Chapter 194: The Girl Longing for Freedom
It was already evening when Kirataka and Anna took Stan back to the Oceania branch's base.
Anna was more familiar with the affairs of the Oceania base, so she was responsible for taking Stan to inspect and deliver the tasks, while Kirataka returned to Wendy's villa.
When he opened the door, he saw Wendy sitting alone on the sofa, while Theresa was in the kitchen, standing on a small stool preparing ingredients.
Theresa turned around and saw him coming back. She stopped what she was doing and said in surprise:
"You're back so soon? I thought you'd be gone for a few more days."
Although it was not a complicated task, returning in less than two days was quite efficient.
"I was lucky enough to find the target of the mission—a kitten," Kirataka shrugged.
He glanced at the messy kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and said helplessly:
"I'll make dinner."
It would be more reassuring to let him cook than to let Theresa do it. After all, this twelve-year-old's body also contained Kaslana's "kitchen killer" blood.
"You're welcome then!~"
Theresa jumped down from the stool without hesitation, washed her hands, slid out swiftly, and threw herself on the sofa.
Perhaps the "school principal filter" had been almost shattered by their recent cohabitation, so she no longer put on airs as an elder in front of Wendy and Kirataka, and simply displayed her personality consistent with her appearance.
A moment later, at the dining table.
Theresa took a sip of the bitter melon juice in the cup and said:
"By the way... Kirataka, why don't you take Wendy out for a walk outside the base tonight?"
"Hmm? Aren't we not allowed to let Wendy leave the base?"
Kirataka said with some surprise.
Because of concerns about problems with the Desire Gem, the girl had not been allowed to leave the base's surveillance range.
Apparently, Theresa did something while he and Wendy were away.
In response, the dark green-haired girl smiled and explained:
"The teacher helped me talk to the branch chief, and he agreed to the trip. As long as someone accompanies me, it's fine."
Theresa's identity as the granddaughter of the Bishop of Schicksal always came in handy, and Wendy had indeed not had any problems in the past three years, so this matter was facilitated.
She is quite warm-hearted...
"I see. Once dinner is over, I'll get ready and take you out."
Kirataka nodded.
It would be easier for him to "take action" on Wendy outside.
The pleasant dinner time soon ended. Kirataka pushed the girl's wheelchair out of the room, then skillfully picked up Wendy from the chair and gently placed her in the wheelchair.
When he was taking care of Wendy recently, except for Theresa's help with bathing, he was the one who took care of the rest of the girl's daily life.
Skin contact is naturally inevitable, but they are already familiar with this kind of thing.
The jackals' invasion will happen tonight, so without further ado, Kirataka pushed Wendy out of the cabin.
Sneaking along the passage of the base, he brought the girl to the world outside the base.
The base of the Oceania branch was not built near the town but was located at the foot of the mountain. Next to the base was a large lake.
The moonlight shines on the lake, and the ripples are dotted with silver light.
After finding a relatively quiet place, Kirataka stopped the wheelchair and placed it facing the lake. Then, he sat next to Wendy.
The girl stared at the tranquil lake, lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?"
"…It's just that I haven't been out for a long time, and I feel a little emotional."
Wendy smiled.
Although she had seen the scene before her countless times when she was still healthy, seeing it again after three years still made her feel a little happy.
"The arrival of you and the teacher this time, Kirataka, has also brought a lot of changes to my life."
Wendy said with some emotion:
"Although everyone in the Oceania branch has been very nice to me, it's only when I'm with you that I feel the same way as I did in the past."
Specifically, it's the feeling of getting along like a family.
"Wendy, do you want to go back to St. Freya's Academy?"
Kirataka asked.
"Well... of course I would, but there's no way to go back now."
The girl shook her head with some regret.
She is no longer a Valkyrie, but a container that seals the Herrscher Gem.
For the safety of the world and its people, she must uphold this duty.
Leaving the base like this is actually against the rules.
She looked at her bandaged legs and hands and gave a bitter smile.
'This body... will it ever really get better?'
For three years, she had been looking forward to the day when she could stand up again, but as time passed, she was about to give up the idea.
Maybe she doesn't have to hold on any longer...
The girl shook her head and threw these negative thoughts out of her mind.
Kirataka stood up and asked:
"Is there anywhere else you want to go shopping?"
"Well, that... this request may be a little self-willed, but..."
Wendy whispered, stretched out her finger, and pointed at the hill not far away:
"I want to go up there and take a look."
She wanted to go to a higher place because the view there would be better and allow her to see more scenery.
However, that place is beyond the reach of wheelchairs.
Kirataka looked in the direction of her finger, thought for two seconds, and said with a smile:
"Then I'll carry you over."
"Well, thank you for your help."
The girl nodded slightly.
If she were inside the base, she probably wouldn't have troubled others so much.
She knew that she had difficulty walking, so she usually didn't make excessive requests.
Have she become a little bit willful today?
——Is it because it's a rare trip out, or is it because of the time she's spent with him and the teacher recently that she's relaxed a little…?
Kirataka first pushed the wheelchair under the tree and placed it steadily against the trunk. Then he reached out his hand, passed through the girl's knees, and picked up Wendy in a princess hug.
——Although theoretically carrying the girl on the back would be better, because the girl's legs are uncomfortable, the princess hug position would make her more comfortable than carrying her on the back.
Kirataka picked up Wendy skillfully and then started running towards the mountain as she requested.
