The Undying Club wasn’t far from the Order Bureau, just a few streets away, and if you looked up, you’d see that gigantic, black obelisk towering between the buildings.
Belli had already gone back first, with Bologue and Aimou following closely behind, like ordinary workers just off from a day’s work, their pace leisurely as they strolled through the streets.
Neither of them spoke, savoring the leisure after a busy day, while people thronged the streets, and the noise never ceased.
As night fell, the signs of the shops along the way lit up, like the dazzling lights of a dance floor, casting a riot of color everywhere.
Amidst the neon and bustling traffic.
Aimou looked around, her eyes brimming with curiosity, every glimpse a rare newness to her.
Bologue also deliberately slowed down his pace, and the two ambled along, unconcerned with the passing of time.
In the past, Aimou would never have dared to appear on the streets directly. No matter how human she seemed, her imperfections always made her uneasy. But after Belli’s enhancements, her appearance was more human than before, even the seams between her limbs filled, almost flawless.
Her expressions became lively, her speech carried intonation, and even the halo in her pupils had adjustable brightness.
Bologue glanced at Aimou from the corner of his eye, really wanting to ask Belli for a list of Aimou’s upgrades, to see what improvements she had made.
If necessary, would Aimou’s arm suddenly pop out all sorts of chaotic weapons like a multifunctional military saber?
Bologue’s thoughts unconsciously drifted in a strange direction, while Aimou kept studying the shops along the way.
In Aimou’s life, walking so openly in the streets without worrying about her identity being exposed had only happened twice, once during the Vow Festival when she shared the chord body with Bologue, and now this time.
Although Aimou couldn’t perceive the myriad experiences like humans do, such a state also satisfied her greatly.
At least in this moment, the differences between her and humans nearly vanished.
The halo in her eyes trembled slightly, a chilling cold interrupted Aimou’s train of thought as she unconsciously looked up, her gaze sweeping across the steel jungle to the pillar of light rising beyond the mist.
The instant she noticed the light pillar, Aimou seemingly saw something terrifying, a flash of fear crossed her face, her steps rooted in place.
"What’s wrong, Aimou?" Bologue took a couple of steps and noticed Aimou hadn’t followed up.
"Nothing... nothing at all."
Aimou hesitated for a few seconds, then smiled and shook her head, her gaze resting on Bologue, forcing herself not to think of the light pillar.
"Hmm? You don’t look well, don’t want to go back to see Belli?" Bologue furrowed his brows.
Aimou reacted for a while, as if hearing a particularly funny joke, and burst into laughter, unable to contain herself.
"Haha! Bologue, you..."
Aimou placed a hand on Bologue’s shoulder, laughing for quite a while before she collected herself, standing up straight with a touch of liveliness in her eyes.
"No, I actually quite like Senior," Aimou said, "She’s quite gentle in private."
Bologue said, "Gentle? That’s terrible, Belli only understands gentleness when she’s researching."
He wasn’t joking; when working for Belli, she was extremely caring toward him, always showing concern.
Aimou was again amused by Bologue, clearly a simple sentence, yet she couldn’t stop laughing.
"Alright, alright, control yourself!"
Aimou laughed so loudly that others started looking over, making Bologue a bit flustered, thinking of covering Aimou’s mouth but feeling it wasn’t appropriate.
Because of this, Bologue’s movements became comical, his hands waving around without any resolve.
To think a serious expert could have such a clumsy side; Aimou wanted to laugh a bit more, but upon seeing Bologue’s earnest expression, she tried hard to control herself, pushing down her emotions.
"Okay, I’m fine now," Aimou said, confidently giving Bologue a thumbs-up.
Bologue let out a deep breath, hoping that when Belli handed over the upgrade list, she’d also include a maintenance manual for Aimou.
"Are you busy lately?" Aimou suddenly asked.
"Not busy, I’m sort of on a break lately, why?"
"If so, would you mind seeing me home a bit later?" Aimou suggested.
Before Bologue could finish, Aimou took his arm, looking at him imploringly.
"What are you up to?" Such tricks were obviously ineffective against Bologue.
"Just want to stroll more outside, it’s a rare chance," Aimou said.
"Hmm... but we can’t just pop into some restaurant or anything," Bologue thought for a moment, then explained, "Though, we could go to some unseen place and share the chord body. But you wouldn’t want me carrying a bunch of clothes back to the Order Bureau, right?"
Thinking of that image, Bologue felt it would be terrible.
