Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

"Hey, Zero-chan, what brings you here?"

Turning her head, Tachibana Hibiki quickly saw the girl who had been taking care of her for some time and asked her about it.

"It's already noon, I've come to deliver today's lunch."

In response to Tachibana Hibiki's question, Rei raised the insulated lunchbox in her hand to indicate what she was doing and then said.

"Is it already noon?"

Upon seeing the lunchbox in Rei's hand, Hibiki Tachibana realized that while she was thinking, it had unknowingly reached noon.

"So what are you worrying about that you didn't even realize it was lunchtime?"

After placing the lunchbox on the bedside table, Lingyi asked with slight concern.

"It's nothing serious, Zero-chan, you don't need to worry about it, haha."

Hearing Rei's question, Tachibana Hibiki smiled shyly and tried to steer the conversation away from the topic.

[If Rei-chan knew I was worrying about this kind of thing, I feel like she'd look at me like I'm an idiot.]

Hibiki Tachibana realized that she was somewhat aware of how stupid the slightly pretentious question she had just pondered was.

"Let's eat first, instead of that."

Having dismissed her inner fantasies, Tachibana Hibiki said with a smile.

Is that so?

Lingyi glanced at her, seemingly concerned, but ultimately didn't ask anything. She silently opened the lunchbox and put her chopsticks inside.

"Zero-chan, is today the same as before?"

Seeing Rei's actions, Tachibana Hibiki asked with some concern.

"That's right, your body still needs some time to recover, and I will still need to assist you with your meals today."

As Lingyi spoke, she continued her actions, using bamboo chopsticks to pick up a small portion of food and steadily placing it into Tachibana Hibiki's mouth.

Because the medication had some effect on Hibiki Tachibana's nervous system, she occasionally experienced a loss of control over her movements during exercise.

After changing her oil-stained bedding several times, Lingyi finally decided to strip her of the right to eat independently and personally assist her with her meals.

"I always feel like Lingyi-chan is treating me like a baby."

Although it wasn't the first time, Hibiki Tachibana still couldn't get used to this way of eating.

"At this point, you are not much different from an infant because you are unable to take care of yourself."

In response, Zero casually remarked and then fed another mouthful of rice to Tachibana Hibiki.

"Ugh..."

Being fed by a girl of similar age to her, and looking into the other girl's earnest emerald green eyes, she felt somewhat uncomfortable.

[I don't understand why Rei-chan is feeding me herself. Doesn't she have anything else to do?]

[It's because Rei-chan treats me like this all the time that I never feel like I'm being captured.]

[Besides, what exactly was Zero-chan's reason for bringing me here? All she's done so far is take care of me.]

[Restricting my personal freedom, yet doing nothing else, and taking such good care of me—what reason could Zero-chan possibly have for doing this?]

As she mechanically swallowed the food, similar thoughts swirled in Tachibana Hibiki's mind, gradually emptying her brain.

“咿

Then, lost in thought, she naturally pressed her tongue against her teeth.

P.S. Goodnight.

Chapter 131 Calm and Still

"...I suggest you try to focus your attention a little."

Seeing Tachibana Hibiki's gaping mouth and hissing, Rei paused for a moment, speechless, before putting down the lunchbox in her hand as she spoke.

“Gumiwaai (Gumi Nasai)”.

With tears welling in her eyes, Tachibana Hibiki apologized for her foolishness, but the lingering pain made her voice muffled.

“There’s no need to apologize… More than your apology, I’m concerned about what you were thinking just now. I find it hard to believe that you, Hibiki Tachibana, would be so distracted while eating.”

Ignoring Hibiki Tachibana's apology, Rei asked this question with some concern.

Based on the information she knew before, Hibiki Tachibana was quite obsessed with the act of eating, and she was always very excited and focused when she ate.

Lingyi felt it was necessary to find out what could cause her to lose focus while eating. If it was a serious problem, it should be addressed in advance to avoid affecting her recovery.

"Ah, well, it's not a big deal... Well, actually, I've been wondering whether I'm still a 'prisoner' or not."

At first, Hibiki Tachibana didn't want to speak, but under Rei's earnest gaze, she couldn't resist revealing her true feelings.

"..."

After observing Tachibana Hibiki's speech, Rei silently began to think.

"Without a doubt, your current state undoubtedly fits the definition of a 'prisoner'."

After thinking for a moment, Rei spoke to Hibiki Tachibana with certainty.

"Ah, but..."

Faced with Rei's certainty, Tachibana Hibiki wanted to continue explaining.

"I understand your doubts, but please don't confuse traditional portrayals from movies and TV shows with reality. By definition, your current status is indeed that of a 'prisoner.'"

Before Tachibana Hibiki could finish speaking, Rei, who had some guesses about her thoughts, interrupted her with an explanation.

"The definition of 'prisoner of war' is an enemy person who is captured alive during wartime and is not subject to restraint by his own will."

"The reason you have doubts in this regard is probably because you have confused the stereotypical image of 'prisoner' as seen in movies and TV shows with its original meaning."

"Theoretically speaking, unless you no longer want to go back and are willing to stay here indefinitely, your status meets the definition of 'prisoner'."

As Lingyi spoke, she gave Tachibana Hibiki a lesson in Chinese literature, and Jian Yiqiu corrected her misunderstanding of the concept.

"Ah, so you mean whether I am a 'prisoner' or not depends on my own will?"

Hibiki Tachibana summarized it all.

"That's right, you should have no more questions now, since you wouldn't want to stay here, so you're still a 'prisoner'."

Lingyi replied.

"Yes, I think so, there's some, I guess."

However, faced with this theoretically undeniable fact, Tachibana Hibiki's expression turned slightly unnatural.

