Chapter 93: The Figurine With a Heart
Sepide and Silva were drinking coffee together, waiting for Neige to finish her session with Gwyn. Silva finished her fourth coffee before starting to complain.
"What are they talking about? It's so long."
"Maybe Neige is explaining something complex?" Answered Sepide.
"As long as they don't become intimate in there I'm fine. Actually, it would be better if they did, at least it would be over soon."
Sepide tried to understand her friend's words but couldn't despite her efforts. She stopped thinking about it when she saw Emely and the new member come to her. Silva and Emely looked at each other for a moment without saying a word before looking away and blushing suddenly. Sepide felt like she needed to do something or else it would stay that way forever.
"Is the robot fully working now?"
"Huh!? Oh yeah, Remiel. She's all fine now!"
"Yes, I am ready to roll." Remiel tried to sound more lively in her sentence but it was clear she still needed some work.
"Yeah... Where is Neige?" Emely said while looking around for the third member of their small group.
"He's with Gwyn, you needed to ask him something?"
"I would have preferred if he was here. I need something in another world and figured it would be good to send Remiel there since It's a simple mission, just getting wool from a childish world full of innocence. I wanted Neige to accompany her since he's the experienced one."
"Silva is experienced too!" Said Sepide with a smile "With us two, we should be able to help Remiel."
"That's a wonderful idea! Can you... err... Ask Silva if she's okay with it?"
Sepide was a bit confused, she wondered if the two of them were mad at each other, they were both acting weird. Before she could say anything, Silva answered her question.
"Can you ask Emely why she's embarrassed and make a joke for me?"
"But I don't know how to joke like you..." Sepide answered, completely lost.
"Can you ask Silva if her feelings for me embarrass her too much to talk to me?"
"Can you tell Emely that she's a dumbass but that I love her and will help?"
"Can you tell Silva that she's cute and thank her for helping me?"
The two girls were blushing more and more as the conversation goes. Remiel nodded her head and took note to herself.
"Humans are weird. When in love, they do not have the courage to face their lover."
"I'm not in love!" Objected Silva "I just... Have yet to determine my feelings."
Sepide felt like she was the only reasonable person for once. She decided to take the lead and take the group.
"We should go prepare ourselves. Does Remiel have weapons?"
"No, she doesn't but it should be alright. If you get hurt there, then you're really unlucky."
Relieved by Emely's words, the group went away. The young engineer grabbed Silva's sleeve silently before she could leave. Sepide and Remiel turned toward them but Silva gestured them to continue without her, leaving the two girls alone. Everything was silent for a moment until Silva finally decided to break the ice.
"You're the one that confessed... How can you be so shy suddenly?"
"You're the bold one usually... Why don't you say something pervert?"
"I don't always say something pervert! Just sometimes."
The two friends fell silent again. Taking all the courage she could, she finally said what she wanted to tell Silva.
"You said you were into tall men, right?"
"Don't take it seriously, it was a joke."
"But... I know that you're into men usually. I thought of something, I could work on something that could change my gender. I don't mind it if it makes you more comfortable and-"
Silva interrupted her friend by touching her forehead. She touched around, making sure it was centered, and gave a flick on it.
"Don't change. I told you I wanted you for yourself."
"But it's just... Well... Physical... It doesn't change who I am."
"It does for me. And if you do, then I won't be able to mock Neige for his dick without feeling bad for you. I'm sure you'd have a small one too."
"I-I... You don't know that!"
Silva laughed cheerfully before caressing Emely's head and was ready to leave. Before she could, Emely kissed her cheek, making them both blush more than they ever did.
"Good... Good luck kiss..."
"I'll never wash my face again."
Silva smiled and hurried to join her friends, she felt as happy as she felt shy from her friend's surprise.
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"We're in a room with a lot of figurines and toys, probably a children's room. I can't see any windows so it's hard to tell what time it is outside, if there even is an outside. Everything seems made of blocks and plastic bricks. I'll name this place The Blocky Lands. Oh, I almost forgot to say, this room is ginormous. Or maybe we're the small ones but this pencil next to me is my size."
Sepide turned toward Remiel and Silva, who were discussing the strange state of this world.
"I do not see any wool there, we will have to search for it."
"Why does she need wool anyway? I hope we find it soon."
Remiel nodded at Silva's words. Their first objective was to leave this room for now but it would be difficult to go down from the desk they were on without getting hurt. The sound of wood hitting itself got closer to them. Silva and Sepide were ready to engage in a fight but were met by a friendly voice instead.
"Hello, are you new here? You look nice, I sure hope you're not going to attack us, right?"
The figurine of a girl with violet hair greeted them. Her skin was made of wood that emitted a satisfying sound every time she moved. Her fully black eyes stared at the group, waiting for an answer. Silva decided to be the first one to discuss with the strange being while still being on her guard.
"Yeah, we're new. We're searching for a kind of very soft wool, do you know where we can find it?"
The figurine touched Silva's cheek and pinched them, trying to make sure of something.
"You look an awful lot like the one that invaded us. But still... It would be unfair to treat you differently because of that. I hope not every one of your models is as troublesome."
"I ask myself that question every day... But don't worry, we're just here for the wool."
The figurine smiled and nodded her head to the group in trust, her hands behind her back.
"Alright, my name is Alanna! What is yours?"
"Silva!"
"Sepide."
"Remarkable and Elegant Module-1 Esper Lambda: Remiel."
"That's... A long but pretty name. The wool is in the luxury room, we need to take the wooden train to get there!"
The group followed their new ally, toward their goal, thinking it wouldn't be so bad after all.
The room was so big that it would take at least half an hour to get to the train. Silva decided to ask more about this world to Alanna to pass the time.
"So... Are everyone toys here?"
"Yeah, all living in harmony! Or... So I thought. This new toy caused troubles and took control of the kitchen."
"But why?" Sepide asked to her new friend.
"I don't know, she kidnapped my friends but what can I do? She is way too dangerous for me to deal with."
Silva felt offended by the girl's words but tried her best to not show it.
"So... You just accepted it? Don't you want to help them?"
"Life is still fun! You just have to ignore your worries and everything is wonderful!"
Silva tried her best to contain herself and took a deep breath. Multiple thoughts crossed her mind, but she knew that if she was in that situation, she would never give up on her friends.
"Get us to the kitchen, we'll save them."
"But Silva, it is not our objective, this could mess with this world."
Despite Remiel's objection, Silva stayed true to her words.
"I'm going to save them, you can just take care of the mission."
"I... Do not understand. Are you not a peacekeeper of the universe?"
"It's fine, if this ends up being a big problem, I'll fix it. I just can't turn a blind eye to injustice."
"So... The best thing is to disobey the order?"
Silva thought for a moment at Remiel's question before answering with a confident smile.
"Yeah. You just have to think about what is the right thing for you. It's your life, don't waste it listening to someone you disagree with."
Despite being targeted at Remiel, Sepide, and Alanna all thought about Silva's words. The blind girl suddenly felt uncomfortable at everyone's silence, wondering why they thought so hard about it.
"It's not that deep..."
"I think you're a wise person, Miss Silva." Answered Alanna "Way better than the invader. You may look the same, but you're really different."
"There's something I wanted to ask." Sepide said after being reminded of the invader "This invader... Does she have a sketchbook and painting supplies on her belt?"
"Indeed!" Confirmed the figurine "You know her?"
Sepide turned toward Silva with worry in her eyes. Her friend felt her worry and caressed her head with a smile before she could worry more.
"Don't worry, it's fine. Eventually, we'll manage to stop Silv once and for all."