Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

The seemingly plausible words almost convinced Chris, but she quickly realized her mistake and pointed out her true thoughts in a practical and insightful manner.

Because no matter how much Lingyi tries to justify her actions and words, the person in front of her is completely uneasy, as if she is constantly tense, and there is no falsehood in her demeanor.

Anyone who looks at the barely holding on girl in front of them, and gazes at the lifelessness in her emerald eyes, will not be fooled by such reasoning.

"...So you mean you want to help me? If that's the case, then forget it. I don't need help. Neither you nor your parents have the ability to help me. This is my own problem, and I can handle everything myself."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Lingyi silently stared at Chris, listening to her words.

Yes, that's right. You can't rely on others for help. It's better to have no hope from the start than to wait until you're powerless to rely on them.

Immediately afterward, with this thought in mind, Lingyi closed her eyes and still chose to refuse.

"No, wait a minute! You're the one who shouldn't be going off-topic! I already said from the beginning that I just wanted to be friends with you, Lingyi. Why did the topic suddenly shift to this?!"

Hearing Lingyi's words, Chris shook her head like a rattle-drum, then pouted and repeated what she had said at the beginning, a little angry and confused.

She was a little confused. They had started by talking about whether or not to make friends, but how did the topic suddenly shift to the strange question of whether or not to help Lingyi?

The strange logic, which was too complex and ever-changing, made her mind dizzy, but in the end she still managed to grasp the most essential contradiction.

So, the young white-haired girl straddled the platinum-blonde girl and, whether out of spite or confusion, hugged the girl, who was about the same age as her, completely.

"I don't care about all that, I just want to be friends with Lingyi. I don't understand any of what you're saying!"

"Wait, wait a minute, don't suddenly hug me... No, that's not right, I don't need to be aggressive... Hmm?"

Soon, the young white-haired girl playfully pressed her entire body against her, while the platinum-haired, green-eyed, one-eyed girl, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, tried to push her away but, sensing no malice, was afraid of hurting her.

"Ah—" "I told you not to do this all of a sudden!"

As Zero's body struggled with the conflicting thoughts of 'instinctively wanting to push away' and 'having no reason to push away' due to Chris's actions, the two ended up in a chaotic mess on the sofa due to this subtle interaction.

"Hey, Chris, get up first. You'll get hurt if I exert force in this position..."

Being pinned down, Lingyi, concerned that the girl on top of her wouldn't get hurt, tried her best to remind the girl on top of her to get up from the ground first.

"Get up, get up, what should I do?"

Chris, who is not very athletic, was stunned by the strange fall and didn't know which hand to raise first.

"Mmm, Rei, your body feels so soft and comfortable..."

Moreover, and more importantly, she didn't realize it at first when they were talking, but after they actually made physical contact, young Chris discovered that the other person's body was absolutely perfect.

It's the kind of beauty and perfection that's just right, from skin to bones to muscles, while also providing a comfortable temperature.

So much so that Chris now hugs the new doll her parents bought her like a big plush toy, wanting to touch it more and more.

"what happens?"

Shortly after the two had finished their playful fight, the Yukine couple, who had just finished preparing for the performance, noticed them and separated them.

"It's nothing, just a little accident."

After they separated, Lingyi regained her composure and didn't say much about what had just happened, while Little Chris was still in a daze and hadn't come to her senses.

"I see. Then let's listen to our performance for a bit."

Seeing that the two were talking too much, Madam Xueyin didn't pay much attention. She turned around and returned to her husband's side, leaving the two of them on the sofa without doing anything more.

"call"

With this in mind, Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief; she only needed to listen to this performance before this interlude could end.

As the bow touches the strings, a beautiful tone is produced through Mr. Xueyin's subtle and complex interplay of bowing and stringing, creating a melodious and lingering sound. The varying pitches naturally draw the listener into the prelude of the music.

Like a gentle breeze sweeping across an endless grassland, surrounded by cool air and warm sunshine on the soft lawn, all the restlessness is gradually calmed down between the high and low notes.

"Wow, Dad's violin is amazing!"

Chris praised the performance excitedly but quietly so as not to disturb it.

"...Yes, indeed."

Lingyi doesn't know much about music. The only criterion she can give is whether it sounds good or not, and judging from the intro alone, it does sound good.

