Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles?

Early Morning, Manila.

"Okay, Lady Durandal, gotta go!" Rita said on the phone.

"Bye, Rita," Durandal replied, smiling a little. They both hung up at the same time.

"Phew, Rita's timing is always spot-on..."

Durandal, in her workout clothes, looked up and wiped sweat from her forehead, gazing at the thick morning fog in the park.

Every day was the same. Right after her morning run, Rita would call, say hi, chat for a bit until Durandal caught her breath, and then politely say goodbye, always reminding her about breakfast before she left.

"That guy, seriously... can't he chill out a bit?"

Even though she was used to Rita taking care of her so carefully, sometimes she was just confused by how much Rita insisted on it.

"Oh well, guess that's just Her. She won't listen even if I tell Her to relax. It's kinda annoying..."

But Durandal also knew Rita didn't mind doing all this. Actually, she seemed to enjoy it. Since Rita was happy, she just went along with it, letting herself be taken care of in every way, even if it felt a bit much sometimes.

But seriously, it's kind of tiring, isn't it?

Wait... is that the right way to think about it?

Durandal was a little surprised by that thought popping into her head. She shook her head gently, like clearing her mind. If it felt wrong, she shouldn't dwell on it. Better to just forget it and do something else.

Rita was kind of mysterious and hard to read, but Durandal was always pretty straightforward. What you saw was what you got. Not dumb, just honest and sincere.

"What should I do next?"

Lady Durandal thought, feeling a bit down. This "vacation" was way too long. She was going crazy doing nothing all day.

But it was the Overseer's order, so she had to suck it up and not do anything stupid.

Ugh, doing nothing is actually painful...

Yep, that's Lady Durandal for you. Thinking in a way that's definitely not normal!

"Hey, are you... Lady Durandal...?"

While she was feeling miserable, she faintly heard someone call her name.

Huh? Here?

Durandal got alert right away and looked around to see who was talking. She saw a young guy with a backpack, holding a stick like he just picked it up from a tree. He looked surprised to see her.

Weird, doesn't look like a bad guy...

Durandal relaxed a bit as soon as she saw him.

"Who are you? How do you know who I am?"

She didn't recognize this random guy, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions without knowing if he was a friend or enemy. So, she just asked him straight up.

"Wow, it really is Durandal-sama!"

This kinda strange-looking guy – it was Lin Wei, of course – grinned, his eyes lighting up. He rushed over to her, looking super excited.

"Lady Durandal, I'm a huge fan!"

While shouting, he quickly pulled a notebook out of his backpack and held it out to her with puppy-dog eyes.

"Can you sign this for me?"

"Uh..."

Durandal was half confused, half embarrassed by how sudden this was. First, she quickly checked around – thankfully, nobody else was nearby.

Relieved, she snapped back to reality, gently pushed the notebook back to him, and, sounding a little annoyed at being messed with, repeated her question.

"Who are you? And seriously, how do you know me?"

Don't try to change the subject with that fanboy act!

"Oh, sorry, got a little too excited, my bad, my bad..."

Lin Wei seemed to realize he was going overboard and put his notebook away, looking a bit embarrassed. Durandal even thought she saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes.

Does he actually want an autograph? Durandal thought, feeling even weirder.

"Ahem..."

Lin Wei cleared his throat, trying to act serious again. He introduced himself with a straight face.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is He Kun. I'm an intelligence officer working directly for the Overseer, and I'm in Manila on a mission from him..."

Lin Wei bravely pulled out the fake ID Otto gave him yesterday, waving it around like it was real. "Captain! Don't shoot, I'm one of you!" kind of vibe.

"Intelligence officer?"

Durandal wasn't that easy to fool. She looked at Lin Wei suspiciously and reached for her phone to call Overseer Otto and check.

But the guy in front of her didn't look nervous at all. He was calm, cool, and even seemed to expect Otto to back him up.

Seeing Lin Wei's attitude, Durandal started to believe him, maybe like 70 or 80 percent.

"I can figure out what's going on first, then call the Overseer to double-check..."

Durandal thought to herself, and put her phone away. She decided to ask him some questions first.

