Susannah was so straightforward it was embarrassing, and so simple it was hard to look at directly—even among the generally rather simple-minded group of Valkyries, she was one of the most outstanding...
"Where should we go next?"
Standing at a crossroads, Susannah looked at the endless stream of cars and the bustling crowds, feeling a little dizzy for a moment. She muttered to herself in a small voice, "This road doesn't seem right... Ugh, I really should have brought a digital map before I left..."
This guide had now successfully managed to get herself lost.
"Miss Susannah, aren't you a local?"
Seeing Susannah, who had volunteered to be a guide, looking so lost, Lin Wei's expression suddenly became a little strange. "I have a friend who was transferred to a strange city she had never been to before, but it only took her a few days to become very familiar with that city..."
She could even take her "good friend" who had traveled thousands of miles to see her, all over the place!
Lin Wei thought to himself. Although that girl Ana also looked very silly and naive, at least he never had to worry about her messing up.
"..."
Yuno quietly glanced at Lin Wei.
Although he didn't explicitly say who this "friend" was, she obviously understood. The thought of the out-of-contact Ana made her heart sink with a sense of loss and anxiety, but seeing Lin Wei's unhurried appearance, she could only suppress her own feelings and silently follow behind him.
"Ehehe, I am a local, it's just... it's just that my parents have been very strict with me since I was little."
Susannah's face turned red, and she scratched her head awkwardly, saying with some embarrassment,
"Ever since I started kindergarten, I've been living in schools—elementary school, middle school, it's always been like this. And besides the regular courses, there were more and more other courses like 'gemstone appraisal' arranged, so much so that it was hard to go home even once every two weeks. Except for a few fixed routes and streets, other places have always been very unfamiliar to me..."
As she spoke, her mood dropped for a moment. Just as Lin Wei was about to comfort her, she suddenly perked up and said enthusiastically,
"But now, after becoming a Valkyrie, my time has become much freer. I can go where I want to go, see what I want to see, and do what I want to do. I've also made many friends, and there are so many seniors and partners worth learning from, so many things worth working hard for..."
Susannah counted on her fingers.
"There are also many more courses to study than before; and there are annual exams, quarterly assessments, monthly summaries, weekly reports, daily..."
The beginning of her speech was quite pleasant to listen to, but later on, it became more and more like a scene from hell. Yet her expression clearly looked as if she was enjoying it?
Perhaps it's because she really loves this career of being a "Valkyrie"...
"...Alright, you don't have to say any more, I get it."
The usually lazy Lin Wei felt his scalp tingle just from hearing these things and quickly raised a hand to stop her.
"Let's just find a place to sit and rest for a bit..."
Just as he finished speaking, as if suddenly remembering something, he added with a serious face,
"No need to find any particularly high-end hotels or clubs, just a small shop on the street will do—and no need to book the whole place!"
As the saying goes, "once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of a rope." (After experiencing something traumatic or harmful, a person may become overly cautious or fearful—even of harmless things that resemble the original threat.) Lin Wei was really afraid that this rich young lady, who seemed to have little concept of money, would pull some new trick on him...
...
"Gemstone appraisal, gem merchant..."
In a cafe with an elegant atmosphere, Lin Wei said, half with emotion and half with speechlessness,
"With such an identity, yet able to become a Valkyrie, that's a really huge leap..."
"Hehe, thank you for the compliment!"
Susannah smiled with pride, as if she had really taken Lin Wei's words as a compliment to herself. "Because my parents' company has some business cooperation with Schicksal, I was fortunate enough to come into contact with Valkyries and have the opportunity to become the Susannah I am today!"
"Is that so? Then congratulations."
Seeing her so enthusiastic, Lin Wei didn't know what to say for a moment. Perhaps in this overly complex world, living a simpler life isn't such a bad thing?
After talking for this long, Lin Wei could already see that, unlike Ana, who was naive about the world but also prone to getting stuck on trivial matters, Susannah, although also simple-minded, was genuinely simple and transparent, her heart not bound by anything from the outside world.
In terms of family, she was very rich, and she knew she was very rich. But she neither felt proud and flaunted it, nor did she feel that her prominent background was something embarrassing to talk about. Instead, she pursued a completely different kind of life.
