"My master raised high the holy sword of the Narzissenkreuz, which was a ceremonial sword. The blade was not sharp, yet it still shone brilliantly under the sunlight."
"'Look,' he said, 'even such an ugly monster can obtain wisdom and the chance of redemption through the power of my Narzissenkreuz incarnation.'"
Caterpillar repeated his master's words.
"I was his creation. As proof of the power of the Narzissenkreuz, I once wielded the sword for the Ordo."
"But the holy sword clearly could not spare my master from the fate of failure and destruction. The miraculous magic item... no longer exists."
"There will also be no more monsters wearing human skin like me."
Caterpillar described it vividly.
It made Lumine reluctant to interrupt him.
She really wanted to say that the sword had already been taken by her...
She would pick a better time to make it clear.
Now, everyone already knew Caterpillar's experiences.
But there was still one question: why did he want to help Lanoire?
"Because of pity..." Caterpillar said.
"Just like how I learned to change the image I present in others' eyes. Although humanity cannot be obtained, at least it can be imitated."
Paimon said she didn't understand...
[In other words, he is only imitating the emotions that humans possess.]
[It's probably like how AI can analyze emotions, but they themselves don't actually have those things.]
Caterpillar was the same.
From the results, many things showed no real difference.
They all agreed that Lanoire should not stay in the Fortress of Meropide and should return to her relatives.
So they chose to help her.
However, Lumine and Paimon's actions came from natural kindness and required no extra thought or calculation.
While Caterpillar's purpose in doing this was only to... make himself more like a human.
"Isn't it ridiculous? I can never become a real human, yet I cannot stop the act of imitating."
Caterpillar seemed unable to understand his own behavior either.
Just like how he wanted to return to the prison to atone for his sins.
According to Fontaine's laws, after these 400 years, his sins had long been repaid.
However, he didn't know what a real human would do after completing atonement...
In his cognition, he would never be able to forgive the mistakes he had committed.
The harm he had caused, those people and things that could not be recovered.
"My sins should not have a day when they are fully atoned for. I will forever be my own prisoner."
As they spoke, they had already arrived at a mountainous wilderness.
This place had few people, yet the scenery was extremely beautiful.
Caterpillar gently woke Lanoire.
"Look, over there is the home you truly should return to, just as Agnes said. The hills brushed by gentle winds, on the meadow covered with blooming flowers."
"Over there is...? It really is... just like Mom said..."
Lanoire rubbed her eyes, looking at the small house with lights on in the distance.
It was clear that the owner of the house loved flowers and plants very much.
The courtyard in front of the door was carefully tended with various flowers.
"I'll trouble you to take Lanoire over."
"What about big brother Caterpillar? Isn't big brother Caterpillar coming with me?" Even facing the Hilichurl form of Caterpillar, Lanoire didn't feel anything was wrong.
"I'm tired. I'll rest here for a while and catch up with you later."
"Then I'll rest here too..."
Lanoire began to chatter about her good friends in the Fortress of Meropide.
Unfortunately, she could never go back.
[I remember this place. Isn't this the mission where you chase the dog? There's an old man.]
[Maybe the streamer is a lazy dog and didn't do this mission.]
After resting for a sufficiently long time, Caterpillar still refused to set off.
Lanoire could also tell.
She might never see big brother Caterpillar again.
Because when the story ends, all the characters in the story disappear...
Caterpillar told her, "Your adventure story has only just begun. There is still a vast world waiting for you to explore."
"Besides, this is only a brief separation."
"Really? Is it really true? Although big brother Caterpillar has never lied to me. But..."
Caterpillar told Lanoire another story.
He finally managed to persuade the little girl.
Lumine and Mu Yang took the little girl and knocked on Earnshaw's door.
The old grandfather recognized Lanoire the moment he saw her...
Everyone explained to Earnshaw about Agnes.
During this, Lanoire also supplemented with her childish words.
Earnshaw held back his tears, "So that's how it is... silly girl... so she already..."
Lanoire raised her head and asked innocently, "Mom is no longer in the Fortress of Meropide. Is she not here either?"
She still hadn't understood the concept of death.
Earnshaw sniffed, "She didn't like it here, so after she left, she never came back."
"Mm, why? This place is full of the things she likes." Lanoire pointed at the dogs in the garden.
"Prince, Princess, and the warrior. I recognized them the moment I saw them."
"Mom said she always changed her mind very quickly, pestering Dad... oh, pestering Grandpa for a long time before he agreed to raise the little dogs. Although she really liked dressing them up..."
"But she soon had something she liked even more, so she didn't get to see the little dogs grow up."
Little Lanoire felt a bit aggrieved, "Why hasn't she come back yet? If she doesn't come back soon, I will grow up too."
Earnshaw sobbed silently and gently stroked his granddaughter's head.
"She will see it."
"Really? I thought she had something she liked more, so she didn't want me anymore."
It turned out this was Lanoire's true inner thought.
[Sigh, miHoYo always delivers stabs in these roundabout ways.]
[The more innocent Lanoire is, the greater the damage to me.]
[My heart is hard, I love watching this kind of thing.]
Grandfather and granddaughter recognized each other. They invited Lumine and the others, as well as Caterpillar, into the house as guests.
Everyone found it hard to refuse. Each person took a stewed pancake, including Caterpillar's share.
Only then did they bid farewell to the warm Earnshaw.
With such a grandfather, Lanoire should be able to grow up healthy.
Back at the mountainside, Mu Yang handed the pancakes sent by Earnshaw to Caterpillar.
Caterpillar took them and transformed back into his human appearance.
He began to eat the pancakes.
Mu Yang said, "With your current appearance, there shouldn't be any problem meeting her grandfather."
Mu Yang rarely spoke. Perhaps he found a Hilichurl expressing emotions somewhat rare.
Caterpillar shook his head, "She has returned to the normal world with real family accompanying her. This is already a good ending to the story for her."
Swallowing the last bite of pancake, he watched the lights in the distant small house go out.
"As for me... she will soon forget me."
On this point, Paimon was more sensitive than Caterpillar.
After all, emotions were something innate.
"You are so important to her. She won't forget you so easily."
Caterpillar was unconvinced, "For children, whether it's meeting or parting, they will forget quickly. That way they can grow up."
"I am just a character in a fantasy story. Sometimes the hero, sometimes the monster..."
"Let the fantasy story remain in past memories. Now she has the real world. It is a thousand times, ten thousand times better than a fantasy story."
He turned around, "Thank you all. Let's talk about the remaining matters when we reach [The Narzissenkreuz Ordo]."