Have they been hypnotized by me?

"Mr. Sage, can you bear to let a weak woman like me do such a thing..." A few tears hung from the corners of Echidna's eyes, looking pitiful.

"Go quickly, and starting from tomorrow, you will also train with Artoria." Nan Zhukong said without any emotion, and there was no room for negotiation in his words.

Echidna's body bones were too weak, so Nan Zhukong felt that it was necessary to strengthen her some - although training might not change the fact that she was an athletic idiot.

"Devil, simply devil..."

"The devil is the devil, anyway, you have to start training." Nan Zhukong didn't accept it at all, but ruthlessly pronounced the sentence.

The work in the fields soon ended, and Nan Zhukong and the two girls sat on the ridge of the field. The sun was shining high at the moment, and there were no pedestrians on the road. Only a few of them were left to bask in the meaningless sun.

"Teacher, are you okay?" Artoria looked at Nan Zhukong a little worriedly. Just now, Nan Zhukong was surrounded by villagers and asked a lot of questions, but she didn't know what they were asking.

"I'm fine. The villagers are very friendly. They just asked me a few irrelevant questions." Nan Zhukong said.

Just now, the villagers surrounded Nan Zhukong and asked about the girl's current situation.

In their memories, the girl had been gone for a year, but it still felt like it was yesterday. They didn't have any panic, they just came up to ask about the girl's current situation.

So, Nan Zhukong picked some things to talk about, roughly talking about the girl's daily life and interesting things, to make the villagers who were like Artoria's parents feel relieved.

Then it was harvest time. After the harvest was completed, the villagers left here, while Nan Zhukong and others stayed here.

"Haah...haah...tired...so exhausted." Echidna looked like she was about to die.

The girl's fair skin was covered with fine beads of sweat, as if a film of water was covering her body.

Even the white hair was soaked with sweat. When straightened and squeezed, it looked like a soaked towel.

Echidna felt like her whole body had been squeezed dry, and almost all the water in her body had been lost...

Nan Zhukong took out a kettle and matching cups out of thin air, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Echidna.

"Haah... gotta be... saved." Echidna felt like she was saved.

"Come and eat as soon as you are saved." Nan Zhukong's voice came from the side. After so many years, I often heard such a voice.

I should have been bored, but the expected boredom never came....

This is...get used to it.

Habits are really scary.

With this thought, a wooden box was handed to her hand, containing the lunch made by Nan Zhukong.

When she opened it, it was an ordinary dish - but the food he made was unexpectedly delicious. Even if she knew what it was, she wouldn't be bored...

Maybe it's because I'm used to it.

Although she still wants to try new dishes, she will be happy even if she remains as she is now. This is a rare phenomenon - for her.

I've been thinking about one thing lately. I seem to have changed a lot recently. I obviously didn't have any habits in my previous life, but now I've been made like this by that guy... I'm used to a lot of things because he's always Are you feeding food into her mouth?

Echidona picked up the bamboo chopsticks, a kind of tableware that Nan Zhukong taught her to use. She gently picked up the food Nan Zhukong had cooked and put it into her mouth.

The fragrance spreads in the mouth, and the taste buds are noisy and celebrating, as if there is a banquet on the tip of the tongue until dawn.

Joy spread into her mind, making her feel some unknown emotion.

This emotion made her a little... at a loss.

Very familiar, not strange, she even knew her well, but she couldn't pronounce her name...

It was the first time that she didn't feel bored at all about almost everything she knew.

She has always loved exploration and knowledge. It can be said that her life is only this, only this... This is the meaning of her life.

However, after a year of getting along with each other, I have not been able to fully understand the people, the habits that have gradually formed, and the people who have gradually become inseparable...

How is this?Why is this?So what?

Don’t know, don’t understand, want to know.

"Do you feel a little better?" Nan Zhukong looked at her with a smile...

"It's a little better... By the way, I have something to ask you, but you must promise me..." Echidna suddenly said.

"whats the matter?"

"Can...let me lie on your lap for a while? Mr. Sage?" she said.

12. He doesn’t care

"Sir Sage, it is unethical to do such a thing in a place like this..." Arturia looked at Echidna lying on Nan Zhukong's lap, pouted and said with some annoyance.

"What does it matter? If you want to do this, Artoria, Mr. Sage will definitely not refuse... Is Artoria jealous?" Echidna lay on Nan Zhukong's lap. On top, his legs are very strong, but when relaxed... they are quite comfortable.

In particular, he is a guy who takes care of people. Even now, he is taking care of her, hoping to make her lie down more comfortable...

