K424 of the Collapse World

Although the presence of air conditioning ensures that the indoor temperature is not at all chilly in winter, it is still somewhat inappropriate to let a girl lie naked on a hospital bed.

"It seems that the matter is over, Miss Charlotte."

"—!"

The sudden voice behind her made Charlotte's tail hair stand up instantly. However, when she realized who the familiar voice came from, her tense nerves relaxed again.

"I remember I locked the door properly... And, even if the person is of low status, couldn't you knock on the door before entering, Ms. Hillis? This is basic etiquette no matter which country you are in..."

"Eh? As the person in charge of the health room, I just entered my office normally. Also, I didn't know that there was anyone inside in advance, which means that it was you who entered without permission."

"It was this Miss Captain who told me that the equipment here can be used freely. If you have any questions, please talk to her directly."

As she spoke, the red-haired girl pointed at Jiuxiao who was lying on the bed with a steady breathing. She wiped the cold sweat from her head, smoothed her loose long red hair, and rubbed her furry ears with her hands, shaking them flexibly from side to side.

"You really can't hide anything from me. Looking at your expression of no surprise, it seems that you already understand what happened..."

"Well, the load that the double stigmata put on the organism is completely unbearable for ordinary people. You can see through the problem of Jiuxiao's body at a glance. It seems that your perception is much stronger than Jizi's."

"You had already guessed that I would help her?"

"Almost... Even though that was just a memory that didn't belong to this world, you still did it. You took the initiative to rescue my friend before we were honest with each other. This is enough to show that you are not a bad person. You are indeed a trustworthy partner, Miss Charlotte."

As she spoke, Shilis glanced at Jiuxiao who was already fast asleep on the bed, and smiled softly. The next moment, she walked to Charlotte's side, looked at the wolf's tail curled up behind the red-haired girl, and stretched out her hands, gently grabbed Charlotte's big tail, and rubbed the furry wolf's tail, and the latter also relaxed the muscles of the tail, allowing the girl to hold her tail in her arms.

"Also, don't worry about Jiuxiao's situation. It will take quite some time for her stigmata to awaken. Moreover, after eliminating the hidden danger of the double stigmata, even if we leave it alone, she has the power to control the stigmata herself."

"Oh, I see. Although I'm not quite sure what you meant by 'memories of other worlds', based on your performance and what you said to Otto before, I should be able to regard it as some kind of predictive ability, right?"

"You can say that, but each world line will have subtle differences. Even if the process is similar, there is no exact same development. Well... For example, although I know you will help Jiuxiao, I don't know what I will talk to you about, nor do I know the details of our communication..."

554 and the Wolf

Methods>>

"Yeah, I understand. There's no need to force yourself to explain such abstract things, Ms. Hillis. Anyway, since the terms of our alliance have been determined, I just need to trust you unconditionally. For Lucia, I am willing to let my body become your strength, and..."

As she spoke, she glanced at the silver-haired girl who was gently rubbing her tail, with a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

"...stuffed animals."

"Ah... Sorry. I just thought about it subconsciously..."

Hearing this, Shilis lowered her head and looked at the big tail that she unconsciously held in her arms. She stroked the smooth and shiny fur of the wolf's tail with her hand, and smiled awkwardly, but did not let go of the tail in her hand.

In response, Charlotte smiled, showing her pointed little fangs, to show that she didn't care.

"It seems that Miss Shilis likes small animals very much, right? Those small, furry and soft mammals... Well, come to think of it, you do have a 'cat'. Is that why you took that guy in?"

"I do like it quite a bit. Its warm, soft fur is very comfortable to touch, but I don't think I have a cat...? Oh, you mean Miyuki? But when I first met her, she didn't have ears and a tail like that."

Shirley shook her head, feeling the warm touch in her hand, and tried to pinch the tail in her hand. She glanced at Charlotte who continued to look at her with her head tilted. After a fleeting disappointment, she couldn't help but reveal a puzzled expression.

"Eh? Come to think of it, I've always been curious about what these nonexistent external limbs feel like when they're touched. When I first met you in Singapore, I remember your tail seemed very sensitive. Just a slight pinch would... puff~"

Looking at Shirley who couldn't help laughing, Charlotte's eyes twitched and a bitter smile appeared on her face again.

