Honkai: Strijder
Chapter 422: The Child Who Cries Gets Candy
Lying flat on the bed with the blanket neatly covering him, Sigurd realized he couldn't fall asleep.
Mainly because he simply wasn't sleepy at all.
"Not surprising. With my constitution, it would be strange if I did feel sleepy."
Sigurd turned over and sat up, tugging lightly at his loose, comfortable pajamas. Since he had no intention of sleeping, he got out of bed.
He casually picked up a book on history and literature from the desk and flipped through a couple of pages, but he had no interest in reading.
Suddenly freed from the nightly routine of dealing with those two restless troublemakers, Sigurd found himself feeling oddly at a loss.
"Hmm. From now on, I should make sure at least one of them stays. Otherwise, it's hard to sleep peacefully."
Alone, Sigurd chuckled softly and shook his head, then stepped out of the room.
He walked through the quiet corridor, climbed the stairs, and eventually arrived at the familiar cloud-top observation deck.
Siegfried had already gone to rest, and the other girls didn't have the habit of wandering at night, so this vast space should have belonged to Sigurd alone for moon-watching—at least, it was supposed to.
"Hmm?"
Standing by the stair edge that seemed to hang from the rooftop, Sigurd spotted a small figure leaning against the railing of the observation deck.
A nightdress. Blue slippers. Waist-length black hair tinged with green, swaying gently in the moonlight breeze.
"Can't sleep either?"
Coming to Wendy's side, Sigurd asked calmly, as if he had found a kindred spirit.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep either—wait, why are you here!?"
Wendy had been lost in thought. Startled by Sigurd's sudden voice, her last words cracked slightly.
Sigurd looked down at her in mild confusion.
"Herrscher or MANTIS, people like us don't normally feel sleepy. Coming out at night to enjoy the scenery—what's strange about that?"
"I… I guess that makes sense."
Wendy scratched her cheek with her left hand. In her right, she held a pinwheel—a simple plastic toy pinwheel, its blades decorated with glittering material that shimmered beautifully as it spun under the moonlight.
Sigurd stroked his chin, recalling that during a previous team outing, Wendy had stood by a stall staring at a pinwheel with sparkling eyes. He had casually bought it for her.
While Sigurd was reminiscing, Wendy glanced up and down at his current appearance. Her small face flushed faintly.
A plain light-gray pajama set and black slippers—very homey attire, not something she often saw him wear. Seeing Sigurd like this at this moment felt like a secret rendezvous between two people with ambiguous feelings, meeting beneath the moon.
Wendy felt her heartbeat quicken—and she couldn't control it.
So close. Just the two of them. Naturally, Sigurd noticed her change.
So he took two steps back.
"I should go back to sleep."
"…Do you hate me that much?"
Wendy lifted her head. The dreamy atmosphere dissipated, replaced by stubbornness in her eyes.
Then tears of grievance began to well up uncontrollably.
"I…"
Sigurd opened his mouth, hesitated for a long moment, and found himself at a loss for words.
Hate? Of course not. Not just Wendy, none of the girls around him could be associated with a word like "hate." They were all good girls. Their beauty and their strong, kind hearts made them treasures worthy of endless care.
But Wendy had allowed herself to harbor feelings she shouldn't have.
Sigurd sighed, stepped forward, and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
With the crisp sound, a gust of wind rose. Around them, one spinning pinwheel after another appeared, twirling in the air and casting dazzling, multicolored lights—brilliant and breathtaking.
"This is…?"
Wendy sniffed and casually wiped at the corner of her eye. She looked at the pinwheels spinning around her, then at the one in her hand spinning just the same, and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Pfft! You really do have a unique way of cheering someone up!"
"It was just a spur-of-the-moment idea. Don't cry in front of me. It gives me a headache."
"Hmph! And whose fault do you think that is, you scummy jerk! You blockhead!"
Wendy sniffed again, forcing the tears back, then lifted her foot and kicked Sigurd lightly in the shin.
Of course, it didn't hurt him in the slightest. And, unusually, he had no intention of retaliating. Instead, he rubbed his temples and said helplessly,
"You know I'm a scumbag and a blockhead. Can't you just change your feelings? There are a lot of excellent men out there. If that doesn't work, there are plenty of excellent girls too."
"What do you mean there are plenty of excellent girls too?! What kind of girl do you think I am!?"
"Freedom of love. As long as you don't cling to me, even if you fall for a Honkai beast, I can help you sort out the logistics."
"Get lost! You damn pervert!"
"You seem to be especially rude to me, don't you?"
Sigurd looked at Wendy speechlessly. Wendy looked back up at him, her stubborn dark-green eyes showing no retreat and no apology.
After a moment, the corner of Sigurd's lips lifted. Wendy also broke into a carefree smile.
With her hands clasped behind her back, she turned to face the bright moon alongside him and said cheerfully,
"Ah! I feel much better now!"
"I don't really understand, but as long as you're not crying."
"You're such a blockhead, at a time like this, shouldn't you be asking why I was in a bad mood?"
"Too lazy to ask."
Sigurd maintained a businesslike indifference.
Wendy, however, didn't mind his deliberately distant attitude. She fiddled with her toy pinwheel and leaned over the railing, her long hair swaying gently.
"I'm a girl too. Watching you being so close with Kiana, Bronya, and Sin Mal, while you deliberately stay cold toward me—I'd be lying if I said it doesn't hurt. But Seele's already in such a fragile state. Most of the time we're all focused on her. I can only bottle things up and endure it. It's only at times like this, when no one's around, that I can come out to clear my head… And of course, you just had to run into me, you scumbag! Hmph!"
She shot Sigurd a glare.
Sigurd lowered his head and thought for a moment.
Indeed, compared to Wendy—who tended to hide her vulnerability—Seele was a child who simply didn't know how to conceal her emotions. Her joy and sorrow were written plainly on her face. So even the slightest sign of distress would make the sisters around her rush to comfort her. Because of that, Sigurd had more than once been targeted by Kiana and Bronya.
As for Wendy feeling neglected, it wasn't that anyone cared less about her. They had all grown up together. Even Bronya, who cared most about Seele, did not care lightly for Wendy.
If anything, it could only be described as—
"The child who cries gets candy?"
Sigurd said slowly.
Wendy blinked, her expression turning odd as she considered it. Then she nodded.
"Not exactly accurate, but I guess there's something like that. Seele doesn't 'cry' on purpose, she's just too simple. In the end, it's still your fault, you stupid scumbag."
"Know when to stop. If you keep attacking me, I'll be unhappy too."
"Oh, so you think you've earned some face now, you stu—wahhh!!!"
A blue fluorescent chain suddenly wrapped around one of Wendy's ankles, hoisting her upside down into the air. She dangled there, swaying and spinning in the wind.
<+>
Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Current Chapter In Patreon: Chapter 464: Where Is Himeko?[1]
Link to the current chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/156227801?collection=95348[2]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed[3]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/posts/156227801?collection=95348
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/156227801?collection=95348
[3] https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed