Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

However, to ensure Chris's satisfaction, I might occasionally search online for better locations. Chris, are you sure you can handle that?

As she spoke, Lingyi took out her tablet computer and gestured to Chris.

【Ah, um, of course, no problem. But speaking of which, Lingyi, you really love looking at computers. I noticed you were always staring at the tablet when you were talking to other people.】

Chris casually agreed, and casually complained about Zero's behavior of spending the whole day glued to her tablet.

Although she understood the heavy reliance of modern people on electronic products, Lingyi's habit of constantly looking at electronic screens while talking to others was not bad, but it felt a bit excessive.

"Oh, you mean that? Well, it's mainly because I need to check the data on some instruments from time to time... Okay, let me see if there's a suitable place around here to relax."

After briefly explaining Chris's complaints, Zero turned her attention to the electronic screen.

[Wait, Lingyi, let me decide where we go today, okay? It's part of making sure I'm satisfied.]

Chris stopped Zero from doing this and said this.

Having a rare opportunity to take the initiative in front of Lingyi, she didn't want to miss this good chance and definitely wanted to make the decision herself.

But... never mind, Chris, it's up to you to decide.

Lingyi wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, she realized there was no need to compete with Chris for the initiative over such a trivial matter, so she remained silent and let Chris do as she pleased.

"Heh heh heh, let me see if there are any good places around here..."

Chris was delighted that she received no opposition and began searching for a location according to her own ideas with great enthusiasm.

Does she really have the ability to make plans?

Looking at the elated Chris, Lingyi couldn't help but feel a little worried. She didn't know what Chris had been through all these years, but working under Finney... Lingyi doubted whether Chris had any experience going out to play.

"Found it, this is it. Hey, Rokuyo, let's go to this place."

To Zero's surprise, Chris quickly and decisively chose a location.

That place seems to be a hot spring town, a tourist destination centered around a hot spring that mysteriously gushed out seven or eight years ago.

“This place… Christina, never mind, I have no objection.”

Seeing where Chris was pointing, Lingyi paused for a moment, and finally, with a slightly troubled expression, she said no more.

"What's wrong? What can I do? I'm not very familiar with this city, so I can only go to places I know. What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Although Zero didn't offer any opinions, Chris understood exactly what she wanted to say just by looking at her expression.

For Chris, everything in this city was essentially the same to her, and she was completely unfamiliar with it. Faced with tourist attractions adorned with dazzling promotional slogans, she naturally found it difficult to make a choice.

At this point, the only factors that determine her choice are whether it suits her taste or whether there are any elements she cares about.

So, is there anything in this city that she cares about?

Yes, there really is!

“I must remind you, Christina, that everything you were familiar with has long since vanished because of my actions.”

"This so-called hot spring town is nothing more than a brand new thing built on ruins and rubble. If you're looking for something in it, I don't recommend it."

Lingyi spoke to Chris in a tone that sounded like she was giving a heads-up.

Yes, that's right. The place Chris chose was the place where Zero and Chris had lived together before, where they spent a fairly good time.

This factor, coupled with the fact that the spa town seems to be holding a promotional event recently, and the overwhelmingly positive reviews on its website, probably prompted Chris to make this choice.

"Hmm... Anyway, we've been walking for so long today, so let's relax in the hot springs and not think about work all the time. Um, Rosé."

Chris said, her face slightly flushed.

"Alright, I'll do as you say today. I hope you're satisfied with this."

Lingyi said indifferently.

Anyway, that place was basically destroyed by her own actions back then, and with the development surrounding that gushing hot spring in recent years, it's unlikely that Chris could find any clues from it.

"Hmph, you're still a long way from satisfying me. My standards are very high. Well then, let's head to the hot springs. This is my first time soaking in a hot spring, and I have no idea what it's like."

Chris headed towards the hot spring town with some anticipation.

"Hmm, okay, but... hot springs..."

Looking at the map's description of the hot spring and the time it was discovered, Lingyi fell into a brief moment of contemplation.

P.S. Goodnight.

Chapter 44 The other side of the medical 08 incident: the process of "5>6" (4k)

"There are hot springs here? I had no idea!"