"At that time, I had just grown ears and a tail due to the Houkai energy mutation. As new limbs, they were of course very sensitive. Now that so much time has passed, I have long been accustomed to their existence and can control them perfectly like my hands and feet."

As she spoke, the pointed ears that were drooping slightly on the top of her head straightened up, and then trembled slightly. It was obvious that they were much more flexible than the ears of primates.

"Looking back now, that feeling was terrible... But why did you suddenly ask this, Shirley? And you were a little bit harder just now, right? Do you want to see me look so embarrassed again?"

Seeing the turbulent eyes of Shirley, the smile on Charlotte's face began to become subtle.

"Oh...? So you have this kind of interest? It seems that the rumor about you and Dr. Tesla is true. Well... it's not impossible~ If you really want to see it, I can also pretend to be a little bit embarrassed and make a few noises. I am still a little confident in my acting skills. What do you think about this, Lady Shiris?"

"No... Please don't misunderstand me. I'm just curious and I don't have any other ideas. Besides, I like to touch your tail purely because it's very clean and beautiful..."

Shaking her head without hesitation, Shirley simply let go of the tail in her hand. After the furry wolf tail was out of her control, it was flexibly retracted under Charlotte's control, and the fur gently brushed Shirley's cheek, bringing a tingling sensation.

"Hmmmm...so let's just say that~?"

Charlotte said this with a smile, as if she had seen through everything. Then she turned sideways, bent her tail in front of her, and began to tidy up the fur that was slightly messed up by Shirley.

"Clean and beautiful... After all, these things have already grown. Under the influence of Honkai energy on genes, they will regenerate quickly even if they are cut off. So, instead of doing those useless things, it is better to get used to the existence of these things as soon as possible. As a part of the body, of course, you have to take good care of them."

"Eh......"

Seeing the fur of the big tail become smooth and soft again under Charlotte's skilled grooming, Shirley's hands began to become restless again. But this time, she still restrained these insignificant desires, coughed her throat, and became more serious.

Although Charlotte's position had occasionally changed in previous world bubbles, if she had made her choice at that fork in the road, then her will would not waver in the slightest. This was the answer that Shiris could be absolutely certain of after the superposition of countless world bubble memories.

"Ahem... Let's get back to the point. Miss Charlotte, you should know that after the stigmata were melted off, Jiuxiao temporarily lost all her power as a Valkyrie. During this time, can I ask you to protect her safety, my friend?"

"It's not an order, but a request from a friend... In other words, I can refuse, right?"

"Yes......"

"Hehe~ I was just joking. I won't refuse such an easy mission. At a time like this... I will never let you down, Lady Shilis!

Well...according to the rules of the Destiny Valkyrie Organization, should I answer like this?"

"No need. Since it's a commission, I should be thanking you for accepting my request, Charlotte."

"Eh...it seems to be true?"

Looking at this red-haired girl pretending to be cute, Shirley felt a hint of joy in her heart. Sure enough, compared to forcibly enslaving this wolf girl with chains and restraints, using sincerity and kindness to win each other's trust is the right way...

555 The long-cherished wish of the insignificant

"Please give me a reasonable explanation, Claire."

"Explain what... didn't I just say it? I participated in the artificial Herrscher experiment at the Mission Headquarters, and then..."

"I know that! What I want to ask is your motivation for doing this series of actions! You ran away from home without saying goodbye, do you think this is a childish act?!"

Outside the dormitory building of St. Freya, Claire, who had just returned and had not yet changed her clothes, was faced with such a serious situation. Looking at Lillian who was holding her shoulders and pressing her onto the public bench, she gradually realized how troublesome the situation was...

He left the academy under the pretext of traveling, and then secretly returned to the headquarters of the destiny to seek power and participate in a series of dangerous experiments. Although everything was decided by himself, in the eyes of his most important friend, such deception was a little too much.

She is Lillian's Valkyrie partner, a partner that has never changed in the past ten years. Although Claire has never been sure, perhaps the relationship between the two of them has long surpassed the level of comrades-in-arms...

"Claire, your life belongs to you. Logically, I have no right to interfere with your decision. But as your friend and colleague for many years, I really want to know what you really think."

Hearing Lillian's trembling voice, Claire curled up in the chair with some anxiety, using her short and thin arms to protect her chest. She was only wearing a simple and loose experimental skirt and a small blanket. Moreover, with her current height of only about 1.4 meters, she could not even touch the ground when sitting on the bench. Her bare feet could only hang in the air, with her toes tightly clasped towards the soles of her feet, exposing her inner anxiety.

