Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

I really don't want to lose, but I can't beat Rei... So, as long as I'm on Rei's side, I won't lose, right?

Kohinata Mirai thought about it without any psychological burden.

P.S. Goodnight.

Chapter 120, including its language

After changing the game to a cooperative game instead of a two-player game, Kohinata Mirai felt that she could still enjoy playing games.

After experiencing what wasn't imprisonment, the time they spent together flew by.

One hour, two hours, three hours... the constantly updated game types kept things quite fresh and were somewhat immersive.

As the clock hands turned round and round, Kohinata Mirai experienced this simple and meaningless life for quite some time.

In the past few days, compared to her previous daily life, apart from being a little too immersed in the game, Kohinata Mirai's life has not changed much.

Every morning when I get up, I have an extra helper and an extra workload when I comb my hair; during meals, there is an extra set of bowls and plates and a portion of food on the table; and when I review my lessons, there is an extra teacher and a study partner next to me.

It's just a tiny, barely noticeable change like this.

Compared to this insignificant change, minor alterations occurring elsewhere were far more worthy of her attention.

"Shall we continue today?"

A girl with platinum blonde hair stood in front of the game console, wearing only a thin shirt, hugging her smooth legs, and asked softly.

"Well, what do you think, Zero?"

Wearing casual pajamas, Kohinata Mirai smiled and asked this question in return.

"Me...?"

After hearing the question, Lingyi looked thoughtful for a very short time.

"No, it's up to you, Kohinata."

Then, like a deflated balloon, Lingyi stopped giving her opinion.

"Is that so? Let me decide."

Kohinata Mirai echoed, a sense of joy welling up inside her.

More and more similar scenes are gradually appearing, and this development makes her very happy.

This means that the embers within the girl, who was once almost reduced to ashes, are gradually heating up and turning into flames.

Even though this flame was not only invisible to the naked eye, but so weak that it seemed as if a slight breeze could blow it away.

However, compared to the worrying gloom of the past, this spark, though small, is still more reassuring and gives people hope for the future.

"If I had to decide... I think I'll pass. I have other things to do today."

Kohinata Mirai's tone was slightly drawn out, giving herself space to think. After considering it, she rejected Zero's suggestion.

"Sigh, are we not continuing?"

It existed for only a moment, but it truly existed; the girl emanated an emotional fluctuation called loss.

[Ugh... It's like taking care of a child.]

Such thoughts involuntarily popped into Kohinata Mirai's mind, even though Rei looked to be the same age as her.

"Okay, let's not continue. I have other things to do today that I want to do with Lingyi."

Kohinata Mirai shook her head, both to answer Rei's question and to shake off the strange thoughts in her mind.

"Other things?"

Lingyi asked instinctively.

"Want to go out for a walk together, Rei? Of course, you don't have to go if you don't want to."

In response to Rei's question, Kohinata Mirai said something that was both an answer and an invitation.

While the game is indeed very fun, being confined indoors all the time does make it a little stuffy.

[Lingyi seems to have gotten a little used to her current life, but that won't do. This kind of change alone isn't enough.]

As Kohinata Mirai awaited Rei's reply, these thoughts lingered in her mind.

"I…"

When faced with Kohinata Mirai's question, Rei was momentarily speechless.

"...Okay, let's go together."

But in the end, Rei accepted Kohinata Mirai's invitation.

Although her expression clearly conveyed something like, "This is just because of Kohinata's invitation; I didn't have such intentions myself."

That day, the sun was shining brightly, but it was so bright that it made people feel a little hot. While it wasn't completely impossible to go out, it was definitely not the most suitable time of day.

The air temperature, slightly closer to human body temperature, reduced the skin's heat dissipation efficiency, causing the clear liquid to seep out from the shade of the wide sun hat.

In this kind of weather, if you want to go for a stroll, the best option should be an indoor space equipped with air conditioning, one of humanity's great inventions.

However, this reasonable choice did not appear. At this moment, the two girls with different hair colors were walking side by side in a place with the fewest artificial traces in the city full of artificial traces.

In other words, areas that are broadly referred to as natural parks are places where you can hardly see any people.

Walking under the lush green trees, the meager shade offered only a slight respite from the intense heat emanating from my skin.

"What's the point of this? Why do it?"

At this moment, Rei looked at Kohinata Mirai, who had become somewhat listless due to the slightly higher temperature, and asked her this question.

She seemed to have no idea why Kohinata Mirai would go out and suffer in such weather, which was not suitable for leisurely strolling.

In this kind of weather, the best thing to do is to stay in an air-conditioned room, just like before, and continue a series of games that are fun enough to play indoors.

"Hmph...meaning, maybe it is, maybe it isn't, I just wanted to do it."

In response to Zero's question, Kohinata Mirai wiped the moisture from her forehead and replied, looking somewhat tired.

By this time, several hours had passed since they went out for a stroll. Although they weren't physically tired because of the low amount of exercise, they were still mentally exhausted.

Why do you say that?

