After parting ways with Siegfried and successfully obtaining what he needed, Lin Wei once again put on a leisurely, idle appearance. He returned to Yuno's side, leading her away from the seaside and through the bustling city streets, when he suddenly asked the same question he hadn't received an answer to before.
"..."
The crowded streets, the prosperous city, the noisy avenues—all seemed as distant as a past life to Yuno. From the moment she entered the city, she had felt dazed and unreal. Even now, she was secretly clutching a short, thorny vine in her palm, as if using this method to remind herself of the "boundary of reality."
"I'm still... not quite used to it."
Hearing the same question again, Yuno looked up at Lin Wei's face. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to tell the truth, wondering if this would make her seem dull, if it would make him angry or disappointed.
"It's okay. Being able to express your true feelings is already very good."
Lin Wei, however, was quite satisfied with this answer. He smiled and ruffled her hair.
"Don't be nervous or afraid. Although this world can be not-so-normal at times, most of the time, most people would rather live a relatively normal life."
Because there were many people around, Lin Wei didn't directly use the word "Honkai," which had a special meaning. Instead, he used a more vague term. He believed Yuno could understand what he wanted to express.
"If you had the choice, you'd want to return to that kind of normal life too, right?"
Lin Wei asked in a gentle tone, as reassuring as a soft "good night" after a bedtime story.
"...Mm."
Although she desperately wanted to escape such a place, Yuno couldn't deceive herself. After mumbling for a while, she nodded with some hesitation.
Her past life felt like a dream to Yuno.
She thought she would never dream again, but the ever-decisive Lin Wei had forcibly brought her back into such a dream. Every passing pedestrian, every face filled with laughter, was like an invisible needle, causing a dull ache in her heart.
"So, remember this feeling. Sometimes, the thing called 'happiness' itself comes with a bit of pain."
Lin Wei was a very cruel person. He would ruthlessly tear open the wounds she thought had long since healed and scabbed over, forcing her to once again recall that heart-wrenching pain. Then, he would squeeze out the pus that had been hidden under the thick scab, reapply medicine to the newly bleeding wound, and bandage it up properly.
"The reason I'm saying all this isn't to make you fight to protect what's in front of you. It's just to tell you a simple fact—cities like this, a world like this, a life like this, they've never been far from you. It's just that you've been away for too long and have almost forgotten this feeling. And now..."
Lin Wei gently lifted her clenched hand, pried her slender fingers open one by one, took the small vine from her palm, then picked a small flower from the side, placed it in the palm of the girl's hand, which was covered in tiny cuts, and then closed her fingers one by one, saying softly yet firmly,
"Now, I'm giving it back to you."
It was an extremely simple sentence, yet each word seemed to carry immense weight, striking Yuno's heart again and again, stirring up waves of emotion.
"I..."
Yuno's heart warmed, and she was about to say something when she was abruptly interrupted by a gruff voice from nearby.
"Hey, you! You there! Stop!"
A police officer maintaining order nearby saw what was happening and strode over, pointing at the bewildered Lin Wei from afar and shouting accusingly,
"Who let you pick the flowers in the park?"
"..."
"..."
They stared at each other for a moment, then Lin Wei, with a complete lack of class, grabbed Yuno's wrist and bolted, shouting in mock alarm,
"Run!"
The police officer chased for a couple of steps but saw Lin Wei and Yuno getting farther and farther away. He had to give up resentfully, still cursing under his breath,
"Little brats, they run pretty fast..."
...
Meanwhile, after shaking off their pursuer, Yuno, who had been dragged by Lin Wei across an entire block, finally came to her senses. She looked back at the road they came from and couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha..."
Compared to the slightly crazed laughter she had during battles, this laughter was much purer, not loud, but clear and pleasant to the ear.
"What are you laughing at?"
Lin Wei asked. It was the first time he had heard Yuno laugh like this.
"Uh... it's nothing. I was just reminded of something from when I was a child, though maybe not exactly a child..."
Yuno paused, then quickly stopped laughing and shook her head, as if feeling her behavior was a bit unseemly. But Lin Wei's gaze was almost an interrogation, so she had to say with some embarrassment,
"Before, I couldn't run this far at all. I would either get caught or simply run out of steam..."
Unlike now, where she had run a whole block without even feeling short of breath.
"Is that so? Looks like you've made significant progress."
Lin Wei said, his words carrying a double meaning.
"...Is that so?"
Yuno paused, then seemed to understand, a barely perceptible smile appearing on her face.
"Thank you..."
"Thanks for what?"
Lin Wei asked.
"I..."
This question stumped Yuno again. She paused for another moment, then gently cupped the small flower she was holding.
"Thank you for the gift."
It was just unclear whether this "gift" referred to the flower or something else.
"You're welcome."
Lin Wei didn't press further, just smiled faintly.
"Um, there's one more thing..."
Yuno couldn't help but speak again.
"I want to make it into a bookmark to preserve it properly. Is that okay?"
She didn't know why she seemed to have so many more thoughts now than before, but she just wanted to commemorate this day properly.