Her body was still full of weakness. Although Lillian was still holding her shoulders tightly, Claire did not feel much pain or discomfort, perhaps because she deliberately controlled her strength. Moreover, what was even more unbearable than the physical discomfort was the expression of the girl in front of her.

"Well......"

Looking at Lillian's sharp eyes, Claire couldn't help swallowing. In the girl's gloomy eyes, in addition to the heartbreaking tears, she seemed to be able to see a lingering resentment and a little subtlety. It must be said that her complicated expression now was like a wife who was abandoned by her husband and saw her husband turned into a mistress and appeared in front of her...

Although she didn't know why she came up with such a strange metaphor, it was obvious that if she didn't say something now, the girl would definitely hold her down like this until dark!

There was no need to hope for the best. With Miss Lillian's stubborn temper, she would definitely do something like this if she didn't get a satisfactory answer.

However, how to explain this situation? Now, apart from the words of apology, Claire's mind is almost blank. After several months in the experimental chamber, it has not been more than 24 hours since she woke up. Facing this situation in her current state, it is really a bit of a stretch...

But if I say at this time that I'm tired and want to rest, it will sound like a perfunctory response, right?

"Well... Lillian, I'm back safely, can you please let me go for a while? After all, I was just taken out of the lab by Shirley, and my body is covered with residual liquid of experimental drugs, and I don't even have a normal piece of clothing. Didn't Miss Shirley just tell me to go for a physical examination right away? So... important conversations should be held after finishing the chores, right?"

"..."

Hearing this, Lillian's eyes flashed with a trace of emotion. After a brief hesitation, she nodded reluctantly. Rather than venting her own anger, her friend's physical condition should be the first priority.

"Okay, I'll take you to the Medical Research Institute now. But before we reach our destination, you have to give me an answer to the question I asked earlier."

"Uh......"

"Is there anything wrong, Miss Claire? I just want you to explain a small reason. Even if you are standing face to face with me after meeting again, do you still want to escape? Or... no, nothing."

"..."

Looking at the dazed Claire, Lillian shook her head gently, then picked up the girl in front of her and walked towards the medical center.

(Or, in your eyes, I am just an insignificant outsider, not qualified

Listen to your heart... If I say that, it's a bit too much, right? If she really cares about me, I will definitely make her sad. Even if she doesn't care about me, this will embarrass her...)

She thought that she should solve her own troubles by herself and never cause trouble to the important people. However, the inexperienced Valkyrie still didn't understand that tolerance and selfishness are both indispensable parts of "love"...

The constant worry over the past few months finally fermented into the current dissatisfaction. However, this matter is ultimately Claire's own business. Saying that she is worried to the point of not being able to eat sounds like she is complaining without any reason. She should just swallow these words as a way of venting and let them rot in her stomach...

"Eh......?"

Lillian remained silent, as if she had given up on the question. However, lying in the girl's arms, looking at Lillian's slightly trembling lips, Claire felt even more depressed.

555 The long-cherished wish of the insignificant >>

(Sure enough...now is not the time to be silent.)

The black-haired girl exhaled lightly, and her eyes focused. The fatigue in her pupils, which were filled with mysterious purple, was gradually dispelled by her, and her expression became serious.

"The reason... it's pretty simple to explain. But, it's because the facts are so simple that I'm worried that it might not be convincing enough..."

"I believe you, that's enough."

"Well, to be honest, I'm feeling dizzy right now, and I don't know if I can express myself clearly. Lillian, if I say anything weird later, please wake me up immediately."

"I see."

Looking at the black-haired girl who was trying to cheer herself up, Lillian nodded stiffly, as if she understood something. But now that things had come to this, she couldn't say anything more, so she could only slow down her pace and focus her mind a little...

"Lillian, what do you think of Miss Silis?"

"Ah? Well... let me think..."

"Sorry, sorry~ I almost forgot. I was answering your question now, but I subconsciously asked it in the form of a rhetorical question. Forget what I just said."

"Oh...but why suddenly...?"

"I suddenly mentioned Miss Hillis because I felt that she was the reason that prompted me to make this decision..."

