Steel steam and flame

There is nothing to judge by, except the increasingly intense light.

Cassia walked into the hotel and took the room key from the counter that she had discussed with Julien and the others in advance. The reserved room was on the eleventh floor, but Cassia still chose to take the corridor. Probably because Li loved the color white in the past, Cassia had a different kind of love for the quiet feeling in the corridor.

Now is not the time to be short of time, you can spend more time on such unimportant things. Cassia found a completely convincing excuse for taking the stairs. When we arrived on the eleventh floor of this hotel, I didn't feel tired at all, nor did my body show any reaction that I should have after exercise. The surgeon's condition becomes increasingly disconnected from daily life.

The corridor did not give Cassia a novel feeling. It was still the same as what he had experienced before. Will soft carpets always be the main style in the hotel? In addition to their different colors, there are also paintings of unknown meaning hanging on the walls of this corridor. Cassia, who had no artistic accomplishment at all, couldn't see what was painted on it. Abstract paintings often only make his already chaotic thinking even more confusing. Compared to these paintings framed in wood, he prefers the mechanical instructions and assembly drawings spliced ​​together with countless simple lines in the factory.

After checking her room first and finding that there was nothing wrong, Cassia knocked on the door of Julien and Taranto's room. Doris does not belong to the team and involves her own personal matters, so Cassia can only leave her there without any supervision.

"Mr. Cassia, I thought you would stay in the library all day." A tired look appeared on Julien's face, and the rest on the train did not seem to be as satisfying as Cassia seemed.

"There's nothing special. I just went over to look for simple information. It doesn't take much time." Cassia replied, then looked at Taranto, "The Holy Emperor's Hall can wait until this time tomorrow to contact us again. It’s up to you to decide the specific time. Then between now and tomorrow, you can rest freely without involving tasks. I have something to do here. "

"It was such a relaxing and enjoyable mission trip, thank you Mr. Cassia." Although Julien was several times older than Cassia, his words made Cassia unable to feel the impact of the age gap between the two people.

"You don't have to be so polite, because I also have things that need to be dealt with immediately." Cassia nodded and said. Julien and the others had a look of understanding on their faces. They didn't know why there was an extra little girl in the team, and they guessed that the matter Cassia was dealing with might be related to the little girl.

When Julien went to find Cassia in the afternoon for something, and when he knocked on the door of the room at the predetermined frequency, there was no one inside. Similarly, the little girl also left the hotel.

The departure time was around three o'clock in the afternoon, when the sun was terribly bright. After booking a rental car at the hotel counter in advance, Cassia drove Doris to the other side of the Oria region, where they would spend the evening in the hotel.

"Did they say a specific time to come look for you?" Cassia adjusted the air circulation system to a suitable position. Doris also held a new hat in the limo to block the ubiquitous light, her eyes were slightly squinted, and her eyelashes were longer than Cassia imagined.

"Or a specific location will do. We don't have to drive around the city in a limousine like this. When you are separated, do the housekeepers who protect and assist you have any hidden tips for you. For example, the relationship The words in the name of the building, next to the tallest building in Oria, or the largest amusement park, etc."

"No." Doris shook her head and thought for a moment, "When a housekeeper received the news, everyone became hurried. They just gave me a lot of holy coins as expenses for the journey, and we separated. Basically There was no time to talk in detail. They didn’t say anything. They just told me when they were leaving in a hurry to find a hotel to stay in when they arrived in the Oriya area. They would find me soon."

"Then let's just do what they said and find a hotel to stay in."

Driving away from where Julien and the others lived, Cassia found a satisfactory hotel until the sun was about to set. While walking around the city, he bought Doris a hat that was more suitable for her regardless of size or style. Doris held her tightly in his arms, with a blush on his face along the way. Half of it was from being exposed to the sun, and half was from an unusual mood.

After checking in, Cassia entered the elevator with her suitcase. Doris's face was obviously very nervous. Although her age and upbringing environment prevent her from understanding the entire context of the incident, she can still sense a heavy and unusual atmosphere from what happened on the train.

"Those housekeepers are all bad people. Do they want to lie to me?" As the elevator rose slowly, Doris suddenly raised her head and asked Cassia, "And the Holy Emperor..."

I didn't know how to answer for a while, and by the time Cassia thought of the right words to express it, it was already much too late. Doris seemed to know the answer from his brief silence, even if the answer so far was just a guess by Cassia.

"Nothing, they didn't lie to you, it's just that due to some reasons of the mission order, some things can't be told to you in advance." Cassia said quickly, but Doris's face was already full of loss and sadness. It was as if something that had been built up in the body so far suddenly collapsed, like a heavy object falling from a high altitude and suddenly fell to the ground with a "bang" sound.

She wanted to say something to make up for it, but Cassia knew it was too late. He sighed alone in his heart. He had never expected that such a serious mistake would happen on the way. He chose silence to deal with this matter. He felt that he should give the little girl more time now. Words had no practical effect. The lift stopped on the way, and another mother came in with her child. The atmosphere in the lift made them consciously remain silent, leaving only the sound of their normal breathing. Doris next to her kept her face buried.

Finally, when the elevator's crisp reminder sounded, the protective door slowly opened in Cassia's eyes. The mother and son were the first to leave. When he wanted to take a step forward, he found that Doris was still standing there. One hand held the hat he bought for her, and the other hand stretched out to grab the corner of Cassia's clothes.

"Am I a person abandoned by the gods and the church?" Doris asked, "Will I die, brother Cassia?"