacefully, she knows that she can forcibly enter the state of "sleep", like a machine that is turned off for a short time, but always hearing that sound, it is difficult for Esther to calm down.

So she simply sat up and, by the crimson moonlight that came through the window, flipped through the Intis language that Alexander had lent to herself, "Taco the Fatalist and His Master"*.

“…… When we lose friends, we are at the mercy of creation, and when creation moves us, we are also obedient. We accept the decisions that fate has given us without complaint, and we will never resist the decisions that fate has given us. ”

These are the words that the master used to comfort Taco.

The tone of the narrative is very interesting, and the author is very open to the reader and does not let the perspective just immerse himself in the story. The whole story unfolds in a conversation between Taco and his master and the others, and the choice of words is quite colloquial, perfect for Esther to practice her sense of language in the reading room.

"Master: He said that both the gods and the devil work miracles.

Taco: What is the difference between the miracles of the gods and the miracles of the devil?

Host: Reasonably. If the truth is good, it is a miracle of the gods, and if the truth is bad, it is the miracle of the devil.

Taco (whistling, then continues): Who is going to tell me whether the miracle worker is good or bad, a poor creature as ignorant as me? ……”

Esther put down her book, blinked her eyes that didn't feel tired, she leaned back in her chair and looked out the window, it was time to go to the restaurant for dinner.

The sun rises high, it is a new day, and in a dozen hours it will become a new night, and the sea will usher in a crimson full moon.

——

"You're up so early." Mary muttered hello.

Esther grabbed a plate and sat down next to Mary in the corner, and Mary yawned profusely and lay half-on the table almost without an image. As the only two students in Alexander's "language school", Esther and Mary's relationship became more and more familiar after the experience of attending classes together for several days.

Esther sandwiched the sausage slices in the slightly charred bread slices, and the food at sea was almost the same every day, and she had no complaints about it, and it would be nice to have something to eat: "Didn't you get up early, too?" ”

Mary rubbed her eyes and began to peel the last dry little orange at hand: "I don't want to either, but I encountered so many things yesterday, I was a little nervous, and I couldn't sleep well." ”

"On the bright side, the Clover is safe and sound, and that's enough."

"Hey, I like your optimistic thoughts." Mary laughed dryly twice, and threw the tooth-sour orange into her mouth.

Esther took a sip of water, there was an indescribable astringency in it, and she simply squeezed the shriveled orange into juice and added it to the water: "You mean to say that I am a little stupid, right?" ”

"If you're stupid, there aren't many smart people on this ship." Mary gave the lady beside her a blank look, "Yesterday was so difficult, I really thought we had to face the 'death number', but fortunately we didn't." But then the spirit rift opened again, and you-"

Mary's words stopped suddenly, and Esther swallowed the bread in her mouth in confusion: "What's wrong with me?" ”

"No, nothing." Mary shook her head vigorously, then glanced left and right again, and lowered the voice of the conversation, "It's just that I heard Aaron and Thomas's argument at the door of the captain's room last night. Aaron seems annoyed that you've used the magical item twice in a row, and Thoma is scolding him for his attitude, thinking that he should be happy that a boatload of people survived. ”

"I'm not going to die." Esther continued to nibble on her slices of bread, quickly settling her breakfast.

"Why are you so sure? Toma is the complete opposite of you, he's been scolding Aaron for 'damn good luck,' and I didn't really understand the rest of it. ”

Mary paused and continued, "He...... He said you won't survive tonight. ”

Esther knew that the "spiritual intuition" in her mind would not hurt her, and since it did not react to that voice, it meant that she would not experience anything too terrible tonight.

So Esther squeezed her eyes at Mary: "Luck or miracle, which do you choose?" ”

"That's still lucky, a miracle or something is too slim."

Esther spread her hands: "I'm greedy, I'll want both." ”

She's been through both, and she's not in a position to pray to both, and tonight is the moment to listen carefully to the truth of the cry for help.

Jacques the Fatalist and His Master – Denis Diderot, translator: Luo Peng. Here's a parody of the name of Taco, the name of Taco, the same as the burrito.