"one?

After the prelude ends, a peaceful and tranquil passage is followed by Lady Yukine's beautiful voice.

The human voice is a natural musical instrument, and Lady Yukine, who has received special training, is particularly adept at using her gentle voice to evoke emotions.

It's as if, under the cold blue sky, on the shimmering lake surface illuminated by the midday sun, waterbirds are preening their feathers, and their melodious songs, without a trace of intensity, bring everything back to normal.

"Hmm—Hmm"

Unable to resist, Chris followed her parents' guidance and began to hum along to the slow, melodious tune. Thanks to her daily exposure to music, she was able to keep up with these simple melodies.

.........

Lingyi didn't say anything more, just quietly waited for the fairly decent performance to finally end.

?"one?

After the bel canto-dominated phase, a series of low notes followed, and then a final section of music, supported by two different musical styles, emerged, its melody as clear and resonant as a gentle dripping of water wearing away stone, echoing from the deepest valley and silencing the world.

...........

At this point, little Chris could no longer keep up and listened more as an appreciator to the violin and vocal ensemble that her parents were putting on.

Soon, as the last section of the piece was played, the gentle song, performed on a whim, came to an end.

Immersed in their performance, the Yukine couple also turned their gaze back to their two little listeners.

Their daughter continues to express her love and support for their performances, just as always, while another audience member to whom they want to convey their emotions...

"Hmm, what's this?"

Lady Yukine carefully covered her mouth, expressing her surprise softly.

What surprised her so much was that, on the soft sofa, the platinum blonde little girl had closed her eyes and, with even and peaceful breathing, had fallen asleep on little Chris's lap.

"It seems she's really tired. Shh, little Chris, don't wake her."

Mr. Yukine made this judgment and gently stopped little Chris from moving. If the children were right, then she probably hadn't had a proper rest in a long time.

"Uh-huh! "

Chris covered her mouth, indicating that she understood.

“But what should we do now? I still have some classes to attend later… Well, Chris, could you please take care of Lingyi for a while?”

Madam Xueyin softly expressed some of her troubles regarding the arrangements, then her eyes lit up as she asked her daughter for help.

"Okay." (貳山(磷司氿/衫司))

Chris wouldn't refuse a request from her parents.

Once the arrangements were finalized, the rest was simple. The Yukine couple quietly left and closed the office door, leaving Chris alone there.

............

Chris fell silent as she watched the door close completely.

"Dad... Mom...—"

After a long silence, a soft sob began, tears streaming down her face and disappearing into the air, a small burst of sorrow and longing.

"Phew, no... I still have things to do."

But in the end, considering the current situation, Chris forcibly stopped this relationship.

When time reached a certain point, Chris realized that this space had transformed from one constructed solely by Zero's memories into one jointly constructed by herself and Zero.

At the same moment, she realized that unless she took on her role in that moment, the timeline in this space would not continue.

She was initially hesitant because after experiencing so much, she had changed a lot, and it was difficult for her to appear relaxed now.

However, despite the difficulties, she was prepared and succeeded, perfectly recreating the past self from her memories, only occasionally losing control of her emotions.

..........

Suppressing her excitement, Chris turned her attention to the sleeping girl.

At that time, she was unaware of what had happened to the other person; she simply moved closer to her on instinct and openly expressed her feelings.

Looking back now, perhaps it was because of that foolish thought that those scenes that happened later occurred, scenes that I still cherish even now…” Chris thought to herself, turning her gaze to the increasingly limp and sleeping girl beside her.

Seemingly feeling uncomfortable in the position, the platinum blonde girl swayed slightly as Chris watched, slowly brushing against her chest.

[...I really miss it.]

As the warmth of her skin traveled to her mind through the touch, and Zero's soft body relaxed and sprawled all over her, Chris's inner feelings became indescribable.

After all, it had been a very long time since she had seen Lingyi completely let down her guard, without having to think about responsibility or anything else, in such a pure and relaxed state.

............

A long silence followed in the small room where only the two of them were present. During this time when nothing had happened, their long-tense nerves relaxed, and their wounded hearts gradually healed.

Chris could sense that during this rare sleep, Lingyi's inner pain was being eased.

