Susannah, a Valkyrie famous for being energetic yet clumsy, and also a girl famous for being "silly and naturally dazed (Idiot)"—this silliness and dazedness were doubly certified by both Amber and Otto...
In the original timeline, during his investigation in London for the Second Divine Key, Otto sensed a possible World Serpent conspiracy behind the scenes. So, he decided to play along and go fishing, intending to unearth World Serpent in one fell swoop.
In this process, the originally unknown Susannah, due to Otto's strange selection criteria that explicitly required someone "silly and naturally dazed," successfully stood out from the list of only two candidates who met the requirements—the reason she won was that the other qualified Valkyrie was that famous white-haired dumpling from the Far East, who was passed over before she even started.
And so, just like that, Susannah, as almost the "sole candidate," was successfully transferred to Schicksal Headquarters, where she spent several days cleaning the library.
As for her appearance and identity, they were secretly borrowed by Otto himself, who used Soulium to mimic Susannah's appearance and went to London, hiding it from everyone except Amber, and had a good time cross-dressing, before spectacularly failing.
If Otto hadn't heard some key clues from the big-mouthed Jackal during this process, it probably wouldn't have been so easy to lock down the specific location of the Second Divine Key—in a sense, this could also be considered a blessing in disguise...
Lin Wei was very familiar with this story.
And it was precisely because of this that, during his "seclusion" in Singapore, when he had just successfully retreated from Coral Island and, a few days later, suddenly received news that Yuno had been transferred to Manila, he almost instantly became alert—was Otto up to some tricks again?
Thinking of this, Lin Wei couldn't help but turn his gaze to Yuno, recalling that rather thrilling experience. Then, as she looked at him, bewildered, he turned his gaze back to Susannah.
"If I hadn't known the story related to her in advance, how could I have seen through Otto's conspiracy from the very beginning?"
Lin Wei thought with a lingering fear.
In the original timeline, Susannah herself had successfully gotten her name on the roster at headquarters because of this strange, inconclusive mission, and was later transferred to the elite Immortal Blades as a B-rank Valkyrie.
And now, the Second Divine Key had already fallen into Otto's hands early because of him. The Susannah before him obviously wouldn't have such an opportunity anymore. So she should still be just an unknown, ordinary Valkyrie in the Apatite Squad.
From this perspective, Lin Wei felt a slight sense of apology towards her, because although no one would realize this fact, he had indeed deprived her of an excellent opportunity for advancement...
"Eh, Mr. Lin Wei, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
Susannah, seeing Lin Wei's silent appearance, quickly waved a hand in front of his eyes, then looked up at the clear sky and muttered to herself thoughtfully,
"Could it be the weather is too hot, and you've got heatstroke?"
"Ahem, with the climate around the Mediterranean, it's a bit difficult to get heatstroke."
Lin Wei came back to his senses and said with some speechlessness. Is this girl's mind not quite right? he thought to himself.
"Hehe, that's true too..."
Susannah scratched her head with some embarrassment, then, as if suddenly remembering something, she grabbed Yuno's hand and asked with shining eyes,
"By the way, I still don't know your name. I didn't expect to meet the famous Immortal Blades here, besides Mr. Lin Wei. Hehe, I'm so lucky!"
Her clever little head had already figured everything out. To be able to address Lady Durandal as "Captain," besides a senior from the Immortal Blades, could there be any other possibility?
None! Susannah decisively gave her own answer.
"Uh..."
The enthusiasm of this strange girl was almost identical to Ana's back then, which left Yuno at a loss. She subconsciously replied,
"Yuno. Also, the Immortal Blades... I'm not a member anymore."
Even before, I probably couldn't be considered one, Yuno thought silently.
"Oh oh, I see. I understand."
Susannah nodded and said with a bright smile,
"You must have been sent by headquarters to personally protect Mr. Lin Wei, which is why you temporarily left the Immortal Blades, right?"
"I..."
