Ragna's Great Life Crisis (Continued)

Although she didn't have a greatsword capable of delivering a fatal blow, the light steel pipe allowed her to better utilize her agility.

If her stamina bar were infinite, Ragna felt she could outmaneuver this Knight-Class opponent for a lifetime—even though her stamina wasn't infinite.

(I hope Himeko arrives soon...)

Ragna used dance-like steps to deal with the Honkai Beast in front of him, and even had time to glance at the little girl with short gray-gold hair.

(She's way cuter than Himeko. Honestly, Himeko must have been corrupted by her seniors, right? I shouldn't have let them hang out together.)

Ragna leisurely dodged the attacks of the Knight-class Honkai Beast while his thoughts wandered.

(Hey... stop staring at me, find somewhere to hide.)

Ragna wanted to speak up and warn the little girl with short, gray-gold hair who was cowering and looking in his direction to hide quickly.

However, she was worried that this would cause the Honkai Beast in front of her to change its target, so she had to give up. After all, her attacks couldn't break through the defense, and if the Honkai Beast really set its sights on the child, she really didn't have any good solutions.

Fortunately, Ragna's concerns did not last long.

"Captain! I'm here! Get out of the way!"

Himeko appeared in Ragna's field of vision, wielding Hröngr, and was rushing towards her at an extremely fast speed.

The thrusters on Hröngr...

Ragna listened to the sound of the speeding car and silently calculated the distance between her and Himeko. She then counted down and suddenly took a step back.

Bang--!

Although Himeko's movement was a "slash," the small booster on the blade of the Hröngr made it appear as a "smash."

No need to look anymore, that Knight-class Honkai Beast is definitely dead beyond any doubt... But speaking of which, is Hröngr's booster really that powerful?

After all, this was the weapon originally prepared for her, and she had naturally touched it a couple of times... She remembered that the propulsion ability wasn't enough to move a person at such a fast speed, right?

"Phew... It's done. Captain, are you alright?"

After sending the Knight-class Honkai Beast away with a single sword strike, Himeko breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Ragna, and at the same time untied the Greatsword King Cobra from her back and handed it to Ragna.

"It's alright, after all, the intensity of this Honkai is not high."

Ragna threw away the deformed steel pipe in his hand.

"By the way, have you seen any other Honkai Beast along the way?"

"We cut down one tank and two assault vehicles along the way. According to the command, there seems to be another Assault-class that rushed out of the building."

"I've killed him."

Ragna added, "So that's it... Phew, that was scary."

"Knock him to death..." Himeko's lips twitched slightly. "Then it seems there's nothing left. We can call it a day."

"That's it for today... Himeko, you can continue carrying my sword."

Ragna hadn't forgotten that there was a young victim in the flower shop.

"...!"

Don't be shy~

Ragna looked at the petite girl in front of him with a smile.

"In times like these, why don't you just rely on your older sister?"

Ragna affectionately embraced the girl in front of him.

"Himeko, how far are we from the safe zone?"

"It takes about two or three minutes as the crow flies."

The real danger zone is actually the building from which the Honkai Beast escaped; this area is already considered low-risk.

Ragna nodded and carried the short, grey-gold-haired girl in his arms out of the safe zone.

"... Is your captain a bit of a lolicon?"

There's this strange, mingled feeling here... cough, a criminal aura.

"Don't imagine the captain to be like you, okay?"

"... What's wrong with me?" Liu Bai said indignantly. "First, I'm not a lolicon. Second, my feelings for lolis are only polite and respectful—that is, I care for them. I really like older sisters."

"Hehe..."

Himeko sneered, "Keep making excuses, I'm listening."

"... By the way, how's the weapon I modified for you? It's alright, isn't it?"

"It suits you quite well. I never knew you had this skill." Himeko touched the blade of Hröngr.

"It's just a slight modification to the power of the small thruster. Those researchers were a bit rough with the setup of this thruster... Never mind, let's keep up with your captain."

Liu Bai breathed a sigh of relief after skipping the topic of lolicon.

Speaking of which, the saying "feelings should be expressed but restrained by propriety"... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before.

... Isn't it Rita?

In that instant, I suddenly realized what was going on with the cruel irony of fate.

... I must have been infected by Rita, right?

"One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black"—the ancients were right!

"Yes, we're safe here."

Ragna put the girl down from his arms.

"There is still a risk of further collapse at the site, so don't get too close."

