Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

Chapter Sixteen: Strangers

"Wait, stop right there, Chris. You don't need to tell me too much. Your past isn't important now."

Seeing that Chris was about to launch into a long speech, Finney immediately stopped her from wasting her time.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Finney, I guess I've been overthinking things these past few days."

Chris realized that she seemed to have just been lost in a reverie.

"So, the problem now is that in the past, Chris, you met Zero, and now you've met Zero again, but because she's changed so much, you don't know if she's the Zero you know, right?"

Seeing that Chris wasn't in a good mental state, Finney briefly explained the reasons why she had been so absent-minded these past few days.

"Actually, maybe I'm mistaken. After all, the Lingyi I know has a problem with her left eye, and she doesn't look like her. Hmm, I must be mistaken."

Chris said this, as if trying to convince herself.

“...Chris, you must understand that the most important task right now is to launch Durandal. If you continue in this state, I will be very distressed. So, Chris, don't make things difficult for me. Don't forget 'our' dream.”

Seeing Chris's awkward expression, Finney said impatiently, then turned around, walked out of the glass door, and picked up a landline phone that was on the table.

"Yes, that's right. I must have mistaken you for someone else, Finney. I've sorted myself out. Um, Finney, what are you doing?"

Just as Chris was trying to use self-suggestion to get out of her current state, she noticed Finney's actions.

"Call her over to explain what's causing your current state. If you have any questions, just tell her directly."

"That's what Finney said through the glass wall," he said, then ignored the confused Xueyin Chris and dialed a number.

[Hey, Finney, what's up?]

The phone call was accompanied by the cacophony of wind and Lingyi's voice, suggesting she was somewhere in the wind.

“It’s very important. Chris seems to be in some kind of trouble, and we need your help to deal with it.”

Finney spoke slowly.

Okay, I understand, I'll be right there.

Lingyi said this on the phone, and then hung up on Finney.

Doodle

“Wait, Finney, I already said that I might have made a mistake. I will activate the relic properly. Besides, she is always so busy, there is no need to bother her like this.”

Xueyin Chris said with her head down, hoping that Finney wouldn't do that.

"Alright, Chris, stop deceiving yourself. Only by facing the facts can you work better, right?"

But clearly, Finney had no intention of taking Chris's advice.

Moreover, she was also curious about the relationship between Zero and Chris, and how Zero would view Chris now.

"...

Seeing that Finney had already made her decision, Chris opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

At this moment, she was conflicted. She hoped that Lingyi was the Lingyi she knew, but she also didn't want her to be the Lingyi she knew.

Just as she was struggling with her decision, the door to the room opened, and Lingyi, covered in dust as if she had just come from a construction site, appeared in front of her.

"So, Finney, what exactly happened?"

After entering, Lingyi didn't even glance at Chris beside her, but went straight to asking Finney the specific reason why she had been called over.

"Um…"

When faced with Lingyi's question, Finni remained silent, scrutinizing Lingyi as if trying to discern some change in her expression.

"…Phineas, what are you doing? If it's nothing serious, I'll go back to work."

Some time later, in response to Finney's incomprehensible behavior, the blonde girl said this.

“Nothing has changed at all. Well, Chris, it seems you were right. She shouldn’t be the Zero you know. She has nothing to do with you.”

Seeing that Lingyi's expression remained unchanged since the first time they met, as calm as an iceberg, Finney said this.

She had specifically mentioned that Chris was having problems, but after Lingyi came in, she didn't do anything surprising at all, as if Chris next to her was just a stranger.

"Ah... Haha, so I really did mistake you for someone else? I knew it! How could there be such a coincidence? It seems I was just overthinking things."

Hearing Finney's assessment, Chris felt a mix of emotions, but ultimately breathed a sigh of relief.

"In short, that's it. The matter is resolved. Lingyi, you can go back now."

Finney said that she had originally thought that if Chris had something special about her, she could use it to threaten and restrict her 'collaborator', but now it seemed that she was overthinking it.

But it's not bad either. At least this way, Chris can activate Durandal with peace of mind, and then proceed to complete Cardingil, achieving her ultimate goal...

“Phineas, I need to correct you.”

Just when Finnie thought the matter was over, Zero, who had been listening to their conversation, suddenly said this.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Upon hearing Lingyi's words, Finney reviewed what she had just said in her mind, but found nothing that needed to be corrected, so she asked this question.

"I am not unrelated to Xueyin Chris. We did live together for a period of time several years ago."

Lingyi said it as if she were talking about something very ordinary.

"...

Finney fell silent. Only then did she realize that she had made a mistake: she had relied solely on her own judgment to determine the facts without consulting the parties involved.

"...Ha, Miss Zero, you must be joking."

Meanwhile, Yukine Chris, who was standing to the side, was shocked by Zero's statement.

"I don't like to joke. I'm just stating the facts. If you don't believe me, that's not my problem."

Lingyi spoke calmly to the two of them, her tone remaining completely devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"That's a very unique way of putting it."

Looking at her tattered clothes, Finney couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness.

From the moment she met this collaborator, she never saw her expression or tone change even slightly.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Chris finally snapped out of her shock. Then, instinctively, she wanted to grab Zero and question her about why she was pretending not to know her.

As soon as she did this, a whooshing sound rang out, and the blazing blade, just like when they first met, was pressed against Chris's throat.