"If it's possible, I'd like to give it to Ana when I have the chance..."
I finally have something I can share with her, Yuno thought silently. In the past, at Schicksal Headquarters, she had always been just a listener who couldn't get a word in, silently listening to the excited and cheerful Ana talk endlessly about every story she knew.
"Is that so? Of course, you can."
Lin Wei smiled. He was very pleased that Yuno could express her thoughts so fluently. He then said with some emotion,
"To even think of her in such matters, you and Ana are really good friends..."
He had never imagined that two girls, one from the Far East and one from the Far West, whose life trajectories were originally supposed to have no intersection, would form such a deep bond because of one of his unintentional actions. It made him feel a sense of "fate's strange workings."
"...Maybe, it's still not quite the same... Ana is different from me. She has a very cheerful personality and many friends in Schicksal. Every Valkyrie in the Immortal Blades likes her."
Yuno subconsciously kicked the stone pavement under her feet and shook her head.
"Maybe it's because of her cheerful personality that she's willing to be friends with someone like me—and I, I only have her as a friend..."
After thinking for a moment, she felt it wasn't quite right and added with some uncertainty,
"Maybe, Captain Durandal... could probably count as another half?"
Her interactions with her were very simple, basically just beating and being beaten. Besides training, there was almost no other interaction.
She had thought she was just her prisoner. Compared to the other Valkyries who kept their distance from her, Durandal just seemed so calm and composed because of her own powerful strength, with no other difference.
But she had never expected that on the day she insisted on "betraying" Schicksal with Lin Wei, Durandal seemed to have seen through her choice long ago and was waiting at the only exit. Then, when Yuno thought she would be mercilessly suppressed by her again like before, she had just calmly helped her remove the invisible shackles and let her go...
It was from that night that she began to sincerely call her "Captain," but from then on, they became complete strangers. This somewhat ironic result made her feel sad and lost for a moment.
"I..."
Lin Wei was about to say something when he was interrupted by a voice from not far away.
"Immortal Blades? Captain... Durandal?"
A dozen meters away, a young girl exclaimed, having heard Lin Wei and Yuno's conversation from so far away. Then she ran over excitedly and asked,
"Excuse me for interrupting, but are you a subordinate of Lady Durandal?"
"Uh..."
The unexpected visitor came too abruptly, leaving Yuno stunned.
Lin Wei also looked towards the sound. A girl with long golden hair had already arrived by Yuno's side, her body leaning slightly forward, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, seeming to tremble slightly from excitement. At this moment, she was looking at her with a bright smile and an expectant face, her two amber eyes shining as if she had received a heavenly gift.
"Uh..."
The girl's gaze was too intense. Yuno couldn't take it and couldn't help but take half a step back. Then she nodded unnaturally, then shook her head.
"I used to be..."
But not anymore, she added silently in her heart.
"Is that so? That's great! You..."
The strange girl jumped up in excitement upon hearing this answer. Just as she was about to say more, she saw she was pulled behind him by the man next to her and was momentarily stunned.
"Eh?"
"Ahem... Miss, may I ask..."
Lin Wei cleared his throat, about to ask this unexpected guest, who clearly had ties to Schicksal, what her background was, and why she had appeared so openly before him.
But before he could establish any logical connection between the girl in front of him and Otto's possible schemes, he saw her visibly stunned. Then she stared at his face with a puzzled expression, and her expression became excited again. She even grabbed Lin Wei's hand and asked excitedly,
"Mr. Lin Wei, are you Mr. Lin Wei?"
"Uh... I am..."
Lin Wei also retreated half a step with dark lines on his forehead. For a moment there, he was a little afraid this girl would cling to him in her excitement.
Wait, who are you?
Is Schicksal into honey traps now or what?
"Sorry, sorry, I was too excited. I didn't expect to meet you here!"
The golden-haired girl obviously realized her enthusiasm was causing the other party significant distress, so she quickly let go of his hand, then rubbed her face, gave a standard military salute, and said loudly,
"Allow me to introduce myself. Schicksal, West Asia Branch, Apatite Squad, B-rank Valkyrie, Susannah, at your service!"
She introduced herself with great enthusiasm and honesty, without any intention of hiding anything.
"Uh..."
Lin Wei was stumped again.
Susannah? That name sounds familiar...
What's with you guys at Schicksal? Not only are you into honey traps, but you're also into this weird direct-approach-plus-honey-trap now?
Wow, could Otto have stooped so low just to target me?
"Uh, Susannah, right..."
Lin Wei calmly scanned her with Pandora. It wasn't some Soulium fake. So after composing himself, he asked,
"Relax, don't be so nervous. How do you know me?"
Susannah's voice had been too loud just now, attracting a large crowd of onlookers...
"Eh, Mr. Lin Wei, you don't know?"
Susannah said with a strange expression.
"You're a huge star among us Valkyries now!"
Lin Wei really wanted to say, Of course I know, your head coach has almost plastered my wanted posters all over the moon. But unexpectedly, Susannah said in the next second,
"After all, what you did in Manila before was so amazing. It's truly admirable!"
