So Hesta began to read in a low voice.
"Last summer, I was hiking through one or two Linhe counties. As dusk approached, I found myself somewhat uneasy about the path I was walking.
"That evening, I met Mr. Lando. He was gentle, sincere and enthusiastic. But at that time, I was more interested in the house that fascinated me so much than in the manners of its owner.
“On the floor was a double-sided jacquard carpet with small circular green patterns on a white background. The curtains were of snow-white thin cotton, quite wide, with sharp, flat pleats, all very crisply and very formally vertical to the floor.
"There are many leather-bound books, ornate wallpapers, carpets, marble-topped tables. The windows here are high and narrow. There is a glass cloche on the side table next to it, and an origami rose stands underneath... …"(1)
Liz stared at Hesta who was reading aloud. Although her voice was slow and low, for some reason, Liz felt a little affection from this voice while listening.
This emotion was restrained and restrained, as if it were an oil painting wrapped in dust. But at this moment, something accidentally lifted a corner of the curtain, and others were able to catch a glimpse of the brilliant and turbulent colors underneath.
Liz also knew almost immediately that whoever had read this collection of stories to her must have had a profound influence on Hesta.
By the time Hesta finished reading this short story, Turan, lying in Liz's arms, had fallen asleep.
In the soft light, Liz held Turan's head and carefully moved her to the pillow aside.
"Do you still want to chat?" Liz looked at Hesta and whispered, "We can go out and chat."
Hesta thought of the silver-haired girl just now, "But over there in Rico——"
Liz pointed outside the door, "Let's go to the balcony."
…
At about two o'clock in the morning, it was late at night in Tanyi City, which was experiencing a chilly spring. Hesta, wrapped in a thin blanket, stood with Liz on the balcony that protruded outward. Here, Hestad could smell the aroma of cheese and bread coming from the kitchen behind her, which was wonderfully mixed with the distant night breeze mixed with the smell of the forest.
Liz was only wearing a white cotton camisole. She leaned against the carved iron fence with her back and her elbows leaning against the fence behind her. Hesta could see at a glance the smooth muscle lines on her back and arms, and the smooth muscles on her back and arms. Unlike the girl-next-door gentleness just now under the soft light, Liz at this moment reminded her of a muscular antelope in the wilderness.
"Do you have any relatives in District 3?" Liz asked.
Hesta was silent for a moment and shook her head.
"Me too." Liz said with a smile, "Except for Turan, most of the students here are alone."
Hesta looked at Liz: "She seems a little hostile to me?"
"Well...she is a little hostile to all strangers." Liz explained, "It gets much better after getting familiar with it, and Turan is not in a good state recently..."
"I heard Miss Viking say that her bullet time is not enough to support her on the battlefield, right?"
"Yes." Liz nodded, "She will be 14 next month, and she will definitely not pass the Type 14 selection then."
"Type 14...what?"
"Type 14 selection," Liz repeated, "The mercury needle's bullet time will be finalized once around the age of 14 and 19 - did you know this? Only those who are over 4h can be included in the combat team."
"Then why is Miss Turan so sad? When she turns 19, won't she have another chance?"
Liz smiled and shook her head, "After the selection of Type 14, the overall situation has been basically finalized. Only a few mercury needles with bullet times above 3h30min will be able to break through the 4h mark through the following training. She has little hope... …How old are you this year? 11?”
"Um."
Liz sighed, "I was 11 years old when I first came here, and it's already been three years in the blink of an eye. It's so fast."
Hesta: "I heard from Miss Valenti that you will be officially full-time in the second half of the year?"
"Yes," Liz nodded, "but my desire to fight is not as strong as Turan."
"Why does she want to fight the chelate head-on so much?"
"It must have something to do with her experience." Liz gave a concise answer, then stretched out her hands, she took a long breath, and continued, "I'm different... I don't really think about it. Field service, after all, I still have a lot of attachment to life itself...haha."
"I feel it," Hesta lowered her head, "You have a lot of books."
Liz looked at Hesta for a while and said, "If you also like books, you can always come to my room to borrow them in the future."
"May I?"
"Of course," Liz stretched out her hand to Hesta, "Nice to meet you... This is the first time I meet a newcomer who has already had experience fighting chelates when he first entered the base."
Hesta gently squeezed Liz's palm, with a confused expression on her face, "You mean me? I don't have it."
Liz was slightly startled, "Aren't you from St. Anne's Abbey in Mount Severn?"
"Um."
"That should be you... The previous internal briefing at the base said that when Chiba arrived with the team, the chelate in the monastery was already seriously injured - wasn't it you?"
"No." Hesta replied, "At least I have no impression at all."
Liz blinked, "...Maybe I did make a mistake somewhere, but you were sent by Chiba Masaki himself, right?"
"Um."
Liz touched her chin thoughtfully, "Then there must be something special about you."
Hesta frowned slightly, "Why?"
"Because," Liz smiled, "Qianye is a very shrewd person."
Hesta tilted her head slightly.
Liz looked at Hesta: "As far as I know, she never spends time on useless things. In the past, she felt it was a waste of energy in the training base, so she didn't even serve as an auxiliary officer for newcomers, let alone like now. In this way, take the initiative to be someone’s guardian.”
"Really?" Hesta recalled that Chiba drove herself to the monastery before, which took them almost a whole day, "...I thought this was just a formality."
"Of course not," Liz smiled. "Although the procedure for the 'Reserve Guardianship Order' is simple, the implementation is very strict. Even if the ward enters a boarding school, the guardian is required to have at least 6 hours of non-sleep time with him every month. .
"When the holidays come, this requirement will be raised to more than 21 hours a week, which means we need to stay together for at least 3 hours every day. And considering that after passing the Type 14 selection, Mercury Needle can officially join the battle... "
Having said this, Liz paused, "I think Chiba Masaki wants you to join her combat team directly after the selection. Otherwise, I really can't think of her as a working mercury needle who is always running around. , how on earth do I find so much time to spend with you."
Hesta listened quietly to Liz's analysis. The two then talked about a lot, from Edgar's literary status to many simple and unpretentious base life suggestions. At almost four o'clock in the morning, Liz yawned and decided to go back to the room. sleep. Before leaving, she went back to her room and took out the two "Edgar's Dark Tales".
"Can I give you these two collections of stories?"
Hesta looked up in surprise, "Give it to me?"
"Yes, I'll give it to you." Liz said with a smile, "If a book is always left on the shelf without being read, it will be lonely, so if you like it, I'll give it to you."
Hesta lowered her eyes slightly, took the book, and gently touched the large gilded characters on the black patent leather cover.
"……Thanks."
——
(1) Quote adapted from "Lando's Room" in Edgar Allan Poe's "Dark Tales"
