Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

"If you ever get married, remember to find someone whose mindset is the opposite of yours, and remember to always entrust your bank account to your partner."

Faced with Tachibana Hibiki's question, Rei had no desire to answer; she only offered this reminder out of kindness for the other's possible tragic future.

"Oh, Miss Zero, why do you say that?"

Hibiki Tachibana didn't quite understand.

"And this, you can wear it yourself."

Ignoring Hibiki's question, Rei took out a black necklace and handed it to Hibiki, saying this.

"what is this?"

Hibiki Tachibana asked with a hint of doubt, then casually put the brand-new collar around her neck.

"The prison device that prevents you from escaping has three levels of alarms. The highest level alarm is a device that turns you into a flying flower when you run out of this building area. Don't even try to dismantle it; doing so will also trigger the alarm."

Watching the flaxen-haired idiot's actions, Rei said this to Hibiki Hana, somewhat numbly.

"Huh?"

Hearing Rei recount the terrifying truth in her pleasant voice, Hibiki Tachibana's expression suddenly froze, revealing a hint of fear.

"You haven't forgotten that you're a prisoner now, have you?"

Lingyi helplessly reiterated her identity once again.

"Ah, right, I'm a prisoner now, so doing this is the right thing to do."

Hibiki Tachibana suddenly realized, and her expression of fear transformed into one of understanding.

"You...you really forgot?"

Hibiki Tachibana's naiveté was a bit unexpected for Rei.

"Well, oh dear, because Miss Zero treated me rather differently than a prisoner, I forgot."

"I'm so shy," said Tachibana Hibiki.

In her impressions from television, prisoners were either tied to a horrific rack and forced to do all sorts of things, or left to fend for themselves in a dirty, messy room.

People like Lingyi are treated with care, given a very soft bed, and have hot water and fruit prepared by her bedside... making her completely unaware that she is now a prisoner.

"You... never mind, maybe it's a problem with how I handled it."

Seeing Tachibana Hibiki's reaction, Rei decided not to dwell on it anymore.

(o°w°o)

Hibiki Tachibana silently looked at Rei, who was dressed in clothes she had never seen before.

"In short, just rest for now and try your best to get better. There may be things I need you to do later."

"Hot water and fruit are helpful for recovery. If you need them, just call me and I'll bring them to you when I have time."

Abandoning her inner turmoil, Zero, following her pre-planned strategy, said this while handing Tachibana Hibiki a walkie-talkie.

"I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

After saying this last thing, Lingyi lifted the white curtain and left the small space.

P.S. Good evening.

Chapter 107 Handling

Lingyi stepped out from behind the white curtain, but she didn't leave the infirmary immediately; she had another matter to attend to.

Next, let's go check on Chris.

With that thought in mind, Lingyi came out of Tachibana Hibiki's place and pulled back the white curtain that faced the other side of the corridor.

In the previous battle, Chris was severely injured by the berserk Hibiki Tachibana, and many fragments of the Bronze Serpent Armor were embedded in her body.

As a complete relic with self-repairing capabilities, the fragments that enter the body have the ability to grow on their own. If they are not removed in time, they will become a bigger problem.

Therefore, after treating Hibiki Tachibana and bringing her out of danger, Rei immediately performed surgery on Chris, who was in the same critical condition.

In order to recover more quickly after the surgery, Chris was also placed in this recuperation room by Rei, which is right across from Tachibana Hibiki's recuperation room.

"Chris, how are you feeling?"

Soon, Zero entered the small room where Chris was, and then saw the girl lying quietly on her side on the bed.

"Zero...I'm sorry."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Chris sat up in bed and said this, her face showing visible tension and guilt.

"Ah, it's not entirely your fault. This mistake was partly due to oversights in my initial intelligence gathering and an underestimation of your combat strength."

Lingyi shook her head and did not blame Chris.

To be honest, she had become somewhat accustomed to unexpected events during operations.

Someone like Chris, she had already done her best. It was just an accident caused by her own strength. After calming down and thinking about it, it's nothing.

"It's not entirely my fault...which also means I still bear some responsibility, or rather, the most crucial mistake was made because of me."

Although Zero used a euphemistic way of speaking, Chris still managed to glean a different meaning from Zero's words. She lowered her head, her expression becoming even more dejected.

“Phew… Chris, you.”

So, there's no way to get around it? This is so troublesome.

Looking at the white-haired girl in front of her, Lingyi had her own thoughts, but her expression remained unchanged.

Then, Lingyi walked up to Chris, reached out her pink-gloved hand, grabbed Chris's forehead, and forcibly pried her head back up.

"Zero-yi, huh?"

Chris winced in pain; despite the soft gloves, the force Zero used still caused her pain.

“Listen up, Chris, whether you’re sad or feeling guilty, please choose a time when I’m not around. I have no interest in taking pleasure in other people’s sadness.”

"Also, I'm here only to check on your physical condition and to ask about the details of your previous battle. These are the two things."

“Now, Chris, please put away your nonsensical emotions and give me a proper explanation of what you are feeling in your body right now and the details of how you were defeated while using the Bronze Serpent Armor.”

Lingyi calmly grasped Chris's forehead, her words, devoid of any warmth, clearly and forcefully explaining this to the girl before her.

"I...I understand!"

Feeling Lingyi's increasing strength during the conversation, and hearing her calm yet inexplicably authoritative explanation, Chris completely lost the complex emotions she had previously mixed with, such as self-blame, guilt, and fear.

