They put on hats that concealed their identities and climbed up the iron stairs on the outside of the small building.
This building is next to the avenue, and vehicles often pass by, causing noisy noise. They climbed to the roof, but didn't get a wide view. All I could see were old buildings huddled together, suffocating under the dust. There are railroad tracks to the south of the building. A train happens to pass by and the railroad makes a clanging sound.
Arlandia walked to a corner of the roof and pointed forward. Gongsun Ce followed her guidance and saw a gap between the old buildings at this angle. He could faintly see the frozen river in the distance and the white buildings in the inner city on the other side of the river.
"When I was a kid, I used to stand here and look into the distance, thinking about going to the inner city to live a better life in the future." Airlandia said, "Occasionally I would see patrolling knight troops on the roof of the building, and I would see their white Armor. I think maybe one day I can become a knight, so that my life will be as bright as theirs."
Gongsun Ce scratched his head and whispered: "I thought your starting point was... you know... glory and justice."
"Actually not." Alandia smiled.
She brushed off the dust and sat down on the edge of the roof, her legs hanging down and swaying slightly in the wind. Gongsun Ce hesitated for a moment and stood behind her without moving, but Alandia looked back at him.
So he also sat next to the knight and watched the scene in the East District with her.
"My mother is a housewife. She has not read many books, but she is a warm-hearted person. Her cooking skills are average, but she is good at needlework. When I was a child, she sewed winter hats and gloves for me. , help me make small animal dolls. She tells me fairy tales about the kingdom and the heroic legends of knights before going to bed.
My father is a celestial being in the realm of gods, and he is good at building psychic weapons. He should be able to live very well in other countries, but this is the capital of the Kingdom of Morton, and the most important thing is excellent craftsmen. He found that it was difficult for him to make a fortune by relying on the impermanent method. Official organizations rarely recruited civilians. Nobles would not want the weapons he made, and most people would not need them. "
Gongsun Ce thought of Douglas in the theater troupe. He was also a magician of Kongxiang, and his life was not very rich. This is really ironic when you think about it. In the capital where the impermanent mages gather, the scarce craftsmen have become worthless professions.
"He needed to support his wife and daughter, and his father finally found a way. He cooperated with the gangs in the East District and helped the thugs make daggers and knives. The gangs were not actually rich, and the money my father received was not much, but at least Our life was protected. With the bodyguards sent by the gang, my mother and I didn’t have to worry about being harassed by homeless people, or having thieves sneaking in in the middle of the night...I was able to grow up safely.”
Alandia's tone was still calm, as if she was talking about something that had nothing to do with her. Gongsun Ce couldn't help but imagine her life as a child, imagining a little silver-haired girl living in an old building, wearing a hat knitted by her mother, watching the vicious men coming and going at home. She has few friends of her own age because children from other families are afraid to approach her. Her life is better than others in the building, but that's all.
"We have also encountered some troubles because of this. There are also divisions of power in the gang. Some people want to secretly build weapons for themselves without telling the leader. Occasionally, people from other gangs come to contact. If they can't find my father, they will look for me and my mother.' Where is your father? ''Give me a message for him.'' And all sorts of other things.
My father had anticipated this. He taught me to observe, to think, to identify their identities, and to figure out their intentions. He taught me to tell different lies, some suggestive sentences, to help the family cope with these difficulties..."
The wind blew, and the silver hair was blown by the wind and brushed against Gongsun Ce's face. Alandia stretched out her hands to restrain her hair until the wind stopped. Her eyes were full of memories of the past, but there was no smile.
Gongsun Ce wiped his nose and tried to ease the atmosphere: "So you used to be a very good lie master."
Alandia shook her head: "In fact, my lies are very poor and will be exposed as soon as I poke them."
Gongsun Ce was stunned: "Huh? I thought you would..."
Halfway through, he saw the woman's slightly raised corners of her mouth, and suddenly thought about it. "Ah...your ability to tell casual lies really surprises me."
"Like you?" Alandia asked.
"Yes, just like me." Gongsun Ce scratched his head, "You have to be familiar with lies to be able to spot them, right great detective?"
"That's right, Mr. Gongsun." Alandia withdrew her gaze. "As days like this pass day by day, I gradually feel tired. I have learned to deceive, and I have also learned to detect lies, and my gradually increasing observation ability has allowed me to notice that everyone All have different faces.
My parents would also deceive me because there were businesses I was not supposed to know about; there was always a false social relationship between neighbors because many of them had shady jobs; the knights who walked through the streets every day were not what they seemed. Integrity, I knew many of them had gang connections; the news in the newspapers was full of rhetoric and was far removed from the life I knew. "
"The world is like this." Gongsun Ce said, "Not just in the East District, it's the same everywhere."
