The afternoon is coming to an end, as if it is foreshadowing the quiet evening like the veil of dusk, and the infinite darkness of the night is about to come,
The clear blue sky has turned into a warm glow,
Calgary melts into this sunset.
Sitting in a quiet position by the window in the retro and elegant coffee shop, Colossus was not surprised when the young man in front of him asked this question.
The look on his face was not a question filled with disgust towards a traitor, nor was it simply curiosity about gossip.
Serious, calm, and solemn, as if he was not asking about the reason for betrayal.
But I'm asking...
What is your wish?
It’s not that he is deep in the city, or that he is good at disguise. Under the power of the A-level superiors, the opponent turns out to be a young man who is still at this stage of life.
After discovering this, Colossus smiled and said,
Although he has given up his identity as the leader of the royal court, the change in appearance has not changed the age in his heart. The elder mentality that once watched generations of young people grow up remains.
Make him feel that he should answer this question well.
So after thinking for a while, Korossos looked out the window at Calgary under the sunset and smiled:
"What do you think of this city?"
He was stunned by this familiar question, but it was different from the last time he heard it in Paris. He had just arrived here today.
Fangran knew nothing about Calgary.
"This is a nice city,"
The elder's experience could easily see through his ignorance. Korossos asked and answered questions to himself with a gentle smile.
"Alberta is the richest province in Canada, and Calgary is the most economically developed city here,"
The old gentleman who has experienced countless social tea parties can always make the conversation feel like a spring breeze.
"Most of the people here have very high incomes, and social undertakings such as education are doing well. The safety factor and happiness index are very high, and the benefits are so high that you can enjoy free medical care on the first day you immigrate,"
"Although winter is very cold, with the warm wind flowing back from the Rocky Mountains, the temperature can often rise by more than ten degrees in a few hours..."
It was a completely unrelated topic to the reason for betrayal, but Fangran did not interrupt, just listened quietly.
Listening to him, who had been the leader of the royal court for decades, introduce the details of the city, supplementing his knowledge other than "the city is clean and the air is fresh".
From the scenery to the climate, from the economy to the humanities, all the details are vivid and vivid, as if you only know them after living here for many years.
"But apart from these, what makes this province the most prosperous is also the city's greatest feature,"
Then at the end, Kolossus looked at Fangran and smiled.
"This is an oil city. This is the second largest energy center in North America."
Oil, energy....
The moment he heard these words, an accident flashed through his mind. He recovered the contract and helped Essenkfume overcome the difficulties. The thing he is now taking over in reality is the energy field.
But Fangran didn't expect to hear this topic in the conversation with Korossus.
"Energy has been the absolute core of civilization since humans learned to use fire."
In the small cafe, the words were filled with emotion, and one sentence took the topic that had already strayed further.
Then Korossus looked at Fangran again, smiled and said:
"I was born into a large and historic family in the UK. For many people in the world, I stood at an end point that they might not reach as soon as I was born."
He looked slightly surprised, not expecting that he would talk about another unrelated topic.
Fangran looked at the young face of Colossus, with a look of ecstasy that needed to be recalled because too much time had passed.
"At that time... my family had many teachers for me since I was a child to teach me various things, from etiquette to equestrianism, from mathematics to classical literature,"
"I'm pretty talented. I can do everything quickly and respond to everyone's expectations..."
Listening to the ecstasy tone in Kolossos's voice that sounded like an old photo,
At this moment, I suddenly realized how precious this moment was. I was listening to an A-level talk about his past.
Fangran smelled the faint aroma of coffee in the cafe and imagined a picture of an upper-class British young man who showed his talent since childhood...
"Being from a well-known family and endowed with extraordinary talents, there is nothing to fault in such a life, but maybe it's because everything is too easy."
"It makes me feel less interested in many things,"
Korossus turned his eyes to look at Fangran and smiled.
"The kind of 'interest' that can be called the meaning of life and truly comes from the bottom of my heart."
Family background, wealth, ability... everything is like a top background that an A-level status should have. With a life where you don't have to worry about food and clothing, you can do anything.
It is natural that the problem of pursuing higher spiritual satisfaction but being unable to find it arises.
The moment she heard him say this description that truly came from the bottom of his heart, Fangran finally understood what he wanted to say.
"Until one weekend when I was twelve years old, I finished my art appreciation course, said goodbye to everyone and returned home."
"My grandfather took me to the study. He asked me to sit on his lap, spread out the book and told me about the opportunities for our family's rise at the beginning of the last century."
It should have been quite a long time ago, but I can still tell all the details of that day.
Korossus looked at Fangran, and there was a rare eagerness in his gentle expression as he answered.
"The First Industrial Revolution."
Industrial Revolution....
I was surprised that although this term was familiar but had only been seen in textbooks, it was said from the other party's mouth based on family history.
Fangran looked at the enthusiasm on Colossus's face, which was the expression of talking about what he desired.
"Listening to my grandfather talking about that era and the social structure that changed drastically due to the birth of the steam engine had a great impact on me when I was still young,"
As if it spans more than half a century in my memory, I recall the feeling of sitting on my grandfather’s lap that day.
Korossus looked at Fangran, his eyes lighting up with something almost eager.
"For the first time, I became genuinely interested in something."
