"...You are that Reignbow Heavenly General?"
So powerful, and someone Elio would entrust tasks to.
Plus, this image of carrying a longbow on his shoulder.
Aside from the rumored Eighth Reignbow Heavenly General, Firefly couldn't think of anyone else.
"Want an autograph?" Leon did not deny it.
"Ah, if that's possible?"
Firefly wasn't sure how to answer, so she could only tentatively ask along with his words.
"Next time, for sure."
Leon indicated it was fine; she had good taste.
"So, what did Elio's script tell you?"
Hearing this question, Firefly answered truthfully:
"Elio said that I would be able to get what I wish for in this operation."
"Do you feel you have gotten what you wished for now?"
Leon asked, looking at AR-214 behind her.
For an outcast like Firefly, having a kin should be more important than anything else.
"I... don't know."
Firefly hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
Her wish was to live on, but she hadn't thought about how to live on.
Living by relying on the "Cluster" like back in Glamoth was one way of living.
And now, having lost the "Cluster," dragging out an ignoble existence by her own will was also called living.
Firefly had never seriously thought about this question: in what form should she live?
In reality, because she had already lost the "Cluster."
Glamoth had long since perished, and AR-26170, as an Iron Cavalry, had died back then.
What remained was Firefly, the Stellaron Hunter.
There was no longer a "Cluster," so she could only seek a way to survive as an individual.
Firefly looked at AR-214.
Even though this was just a dream.
But if, if there really were other Glamoth Iron Cavalries alive in the world...
Could she abandon them without a care?
For no apparent reason, Firefly thought of her final battle as a Glamoth Iron Cavalry.
At that time, having survived, she had just stood up from the ruins.
Seeing the mess on the ground, for a moment she didn't know why she should live.
And just then.
[Born to fight... is the glory of the Glamoth Iron Cavalry...]
An Iron Cavalry with only a breath left stumbled towards her.
[For... Her Majesty the Empress...]
She left that sentence to her, then couldn't hold on anymore, falling to her knees and dying.
Firefly knew.
That Iron Cavalry had simply mistaken her for the Empress.
But...
Asking herself honestly, could Firefly really completely abandon her past?
Was it to completely abandon the concept of the "Cluster" and ascend, transcending the rules of "The Propagation" to pursue a perfect life in the true sense?
Or to become the new "Empress," continuing her own existence while also continuing the existence of those "Propagation" Pathstriders who suffered from the same illness as her?
Which one exactly could be considered her wish fulfilled?
Firefly couldn't find the answer.
"Say, Glamoth... has already perished, right?"
AR-214 behind Firefly suddenly spoke.
"Mm, Glamoth... no longer exists."
Hearing the call, Firefly turned back, her expression complicated.
"Are there any other survivors?"
"Except me..."
Firefly saw AR-214's eyes, and her words paused.
"Besides you and me, I haven't seen a third one."
The words that AR-214 was already dead couldn't be spoken even though they were on the tip of her tongue.
"Is that so..."
AR-214 showed no surprise.
"AR-26170, no, Firefly."
After a moment, AR-214 spoke very seriously.
"Since Glamoth has already perished, then live according to your own thoughts."
"There will be no more military regulations binding us."
AR-214 looked into Firefly's eyes, making her unable to distinguish between dream and reality for a moment.
"So, just do what you think is right."
AR-214 was standing right here, having her own thoughts, having past memories, speaking words that matched those memories. Was she really dead?
Firefly was in a trance, as if that colleague from the past was really still alive.
But she knew, clearer than anyone, that AR-214 could not still be alive.
No matter how similar, she was just a product of the dreamscape.
It was fictional, fake, and self-deceiving.
"Mm, I will."
Firefly nodded, raising a smile at AR-214.
In what form to seek survival, she already had the answer in her heart.
She would not indulge in the dream, but please let her enjoy this rare sweet dream a little bit.
"Mm, I believe you will definitely find your own answer too!"
AR-214 nodded with satisfaction, then shifted her gaze to Leon.
"And this gentleman, sorry for hurting you just now."
She apologized seriously.
"Although you might not believe me saying this, I definitely didn't mean to. I don't know what happened either, my body just initiated an attack on you on its own!"
AR-214 bowed to him, her attitude sincere.