"Ah... that..."

The girl finally uttered her first words, trembling, in front of Ragna.

"Hmm? Is the young master worried about the flowers?" Ragna subconsciously guessed, looking at the girl's restrained appearance. After all, the flower shop was quite large, and it was understandable that people would worry about such things after losing property.

"I think the insurance company will compensate you many times over, so there's no need to worry."

"No, not this..."

The girl became somewhat anxious upon hearing Ragna's words—but even so, she couldn't speed up her speech.

"That... that... it's..."

"Um?"

"...thank you."

Faced with Ragna's doubts, the girl could only manage to utter this one sentence.

"You're welcome." Ragna smiled. "If the young master wants to express his gratitude, why not come to my shop tomorrow? Here, this is my business card."

Thankfully, Himeko isn't here.

As Ragna pondered this, he handed over the business card in his hand.

"Some uncles might come looking for you in a little while. Don't be afraid, they are all good people."

After saying that, Ragna carried the girl to the bench. Just then, Himeko arrived. This time, Ragna took the greatsword from Himeko and waved goodbye to the girl.

"By the way, Captain, what did you put in that kid's hand?"

After confirming the safety of the scene again, Himeko suddenly asked her captain a question.

"What?" Ragna asked, seemingly belatedly realizing what was happening.

"I saw it, Captain, you slipped some little card into that child's hand."

Himeko is now starting to wonder if her captain is really a lolicon.

Although she initially dismissed Liu Bai's words as nonsense, the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was amiss.

The title "Little Master" is really... well, a bit cheesy—although it does fit the captain's outfit perfectly.

"Honestly, it seems like you're only this kind, Captain, when I'm lying in bed, right?"

"Because Himeko, the things you'll face in the future can't be taught to you by kindness alone," Ragna said with a smile. "But don't worry, it's just a business card. Tell the child she can come to me if she needs anything—do you think I'm the kind of person with special fetishes?"

"Yes."

"Huh? Where... where?" Ragna was slightly flustered.

"You have a maid fetish, you wear a maid outfit all the time..."

"I already said this is social practice! A very serious social practice!"

Ragna, somewhat annoyed and embarrassed, tapped Himeko on the head.

"When I was a counselor at the orphanage, I dressed very formally."

"Hmm... okay."

Himeko stretched.

"Forget it, this whole ordeal has ruined my mood for today. Captain, are you still going to do your social practice?"

"... No, after all this, I don't have to work anymore today. Let's go back and have dinner together. I should also reflect on my slackness these past few days... I might as well bring my weapons with me when I go out from now on."

"Could we apply for a smaller weapon? A greatsword, for example..."

"Let's just use a violin case as a makeshift solution."

"The violin case is so small..."

Their weapons are greatswords! Greatswords as tall as a person! Not some short katana!

"Then let's make a coffin—after all, there are always more solutions than problems."

"Ha..."

The next day

"By the way, are you sure the captain is here?"

Himeko looked up at the sign in front of her, her face showing disbelief.

"I'm sure. You didn't see that card clearly yesterday, but I saw it very clearly—it was a ghost's business card, an advertising card."

"No... isn't this a bit too far-fetched? The team leader would be working here... uh, I mean doing social practice?"

[ABYSSANGEL (Fallen Angel)]

The name alone could give naughty kids the wrong idea, but in reality, this is a...

Himeko hid behind a tree, observing the various maids walking around inside through the glass.

"... Okay, actually, it's not that far-fetched."

—This is a maid café!

Although our captain's outfit blends in perfectly here, shouldn't our captain's personality be better suited to volunteering in places like nursing homes or kindergartens?

"That's a stereotype," Liu Bai retorted. "If I didn't tell you, would you be able to tell that I used to be a homebody?"

"..."

Where should she begin to criticize Liu Bai's words?

"... I knew it when I realized you were a maid-loving and lolicon."

"Waaah... Your slander really hurts me."

"Ha! To put it another way, you're the one who asked me to bring the camera today, aren't you?" Himeko glanced at Liu Bai.

"I did it to capture a beautiful moment."

Liu Bai remained unfazed—no matter what, he had to make a record of Lolita's SSR status so he could use it to overpower the bad woman later.

"I feel like I'm aiding and abetting evil," Himeko muttered, but she didn't move an inch.

... Although the captain working at a maid café is a bit shocking, once his mind starts to wander, he suddenly finds it quite amusing.