"And I don't like such a hypocritical world."
Alandia looked into the distance quietly, as if looking at the life back then.
"Everyone is deceiving each other, and society runs on lies. I hate this environment. I don't like the feeling of deceiving others. I hate the hypocritical life. I want to live more simply, but I can't find a way to change it.
Until one day my father called me over and had a serious conversation with me. He said, Alandia, you are a smart child, and your father does not want to lie to you. You know our life is not very good now, if you want to live a better life, you have to rely on yourself.
I asked, father, are you going to sell me to the red light district? "
Gongsun Ce couldn't hold back his laughter and was out of breath. Alandia also laughed: "My father gave me a hard slap and gave me a lot of books and a sword. He said I want you to study, read, train, and work hard to become a knight. This way you can live a life of integrity and prosperity.
I asked, would this stop me from lying?
He was silent for a long time and said it was difficult. This may be the most difficult thing in the world. Maybe only when you have unique power can you live the life you want. And when the time comes, you'll find that it's not necessarily as beautiful as you thought. "
"I guess I'll always have to try."
Alandia lowered her head and looked at her pocket watch. The second hand passed by one tick at a time, just like the years she spent in the past.
“I wanted to make money, want a better life, and a real life, so I walked out of this small building and participated in the recruitment of the Knights of the Holy Sword.
And you know, environment and education will change a person. I originally only regarded chivalry and precepts as 'rules that need to be followed', but gradually I discovered that there is a reason why they can be passed down to this day. They represent a way of life, a simple and upright life. Unknowingly, I was infected by the people around me, and I became a real knight...a Star Knight who pursues reality. "
Thinking about it this way, most of your past colleagues should still be upright. However, the majority of the kind-hearted people do not often speak out, but the voices of a small number of despicable people are louder than anyone else. That's why Situ Yi has so much material, so many one-sided truths...
Gongsun Ce didn't want to mention these bad things anymore. He tried to change the subject: "Then your parents should be living well now. Living in the inner city?"
"Now I have a lot of money, but they don't want to live in the royal capital anymore." Airlandia said, "My parents later moved to a city in the south of the empire, and I feel relieved. The empire officially knows about their existence and will Protect them well.”
Gongsun Ce thought that her father must be tired of it too. Not only was he tired of the East End, but he was also tired of life in the Kingdom. Just like when Airandia had to lie about her father's work when she was young, they who stayed in the capital might also have to say something against their will because of their daughter's work. It would be better to go to a foreign country, to a place where everyone knows it is safe.
"How should I put it? Your parents are pretty good. Of course, you can't say how 'upright' your dad is... but they treat you well."
"I'm grateful to them."
Gongsun Ce stopped answering, and instead thought about her experience, piecing together what she had said with the contents of the fantasy, and simulating the path she had taken in his mind. From a craftsman's daughter to a student of the Knights of the Holy Sword, from a strange newcomer in Kulin City to the Dawn Knight of the Royal Capital.
"You know, Airandia." He considered his words, "Of course you have become stronger, but I think you have also become...simple? I don't know how to explain it. I don't think you could do it as well as Cheru when you were a child. Investigate this matter in the royal capital."
"I think so too." Alandia said, "The practice of Impermanence Dharma will change a person and make the Impermanence Dharma become simple and persistent. At that time, I had just created the world, and I didn't think too much about it. I just felt that everyone didn't If you can detect these problems, I can take care of them."
"how did you do that?"
Alandia asked back: "How do I usually solve cases, Mr. Gongsun?"
Gongsun Ce scratched his head: "Inference. We collect intelligence, establish conjectures, look for evidence to confirm, and finally discover the truth...use the existing information to deduce past events."
"It was the same that time."
Gongsun Ce didn't understand what she was talking about for a moment. His thoughts were stuck for a long time, and then he stood up.
"Hey, wait." Gongsun Ce grabbed his hair hard, "So... So your Impermanence Method is a large black box of reasoning? You input the information and then the 'truth' will appear as soon as the world turns around... Just Can it be 'manufactured' by your world?! It's as simple as you usually make chairs and books?!"
Alandia nodded: "Yes. I am the Envoy of Creation, and I have the authority to view everyone's files. The information is sufficient, and the work is completed."
"So..." Gongsun Ce said incoherently, "You can also create things that existed in the past...reproduce events in the past, or even events that are happening now...You, can you create living things? Human beings?"
Alandia is as honest as ever: "I can."