"You hurt me?"
Leon raised an eyebrow, indifferent to her offense.
Just indicating there was a problem with her wording.
AR-214 hurting him? Stop making your Brother Leon laugh.
After the whole round, not even a corner of his clothes was dirty. Don't flatter yourself without permission.
"? Um... anyway, sorry!"
AR-214 didn't know what this development was, so she could only apologize blindly.
"It's okay, I forgive you."
Leon wasn't a devil, nor would he fuss over such things.
"Thank you, you really are a good person."
Obtaining his forgiveness, AR-214 breathed a sigh of relief.
"I haven't had time to ask your name?" She straightened up.
"Leon."
Leon reported his true name.
"Leon?" Firefly murmured this name.
Elio had only said that this Eighth Heavenly General was quite unique, but hadn't introduced much more.
This was the first time she learned this Heavenly General's name.
"I don't have a name for now. If you don't mind, you can call me AR-214."
Regarding the other's self-introduction, AR-214 replied politely.
Leon nodded.
"I'm called Firefly, nice to meet you."
Firefly also made a formal self-introduction to him.
"Mm."
Leon responded and asked, "What are you going to do next?"
"Elio wants me to look after you."
While saying this, his gaze never left AR-214.
If nothing unexpected happens, the "Dreammaster" will definitely try to pull Firefly into his own plan next.
"Look after?"
Hearing these two words, Firefly was somewhat surprised.
Is she some delicate little girl? That Elio would actually specifically find someone to look after her.
"You are unfamiliar with the place and people in Penacony, while I have some connections here."
"Can I ask, what did Elio pay?"
Firefly pursed her lips, asking that.
She didn't understand how Elio managed to move Leon.
And why Leon would agree.
As far as she knew, plus what Elio himself said personally, this Heavenly General had a quite spontaneous nature and hated others teaching him what to do the most.
Also, Elio himself said he couldn't see Leon's fate.
The probability of moving him with a script was impossible zero from the start.
That is to say, unless he himself was willing, no one could make him work for them.
"What was paid?"
Leon thought for a moment, then looked at her, "A young girl's suffering."
Firefly was slightly stunned.
She knew this young girl obviously referred to herself.
"...That's enough?" She was a bit incredulous.
"That's enough."
A long-life stranger, saving the suffering and resolving difficulties. A suffering that was right before his eyes and could be completely rewritten.
For Leon, it was completely enough to make him lend a hand in passing.
Of course, the most important thing was still the provocation Constance initiated against him in the name of "Ephemera."
Elio's plan, Firefly's wish.
They just happened to coincide with this Lord Ravager's method of coronation.
All three needed the Swarm Disaster, so Leon didn't mind letting the Swarm Disaster reappear.
And he would personally use "The Hunt," which had not yet been born in that era, to defeat it once again!
"Then thank you, Heavenly General Leon?"
Firefly hesitated for a moment, but in the end, didn't refuse.
This was Elio's kindness, and even more so Leon's kindness.
She had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, if she refused, it would make her seem in the wrong.
"Have you walked around Penacony?"
She turned her head and asked AR-214.
"I don't have memories in this regard, and I'm very unfamiliar with everything around."
AR-214 hesitated, then shook her head.
"My memory stopped at the Swarm Disaster. When I woke up again, it was now."
"It's okay, then let's go walk around Penacony together, together."
Hearing this, Firefly stepped forward and held AR-214's hand.
"I'm also visiting Penacony for the first time."
"Two people are better than one. Let's explore together as companions."
The tone Firefly used was extremely gentle.
"I heard this place is called the Land of Dreams. Everyone can get what they desire here."
She smiled at AR-214.
"Okay, let's go together!"
AR-214 hummed quite happily, a smile from the heart hanging on her small face.
"Sorry to trouble Heavenly General Leon to be the guide."
Firefly turned her head, the young girl's smiling face facing him.
Leon could see that she was still very happy to meet a past companion here.
Even if it was just a phantom of the past, she was still very happy.
Penacony, Golden Hour, Oti Shopping Center.
The clothes on Firefly were fine; rather, under Kafka's meticulous dressing, she was beautiful.
But AR-214 wearing a cockpit-specific latex suit as casual wear was obviously not quite right.