She liked the job of a Valkyrie and was proud of her identity as a Valkyrie. But the reason that drove her forward was never some "great glory" or "sacred mission," but more just the "liking" of it.
So she could throw her enthusiasm into every tedious and boring task. Even if she was always clumsy and forgetful, she never felt discouraged, just blushed and told herself to "keep working hard."
If there was anything that could move the high-level personnel of Schicksal and allow her, a forgetful B-rank Valkyrie, to enter the elite Immortal Blades, it was probably only those ten days she spent diligently cleaning the Overseer's library...
Whether you call her heartless or wise in her foolishness, although she didn't achieve much on the path of a Valkyrie, she had witnessed and even personally experienced so many disasters and battles, even life and death partings, yet she never doubted herself or others.
She still maintained a silly, naive optimism, still maintained her initial enthusiasm—"If I don't work hard, I'll be dragged back to inherit the family business!"
Hearing her complaint-style self-motivation, most Valkyries, besides herself, would have been completely baffled, and then couldn't help but want to grab her by the collar and question her head-on, "This oppressive job of a Valkyrie that makes people want to suffocate, what kind of future do you see in it?"
"What kind of future?"
Susannah looked blank. She couldn't say either...
"Miss Susannah, if you have the chance, please have a chat with a friend of mine. She's also a Valkyrie of Schicksal."
Lin Wei looked at her eyes, as bright and clear as amber, and couldn't help but say. But then he came back to his senses and shook his head, smiling,
"Forget it, let's leave it to fate..."
Although Ana looked gentle as water on the outside, the fire in her heart was too fierce, so much so that she was burned by herself time and time again, suffering terribly.
Lin Wei really wanted her to learn from Susannah, to not be so persistent, to be a little simpler and more transparent. But after calming down and thinking about it, some things ultimately couldn't be forced, so he had to give up.
After all, people's basic personalities are different, how could they be changed so easily?
"Ah? Oh..."
Lin Wei's inconclusive words made Susannah a little confused. She said,
"Although I don't know who the Valkyrie Mr. Lin Wei is talking about is, she must be an extremely outstanding senior!"
"Yes, she is very outstanding."
Lin Wei toyed with the porcelain cup in his hand and said with some emotion,
"Although she can't be considered your senior, she is indeed a bit too outstanding, which makes people a little worried..."
"Too outstanding... worried?"
These words together made Susannah's brain overload a bit.
"I don't quite understand... outstanding... shouldn't that be a good thing?"
She dreamed of becoming as outstanding as Senior Durandal!
"Well, how should I put it?"
Lin Wei thought for a moment and said teasingly,
"Perhaps it's like how for Miss Susannah, being too rich at home can also be a trouble?"
"Ah? Uh, haha..."
Susannah was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood.
"So that's how it is, I understand!"
"..."
Lin Wei had a question mark over his head. What on earth did you understand?
As they were talking, a tall waiter holding a menu slowly walked to their table and asked with a very pleasant voice and a smile,
"Guests, is there anything else you need?"
"I'll have a matcha mousse, thank you." Susannah said first.
"Alright, please wait a moment."
The waiter skillfully ticked a box on the menu, then continued to ask elegantly,
"Is there anything else you need?"
"I'll have this one."
Lin Wei, holding a coffee cup to his lips, didn't even look up as he took the menu from the waiter with his other hand, placed it on the table, then unceremoniously picked up the pen and ticked a box, filled the entire page, then turned to the next page and continued ticking.
"Isn't that too much?"
Susannah, seeing Lin Wei like this, hesitated for a moment.
"It's fine, someone's treating."
Lin Wei's ticking didn't stop at all, he just said this very irresponsible sentence.
"Ordering these things won't cost that much, but..." Susannah looked troubled.
"But if we can't finish it, it will be a waste!"
She hadn't considered the bill at all...
"Wha—!"
Yuno's brows furrowed. She looked up, and after clearly seeing the waiter's face, she was suddenly shocked. With a "whoosh," she stood up and stood between her and Lin Wei, still unable to stop her astonishment as she asked,
"Rita... Vice-Captain? Why are you here?"
She had never expected that this elegant young girl who came to them, dressed as a waiter, like a maid, would actually be Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie, Rita Rossweisse!
"No wonder I didn't sense anyone approaching. With Vice-Captain Rita's special talent for diminishing her own presence, it's indeed hard to detect. It's just..."
