An Unexpected Encounter

"If I were Otto," Yae Sakura recalled Lin Wei's words from a few days prior, pacing back and forth in their hotel room, trying to get inside Otto's head, "I'd definitely have a hidden ace up my sleeve, a surprise tactic for a decisive victory."

"After all, I, the esteemed Overseer of Schicksal, am using myself as bait. Going to all this trouble means I must be fully prepared to prevent the prey from escaping the hook—especially when the target is the notoriously elusive World Serpent…"

"…Using myself as a lure, the local Valkyrie units as a visible front, concealing a small, elite squad… Waiting until I have World Serpent's tail, then striking a lightning-fast blow right at its vital point, securing the prize…"

"…This kind of surprise attack only works once. If I spook them, a second chance will be hard to come by… So this squad can't be too conspicuous, and it can't be large. That means it can only be…"

"But that doesn't make sense, does it?" Lin Wei's muttering and pacing abruptly stopped. He stood still for a long time.

"Something you can't quite figure out?" Yae Sakura asked softly, seeing the increasingly perplexed expression on Lin Wei's face. She rarely saw him looking so stumped.

"Yeah… I really can't wrap my head around it…" Lin Wei said with a wry smile.

"Schicksal only has two or three people who fit the bill, and the other organizations know their files and whereabouts just as well as Schicksal does… Whether it's Durandal, Rita, or Fu Hua, how could they possibly be hidden?"

Wouldn't the sudden disappearance of an S-rank Valkyrie raise alarms? He couldn't think of any other explanation.

"It can't be that he'd wake up Li Sushang for something like this, right? No way! Doesn't Otto know how much resentment his upcoming actions will stir? Waking up Li Sushang at this point would only make things awkward between them; there's no other benefit!"

Lin Wei tried to put himself in Otto's shoes. From any angle, it made more sense for Otto to let Li Sushang continue sleeping…

Maybe World Serpent really is blind? Lin Wei thought of the Holiday in the Fog City incident from his memories, a pang of discomfort hitting him. Could it be that one side assumes the other is stupid, and the other is actually blind, and these two blundering idiots just happened to collide?

It didn't add up. It shouldn't be like this. Their characters aren't supposed to be like this! Lin Wei internally facepalmed.

"…Forget it. Let's just take it one step at a time! But since this possibility exists, we need to take precautions…" Unable to complete the puzzle no matter how hard he tried, Lin Wei finally gave up. He spoke earnestly to Yae Sakura, "Unlike them, Sakura, no one in the world knows of your existence, including World Serpent. They only know I possess a Divine Key, and maybe that it has a consciousness; but they won't know that this Divine Key can also transform into a person!"

Lin Wei firmly believed that any card should be played at the most crucial moment to maximize its value. That's why he had kept this trump card hidden so well—the less people knew, the more room he had to leverage his advantage.

Although he had been forced to briefly reveal his hand during Siegfried's impulsive solo act, he had taken remedial measures afterward. Besides, that hot-headed idiot wouldn't have the brains to make the connection anyway.

"In short, Sakura, as someone who doesn't officially exist in this world, you possess a freedom that ordinary people can't even imagine!" Lin Wei looked intently into Yae Sakura's eyes. He had high hopes for her.

"…Mm!" Yae Sakura nodded firmly, finally accepting this trust.

…

"Are you this little one's owner?"

Hearing the blonde girl's question from nearby, Yae Sakura pulled her thoughts back to the present, smoothing her brown hair. Good thing I listened to Lin Wei and changed my appearance beforehand. She thought. Otherwise, I might have blown my cover on my first outing—after all, Otto's probably aware of Yae Sakura's appearance.

Ever since learning the story between Kallen and Otto, Yae Sakura felt a mix of sympathy for Kallen's experiences and utter disgust for Otto.

"Kallen died a noble death, yet he wants to make her into a sinner!" Yae Sakura had been extremely confused and angry after learning the truth.

"If Kallen really came back to life and found out that all the atrocities of the past five hundred years were the price paid for her resurrection, how despairing, how painful would that be…"

"Yes, the price is too heavy." Lin Wei agreed, equally disturbed.

"Resurrected like that, she'd probably even be stripped of the right to die again…Heh, she'd probably have to spend the rest of her life atoning for Otto and herself, wouldn't she?"

"Maybe that's Otto's goal? Heh, by then he'll be dead, satisfied and at peace." Lin Wei scoffed.

"At least his 'saint' will have truly come back to life and will live on forever, perfectly fulfilling his wish, right?"

"I won't allow it!" Yae Sakura raged, furious for her deceased friend. "The living shouldn't disturb the peace of the dead! If he truly cared about Kallen, he should have taken up her banner and inherited her will, not used her as an excuse to satisfy his own selfish desires!"

Seeing Durandal brought back these unpleasant memories. Her face turned cold as she pointed at the trembling kitten in Durandal's arms, stating succinctly, "Give it to me."

She seemed determined, showing no intention of giving the world's strongest Valkyrie any face. If Durandal really was Otto's agent, sent to compete for the prey, she was ready to throw down.

Stan's fur bristled at her words.

Durandal remained unfazed by Yae Sakura's hostility. She patted Stan's back gently, signaling him to calm down, then stood up, smiling at Yae Sakura. "Miss, this little one is so badly hurt; it's truly heartbreaking to just stand by and do nothing. How about this? If you really dislike this cat so much, name your price, and let me have it."

Durandal's speech was always generous and straightforward, clearly not suited for negotiation or business dealings.

