Collapse, the Ordinary Daily Life of the Valkyries

No.

The girl flatly denied his words.

The young man frowned in surprise and turned to look at the magician beside him.

If you are so sad, please let your tears flow and no one will blame you.

Mayaja?

It is true that a king should not be at the mercy of emotions. Just as you said, Wu Yiqi, Lin Liuyi. But

This doesn’t mean you have to uproot your feelings and completely erase them.

I wonder if the young man noticed the harshness and faint lament in the girl's voice. She clutched her staff tightly, her fingers pale as if drained of blood. This was probably the only way she allowed herself to vent the anger within her.

People without emotions cannot understand the emotions of others. Whether it is joy, sadness, or anger. Although these emotions may temporarily make people lose their rational judgment, for many people, they are the embellishment of their daily lives. So if you are a respected person,

If you don't understand these feelings, how can you bear the trust of the people?

As if realizing that she had said too much, the girl immediately took a step back and knelt on the ground.

I have gone too far, Your Majesty.

The girl continued speaking, her head bowed behind the brim of her hat.

I am ready to accept your punishment.

No, you're right.

The young man sighed after he finished speaking.

His expression softened slightly, albeit only for a moment, as he temporarily dropped the mask he'd forced himself to wear. Beneath his age-defying calm exterior, the young man's still-unflinching emotions gradually surfaced.

Nostalgia, lamentation, loneliness.

However, after all these emotions were integrated, what emerged was an ambiguous smile.

The mage stood up without a word and turned his back to the young man.

Just like what she blurted out before, the girl's intention was for his own good.

The young man is a king, a ruler who rules the world.

But a king is not a human being. When a person possesses power over all others, he ceases to be a human being. A king who transcends all else should not be bound by worldly principles and understandings. Nor should he allow himself to indulge his emotions. If a king is so easily swayed by personal emotions, then he cannot understand how to lead a nation.

Therefore, a king must not shed tears where his subjects can see him.

Even if a king can sigh about governing the world in front of his subjects, he must never reveal his true thoughts.

This is the pattern and style that a king should have.

But this is a cruel rule for a young man who is full of rich emotions.

I

The young man knelt in front of the tombstone.

Right then?!

The two turned around and looked at each other.

It was just a little bit, really just a little bit, but the two of them still heard a voice at the same time.

The young man stood up in surprise, holding his breath. If he really wanted to hear the slightest sound, even his breathing would be considered a noise because it was so faint.

But if two people hear it at the same time, it is impossible that it is just one person's tinnitus or auditory hallucination.

Even though there was a possibility that they would never hear that sound again, they both pricked up their ears in the silent forest.

at last

Um?

The sound, carried by the gentle breeze, actually blew into the ears of the two people.

But it wasn't coming from far away, it was just that the volume was very low to begin with.

No way

The young man walked along the spring.

After walking about twenty steps, the young man stopped.

Near the young man, there grew a tree that was even larger than the bushes near the spring. Its trunk was thick and solid, allowing a slightly thinner person to hide behind it without being noticed.

And the sound came from the other end of the tree trunk.

He went around the back of the tree trunk

He stood still.

No, it should be said that he was frozen in place.

He should have guessed it from the moment he heard the sound, or at least tried to find or get closer to the source. But the surprise he witnessed with his own eyes was far greater than he had imagined.

Mayaga.

He was completely stunned. Even this young man with extraordinary self-control could not restrain his inner astonishment. A soft voice came from the other side of the tree trunk.

Yes, your majesty.

The girl's voice seemed to be tinged with hesitation. She probably had an idea of ​​where the sound came from. But the young man's surprised voice confirmed her suspicion.

Do you have experience in raising children?

I am not married yet.

There seemed to be a hint of anger in the girl's tone when she answered.

As if the previous answer was not complete enough, the girl added another sentence.

I don’t have any siblings who are much older than me.

I know, I'm just asking.

