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Just before she opened her mouth to cancel the contract, Kong handed her his terminal.
The case I chose in March is quite heavy in the hand, which makes the ordinary electronic product look more upscale and successfully attracts the child's attention.
"Help her take the picture, I'll teach you how to use it."
If you want to help a person completely break away from those illusory ripples, you need not only to emphasize the boundary between memory and reality, but also some painful feeling of being punctured by reality after self-deception.
"..."
Just like a puppet following Kong's guidance, Banya chose a good place for the little girl - with the orphanage's big house as the background.
But no matter how bright the child's smile was, as she was about to get what she wanted, what was displayed on the phone screen was just a faint light floating like smoke. That was her unfulfilled wish - or it could be said that it was her soul trapped in the rift.
“…It’s finished.”
Looking at the empty viewfinder, Bronya pressed her silver teeth against her lower lip, knowing very well that she would never be able to fulfill her promise to this child.
"Hey, why is there nothing in this photo?" The child who came over to check the screen did not find any trace of himself on the phone.
“…I’m sorry, I didn’t take a good enough picture.”
After saying this, a tingling sensation rose from Banya's chest and abdomen, reaching her forehead. Under the heavy evidence, she finally broke free from the vortex of memory.
"It's okay, Sister Bronya. I must have not posed well enough. If there is still a chance, maybe next time?"
"Next time? Ishakova——"
Without giving everyone more time to react, the afterimage of the rift faded among the golden powder bursting from the crystal cluster, and even her smile dissipated like foam in the sea.
With his eyes clear again, Banya withdrew his arm and finally had to accept the fact that he could not touch invisible things.
"...What a considerate child."
She murmured.
Hearing this, Kong glanced at the empty photo, hesitated for a while with his hand on the "trash can", but still did not delete it.
"...I knew clearly that the lower classes were suffering...but because I hesitated, I couldn't help...and because I believed in authority...I couldn't do anything..."
Hearing the increasingly dejected self-reproach, Ying's serious brows twitched slightly. She seemed to see the stubborn self in this girl.
Kong didn't say anything to comfort her. He knew very well that as long as she got over this hurdle and complained enough, Banya would truly grow up. But when he saw Ying seemed to be moved, he was in a dilemma whether he should help the girl to enlighten her further.
He had seen a lot of similar distress, and he also knew how to help a person quickly get out of self-doubt and sadness, but if he counseled Yaya now, although it would definitely work, she would probably become somewhat dependent again...
"Sora... do you want to..."
"This child is already in the 'danger zone'. If I continue to be too nice to her, it won't be as simple as her throwing herself into my arms. Ying, can you accept this?"
"…Whatever you say, don't let her cry. I don't want to see that."
Ying gently but firmly "commanded" Kong Lai: "I know you have a way. She will be a mortal ruler in the future. She cannot go astray at such a critical moment, otherwise there will be endless harm."
"Ah." Kong scratched his neck. He was ordered by the Lord Ogosho to pick up girls, so he was ready to go up and cheer for Banya.
"Let's go. There should be some supplies in the backyard that haven't been moved away waiting for us to mark and collect—"
But Xier did not leave Banya too much opportunity to feel melancholy, nor did he allow the plane to crash.
The moment she saw Banya's stunned look, she, who had never had the chance to intervene, became furious and rushed forward and slapped her shoulders, which seemed to have drooped a lot.
It was totally different from the light patting to encourage air. Xier almost dislocated Banya's shoulder on the spot. The noise was so loud and the amplitude of his stagger was so great that Paimeng, who was already in tears, was frightened and tears came out.
"Ah——!" Kong, who had just put his palm up, was slapped by Xier. He and Banya let out a light cry at the same time. The scene was very chaotic for a while.
"What are you two crying about? It's not your fault that the child died in the Rift. Especially you, Bronya. How old were you when you parted with her? Get it straight!"
Intellectuals tend to be sentimental, and Xier's violent temper is unbearable.
After removing the labels of "upper class" and "young lady" from Banya, Xier became more rude to her, but her caring attitude finally seemed to have broken through the window paper, and she no longer concealed it, and even became unscrupulous.
