Bengtie, I'm really not a villain!

The Valkyries' whispers spread like vines.

"Look at Mei and that Jingye, they're practically inseparable lately!" "I heard they even eat together, they must be head over heels in love!"

When these gossipy words reached Raiden Mei's ears, her knuckles turned white as she gripped the training knife.

It wasn't the sweet romance and inseparable love that the Valkyries thought it was. Since that nightmarish battle, every step she took closer was nothing more than turning hatred into shackles, binding Jing Ye tightly.

The setting sun poured down on the training field like molten gold, turning the metal equipment a dark red. The rising heat distorted the light, blurring the outlines of the entire space.

Raiden Mei swung her sword one last time, the blades clashing with a dull thud. Sweat dripped from her hair onto her wrist guard, where it was quickly evaporated into tiny grains of salt by the intense heat.

Her movements as she sheathed the knife were more hesitant than usual, her knuckles turning slightly white from excessive force, as if the training knife carried all the accumulated anger and exhaustion.

Jing Ye leaned against the metal frame, his slender fingers twirling a maple leaf, the leaf making a soft rustling sound as it turned between his fingers.

His lips curled into his signature contemptuous smile, a smile as cold and menacing as a viper's hiss, perfectly mirroring the expression on his face when he crushed her sacred marks in his memory.

When Raiden Mei's gaze swept over him, he suddenly let go, and the maple leaf swirled down to her feet. The jagged edges of the withered leaf resembled her broken dignity.

The moment I turned around, a silvery laugh rang out from afar.

Kiana was chasing Bronya all over the place, Theresa was standing on tiptoe holding a freshly baked Homura cake, and cream accidentally got onto her ahoge (cowlick); Himeko leaned against the door frame, a gentle smile on her lips, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the greatsword at her waist.

This ordinary scene should have been reassuring, but at this moment it stung Raiden Mei's eyes and made them burn.

She must have had such ordinary yet cherished and warm times in Izumo.

But now... watching their heartwarming daily life, Raiden Mei felt awkward, like an outsider.

"What are you looking at?" Jingye's voice, carrying a scorching breath, brushed past her ear. The moment a withered leaf slipped off her shoulder, Raiden Mei instinctively drew her sword.

The moment the blade pressed against her throat, she saw the mockery surging in Jing Ye's eyes, an expression that seemed to be laughing at her for never being able to escape this cat-and-mouse game.

Sweat dripped down her jawline onto the blade, rising in fine white mist. She suddenly realized that her daily surveillance was nothing more than repeating a script meticulously designed by the other party.

Those humiliating scenes that kept her awake at night, those desperate moments that kept replaying in her nightmares, might just be the tip of the iceberg of a huge conspiracy.

The mocking curve of Jing Ye's lips was like a poisoned dagger, piercing straight into the most sensitive corner of Raiden Mei's heart.

The soft chuckle that rolled in his throat carried a chilling undertone, each chuckle like barbs, mercilessly scraping at her taut nerves.

"You think trapping me will change anything?" These cold words were like a heavy hammer, instantly smashing open the floodgates of her memory.

Raiden Mei's hands trembled violently uncontrollably, the rough hilt of the knife leaving deep red marks on her palms, as if they were a manifestation of the pain in her heart.

Her thoughts drifted back to that nightmarish battle, when Jing Ye mercilessly trampled her underfoot, her knife kicked to the ground, the blade still stained with undried blood—the blood of her and her comrades.

And then there's Furibas, stubbornly staring wide-eyed. Even in the face of immense pressure, the unyielding spirit in his eyes still shines brightly, yet deep helplessness and despair are also hidden within them.

These images once fueled her burning desire for revenge, driving her to keep a close watch on Jing Ye day and night, determined to seek justice.

But at this moment, they became the sharpest irony, piercing her heart.

She firmly believed that Jing Ye was the heinous culprit, the demon who brought endless pain to her and her loved ones.

However, she never calmed down to think about what kind of predicament and difficulties could make such a strong and proud person willing to put down their dignity and do such heinous and humiliating things.

"It is my fault……"

Her voice was so low that only she could hear it. As she murmured to herself, her nails dug deep into her palms, and the sweet, metallic taste of blood spread across her tongue.