The young man was probably too shocked.

Even the answering voice sounded as if it came from far away.

Miscellaneous: Random Thoughts

Amazing gift

Our story begins on a Sunday, just after spring break. That day, I was waiting for my classmates on my mountain bike, one foot planted on the guardrail, then occasionally removing it, making a "lifting" motion. I was standing in front of the McDonald's at Tsukishima Station, at the exit of Nishi-Nakadashi Street, home to over a hundred teppanyaki restaurants.

At three in the afternoon, under the slanting sunlight, crossing the light orange zebra crossing, my classmate Naito Jun arrived first. Jun was riding a different-colored Trek mountain bike than mine, a bright red one with the gearshift mounted on the frame. Because he was short, he had to adjust the seat very low. My bike, on the other hand, was blue.

"Hasn't Ada arrived yet?"

Arun asked me, holding up his black-framed glasses that covered almost half his face with his middle finger. I just shrugged and didn't answer him. Ono Daisuke was another classmate we had arranged to meet, and this guy always showed up later than the agreed time.

"But, is it okay for him to be like this, my neighbor, Lingqi Jiuyan, and steal people?"

This time I was the one asking the questions.

"I don't know! He just sent me a text message. But he seemed healthy until graduation. How did he suddenly end up in the hospital?"

Just then, behind us, as the automatic door opened, Ada's rough voice was heard.

"Ouch... sorry to have kept you waiting!"

Ah Da walked out of McDonald's clutching a handful of fried food. His nickname came from eating these fried foods. The "Da" in Ah Da wasn't the "Da" in his given name, Ono Daisuke, but the "Da" in the fried food category, which comes in large, medium, and small sizes. The name seemed to emanate a strange, fried smell. Ah Da's belly, barely able to hold his belt, was so stuffed with French fries that it seemed almost overflowing.

"Let's go, it's time."

I shouted. A-Da seemed to be still drinking his drink, shoveling some leftover French fries into his mouth as he walked towards the Asahi Bank to get his moped. Even from behind, you could see the flesh on his face bulging outwards.

"Is it Da who will be hospitalized next?"

Arun said. I smiled. The three of us finally gathered, and we set off together to visit another friend who was in the hospital—Naoto.

The distance from Tsukishima Station to the Sumida River embankment was only about two hundred meters. Standing up on our bikes, we pedaled up the inverted "W"-shaped bike ramp and reached Tsukudohashi Bridge. Arun and I rode up the bridge first, waiting for A-Da, who had fallen behind, and took a short break. Along the sleepy gray-green banks of the Sumida River, high-rise glass buildings and reinforced concrete structures lined the landscape. Twenty-story buildings, thirty-story buildings, and even fifty-story buildings dotted the landscape. Although this is the city where I was born and raised, every time I saw the zigzag highway that stretched from this bridge, I felt as if I were in another country. Arun was silent, then suddenly looked up at the expansive sky. It was a light, ethereal blue! It's rare to see such a vast sky in Tokyo!

Ah Da, shrugging his shoulders and panting, finally caught up. He'd actually installed a mantis brake on his moped, which showed he had absolutely no idea how bicycles work. If you can't keep your upper body firmly fixed and use your abdominal muscles, you can't pedal properly.

"Oh, I'm so tired! Maybe I overdid it last night."

Ah Da was wiping his sweat and yelling. Ah Run immediately asked with great interest:

"How many times did you do it?"

"About seven times."

Ah Da's answer was somewhat boastful and self-satisfied. Back then, the boys in our class were all about masturbation, discussing frequency, duration, quantity, new techniques, and fresh ideas. I was amazed that Ah Da could masturbate seven times in one night. If my friends asked me how many times I could masturbate in a single day, I'd only answer, "About three times." However, in reality, twice a day was my highest record. And even those days, when I was in relatively good health, were few and far between.

"This guy Ah Da is really extraordinary!"