"If you don't want to fight me, please don't do things that could be misunderstood."

Under the influence of the calm tone and the scorching blade, Yukine Chris was plunged into great confusion.

P.S. I don't understand why there's been this "Information Flash Blade vs. Health and Tears" thing lately. I don't understand why Zero would have to face an enemy she can't possibly win against.

Chapter Seventeen Debate

Why did this happen?

The burning sensation on her neck, and the terrifying killing intent that seemed to come from someone who had personally executed countless lives, all stimulated Chris's nerves, throwing her into a panic.

"Wait, Zero, Chris just doesn't know your rules. Considering it's her first offense, let her off this time."

Seeing this scene, Finney awkwardly began to mediate between the two.

"..."

After Finney did this, Zero glanced at Finney slightly, then moved the Flash Blade away from Chris's neck.

"Alright, Chris, go find some medicine first. Her weapon gets very hot; if it's not treated promptly, it will affect her future condition."

Seeing that Lingyi had finally let Chris go, Finney breathed a sigh of relief, and then quickly found an excuse to send Chris away, so that she would not do anything to provoke Lingyi again.

Hearing Finney's words, Chris finally snapped out of her panic.

"...Yes, Finney, I understand. I'm sorry."

Afterwards, Chris, looking dejected, followed Finney's instructions and left the room. Before leaving, she glanced at Zero, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately said nothing.

"So, what exactly did you call me here for, and what do you need me to do?"

Ignoring Chris who had left, Zero asked Finn directly.

Finney didn't reply immediately to Zero's question. She glanced at Durandal to the side, then at the door where Chris had walked out, then at Zero who was waiting for her reply, and finally sighed helplessly.

"Actually, the thing is..."

Despite feeling utterly exhausted by the current situation, Finney mustered her courage and explained to Zero the cause of what had just happened.

A few minutes later...

"So, you're saying that Yukine's string gain output decreased because she was concerned about me, and you called me over to help her resolve her doubts and get her to work better?"

Listening to Finney's description, Lingyi summarized it this way, and then another person in the room had a headache.

"Yes, that's right, but it's too late to say all this now. After what you did to Chris, I don't know how to calm Chris down and restore her string enhancement release level."

Finney said with a headache.

“This isn’t my area of ​​expertise. Finney, you can figure it out yourself. I still have 12 alarms to install today, so I’m leaving now.”

As for Finnie's predicament, Lingyi said she couldn't help him and then turned to leave.

"Wait, isn't this all because of you? You should at least help out. Since you said you knew Chris before, you should know how to solve her current problem."

Seeing Lingyi's expression as if she wanted to push the matter onto her, Finney immediately said that with the goal so close at hand, she didn't want to wait too long.

"...…ha?"

Looking at the text displayed on the screen, Lingyi turned around and looked at Finney with a gaze that was no different from usual, but with a strange and deep sense of resentment.

"In that case, my suggestion is that you tell me your final result, Finney, and then we can discuss what to do next."

Subsequently, in response to Finnie's request, Lingyi solemnly offered her this suggestion.

"Hmm, do you want to uncover my secrets, Zero? All you need to do is help solve Chris's problem."

After hearing Lingyi's suggestion, Finnie looked at her with some skepticism and then made this explanation.

"So... then what, after I figure out how to solve this problem, are you going to create a new one for me, Finney?"

Looking at Finney, who still appeared calm and composed, Lingyi's forehead gradually showed slight frown lines.

"Hmm, what do you mean?"

Finnie didn't understand what Zero was talking about.

"What do you mean? Who released the noise without notifying me, which blocked my planned evacuation route and almost gave me a close-range 'final blow'?"

"Who was it that told me to protect the base, but ended up managing their own base so poorly that I had to figure out how to survey the terrain and set it up from scratch?"

"And who was it that called me over without explaining things clearly to me, and then made me help solve the problem after things went wrong?"

Seeing the puzzled look on Finnie's face, Lingyi smiled and then told Finnie about the trouble she had caused her recently.

"Um, that..."

Listening to Lingyi's words, Finney found herself feeling a long-lost sense of guilt.

"I know you don't trust me, but at least you should pay attention to your own affairs. You don't communicate intelligence to your teammates in a timely manner, you don't care about how to defend the base, and you can't figure out the psychological problems of your own men. I don't understand what you're thinking, Finney!"

The more Lingyi thought about it, the more resentful she became. She was already suffering from neurasthenia for the past two weeks because she had only slept four hours a day, and now Finni was giving her new problems.

"Huff... huff huff."

After venting her inner pressure on Finney, Lingyi gradually calmed down and regained her rationality.

"Am I really that bad?"

Finney pulled her legs back from the table and unconsciously adjusted her posture.

"It's not that bad. On the bright side, Phineas, you do have some merits in the use of heretical technology, but that's all there is to it."

After calming down, Zero made the following comment regarding Finney's question.

"Hmm... what about the downsides?"

Upon hearing Lingyi's words, Finney reflexively asked.

"Arrogant, straightforward, and lacking in discretion, you have brains, but not many. It makes one wonder why you haven't been killed yet."

Lingyi gave Finney a deep look. Although she didn't understand why anyone would want to cause trouble, she still offered her opinion, which was influenced by some personal grudges.

"However, considering how generous you are, these things can be forgiven."