Chapter 379 - Self-Sacrifice
Discover the story in "Endless Debt" Chapter 379: "I understand, teacher."Aimou no longer lingered, turning around and heading deeper into the Alchemy Workshop.... Continue exploring!
"I understand, teacher."Aimou no longer lingered, turning around and heading deeper into the Alchemy Workshop. She had intended to rest on the repair platform, but it was already covered by overgrown flesh.
Eventually, Aimou pushed open the door to the outpostâs small cabin. Bologue and Palmer had taken good care of the room; in its sealed state, it hadnât been permeated by flesh, and everything remained as it was when they left.
Aimou closed the door tightly, sat down slowly on Bologueâs single bed, hugged her knees, and curled into a ball.
She finally returned here, got the answer to the question from Tedaâs mouth, intending to put an end to it. But instead of the expected relief, there was a difficult-to-describe bitterness.
"See, didnât I say it would be like this? He never cared about you. Even if you dressed up as a Delusional and cooperated with him on so many things, even sacrificing yourself to revive Alice, he wouldnât glance at you.
Poor Aimou, you actually harbored an expectation you shouldnât have. Do you think your self-sacrifice would make him care about you?"
Alice sat on Palmerâs single bed, tauntingly.
"A tool is just a tool, you were never his daughter."
Aimou lowered her head even further.
"You know, youâre really an easily satisfied person."
Alice laughed, moved to the table, and casually played with the things Bologue and Palmer left there.
Bologueâs personal items were all hammers and knives. This guy was like a cold weapon Collector; the drawer contained nothing but deadly weapons, while Palmer had pile after pile of fantasy novels.
Their only commonality was that they both had prepared quite a few tape records.
"Even Bologue, who is closest to you, couldnât guess your wish. Transforming into a human, in reality, you just wanted so-called... paternal love?
Or perhaps a sense of being chosen?"
Alice toyed with the records, tossing them like darts. Some hit Aimou, and she didnât react at all.
"In fact, you didnât have to return. Belli was kind to you, and even took these things out for you. You could have easily gained affection and acceptance from her.
Bologue could too, a violent man even Iâm afraid of was toyed around by you. It shouldâve been easy to trick some affection out of him, right?"
Alice glanced at the time, "He should be asleep by now, dreaming about you?"
Amid continuous laughter, Alice placed a record onto the player, and as it slowly turned, a light melody began to play.
"See, you have so many choices. If you stayed in the Sublimation Furnace Core obediently, Teda might die tomorrow, and everything would end."
"If I donât return, Iâd never know the answer," Aimou finally responded.
"Hmm? Why do you insist on Tedaâs approval?" Alice couldnât understand, "Just because heâs your creator? Your so-called... father?"
Aimou did not reply.
"Hmm, now you know the answer, but youâre not well-off, Aimou," Alice approached Aimou, "You had anticipated this ending from the beginning, right?"
"You gave the choice to Teda, but Teda didnât choose you... Thatâs why you hid it from Bologue, isnât it?"
Alice ruthlessly tore open Aimouâs wound without mercy.
"Even your father wouldnât choose you, let alone Bologue.
You dare not test Bologue. If Bologue doesnât choose you either, your last bit of hope would be extinguished.
In this light, Aimouâs short life is truly a failure."
No response, Aimou only curled up tighter, and after a while, her voice trembled.
"Why wonât parents love their children?"
"Why canât I be loved?"
"Is it just because Iâm an Alchemy Puppet?"
"But I feel like Iâm no different from humans, I have the same consciousness they do. Iâm even better than most of them."
"So why?"
"Why was I born to be someoneâs replacement?"
Aimou quieted down, trying to recall some beautiful things.
Her appearance often led to misconceptions about her age, but in truth, Aimou was just a child, and in her short life, there wasnât much beauty.
She remembered the Vow Festival, her first taste of cake, the first movie she saw, and that detective with the hound...
Bestowing an Alchemy Puppet with wisdom, only to tell her sheâs destined to be a replacement.
Itâs awful.
Alice came to Aimou, squatted down slowly, and looked playfully at the disheveled Aimou.
"Donât leave your choices to others anymore, Aimou. Your fate should be decided by yourself, not for some ridiculous wish, at the cost of everything."
Alice shook Aimouâs shoulders vigorously, shouting at her.
"Now youâve gotten the answer you wanted, he doesnât love you, and that wonât change, even if you sacrificed yourself."
Mentioning this, Alice couldnât stop laughing.
"Thatâs how kids are, the emotion you long for wonât be reciprocated, no matter how hard you try.
Therefore, you only have that most extreme choice.
Self-sacrifice.
To punish Teda with death, making him regret and acknowledge your existence."
But even so, there was still no response. In comparison, Aimou seemed more human, while Teda was just some machine faithfully executing orders.