Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

"I was planning to drink more water, but... Tachibana, it's been a month, haven't you given up yet?"

Faced with the girl's kindness, Lingyi accepted it with a slight sense of helplessness and replied.

"Hehe, I genuinely want to become your good friend, Zero!"

[Yes, whether it's the Lingyi of the past or the Lingyi of the present, I want to know, I want to understand, and I want to become friends with this cool and gentle girl.]

With this thought in mind, Tachibana Hibiki continued her sermon with unwavering enthusiasm.

"I can't do anything with you... gurgle gurgle—"

Seemingly accustomed to such words, Lingyi didn't react much, but simply took small sips of water from her water bottle to replenish her fluids.

"Speaking of which, Zero-chan, why are you training so hard?"

While Rei was drinking water, Tachibana Hibiki asked curiously.

Over the past few days, while other children have been playing, Lingyi has been quietly making training tools and has started practicing swordsmanship.

[Image: My expression]

P.S. I finally understand why I haven't been able to get into writing: people shouldn't eat too much takeout and instant noodles.

P.S. I bought some takoyaki and stinky tofu, and paired them with bubble tea. Ugh, what kind of pig swill have I been eating these past few days? This is real food.

P.S. Sigh, delicious food really can affect my mood. Hehe, I feel 10 or even 90% happy right now!

Chapter Eleven: Playful Moments in Leisure

"Why...?"

Upon hearing Tachibana Hibiki's question, Rei hesitated for a moment, seemingly reluctant to answer.

"Do you really think there's still danger here, Zero-chan?"

Seeing Rei's performance, Hibiki Tachibana subconsciously thought so.

After all, training could only be for dealing with crises, based on past impressions, that was the only answer Tachibana Hibiki could think of.

"Ah, no, well... how should I put it, I actually trust the people here to protect us, and I believe this place is safe."

"From my perspective, aside from putting one's own life in danger, there is nothing unreasonable about the behavior, whether it is mediation or communication."

With her wooden sword stuck in the ground, Lingyi shook her head, indicating that she hadn't thought that way.

"The specific reasons, ha, are just my own insistence."

[After all, the reasoning is somewhat embarrassing—thinking that 'Zero Clothes' must know swordsmanship and so on, and then starting training for it—is a bit chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur), and besides, it probably wouldn't be understood anyway.]

After hesitating for a moment, Rei didn't finish explaining her reasons to Tachibana Hibiki, but Tachibana Hibiki didn't need her to explain directly.

"Is that so? Hehehe."

Although she acts so mature, Rei-chan has a slightly cute side inside.

Seeing Zero's behavior at this moment, Hibiki Tachibana couldn't help but feel this way and couldn't help but laugh.

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly laughing?"

Lingyi couldn't quite understand Tachibana Hibiki's behavior, and didn't quite understand why she was suddenly looking at her with such a strange expression.

"It's nothing, it's just..."

"Xiao Lingyi, so you and Xiao Xiang are here after all. Okay, come here quickly, game time is about to start, don't even think about running away."

Just as Tachibana Hibiki was about to say something, a voice came from not far away.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the nurse on duty today. She had come over and was planning to invite them to play games together.

After all, although they all have some disabilities, children are still children. If we don't let them exhaust their energy, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause?

In addition, children's relationships often improve through play, so games are also a way to cultivate feelings for each other and reduce conflicts.

Therefore, during the free time of the day, there are always staff members on duty to lead the children in playing some games.

"I understand, I will go."

[This is troublesome, but it's best not to act too unconventional. At least try not to worry them and reduce their burden.]

With that thought in mind, Rei grabbed Tachibana Hibiki's hand and quickly followed the nurse's pace.

After a short while, we crossed the shadow of the building and arrived at a large open space in the courtyard, where a total of more than twenty children had gathered.

At this moment, their faces were filled with anticipation, and they were rubbing their hands together as if they were ready to do something at any time.

"What are we going to do today? They seem really excited."

Lingyi had never seen them so nervous and expectant before. She felt that their behavior was as if they were preparing for a very serious battle to compete for something.

"This is just a regular competitive game..."

"Sister Lingyi is here!"

Before the nurse on duty could finish speaking, a shout rang out, and the children in the open space instantly became agitated.

Then, we saw those eager children burst forth with the only vigor they had ever shown in their lives and rush towards us.

"Wha...what, what happened, everyone?"

Hibiki Tachibana was startled. In the surging crowd, she even saw her companions, Akatsuki Kirika and Tsukuyomi Cho, mixed in with them.

"We won't give up Lingyi-nee! Lingyi-nee is our Death!"

"Even if it's Kiri-chan, we won't lose! Rei-nee-san is on our team!"

"Boss, please, if you don't join us, we..."

"Ha, I'm number one! I won't lose in a sprint!"

"I've grabbed her, you guys take this opportunity..."

The crowd was bustling, like zombies seeing a delicious meal. Listening to the voices coming from the crowd, Hibiki Tachibana began to understand some things.

It seems that, in competitive games, it's obvious that everyone wants to recruit a strong teammate.

Therefore, Rei, who was clearly a cut above everyone else present and whose capture would mean victory, became the object of contention.

"Ryou-chan, what should we do..."

Seeing the ravenous crowd, Tachibana Hibiki involuntarily took a half step back and asked Rei for her opinion.

"Please, Tachibana, this is a necessary sacrifice for our friendship."

Immediately afterward, before Hibiki Tachibana could figure out what to do, she felt someone push her from behind, and then her body fell into a sea of ​​people.

"Atsushi, Hibiki-san... wait, Kiri-chan, how dare you beat us to it at this crucial moment!"

