Leave Lyra

"You're here for Clerk 44, right?"

When Jie La Er heard these words from Carol, his whole body stiffened, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.

He knew it! He really knew it!

Jie La Er instinctively took a step towards Carol: "Carol, you..."

Carol raised her hand, stopping Jie La Er from going any further. Jie La Er then saw a flicker of hesitation in Carol's eyes, but he didn't explain immediately. Instead, he gestured to the customers still waiting in line behind Jie La Er: "Excuse me, Lord Jie La Er, I'm still working."

Carol's reaction made Jie La Er feel uneasy again, but when he looked back, there were indeed many guests behind him, most of whom had given him their seats earlier, and they were now staring at him with curious and dissatisfied eyes.

Jie La Er could only nod. "Okay, then I'll wait for you here."

Carol hesitated for a moment at the request, but did not refuse. She simply nodded and looked behind Jie La Er: "Next."

Jie La Er waited on the side.

After that, Carol focused on her work as before, without even glancing at Jie La Er, as if Jie La Er didn't exist.

"Clearly, he knows something," Bai Wei's slow, deliberate voice echoed in Jie La Er's mind. "But he's still hesitant, hesitant about whether or not to tell you."

Jie La Er naturally sensed it too, and looking at Carol who was deliberately ignoring him, he replied in a low voice, "I know."

"But what if he also refuses to tell you the truth?"

Jie La Er remained silent.

"Jie La Er," Bai Wei said slowly, "Have you thought this through? How much are you willing to pay for the truth?"

Jie La Er remained silent.

He stood in the corner like a statue for an entire afternoon.

Throughout this time, Carol didn't glance at him again, focusing solely on her work, offering routine advice to one young man after another who wanted to replace their limbs with larger ones, and then fitting them into the new ones. From noon until sunset, when the setting sun bathed the entire shop in a pale gold glow, Carol finally saw off her last customer.

His colleagues had finished their work earlier, said goodbye to him, and then left laughing and joking.

In the end, only the two of them remained in the store.

A former Knight, a former Mechanic.

Jie La Er stepped out from the corner and looked at Carol standing in the sunset. His eyes, which had been somewhat hesitant, had calmed down.

"It's been a long time, Lord Jie La Er," Carol said to Jie La Er. "Of course, you may not know who I am. Long ago, I was one of the many who looked up to you."

"Carol." Jie La Er stood before Carol and said softly, "You know why I've come."

"I knew it the moment you appeared before me," Carol said. "Clerk 44, right?"

Upon hearing Carol mention Clerk 44 again, Jie La Er paused, then instinctively quickened his pace. "So you really do know something..."

"No, Lord Jie La Er," Carol calmly interrupted Jie La Er. "You and I both know that Clerk 44 does not exist."

Jie La Er's body stiffened.

"We all know you're looking for Clerk 44, but she doesn't exist. Agents only go up to number 43," Carol said. "Even if you come to me, this is the only answer I can give you: Clerk 44 does not exist."

Jie La Er had completely stopped. He looked into Carol's eyes, trying to read something different from those calm pupils, "Number 44, she is really important to me."

Carol lowered his head, avoiding Jie La Er's gaze. "I'm sorry, Your Lord Jie La Er."

"You know me, so you must know Xiaoxing." Jie La Er hadn't given up. This was the first clue he'd found in ten years, and he wasn't about to give up. "That was my squad, those were my brothers. They died in the Contaminated Land, and were forever branded..."

"The label of a traitor," Carol said softly. "But Lord Jie La Er, if I also answered some questions that I shouldn't have answered for you, then I am also a traitor."

Jie La Er's unspoken words caught in his throat.

Looking at Carol, who refused to look up, a deep sense of powerlessness and exhaustion welled up inside him. After a long silence, he said softly, "Ah, yes, if you answer me, you'll be a rebel too."

Carol kept her head down and didn't say anything.

Jie La Er looked at Carol and asked with a last glimmer of hope, "Can I take your answer as meaning that Clerk 44 does exist, but you can't say what happened to her, right?"

"No, Lord Jie La Er, I did not say that," Carol replied matter-of-factly. "Clerk 44 does not exist."

Another long silence followed.

Jie La Er looked up at the setting sun and said softly, "I see, then I understand."

Then he turned around and walked out of the store.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Carol. Just think of everything today as the last murmurs and obsessions of a madman."

Carol looked up at Jie La Er's aged back and the creaking of the old metal parts as he walked, and suddenly felt a little dazed.

Just as Jie La Er was about to leave the store, Carol called him back.

"Lord Jie La Er."

Jie La Er turned to look at Carol.

"Your body hasn't been maintained or repaired in a long time, has it?" Carol asked. "Can I help you?"