Gongsun Ce felt dizzy. He had had similar feelings many times before, but this time he felt particularly distant. This has gone beyond the scope of so-called supernatural abilities. Airandia's power can make people in white coats in the Sky City go crazy. It is simply a universal wishing machine, a supercomputer capable of finding the ultimate answer to the universe. By her own existence, she can support a system that is completely different from today's society, a "new world" in the true sense.
At this moment, he was so glad that Airandia had not become a god. The unrestricted use of such power would bring fear, because mortals were far from ready to enter the era that she could lead.
He took a breath and sat down next to the knight again. "Oh my god." Gongsun Ce muttered, "You...really...it's great that you didn't become like that. I'm scared."
He heard the knight say softly: "I'm afraid too."
Gongsun Ce turned his head blankly and met her gray eyes. There was undisguised fear in her eyes, and that fear came from herself.
"I almost gave up my identity and went to a distant place. Airandia Helleson was about to cease to exist. It was you who saved her."
She opened her arms and wrapped them around the boy's shoulders, giving him a gentle hug.
Gongsun Ce leaned sluggishly in her arms. He was completely stupid for a moment. He had many delusions when he was bored, but he never thought that one day he would be so close to her. His chest was as soft as a mountain, his face was close to her neck, and he could smell her scent.
"I... didn't..." Gongsun Ce stuttered. He thought his face must be red, "I... didn't... just..."
Alandia let go of him and gently patted the boy's shoulder.
"That day you said that you would not talk about your past with casual acquaintances, and I am the same. It is also difficult for me to quantify the distance between people, but I think you are a friend worthy of my opening my heart."
So, she tells him stories about her past.
So, she gave the boy a hug.
Because she still remembered the conversation that night and Gongsun Ce asking her to give her friend a hug.
Gongsun Ce adjusted his glasses in a panic, feeling confused for a moment. Complex thoughts were surging in his chest, leaving him with so many things to say but unable to say them out. He whispered: "Just... friends?"
Alandia blinked and suddenly talked about an unrelated topic.
"Mr. Gongsun, are you willing to become an honorary member of the Knights?"
"Ah? Of course, I'm happy to, but...why?"
He really didn't understand the other party's logic this time. Arlandia put her knuckles against her forehead and thought for a while before saying, "This way I can officially make you my knight's attendant. But I'm not sure if your words at that time were a metaphor..."
——I will be your follower!
It was a kind of public execution to have the words of the passionate leader repeated to his face. Gongsun Ce grabbed his hair hard and shouted: "No! Of course! Don't go back on your word! I'm telling you, don't regret it. You don't have to go back on your appointment." of!"
Alandia adjusted his collar for him and said sincerely: "I'm very happy."
She smiled broadly, as happily as a child making friends for the first time.
Gongsun Ce muttered: "Followers are a little higher than friends...right?"
"I think so." Alandia stood up and reached out to him. He took the knight's hand and stood up, hearing her say, "Can I change what I call you?"
"ah?"
"You recently changed the name of me to 'Ilandia'."
Only then did Gongsun Ce realize that he had unknowingly become accustomed to calling him by his first name. He was about to say that you can call him whatever you want, but a thought suddenly came to his mind. Like a prank, a little thought of an adolescent boy.
"How about calling me 'Ce'?" Gongsun Ce bravely said, "Do you think it's easier to call me this way and it will make the relationship better?"
He quietly added in his mind, just like that kind of intimate young couple.
Alandia's eyes seemed to be able to see into his heart, which made Gongsun Ce shrink back. He thought his little thoughts had been seen through, but the Dawn Knight only smiled and said: "Let's go, Ce."
Gongsun Ce took a deep breath and hurried to follow. They walked down the stairs step by step, the sound of their conversation carried by the wind into the distance.
"I still think I should give you something substantial in return, not just a hug. A 'commission'? Or a 'request'?"
"Please don't do this to my heart."
"Why?"
"There's no reason! Don't make any 'requests' to adolescent boys, okay?"
"oh…………"
"Don't sigh meaningfully like that! Hey, you, the former master of lies, have already seen through it all and are you kidding me!"
"What do you think, Ce?"
"I didn't think about anything! Okay then... by the way, I've been coveting your pocket watch for a long time and give it to me!"
"OK."
The silver chain made a soft sound, and the knight took out the pocket watch and placed it in the hands of her entourage.
"Really?! I suddenly regret it later. Can you choose it again and wait until I think of a better reward-"
"cannot."
"Is there no next chance?"
The Dawn Knight walked to the car, opened the driver's door, and made a gesture of invitation: "It depends on your performance, Mr. Attendant. I remember you have a driver's license."
"You're kidding, I even have a driver's license for a large passenger aircraft." Gongsun Ce pushed up his glasses, "Please, Miss Knight."
The car left the East District smoothly and drove the two of them to their current residence.