The terror shrouded in the shadow of death, the fear that arises upon arrival, the immense pressure that hangs in the air when one is filled with anxiety, the pain of parting after disaster strikes, and the arduous journey amidst lurking dangers.

All these negative emotions weighing on my heart were temporarily forgotten under the soothing touch of the brief, beautiful music, giving my bleeding heart a chance to heal itself.

If time could freeze at this moment, freeze in this fleeting instant, perhaps it would truly be a good thing... But that's impossible. Ultimately, we must move forward, ultimately, we must face reality.

A sense of longing arose in her heart, but Chris quickly extinguished it herself.

She hadn't forgotten why she came here, in order to truly understand Lingyi from the bottom of her heart.

Time passed second by second, from sunrise to night, her parents came in and then left again, until the sunlight shone through the window once more, and the girl in her arms finally opened her eyes, her mind still confused as she began to process what she had just awakened.

"Wait... I fell asleep. How long have I been asleep? This will cause problems with the schedule."

Having just woken up, almost subconsciously, the lingering effects of her icy rationality still remained in Lingyi's heart, causing her to involuntarily continue along the previous path.

"Yawn... It's already tomorrow. Seriously, you can really sleep. Lingyi, I really don't know how tired you were to sleep for so long."

With dark circles under her eyes, Chris yawned. Having woken up at the same time as Zero, she smiled and told Zero, who had just woken up, the truth.

P.S. Good afternoon.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Gradually Melting

Hearing Chris's words, Lingyi's inner panic gradually subsided. After a brief moment of stunned silence, she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again to look around.

At this moment, the light from outside shines through the curtains, its color unlike that of the morning sun, but closer to the intensity of midday light, indicating that it is already daytime.

Lingyi then realized that this meant she had slept for at least twenty hours since yesterday afternoon, far exceeding her planned schedule.

Is this good? No, it's not. A disrupted sleep schedule can throw off the body's homeostasis. It will take even more time to get the body back to normal, and who knows how long it will take to restore normal bodily indicators.

This was irrational, a waste of life and time. She should have stopped it from the beginning, and controlled her sleep and wakefulness time precisely from the start, just as she always had. But in the end, she failed to do so.

Why did this happen? It really comes down to making the wrong choice. Since that's the case, I can't make the same mistake again. Mistakes aren't the problem; the problem needs to be corrected as soon as possible.

"...You should have woken me up earlier, so you wouldn't have to suffer like this, and I wouldn't have wasted time on excessive sleep."

After a moment, Lingyi, who had been silent, sat up. Then, after a long silence, she spoke for the first time, saying these words to the young, white-haired girl beside her who was yawning.

..........

Chris's smile, which had been warm despite her exhaustion, froze slightly.

“？，，

A hint of doubt appeared on his previously frozen expression.

"Hey, you! I was trying so hard not to wake you, and you think I'm so sleepy right now, staying awake for so long for whoever it is... *yawn*"

Finally, the exhaustion from not sleeping all night, along with a surge of anger from the bottom of her heart, caused Chris to uncontrollably lash out at the girl beside her, yawning and with tears streaming down her face.

“I…I don’t need these things. I’m just doing unnecessary things. If you had woken me up earlier yesterday afternoon, Chris, I wouldn’t be wasting time readjusting my body to my sleep schedule now, and you wouldn’t have to disrupt your own sleep schedule.”

"What I mean is, Chris, you don't have to care about me so much. In the end, we're just strangers who met by chance, and besides... you didn't like me in the first place, did you?"

"In that case, after I have already expressed this opinion, the best course of action for both of us is to refrain from doing anything similar. Since you disapproved of my actions from the beginning, then staying away is the right choice."

When Little Chris got angry, Zero simply maintained her upright posture, staring blankly at the person directly in front of her, and uttered these words of "comfort".

These are correct words, these are words that conform to the rules, there is nothing wrong with them in terms of social etiquette or frankness. Lingyi believes that she has clearly expressed her point of view, and even if these words do not bring back the other party's rationality, the emotions they evoke can still achieve the purpose.

In this way, whether it's due to momentary emotions or social etiquette, Chris will eventually stop making such "disturbing" moves... right?

"Ugh—seriously? I don't understand any of this!"