Upon hearing Kohinata Mirai's answer, doubt began to grow in Rei's eyes.

It seems that Kohinata Mirai's actions have caused her great confusion.

"...This bench seems like a good place to rest, maybe for a while."

However, Kohinata Mirai did not reply. Instead, after seeing a bench, she slumped down on the wooden public facility shaded by trees, saying this as she did so.

"Rest... okay."

Rei, who could sense the fatigue in Kohinata Mirai, naturally had no objections and sat down next to the black-haired girl who was slumped against the facility.

"So...why do something so meaningless?"

Then, Lingyi, who sat down next to the girl, asked the question that had not been answered before, in a tone that showed some concern.

However, she still didn't get the answer she wanted.

Kohinata Mirai, who was resting quietly, paid no attention to the growing emotions in Rei's eyes.

Time ticked by, and the cicadas' chirping echoed in the sweltering air, adding even more tranquility to the already quiet atmosphere.

"I don't understand."

"There is an inexplicable contradiction between what you think and what you actually do, which I don't understand."

"I can't tell what kind of person you want me to become, Kohinata."

After an unknown amount of time, as if she could no longer bear the questions in her heart, Lingyi asked with even greater doubt.

However, despite her efforts, Kohinata Mirai seemed not to hear her and did not respond.

"?"

Lingyi looked at her side with a puzzled expression.

Then she saw that the person she was questioning was now like some common small mammal, with his not-so-large hands curled up and his whole body relaxed as if he didn't have bones.

I'm a little sleepy. I shouldn't have stayed up all night playing games with Lingyi.

With her eyes half-closed, Kohinata Mirai was in a semi-conscious state.

[Is Lingyi asking me something? Hmm, how should I answer? I'm not feeling anything.]

Although she could still sense the comments and emotions from those around her, she couldn't muster the energy to respond.

[Never mind, it's too late now. I'll just take a short nap and then answer. That should be fine.]

Finally, with this thought in mind, Kohinata Mirai's consciousness entered an indescribable chaos, greatly reducing her perception of the outside world.

That memory is too vague, and it's impossible to verify exactly what happened.

But what I remember is a feeling of peace and relaxation, like falling into a safe and soft velvet, which is very comfortable.

So much so that when Kohinata Mirai woke up, she even felt that the air temperature was no longer hot; on the contrary, it was cool.

Then, when she opened her eyes and clarity returned to her mind, looking at the thick clouds with lightning and constant raindrops, she realized that it wasn't just a feeling, it was actually getting cooler.

"you're awake."

A familiar sound entered my ears, and a slight vibration came from the soft, plush pillow I was leaning against.

This situation finally allowed Kohinata Mirai to regain consciousness at an exponential rate, and in the next moment, countless pieces of information flooded into her brain from her senses.

She relied on Lingyi's soft and elastic thighs.

What appeared in the sky were the unchanging dark clouds typical of summer.

What sheltered her and Lingyi from the rain was the colorful light array that Lingyi had used before.

Finally, she understood everything that was happening.

"Zero, did you make these?"

Moving away from the resting spot where she was almost sinking in, Kohinata Mirai sat up, looked at the surrounding scenery, and said with a hint of amazement.

"Yes, because it started raining shortly after you fell asleep, Kohinata. So I did a little bit of work so as not to disturb your sleep."

Lingyi replied, and around her, the colorful magic array continued to operate steadily, diverting the damp water from the outside to the surroundings, keeping the area around her dry.

"Yeah."

Upon hearing the other party's affirmative answer, Kohinata Mirai's emotions seemed to involuntarily become more lively, and her words carried a sense of relief.

Until now, she wasn't sure if what she had done was right, but after seeing Lingyi's actions, she was finally able to suppress her unease and be certain that her efforts had not been in vain.

"So, this is the kind of person you wanted me to be? If that's the case, why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

Seemingly noticing the change in the girl's emotions, Lingyi asked with a slightly concerned tone.

"No, that's not it. I never thought about making Zero become anything like that."

Kohinata Mirai immediately denied Rei's words.

"But, you seem happy now, Kohinata, isn't that the reason?"

Lingyi paused for a moment, and after thinking about something, asked with a puzzled look.

"No, in a way it is, but in reality it's different. The reason I'm happy is that, Lingyi, you finally did something according to your own ideas."

Kohinata Mirai said in a way that would not cause any controversy, "At this most opportune moment..."

"What did I do?"

Lingyi was momentarily stunned and asked instinctively.

"This is it. I didn't ask you to do it; it was something you did voluntarily, Zero."

Kohinata Mirai gestured to Rei with her eyes, drawing her attention to the alchemy array that was still in operation.

"....

Rei was momentarily stunned by Kohinata Mirai's reminder, as if she had just realized what she had done.

The rain continued to fall from the sky, washing and cleansing the earth, but it could not penetrate the area shrouded in this sliver of light.

"Have I changed?"

After an unknown amount of time, a glimmer of understanding appeared in Lingyi's eyes, which had been clouded by chaos.