Sky Striker Ace, but Symphogear

After thinking over Raye's words, Chris couldn't come up with any reason to refuse.

[Then let's go. Oh, right, Chris, if you have nothing to do on the way, take a look at the plans for later.]

Seeing that Chris had no questions, Raye said this, then operated the tablet in her hand and sent over a file.

[I haven't had time to write today's log yet. I'll send it along once I'm done.]

Raye said this inwardly, while Chris noticed a notification appearing in her inbox.

[At least this will be more useful than that art you were looking at before, created using my image. All right, I'll hang up first.]

Without paying attention to Chris's hurried breathing after her words, Raye simply announced that she was ending the call.

[What kind of thing was that to say...? Forget it. I'll look at Raye's arrangements first. I have to cooperate properly to work with Raye more efficiently... Hah, why am I starting to think about this too!?]

Her heart racing from Raye's half-teasing words, Chris opened the file Raye had sent to her phone, her face slightly flushed.

[Let's see... Huh?]

Although it looked like a lot at first glance, after excluding the various contingency plans and work details, there were ultimately only two things she had to handle.

The first was for Chris to find time to measure her own String Gain level and activate her Relic by herself. Manuals for operating the various instruments were attached.

The second was for Chris to cooperate with the "idol" work by herself. Various contingency plans and Raye's contact information were attached.

In all fairness, there was ample justification for assigning these two tasks to Chris.

Having the already-overworked Raye handle these relatively simple tasks would simply be a waste of resources.

Rather than wasting time on them, it was better to outsource them directly to Chris while Raye handled more meaningful work.

[But why do I feel like this...?]

Looking at the arrangements for her work on the phone, Chris felt a wave of anxiety rise in her heart for some reason.

[Alone. Alone... Aaah, why is this so annoying?]

Staring at the words in the file, Chris grew restless and scratched at her hair, disheveling the strands that had originally been neat.

[Phew, what am I doing? This is just a perfectly normal reassignment. I just have to follow Raye's pace normally and work together to realize Fine's and my dream. After that... after that?]

At that thought, Chris's train of thought suddenly stalled for a moment. She remembered something Raye had said from the very beginning: she had been hired by Fine.

So where would Raye go when the employment ended...? She certainly wouldn't stay by Chris and Fine's side.

[Afterward, once the employment ends, Raye will drift away like a dandelion, carried by the wind to some place I don't know...]

Chris's voice rang out in her heart.

[That's normal, isn't it? After all, there's no special relationship between Raye and me. Where she wants to go and what she wants to do have never had anything to do with me.]

Chris's voice continued.

[...??]

[When you get down to it, why have I been going to such lengths to investigate Raye? We're merely employer and employee. Even if we once spent some time together and made a childish promise, there's no need to care about it after all this time.]

Chris's voice said heavily.

[...?!]

[So, sure enough, I'm a super idiot. No one asked me to do any of this. I'm the only one worrying and caring on my own. Since that's the case, I might as well stop minding her business and just do my own thing alone...]

Chris's voice carried determination.

[...!!!]

It happened so suddenly that Chris, who had been looking down at her phone the whole time, abruptly raised her head. Her eyes fell on the black-hatted girl ahead, and she rushed forward and grabbed the other's shoulders.

[Was it fun pretending to speak my inner thoughts, Raye? I don't think that way at all!!!]

Chris angrily turned Raye around and glared furiously into that expressionless face.

[I didn't expect you to notice. Looks like you aren't that stupid after all, Chris—or perhaps the device I made wasn't perfect enough.]

Under Chris's scrutiny, Raye fell silent for a moment. Then the voice in Chris's heart changed its tone, returning to Raye's calm voice.

[What are you trying to do, Raye? Why would you do this?]

Chris asked angrily. If she hadn't noticed so quickly, she might really have been convinced by the voice rising from the depths of her heart and given up investigating Raye.

[Image: handsome]

P.S. Good afternoon.

Clash

[Yes, this time I was indeed in the wrong. I acted without your permission, Chris, and did something like that to you.]

Facing the furious Chris, Raye apologized to her inwardly.

Even through the disguise, Chris could see the sincerity on Raye's face. It caused the emotions about to erupt within her to suddenly lose their target.

[Huh? You, you... Don't think you can just apologize and consider this matter settled.]

Chris spoke irritably.

She was definitely angry about what Raye had done. But being angry was one thing; faced with Raye's sincere attitude, Chris had no idea what to do next and could only express her displeasure for the moment.

[Is that so?]

Looking at Chris's puffed-up face, Raye thought briefly.

[In that case, what kind of compensation do you want, Chris? I can grant you one request, so long as it doesn't interfere with the mission or endanger my life and isn't too excessive. Anything is fine, as long as it won't get me killed.]

A moment later, Raye's voice sounded in Chris's heart.

[Hah, it's just a little compensation. Don't think I'll forgive you because of that.]

[...]

[Ah, what did you say?]

At first, Chris didn't react. Once she did, she realized what Raye had just said.

[One request. Anything you want, no matter what it is. I'll do it.]

Raye merely emphasized it once more without changing her expression.

Her clearly enunciated words expressed this plainly.

[Um, you... Do you really know what you're saying? You're not joking, are you?]

After confirming that she hadn't misheard, Chris swallowed and looked incredulous.

[Yes. As long as it's within my capabilities, I'll help you fulfill your request, Chris.]

