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special story
Location: Valkyrie Base – Common Room. Somewhere between chaos and romance.
Rita (pouring tea with surgical elegance): "Captain, would you like a bit of honey with your tea? It's soothing. Especially for… hearts that are torn."
Himeko (sitting nearby with a glass of red wine): "Or perhaps, Captain, you'd prefer something more… intense. Something that speaks of passion and age."
Captain (sweating): "Why does this feel like a boss fight and a date at the same time?"
Writer (typing in the corner): "It's not a date. It's literary tension. Keep it together, I'm trying to write a peaceful slice-of-life scene."
Rita (smiling ever so politely): "Oh, but dear Writer, how could it be peaceful when emotions flow so naturally toward one man?"
Himeko (grinning, raising her glass): "I agree. Perhaps the real story here… is about competition."
Writer (pausing): "…This wasn't in the script."
Bronya (deadpan, from the couch): "They've gone rogue."
Theresa (hiding behind a pillow): "I don't think the base has insurance for a love triangle of elegance."
Kiana (munching snacks): "I'm calling it—Team Wine Mom wins."
Mei: "Don't let Rita hear you say that."
Rita (still smiling): "Oh, I heard. And I must say, I do enjoy being underestimated. It gives me more… freedom."
Himeko (smirking): "Freedom, huh? You're free to join me and the Captain on a little wine tasting trip. Or are you too busy planning poetry readings again?"
Captain (panicking): "Wait, when did I agree to either?!"
Writer (rubbing temples): "I didn't even finish outlining this chapter, and suddenly I'm in Act III of a romance novel."
V (from the shadows): "You never had control."
Ai-chan (appearing on the screen): "BREAKING NEWS! Rita and Himeko just registered competing vacation plans with the Captain. The base now has a duel scheduling system."
Bronya: "...Why?"
Ai-chan: "Because the Writer made the mistake of giving them personalities. You fool."
Writer: "I just wanted a calm story about bonding and character growth…"
Theresa: "Then why did you add scented candles and a sunset scene?"
Writer: "I thought it'd be aesthetic!"
Suddenly, the door burst open and a small flower robot skittered in, holding a heart-shaped cake. It exploded. Confetti everywhere.
Kiana: "That was awesome! Can we do this again next week?!"
Rita (dusting off petals): "Next week? Oh no, darling Kiana. The real event is tomorrow."
Himeko (raising an eyebrow): "A baking competition. One-on-one. Winner gets to decide the Captain's schedule for a whole week."
Captain: "I don't get a say?!"
Rita + Himeko (in unison, with terrifying grace): "No, dearest."
Writer: "I'm going to start a spinoff series. About vending machines. They never argue."
V: "You underestimate vending machines."
Kiana: "Hey Writer, can I plug in the rice cooker again?"
All: "NO!"
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V stood quietly, clad in a dark hooded jacket and light blue pants, gazing out over the city and the people walking past.
V: "So… this is London? It's a nice city. I never got the chance to visit it in my previous life, though."
He kept his gaze fixed on the streets below for a moment longer, the hum of city life oddly comforting.
V: "First things first—locate the second sacred key. And while I'm at it, I need to avoid Kiana and the others… They're somewhere around here too."
He let out a quiet sigh.
V: "This is going to be a pain. But as long as I stay out of sight during the day, I should be fine."
With that, he made his way into a nearby inn.
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The door chimed softly as he entered.
Receptionist: "Welcome! How may I assist you today?"
V: "I'd like a single room."
Receptionist: "Understood. How many days will you be staying?"
V: "Three."
Receptionist: "Got it. Please wait just a moment."
After a brief wait, the receptionist returned and handed him a key.
Receptionist: "Here you are. Your room is on the second floor, third door on the right."
V: "Thanks."
He took the key and headed upstairs. When he found the door that matched the number on the keychain, he unlocked it and stepped inside.
It was a modest room: a single bed, a private bathroom, a mini-fridge, and a few basic essentials neatly arranged. He looked around, placed his things down, and gave the space a quick inspection.
V: "Alright… let's begin the search."
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London, late afternoon — the sun dipped low, casting amber light across the cobblestone streets, as the chill of spring teased through the air.
Within a refined hotel tucked away from the tourist crowds, peace lingered in the gentle quiet of Room 203.
Velvet curtains swayed gently by the window, and golden light spilled over the room's elegant furnishings.
The scent of rose and faint perfume hung in the air like a whisper.
A woman sat calmly on the bed, legs crossed, hair cascading like silk—its hue a radiant honey-bronde, catching the dying sunlight just right. Her name was Rita Rossweisse, the vice-captain of the Immortal Blades, a seasoned Valkyrie of Schicksal... and a woman known equally for her elegance and mischief.
Beneath her—quite literally—lay a man in a very compromising position.
Captain: "…Uhm… Miss Rita? If it's not too much trouble… could you maybe get off me?"
