"Doctor, didn't you say you'd only perform the fusion surgery after I figured out the meaning of fighting, after I understood what I would do if you left and I was the only one left?" Hua tilted her head.
"Huh? You still remembered that?"
"...What do you mean, Doctor?"
"Uh, what I mean is... there isn't much meaning in understanding those things. People always have to keep moving forward. But the biggest problem is that if you become a Flame-Chaser, Hua, your strength definitely won't be weak. By then, as high-end combat power, you might no longer need to protect me, a researcher capable of protecting himself."
Ordinary soldier Hua and Flame-Chaser Hua represented entirely different things.
"So... the reason you wouldn't perform the fusion surgery on me wasn't because you didn't want to, but because you were afraid I'd be transferred away?" Hua's eyes were filled with intense confusion.
Come to think of it, Hua had never understood from the start why Chen Luo had chosen her, such an unremarkable Witch's Companion, as his assistant.
"More or less. If you become a Flame-Chaser, Hua, once you get busy, you won't be able to look after home. And going onto the battlefield would be dangerous too..."
"...Doctor, please rest assured. I'll always protect you. Right, Doctor. How about protection... as the meaning of fighting? I want to use my own strength to protect as many things around me as possible." Hua lowered her head and looked at her hands.
"..." After Chen Luo noticed the newly appeared, still-unlocked element on Hua, he tentatively cracked his whip a few times and successfully drew out the new element.
Protection element.
Although this element was only temporary for now, this seed... would sooner or later bloom into the most beautiful flower upon Hua.