The snow-covered path slowly retreated with Lillian's steps. Talking about the person she admired, her emotions were ignited like warm flames even in the cold winter wind.

"Do you remember the first time we met her? She was so petite at that time. When she was captured by us as a test subject, she had no power to resist. She even called us big sister with an innocent face... Hehe~ Now that I think about it, her weak appearance was really soft and cute."

"Yeah... But it's not like she didn't have the strength to resist. I remember when you caught her, she wanted to bite your hand. But that was a long time ago. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, who would have thought that the weak and pitiful experimental subject would become Miss Shilis today..."

Hearing Claire's words, Lillian agreed with a wry smile. Although it was a memory from many years ago, after meeting Shirley, such an impressive first encounter was not something she could easily forget.

(But Claire is really an idiot!)

Although they were talking about people they were familiar with, Lillian still felt a little uncomfortable when Claire mentioned other women in front of her.

"Well, although her strength comes largely from her talent and luck, the fact that Shirley can reach today's height is also related to her own spirit and hard work. Since I became her partner four years ago, I have been working hard with Miss Shirley as my goal. Well, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but for a while I always felt that I also had the opportunity to be like Shirley, to understand the method of controlling Honkai and become a pseudo-herrsity user with my own self... Hehe, isn't it ridiculous?"

"It's not ridiculous. I've had similar fantasies, becoming the most powerful Valkyrie, destroying Honkai in one fell swoop, becoming a hero of mankind... and so on. It's not strange to yearn for these things, right?"

Lillian said softly, looking at the end of the road where the medical building was right in front of her, and she couldn't help but slow down her pace.

"But it was just a dream after all. A few months ago, when I realized that no matter how much I trained, I couldn't improve my declining strength qualitatively, I realized that as a Valkyrie, no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to reach her level."

"So you just... Oh, is that really the case..."

"Yes, it's just that simple. Remember I told you the same thing before I left? We are warriors following Miss Shilis. We don't ask to be stronger than her as a leader, but we can't be so weak that we become a burden and need her to protect us!"

"..."

There were only a few steps left to the medical building, but Lillian stopped at this moment. She had no idea how to respond. Although she had known that Claire had an extremely strong personality, it was beyond her imagination that she would go to such lengths to become stronger.

(It turns out that I never really understood you...)

"I know, Lillian. In the realm of Valkyries, our strength has reached the upper echelon. However, if we want to stand with Hillis and the others, this is not enough! Juniors like Seele and Bronya are stronger than us. I don't want to be like an accessory, relying on the past relationships to stay with them! I also want to show my own value. When danger comes, I also want to stand in the front to protect everyone... instead of shrinking in the back to be protected!"

"Claire..."

"Sacrificing one's life for power... I know it's stupid, and everyone has countless reasons to denounce this idea of ​​not cherishing life. However, everyone pursues different things. Rather than spending the remaining short life of a Valkyrie in a daze, I would rather gamble everything to realize my long-cherished wish... Now, do you understand, Lillian?"

556 The One Who Should Have Accompanied Me

"So what was the result? Did you achieve your wish by turning your body into this state?"

In the waiting room of the medical department building, Lillian asked again, casting her eyes on Claire who was sitting next to her. At this moment, this girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, standing next to her, looked as if she were Lillian's sister or daughter. A sense of awkwardness suddenly arose, and gradually became stronger as time went by.

"Well... although the experiment is already in its final stages, I was dragged back by Shiris before it was officially completed. So, due to the sequelae of the forced termination, my physical sensations are quite vague now."

Looking at her bloodless white hands, Claire sighed. It was obvious that her current loli appearance had nothing to do with the word "powerful". Trying to suppress the weird atmosphere between them, she turned her head slightly and looked into Lillian's eyes.

"Although I can feel that I seem to have some special energy that can be mobilized, I dare not activate those strange powers of unknown origin without sound physical perception. What if I lose control... Well, so now I don't know whether I have obtained the power of the artificial herrscher..."

"That's it."

Looking at the worried black-haired girl, Lillian just responded softly. It was not difficult to guess the other party's worries. If, after spending so much money and causing so much trouble to Shilis and the others, not only did they gain nothing, but their bodies became more fragile, then it would really be a loss of both the wife and the army.

"However, apart from your appearance, there is no deterioration in other aspects of your body, right? For example, your IQ..."