"Hahaha! Success! I knew it would work! Wonderful, you're all absolutely wonderful!"
Otto alone sat cross-legged on the floor, his arms gone, laughing with immense satisfaction.
At the same time, across distant corners of the world—and even within the far more distant Theater of Domination—all the Anqis felt their hearts stir.
"To have come this far, there are so many people we need to thank!"
"We need to thank the fathers and mothers who raised us in both worlds! We need to thank everyone at St. Freya for their trust and care! We need to thank Mr. Gray Serpent for generously providing information!"
"Most importantly, we need to thank Big Sister Sirin for providing the complete script!"
"Let me say thank you~~"
Filled with gratitude, the Anqis rose to their feet and offered their heartfelt thanks to everyone on the credits list—especially that big sister who had been exceptionally unfriendly when they first met.
Sorry, Wendy
Delta slept for a very long time, but she did not dream.
It was a process of digestion. The Gem of Desire had brought her new Authority, while continuously widening the Thousand-Person Ruler's pitifully low-output Imaginary Gateway.
So when she woke up, Delta felt incomparably refreshed, both mentally and energetically.
"Yawn~~"
Seeing the painfully bright lights when she opened her eyes, Delta stared blankly with dead-fish eyes, let out a lazy yawn, then smacked her lips and closed her eyes, intending to go back to sleep.
"Smack! Smack! Smack!"
A barrage of frantic slaps landed across Delta's cheeks.
Delta was quickly forced awake by the repeated slaps, only to be slapped so hard that her mind went blank. With her face burning, she opened her eyes in a daze and looked ahead.
Sure enough, the only person excitable, manic, and bold enough to act like this was Wendy, who had been force-fed an entire box of emotional knives.
"Delta, Delta, are you awake? Do you still recognize me?"
"Wen... dy..."
Delta slowly spoke her friend's name.
Tears of delighted surprise immediately flashed in Wendy's eyes, and she swiftly turned toward Durandal, who held Black Abyss White Flower beside her.
"See? She's awake! She still remembers me! She's fine now... so could you put down the lance? Stop stabbing her. If you stab her again, she might not be saveable!"
Wendy waved both hands frantically as she desperately tried to persuade the vigilant-looking Durandal, terrified that this serious S-rank lady would stab Delta again without a word.
And in truth, if Delta had shown even the slightest sign of confusion or madness, Durandal really would have done it.
In short, after Wendy's determined persuasion and seeing Delta's flushed cheeks and vacant expression, Durandal's guarded look finally eased somewhat. She said,
"Valkyrie Delta, answer me. Are you still yourself? Are you still conscious?"
"...How about giving me a math problem? I can handle addition and subtraction within three digits. Anything more complicated, forget it. I'm too lazy to think."
Delta answered weakly, stretching her mouth wide as she gave another incredibly lazy yawn.
Only then did Delta realize that she had been securely strapped to a tilted metal board with heavy restraints. They had to be made of extremely high-grade materials, since she could not even move a single finger.
Delta sighed.
"These restraints are really well done. So well that I'm sleepy again. Yawn~~"
"DELTA!!!"
"Smack!"
After fiercely defending her friend only to find that the person involved was completely indifferent, Wendy screamed and viciously slapped Delta across the forehead.
"That hurts..."
"Are you sick? I realized it a long time ago—you definitely have something wrong with your brain, don't you? Do you even know what's going on right now? Do you really not understand how dangerous you were before?"
"That may be true, but being tied up like this actually feels really comfortable to sleep in..."
"Then sleep yourself to death! Idiot!"
Wendy's little face reddened with anger as she kept stomping her feet to vent.
Durandal thoughtfully pinched her chin, looked at Wendy, and said,
"The records say that Miss Wendy was once evaluated as gentle and polite—yet it seems that information was inaccurate."
"Yeah, yeah, that information definitely has a problem. Wendy is obviously super irritable. She screams at me all the time, so loudly that my heart is about to develop problems. And look, my face is almost swollen. How is that gentle and polite? I recommend dismissing that batch of intelligence personnel."
Delta righteously chimed in and seriously offered her suggestion.
Durandal blinked blankly, thought for a moment, then hesitated.
"Why do I feel that Delta might also bear some responsibility in this situation?"
"Huh? What does it have to do with me? I didn't scold her, and I didn't hit her. I didn't do anything!"
Delta refuted her slowly, wearing an innocent and bewildered expression.
Wendy: (╬￣皿￣)!!!
Wendy had already been driven crazy by Delta's constant airheadedness. Hearing this exchange made her even more furious, and she pointed at Delta as she shouted,
"I must be sick to have spent the past few days taking care of you here!"
"Oh. Then thank you, Wendy."
Delta's cyan eyes turned toward Wendy. Her clear, crystalline, ethereal gaze, combined with that slow and lazy little expression, instantly drained away Wendy's surging anger.
After a while, Wendy covered her face in helplessness and sighed.
"Forget it. What is there to argue about with a thick-skinned idiot like you? Arguing more would only tire me out. Anyway, are you all right now? Physically and mentally, is there anything wrong?"
"Mm. I'm a little hungry, and a little sleepy."
"You are not allowed to sleep! But I can go get you something to eat. Don't move for now. Wait until they finish examining you. Bear with it; this is necessary because you were too terrifying before."
Wendy's tone softened. She reached out and gently pinched Delta's cheek, giving her a tender smile.
"No matter what, welcome back, Delta."
"Wendy... I'm sorry..."
Tears suddenly welled in Delta's eyes. Pouting, she apologized.
Wendy froze for a moment, and her heart softened.
Has this girl finally realized just how worried she made me? Damn it, she could act like a normal person, so why did she insist on doing whatever she wanted and making me angry?