Jie La Er was slightly taken aback.

Carol bowed slightly, the golden sunset casting its glow upon his body, the Lyra's mark gleaming in the setting sun.

"Mechanic Carol is at your service."

"It's obvious you haven't done any maintenance in a long time." Carol removed the steel plate from Jie La Er's chest, glanced inside, and then involuntarily made a "tsk tsk" sound. "The corrosion inside is really serious. If this continues, it will spread to the heart sooner or later... Besides, you poured too much lubricant in there. That stuff doesn't work very well most of the time."

Jie La Er nodded. "I know, but I've done my best."

"Well, you're not a traditional Mechanic, so it's really quite an achievement that you've managed to keep this body in good condition until now without any major problems," Carol asked with a smile. "When was the last time you performed system maintenance? I mean, not the kind you did yourself."

Jie La Er shrugged. "Ten years ago, the night before that mission..."

"... I'm sorry, Lord Jie La Er."

"Why are you apologizing?" Jie La Er rarely showed a relaxed smile. "I should thank you."

"Thank you. Would you be willing to maintain it for me? It would be my pleasure."

"Thank you for still thinking so," Jie La Er said softly. "It has been a long time since anyone has addressed me as 'Your Excellency,' and it has been a long time since anyone has stopped treating me as a sinner."

Carol fell silent again, but this time not for long. As he helped Jie La Er replace the corrupted parts, he said, "When I was very young, Night Star was a hero because you guys went deep into that terrifying Land of Corruption time and time again. To me, it was really... cool."

He repaired the chest area, screwed it in, and then gently patted it twice, producing a dull sound. He then sat down on the other side and began disassembling Jie La Er's thigh parts.

"Even after I grew older and became Maintainer, Xiaoxing was still a hero. Because I knew that you went deep into the Land of Corruption not for some cool reason, but for the sake of this city's life. You risked your lives to obtain the energy that can only be produced in the Contaminated Land. I finally realized that you are not as glamorous as you seem on the surface. You face the harshest environment and do the most important things. Everyone in this city is benefiting from your kindness. You are the ones who make this city full of life... Ah, the Dak Type-3 auxiliary prosthetic body, the most classic model."

Jie La Er looked down at Carol, who was busy working on his thigh, and said softly, "It's a classic, but it's probably outdated now, isn't it?"

"No, classics never go out of style," Carol said without looking up. "Even now, it is still the best auxiliary prosthetic. Young people nowadays prefer a complete replacement prosthetic and look down on these auxiliary prosthetics. But they will never understand this kind of beauty, and they will never understand a truth."

"What truth?"

"Mechanics are just an aid, not the whole thing." Carol tightened the last screw and then stood up. "Alright, Lord Jie La Er, although I can't restore your prosthetic body to its original state, I've at least restored about 50 or 60 percent of its functions and added some new ones as well."

"New features?"

Carol shrugged. "For example, automatic drainage, so you'll never have to worry about it becoming sluggish on rainy days again."

"That was a huge help," Jie La Er said hesitantly. "But I don't have that much money."

"What are you saying, Lord Jie La Er?" Carol said calmly. "According to the laws of Lyra, all Mechanic are obligated to provide free maintenance for the Knight of the Evening Star. I was simply fulfilling my duty."

Hearing Carol say that, Jie La Er nodded. "Thank you."

Carol was silent for a moment, then said, "A long time ago, I also wanted to participate in the selection of the Night Star and become someone like you."

Jie La Er looked at Carol.

"But back then, I already had someone to care about." As Carol spoke, he lifted his shirt to show Jie La Er a photograph inside his shirt, a picture of himself and his family of three. "Just like now, I'm no longer alone. I can't do crazy things like I used to, and I shouldn't even think about it. So... I'm sorry, Lord Jie La Er."

Jie La Er looked at the photo and understood what Carol meant. He was silent for a moment, then nodded gently. "I understand. You don't need to blame yourself."

"Thank you for your understanding." Carol looked away again.

Jie La Er stood up and patted Carol on the shoulder. "Don't let your son become like me."

These words made Carol's body tremble slightly.

Jie La Er was about to leave, but just as he turned around, Carol's voice rang out again.

"As I just said, whether it was when I was a child or after I started working, I have always felt that Xiaoxing Hero is the same, and even now..." Carol seemed to have finally made up his mind. He looked at Jie La Er's back and said, word by word, "Lord Jie La Er, stop investigating Clerk 44. If possible, leave Lyra as soon as possible."

Jie La Er froze. He turned around abruptly, but Carol had already taken two steps back, half of his body now in shadow.

"This is all I can say," Carol said softly. "Leave Lyra."