Overturned Tower

"What happened?"

Delphinium was keenly aware of the smile on Alice's lips.

She stretched out her hands to hold Alice's cheeks, pressed her thumbs on both sides of Alice's mouth, and smoothed out her snickering as if she had stolen a fish.

"Meet anyone you know?"

she asked quietly.

Alice didn't answer.

She just pulled out a data cable from her left forearm and handed it to Delphinium.

Delphinium suddenly understood, quietly took the data cable and inserted it into her waist.

As a former eldest lady, Alice's degree of prostheticization is very low.

Her arm is not a prosthetic body, it is just equipped with an interface similar to that of an elf under the skin.

After completing the physical link with Delphinium, they can communicate spiritually.

【How to say? Is there something wrong with that person? 】

Delphinium asked curiously, and at the same time there were mental fluctuations of worry and concern: [I see that he seems to be shocked. 】

[Probably an acquaintance of Alice]

Alice replied in her heart: [I sensed that in addition to guilt, there was also strong love in his heart]

[...Speaking of which, could it be your father? 】

This thought flashed through Delphinium's mind.

The plot of "seeing her son grow up to look very similar to his deceased wife" suddenly appeared in her mind, and she subconsciously passed it on to Alice.

Then, she immediately realized what thoughts she had passed on.

Suddenly his face turned red and he covered his cheeks and remained silent.

Alice opposite was also shocked.

She was silent for a while, and decided to give Delphinium some face and not put too much pressure on her... so she brought up the topic lightly.

Naturally, such thoughts and decisions were also passed on to Delphinium.

This is the inherent shortcoming of physical links... because thoughts must move faster than reason.

The so-called "talking louder than thinking" refers to this situation.

This is why in an era when thoughts can be easily extracted, people still send more messages through virtual keyboards... because the process of inputting text is actually a process of using the brain to think, deliberate, and sort out logic. The stronger the logic ability of a person, the more obvious the difference between language logic and text logic - so some video hosts who have made interesting videos, or authors whose works have extremely strict logic, may not necessarily be eloquent in reality. People who argue.

Because the part of the brain that responds directly to an event is not the same part of the brain that weaves answers through logic after careful consideration.

Relaxed chats tend to lean towards the former, while discussions with clients tend to lean towards the latter. As for sending letters, cautious people will even check the text several times to ensure that the details and etiquette are correct, and this almost completely abandons the "instinctive reaction".

But in a physical link, because the speed of transmitting messages is "instant", it must be 100% the former.

Therefore, through a physical link, you can even directly interrogate the other party - as long as you open a lie detection software, you can learn the real answer that cannot be concealed by analyzing the other party's instinctive reaction. It is the same as directly analyzing the brain waves on the other side through instruments, and it is not even possible to deceive oneself.

Only the most trusted friends, lovers, and relatives will be physically linked to each other.

Completely pure friendship, usually only among children. When people become more social, their outlook on life becomes complicated, and subtle differences appear between them and their friends... Whether they are friends of the same sex or of the opposite sex, it is impossible for them to have no complaints against each other.

Most friends in this world are not an absolute match. Rather, there is at least one party who is silently enduring, tolerating, and giving in... maintaining the relationship by accepting and recognizing the other party and working hard to change himself.

In other words, sincere relationships are built on white lies.

The physical link can dismantle all the pretentious appearances composed of language, expressions and movements.

The resentment, dissatisfaction, misunderstanding, and conflicts accumulated in the heart will be transmitted to the other party completely and instantly without any reservation.

Therefore, another use of physical link is the most practical for the broad masses of the people.

——That is the quarrel accelerator.

Many times, the quarrel between the two parties is actually caused by trivial matters. But in the middle, you may start to settle old scores, or you may start to get emotional, which will eventually lead to getting angry and speaking indiscriminately - and in the middle and later stages of the quarrel process, it is actually no longer dominated by logic, but by emotion. Yes. Because the rising anger will distort the original purpose... Anger attacks the heart, that's the truth.

And this requires a process and time.