At that moment, she suddenly realized that Jing Ye might not be a purely evil person; his many evil deeds were simply to overcome difficulties that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

She knew perfectly well that Jing Ye had done those evil deeds to help her get through those desperate situations, and she knew better than anyone how dangerous those dangers were.

He was like a small boat tossed about in a storm, forced to resort to extreme measures in order to find a glimmer of hope amidst the raging waves.

During this time, he had been blinded by hatred, pouring all his energy and anger into monitoring Jing Ye, but neglecting to explore the real reasons behind his behavior.

Raiden Mei's gaze passed over Keiya and looked into the distance.

"Nothing's been done yet. Is there no danger this time?" Raiden Mei's voice was carried by the scorching evening wind, her vocal cords trembling slightly from excessive tension.

Her Adam's apple bobbed violently with each word, and at that moment, a fine, stinging pain, like ants gnawing at her, was spreading through her.

Sweat slid down his spine into his combat uniform, spreading dark watermarks on the fabric, much like the bloodstains that spread when Himeko-sensei, his mother, and Furibas fell in his memory.

Jing Ye leaned against the metal frame, the sound of crushing dead leaves deliberately amplified.

The curve of his raised eyebrow was precisely between provocation and elegance, the angle of his upturned lips was like a precise arc measured with a compass, and his jawline cut out cold, hard light and shadow in the sunset.

Those dark pupils held a distorted reflection of Raiden Mei, and that mysterious smile seemed to silently mock her unease.

The orange-red sunset cast his shadow on Raiden Mei, the edges of which were frayed, like a net that was gradually tightening.

The shadows loomed like a viper's forked tongue, carrying the familiar scent of ozone, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end instantly.

Raiden Mei's temples throbbed, and the ringing in her ears was mixed with the exclamations of surprise from Izumo.

At that time, Jingye smiled in the same way, personally staining her sleeves with her mother's blood.

Her right hand gripped the hilt of her knife uncontrollably, the combat glove scraping against the metal with a grating sound, her knuckles turning white from the excessive force. Kiana's laughter drifted from afar, but it sounded as if muffled and distant through frosted glass.

"Clang—" The sound of a sword being drawn tore through the stagnant air, the blade tracing a silver arc in the twilight, the reflected light stinging Jing Ye's eyes.

The blade vibrated and hissed, creating an eerie resonance with the laughter of the Valkyries in the distance. Beads of sweat trickled down her jawline and into her wrist guard, spreading dark stains on the leather, mingling with her rapid breathing and condensing into fine white mist in the air.

However, Jing Ye simply smiled.

He tilted his head, looking at the blade pressed against his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly as if he were savoring its icy touch. This nonchalant attitude ignited Raiden Mei's fury. She abruptly withdrew her sword, her left hand gripping Jingye's collar like an iron clamp.

The torn fabric groaned under its strain, its sound particularly jarring in the silent training ground, her fingertips almost digging into the skin of his collarbone.

"say!"

Raiden Mei's voice trembled and cracked, beads of sweat clinging to her eyelashes falling with each word. She pinned Jing Ye against the metal brace, her eyes swirling with anger and anxiety.

"What exactly are you plotting? What is the danger this time?"

She desperately wanted to find the answer in those unfathomable eyes, but what she saw was still that infuriatingly mocking look.

Jingye's breath swept across her flushed cheeks, and Raiden Mei's rapid breaths sprayed onto Jingye's face, but he remained leisurely, as if he were the prey trapped in a spider web, struggling in vain, rather than the one being restrained.

The twilight heat, carrying the smell of rust, steamed over the training ground. Kiana's laughter, rising and falling in the distance, was suddenly cut short by the sharp crack of tearing fabric. Startled, the mechanical birds circling above the training ground took flight, the whirring of their metal wings adding to the tense atmosphere.

As the girl looked up, she saw Raiden Mei pinning Jingye against a weathered metal frame, the setting sun casting their shadows into an ambiguous silhouette. Jingye's collarbone was faintly visible beneath his askew collar, the fabric being pulled up by Raiden Mei was frayed, and loose threads trembled slightly in the wind; while Raiden Mei's nose almost brushed against his lips, her wisps of hair clinging to her flushed cheeks from the exertion, and the taut muscles beneath her combat uniform were clearly visible.

