Columbina slowly awoke from her sleep. She sensed that beside her, Coppelia was sitting in a chair, watching her.
She immediately looked down at her embrace.
The disabled Moon Spirit was gone. A Moon Spirit, full and round in form, emitting a soft moonlight, was quietly floating in the air before her.
Columbina froze for a moment, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She sat up straight, extended her hands, and gently hugged the Moon Spirit. She pressed her cheek against its smooth, slightly cool head and nuzzled it back and forth.
A soft and real sensation came from her cheek. Beside her, Coppelia's figure was also clear and unmistakable. This was not a dream.
She moved the Moon Spirit slightly away and released her hands, wanting to let it float on its own. But the moment her hands let go, the Moon Spirit lunged forward, extending the soft braids on its sides to tightly hug Columbina's face.
"Mmph—" Columbina was caught off guard by the hug. "Don't hold so tight."
She pulled the Moon Spirit off her face, hugged it to her chest again, then raised her head to look at Coppelia.
Coppelia's gaze moved between her and the Moon Spirit. "Looks like you learned how to create Moon Spirits."
"I learned it in a dream," Columbina replied.
After speaking, she focused her mind. A faint flash passed through the air beside her, and immediately, a second Moon Spirit of identical form appeared out of thin air, hovering at her side.
"It turns out one needs to draw upon the information flowing within the Ley Lines..." Columbina tried to explain, but her brows quickly furrowed. "Just..."
She paused, seeming to struggle to organize her words, but her thoughts were like a tangled mess.
"Uh... I can't explain it clearly." She was a bit vexed. "But I clearly 'understand' this knowledge..."
Able to write the correct answer, but not understanding the derivation process? Coppelia understood her state. "You mean, you know 'how' to create Moon Spirits, but don't know the underlying principles?"
"That is exactly how it feels." Columbina nodded.
As she spoke, a glimmer flashed beside her again, and a third Moon Spirit appeared in the room.
"Alright, alright," Coppelia hurriedly stopped her. "Don't make any more for now."
She reached out to hug a Moon Spirit that had drifted close, looking it in the eye. Her gaze moved downward, seeing that the Moon Spirit's two full, slender braids hung almost down to her own calves.
Coppelia let go, letting the Moon Spirit drift away. "This guy is too big. Having them follow us is too conspicuous."
Columbina stood up from the lounge chair and looked at the three Moon Spirits slowly wandering around the quiet room. "Should I make them hide?"
Coppelia looked down at the storage copper mirror hanging on her chest, a gift from Cloud Retainer.
"Let them try," she said to Columbina. "Get into this copper mirror?"
Columbina summoned the three Moon Spirits to her side and pointed at the copper mirror on Coppelia's chest. "Go in, then come out."
The Moon Spirits seemed to understand. They drifted toward Coppelia.
But before Coppelia could actively trigger the copper mirror to store them, the figures of the three Moon Spirits vanished without warning with a whoosh. About a second later, they reappeared in their original spots with another whoosh on their own.
"They can actually use it without being taught." Coppelia was somewhat surprised.
Columbina smiled and praised, "So smart."
The Moon Spirits were evidently happy to be praised; their bodies began to bounce up and down briskly, and the pair of small wings on their heads flapped, appearing very lively and cute.
"Alright," Coppelia said to them. "You should go inside for now."
The Moon Spirits obediently lined up and submerged into the copper mirror one by one.
"Let's go." Coppelia turned and walked toward the door of the quiet room. "We'll go find Suleiman to say goodbye first, then leave directly."
Columbina followed behind her.
Coppelia pulled the door open. In the corridor outside, a person was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall—it was Kelvin.
This time, he was not wearing that trademark monocle.
Hearing the door open, Kelvin immediately turned his head, a look of relief appearing on his face. He propped himself up against the wall, standing up with some difficulty.
"You've finally come out," he said, his voice carrying a trace of exhaustion. "I haven't been inside the Akademiya before. I asked for directions and searched for a long time... thankfully, I finally found you."
"You were waiting for us?" Coppelia looked at his obviously unstable stance. "You are still injured. Are you alright?"
"It's nothing major." Kelvin waved his hand.
"A fracture isn't a big deal?!" Coppelia pointed out.
"It's not the first time." Kelvin tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to make a relaxed expression. "Aren't I standing here just fine?"
"Don't force it." Coppelia frowned. "You waited for us; is something the matter?"
At this moment, Columbina walked to Coppelia's right side. "Do you need my help?"
Kelvin subconsciously raised his hand to adjust the monocle on his right eye, but his fingers touched only an empty socket. He rubbed his eye socket with his fingers instead and said, "There are indeed two rather urgent matters. The first," he pulled a delicately crafted bracelet flowing with blue fluorescence from his pocket, "I made a small gift for Miss Columbina. I originally wanted to prepare one for both of you, but hearing that you are leaving today, there wasn't enough time, so I only finished this one."
He handed the bracelet toward Columbina. "This is for Miss Columbina."
Columbina took the bracelet and stroked it with her fingers. The fluorescent blue was beautiful, and the material felt very comfortable to the touch. She put it on her left wrist.
"Thank you," she said. "It is very beautiful."
A smile appeared on Kelvin's face. "I'm glad you like it." He turned to Coppelia, slightly apologetic. "Sorry, Miss Coppelia."
Giving a gift... this doesn't really count as urgent, right? Coppelia thought to herself, but asked aloud, "It's nothing. What about the second urgent matter?"
Kelvin's expression turned serious. "It's about those Khaenri'ahn machines I modified. My most important 'belongings' are stored inside those machines. But after the camp relocated, they seem to have disappeared."
"Mr. Suleiman said those machines might attract attacks from Khaenri'ah again," Coppelia explained. "So it was decided to abandon all of them at the original location." She paused, then added, "Machines can be rebuilt if lost. The Akademiya shouldn't lack materials for your research. Or perhaps go back to retrieve them in a few days?"
"The machines themselves aren't worth anything." Kelvin shook his head, a sense of urgency in his tone. "What's important is the knowledge stored in the machine cores. There's too much of it, it's too complex. I couldn't memorize it all, so I stored it in those machines."
"Is that knowledge very important?" Coppelia asked.
Kelvin leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "Inside them lies the core technical data of the Scarlet King's civilization."
____
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