Honkai: Strijder
Chapter 423: Calm Analysis
"Ah! Put me down! Hurry and put me down, you pervert!"
"Keep yelling and I'll bring out the whip."
Sigurd looked at Wendy, who was hanging upside down. Sure enough, a long whip materialized in midair, slicing through the wind with a sharp, piercing sound.
Wendy immediately crossed her arms over her chest and let herself sway in the air, cheeks puffed out in indignation.
After a while, Sigurd released the chain.
Wendy flipped midair and landed steadily and nimbly on her feet.
She patted down her pink nightdress, straightened the short hem that barely reached the tops of her thighs, then shot Sigurd an annoyed glare.
"Hmph! I'm going back to sleep! Goodbye! Good night! Bleh~~"
She made a face and turned to leave.
Sigurd stood where he was, watching her. Then he suddenly spoke.
"When did you start having these feelings? Why did you fall for me?"
"…Why are you suddenly asking about that?"
"You have to understand a problem before you can solve it."
"…."
That typical science-minded, simple-man logic left Wendy momentarily speechless.
She scratched her head and snapped back irritably,
"I'm not telling you!"
"Don't you want to solve this problem? If you keep dragging it out, the only one who'll get hurt is you."
"I…"
The stubborn edge in Wendy's posture suddenly deflated. Her eyes dimmed.
Yes. If she just kept delaying things, claiming it was for the greater good and not wanting to trouble Sigurd before victory—wasn't that also a form of avoidance? Avoiding the possibility that her feelings would end in failure. Avoiding Sigurd's rejection.
"Would saying it even help?"
She walked back and stood beside Sigurd, looking up at him with a dejected expression.
Sigurd hesitated.
He stroked his chin and replied uncertainly,
"I've studied a bit of psychology… Why not give it a try? Let's analyze it calmly."
They looked at each other and fell into silence.
One was a titanium-alloy-level straight man who had somehow achieved a three-person romantic entanglement through brute force and sheer obliviousness.
The other was a complete novice in matters of the heart, with only a single unrequited crush in her life—and just as clumsy in handling it.
Two half-informed people stared at each other, then nodded in sync.
"You're right. Maybe we can try."
"Mm. Go ahead. Let's try to thoroughly analyze this and find a solution."
After that brief exchange, Sigurd waved his hand and seats appeared beside them.
He poured a cup of hot water for each of them, then looked straight at Wendy.
"Please begin your explanation."
"Let me think… Do I really have to say it? This feels so weird. Does anyone actually solve relationship problems this way? And I have to explain it to you?"
"Do you have a better method?"
"I… guess not…"
Wendy muttered.
Holding the cup, she took a sip of hot water to moisten her lips, then hesitated before speaking.
"Fine, I'll say it—but you're not allowed to laugh at me!"
"I won't."
Sigurd nodded seriously.
Rejecting her feelings was one thing, but mocking a girl's sincere emotions was another. Even he had that much sense.
Wendy rubbed the cup between her hands, lowering her head as if searching for the right words. After a long moment, she finally spoke slowly.
"I don't know when it started. It was like… without realizing it, I found that just thinking about you made me feel strange in a good way. When I couldn't see you, I missed you—really, really missed you. When I did see you, I felt happy… but also nervous and uneasy. By the time I understood what 'liking someone' meant, I realized I liked you. Ugh—why am I doing something this stupid with you?! Saying it out loud is so embarrassing!"
Wendy lifted the cup to cover her face, eyes darting to the side, her cheeks burning with mortification.
Then Sigurd reached out, took the cup from her hands, turned her head back to face him directly, and said:
"Be serious. We're discussing something important."
"Important my foot! You just want to see me embarrass myself to death! You freak, you twisted scumbag!"
"Don't throw a tantrum. We're seriously trying to solve a problem."
"Are you freaking serious? Seriously!?"
Wendy was on the verge of a breakdown.
But seeing that Sigurd truly wore a solemn expression, with absolutely no intention of making fun of her, Wendy finally managed to calm down a little.
"Inhale—"
"Inhale—"
"Exhale—"
She took several deep breaths, steadying her reason, forcing herself to speak calmly despite the strange heat still burning on her face.
"So… what do I say next?"
"Hmm… Since the timing is uncertain, let's talk about the root cause. Think about it, since we first met, which things I've done left a deep impression on you?"
"H-How am I supposed to answer that?"
"Don't rush. Slowly think back, start from when we first met, and sort through it. Wherever the impression was strongest, talk about that. Everything has a cause and effect. If we find the root, maybe we'll find a way to help you let go."
Sigurd suddenly seemed a little more confident. Come to think of it, what he excelled at most when taking an intellectual, detached perspective was tracing a problem's causes and consequences, then directly pointing out the solution path.
Even though emotional problems weren't the same as scientific ones, and that detached intellectual stance wasn't particularly useful here, Sigurd felt that with his intelligence, he should at least be able to do something.
His sudden confidence and his usual composure gradually helped Wendy settle her thoughts. She began to recall seriously.
After another stretch of thinking, Wendy spoke slowly:
"If we're talking about deep impressions… honestly, the first time we met left a very deep one. A normal person, seeing me in that crippled state, would either mock me or at least show some sympathy. But you didn't. You were just… rough. To be honest, at the beginning—aside from being scared of being captured by Anti-Entropy—I was also furious at you!"
A smile curved at the corner of her lips, unconsciously soft and gentle.
She continued:
"Later, the first time I entered the lab, they all wanted to carry me onto the experiment table. It was you who said that I just couldn't move my legs, not that I was completely disabled, and told me to choose whether to crawl up myself or be carried… remember? Back then, it was really, really hard for me to crawl up using my hands. Under the pressure of the Gem of Desire, that wasn't an easy thing to do. But after I climbed up by myself, I felt an unprecedented sense of accomplishment. I was truly happy—so happy that if there hadn't been people there, I might have cried."
Wendy placed her hands over her chest, her smile growing even more gentle and serene.
It truly was a beautiful memory. After the Gem of Desire experiment had failed and she had endured a long darkness, that was the first time she regained recognition and confidence in herself—like the first ray of spring sunlight breaking through winter frost.
"Later, you made me a wheelchair so I could push myself around. And you never guarded against the power of the Gem of Desire inside me. You never treated me like some disabled person who needed special care. Just like with everyone else, you never had a particularly good attitude toward me, but that maddening attitude? I didn't dislike it at all. In front of you, I felt like I was just an ordinary girl. I wouldn't be hated, and I wouldn't be pitied. I could stay at ease… Come to think of it, I don't think I ever properly thanked you."
"Mm. You've said it now. I heard it. Alright, continue."
Sigurd listened seriously—and responded just as seriously.
Wendy rolled her eyes.
"As expected of a super blunt guy!"
"Continue. Don't change the subject."
Sigurd frowned.
"Wait, you're affecting my emotions again. Let me gather myself…"
Wendy raised a hand, keeping a straight face as she spoke, glaring at Sigurd unhappily.
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