The silence lasted for a while, until the anomalies in the room subsided, and the Ancestor collected their emotions and continued the story.
"However, although that city has turned into countless vortices of ownerless thoughts over the long years, those things that inherently belong to the Moon People are not entirely out of control.
"And when I was in the Moon City, the sighs, laughter, and those almost inaudible whispers I occasionally heard were essentially echoes caused by these fragments of thought, something the Moon People accustomed to them should be imperceptible to.
"But their emotions towards us—from the Earth—aren't resistant at all.
"Therefore, when the crew's intense longing for home is devoured by the city, and coincidentally a nearby Moon Person comes in contact with the residues exuded by this longing..."
The Ancestor closed their eyes.
"—She just went crazy."
[Miss Moon] Official source is NovєlFіre.net
1. There was a conflict
2. Committed suicide ♛
4. Killed the crew members who didn't want to return
5. Shouted that we all belong to the Earth
7. Sought treatment from the sacrifice
8. Murdered other Moon People
9. Charged out of the moon
10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure
"Why can't I board the ship? Can't I go back with everyone?"
"I" instinctively refused the absurd and ridiculous request from Miss Moon.
Damn it—you're crazy—I wanted to continue cursing this ridiculous situation, but looking into those eyes that seemed about to extinguish at any moment, I forced myself to calm down, barely holding back the vulgar words at the tip of my tongue.
I took a deep breath, striving to stay composed, and softly replied:
"It's not that you can't come to the Earth with us... Actually, if any Moon People are willing to set off with us, I'd welcome it warmly.
"I'm sure the King would be happy to host you. You know, I've helped establish diplomatic relations between the Kingdom and the Siren, adding the Moon wouldn't be too hard."
"Really?" The light in Miss Moon's eyes reignited.
Expediency, expediency...
Having vaguely realized the horrifying truth of Moon City, all I wanted was to dismiss the situation as quickly as possible.
As for whether bringing this Moon Person to Earth would aid in her psychological recovery?
I really couldn't spare any attention to that.
"Of course. But, it's more like a visit, not a return." I forced out an awkward smile, "After all, you were born here, and Earth isn't your homeland."
"Why, when I have no attachment to this city and such deep longing for that land, why isn't it my homeland?" Miss Moon looked at me in confusion.
Completely insane... Listening to that rational yet fragmented speech, I clicked my tongue secretly.
"Even my hair color is a mottled similarity to yours, different from those white people out there."
Has it become so severe it's turned symptomatic...
But facing those nearly pure white pupils, I subconsciously retorted:
"But your eyes, your pupil color, are different from all of us. You know, the chaotic Magic Element environment on Earth could never birth someone like you, with almost transparent white pupils."
Although there are some Demon groups with special light-colored pupils, like the legendary Snow Woman—but that is still different from the Moon Person's pure moonlight-like pupils.
The Kingdom has a saying: Hair of a thousand colors can be dyed, true colors in the eyes are hard to hide.
When hair dye first became popular, veteran Nobles would use this phrase to mock those trying to mimic noble hair colors through dyeing. Later, as hair dye spread to the upper Class, this saying became indiscriminate, describing those merely pretending outwardly, yet hollow or corrupt internally.
Unlike hair color, pupil color is not easily changed; the black market had even seen businesses specializing in extracting pure-colored eyeballs for transplants.
Whether Noble or commoner, in order to truly change pupil color, one usually must rely on a Magician's Lineage rituals, achieving it through transforming Inner magic power.
Even with that, achieving a pure pupil color like the Moon People is unparalleled.
And always trying to reason with objective arguments, that's an old habit of Mage thinking.
Every time I get into an argument, I can render my opponent speechless, and if it escalates to a fight, I'll whip them hard with Wind Elements.
I got used to this way, after all, whether using words or force, I never lose.
Because of this, I didn't realize, I made another mistake.
"So, you see... you were born in this city, grew up here to become an adult. Your homeland is right here, there's no reason to insist on going back to Earth with us."
Looking at the now silent Miss Moon, I said as cautiously as I could:
"How about you go home first? You remember where you live, right? Have some sleep, calm down, and if you're still interested in Earth, come find us then."
Miss Moon nodded absentmindedly, leaving our temporary stronghold in a daze.
...Hopefully, she can stay calm .
After that, I tried various methods, hoping to awaken the crew's spirit.
—Comforting, shouting, even hitting them.
But most seemed to have become walking corpses; although they reacted to my words and could even comprehend them, they still had no will to move.
It's not that they didn't want to, but they couldn't. Once interrupted, no matter how hard they try, they cannot stand up again.