Knowing what the true form of that brilliance was, Fangran looked at Colossus like a fanatical believer who explained his faith to others, and his tone of voice unconsciously became high-spirited and fiery,
"Those textile machines that replaced human labor in the factories, those tireless ore trucks in the tunnels,"
"Trains that shorten distances and steamships that regularly cross oceans, which can be called evolutionary productivity, have achieved incredible things that people could not even imagine in the past. Machinery has replaced labor and triggered a grand change in the entire human society."
"Following the primitive energies of wind, water, and coal,"
“The emergence of the new energy source—the steam engine—promoted the entire civilization to take another leap forward!”
Fascinated by it and his high-spirited tone, listening to the Eighth Pillar Executive explaining the significance of that era, Fangran seemed to be able to imagine the changes brought to the world by the operation of steam engines in various places at that time.
And what surprised him even more was that the topic went round and round,
He actually talked about energy again.
Energy, industrial revolution... Listening to the vaguely fanatical words of Korossus at this moment, I felt something inexplicably. I always felt that there was something important in these words that I couldn't figure out for the moment...
And when he picked up the coffee and smiled softly, the excitement from the conversation disappeared, and his gentleness returned to him.
Korossus seemed to be feeling a little longing and a little relieved:
"I have thought more than once, if only I had been born in that era. How exciting it would be to witness the rapid progress of the entire world."
Hearing his emotion, Fangran didn't say anything, but just felt all the true results of the [Weighing Scale],
Understand the reason for his betrayal... No,
What should be said is what his wish is.
Yes... Apart from this thing that every participant cannot avoid, what else could make an A-level give up everything before and choose to betray...
"Since you have a relationship with the Sixth Pillar, you should have met her this time when you came to North America,"
Seeing Fangran's silence, Korossus smiled, then picked up the coffee in front of him again and said with a chuckle:
"She should have said something to you."
Maybe it’s just that time has tempered and matured everyone like them. Colossus guessed this all at once,
There was no denying it, Fangran just nodded and recalled the conversation with Trinity at that time.
'...In the future described by the leader, there is a wish for all of us...'
Unknown to Fangran, who was thinking about her words at that time, Kolossus lowered his eyes and looked at the reflection on the coffee.
"I used to think that the queen's courage, style, wisdom, and all the praises used to describe saints were already the pinnacle of human life,"
"So I agree with her radiant philosophy, as a belief, I firmly believe in it..."
Even though he had betrayed him, he still spoke of Valline with almost pious respect.
Yes, whoever has seen that queen wouldn’t do it...
But maybe because he remembered what he had done, he gave a slight wry smile and sighed softly:
"Before I met the leader, I never thought that there could be someone comparable to that queen in this world."
"Have you met the leader of the association?"
Listening to his words touching that character, Fangran interrupted and asked for the first time,
"No, but as long as you have contacted the alliance leader or been selected by the alliance leader, you will know that it is not important,"
"The alliance leader actually thinks the same as the queen,"
It was not surprising that he would ask this question. Corosus smiled and gave an unclear answer,
Then I put down my coffee and looked at the world outside the window, unable to help but sigh with curiosity:
"I really don't know what kind of structure and foresight the legendary Midnight Immortal possesses that transcends the mortal world."
Speaking of this, he suddenly burst into laughter and sighed.
"Speaking of which, the reason why I am where I am today is because of your night game."
Varied...!
Surprised as to why the name of Night Bureau suddenly appeared in his words, Fangran was about to ask, when he saw Korossus looking at him calmly,
"To this day, I still believe that the queen's ideas were correct, and I have never regretted the time I spent serving her faith in the past decades,"
"It's just that in comparison, this place is closer to my imagination,"
"Abandoning my lover, abandoning my homeland, letting go of everything I owned in the past, just because I can't deceive myself about what my heart is yearning for,"
"So I chose this side."
Listening to his words at this moment, his eyes slowly opened wide,
'It has been almost a century since the world of Night War entered peace and stability. No one knows whether the next era will come tomorrow, but at least in the future described by the leader, there is a wish for all of us,'
‘Looking at it this way, the alliance leader and the queen are actually the same kind of people, and the executive officer and Zero Cavalry are also the same kind of people,’
'It's just like investing money to become a shareholder of a future consortium...'
'I choose the future on the leader's side.'
Listening to Korossus's final answer, Trinity's words seemed to echo in his ears,
At that time, the words he had always felt hazy and incomprehensible seemed to suddenly become much clearer.
I obviously got the answer, but I didn’t know what to say for a moment.
Looking at the silent young man in front of him, the young gentleman just smiled gently.
Then he finally came back to his senses, suppressed the chaotic and unclear thoughts, and looked at the young figure in front of him,
The anger at him falling into the viewing room during the national war was absolutely false, but at this moment he really felt that the other party still wanted to tell him something like the old leader,
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something,
But at this moment, the contact on the communication channel rang!
It was late winter in January, and before I knew it, the sky outside the window had darkened after a short chat.
After a moment of silence, Fangran just picked up the coffee and drank it before standing up.
"The coffee is delicious, thank you."
Smiling at what he said before leaving, Colossus just held the coffee and whispered as if to himself,
"What about you, will you be like me?"
Hearing these words, Fangran paused in a daze. He lowered his head and saw that his side face did not look like a question, but a complicated emotion that seemed like he was lost.
Then before walking out of the cafe, he watched the boss take away his coffee and replaced it with a cup of black tea, placing it opposite him.
There is only one figure sitting by the window in Colossus...