Yuno thought with some self-reproach and anger.
"Why is she here?"
As she thought, she couldn't help but turn her gaze to Susannah, who had jumped up in shock at the name she had just spoken...
"This has nothing to do with Susannah."
Lin Wei continued to tick boxes one by one, unhurriedly.
"It's fine, don't be nervous, sit down."
"..."
Yuno looked at Rita, then at Lin Wei. Only after he gave her another insistent yet reassuring look did she hesitate and sit back down.
"Miss Yuno, you've changed so much. I almost didn't recognize you just now."
Rita had been secretly observing Yuno all along. Her smile remained, but she said with some emotion,
"In any case, congratulations."
Although Yuno's appearance was no different from before, her temperament was worlds apart.
If before she gave the impression of a ferocious, man-eating vine, then the current Yuno was like a newly sprouted shoot just breaking through the soil, untouched by the mortal world, giving people a refreshing feeling.
"Why such a big change?"
Rita was surprised and curious, but obviously, the answer could only be...
As she thought, she turned her gaze to the young man who was still buried in ticking boxes.
"In such a short time, what did he do?"
"What? You're Miss Rita?"
Susannah jumped up in surprise and rushed over excitedly, grabbing Rita's hand and exclaiming in delight,
"I'm so lucky today, to have met so many famous big shots!"
Rita was extremely low-key within Schicksal. Besides the Immortal Blades, even many Valkyries didn't know her.
"..."
Even Rita couldn't handle Susannah's enthusiasm. The smile on her face stiffened for a moment when she rushed over. Then, composing herself, she said in her polite and elegant voice, "Valkyrie Susannah, you've done well. Mr. Lin Wei is a distinguished guest of Schicksal. The rest of the reception duties will be handled by me. If there are no other matters, you may return to your squad."
"Ah? Yes... yes!"
Susannah, still immersed in her joy, was suddenly jolted back to reality. She quickly said to Lin Wei,
"Mr. Lin Wei, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave first!"
In her view, when such big shots gathered together, there must be some earth-shattering big operation. This kind of thing was not something a mere B-rank Valkyrie like her could participate in!
"When I get back, I must tell the captain and the others about today's events!"
Only after seeing Lin Wei smile and nod did Susannah walk out with a still-excited heart. Due to her excessive excitement, she accidentally tripped on the threshold.
"Ouch!"
"...Your Schicksal Valkyries are really cute."
Seeing Susannah get up, dusty, and leave with an embarrassed smile, Lin Wei couldn't help but laugh. With this simple girl gone, the remaining people could speak without any scruples.
"You flatter me, Mr. Lin Wei."
Susannah's "brilliant performance" also left Rita somewhat helpless. Then, from under her wide skirt, she took out an ancient longsword in its scabbard, held it in both hands before Lin Wei, and smiled. "When you left Schicksal last time, sir, you were in a hurry and seemed to have left behind a valuable item. Lord Overseer specially instructed Rita to return it to its original owner, intact."
"Hehe, is that so? How thoughtful of him..."
Lin Wei's ticking hand paused slightly. He reached out and took the ancient sword that he thought he would never see again. The feel of the scabbard and hilt in his hand was the same as before. He gently drew out a small section.
The crimson blade was as ominous as before, a surging, violent aura rushing straight to his head, making him dizzy.
Then, with a "clang," he sheathed it again. The hand holding the hilt released it, and the hand holding the scabbard emitted a water-like black light, slowly enveloping the entire longsword.
After the black light faded, the originally curved, ancient longsword in its scabbard had now turned into a straight, dark hand cane, resting quietly in Lin Wei's palm.
"Long time no see, old friend..."
Lin Wei toyed with this recovered old object and couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion.
"As long as Mr. Lin Wei likes it."
Rita quietly watched Lin Wei's actions and said with a smile.
"Alright, I'm done ordering."
Lin Wei gently swiped the thick menu with the cane. All the unticked items were neatly ticked. Then he closed it and handed it back to Rita, saying with a smile,
"As a joy of our long-awaited reunion, let's order the same dishes for every guest in this shop, as a small celebration."
His matter-of-fact tone really treated Rita as a waiter.
"Just put it on the Schicksal Overseer's tab. I don't think he'd mind helping others fulfill their wishes, right?"