So their first stop was definitely the mall.
First solve the clothing problem for AR-214, then talk about shopping.
"Back in Glamoth, you were the one who liked to dress up the most among us."
During the process of picking clothes, Firefly chatted with AR-214.
"Mm, I've always been thinking since before."
AR-214 nodded, her words also holding memories.
"If everything is the same as others, then am I really me?"
"Is my existence real?"
AR-214 spoke of the past with a smile in her words.
"After all, we look exactly the same. I wanted to seek some things that make me look different. I feel it can deepen my existence itself."
"Mm, I understand."
Saying that, Firefly raised her hand, touching her own hair.
"I kept this long hair for the same reason as you."
She looked at AR-214, thoughts surging in her heart.
Among the many Iron Cavalries of Glamoth, AR-214 was also the most unique one.
There were always many accessories on her.
Glasses, hairpins, hair ties.
One must know, privately dressing oneself up was a serious violation of Glamoth military regulations.
Not only that, but she also left the cockpit without permission many times.
Knowing clearly that this behavior would be punished, she still did it.
Perhaps it was precisely this self-awakening.
That made AR-214 the first deserter in Glamoth's history.
"Firefly, look at this!"
During the process of picking clothes, AR-214 suddenly stopped in front of a dress.
"I saw this kind in film works by chance before."
She took a schoolgirl uniform off the hanger, speaking excitedly to Firefly.
"I heard girls who go to school all wear this."
AR-214 picked clothes by instinct.
She didn't know what this outfit was called, nor did she know about fabrics or sizes.
She just purely thought this dress looked good.
"Mm, that's right."
Firefly glanced at the dress in her hand and nodded.
Unlike the novice AR-214, she had been roaming the galaxy as a Stellaron Hunter for a long time.
Those things she didn't understand or couldn't touch as a Glamoth Iron Cavalry before, with Kafka's help, gave her a new cognition of the world.
So Firefly knew that there were indeed many places that used schoolgirl uniforms as uniforms for girls.
"If you like it, then let's buy this one."
Firefly proposed to her.
"I mean..."
AR-214 instantly dug out another identical one from the side.
"Us together!"
"Me too?" Firefly was somewhat hesitant.
The clothes here were a bit expensive. One was okay, but if two, she didn't have that much money on her, and she didn't want to trouble Kafka.
"Come on, come on. Neither you nor I have been to school. Experiencing it this way isn't bad either."
Firefly just wanted to say 'I'll pass', but this sentence from AR-214 directly blocked her retreat.
Go to school?
She looked at the uniform in AR-214's hand, some daydreams stirred up by these words.
It would be nice if she could really live the life of that kind of ordinary young girl.
"Let's go, let's go, just try it!"
Before Firefly could recover, AR-214 directly took the two dresses and forcefully pulled her into the fitting room.
"Firefly, how do I wear this?"
"I'll help you."
"Ah... forgot about the underwear issue. This is bad."
"What is underwear? Is it important?"
"Very important. This is also common knowledge unique to girls."
Because his hearing was too good, Leon would hear things he shouldn't hear from time to time.
Listening to the two's conversation in the fitting room made Leon think of when he first picked up March 7th.
Unknowingly, time passed quite quickly.
"Two sets of clothes." Leon came to the counter to pay.
He didn't lack these few credits, and no matter what, he couldn't let Firefly pay.
"Dreammaster Leon, just spare me. Old Oti can take anyone's money but not yours."
As the owner of this mall, Old Oti showed a bitter smile at Leon's payment.
Leon didn't say anything either.
He was just being polite with him.
If it were a grassroots employee receiving him, he wouldn't nitpick.
But if high-level capital like him really dared to take his money,
Then he could roll out of Penacony tomorrow.
Leon returned to wait in front of the fitting room.
Not long after, with a swish.
The curtain of the fitting room was pulled open.
Two beautiful girls, both dressed in schoolgirl uniforms and wearing white thigh-highs, appeared before his eyes.
Youthful, beautiful, full of vigor, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning.
Unfortunately, in Leon's view.
Firefly's original pair of gradient over-the-knee socks were the most attractive finishing touch of the young girl. With this switch to a solid color, the purity level was correspondingly greatly reduced.
____
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