Yuno was about to explain again, but Susannah was still muttering to herself with enthusiasm and certainty,
"That's right. Only an outstanding senior like you from the Immortal Blades can shoulder such an arduous and glorious task!"
As she spoke, she even nodded eagerly and said loudly,
"I will definitely continue to work hard and strive to become a Valkyrie as outstanding as you, senior!"
"I... you..."
Yuno's scalp was about to explode. What is she even talking about?
"Senior Yuno... hmm, I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before."
Susannah's clear, water-like eyes fell into deep thought, racking her brains. Soon, she chose to give up.
"Forget it, I can't remember. I'll ask Alvitr another day. She'll definitely know!"
"Ahem..."
Seeing that if this conversation continued, the girl's naive fantasy might be shattered on the spot, Lin Wei had to interrupt.
"Susannah, didn't you say you were going to be our guide? Where should we go next?"
"Oh oh, right, that's right! I'm so sorry, I was too excited just now and almost forgot the important stuff!"
Susannah slapped her forehead in annoyance, then explained,
"My mom heard on the phone that a senior from Schicksal had also come here. She said she wanted to send a box of fruit over as a meeting gift and asked us to wait here for a bit. On the way back, they can also help me take these things home..."
As she spoke, she shook the arm full of shopping bags, then, as if worried Lin Wei would be dissatisfied, she quickly explained,
"Don't worry, my family is very efficient. The car will probably be here in a few minutes!"
As she spoke, her gaze shifted, and she pointed with pleasant surprise at a car appearing at the end of the road.
"See, speak of the devil!"
"Is that so? That's quite fast..."
Lin Wei followed the direction of Susannah's finger and was instantly stunned. He was at a complete loss and couldn't help but wave his hand as well, asking in a tone of disbelief,
"You mean... it?"
"That's right!"
Susannah puffed out her chest proudly and said,
"I told you, my family is very efficient!"
She was completely unaware that not only Lin Wei, but even Yuno beside him, had a somewhat unnatural expression.
It turned out that at the end of the road, a heavy container truck, carrying a huge container, was speeding towards their location, then screeched to a halt by the roadside with a "screech."
Then, two people jumped out of the driver and passenger seats, climbed onto the truck bed, and deftly opened the container doors. A rich fruity aroma, accompanied by a cool breeze, swept over everyone present.
A man in a suit and leather shoes walked over with a steady pace, first nodding to Lin Wei, then saying to Susannah,
"Miss, what you wanted has been delivered."
"Mm-hmm, thank you for your hard work!"
Susannah handed over the shopping bags hanging from her arms with a sigh of relief, then glanced at Lin Wei and Yuno, her face blushing, and said embarrassedly,
"Don't call me that! It's so embarrassing..."
"Ahem... that's a small matter..."
Lin Wei, with dark lines on his forehead, walked to the back of the truck, looked up at the contents of the cargo, confirmed it was correct, then walked back in silence.
"This is the box of fruit you mentioned?"
Lin Wei was completely numb—Whose 'box' is a damn shipping container!
"That's right! My parents buy a lot of various fruits from all over the world every month. Today, a few boxes of fresh fruit just arrived at the port. When they heard you were here, they specially sent a box over."
Susannah explained without any awareness. Noticing that both Lin Wei and Yuno had strange expressions, she scratched her head in confusion and asked belatedly,
"It seems... it's a bit much, huh..."
Susannah, oh Susannah, how could you be so stupid? How can we eat so much!
She loudly criticized her own carelessness in her heart. If we carry so much stuff, how can we continue to have fun!
"Ahem, it's fine..."
While complaining in his heart about "damn Middle Eastern tycoons," Lin Wei helplessly tried to smooth things over.
"We've received your kind intentions. We'll just take a few..."
When the truck left, trailing exhaust fumes, Yuno finally couldn't help but ask in a small voice,
"A girl like Susannah would also become a Valkyrie?"
This short interlude had caused great damage to her young heart.
"...Yeah, I'm curious too..."
Lin Wei complained. Who knew why this rich young lady, with a fortune to inherit, insisted on suffering the hardships of being a Valkyrie?