"Warning! Warning!" Bronya's tactical goggles flashed a piercing red light, and the data on the lenses refreshed like a waterfall, accompanied by urgent electronic alerts.

"Abnormal physical contact detected, distance less than the safe threshold! Dopamine secretion index—"

Before she could finish speaking, Kiana's scream drowned out her words. At the same time, the Homura cake in the headmistress's hand fell to the ground with a "thud," the cream smearing onto her upturned ahoge (cowlick) without her noticing. Theresa's eyes widened, her mouth forming a perfect "O," the cake she was about to put in her mouth still hanging in mid-air.

"This is...this is too amazing!"

Kiana scratched her head, her hair ruffled like a frizzy dandelion, her combat boots rubbing against the ground, kicking up fine dust. Her face was flushed red, her eyes wide open, as if she had discovered some earth-shattering secret.

"Mei actually did it in public... My worldview is about to collapse!"

She tried to rush over, but was blocked by Himeko's long, slender arm.

Jing Ye's lips curled into a crooked smile, his eyes filled with mockery.

Raiden Mei's taut back resembled a fully drawn bow, her knuckles turning bluish-white from gripping the knife hilt, her bones protruding, as if she were about to unleash the blade at any moment.

The cold light of the setting sun flowing across the blade mingled with the blood beads seeping from Jing Ye's collar—the marks left by her fingernails when she pulled at his collar, the blood slowly spreading along the edge of his collar.

"Wait." Himeko held down the restless Kiana, her fingertips trembling slightly beneath her combat gloves. "Look into Mei's eyes."

The girl's eyes were not filled with tenderness, but rather with the undercurrent of a storm. Her gaze was so sharp that it seemed to see through everything, and the anger and vigilance it contained sent chills down one's spine.

Bronya pushed up her glasses, and the blue light from her tactical goggles flashed again, with new data constantly popping up.

"Data corrected! Target Raiden Mei's heart rate is 182 beats per minute, and her adrenaline concentration is 300% above the normal level, which is a typical stress response!"

"But this posture..."

Kiana's voice grew weaker and weaker, her cheeks flushed red, and as she spoke, she couldn't help but steal glances at the arena.

Theresa squatted on the ground, rubbing the dust off the Houmu cake with her thumb, her ahoge (cowlick) swaying gently as she muttered to herself. She tilted her head, her eyes full of confusion.

"The relationship between these two is even harder to unravel than the hidden levels in Houmu Paradise..."

Night fell like thick ink, silently soaking into the entire training ground. Searchlights lit up one after another, their pale beams piercing the darkness, stretching Raiden Mei's receding figure into a distorted, elongated silhouette, like a shadow about to break.

Bronya's tactical goggles emitted a blinding blue light, and data streams poured and surged across the lenses like a raging waterfall.

Her slender fingers tapped rapidly on the wristband terminal, the metallic buttons clanging urgently and chaotically, as if she were racing against time, trying to unravel the perplexing behavioral patterns between Raiden Mei and Jingye from a massive amount of tangled body language data and physiological indicators.

"Muscle tension during physical contact, pupil constriction frequency, heart rate change curve..."

Bronya murmured softly, her eyes behind her glasses focused and cold, like a precisely functioning machine. As the analysis deepened, her once relaxed brows furrowed more and more, forming a deep "川" shape, as if she were facing an unsolvable mathematical problem, completely clueless.

Conventional sentiment analysis models were completely ineffective on these two individuals. All the data was chaotically intertwined and tangled, forming an intractable knot that left her mired in confusion.

She pulled up the recording of Raiden Mei, and the holographic projection switched rapidly in the air.

The training ground was shrouded in a thin mist at dawn. Mei's gaze, fixed intently on Jing Ye, held a sharp, piercing edge, as if she wanted to see right through him.

At lunchtime, sunlight streamed through the restaurant windows. When Jingye handed her a glass of water, she hesitated slightly as she reached out to take it, her fingertips not even touching his skin.

She stared blankly in the direction Jing Ye had left, her figure appearing lonely and forlorn, with fleeting, elusive emotions flashing in her eyes like shooting stars in the night sky.

