Why it never ends

Anna shrugged, "As long as you like it."

"Then what's the purpose of your voyage," Hesta whispered, "No way, it's to tame the girls who were brought on board by Rob."

"The purpose of the voyage, of course, is to arrive," Anna laughed. "I want to go back to Viborg. I haven't been back for a long time. Have you ever lived in the snowy field, Hesta?"

"I have stayed in several snowline areas during my previous missions. The longest one...was about seven weeks."

Anna waved her hand, "That's not life."

"Where is your house in Viborg?"

Anna narrowed her eyes and thought for a long time, "There is a lake, a large forest, and a tall mountain. What is it called... I can't remember."

"...There are places like this everywhere in the northern part of District [-]."

"There is a road leading to the forest by the lake." Anna's eyes darkened slightly. "That road is full of tombstones of forest rangers, all of which are square, and there are busts on some of them... Some consuls are also buried. over there."

"Any other clues?"

Anna let out a chuckle: "Unfortunately, you guessed wrong again."

"I can definitely find it, but it doesn't matter even if I can't find it...Because, as you said, there are snow fields like that everywhere in the northern part of District [-]." Anna's eyes drifted further away, "I used to live far away from home Lost on the frozen lake far away, at night, with the ice that never melted under my feet, the starry night above my head, and the wind on all sides, I snuggled up with four sled dogs.

"That's nothing."

She held her breath involuntarily, and remembered the first time Liz talked about her mother city with herself.She had tried to find St Anne's Abbey and Mount Cevern on a world map that night, and Liz had told her that these places were too small to be found on a map.

Hesta closed her eyes and raised the corners of her mouth slightly.

Anna's narration suddenly stopped, and she considered the appropriate words in her mind.

Hesta glanced at Anna's legs, and Anna glanced at Hesta's right arm with a subtle expression.

"A bit."

But Hesta didn't look this way.

"...It's hard to say, is it difficult? It's not difficult, but it can't be said to be easy." Anna said softly, "It will kill a large number of people."

"...What's different?"

"Of course," Anna said softly, "but sailing on the sea is too slow, and the journey is lonely, so just have some fun...is there nothing wrong with that?"

The bar fell into a brief silence. Myshkin jumped onto the table, walked lightly in front of Hesta, and sat with his head held high.

"Who are you referring to?"

"I've also read your book. There are almost no specific place names. After such a long time, Viborg has changed a long time ago. Even if you return to the port there, how will you find the place where you lived before?"

Hesta blinked, apparently not understanding what Anna was saying.

"I'm more inclined to think that Rene never experienced the trial at all," Hesta replied, "There were several such passengers on the Ascension."

"I should have written it all down in the book," Anna said softly, "It's easy to forget what's written down...but there really aren't many clues."

"That's so different." Anna smiled with downcast eyes, "Winter in District [-] is never cold enough... If you've ever traveled through snow-covered mountains and forests, you'll know what I'm talking about. "

"It's not quite the same, but it's basically the same." Anna said softly, "Why, I wonder why people like René can board the ship?"

"Rob told me last night that most of the passengers on the Ascendant have also passed a certain test, including people like René," Hesta paused for a moment, "These tests are similar to the ones you went through back then." ,It is the same?"

"why are you laughing?"

"The world is deep." Anna said softly, "And I, like an ice crystal in a storm...

"Later, I often think back to that moment, not the moment when I got lost, but the moment when I learned when the frozen lake was formed." Anna spoke softly, and her voice was as far away as her story, "From that moment In the beginning, something changed..."

"I understand," Hesta went on, "maybe that moment comes only once in a lifetime. Once it's broken, it's impossible to go back."

"...Okay," Hesta looked away, "Understood."

"Don't you think he looks like a catfish sometimes?" Anna smiled, "That is to say, he has seen too few mercury needles, so he doesn't know that he should restrain himself... Otherwise, this person is quite convenient to use, right? "

Putina, who was nearby, finished her new bartending. She pushed a glass of bubbling drink in front of Hesta. After taking a sip, Hesta suddenly found that there was no alcohol in this glass of "drink".

For a moment, Hesta's eyebrows trembled slightly.

"What are you going back for?"

"The 42-year-old frozen lake, the millions or even billions of years-old stars..." Anna turned her head, "And the 11-year-old me."

From this, she perceives the vastness of the world for the first time.

"Fishing, hunting, living life."

"I knew..." Hesta murmured in a low voice, "You must pass some trials."

Anna suddenly laughed.

"So you are a man with a hometown..." she whispered, "Vyborg is your hometown."

"passenger."

She looked up at Putinna, Putinna blinked her left eye lightly - "You don't need to thank me"

"Is it easy to get away with it?"

"At the beginning," Hesta looked at Anna, "when you got on the ship of Robo-Grille, did you sneak in or board the ship as a passenger?"

"Is this what it feels like to live in the snowfield?" Hesta also looked at her, "It feels no different from living in Tan Yi's Mercury Needle Base."

"...?"

"After I left Vyborg, I realized that the ice core of the frozen lake in that area showed that it was at least 42 years old. When I recalled that lost night, everything was different."

"...It seems that you are not too dull," Anna looked at her, "at least you can understand what I'm talking about—"

"Tasia and Meyer." Hesta said, "I've lied to Agnes about the 'trial' before, and Meyer's reaction at the time was blank—she didn't know there was such a thing as a trial;
"As for Tasia, she said that all the passengers with her boarded the ship after passing the trial. Only she boarded the ship directly thanks to her father's relationship, so she was exempted from the trial, so—"

Hesta thought for a while.

"The two people you mentioned have passed the test."

"You mean they lied to me?"

"They didn't lie to you, but they didn't know that they had passed the test." Anna said softly, "There are many dimensions in the test criteria for male passengers, but there is only one for female passengers."

"... obedience?"

"Wrong, wrong, wrong," Anna shook her head, "Altruism."