As she spoke, her small hands rose again, and she became a little excited again.
"Uh..."
Lin Wei was stumped again. Why does it feel like we're on completely different wavelengths?
"This should be our first time meeting, right? How did you recognize me?"
Lin Wei asked directly. If the other party had only heard his name, it would be impossible for her to recognize him at first sight.
Something's fishy!
"Alvitr told me! She's also a Valkyrie of the Immortal Blades!"
Susannah didn't hesitate for a second to sell out her teammate.
"When you went to Schicksal Headquarters before, she secretly took a photo. It got a lot of views on the Valkyrie forums!"
As she spoke, she even took out her phone from her pocket and, without any hesitation, showed the photo to Lin Wei, all the while chattering on.
"And with Lady Rita accompanying you, a scene like that is something I wouldn't even dare to imagine!"
"..."
Lin Wei couldn't help but glance at it. Yuno also leaned over curiously.
In the photo, there was a crowd of people, all seemingly young and beautiful girls, surrounding two people in the middle.
One of them was a smiling Rita, humbly gesturing for the other person to walk forward. The other male figure had a calm expression, walking forward without looking sideways, but the photo captured a side view of his face, giving him an air of pride as if surrounded by stars.
"So Mr. Lin Wei has such a side to him?"
Yuno couldn't help but sneak another peek at Lin Wei. The corners of her eyes couldn't help but curve into a barely perceptible arc. This was a completely different person from the young man in a beach T-shirt with a helpless expression next to her.
"..."
Lin Wei slapped his forehead again. He didn't know why he could be speechless so many times in just a few short minutes.
He certainly recognized the content of this photo—it was from when he first set foot on Schicksal's floating island. There were indeed many people watching at that time, and some were taking pictures with cameras.
"But..."
But what's with this feeling of a "leader's inspection"? I don't remember being so pretentious at that time.
Is this the magic of photography? Lin Wei was amazed...
At this moment, he was filled with regret. He should have had Pandora destroy all those sneaky cameras, phones, and other little gadgets back then!
"Uh, alright, I probably understand..."
Lin Wei swallowed a mouthful of old blood, threw all those regrets to the back of his mind, and asked again,
"Susannah, why are you here? Are you on a mission?"
Egypt should be under the jurisdiction of the West Asia Branch, right? he thought to himself.
"Of course not! I'm on vacation here!"
Susannah put away her phone and shook her arms vigorously. Only then did Lin Wei notice the various shopping bags hanging from her arms. Then she rubbed her hair with some embarrassment and said,
"During a previous mission, I was accidentally injured, so the captain gave me a few extra days off..."
It's a wonder that with such big movements, she didn't hit herself with so many bags...
"...Is that so?"
If this were an act, it would be too much of a coincidence, and the props are too well-prepared.
Besides...
Susannah, can she act?
Lin Wei pondered for a moment, then couldn't help but take out Pandora and scan her again and again...
"Mr. Lin Wei, what's wrong?"
Susannah, seeing Lin Wei's strange expression, asked with concern.
"Are you hungry? Do you want me to take you to eat something?"
"Uh, thank you, but no need."
Lin Wei said, having repeatedly confirmed that this was a real person. He put away the Divine Key and said casually,
"Looking at you, it doesn't seem very convenient. We're just here as tourists, so we won't bother you any further."
"No bother, no bother at all!"
Susannah waved her hands repeatedly with an overly familiar air.
"You said you're here as tourists. It just so happens that I can be considered a local. I'm quite familiar with the surroundings. Let me be your guide, okay?"
"Uh..."
"No need to be polite, it's my honor!"
Lin Wei was about to refuse, but was blocked by this energetic girl's serious face. She even straightened her back, looking like she was about to salute again.
"...Alright then."
Lin Wei glanced at Yuno and had no choice but to go along with it.
"Is that so? That's great!"
Susannah jumped up happily, then took out her phone again and skillfully dialed a number.
"Hello? Mom, I'm not coming home for dinner today!"
She wasn't avoiding Lin Wei at all.
"..."
Lin Wei slapped his forehead. She really is a local!
"Mm... yes... that's right..."
Susannah briefly explained the situation on the phone, shaking the arm full of bags.
"Can you ask Dad to come and get these things I just bought?"
"..."
Lin Wei slapped his forehead again. I forgot, this one's also a life winner with both parents...
"What? Throw them away? No way!"
The person on the other end of the phone said something that made Susannah jump up again. She shouted,
"I worked so hard to buy these! They're gifts for my comrades when I return to the squad in a few days. How can I throw them away?"
"..."
Lin Wei slapped his forehead for the third time. This seemingly foolish Valkyrie in front of me is actually from a wealthy family...
You're already so well-off, why did you become a Valkyrie?
Lin Wei found it hard to understand...
"If I throw them away, I'll have to buy them again. That's so troublesome!"
"..."
This time, even Yuno was speechless. So it's just because it's too troublesome?