Ignoring Chris's doubts, Raye simply repeated herself.

[Uwaaah... Whatever. You said anything goes, so of course I'll make a super difficult request.]

Seeing that Raye didn't look like she was pretending, Chris believed her and fell into deep thought.

For a while, the atmosphere sank into prolonged silence.

Although things seemed to be developing in Chris's favor, her thoughts had reached an impasse.

What could she ask Raye for?

Money? Judging from Raye's apparent attitude and her overwhelming strength, problems that could be solved with money probably weren't problems to her at all.

Then should she ask Raye to stop lying? But what basis did Chris have for proving that anything Raye said was true? Even if Raye said she was telling the truth, did that make it true?

Or perhaps, like in those novels and manga, she could do this or that to Raye...

Chris slapped herself hard and drove the strange thoughts from her mind.

It was all that damn website's fault. Her head was now filled with those strange positions and bizarre things she had never imagined before.

[...]

After banishing the thoughts produced by consuming that strange "nutritional" material, Chris's mind continued spinning rapidly as she tried to think of the plan most advantageous to herself.

[Looks like she's already forgotten that she asked me earlier why I hypnotized her.]

Meanwhile, sensing the chaotic thoughts in Chris's mind moving away from dangerous directions, Raye finally relaxed her suspended heart.

She had indeed acted too hastily this time. Without being absolutely certain, she had used the backdoor left behind when she set up the device. Worse, she had let Chris notice it.

If Chris kept pressing her about why she had done it, Raye would truly be in trouble, because her actions just now had exposed an extremely dangerous flaw.

If that flaw were discovered, Chris might realize what Raye was truly trying to conceal, causing the defenses she had built up all this time to collapse completely.

When that happened, she might have no choice but to use extreme measures against Chris to ensure both their safety. She was certain that would be bad for everyone.

Fortunately, Chris was still Chris. By tossing out a more attention-grabbing topic, Raye had shifted her attention away from the dangerous direction.

[Still, I can't let my guard down. Until I complete Fine's mission and part ways with Chris, I'm in a dangerous position.]

Raye thought this to herself.

"Wait, I've got it."

At the same time, Chris finally emerged from her tangled thoughts, apparently having come up with a request that satisfied her.

[What is it, Chris? Have you decided what request you want to make?]

Noticing the look on Chris's face, Raye removed the one-way block on Chris and spoke within her mind.

Raye had carefully considered agreeing to one of Chris's requests. She didn't think Chris could come up with anything so troublesome that she couldn't accept it. Even if Chris made some suggestive request like the one she had just been thinking about—

[I've decided. Raye, you have to take me on a date that satisfies me. If I'm not satisfied with the date, then the next time I ask you to go on one with me, you can't refuse, until we have a date that satisfies me.]

Chris spoke to Raye with complete confidence.

This was the perfect request she had come up with after careful consideration.

First, judging from Raye's previous behavior, she seemed to dislike wasting time for no reason. In other words, wasting time was undoubtedly painful for Raye.

Second, as long as she could keep Raye by her side, she would have more time to find Raye's flaws and discover why she had become the way she was.

Third, and the part Chris liked best about the idea:

She had only said that the date had to satisfy her without specifying what form the date had to take. In other words, under the guise of a date, she could ask Raye to do all kinds of things.

And what constituted a satisfying date was entirely up to her, wasn't it? As long as she said she wasn't satisfied, she could use that excuse to make unlimited demands on Raye's time.

[So... what do you think, Raye? Isn't this request reasonable? Or are you saying you can't even agree to something like this?]

Chris thought inwardly, suddenly lacking confidence. Her plan was perfect, but it still depended on whether Raye would agree.

[...]

Perhaps Chris's request had been too far beyond Raye's expectations, because Raye fell silent for a moment.

P.S. The Azure Star is way too fun. I lost track of time playing it.

Preparing to Set Out

[All right, so that's your request? I agree.]

After thinking for a short while, Raye thought to herself.

[As expected, even a request this difficult... Huh? No way, Raye, you really agreed? Are you sure?]

Chris couldn't believe that Raye had actually agreed to a request that might let Chris keep her under her thumb indefinitely.

[Of course. Absolutely. Since your request doesn't violate the conditions I stated earlier, there naturally isn't any reason to refuse.]

Raye nodded and spoke seriously.

She had of course seen the ulterior motive hidden in Chris's request. After all, playing with word games was something she was good at too. But she had to agree to Chris's request now, and the more outrageous the request she accepted, the better.

Only then could Chris shift her attention completely away from the earlier "minor matter" and toward the more meaningful "major matter" in front of her.

As for whether Chris would one day come to her senses and realize what Raye wanted to conceal... that was a matter for the Raye of that day to consider.

Besides, if Raye still couldn't think of a solution or backup plan after winning so much breathing room, then that would only mean the secret was no longer particularly important to the Raye of that time.

[In that case, let's start today. You finished work early today, after all, so you have free time.]

Realizing that her request had been accepted, Chris's joy completely washed away her earlier displeasure, like a player who had set up a powerful combo with cards still in hand and had locked down the opponent.

Just as Raye had predicted, Chris never considered what Raye might have gained in exchange for being willing to pay such a "price."

[Today...? All right. The timing is a little tight, but since I agreed, let's do it.]

To placate the girl in front of her, Raye didn't think for long before agreeing to Chris.