Chapter 172

However, this does not mean that minor problems can be ignored.

All the major, irreparable problems were previously minor issues.

A thousand-foot dike can be breached by an ant's hole. A hundred-foot house can be burned down by a wisp of smoke from a crack.

Lin Yu would never do something so suicidal as not to solve the problem when it's still small.

So what's wrong with you right now?

"... Of course I'm fine!"

Seeing Lin Yu's disdainful look, as if to say "Who are you trying to fool?", Kiana immediately turned her head away and said to Lin Yu in a very assertive manner.

"I am a genius of the Kaslana clan— "

"Tears still glistened in the corners of her eyes, her gaze was unfocused, she avoided looking me in the eye, and her voice trembled slightly..."

After interrupting the girl's boastful words, Lin Yu said irritably.

"I told you before, I'm a professional."

"Before becoming a knight, I was first and foremost an agent of Schicksal. Observing people and paying attention to details are skills that I must master."

"You little girl who can't even lie properly, you think you can fool me?"

"Wow, you actually look down on me like that? I'm angry!"

Yes, my senior is good at reading people's expressions and moods.

Being so detail-oriented, he must have noticed my unusual mood as soon as he got back to the dorm.

As a result, I not only dragged down my senior in terms of resources, but I also made him waste his time and energy on someone like me.

I, I, I...

"I'm really angry."

Seeing Kiana's gaze become even more evasive, Lin Yu walked up to Kiana, grabbed her head, and forced her to look him in the eye.

"Just say what you want to say. We've been through thick and thin together. Tell me what's wrong, and we'll all help you find a solution."

"Comrades who have faced life and death together...?"

Upon hearing this, Kiana looked at Lin Yu with immense disappointment.

"Isn't it always you who's in the lead, and I'm the one who's dragging you down from behind?"

"You've faced life and death countless times, and all I can do is make things more difficult for you when I'm there."

"During the Third Honkai Outbreak, I was still confused and thought it was unfair of you to yell at me, but now I realize..."

"How foolish I was back then."

Seeing Kiana on the verge of tears again, Lin Yu felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

No, wait a minute, this happened more than a month ago... Well, more than a month isn't that long.

Looking back now, I realize that I was indeed in a desperate situation, so my tone and attitude were a little off—was it really my fault?

"It's much easier for one person to move around; you're just a burden now," that's what you told me back then.

He even remembers the words so clearly...

Sigh, women really hold grudges.

They hold grudges even more than I, a petty person.

Seeing Lin Yu silent, Kiana, who had no idea what he was thinking, simply felt that Lin Yu was speechless because she had said the right thing.

After pulling Lin Yu's hands down from the sides of her head with both hands, Kiana finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears on the spot.

"I'm always the one dragging you down. What kind of companion is this? What kind of life-and-death commitment is this?"

"It's always the same. Now that I think about it carefully, you say you're afraid of dying but you insist on being at the forefront. Isn't it all because I'm too incompetent that you have to do it yourself?"

Um, you're going to be the god of Earth in the future.

This is considered incompetence... Kid, don't be so demanding of yourself and others.

No, I have to think of a way to get through this.

Using the usual methods will definitely not work.

Once this persona is firmly planted on my head, they'll only imagine my true self in their minds if I try to speak normally.

Let's change our approach, change our strategy—oh well, I don't care anymore, let's just leave it at that.

"Hmph, hehe, hahahahaha."

After Kiana's tears fell to the ground, Lin Yu suddenly burst into laughter for no apparent reason.

Hearing Lin Yu's strange laughter, Kiana had no idea what Lin Yu was thinking.

"Wait a minute, I can't hold it in anymore, hahahahaha."

"So you used this reason? I feel like I'm going to die laughing if this keeps up."

Lin Yu, who had been laughing so hard he cried in front of Kiana, now seemed to be forcing himself to calm down as he spoke haltingly to Kiana.

"I thought you were troubled by something, but it turns out it's something so trivial."

"Um, senior, I know you're going to change the subject again..."

Before Kiana could finish speaking, Lin Yu revealed the Stigmata engraved on his hand.

On the back of Lin Yu's hand, a character for "vegetable" shining with golden light appeared in Kiana's sight.

Seeing Lin Yu reveal the eerie Stigmata, Kiana wiped away her tears and continued speaking to Lin Yu.

"Even if you bring out this ridiculous Stigmata, I will absolutely not laugh."

"Kiana, there's something I've always been curious about—why do you think you can guess what I'm thinking?"

After revealing this Stigmata, Lin Yu smiled and said to Kiana.

"I have no intention of changing the subject, nor do I intend to use this Stigmata to make you laugh."

