Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

After thinking about what Zero said, Chris couldn't think of any reason to refuse.

【Then let's go. By the way, Chris, if you don't have anything to do on the way, take a look at the plans for later.】

Seeing that Chris had no questions, Lingyi said this, then manipulated the tablet in her hand and sent a file.

I haven't had time to write my journal entry for today yet. I'll send it to you once I'm done.

Lingyi thought to herself, while Chris also noticed the notification message that popped up in her email.

At least this is more useful than the art you've seen using my image before. Okay, I'm hanging up now.

After saying that, without paying attention to Chris's slightly rapid breathing caused by her words, she said she was hanging up the phone.

[What are you saying... Never mind, let's see what Rei's plans are. Cooperating well will make our work more efficient... Ha, why am I even thinking about this kind of thing now!?]

Chris's heart raced at Lingyi's half-joking words, and her face flushed slightly as she opened the file Lingyi had sent her on her phone.

Let me see... oh?

Although it seems like a lot at first glance, after excluding various contingency plans and work content, there are actually only two things to explain in the end.

Firstly, it allows Chris to take the time to measure her own string gain level and activate her artifacts, with operation manuals for various instruments included.

Secondly, it was suggested that Chris work alone as an "idol," with various contingency plans and Zero's contact information provided.

To be fair, assigning these two tasks to Chris was perfectly reasonable.

It is a waste of resources to have busy women perform these two jobs that don't have high barriers to entry.

Instead of wasting time on this, it would be better to outsource it to Chris, while Zero could do some more meaningful work herself.

But why am I like this...?

Looking at her work schedule on her phone, Chris felt a surge of anxiety for some reason.

Alone, all alone, ugh, why is this so annoying?

Looking at the words on the document, Chris scratched her hair anxiously, her once neat hair becoming messy from her rubbing.

[Phew, what am I doing? This is just a normal transfer, just following Lingyi's lead, working together to achieve my and Fini's dreams, and then... then?]

Thinking of this, Chris's thoughts suddenly paused briefly. She remembered something: Zero had said from the beginning that she was hired by Finney.

So where will Zero go when the employment ends...? It's definitely not going to stay with me and Finney.

After the employment ends, Lingyi will drift away like a dandelion seed, carried by the wind to some unknown place...

Chris's voice echoed in my mind.

[That's normal, isn't it? After all, Lingyi and I don't have any special relationship. Where she goes or what she does has never been my concern.]

Chris's voice continued.

【……??】

[In the end, why should I go to so much trouble to investigate Lingyi? It's just an employer-employee relationship anyway. Even if we spent some time together and made that childish promise, so much time has passed that there's no need to dwell on it.]

"Krystal's voice was heavy as she spoke."

【………?!】

So, I guess I really am a complete idiot. Nobody asked me to do this; I was the only one worrying and caring on my own. Since that's the case, I might as well just ignore her and focus on doing my own thing...

Chris said with determination.

【……!!!】

The incident happened suddenly. Chris, who had been looking down at her phone, abruptly raised her head, looked at the girl in the black hat in front of her, rushed forward, and grabbed the girl's shoulder.

Is it fun to pretend to speak someone else's true feelings? Zero, that's not what I really think at all!!!

Chris angrily turned Zero's body around, staring furiously at the expressionless face in front of her.

[I didn't expect you to discover this. It seems you're not entirely stupid, Chris, or perhaps my device wasn't perfect enough.]

Under Chris's gaze, Lingyi remained silent for a moment. Then, the tone of Chris's inner voice changed, returning to Lingyi's calm and steady voice.

【What exactly do you want to do, Zero? Why are you doing this?】

Chris said angrily. If she hadn't realized it quickly, she might have been convinced by the voice that rose from the bottom of her heart and given up on investigating Zero.

[Photo: Handsome]

P.S. Good afternoon.

Chapter Forty-Two: Clash

"Yes, it was indeed my fault this time. I did this to you without your permission, Chris."

Faced with the furious Chris, Zero felt apologetic towards her in her heart.

Even though she was disguised, Chris's sincerity was evident in her face, which made her impending outburst of emotions lose its target for a moment.

【Huh? You, you… don’t think this can be settled with just an apology.】

Chris said this with some annoyance.

She was definitely angry after Lingyi did that to her, but despite her anger, she didn't know what to do next in the face of Lingyi's sincere expression, so she could only express her dissatisfaction for now.

Is that so?

Seeing Chris's sullen expression, Zero thought for a moment.

"Since that's the case, Chris, what kind of compensation do you want? I can grant you a reasonable request that won't affect the mission or my own safety. Anything is fine, as long as it doesn't kill me."

Soon after, Zero's voice echoed in Chris's mind.

Ha, this is just a little compensation. Don't think I'll forgive you just because of this.

【...】

【Huh? What did you say?】

At first, Chris didn't react, but after she did, she realized what Zero had just said.

[One request, anything is fine, whatever it is, I will do it.]

In response, Lingyi simply reiterated the point without any expression.

The clearly pronounced words clearly expressed

"Um, do you really know what you're saying? You're not kidding, are you?"

After confirming that she hadn't misheard, Chris swallowed hard, somewhat incredulous.

Yes, I will help Chris fulfill your request as long as it is within my ability.

Ignoring Chris's suspicions, Zero simply repeated herself.

