"Are you looking for me?"
Sophie stared blankly at the person in front of her. Hesta's indifference caught her by surprise, but she quickly lowered her head, straightened her clothes, and replied with a smile: "Viscount Tanglar would like to invite everyone to his manor to visit the Queen." Festival, so——”
"If a transfer is needed, I'll be there with the other mercury needles."
"Yes, you need it. I've already asked Victoria." Sophie raised her face, and she mustered up the courage to look directly into Hesta's eyes. "I came here to invite you to tonight." Puzzle game'…”
As he was speaking, Hesta's eyes had already crossed Sophie's sight - Victoria appeared at the end of the corridor, where she was waiting against the handrail of the corridor.
Seeing that Hesta had looked over, Victoria smiled and said hello: "Did I disturb you?"
"No, did you come to see me?" Hesta asked.
"Yes, Endai forgot that she had to stay on duty last night, so she can't drive you to the work station today. I will take you there instead."
Hesta turned around and took off the coat from the hanger, shook it off and put it on. She glanced at Sophie: "Thank you for the invitation, but I'm not interested."
"Well, I actually-"
Hesta had already walked quickly towards Victoria, and Sophie stayed there helplessly, watching Hesta's departure.
…
Along the way, Victoria drove and Hesta looked out the window.
"Did you not sleep well last night?"
"I had a nightmare in the middle of the night."
"No wonder..." Victoria whispered softly, "Are you wearing those body-worn monitoring devices now?"
"Well, I keep wearing it." Hesta said softly, "Besides these, do I really not have to do anything?"
"If you can do this well, you will have done a great job." Victoria smiled, "You should pay more attention to yourself, especially the signals that lead you away from the crowd. I think the 'assassin' recognizes You will definitely try to get close to her later, and if she wants to talk about it then, just talk to her, just like the Lager workstation taught you before."
Hesta suddenly realized something, "...Is it because of this reason that you decided to let everyone go to Tanglar's manor to celebrate Queen's Day?"
"Haha, you are so smart. No wonder Chiba values you so much!" Victoria couldn't help but cast an appreciative glance at Hesta. "Yes, it would be too obvious to show off at the Duke's residence. Why not go to a strange place?" place, so that the assassin would feel that there is an opportunity to take advantage of it."
"……I see."
"That kid Sophie seems to want to get to know you. She asked me a lot about you this morning - why didn't you agree to let her go to that game?"
"...I don't want to get too close to them."
"Ah? Really? Why?"
Hesta said softly, "Having emotions for a place and some people will seriously affect your judgment in combat... This has always been the case."
"Then you don't have to worry, we have no plans to let you join the battle this time." Victoria said softly, "Besides, your situation is not suitable for fighting against the 'Assassin' - she is most likely not a chelate. .”
"I understand..." Hesta looked at Victoria, "But don't you have any worries about this?"
Victoria laughed, "On the contrary, for me, this is an opportunity."
"Chance?"
Victoria sighed softly, "I have always felt that the communication between mercury needles and ordinary people is not too much, but too little - does having emotions for a place and some people really affect judgment that much? Facts I think that for most mercury needles, the battle itself is not a big problem that cannot be solved, but more dangerous problems are hidden behind it."
"...What is it?"
"It is the meaning of fighting." Victoria looked forward, "What are you defending, what are you destroying, what are you exchanging with your own sacrifices, so many people have been investing in it one after another, and what are they doing for... Have you thought about these questions?"
Hesta's mouth sank slightly, "I have discussed it with Miss Chiba before. These issues are indeed dangerous, even more dangerous than the battle itself."
Victoria was a little surprised, "Really? Chiba feels the same way?"
"Yes, because these questions are faced by thousands of people, there is no standard answer, and they are essentially doubts about everything, so whoever falls into this kind of problem will find it difficult to bear the cruelty of battle. Once the belief in fighting is loosened, then It’s not far from death.”
Victoria laughed out loud, "Qianye's statement is too pessimistic..."
Hesta looked sideways: "But just now you also said that these problems are dangerous."
"That's different. I mean it's dangerous to ignore these problems. As long as a person knows how to hold on to her own life, these problems will not make her fall into the quagmire. Instead, they will become solid stone pillars that strengthen her. The ground beneath your feet. The meaning of fighting and the meaning of life are basically two sides of the same coin. Without the life you yearn for, the cruelty of the battlefield will become unbearable."
"...Do you want to say that the life of Danglars and Villefort is worthy of aspiration?"
"No, no, of course not, at least not Tanglar." Victoria said softly, "But Mrs. Alvira is very interesting. In her, you can see some new life possibilities... Well, you You don’t seem to agree with this?”
"...It doesn't matter whether I admit it or not, Mrs. Alvira has nothing to do with me. Maybe it's because our ways of doing things are different. I'm used to standing on the edge, so I can see things more clearly."
"Then what do you think of the assassin?"
Hesta frowned, "...Does this question have any significance?"
"How you understand what the assassin is doing will directly determine whether you can achieve true communication with her. Otherwise, the so-called persuasion to surrender is just a chicken-and-duck talk."
Hesta's eyes dropped slightly, "...I have never done the job of persuading people to surrender before, and I'm really not sure whether I can do it well."
"It's nothing. If you haven't done it before, it won't make people think it's a 'routine.'" Victoria said, "If it doesn't work, just talk to her about the Fernan case, and we'll get closer."
Hesta slowly turned to her side: "Then what does Victoria think of the assassin's behavior?"
"She is carrying out her justice, which is good," Victoria replied. "Whether it is in the habitable land or in the wasteland, there are always reasons why some people have to choose this path - just revenge. It is a double-edged sword, and it will not be more tolerant to which side belongs to justice."
"...Yes." Hesta agreed.
In the rearview mirror, Victoria glanced at Hesta - she didn't seem too interested in the topic.
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