Without Benevolence, the Balance of Attack and Defense Shifts

'Bang—'

The slender body was slammed to the ground—the impact was soft, because the ground was covered with three layers of carpet stacked together. Crimson flames spilled everywhere, but nothing that shouldn't have been ignited burned in the flames.

This is District B59. As fireworks illuminate the sky, obscuring the land with their brilliance and clamor, this is the only open area, deserted and untouched.

This is an abandoned observatory. Miss Surtr once faced Yan Ke's challenge here.

Yan Ke barely withstood a blow from her, but the greatest damage to the observatory came from the act of tearing open the wall when he stormed into the battlefield. The piled-up carpets and the numerous building units placed to one side were all necessary measures to repair this damage. And if one were to look up at the sky from here, one could see directly at the star-studded night sky while piercing through the fireworks display.

You can see it because the ceiling is gone.

If we consider it from this perspective, then Kal'tsit's accusations in her words might not be wrong.

Kal'tsit.

—Kal'tsit.

—What should I do with you?

Miss Surtr watched the pale green lynx struggling to get up from the carpet, its movements comically weak. Her calcite eyes, as always, showed no sign of softening her heart or regret. Her thin lips were tightly pressed together.

Miss Surtr stared at her as if she were a stranger.

"I originally wanted to beat you up for the cold looks and terrible treatment you've given me over the years. I originally wanted to hang you on a crane and then spank your ass until you learned to speak properly—that was my original plan."

She said, looking at the woman on the carpet who had stopped struggling.

"But I no longer feel the need for that—I don't need to change your lifestyle. I don't need to change your opinion of me. I don't need revenge or complaints. Because revenge, complaints, changes, or corrections all imply 'taking things seriously.' But now, I feel there's no need for that."

She saw Kal'tsit's fist clench suddenly, her knuckles turning white. Her eyebrows shot up sharply. Clearly, the words had angered her—or perhaps she considered it some kind of insult?

"So, you brought me here just to sever ties with me face-to-face?" Kal'tsit's voice was slightly drier than usual. "I don't think this is an important matter that requires extra time to carry out. If you just wanted to waste each other's time, then congratulations, you've achieved your goal. I have three tasks that have been delayed because of this. Are you satisfied with that?"

"I'm not satisfied." Miss Surtr simply looked at her with a melancholy... a complicated expression. Her usually sharp features were now slightly somber. "Let's be frank, Ms. Kal'tsit. I don't know what I did to offend you, nor do I know if you have any special expectations of me. What I want to tell you is—I like you very much, Kal'tsit."

"I love the way you work. When I see you frowning as you review documents, I can't help but want to smooth out the wrinkles on your brow."

"I love the way you are when you're running around. You're always moving between different factions, working hard to mediate and maintain the relationship between Rhodes Island and the major powers. When you're busy, I want to carry your bag so you can relax. When you've finished a busy day, I want to massage your shoulders and back so you can find some comfort."

"I love the way you look when you're asleep, I love the way you look when you're deep in thought with your arms crossed, I love the way you look when you're giving a speech on stage, full of vigor and confidence, I love you..."

She paused, then shook her head.

"I love you no matter what. Even when you're angry or furious with me, you have a unique charm. Because you are Kal'tsit. Because you are me..." Surtr paused slightly. In the end, she didn't say the shameful words, 'my two-dimensional wife.'

Then she saw the Miss Lynx in front of her stare wide-eyed, her mouth slightly open, looking extremely frightened.

"But all of that ends today. It ends here."

"Because I finally realized that my feelings for you can only cause trouble for you, for me, and for both of us—I originally thought I could try harder, but I found that my inner resilience is not as high as I imagined. I admit that I have completely failed, and I give up. And this should be a good thing for both of us."

She bowed to the Miss Lynx before her—she noticed the color draining from Kal'tsit's face, which was strange. But she no longer intended to pay it any mind.

"I'm sorry for forcibly bringing you here. But this is the last time. I won't appear in front of you again—no, this doesn't mean I'll leave Rhodes Island. I just won't appear in your sight."

"Farewell, Ms. Kal'tsit. I sincerely wish you a peaceful and joyful life ahead."

She turned around and rubbed her eyelids—ah, they were a little wet. So, it turns out she does have a few emotions after all.

However, just as she was about to take off, she heard a sound bursting out beside her ear.

"You... aren't you going to try again?" Kal'tsit's voice was filled with an unreadable complexity.

Surtr, stop.

"I don't think it's necessary for me to humiliate myself. But if you want to vent your anger for today's offense..."

The Flame-haired maiden sighed and turned around. She could feel the night wind rushing towards her from behind, and in her estimation, she was about to get either punched or slapped.

Well then, what harm is there in granting her one last wish?

She was mentally prepared.

She turned her body and face away.

Then she saw Miss Lynx's resolute eyes and face. And—

It rushed towards her, unexpectedly pressing against her slightly cold lips.

She failed... no, she forgot to avoid it.

Section 84. When benevolence and righteousness are not practiced, the strategies for offense and defense differ.

Forgetting to avoid it means you don't need to avoid it.

The inability to do so also means that it was unnecessary.

Miss Surtr is not an ACE, not a TOUCH, not the kind of mortal warrior still bound by emotions and desires who would lose control of her body for half a second due to a companion's occasional unusual words or actions—in many past battles, she has encountered more than once a perilous situation where a mere millisecond of weakness would mean certain death. Yet, in the end, she crushed and flattened them all.

She can do it.

She was able to react.

She was indeed startled, for a moment. But the reason she remained motionless after that moment was only for one reason.

She wondered if this was yet another mockery. She wanted to know whether it was an outburst of genuine emotion or simply an act harboring hidden malice.

So she didn't dodge—she forced her body's instincts to temporarily forget how to dodge.

Then--

Time seemed to stand still in the region at the very moment their lips were about to touch.

Colorless flames spread everywhere, silently and evenly filling the top of the small, abandoned observatory. Just as she had forcibly dragged Talulah, whose body was dying of exhaustion, from the brink of death in the abandoned timeline, she now stopped the wheel of time from turning once again.

Everything fell silent.

Outside the observatory, there was a bustling crowd. Inside, however, it was eerily silent.

Surtr stepped back slightly, raised her eyes, and gazed at Kal'tsit's frozen eyes as if observing a tiny insect trapped in amber—she tried hard to find something in those eyes that could stir her emotions. Yet even now, all she could see in those emerald pupils was pure calmness.

She discovered a series of objective facts—she was certain that Kal'tsit's heart rate had not increased, and her blood flow had only slowed slightly. The various regulatory glands in her body were not operating at a high frequency, and the hormones that would inevitably accompany her romantic thoughts had not diffused outwards in the slightest.

Kal'tsit was unmoved, unaffected, unmoved, and not even touched.

—This is just a way to keep her... Is it because I mentioned 'liking' that she sees me as a lesbian and came up with this optimal solution?