His voice was a mix of embarrassment and desperation, his hands hovering awkwardly in the air as if unsure where to rest them.
Rita: "Ara~ You wound me, Captain."Her voice was silk-wrapped steel, gentle yet playful.Rita: "Do you not enjoy my company like this?"
Captain: "That's not it!"He looked away quickly, cheeks burning a shade of red that could rival Himeko's hair.Captain:"I mean—yes, I enjoy it, b-but if someone sees this, it'll cause a massive misunderstanding!"
Rita tilted her head slightly, her reddish pink eyes narrowing in faux thought.
Rita: "Hmm… I suppose you're right."
She leaned forward suddenly, her face now just inches from his, her breath brushing his ear.
Rita: "But you don't have to worry, Captain. Lady Theresa and the others won't be back for at least another two hours. That means…"
Her lips curled into a smile—one that made his heart skip.
Rita: "Even if we were to do something... a little naughty, no one would know."
Captain: "Ugh—"He swallowed hard, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.
Every nerve in his body screamed danger—but another part of him, the part that had spent too long alone , whispered don't move.
Rita: "Fufu~ I'm only teasing, of course."
She rose gracefully, her every motion precise like a dancer on a stage.
She smoothed her skirt and adjusted the cuff of her gloves.
Rita: "They simply went out to explore the market. I believe Mei mentioned something about tracking down a bakery with apple tarts."
The Captain sat up slowly, still dazed, brushing a hand through his hair to collect himself. He opened his mouth to say something, but Rita beat him to it.
Rita: "Unless…"She paused, turning back toward him with a glint in her eye.Rita:"You were hoping we'd deepen our... personal connection, here and now?"
He choked on air, hands waving in defense.
Captain: "Wha—?! N-No! I wasn't thinking that at all!"
He turned away, face now a tomato.
Rita gave a soft, elegant laugh—the kind that didn't mock, but lingered sweetly in the air.
Rita: "No need to be so shy, Captain I was merely making conversation Though…"
She leaned in one last time, close enough for her whisper to send a shiver down his spine.
Rita: "Should we ever find time for a vacation... just the two of us… I'll make sure to let you do as you please."
She straightened again, as though nothing had been said at all, and turned to the door.
Rita: "Come now. If we're late, Lady Theresa might send Bronya to retrieve us—and we both know she lacks subtlety when it comes to those things."
The door closed behind her with a soft click, leaving behind a stunned, overheated Captain sitting at the edge of the bed in total silence.
Captain: "…Next time, I really might not survive her."
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Elsewhere in London…
The city pulsed with quiet life beyond the windows, but inside a different inn tucked in the quieter, older part of town, silence reigned.
On the second floor of a smaller, less crowded establishment, a lone figure lay motionless on a narrow bed.
V stared blankly at the ceiling, his black hair clinging slightly to his forehead from the cold sweat that hadn't quite dried.
The faint hum of mana still echoed in the air around him—residual traces of what he had just done.
V: "Found it… Easier than I thought."
What he had done wasn't a simple tracking spell or standard reconnaissance.
It was something far more invasive—far more costly.
Using his unique control over mana, V had forcefully expanded his sensory field across the entire city of London in a single burst.
Like a sonar, but made of raw mana and spiritual perception, it mapped every alley, corner, artifact, and presence in the city.
It was an effective method—possibly the only one capable of locating the Second Sacred Key hidden somewhere in the chaos of the city.
But it came at a price.
V: "The most efficient way… but definitely not the safest."
The moment he unleashed the pulse, he had taken in an overwhelming amount of information—millions of fragments of sights, sounds, mana patterns, people's auras… all at once, in a single blink of time.
His brain had to process it in real time.
The result? Total neural exhaustion.
He couldn't move.
Not for the next twenty-four hours at least.
Every muscle in his body felt detached. Not in pain—but distant, as if his soul had retreated inward just to protect itself from the overload.
V: "If I didn't do it this way… I never would've found it."
His vision blurred slightly, not from fatigue, but from the sheer data being filtered even now. Every second, his subconscious sifted through gigabytes of mana impressions to narrow down one exact location—a glimmer of divine resonance hidden among mundane noise.
V: "Searching by human senses alone… is impossible. I had to push myself."
He let out a slow breath and turned his head slightly to the side, gazing at the warm sunlight crawling through the half-drawn curtains.
People outside were still moving about—laughing, talking, living.
V: "I won't be able to do anything for a while…"
There was no frustration in his .
He had factored in this downtime.
What he hadn't accounted for, however, was the creeping worry for the others.
His thoughts drifted—to a certain Valkyrie with reddish pink eyes and a voice like silk... and to a certain stubborn girl with void-filled eyes who had the uncanny talent for showing up at the worst possible moment.
V: "Hopefully… things are going smoothly on their end."
His eyes slowly drifted shut, not from sleep, but from necessity.
His mind needed to recover.
The data would finish filtering itself in time.
By tomorrow, he would know exactly where the key was.
And then… everything would move again.