Turning sideways, feeling the feeling coming from him - the strong feeling that would be transmitted to the body as soon as it collided, making the nerves start to tremble.

It's probably an instinctive reaction between the sexes, and this feeling is particularly strong in him - speaking of it, he basically avoids direct physical contact with Artoria. Is it because of this?

Due to the loss of body sensation caused by the experiment, she can feel the strange things about him and be able to contact him.

The loss of body sensation was not what she wanted, but was a sequelae caused by the experiment that could not be eliminated.

Oh, what a coincidence, otherwise Mr. Sage might not have let her have contact...

It's a good thing that there is one more thing to explore about him. In this case, the arrival of parting will be much longer.

The feeling of not wanting to leave will last longer. This feeling can be studied and analyzed by oneself, and then one can understand it...

Gaining...knowledge about love, although she doesn't know why, she likes this kind of knowledge very much. Seeing other people's love, even if she doesn't understand it, she will feel excited.

Probably because everyone's love is different, which represents infinite unknowns.

Echidna had a lot of thoughts in her heart. One year of getting along with her made her, who was still only 20 years old, feel something she had never felt before in her life.

Looking back on the past, I embarked on the path of a scholar because of my love for knowledge. I studied everything I wanted to study, whether it was magic or machinery, whether it was astronomy or geography, no matter who it was, society or history, and even literature. In the end, he even became a "well-informed sage" in this country.

But she knew that she didn’t know enough. After all, a person’s life span is about four to fifty years, and those who live longer can live for a hundred years. She is not yet halfway through her journey of exploration, and she doesn’t know enough. She is called “Educated Knowledge” "Sage" is just because he learns quickly and there is not much knowledge and unknowns in this country...

Through the accumulation of time, people can leave great wealth and legacy in books. One person will never be able to explore it all in his lifetime, but...Britain's current results are definitely not up to standard.

She has searched for magic and alchemy knowledge across the country and learned all of it... Even so, there is no way to know the cause of certain phenomena. Even so, there is no way to destroy the world or create things out of thin air. Even so, there is no way. The method...let yourself understand things that you can't understand anyway, such as going deep into other people's hearts...

Reading memories is easy, but it is very difficult to empathize with the people in the memories. You can't do it yourself, and you can't understand the feelings of those people you are curious about.

Ah...the more things we can't understand, the more we want to understand them, and the more things are hidden, the more we want to reveal them. Human beings...are so strange...

The so-called going deep into the heart is to grasp the "love" in that person's heart. When reading literary works, you will always see the word "love", as if "love" is an indispensable part.

So, with this unanswerable question, she continued to explore other questions and continued to find her own answers.

During this period, she traveled all the way to study, and finally became Britain's "Learned Sage", a person who was probably revered throughout the country. Although she didn't care, it was very convenient, so she accepted it...

She has been studying. During this period, she came into contact with magic and learned alchemy. So the genius made her progress greatly. Now she is probably the strongest person in traditional magic in Britain... Mr. Sage It doesn't count, because only he can use his magic.

During her research, she conducted alchemy experiments in order to increase her lifespan. Her body became more like a tool. She lived longer but felt almost wiped out...

She believes that everything else is irrelevant. As long as she can continue to explore unknown knowledge and know where the unknown lies, everything she does will be meaningful.

She has always thought so, but...it is inevitable that she will be a little lonely. After all, she is also a human being...and she is only a 20-year-old girl. It is normal to feel lonely...

Regardless of these, after the alchemy experiment was completed, she received a request to train the future "king" of Britain. The people of this country asked her to train the king of Britain in the future.

However, she doesn't want to go, so she wants to find someone to take her place.

And the person who replaced her... she found it from a prophecy - a sage summoned from the inner sea of ​​the world...

[Star Inner Sea], as a gathering place of energy and existence, is an important research target for her. During the study of [Star Inner Sea], she gradually understood the nature of that place, and also learned the method of summoning existence from it. .

Even if this is just the beginning... there are still many things waiting for her to explore, which makes her a little unhappy.

But it doesn't matter, because she summoned from it the existence that may be the one she is most interested in right now.

She had a vague expectation before the summons, the kind of expectation without any reservation.

Perhaps at that time, she vaguely sensed the specialness of that person. She knew that what attracted her to doubt was not the unknown in him, but his own existence, whether known or unknown, regardless of possibility and development... it was him. Own.

why?What is this...

Echidna wants to know the reason for this...

Love, the reasons for love, the feeling of losing love... I want to know these things.

Suddenly, her body that lacked feeling felt someone's touch. He was gently stroking her hair, straightening them and caring for them.