Arun said, looking surprised. Bathed in the gentle breeze from Tokyo Bay, we made our way toward the land on the other side. Tsukudō Bridge is nearly three hundred meters long. We rode our bikes slowly along the sidewalk, while cars roared past on the four-lane road. Tsukishima is an artificial island built after the Meiji era. While it feels like an island and belongs to the same central district as the other side, it is a reclaimed landmass. And with places like Tsukiji and Ginza, it still feels like a city. The alleys and lanes of Ginza's backstreets were our playgrounds as children. We were familiar with the free food tasting counters at department stores in the underground shopping streets and the sky gardens on the rooftops of buildings, but we never imagined this was such a bright and bustling neighborhood.

After crossing the bridge and turning past the Nichirei Building, we walked along the embankment toward St. Luke's Garden. It was a dazzling, newly renovated corner, with carved tiles paving the sidewalk and a man-made stream flowing nearby. Overall, it looked like a rather luxurious garden. Across from two buildings housing advertising agencies, a star-rated hotel, and a luxurious nursing home, stood a hospital with rouge-colored tiles. That was St. Luke's International Hospital, where our classmate and best friend Naoto resided. We disembarked our bikes at the circular parking lot lined with taxis and entered through the thick, glass-paneled automatic doors.

The interior resembled a hotel lobby, with a red and white checkered marble floor and a high ceiling. In every corner, large-leafed potted ornamental plants swayed in the air from the air conditioner. The morning consultations seemed to have concluded, so the registration area was deserted. Since this was a hospital for regular patients only, we navigated the well-known corridors with ease, heading for the central elevator.

In the elevator with handles on three sides, Arun asked:

"Visiting the patient, have we brought anything?"

"I took this."

As Ah Da spoke, he took out a thin magazine from his camouflage backpack.

"I don't know if it's true or not, but the selling point of this magazine is that after reading it, you can learn how to talk to girls on the street and ask them to take off their clothes."

The three of us gathered together, looking at this pornographic magazine, one of those street-side peddlers. On the cover were two girls from Harajuku, either cute or not, standing somewhere on the street, arms outstretched in that familiar, flirtatious pose. Both were wearing well-worn jeans and white short coats. "Very nice! But I still prefer this..."

As he said this, Arun pulled out a large magazine from his Gregory brand backpack. You didn't even need to read the contents to know what it was about, because Arun was a well-known fan of big-breasted foreigners.

"Recently, this girl named Kristal is the most popular!

As Arun spoke, he opened the page with the label. The girl had blonde hair and blue eyes, breasts larger than her skull, areolas the size of double-fried eggs, a slender waist, and a figure like an ice skater. Her beauty was beyond imagination, like a fairy.

Miscellaneous: Then

Oh no. I didn't do anything bad, did I?

"Nami, I always feel like you're very harsh on me."

"You made me do this, didn't you?"

"When you promised me marriage, you were supposed to be more honest and gentle than you are now..."

I murmured softly, and Nami's face suddenly turned red.

"ah!"

Then he stumbled and lost his balance.

I grabbed Nami's arm and pulled her up before she fell. Soon she was back on her feet and resumed her running speed.

"Thank you. I mean, do you still remember that promise?"

"I don't know why, but I still remember it. During that time, you often told me, 'Nagi, Nagi, I love you the most!'"

"The weather is so nice. The sky is so blue too."

"Yeah, that's right. It's amazing how blue it is."

What am I talking about... Besides, maybe she is just trying to find something to say out of consideration for me.

Hurry up. We have to find it. Find the topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic, topic.

No. My mind was blank. Only the word "topic" kept spinning in my head.

How to do?How to do?

"You look so serious, what's wrong? Did I upset you?"

“…Huh?”

When I came to my senses, she looked very apologetic.

"No, no! Sorry, I was just thinking...!"

"I'm just looking for a topic to talk about" is so embarrassing that I can't even say it.