"Hey...you didn't actually have that thought, did you?"

Rei didn't know what kind of expression to show, so she could only say something to Hibiki Tachibana with a hint of helplessness.

"Hahaha, Zero-chan, how could that be? Hahaha, Ouch, that hurts."

Hibiki Tachibana responded with a silly grin, trying to ease the awkwardness with her smile, but unknowingly touched the wound on her tongue again.

"You... never mind, it's your freedom."

Gazing at the flaxen-colored dumpling in front of her, and seeing the intimate nickname on the screen, Zero gave up on commenting on it.

"Judging from your current condition, it will probably take a while for you to recover. In that case, I'll give you these first. Keep them safe."

Putting this little incident behind her, Lingyi turned her attention back to the matter at hand, took out a small, somewhat heavy package from her clothes, and handed it to Tachibana Hibiki.

Today, in addition to her routine physical examinations and care for Hibiki Tachibana, she also planned to complete some tasks that she considered necessary for conducting human experiments on her.

What are these?

Taking the package from Rei and feeling its somewhat heavy weight, Tachibana Hibiki subconsciously asked...

"Although your body has not fully recovered, it is not far from recovery, so the experiments to be conducted on you should be put on the agenda."

"This is the compensation you should receive after deducting medical care expenses and additional compensation related to personal restraint, calculated according to the standard compensation for human experimentation, and rounded down to a total of sixty thousand US dollars..."

Zero explained to Tachibana Hibiki without changing his expression.

"...

Silence fell. After receiving the package from Rei and learning what it contained, Hibiki Tachibana's thoughts briefly froze.

"I will inform you of the main experimental details later, but don't worry, I would never do anything to conduct destructive research on the first sample, so the main experiments will generally not pose a danger to your life."

"The experimental research will last for five months starting tomorrow. Food and accommodation expenses will be waived. If the experimental objectives are achieved ahead of schedule, the contract will be terminated and you will be released."

"Do you have any questions?"

Ignoring Hibiki's dazed expression, Rei continued to explain the relevant details to Hibiki in detail.

"Hmm, this is a big problem, Rei-chan. I don't understand it at all."

Listening to Lingyi's description of the generous treatment, which could only be described as lavish rather than normal, Tachibana Hibiki complained in a tone that was three parts self-abandonment, three parts bewilderment, and four parts helplessness.

"What don't you understand?"

Seeing Tachibana Hibiki's reaction, Rei tilted her head, not quite understanding why Tachibana Hibiki was reacting so strongly.

"The reason for fighting? I don't understand. Zero-chan, what you need me to do is so... easy to accept. Why didn't you talk it out properly before? Why did you have to use fighting to achieve your goal?"

Faced with Rei's persistent questioning, Tachibana Hibiki revealed her inner confusion.

If Lingyi had explained from the beginning that what she was to do was so simple, and that such a simple thing would be rewarded with such a generous reward, she wouldn't have understood the point of the previous battle.

"Is that so? Do you have any doubts about this?"

After analyzing the doubts in Tachibana Hibiki's words, Rei pondered for a moment and understood the source of her questions.

"The reason I did this was simply because the people I was communicating with were different."

Then, Rei answered Tachibana Hibiki's question.

"The person you are communicating with?"

Hearing Rei's words, Tachibana Hibiki was a little confused.

"To put it simply, before I captured you, Tachibana, your identity was 'Tachibana Hibiki of Section Two,' and your communication partner was 'Section Two.'"

"The moment you were captured by me, your identity changed from 'Tachibana Hibiki of Section 2' to 'Experimental Subject Tachibana Hibiki,' and the person you communicated with changed from 'Section 2' to Tachibana Hibiki herself."

"My actions in dealing with institutions and individuals will naturally differ."

Zero patiently explained the difference to Hibiki Tachibana.

"Hey, why is that?"

Hearing Rei's answer, Hibiki Tachibana frowned slightly; she didn't quite understand what Rei was saying.

"There are many reasons. On the one hand, if I choose not to fight but to negotiate with Section Two, there will be many things to consider."

“Such as my employer’s requirement for secrecy, the potential inefficiency in communication with the government, the preciousness and difficulty in trading experimental materials and relics, and my personal strengths in terms of ability, etc.”

"The reasons are somewhat complicated. Considering your level of understanding, Tachibana, you just need to know that achieving our goals through negotiation is not worthwhile and unacceptable to me at the moment."

Lingyi said that she had some understanding of Tachibana Hibiki's comprehension abilities.

"Haha, actually, I don't quite understand even these parts."

Shaking her somewhat stiff brain, Tachibana Hibiki said that just listening to Rei describe those terms was already giving her a headache.

"It doesn't matter, you probably understand. As for the other aspect, regarding the way we treat you..."

Ignoring Hibiki's words, Rei continued to patiently explain to Hibiki the other issue: the treatment of Hibiki.

"Although I chose a less-than-formal and extreme method to invite you, it was mostly aimed at your status as a member of Section Two. In reality, I don't have any particular opinion about you."

"The way I treated you was based on the treatment I received as a volunteer in high-risk human trials when I was working in the United States. Therefore, I was simply following the rules, not giving you any special treatment."

"Although my employer considers this behavior unnecessary, I personally prefer to follow the general rules of human society as much as possible when there is no particular need to do so."

"Now that I've said that, you shouldn't have any questions anymore, right?"

Soon, Rei finished explaining to Tachibana Hibiki why she treated the other person that way.

"Oh, oh, although I don't understand it at all, it seems to make a lot of sense."

Hibiki Tachibana, whose eyes had visibly cleared, nodded and said.

"...I must be out of my mind to do something like talking to a brick wall."