Through the physical link, it is equivalent to quarreling all the words at high speed in a few seconds. At this time, the body hasn't even reacted yet... so emotions haven't overridden logic yet, making it easier to reconcile.

That is to say, when the body is not paying attention, the anger and the quarrel are over. When the two sides have reached a consensus, the anger that can blind reason has not even been brewed...

On the one hand, it is to maintain health, after all, anger can really hurt the body; on the other hand, the reason is that people do not have the time to quarrel.

Through the physical link, Delphinium fully experienced all the changes in Alice's mood.

She blushes, not just because of embarrassment or shyness, but because this experience of close and sincere communication is really heart-pounding.

It's like putting a paper cup phone on your chest and transmitting the heartbeat sound into the other person's ears.

Although the two ends of the line are separated, it is as if the other person is putting his ear on his chest and quietly listening to his heartbeat.

They are obviously far apart. There is obviously air in between.

The distance between the two hearts seems to be closer than when they hugged.

So at this time, this line connecting the two parties... has become some kind of invisible line that represents "fate".

【Not that man】

Alice conveyed her same complicated emotions: [I can't forgive that man... I've seen his photos, and they don't match up at all. And I don’t feel that way either]

At this time, Delphinium keenly sensed that...contrary to what Russell said, the hatred and resentment accumulated in the pumping thread of emotions was actually not that strong.

The stronger emotions are actually confusion, grievance and stubbornness.

It's like...Russell never regarded that man as his real father who gave birth to him. But he also thinks that he is a very important person to him.

He just didn't understand what the other person was thinking or what happened back then... so he felt confused.

And he was like an abandoned cat, with a faint and not obvious grievance in his heart. And this grievance is not all for himself, but also partly for the empathy of feeling aggrieved for Alice.

And the emotion that accounts for the most proportion is actually stubbornness. In other words, it is to prove one's determination.

Rather than the hatred that killed the man, it was more like punching him hard and making the man who looked down on him kneel on the ground, looking up in shock at the cub that he had abandoned as a burden in the past. I feel that he has become stronger than himself now.

It is a kind of stubborn mood called "not admitting defeat", which is quite like a big boy.

...It turns out that Russell also has such feelings.

Delphinium's first reaction was to have such an idea, and it was received by Alice simultaneously.

[Why can’t I have it? I’m also a normal young man]

The other party was obviously a little aggrieved.

[Because compared to your peers, I think you are more like a high-ranking being who has never been in contact with the bottom]

In Delphinium's perception, things like "desire to win", "self-esteem", "desire for expression", and "sense of presence" seem to have never been associated with Russell... This kind of workplace leader can be used to whitewash easily. The hot-blooded young man who just graduated from prostitution, the sweet cake that he has tried many times, can't be fed to Russell's mouth at all. No matter how I feed it, the cat always turns its head and says no, and can’t even stuff it in.

But now, he has very clearly shown his "self-esteem" and "pride", a desire to prove himself.

Now, Delphinium finally realizes...

Russell is not completely indifferent to fame and fortune, and does not care about that kind of thing at all. It's because what he cares about is actually not in the workplace or fame and fortune.

He didn't become a hero because he wanted to be famous, nor did he want to be better than others to show off his extraordinary talents.

It is not for the empty reason of "proving yourself", or for the superior pity of "the strong should help the weak".

But it is extremely simple...looking up at the sky.

Move unswervingly towards higher ground.

As for who he passed and what he crossed on the way...these "goals" that people value most are not of concern to Russell.

"……I see."

Delphinium murmured.

She finally understood why she always felt that Russell didn't care about anything, but he was not a willful guy like Bad Day.

Russell has always had very clear goals.

It's just that he doesn't boast about surpassing others as an achievement.

She finally understood why she fell in love with Russell.

...Because they are fundamentally the same type of person.

Delphinium is not actually greedy for the power of the position of minister, nor does she want to join the board of directors.

She never goes to the company cafeteria because she doesn't want to listen to other people's flattery; she doesn't like to go shopping because she doesn't want to be stared at with fiery eyes, let alone being talked to.