"Sorry, tune, but once we're on opposite sides, even you and I won't let up on Death!"

"No, that's not it! Ah, Sister Zero has escaped!"

Amidst the chaotic situation, Hibiki Tachibana felt like a small boat adrift in turbulent waves, unable to understand why she was in this predicament.

"I felt like I was about to die. So it turns out that there is danger hidden in the peaceful daily life."

After a while, realizing that she wasn't the main target, Tachibana Hibiki was spat out by the beast after being pushed and manipulated for a short time, and arrived in a safe space, still feeling lingering fear.

"Is it okay? It's ringing."

Kohinata Mirai, who hadn't participated in this somewhat childish competition, asked with some concern.

"I'm fine, but... it's one thing for Kiriko-chan, but why did Tsune-chan also..."

Once she recovered, Hibiki Tachibana made a sarcastic remark with a look of utter despair.

"Ah, you mean that? It just means that the two of them have become completely immersed in the atmosphere of living here and have forgotten what their original intentions were."

Squatting on the ground, a somewhat weary Chris responded to Hibiki Tachibana's吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical remarks).

At first, it was only Xiaoqiege who enjoyed fooling around here, but before long, Yuedu Diao, who was close to her, also seriously immersed herself in this carnival.

"I wonder what the final result will be..."

Hibiki Tachibana, who could somewhat understand some of the thoughts, stopped thinking about it and began to focus on the outcome of the battle. In any case, no matter what the result was, she was bound to lose since she would be assigned to the opposite side of Rei.

"Ugh, this is so annoying! Fine, then all of you come at me at once. I'll take on the whole game by myself this time, okay?!"

Finally, forced to cling to the second-floor window sill, Lingyi looked down at the excited children below and reluctantly made this declaration.

Chapter Twelve: Happiness Moving Forward

"Hey, Tachibana, watch out, you're the last one."

In a small circular area several meters in radius marked out with a tree branch, Rei casually spoke to Tachibana Hibiki, the only one still standing outside the circle.

"Waaah, everyone's been eliminated..."

Looking at Tachibana Hibiki, whose clothes were clean and who was holding a sandbag covered in white ash, her eyes were serious.

The rules of the competition are simple: Zero will stand within a limited circle and will not leave. The attack object is a sandbag covered in white ash. If either side is hit and gets covered in white ash, they will be eliminated.

Under these rules, the current score is 24-0, a complete and decisive victory. Now, only Tachibana Hibiki remains eligible to play.

"They're really strong, but I will never give up!"

As she said this, Tachibana Hibiki, holding a sandbag, slowly approached Rei in the inner circle.

"Oh, so instead of staying away, you're choosing to come closer to me?"

Looking at Tachibana Hibiki, who was closing in at the limit and standing across a line from her, Rei was very relaxed and didn't take her seriously at all.

"How can I possibly defeat you without getting close to you?"

With a determined look in her eyes, Tachibana Hibiki raised the sandbag in her hand and made a throwing motion.

"Is that so? Then make your move. As the last reward I'll leave, I'll accept your challenge without moving an inch."

Standing in the center of the circle, watching Tachibana Hibiki's movements, Rei even had room to limit herself further.

"Ha—ah!"

Ignoring Rei, Tachibana Hibiki focused all her energy on the act of throwing, and the sandbag in her hand became a spinning meteor.

bang——

"Ugh-"

Then, the meteor was caught, and then it was thrown back, hitting Tachibana Hibiki right on the head.

"Softness—lost Death."

"After all, Sister Lingyi couldn't do anything about it, could she?"

Xiaoqiege and Yuedu Diao, with white marks on their lower abdomen and chest respectively, were somewhat disappointed, but not too disappointed. After all, they knew that it was very difficult to win by relying solely on numerical superiority.

"Hiss—that guy, has he always been this strong since this time?"

Clutching her waist, Chris was somewhat helpless. She had just entered the arena and hadn't even had a chance to utilize her ranged weapon advantage before being shot in the kidney due to a motor disorder and forced to leave the game.

"Is Hibiki alright? It looks like she was hit on the head. Even though it was a punching bag, it seems to hurt a lot."

Kohinata Mirai was slightly worried about Tachibana Hibiki's condition, which seemed to have been hit quite hard.

"Are you alright, Tachibana? I'm so sorry, I didn't control my strength well at the last hit. After all, you're pretty good, Tachibana. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been confident of hitting you."

In the center of the field, Rei, who had finished her match, stepped across the circle to check on Tachibana Hibiki, who was lying on the ground.

"No, it's nothing, it just hurts a little, it'll be fine in a bit..."

Stunned by the impact, Tachibana Hibiki was called back to her senses. She sprang to her feet, patted her chest with a smile, and proved that she was alright.

However, Rei didn't seem to think so. She poked the grayish-white part of Hibiki Tachibana's flaxen hair with her hand, and Hibiki subconsciously felt a pain and flinched.

"See, something did happen, Auntie. I'll take Tachibana back to rest now. You can continue playing with everyone—"

"Hey, wait a minute..."

Without saying a word, Rei grabbed Tachibana Hibiki's hand and dragged her into the dormitory, giving her no chance to say anything more.

"Um, Rei-chan, I'm really fine, it just hurts a little, it'll be over in a bit..."

As they walked down the corridor, Tachibana Hibiki wanted to say something, but was stopped midway by Rei.

"Please, Tachibana, this is my only request in this life. You can't get out of bed right now, you need to rest, understand?"

With her finger to her lips, a hint of cunning glint appeared in her single eye, which wasn't covered by gauze, as she pleaded with Tachibana Hibiki.

"Hey, wait a minute, Zero-chan, you're not thinking about it again, are you?"