Sky Striker Ace, but Symphogear

"Raye, are you happy?"

Walking over to Raye, Chris reached out and removed a cherry blossom petal that had fallen onto her head, asking the question for no particular reason.

"Happy... Yeah. As long as you're happy, Chris."

Noticing Chris's question, Raye paused. After thinking for a moment, she gave an answer that did not directly address it.

If I'm happy, then what about you, Raye...? A date is supposed to make both people happy, isn't it? What does it mean if I'm the only one enjoying myself?

That answer struck Chris's previously rising spirits with the cold reality once more, sending them crashing to the bottom.

She realized something. The motivation behind Raye's actions now was completely different from before. She was only doing this to make Chris happy.

Then Chris realized that this date was ultimately just a deeply degraded substitute for those past moments. This so-called happiness was nothing more than her own wishful thinking.

At that thought, her previous joy somehow became tasteless. After all, the treasure she had thought she was holding in her palm had turned out to be nothing but sand she could not keep.

"Mm, that's good. Chris, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

After arranging everything for their flower-viewing picnic, Raye turned to Chris and noticed that her mood did not seem as lively as before, asking her with concern.

Ahhh, but she doesn't need to worry about that, does she? That wasn't my goal in the first place. I only wanted to confirm how she feels about me.

Without answering Raye's question, Chris remained immersed in her thoughts, recalling what she had originally wanted.

That was right. She had not come here to enjoy some so-called happy life. What she had sought from the very beginning was merely an