"Ahem, Sir Sage, please leave the teacher's lap immediately. It's been half an hour and too much time has been wasted." Arturia pretended to be serious and asked Aggie with a tense and serious expression. Donna left Nan Zhukong's lap.

"What does it matter? He didn't say anything anyway, right?" Echidna naturally didn't want to leave, because it was very comfortable and pleasant, and his body knew that it was still blocking the sun...

"..." Artoria lowered her head. The upright girl didn't know what to say...

Nan Zhukong just smiled, took out a lot of food from his bag, and handed it to Artoria.

"This...this is..."

"You're not full yet, I made more." Nan Zhukong said.

Artoria has always concealed the fact that she is a big eater, but Nan Zhukong knows her true nature and has been secretly adding extra meals, and even takes them out to calm the girl's mood at such times.

Then Artoria suddenly beamed... and even forgot to hide it.

13. Opportunity to practice knighthood

In a leisurely afternoon, Nan Zhukong put away his lunch box and the three of them sat side by side on the field ridge.

"The villagers are nice people. From my point of view, if they are these people, it would be good to become a knight." Nan Zhukong said, today and before... Nan Zhukong would come to the town sometimes, and the villagers were very happy. It's enthusiasm. Even if they don't know his identity, they still treat each other with enthusiasm. These are a group of simple and kind-hearted guys. No wonder they can teach Arturia, a village girl who is also simple and kind.

"The most important thing about becoming a king is support. If it's these villagers, protecting them is the right choice... They will definitely support little Arturia..." Ejido, who had just gotten up from Nan Zhukong Na analyzed it from the perspective of interests.

"Well, I want to protect them in the future... Of course, there are teachers and... ahem, Sage-sama is also included in the list." Artoria said, but she was reading Echidna's words. I felt a little annoyed when I called him...

"Is that so... Hehe, then I will wait for you." Nan Zhukong looked into Artoria's eyes, looking full of expectation.

"Of course, I swear that I will do it in the future. I will become the teacher and everyone's knight." After hearing this, Artoria touched her chest and said solemnly.

"Oh? You actually include me..." Echidna was a little surprised. She thought Arturia hated her. After all, she and she seemed to be in some kind of antagonistic position. , in this case, her feelings for him should also be opposite... Is it because of Mr. Sage?

"After all, Sage-sama can be considered a teacher's friend..." Although she said this, it could be heard that the girl was very reluctant...

"Tangled feelings...Conflicted people are really interesting." Echidna said.

Hearing this, Nan Zhukong fell into reminiscing...

He lowered his head, and the expression on his face was unknowingly melancholy.

"What's wrong? Mr. Sage?" Echidna's words contained some concern, which was very rare in the past. She seemed to have changed a lot recently.

"I slightly remembered what happened before." Nan Zhukong said. When he raised his head, the melancholy on his face had disappeared.

When Nan Zhukong heard what Echidna said, he thought of Kyubey, who was still suspended in [Claustrophobia]. The little guy who was always studying human emotions had been stagnant for a long time because of a bug.

As a special individual, it is an independent existence in this world where the incubator civilization does not exist. It is always observing the daily life of Nan Zhukong and others, and occasionally connects to the Internet to observe filth. I remember the last time I interacted with it During the conversation, it said that it was probably able to simulate human emotions now, and would look for opportunities to try it in the future.

Then, the world was stopped, and Nan Zhukong's chance to see its results was postponed indefinitely...

I wonder...will it have [empathy] in the future?

If you can empathize with it, you don’t have to worry about it, because you have learned to imprint the impression deeply into your consciousness.

If you could have empathy, would you cry or smile because of what others are going through?

"Mr. Sage..."

"teacher..."

The concerned voices of the two girls sounded at the same time, and Nan Zhukong was a little surprised, until he relaxed his cheeks after realizing it.

He felt that his expression had changed a lot. Just now... he seemed to have a bitter look on his face.

[The expression just now was so ugly. Please cheer me up a little. 】

Othinus's voice seemed to be mocking him for being weak, mocking him for putting on that bitter expression just because of a year of separation - although she didn't mean that, her usual words had a hint of a devil. of arrogance.

"It's okay... I just thought of them who haven't been rescued by me yet. Speaking of which, they are the reason why I came to this world..." Nan Zhukong adjusted his expression and mood and asked the two of them who were obviously very curious. The girl talked about her past.

Probably from when he was born until now... He even said some funny things to liven up the atmosphere. After all, the two girls saw his expression just now, and they were probably a little worried...

In the end, Nan Zhukong ignored the matter of Othinus and directly said that he came here from another world.

After saying these things, their faces showed more or less surprise.