"Since you feel you're too weak, let's talk about strength today."

"You've officially been Valkyrie for a month now, and with your current strength, you're already among the top combatants at the St. Freya Academy. So I'm curious—what exactly are you dissatisfied with?"

"What's the use of being ranked at the top of the St. Freya Academy?" Kiana wanted to say, but it would be too rude to her classmates, so she held back.

"But even if you say that, senior, I still can't solve the problems whenever they arise. In the end, it's always you who..."

"Oh, you really can't compare to me in that regard."

At this moment, Lin Yu listened to Kiana's troubles and spoke very frankly.

"Your personal qualities far surpass mine, but because of one thing, the gap between us has become so large in a short period of time."

Looking at the Stigmata that Lin Yu displayed, Kiana asked in confusion.

"Because of the Stigmata?"

"... What are you thinking?"

At this moment, Lin Yu suddenly put his hands on his hips and said to Kiana with great confidence, in a very affected manner.

"I, Lin Yu, have traveled all over the country, and I can't do without these useless skills."

"The reason I'm still alive today is entirely because—I'm lucky!"

"I picked up a powerful Stigmata in Changkong City, and a set of Divine Key Stigmata I can just use in Nine Nether. And this Divine Key can also convert power through Honkai Energy, so I can use it to launch an attack with Mei's power."

"What do four years of combat and wandering experience, and the bloodline of the Kaslana clan, have to compare to my incredible luck!"

Moreover, my luckiest thing is that I have a powerful cheat code.

If it weren't for this cheat, I would have died out there long ago.

This girl actually started getting emo just because she couldn't keep up with my progress.

I'm cheating, you think you can compare to me?

"That."

At this moment, Kiana had indeed stopped crying after hearing Lin Yu's speech.

But now, speechless, she raised her right hand and asked Lin Yu weakly.

"Senior, I have a question."

"Relying on luck isn't something worth bragging about..."

"Of course not."

At this moment, Lin Yu raised his right hand again, showing the back of his hand to Kiana.

"My dish is certified by the Stigmata —a normal Stigmata left behind in the Far East, how could it possibly display as Shenzhou characters?"

"I'm saying all this just to tell you one thing—don't think you're incapable just because you're not as good as me."

"You're just like an ordinary person trying to compete with business tycoons in making money—it's pointless except for putting unnecessary pressure on yourself and making yourself uncomfortable."

After putting away the Stigmata, Lin Yu calmly patted Kiana on the shoulder and said something.

"Why not just get stronger step by step?"

"Although it sounds strange for me to say this, the most important thing for us who use Honkai Energy is to maintain a good mental state."

"When you're in a bad mental state and anxious, Honkai Energy easily accelerate its erosion of your body without you even realizing it."

"Wanting to become stronger isn't the problem, but you have to understand one thing first—except for lucky people like me, everyone needs time to become stronger."

At this moment, as if to prove something, Lin Yu took out his terminal, opened the data screen, opened the database of Schicksal, and brought up the information that B-Class knights could view.

"Look, your father, Siegfried, went from a runaway good-for-nothing to someone who can defeat A-rank Valkyrie in two years."

"The A-Class back then is about the same as the S-level now. Even your dad, who was so powerful, took two years to achieve it, so what are you in such a hurry for? Just take it slow."

Seeing Siegfried's past, Kiana could only say...

—You're really becoming more and more like Apocalypse.

Even the examples he used for admonition were the same as those given by Bishop Otto.

"In short, you need to figure out one thing."

After dismantling the light barrier, Lin Yu emphasized this to Kiana once again.

"The problem is with me, who became stronger too quickly, not with you."

"You've already tried your best, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. In fact, if you drive yourself crazy, we, as your companions, will feel even more pressure."

"Eat and drink as you please. We've endured so many years of hardship, what's wrong with enjoying ourselves now?"

Although it was sudden, at that moment, Kiana actually felt something from Lin Yu that she shouldn't have.

"Mom."

After instinctively uttering those words, an incredibly bizarre thought simultaneously surfaced in Kiana's mind.

Kiana, who lost her mother at a young age, has been reading books about mothers.

In a young girl's mind, a mother should be someone who is meticulous, cares about her children, and likes to nag.

And now, although it's very strange, she did have that thought that she shouldn't have had.

Senior Lin Yu, is he the one who can become my mother...?

???

Seeing Kiana cover her mouth in utter surprise, Lin Yu was completely dumbfounded.

No, she could see right through Cecilia's soul being inside me???

"That's ridiculous! You overestimate this little girl."

Oh, that's good—no, that's not good either!