“This can’t just be love.” Himeko’s voice was low, tinged with a barely perceptible doubt. She traced an arc on the virtual screen with her fingertip, comparing emotional data from different scenarios.

In an instant, her pupils contracted slightly, and a prominent warning sign appeared on her tactical goggles.

In Raiden Mei's gaze tracking data, besides the occasional fiery emotions, there is more of a cold hatred, and an indescribable gratitude. These three complex emotions are like three undercurrents, surging and colliding beneath the seemingly calm surface.

Bronya, what are you looking at?

Kiana had somehow gotten closer, her hair still damp with bits of grass from their earlier play, the ends slightly curled up. Her voice was thick with confusion as she strained her neck to look at Bronya, trying to decipher the dense, constantly fluctuating, complex data, her eyes filled with curiosity and bewilderment.

Bronya and Himeko didn't answer, but simply tapped the terminal to bring up a video.

In the scene, Raiden Mei is fiercely confronting Jingye, her blade just inches away from Jingye's throat, and the air seems to be filled with tension.

Yet her eyes simultaneously flickered with anger and... a kind of almost desperate plea. Her gaze was so complex that it was hard to look directly at her, as if it held countless secrets and stories.

"Why do hatred and gratitude, two completely opposite emotions, appear in Mei at the same time?"

Himeko's voice was soft, yet it echoed throughout the training ground, as if she were asking everyone present, or perhaps herself, her tone filled with confusion and searching.

Theresa, resting her chin on her hand, her ahoge (cowlick) swaying gently as she pondered, looked both cute and earnest.

"Could it be that we've all guessed wrong?"

She blinked her big eyes, "Their relationship is probably much more complicated than we imagine."

Himeko remained silent, arms crossed, staring intently at Raiden Mei's tense figure in the video, her expression growing increasingly grave.

The evening wind howled across the training ground, swirling the fallen leaves in the air and blowing past everyone's feet, bringing a chill.

When Raiden Mei, having received no answers, took Keiya back, the night fell like a giant black curtain, enveloping the training ground.

Bronya, Kiana, Himeko, and Theresa were in the conference room. Tactical goggles emitted a faint blue light, and data streams flashed and rolled on the lenses, like a never-ending digital river.

Her slender fingers flew across the wristband terminal, attempting to dissect the truth behind the complex relationship between Raiden Mei and Jingye from the massive amount of data. However, those contradictory emotional indicators were like an unsolvable tangled mess, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't unravel a clear thread.

Even with her exceptional logical thinking and data analysis skills, she could only helplessly sink into a quagmire of confusion at this moment.

"Perhaps human emotions simply cannot be calculated with formulas." She murmured softly, a hint of frustration in her voice, which was quickly swallowed up by the howling evening wind and dissipated into the silent night.

Not far away, Kiana was scratching her head and cheeks, her hair all messed up, looking just like a little animal with its fur standing on end.

"A mix of love and hate? That's way too complicated! Mei usually..."

She frowned, her face full of doubt, her eyes filled with incomprehension at her friend's behavior.

"Could it be one of those... domineering CEO and stubborn girl tropes?"

She tilted her head, her eyes sparkling as she tried to explain the situation using plots from novels she had read.

Theresa was squatting on the ground, her ahoge drooping, poking at the flattened Houmu cake with her finger.

Himeko rubbed her temples in exasperation, interrupting the rambling discussion.

"Now is not the time to discuss the novel's plot."

A hint of worry appeared in her eyes, and her gaze unconsciously drifted in the direction where Raiden Mei had left.

At this moment, Raiden Mei is standing alone in front of the viewing window.

The cold moonlight shone through the glass, falling like water onto her pale face, outlining her tired and haggard features.

She gazed quietly at the deep, boundless universe outside the window, filled with mysterious and distant stars, but her thoughts had already drifted back to the training ground during the day.

The moment she grabbed Jing Ye's collar, the touch from his fingertips still carried a lingering warmth, and his faint scent lingered in her nostrils. But the mockery and sarcasm in Jing Ye's eyes were like a sharp dagger, piercing straight into her heart and tearing open her inner wound once more.