Because this guy is "one of us" - well, one of us in every sense of the word.
"...You're right. It's useless for me to blame myself. After all, the mistake has already been made."
Even with Sora's palm cushioned, Bronya was still hurt by the blow. She looked calm, and the movement of kneading her shoulders seemed to be a silent accusation: "Why didn't my shield react to this guy's 'attack'? Was it because Sora blocked it?"
"That's right. Hurry up and make amends. How can you go back and command your brothers and sisters in your current state? If I were them, I would never trust a fool who can't even trust himself."
"That's a really cruel statement. I want to be as outspoken as you, Xi'er, but I can't do it."
Banya smiled slightly - he felt a little overwhelmed when he saw Kong Jia, who had just been hit on the fingertips, shaking his hands frantically to dispel the pain.
Although Kong did not lend Banya his arms, it did ease the atmosphere in a sense.
"Why, don't tell me that the rules of the upper class have tamed you. If you want to scold me, you can do so loudly - of course I can't guarantee that I will respond with my fists -"
Bronya laughed, and Seele couldn't help but chuckle:
"Tsk, the future Great Guardian actually came from the same orphanage as me. What a bad fate - what were you doing just now?"
Bronya, whose shoulders had recovered, lifted the box and, under Seele's gaze, picked out a dusty crystal ball and handed it to her: "This is something from my childhood... Although my memories of my childhood are mostly endless etiquette and military lessons, before I entered the boring life that almost crushed me, I also left some memories here that are worth recalling."
"I thought life in the upper class area would be very leisurely."
"That's just your prejudice."
Although he was correcting Xier's misunderstanding, Banya's expression was not as serious as before, and the meaning of complaint was much stronger than before:
"Even if I say something inappropriate, people will chase me and correct me. This kind of helplessness of having everything planned by others, you can't understand it since you are used to freedom, right?"
"How inappropriate can it be?" Xier was very curious.
"...I will represent the will of the City Builders and stick a gun into your nostrils."
When he said this, there was still a bit of false dignity on Banya's face.
Strictly speaking, this is what she has learned throughout her life.
"...Hahahaha——! That's it? It seems like I have to teach you some slang and give those annoying etiquette teachers of yours some shocking lower-class wild kids——" Xier almost laughed out loud.
To her, Banya's curse was like scratching an itch through a shoe, without any power or aggression.
"...Why are the two of them just chatting on their own?" Paimeng, who had just cried, was a little confused.
“Isn’t that good?”
In an atmosphere that Ying could not understand, Kong, with his swollen palms, revealed a classic expression, and at the same time secretly sighed at the wonderful power of fate - it was a power that was out of fate but not as disgusting as fate.
Now, the Konami group from another world has also come together, but I don’t know if their sincere friendship... can replace the comfort of him as the "captain" and let him leave safely and quietly without taking away a cloud.
Kong didn't want to go back to the empty days in the past when he had just been let go by Xier and Banya had sneaked into the office again. When he thought of the grand scene of the two fighting for food in the other world, he couldn't help but shudder.
234. Dreaming of picking up girls
...Sora, who was still hoping for a lucky break, was not "let off" anyway.
After joking with Seele and completely letting herself go, getting rid of the low pressure caused by the heavy burden on her shoulders, although Bronya no longer spied on Sora from time to time, she did not ignore Sora's contribution to her emotional regulation.
She was so thoughtful that she could tell that Sora's exaggerated performance of pain was also to make her feel better.
This man did not hesitate to make himself ugly to reduce her psychological pressure, which seemed to show that his care and concern for her had exceeded the ordinary friendship, and also had a bit more concern beyond the status of a senior and mentor. While Banya was grateful, he began to change his strategy and took the initiative to figure out Kong's preferences.
When Xier started, she directly exposed her affection for Kong. Coupled with her increasingly active mood, Banya began to think that even though the girls around Kong were all excellent, she could still compete with them.
Not only can Sora endure the situation with so many girls around him, but the girls also don't seem to have any objection to it, which fully proves that this is considered "normal" inside the train.
