That night.
After finishing a daily video chat with Sylvia, Fang Li left Jie Long.
Following closely behind him was Orphelia.
However, Orphelia's expression no longer carried the sadness of the past; instead, it was tinged with a hint of unease.
At this moment, Fang Li and Orphelia were boarding a flying ship.
In the battle city Asterisk, flying ships were quite common as a means of transportation.
Utilizing the miniaturized Star Engineering technique, these flying ships only required an open space the size of a helicopter landing pad to take off and land.
Perhaps precisely because of this, in this water city, flying ships were mostly used to carry tourists, and students rarely used them.
At least during the Festa, flying ships had many uses, carrying various tourists.
Another use of flying ships was to transport famous students.
After all, during the Festa, if contestants who were like celebrities wandered the streets, it would certainly cause a significant commotion.
Not everyone was skilled at disguise.
Thus, flying ships came into play, providing a means to avoid disturbances and crowds during the Festa, with a portion specifically allocated for well-known contestants participating in the event.
Now, this year's "Gryphon Festa" was about to conclude.
Tomorrow, the finals will take place.
In this context, if one were to ask who the most famous student was, aside from the contestants in the finals, no one else would come to mind.
In other words, the flying ship that Fang Li and Orphelia boarded was a means of transportation for one of the teams participating in tomorrow's finals.
However, this time, the purpose of the flying ship was not to carry passengers but to provide a venue.
"Kacha..."
With the slight sound of the door opening, the automatic door slid open.
A spacious lounge immediately came into view for Fang Li and Orphelia.
Before Fang Li and Orphelia could step inside, the people sitting in the lounge stood up one by one.
In particular, one person spoke up with some excitement.
"Orphelia!"
The one who spoke was none other than Julis.
"Julis..."
Orphelia turned her gaze to Julis, her crimson eyes slightly lowered as if she found it difficult to face her past friend.
Seeing Orphelia like this, Julis seemed to calm down as well, turning her gaze to Fang Li.
Noticing Julis's gaze, Fang Li simply said, "You two talk."
After saying that, Fang Li turned around.
However, before Fang Li could take a step, a hand grabbed the corner of his clothing.
Seeing this scene, the Enfield team, led by Julis, including Amagiri Ayato, Claudia, Toudou Kirin, and Sasamiya Saya, were momentarily taken aback.
Only Fang Li, feeling somewhat helpless, let out a bitter smile.
"I won't walk off alone; I'll wait for you to come out."
Upon hearing this, Orphelia seemed to relax, and after a moment of hesitation, she released her grip.
Fang Li then glanced at the people in the lounge, smiled, and directly left.
Almost simultaneously, Claudia clapped her hands and cheerfully said, "Well then, let's go out too."
Amagiri Ayato, Toudou Kirin, and Sasamiya Saya all nodded.
Clearly, everyone wanted to give Julis and Orphelia some private space to talk.
Thus, they all retreated one after another, leaving only Julis and Orphelia in the lounge.
"...…"
Silence suddenly enveloped the two.
At that moment, it felt as if both sides did not know what to say, leaving them to look at each other in silence.
After a while, Julis finally took a step forward, walking toward Orphelia and coming to stand in front of her.
"Julis..."
Orphelia looked at Julis, opening her mouth.
However, before Orphelia could speak, Julis suddenly hugged her tightly.
Orphelia was momentarily stunned.
Then, Julis's voice rang in her ear.
"Idiot..."
These simple two words conveyed all of Julis's feelings.
Orphelia's eyes slightly trembled.
After a long time, hesitating and feeling uneasy, she slowly extended her hand and gently embraced Julis.
Years had passed since they first met in the orphanage, yet they had walked completely different paths in life, and now they were finally reunited.
This was a true reunion.
...
On the flying ship, outside the lounge.
In a corridor, Fang Li was looking out the window, admiring the night view outside.
The night scene of the battle city was quite bustling and pleasing to the eye.
Being able to overlook the panoramic view of the battle city from above was perhaps one of the main reasons tourists chose to ride the flying ships.
Before long, footsteps sounded behind Fang Li.
Without needing to turn around, Fang Li already knew who the newcomer was.
The next moment, the person spoke up.
"I didn't expect that after just a short conversation with you, things would turn out like this."
Amagiri Ayato approached Fang Li's side, gazing at the night view below with a somewhat helpless tone.
"Weren't you supposed to prepare before contacting me? Yet you secretly handled Orphelia's situation all on your own?"
Originally, it would have been nearly impossible for Julis to open Orphelia's heart.
But now, things were different.
Orphelia's fate had been completely overturned.
The current Orphelia was no longer just an item; she was now a student of Jie Long.
"However, that doesn't mean much," Fang Li continued to gaze at the night view below and said, "That Strega (Witch) hasn't fully recovered her heart."
This was not Fang Li exaggerating.
In reality, Orphelia was still in a state of having abandoned everything.
She had no will of her own, nor any thoughts of her own. Even after transferring from "Solnage" to "Jie Long" and becoming a student of Jie Long's seventh academy, Orphelia felt not a shred of happiness or joy; she merely followed Fang Li's arrangements.
In this regard, there was almost no difference compared to before.
However, Amagiri Ayato had a different perspective.
"Even so, she still made a choice," Amagiri Ayato stated with conviction. "Even without joy and happiness, at least she chose to live as a person rather than as a Doll."
This was the only change.
No, there might be another change as well.
"I see that Orphelia seems quite attached to you."
Amagiri Ayato spoke with a smile.
"You two have a good relationship, right?"
(End Of This Chapter)
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