At one end of the hot spring town, a girl with flaxen hair named Tachibana Hibiki exclaimed in surprise.

Having inexplicably agreed to the so-called hot spring trip, Tachibana Hibiki took leave from school after lunch and followed the members of Section 2 who were also there for team building, to a hot spring town she had never heard of before.

"Oh dear, Hibiki, didn't you know?"

"I can't answer that!" asked Sakurai Ryoko, who was standing right next to Tachibana Hibiki.

"Well, it's not that I have no recollection at all. I've seen similar posters in some places, and my classmates and I have discussed related topics. I just didn't expect it to be so close by."

After overcoming her initial surprise, Hibiki Tachibana quickly retrieved some relevant information from her memories.

"Perhaps it's because this place is relatively young and not well-known."

"According to the information I have collected, the hot springs here were discovered about eight years ago, and the entire hot spring town has grown to its current size in about one or two years.

"If you're not someone who enjoys hot springs, you probably wouldn't know that a new hot spring has been developed here."

Standing to the side, Shinji Ogawa smiled and explained to Hibiki Tachibana, who was somewhat puzzled.

"I see, is that so?"

After hearing the explanation, Tachibana Hibiki crossed her arms and nodded cutely.

Compared to those hot spring hotels that are hundreds of years old, this hot spring street, which was built less than ten years ago, is indeed very young.

"By the way, Hibiki-chan, speaking of hot springs here, Ms. Sakurai, I know some secret but very interesting stories about how this hot spring came about. How about it, are you interested?"

Just then, Sakurai Ryoko suddenly put on a mysterious look and said to Tachibana Hibiki.

"Something secret and interesting?"

Drawn by Sakurai Ryoko's movements and expressions, Tachibana Hibiki couldn't help but feel a little curious, wondering what stories this young hot spring might have to tell.

"Are you curious? Would you like to hear me tell you? Let me tell you why a hot spring was suddenly discovered in this place, which had never been found before, just a few years ago?"

Sakurai Ryoko's tone became more persuasive.

"Hmm... it should be like what the teacher and geography book say, that it suddenly appeared because of volcanic activity or crustal movement."

Faced with Ms. Sakurai's leading question, Tachibana Hibiki thought for a moment and then answered as follows.

"You're completely wrong. The creation of this hot spring is certainly not that simple, Hibiki-chan. There are deeper reasons behind it."

Sakurai Ryoko directly rejected the standard answer that Tachibana Hibiki had learned from the textbook.

"A deeper reason—could there be some special factor contributing to the formation of this hot spring?"

Upon hearing what Koko said, Tachibana Hibiki became somewhat interested.

"If you're curious about it, promise me you'll come to my room late tonight so we can do something fun. If you do, I'll tell you that amazing story right now..."

"Um, Ms. Sakurai, are you referring to the little story in this brochure as the reason you mentioned?"

Just as Sakurai Ryoko was about to reveal her true intentions, Ogawa Shinji interrupted her attempt to seduce Tachibana Hibiki with a somewhat helpless tone.

"Promotional brochure?"

Attracted by Shinji Ogawa's voice, Hibiki Tachibana immediately noticed the booklet that Ogawa had somehow obtained.

"When we booked the hot spring hotel, it was a free gift from the hotel. The commander, adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, gave one to most of us. The commander probably didn't mention this to you, Tachibana."

Ogawa explained, and at the same time, under Sakurai Ryoko's resentful gaze, handed the manual to Tachibana Hibiki.

After receiving the manual and flipping through it, Tachibana Hibiki quickly came across the so-called "divine little stories" that Sakurai Ryoko had mentioned.

"It's probably a very traditional myth or legend, like how human evil deeds angered the gods, and the angry gods sent down divine messengers who used their divine power to cleanse the world of evil. Then they say that this hot spring is the remains of the divine messengers when they descended, and that bathing in this hot spring can cleanse people of their sins—just a little story to promote their hot spring."

Ogawa briefly summarized the story for Tachibana Hibiki.

"I see, is this the type of story?"

With Ogawa's explanation, Tachibana Hibiki quickly read the gist of the short story, which, as Ogawa had explained, was a simple little tale.