"I feel great now. Although some of my wounds are still a little painful, they will heal quickly... And, regarding the previous battle, the details are..."

Then, Chris shifted her attention away from the bad emotions that had been festering in her heart since last night, and answered the questions that Zero had asked, just as Zero had requested.

"Oh, is that so? I think I understand now, what happened this time."

Lingyi, after recording and archiving the information revealed by Chris, also put away the tablet computer in her hand.

"Gulp... Um, Zero, was what I said helpful to you?"

Chris, whose mouth was slightly dry from talking, asked this question with some concern after taking a sip of the hot water that Lingyi had placed by her bedside.

"Ah, it is indeed helpful. At least it made me realize that Chris, you do not currently possess the qualities to use the Bronze Serpent Armor, and that your combat habits have very serious problems."

In response to Chris's question, Lingyi slowly rubbed her temples and gave a sharp comment.

"Do...do you have one?"

Upon hearing Lingyi's words, Chris blushed with embarrassment.

If someone else had said that, she might have argued back, but the one lecturing was Zero, whose plans had just been ruined by her own mistake in battle.

"Anyway, I'll give you special training when I have time later. I'll point out any problems you have then."

"As for the special training period, if Chris's physical condition is as you just mentioned, I have already planned it out in three days. Chris, please remember to be mentally prepared."

Ignoring Chris's thoughts, Zero calmly informed Chris of this.

"I understand, I have no objection to that special training."

Chris lowered her head again, offering no comment.

"Okay, that's about all I wanted to say this time. If you have no further questions, I'll be leaving now."

After giving this reply, Lingyi ignored Chris's expression and left the narrow room.

"Ah, okay."

Knowing she was busy, Chris didn't say much and watched her leave before she had been there for very long.

[Phew... With that, we've confirmed the situation regarding Hibiki Chris.]

The impact of this mistake was also confirmed during the intervals between their treatments.

Next, change your clothes, turn the defense system to automatic, and then go retrieve the unused equipment.

[After that, based on the information provided by Tachibana Hibiki, an investigation was conducted into the person behind the trouble, and the new pawn, who was most likely put forward by that group of alchemists, was identified.]

Yes, these are all things that need to be done urgently. Let's try to finish them within 24 hours.

Lifting the curtain and stepping out, Lingyi sorted out the jumbled thoughts in her mind and walked towards the dressing room without stopping, preparing to change back into her everyday clothes.

If possible, please don't disturb my work anymore.

With so many things piling up, Lingyi simply didn't have any more time or energy to spare.

Then, as she was thinking this, she saw a very irritating person appear who had basically never worn proper clothes since their first meeting.

P.S. Goodnight.

Chapter 108 The returning employer's requirements for employees are...

“Phineas…”

With yellow hair, golden eyes, and dressed completely naked except for black stockings, a mysterious smile on his face, appeared before Lingyi's employer, Finney, whom Lingyi hadn't seen for about half a month.

"Lingyi, good afternoon, long time no see."

Finney greeted Lingyi with a smile, and at the same time, her body naturally moved closer to Lingyi.

"Oh, long time no see, goodbye."

Lingyi nodded slightly in response, then changed direction, trying to get around the indecent woman blocking her way.

"Wait, Lingyi, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Then, as Rei did this, Finney used her slightly taller body to block Rei's path.

"Is there something you need?"

As if to avoid bumping into something dirty, Lingyi took a small half-step back and asked this question.

"It's nothing serious, I was just a little curious..."

Finney's lips curled up slightly as he sized up Lingyi in front of him.

"You're fine, but I'm in a hurry. Please move aside, I need to get to my destination."

Before Finnie could finish speaking, Lingyi interrupted her pointless ramblings, her forehead twitching slightly. She changed direction again, intending to dodge the bear-like woman in front of her.

"Oh dear, don't be like that. I was just a little curious, Xiaolingyi, what brings you here today? Why did you change out of your ever-present work uniform?"

Then, Finney's body swayed like a ghost, blocking Zero's path once again, and at the same time, they came to a very close distance.

"Hey, Xiaolingyi, it's rare to see you wearing such a beautiful outfit. How about I borrow a camera from you and we take a picture together..."

Then, as Finney spoke, the corners of her mouth seemed to be unable to suppress the smile, and her hand was about to grab Zero's arm, which was not covered by the nurse's uniform.

Cheng----Bang-

The sound of metal whistling rang out, and before Finney's operation could succeed, a red light flashed, and the flashing blade suddenly disappeared from Zero's waist.

Then, in a flash, Finney felt his hand being slapped away by scorching metal, and at the same time, a violent cutting sound came from the purple protective barrier that he had subconsciously deployed.

“切

Looking at the Flash Blade Irioshi II Qi Siwu Liu, which floated in front of him out of thin air and forcefully cut through his purplish-red defensive barrier, a barely perceptible displeasure appeared on Finny's face.

"Oh dear, Zero, aren't you going to watch your weapon? She almost killed me just now."

But then, Finney quickly wiped the displeasure from her face, changed her expression, and complained to Zero in a normal tone.

"Don't worry about that. She won't harm anyone's life without my orders. And, I've warned you many times, don't get so close to me, Finney."

Looking at the words in front of her, Lingyi raised her head, her emerald green eyes fixed on Finni, issuing this warning for who knows how many times.