"Oh?" Yae Sakura noticed the implied meaning in Durandal's words. She didn't seem to know what had happened before and had mistaken her for the cat's owner. An idea sparked in her mind. She withdrew the hostility that had welled up within her and looked at Durandal with a faint smile, probing gently, "Do you know what it did before?"

It was better to avoid a fight if possible. Yae Sakura didn't want her impulsiveness to cause unnecessary trouble for Lin Wei. No matter who won between her and Durandal, a clash would only disrupt Otto and Lin Wei's plan, benefiting World Serpent, the third party. That snake is supposed to be our prey! Yae Sakura glared at the trembling cat, making it shiver even more violently.

"Did what?" Durandal was puzzled. She looked down at Stan's rather sharp claws, instantly coming up with the most likely answer. "It… hurt someone? But it's just a kitten. It could at most inflict a couple of shallow scratches. Isn't this retaliation a bit excessive?"

"…" Durandal's sincere tone left Yae Sakura momentarily speechless. Is she genuinely straightforward, or is she a masterful actress?

If Lin Wei were here, he might continue to probe Durandal's true intentions, but Yae Sakura opted for a more direct approach. She completely retracted her hostility and said with a light smile, "You misunderstood. I'm not its owner, but I need to find its owner."

If Durandal knew the cat's origins, this statement would be as good as a declaration—since they had bumped into each other, it was time to see who was more capable. If the talks broke down, there was no need to waste time.

Anyway, no one knew about her connection to Lin Wei. As long as she escaped in time, someone else would take the fall. Yae Sakura thought mischievously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I misunderstood." Durandal, clearly missing Yae Sakura's hidden message, simply felt she had made a mistake and quickly apologized. "I saw this cat was badly injured, so I mistakenly thought you were its owner and mistreating it. I truly apologize."

After expressing her apologies, she brought the conversation back to the matter at hand. "But I still have a question. If you're not this poor kitten's owner, why did you ask me to give it to you just now?"

Durandal's dislike for fussing over minor details didn't mean she was easily fooled.

"Because it killed my pet, a beautiful fox I'd raised for many years. Of course, I want to teach it a lesson." Yae Sakura fabricated a reason, continuing to look at Durandal with a faint smile. "I turned a corner and saw you holding it. Tell me, should I have given you a pleasant greeting?"

"Uh… I'm sorry to hear about that, miss, and I apologize for the misunderstanding." Durandal thought Yae Sakura's words made perfect sense.

"You're full of it!" Stan felt wronged by the accusations, but it didn't dare express its grievances physically. It knew the blonde girl holding it was protecting it. If it accidentally provoked the person opposite them, it might escape, but this kind girl would surely die. So, it chose to curl its tail tightly and endure.

"Fine. For your sake, I'll let this scoundrel off the hook." Yae Sakura glanced at Stan, then at Durandal gently soothing the cat, and decided to back down for now. "But since you're not its owner either, I suggest you be careful: This thing is vicious when it attacks. Beware the story of the farmer and the snake."

With that, she gave a slight nod and turned, retracing her steps.

"Uh, that lady is surprisingly easy to talk to. It seems I really did misunderstand her earlier." Durandal mused as she watched Yae Sakura leave. She then gently crouched down, placed the kitten on the ground, poured a small handful of drinking water into her palm, and offered it to Stan. "The person chasing you is gone now. You're safe! You wouldn't claw me like she said, would you?"

Stan seemed genuinely thirsty, lapping up the water from Durandal's palm, but offered no other response to her words, only a slight flick of its tail.

"You little thing… Drink slowly." Durandal chuckled, adding more water to her palm. As she watched Stan drink, she gently stroked it with her other hand. "It's a shame you already have an owner. Otherwise, I'd really want to take you home…"

The oddly shaped collar around Stan's neck spoke volumes. Durandal wasn't one to steal someone else's beloved pet.

"…" Stan paused its drinking, looked up at Durandal's pretty face, hesitated slightly, and took a small step back.

It did have an owner. Although its always-masked, eccentric owner was odd, it was quite content with its current master. At least, now it had food every day, a place to live, and didn't have to shiver under leaky eaves or fight stray dogs for rotten fruit cores in the trash. And, its owner had given it powers it couldn't have imagined before—although the process had been painful.

But it was just a cat. It didn't understand human reasoning. It only knew it was satisfied with its present life.

So, while it was grateful to the kind, sunny girl in front of it, it could only reject her kindness. It reluctantly raised a paw and gently touched her hand as a farewell.

"Hey! What a smart little guy!" Durandal was amused by this gesture, but not overly sentimental. "Alright, goodbye, little one! Go find your owner."

Stan turned to leave, then paused after a few steps, looked back at Durandal, and meowed a farewell before darting towards the high wall it had previously failed to scale. This time, after a couple of attempts, it scrambled over successfully.

"Interesting little thing… Sigh, what a pity…" Durandal watched it leave with a touch of regret. "I really wanted to take it back to show Rita. She would have loved it."

She stood up, brushed off her slightly dirty clothes, and continued her stroll. Today was another day without a summons from the Overseer.

In a convenience store a block away, Yae Sakura, who had witnessed the parting of the girl and the cat through the security cameras, smiled faintly and resumed her interrupted pursuit. Since Durandal's appearance was just a coincidence, her presence is now exposed to our side. Yae Sakura, once again disguised, thought to herself. Also, having a Divine Key with me is so convenient…