Normality is good - normality means I will definitely have a chance.
Thinking of this, Banya looked subtly at Xier who was picking bandages.
Xier's attitude towards Kong is too straightforward. She can express her emotions loudly at any time and anywhere, which is something Banya cannot do. She is a little thin-skinned and has never dared to try to go further, nor has she found that opportunity.
Although it felt unfair to say this to Xier, it was precisely because she, her new friend and bestie, was around that she couldn't be too attentive to Kong.
Relatively speaking, Ying's threat was lower. At first, I thought she was a king, but in reality, after getting along with her, I found that she was really a pure "warrior". She never showed any charm that a woman should have to Kong throughout the whole process.
But it’s always inconvenient to have too many people. After this relaxing break... why not try to find some time to be alone?
As she thought about this, she began to wonder if there was any place where she could be with Sora without being awkward - but the girl didn't have much experience. After becoming the commander, she had been on expeditions all over the place for years. She had experienced the things that upper-class socialites should enjoy, but she felt that they were not familiar enough. She didn't belong to that world, and couldn't judge whether it was good or bad, so naturally she didn't dare to take Sora there and make a fool of herself.
After thinking for a long time, until her backpack was full, she realized that the places she was most familiar with in Beloberg were Fort K and the front-line military camp... No matter how you think about it, these places are not suitable for a date, right?
The transfer of distress is also a different kind of happiness. While she was imagining how to entertain the train crew after persuading her mother, Seele and Nata completely digested the issue of Bronya's background.
Humans are really animals that pay a lot of attention to "origin". Even in Beloberg, a great guardian who comes from the lower class must have a much stronger appeal to the suffering people than those upper-class daughters who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths.
But before coming up with similar concepts, Xier and Natasha both chose to ignore one point... that is, Natasha, as a lower-class leader, came from a legitimate upper-class family. This identity exchange, like quantum entanglement, achieved a delicate political balance.
"Help her with the recruitment process... Let the officers spread the word about Bronya's lower-class identity—"
"Are you going to give her your full support?"
"After all, Xi'er, you said that she can empathize with the lower class. Now that it has been verified, I plan to assign Oleg's men to her to command. It turns out that combat still requires professionalism."
In the private channel, Natasha and Seele were already thinking about how to use Bronya's dual identity to help her recruit soldiers.
"Ah? Are we going to include the Cadre Corps as well?"
"Well, Oleg used to be a member of the Iron Guard. He has mastered the skills of dealing with the army and is very familiar with battle formations. He is the best candidate for coordination."
"But isn't that a bit too hasty?"
"Haha, isn't this because you trust your judgment of people?"
"I do admire her... Never mind. If you think it's okay, just arrange it quickly. Nata, we still have to go check out the parts that Swarovski mentioned."
After a brief private conversation, Xier also stood up and looked at Banya's bright profile. She sincerely looked forward to witnessing the moment when the girl led the lower-class people to break through the iron curtain of Kburg.
"How's your side, Sora?"
"The system space is full. How did Natasha store so many supplies? Was she a doctor or a supplier before she went underground?"
"Natasha used to be a top student in the upper class - but after entering the underground and mixing with the kids, she gave up her comfortable upper-class life. She didn't leave until the blockade, and didn't betray her original intention."
Seele seemed to be suggesting that Bronya could gain the trust of the lower classes more easily, but in reality, she was just saying whatever came to her mind.
But Bronya thought of going somewhere else.
She suddenly realized that inviting Kong on a date as a "return gift" in the lower class might be much more interesting than engaging in some fake romance in the upper class. In this environment, she could also find an excuse for her unfamiliarity.
The scenery of the underground lake near the furnace core is actually quite nice, and it is also suitable for two people to stroll around.
I just don't know if he wants me to be more dignified and play a high-ranking role like the "Great Guardian" to increase my sense of accomplishment when conquering... or if I can get along with him in a more ordinary and real way at the lower level, so that he will like me more?
Once she gets the idea, it is impossible to contain the girl's love storm.