For a moment, the slight apology Lin Wei had just felt for Susannah had been knocked out of the park by that truck—after all, with such a family background, her future didn't need anyone else's concern!
If he remembered correctly, after Susannah joined the Immortal Blades, she had always held a logistics position and rarely went to the front lines. Ten years later, in the Post-Honkai era, she was even transferred to the publicity department, serving as a program producer and host.
Look at that, it's almost like she has "mascot" written all over her face!
"Um, I'm really sorry about just now..."
The three of them walked side by side, with Susannah, as the temporary guide, slightly ahead. She said with some shyness,
"It was all my carelessness, making you waste so much time for nothing..."
So she only thinks it was a waste of time? Lin Wei complained silently.
"It's okay, it's just a small matter."
Lin Wei said.
"I just didn't expect Miss Susannah's family to be so well-off, yet you could still become a Valkyrie who goes to the battlefield. That's truly admirable."
"Hehe... becoming a Valkyrie has been my dream since I was a child..."
Susannah scratched her head shyly.
"My parents weren't against it. But luckily, they ultimately supported my choice!"
"Is that so?"
Lin Wei didn't press further, just smiled and said,
"On this issue, Rita would probably have a lot in common with you."
After all, in this world, of the named people with both parents alive, it seemed to be only Rita and Susannah...
"Lady Rita?"
Susannah said in surprise.
"That's an S-rank Valkyrie as outstanding as Lady Durandal. She's too far away from me. I wouldn't dare to think, wouldn't dare to think..."
"..."
Lin Wei was speechless. Why doesn't this girl act like a rich young lady at all?
If it weren't for the shocking scene of that "box of fruit" just now, Lin Wei would have had no real sense that Susannah would "go home and inherit the family business if she didn't work hard."
For most of the Valkyries he knew, the words "Valkyrie" more or less carried a sense of "shackles." Even Durandal and Rita often had the helplessness of "not being able to have it all," just trying their best to do what they thought was right.
And Ana, she was born a Schariac. The invisible shackles on her were even deeper. The brand of "Schicksal" had been firmly bound to her from the moment she was born.
And Susannah, compared to them, was completely out of place. The identity of "Valkyrie" was more like a simple dream pursuit for her—even if the dream pursuit failed, at worst she would go back and inherit a huge fortune and become a burdened gem merchant...
She envied and admired others, but who knew how many people were silently envious of her?
"Susannah, where are we going now?"
Seeing this enthusiastic golden-haired girl seemed a bit nervous, Lin Wei smiled and started a topic for her.
"You're the guide, we'll listen to you."
"Oh oh, right, let's get down to business, let's get down to business..."
Susannah said hurriedly.
"How about we go to the beach for our first stop? The beaches along the Mediterranean coast are beautiful. Warm but not scorching sun, white and fine sand, a sea as calm as a mirror, and many famous historical sites, like the Canopus ruins, etc..."
Susannah counted on her fingers, speaking as if she were listing family treasures.
"Speaking of which, the best way to relax is to go out to sea on a boat. You can enjoy a vacation-like leisure and also go diving to appreciate the beautiful underwater world!"
"Out to sea?"
Lin Wei didn't mention he had just come from the sea, just said jokingly,
"You're not going to make a phone call and have your family buy a luxury cruise ship and send it to us, are you?"
Facing this somewhat silly and sweet rich girl, Lin Wei found it quite interesting to tease her.
Sure enough, hearing Lin Wei say this, Susannah waved her hands in a panic.
"No way, no way! Buying a cruise ship is not okay!"
Just as Lin Wei was about to say he was just joking, he heard Susannah start to seriously explain why it wasn't okay.
"If we buy another cruise ship, we'll have to build a separate dock. That's too troublesome!"
"..."
Lin Wei slapped his forehead again. So for this kind of thing, it's also just because it's too troublesome?
So you actually seriously considered it just now, right?
For a moment, he felt he couldn't understand the inner world of the rich...