But apart from that, she works seriously every day... Even after the two angels entered the Special Execution Department, she is still the most serious employee of the Execution Department; although she never sees anyone, she puts on makeup carefully every day Skin care and clothing are always carefully selected. In my spare time, I buy myself some clothes and cosmetics online. And if she eats unhealthy food or eats too much, she will seriously exercise to maintain her figure.

Delphinium is not the kind of person who won't gain weight no matter how much she eats... Just looking at her father's body shape, you can tell that the genes of Ragdoll cats are still functioning very stably.

Although she is a glutton, she keeps exercising.

And she maintains her figure, dresses herself up, and puts on makeup seriously, never to please others—but to please herself.

She works hard every day and is even able to sacrifice herself for the sake of the people... It is not for fame or promotion. She was just doing what she thought was right and treating it as a routine that she had to complete every day.

Not to surpass anything, nor to defeat anything.

Not to prove, not to show off.

——That is the lifestyle of the aloof and strong man. Everything is taken for granted.

The biggest difference... is the talent gap between the two. She is already a very good person in her own right, but she is still not as good as Russell.

If Delphinium were a man, then in her perfect form, she would be someone like Russell.

Psychologically speaking, that's called the "animus." A collection of masculine images in women's minds.

But they are not exactly the same.

This is also Delphinium's own confidence and self-esteem - she cannot be the mirror image of anyone else.

Because of this, she is similar enough to Russell, but different at the same time.

The biggest difference between them is that Delphinium is less dependent on interpersonal relationships. She is the type who, if needed, can feel peace of mind every day without saying a word and concentrating on doing what she wants to do.

Russell is the complete opposite.

His ability to analyze other people's idiosyncrasies in an instant proves that he longs for true friends...people who can "understand" his own essence, and identify and accept him.

When Delphinium thought of this, she suddenly raised her head.

Alice, who was connected to her, also opened her eyes and raised her head simultaneously.

Through Alice's virtual image, she found Russell's shadow in her...

Yes, that's not an illusion.

——Only in the eyes of Delphinium, Alice changed back to the original Russell.

When Delphinium fully understood Russell, the shell that appeared on Russell's body suddenly became clearly visible in her eyes.

The person sitting in front of her was not Alice.

But Russell wearing the [Alice] mask.

No, that still doesn’t seem quite right…

Delphinium stared hard into Russell's eyes, vaguely feeling like she was falling into a trance into the abyss of chaos.

She seemed to be in a bright church, looking at the light that looked like a window, a portrait, or a mirror.

From that, she seemed to see another person on a deeper level.

A boy she had never met before...

He has black shoulder-length hair and narrow and thin shoulders. He is thin and frail, with a quiet and timid temperament... He has the fragrance of orange peel and cedar, and is a young man who is as beautiful as himself.

That's another side of Russell that's not exactly the same as Russell, who is always full of confidence, as if he can do anything.

It is the most fragile "crab meat" hidden in a strong shell called "Russell".

...Is this the real Russell?

Delphinium suddenly understood. Then came relief.

It turns out that the final corresponding point is here. What she really likes - the core of the soul that is deeper than "ultramarine" and "Russell", turns out to be like this...

Once upon a time... before she was forced to receive "a lethal amount of love," she was an ordinary girl.

The cowardice and ordinary core hidden under the extraordinary shell...and the correspondence between "desiring love" and "giving love".

The two looked at each other calmly and almost simultaneously.

Delphinium suddenly felt as if she had returned to the time when they first met... through the prison-like window bars, looking down from a high place on the confused Russell he saw. At that time, the two were still strangers to each other, but she had a throbbing that even she didn't understand.

There is no emotion in his eyes, but a kind of tranquility.

[Yes, I finally met... someone who can truly understand me]

[My understander, the one who unmasks...]

Alice's voice and Russell's whisper sounded ethereal in Delphinium's heart.

Along with a feeling of relief and wanting to cry, it filled the hearts of both of them at the same time:

【You finally found me, Flotte】

Ah, yes.

I found you.

This is a two-in-one chapter~

I forgot to write the chapter name, so I put it at the back (lay down)