If you want to reach the top of the mountain, it will take some time to walk. It is better to run here.
A few flashes of lightning appeared under his feet and his speed gradually increased.
Although he ran very fast, he intentionally maintained Wendy's balance so that the girl in his arms did not feel bumpy or uncomfortable.
"Kirataka, you are really good at taking care of people."
For a moment, Wendy hoped that he would always take care of her.
"Ahahaha... that's also the result of training."
When living with several beautiful girls in St. Freya Academy, he and Mei basically took care of the others, especially the clingy little fox Higokumaru... So now he can handle all kinds of things in daily life with ease.
While chatting, he carried Wendy to the top of the mountain.
This is the other side facing away from the base, a cliff with a wide view. You can see the mountains in the distance and the small town with flashing lights at the foot of the mountain.
Kirataka looked around, trying to find a good place for Wendy to sit down, but unfortunately, there was no soft grass on the mountain like there was on the grassland.
The hard rock is not comfortable to sit on no matter how hard you try.
Wendy looked at his troubled expression in his arms, smiled gently, and said:
"If Kirataka you don't mind..."
——After a moment, he sat down against the edge of the cliff.
The girl just sat on his thighs, her legs dangling in the air, her back resting lightly in his arms.
Perhaps because she had been suffering from illness, the girl's body was very light, so light that Kirataka felt as if a ball of cotton had fallen on his legs.
He lowered his eyes slightly and could see the girl's fair, slender, long, and graceful neck, her bright and plump earlobes, and her delicate and small collarbone.
Looking down, he saw the bandages wrapped around the arms and legs and vaguely saw the wounds underneath. He couldn't help but feel a little pity in his heart.
"It's very comfortable to sit like this."
"Well, as long as you like it."
"By the way, I've been listening to you, Kirataka, talk about your life in Saint Freya. I haven't told you about myself yet, right?"
The girl closed her eyes, rested her head against his chin, and spoke softly.
"Well, go ahead. I'm also a little curious about Wendy's past."
In the original timeline, there was very little information about Wendy's "Poem of the Wind" incident, and Wendy lost her life and completely left the stage afterwards, so he knew very little about the girl's past.
So Wendy began to talk about her past.
"…I am a native of New Zealand. I saw the recruitment advertisement of Schicksal a few years ago and joined with the attitude of giving it a try."
Because of her outstanding talent in Honkai energy, she was recruited on the spot and was included in the team of Valkyries.
"At that time, the Valkyrie in charge of recruitment asked me where I wanted to go for relevant studies and training. I could go to the Oceania branch or to Saint Freya Academy in the Far East. I had to choose one of the two."
The girl paused and smiled:
"I thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to go to Saint Freya Academy... As for the result, I didn't regret it."
In fact, generally speaking, most people would choose a place closer to home so that they can go back home to visit often.
The years at Saint Freya Academy were the happiest time for her as a Valkyrie. She also grew very fast there, quickly reaching the level of an A-class Valkyrie and completing her graduation.
"After that, I returned to New Zealand to start my official work."
Looking back, that time is the girl's most precious memory.
Her daily life is not boring, and being able to protect people's lives is what she considers to be the thing she is most proud of.
"…My dream is to be as free as the wind and to be able to reach any corner of the world, so that I can see more scenery."
This was one of the reasons why she chose to travel a long distance to the Far East for Valkyrie training.
Then, the girl lowered her head again, looked at her legs which were almost numb, and smiled bitterly:
"It's a pity that I can't even go far away now..."
The gap between ideal and reality is so huge.
Kirataka also looked at her legs and asked softly:
"Does it hurt?"
He had also tried to touch the Herrscher's core and roughly knew what it felt like to be corroded by Honkai energy.
"Yeah, it hurts all the time."
The girl answered this heartbreaking fact frankly.
The Desire Gem had never stopped causing her physical pain since the moment it was implanted in her legs, and the pain was gradually getting deeper and more painful.
She endured this pain alone for three years, but she was still able to face others with a smile...
This ability to endure and persistence is truly admirable.
Kirataka could now understand why Wendy turned completely evil in the end and chose to turn around and attack Schicksal.
——Three years of persistence did not bring any hope of returning to normal. All she could see was fate's neglect and indifference towards her.
Under such circumstances, it is understandable that she would choose to accept the power of the Herrscher and completely fall.
After all, does Otto really not have the technology to extract the Herrscher core?
According to the development on the original timeline, even that guy Cocolia could safely remove the Gem of Desire from Wendy's body and then implant it into the Mecha for energy. It is impossible that Otto, who controls all the treasures of the Void Archives, does not have the relevant technology.
He probably just didn't care about Wendy's life or death. No, maybe that guy was even looking forward to the birth of the Herrscher of Wind to collect more data about Herrscher...
"Well, I'm a little tired..."
The girl suddenly said tiredly.
Although she was pushed or carried by Kirataka the whole time, she was extremely weak and even so had reached the limit of her energy. She felt sleepy uncontrollably.
"Do you want to go back?"
"Can we go a little later? The scenery here is beautiful, I'm a little reluctant to leave..."
Wendy murmured.
"Well, as you wish."
As they were talking, a meteor suddenly streaked across the night sky, flashing in the pitch-black night.
"It's a shooting star—"
The girl exclaimed.
"How about making a wish?"
Kirataka said with a smile.
"...Um."
The girl closed her eyes and prayed softly once again as usual:
"...I hope I can recover my health."
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