Ugh... whatever, you can say whatever you want, so I'm definitely going to make a super difficult request.

Seeing that Lingyi's expression didn't seem fake, Chris believed her and then fell into deep thought.

For a moment, a long silence fell over the room.

Although things seemed to be heading in Chris's favor, her thinking had reached a dead end.

What could she possibly ask Lingyi for?

Should Lingyi ask for money? But judging from Lingyi's behavior and her immense strength, problems that can be solved with money are probably not problems for her.

So, does that mean she should stop lying? But what evidence does Chris have to prove that Zero is telling the truth? Even if Zero says she is telling the truth, does that necessarily mean she is telling the truth?

Or, like in those novels and comics, portraying Rei in this or that way...

Chris slapped her face hard, banishing the strange thoughts from her mind.

It's all that damn website's fault; now her mind is filled with those weird positions and strange ways of playing that she'd never imagined before.

【…】

After banishing the thoughts that arose from ingesting strange nutrients, Chris's mind continued to race as she tried to come up with the best solution for herself.

It seems she's forgotten about asking me why I hypnotized her.

Meanwhile, on the other side, sensing that Chris's thoughts were chaotic but had moved away from danger, Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief.

This time she was indeed in a hurry. Without being absolutely certain, she used the backdoor she had left when setting up the device, and to make matters worse, Chris found out about it.

If Chris keeps pressing her on why she did this, then Zero will be in real trouble, because she revealed a very dangerous flaw in her actions just now.

If this flaw is discovered, it could very well make Chris realize what she's really trying to hide, causing the defenses she's built up to collapse completely.

At that point, she might have to take some extreme measures against Chris to ensure the safety of both herself and Chris, which she was certain would be bad for both of them.

Fortunately, Chris was still Chris; she simply threw out a more eye-catching topic, diverting her attention away from the dangerous direction.

However, I still can't be too careless. Until I complete Finney's mission and part ways with Chris, I'll be in a dangerous situation.

Lingyi pondered to herself.

"Wait, I've got it."

At the same time, Chris finally snapped out of her tangled thoughts and seemed to have come up with a request that would satisfy her.

"So, Chris, have you thought about what you're going to ask for?"

Noticing Chris's thoughtful expression, Zero turned off the one-way shield against Chris and said to herself.

Granting Chris's request was a well-considered decision. She didn't think Chris would make any demands that were too difficult for her to accept. Even if Chris made some suggestive requests, as she had just thought, she wouldn't necessarily refuse.

[I've made up my mind. Lingyi, you have to give me a date that I'm satisfied with. If I'm not satisfied with the date, then next time I ask you to go on a date, you can't refuse, until I have a date that I'm satisfied with.]

Chris said confidently to Zero.

This was a perfectly reasonable request that she had thought of carefully.

First, judging from Lingyi's previous behavior, she doesn't seem to like wasting time. In other words, wasting time is undoubtedly painful for Lingyi.

Secondly, as long as Lingyi stays by his side, he will have more time to find her flaws and thus investigate why she has become the way she is now.

Third, this is the part of the idea that Chris is most satisfied with.

That is, she only mentioned a date that would satisfy her, without specifying what the date would look like. In other words, by using the guise of a date, she could ask Zero to do many things.

As for what constitutes a date that satisfies her, isn't that entirely up to her own opinion? If she says she's not satisfied, she can use that as an excuse to endlessly demand more time from Lingyi.

"Hmm...how about it, Rei? This request isn't unreasonable, is it? Or is it that you can't even grant this kind of request, Rei?"

Chris thought to herself, somewhat uncertainly. Although her idea was good, she still had to see if Zero would agree to the request.

【…】

It seemed that Chris's request was too unexpected for Zero, and Zero fell silent for a moment.

P.S. Azure Star is so much fun, I lost track of time playing it!

Chapter Forty-Three: Preparing to Depart

Okay, so this is what you asked for? I'm not satisfied.

After thinking for a while, Lingyi thought to herself.

[As expected, even if you, Rei... ah, no way, Rei, you really agreed? Are you sure?]

Chris could hardly believe that Zero had actually agreed to a request that could have kept her under her control.

Of course, I'm certain that since your request, Chris, doesn't violate the premise I mentioned earlier, there's no reason to refuse.

Lingyi nodded and said seriously.

She certainly saw through Chris's hidden intentions in her request; after all, playing word games was something she was also good at. But at this moment, she had to agree to Chris's request, and the more outrageous the request, the better.

Only in this way can Chris completely shift her attention from the previous 'small things' to the more meaningful 'big things' now.

As for whether Chris will one day come to her senses and realize what she's trying to hide... that's something Zero should consider on that day.

Furthermore, if Lingyi still couldn't come up with a solution or backup plan after buying so much time, it could only mean that the secret was no longer particularly important to her at that point.

【Since that's the case, let's start today. Perfect timing, Lingyi, you finished work early today and have some free time.】

After realizing that her request had been granted, Chris felt as if she had three spells in hand and two more to counter, and the opponent had locked her bird. Her joy completely overshadowed her previous unhappiness.

Just as Lingyi had anticipated, she never considered what Lingyi would gain in return for being willing to pay such a 'price'.

Today... well, although time is a bit tight, since I promised, let's do it this way.

In order to appease the girl in front of her, Lingyi agreed to Chris's request without much thought.