Although he said 'troubled,' Su'er always felt that this white-haired man's sigh at this moment was a bit... well, like the taste of a happy worry?
The pair of eyes that were always gray and seemed to have lost all hope now had a substantial sparkle. It was not a simple thing like 'living' that he had always emphasized in the past, but a more lively pair of eyes full of hope.
The gloomy Riku, whom Couronne and Su'er had tried to change many times but had always failed, now seemed to have finally gained a vibrant life and was truly alive.
Even when Riku was talking about the many jokes that the Ex-Machina named Schwi had made when she first appeared and said that it gave him a headache, Su'er found that Riku himself might not have realized that his lips were slightly curved upwards when he was recalling the jokes Schwi had made.
These subtle expressions would never have appeared on the man who had sealed himself off just a few years ago.
So Su'er felt that Riku had, after all, been changed by the Ex-Machina named Schwi, right?
"The first time we met, she directly asked me to perform a reproductive act with her, and she even said that I could do whatever I wanted with her according to my desires... The most infuriating thing was that she said the same thing directly to Couronne when she came over later, which caused Couronne to scold me a lot..." Riku was like an old grandpa who was starting to recall his youth. He kept talking about the jokes that happened during that time. He seemed to be complaining, but Su'er found that his lips seemed to be curving up more and more.
"Hmm... so she lived with you for two years and still hasn't found the heart she was looking for?" Su'er asked a bit strangely.
Seeing Riku's reaction, he thought that the Imanity and the Ex-Machina had already found it.
"...That's true, but why are you smiling so strangely?" Riku was a bit speechless. He was clearly talking about how awkward and dangerous his situation was at the time, but this guy seemed to not have felt it at all.
"Who knows what the heart, self, and soul of an Ex-Machina are? They are all abstract and cannot be judged," Riku said with a sigh. "What's with that expression of yours?"
"Ah, I was just thinking about something," Su'er was really a bit speechless. "Do these guys with great power eventually turn into philosophers? Or is this a direction that life will naturally take when it doesn't have to worry about survival?"
"Philosophy?"
"Hmm, let's not talk about that. So, Miss Schwi has been going on expeditions with you two for the past two years? I heard from Couronne that ever since Miss Schwi appeared, you've changed your expedition model to a two-person operation."
"The Ex-Machina's mobility is far superior to that of a beast. With Schwi's help, we can go to very far places to explore at the fastest speed every time. Everyone is also saved from the danger of sacrificing themselves. Not only that, you can also go to a cave entrance on the mountain above later and take a look. Thanks to Schwi's help, we can now observe the war movements of other races from a very far distance with a telescope."
Su'er didn't know if it was his illusion, but as soon as Riku talked about Schwi's contributions to the settlement in the past two years, he became more talkative. This white-haired man continued to ramble about the many mechanical tools that were made with Schwi's help and did not contain spirits, and how they were a huge help.
And Su'er... he just said 'hmm' and gave him a compliment. But not long after, Riku suddenly fell silent, and the smile on his lips also faded a lot.
"What's wrong?" Su'er was a bit curious.
"There was actually another reason for Schwi's initial appearance... She wanted to forcefully take me away from the settlement," Riku said calmly, which made Su'er suddenly surprised, "The reason was the two ladies who came back with you, Miss Think and Miss Jibril."
"...Just call them Think and Jibril," Su'er said casually, but he caught the information in Riku's words, "Have you seen Schwi before? Has she been paying attention to you?"
"I didn't remember at first, but I finally recalled it from her words," Riku's voice became deeper, "I did see her... when I was thirteen years old, when my parents and the small settlement I grew up in were all destroyed by the aftermath of a war between two unknown races... On that day, I saw her... Schwi, falling from the sky and standing on a high slope, looking at me..."
"Think and Jibril will be watching from over there. You don't have to worry about them hearing what you say," Su'er suddenly said.
"Ah, thank you, but there's no need for that kind of caution," Riku raised his head and showed a grateful smile before continuing, "You should know what happened to me after that, so I won't repeat it."
"Okay," Su'er nodded.
After leaving the ruins of the settlement where he grew up, Riku met the fleeing settlement where Couronne was, and then led everyone all the way until now with his thirteen-year-old body.
"I thought it was just a chance encounter at the time, but I didn't expect that Schwi had been following me ever since, and even the idea of wanting to find the meaning of 'heart' was born because of me..." This fact made Riku himself feel quite strange. He chuckled as he talked about it.
"Doesn't that mean that all the changes and developments of the settlement for all these years have been under the Ex-Machina's nose?" Su'er felt a bit horrified.
"Yes. Although I've long known that Imanity settlements can be easily detected by other races at any time, this kind of situation where it was built right under their noses from the beginning is another matter," Riku couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Fortunately, Schwi had already disconnected from the connection, otherwise it would have been a headache to the point where I wouldn't know what to do."
"...So Schwi wanted to forcefully take you away from the settlement because she was afraid you would be in danger?" Not being led astray by Riku, Su'er still returned to the place that a certain white-haired man wanted to gloss over, "Because Think... no, it should be said that Jibril was someone she couldn't fight against?"
"Yes, according to what she said when she first appeared, the Flügel are very random and bloodthirsty. The first thing she did when she observed them from a distance was to try to hide herself, and then after she realized that the Flügel had left, she wanted to take me away as soon as possible," When Riku talked about Schwi's initial thoughts, his expression also became complicated. He probably was also secretly wondering about it himself.