"It's a kind of promotional tactic. Most of them are made up by the shop owners themselves. You can tell that the management is trying their best to run this hot spring well. Tachibana, you should have seen similar things before, such as the stories behind the snacks."

After introducing this short story, Ogawa shared his own perspective.

For a young hot spring street, it's common to build up customers through various means of promotion when there's a lack of time to do so.

Creating short stories is a very traditional method, and this format is suitable for some more traditional people. If the story is well-crafted, it can leave a special impression on the customer and increase the probability of them becoming a repeat customer.

"Oh, is that so, Mr. Ogawa? I always thought those stories were true!"

Hibiki Tachibana said with great surprise that she had always thought there was a real story behind those snacks, and never thought that most of them were actually made up by the shop owners themselves.

"Haha, it's half true and half false. Some of them are based on real prototypes and have been adapted, while others are just fictional backgrounds used to praise their products."

Ogawa explained with a smile.

"The prototype of this story should be quite obvious. It was inspired by two events that had a significant impact eight or nine years ago. The two events were combined, and some myths and legends were added to create the final product."

Ogawa then added.

"Eight or nine years ago? What happened back then... Ah, could it be that incident? Indeed, if you look closely, you can see the connection to that incident."

Upon hearing Ogawa's addition, Tachibana Hibiki thought for a moment, then seemed to have thought of something and said.

"What? What are you talking about? What's going on?"

Just as Ogawa and Tachibana were having a lively conversation, Sakurai Ryoko, who had been neglected for a while, found an opportunity to interrupt their conversation.

"Hmm... Ms. Sakurai, don't you remember that incident that lasted for almost half a year?"

When Sakurai Ryoko asked him a question, Ogawa asked, not quite understanding, because he remembered that the incident had had a fairly significant impact locally.

"Really, have you forgotten, Ogawa? Eight or nine years ago, that was when I was on a business trip to the United States. I stayed there on and off for almost two years."

When asked by Ogawa, Sakurai Ryoko responded with a mix of complaint and explanation.

"You keep bringing up that incident, are you trying to ostracize me, this genius beauty? (crying)"

Sakurai Ryoko said sadly, her face showing a heartbroken expression.

"But Ms. Sakurai, you shouldn't be considered old, ah-"

Faced with Sakurai Ryoko's daily antics, Ogawa reflexively wanted to retort, but before he could finish speaking, he lost his right to speak after being hit hard.

"Ah, I've been knocked down, Mr. Ogawa, are you alright?!"

Hibiki Tachibana looked at Shinji Ogawa lying on the ground with some concern.

"Really, don't you know it's very rude to be curious about a lady's age?"

On the other side, after blowing on her fist, Sakurai Ryoko said with a dissatisfied look, showing no trace of her previous sadness.

"It's alright, I've been trained, so it's not like I'm going to be like this... okay."

Rubbing his slightly red nose, Ogawa stood up from the ground, and then, under Ms. Sakurai's gaze, gave up his right to speak.

"So, Hibiki-chan, can you tell Sakurai-neechan what interesting things you two are talking about?"

After subduing a certain clueless man, Sakurai Ryoko, in her usual quirky tone, asked Tachibana Hibiki a question in a relaxed manner.

"Yes! We were talking about some major events that happened eight or nine years ago."

Startled by Sakurai Ryoko's lightning-fast suppression of Ogawa, Tachibana Hibiki became somewhat reserved.

"Relax, relax. I won't do anything bad to you, my cute little Hibiki. At most, I just want to get you before anyone else. So what's the big deal?"

Sakurai Ryoko walked up to Tachibana Hibiki with a smile, touched her shoulder, and then said with some curiosity.

"Ugh... But that's already pretty bad, isn't it, Ms. Ryoko? Besides, all I know is information that's already available on the internet. You can look it up yourself, Ms. Ryoko."

Unable to handle Sakurai Ryoko's words, Tachibana Hibiki tried her best to decline.

"Ah, Yada, I refuse. I want to hear it from you, Hibiki, yourself. If it's not from you, Hibiki, then I won't be able to get to know you better."

Sakurai Ryoko reluctantly rejected Tachibana Hibiki's suggestion, wanting to get closer to the still very fragile girl.

"Ugh-"