Forget it. I don't blame you. We're best friends, Delta.
Wendy's lips curved upward as she comforted her forgivingly.
"It's all right. I know you simply couldn't control yourself at the time. I won't hold those things against you. I forgive you, Del..."
"...Sorry, I lost the thermos you gave me. Could you send me the purchase link? I want to buy another one."
Only then did the second half of Delta's slow sentence catch up, while she looked at Wendy with a completely innocent face.
Wendy's forgiving smile froze. It felt as though something in her mind suddenly snapped with a crack.
"My thermos! My link! Thermos my ass, you bastard Delta!"
"Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!"
Before long, under Durandal's worried gaze as if she wanted to say something but could not, Delta's little face had become thoroughly red and swollen.
"Miss Wendy, wait! She just went through something like that. She needs to keep her emotions stable right now!"
Durandal intended to reach out and stop Wendy's rampage.
But the crisp slapping sounds suddenly stopped.
Delta had somehow already freed one hand from its restraints. A flash of golden light flickered through her eyes, and then she gently wrapped her arm around Wendy.
Caught off guard, Wendy's manic emotions were completely interrupted by the embrace.
"You've been holding it in for a long time, haven't you? Do you feel better now, Wendy?"
Delta spoke softly, a faint smile in her voice.
Wendy's eyes abruptly reddened, and tears fell like pearls, one after another, onto Delta's shoulder.
"You stupid Delta! You actually know... you know I've been holding it in all this time! Do you know how worried and scared I was? Every time I thought that I might lose you, I had no idea what I was supposed to do, Delta..."
"Mm, I know. I'm sorry I made you worry! I'm sorry I almost... almost hurt Wendy!"
Delta's voice trembled slightly.
She was not pretending.
How could Delta remain unmoved when Wendy treated her this way?
Just as St. Freya Anqi had so easily fallen to Himeko's gentleness, how could Delta ever have had any resistance to Wendy's tenderness and concern?
In this grand act, the person Delta had wronged most was Wendy, who had known nothing from start to finish yet had given her whole heart.
"I promise there won't be a next time. I won't make Wendy worry again, and I definitely won't let Wendy get hurt again. I'm sorry. Please forgive me, Wendy."
"Idiot... how could I possibly blame you... we're best friends..."
Tears and snot streamed down Wendy's face, but an incomparably radiant smile bloomed across it.
Wendy was certain that, at this moment, her heart had finally settled completely.
Durandal silently watched the scene. When Delta had used a Ruler's power to break free from her restraints, Durandal had instinctively wanted to raise her lance and attack. But the sight of the two girls embracing and pouring out their hearts to each other made her smile in relief.
Only—Durandal suddenly touched her stomach. For some reason, she felt incredibly superfluous standing here, while also feeling a strange sense of fullness. What was going on?
Thanks to Rita for the Emotional Knives
"First, congratulations on Delta's safe return. At the same time, I would like to once again offer my sincere thanks for the sacrifices and efforts you two made during the experiment. Your contributions hold historic significance. From this day onward, all of Schicksal—and even the entire world in the future—will remember what you have done."
A few days later, in the former branch chief's office, Otto received the fully recovered Delta and Wendy with a friendly smile.
Wendy hurriedly bowed in response.
"Your Eminence praises us too highly. It was simply our duty!"
At the same time, Wendy reached toward Delta, who was slumped in a wheelchair, and forcibly pressed down her head.
Yes, Delta was still in a wheelchair. Before the final experiment, however, her paralysis had been fake. She could still hop and skip around whenever she wanted. But after completely fusing with the Gem of Desire, she was genuinely paralyzed.
After all, while the power obtained from a Gem did not differ much from the Authority of a living Ruler, the cost had to be borne by the Thousand-Person Ruler herself.
Although Delta could freely wield that Authority and did not need to endure the Gem's mental corruption, this flesh-and-blood body truly could not bear it. Everything below her neck was now limp and powerless, and even moving was extremely difficult.
Still, compared to that powerful Authority and the overall increase in Honkai Energy output, this price was almost negligible to the Anqis.
Delta was thinking, her face wearing its habitual absent-minded expression and dead-fish eyes. Yet this appearance made Wendy so anxious that she wanted to stomp her feet.
You idiot, pay attention! Even if you hate socializing, you need to understand how serious this is! Do you know what you did before? Were you trying to get yourself killed?
Eh... what a hassle...
The two communicated with their eyes.
Looking at those hollow dead-fish eyes that had not even focused, Wendy felt miserable and despairing. Then, with a dead heart, she forced a stiff smile at Otto.
"Her brain doesn't work very well. Please don't take it personally."
"Hahaha! All right, all right. I naturally learned about Delta's personality before coming here. She is fine just as she is; I will not mind. However, what we need to discuss next may not be suitable for more people to hear. Wendy, could you let me speak with Delta alone?"
"This... yes, Your Eminence! And Delta, pay more attention! If you keep being this rude, just wait and see how I deal with you tonight!"
Wendy forced a smile and shot Delta a look brimming with murderous intent.
The highest leader had spoken, so Wendy could not disobey. Besides, she knew just how valuable Delta was now. Rationally, she did not believe Otto would impose an excessive punishment—at worst, Delta would be confined for a while. Delta was a couch potato anyway, so it would not be much of a problem for her.
Wendy walked out. Through the narrowing crack of the closing door, she watched Delta's profile with helpless concern until the door shut completely.
"Can that girl really handle this? Lord Otto is wise, capable, and cares for Valkyries, but Delta is seriously so far gone in her laziness that she's beyond saving. I'm begging you, at least use your brain this once!"
Wendy stood beside the door, rubbing her forehead as she sighed wearily.
Yet from her muttering, it was not hard to hear her admiration and favorable impression of Otto.
Before you continue