"Even if I don’t mind, you wouldn’t want to face Belli’s wrath again, would you?"
Bologue’s words made Aimou’s smile freeze.
Belli’s personality was much like a witch from tales, or a witch in the woods; even if Aimou said she could be gentle, Bologue found it hard to imagine it.
Bologue thought, Palmer might be able to handle Belli; when a Witch meets a fool, unpredictable things might happen. But the result was that Belli threatened to hit Palmer every time she saw him if he dared to get close to the Sublimation Furnace Core.
Palmer really is disliked by others.
The two sat down on a street bench. In the past, Bologue could walk from the Undying Club to the Order Bureau in a matter of minutes, but this time, the short journey seemed unusually long.
Aimou sat quietly beside him, while Bologue pondered what Aimou could experience.
"Bologue, a long time ago, I used to stand at the edge of the crossroads in hesitation, gazing at this city from afar. At that time, I felt that this city didn’t belong to me, and I would never set foot in it."
Suddenly, Aimou spoke. She didn’t look at Bologue but instead watched the bustling streets, where cars were stuck together, and drivers impatiently honked their horns. Despite the noise, Aimou found it quite interesting.
"But now, I’m in this city. I’ve met people here, and it’s no longer unfamiliar to me."
She turned to look at Bologue, her face full of joy.
"I know what cake tastes like, I’ve watched a movie, my voice has gained intonation, and even my expressions are no longer numb... It’s something I never imagined before."
Bologue felt the atmosphere was somewhat... warm. He recalled that in his expert’s long career, he rarely encountered situations .
So, what should he say now?
"From a probability standpoint, as long as you live long enough, good things are bound to happen."
Bologue responded earnestly, "So you have to live well."
For a few seconds, it seemed like time stopped, and Aimou appeared to be holding back laughter. Bologue couldn’t figure out what was so funny until she couldn’t contain it any longer, and like a seal slapping its belly, she patted Bologue’s shoulder.
"Oh my, Bologue, has anyone ever told you that you have a knack for comedy?" Aimou laughed so hard she almost leaned back.
"Comedy? I feel like I’m serious!"
"Exactly! That’s the feeling of someone telling jokes with a straight face!"
Should we say, as expected of sisters? Bologue started to think Aimou was somewhat like Belli; her humor was quite quirky.
Afterward, the two fell silent again, with neither speaking, quietly waiting for time to pass.
"Are we daydreaming?" Aimou asked.
"Probably... What’s the matter?"
"I feel like it’s a waste of time, it doesn’t seem like your style."
"Me? What’s my style?"
"Probably that very meticulous style that makes the best use of every moment, never allowing time to be wasted."
"Oh? That’s true, but I’m off duty now."
"Yeah, off duty," Bologue stretched lazily, relaxing his body, and said drowsily, "After work, the Order Bureau doesn’t pay overtime, so why should I be so professional?"
Aimou said cryptically, and then she stood up, reached out, and pulled Bologue up too.
"Let’s go, we should head back."
"Just like that?" Bologue asked, "I thought you wanted to stay out a little longer."
"There’s always a chance later," Aimou thought for a moment, "How about when everything is over?"
"When it’s all over, you mean Teda’s matter?" Bologue asked.
"Uh-huh, after the teacher’s matter is resolved, there will be nothing left to affect us. By then, we can do whatever we want, freely." Aimou fantasized about a beautiful future.
"Do you have anything you want to do then?" Bologue countered.
Aimou thought for a while before helplessly shaking her head, "Can’t think of anything, do you have any suggestions?"
This time, Bologue fell silent, displaying a look of distress.
Bologue’s daily life was very routine, so routine it was somewhat boring. He himself was enjoying it, but if Aimou joined...
"Speaking of which, Geoffrey got us a car," Bologue remembered, "Because of our outstanding performance, he got us a fieldwork car, parked in the Order Bureau’s parking lot."
"I can take you for a drive, this city is quite big... just the two of us."
Upon hearing this, Aimou was a bit surprised, not expecting Bologue to have such a moment of enlightenment, but then Bologue added.
"Just the two of us is enough; let Palmer stay away," he mumbled, "Having Palmer with a mode of transport is practically a disaster."
Bologue recounted his first experience riding a motorcycle alongside Palmer.
Aimou froze, then laughed again wildly. Bologue really couldn’t understand, and asked her what she was laughing at. Aimou didn’t answer, just kept making faces at Bologue.