Hesta's first impulse was to refute that "Don't be afraid," along with the earlier sentence on the wall: "It seems you've been nervous ever since you entered this room."
Yet immediately afterward, she realized belatedly that her earlier discomfort had indeed carried a kind of "fear"—the fear of being swallowed by the room.
"I wouldn't call it fear," Hesta said after thinking for a moment. "I just don't like the feeling this place gives me. Everything is too smooth."
Words appeared on the wall: "Would you let me make another adjustment?"
"Whatever," Hesta said softly.
The walls began changing again. Hesta noticed the lighting shift once more from a soft pale yellow to a colder white.
The ceiling seemed to rise, though that was probably only a visual impression, much like the window that was still constantly changing shape—beyond it lay an incredibly realistic expanse of clear blue sky.
Hesta again felt everything shifting toward something familiar. This once-low, cavity-like room seemed to be transforming into a very spacious villa; the flowing images on the walls seemed to be solidifying into a spatial structure shaped like an equal-armed cross...
Hesta frowned again as an indescribable irritation surged up within her—this was undoubtedly pointing toward Ava's living room.
But almost at the same moment, the scene that had begun to solidify changed again. It seemed the space had sensed her displeasure and begun readjusting itself.
"If you insist on doing something to help me relax, just make some kind of outdoor scene," Hesta said softly. "Like a grassy field, out in the open, with clear weather."
The room immediately changed according to Hesta's description, but she was still not satisfied.
There were countless lawns in this world, and countless sunny days, yet this particular patch of grass and this clear afternoon