"Okay, Mr. He Kun. Let's say I believe you for now... Did the Overseer-sama tell you where to find me?"

If he's lying, I can take him down right here, save everyone's time.

"Since you came to meet me, it must be about the mission the Overseer gave you, right? So, no need to hide anything. Just tell me straight – why did the Overseer-sama send you here?"

Is it finally time to do something? Durandal couldn't help but feel a little relieved, like she was finally getting out of this boring vacation.

"Uh, I'm really sorry, Lady Durandal..."

Lin Wei's face got a little strange. He swallowed and said,

"To be honest, the Overseer, he... just told me there's a really important job here and I need to work with someone to finish it... But what exactly the job is... well..."

Lin Wei looked embarrassed again, then suddenly looked at Durandal with hopeful eyes, like he just remembered something.

"Since Lady Durandal, who's the strongest Valkyrie, is also here, I guess it must be for the same mission as me! Or maybe I'm supposed to help you with your mission?"

Saying this, Lin Wei stood up straight, looking at Durandal with a serious face, like a super determined soldier.

"Just tell me, Lady Durandal, what do you need me to do?"

Yae Sakura, who was watching silently, couldn't stand Lin Wei's over-the-top acting and just logged off, leaving Lin Wei to his performance.

"..."

Seeing Lin Wei so eager and excited, it was Durandal's turn to feel awkward again.

To be honest, I have no idea what mission I'm even here for...

A few minutes later, the two kinda bummed-out looking people were sitting side-by-side by the flower beds in the park. They both looked like they had misunderstood something big.

"...So, Lady Durandal, you also don't know what mission you're here for?"

Lin Wei asked, sounding disappointed. Durandal nodded, feeling a little awkward and annoyed at Otto for being so confusing.

"So, the Overseer didn't tell you where I was either?"

Durandal asked back. Lin Wei nodded, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Then how did you know I was here?"

Durandal still wasn't completely trusting him. Now that she saw a hole in his story, she asked seriously.

"Nobody should know where I am!"

Except for Overseer Otto and Rita, Durandal added in her head, but Rita would never tell anyone without asking.

So, something's up with you!

"I'm a hacker, remember? I usually keep an eye on the internet and gather info..."

Lin Wei honestly revealed his "job," then pulled out his phone, tapped on it, and showed it to Durandal, looking helpless.

"Someone running super fast in the morning, like a sprint, and running for twenty kilometers... That stuff goes viral online, you know?"

Durandal looked at the phone. It was a short video of someone "jogging" super fast. It was definitely her. That bright blonde hair was hard to miss.

"Oh..."

"Sorry for misunderstanding you."

Durandal felt a little embarrassed. She always worked out like that at headquarters, huh?

Never thought she'd get noticed for it...

"Don't worry about it, Lady Durandal. I already deleted all the videos and posts about it. Phew, luckily it wasn't too popular yet, so it shouldn't mess with your mission..."

Lin Wei made up more stuff, sounding totally sincere. Then he said, sounding a bit sorry,

"I can only do these small things, hope you don't mind..."

Lin Wei really did look sorry.

Because that video was totally fake and made up by me an hour ago – the views, likes, everything, all just faked by me hacking into the website.

"Cheating is bad..."

Lin Wei scolded himself in his head.

"No, Mr. He Kun, thank you for pointing it out."

Durandal shook her head, and seriously thought about her mistake.

"The Overseer told me to keep a low profile, and I guess I was too careless and got spotted. If you hadn't noticed in time and fixed it... it could have messed up the Overseer's plan."

Then, with a serious face, she thanked Lin Wei.

"So, thank you so much for your help. I'll tell the Overseer about what happened today, both my mistake and your quick thinking... I'm sure the Overseer will appreciate it."

"..."

Looking at Durandal's honest and serious eyes, Lin Wei didn't feel good at all. In fact, he felt a little guilty.

Lin Wei, you're such a jerk for tricking such a pure and honest girl!

Lin Wei criticized himself in his mind.

Nope, gotta get out of here. Need to leave now.

"Lady Durandal, no need to be so polite. I'm just trying to do my job and help the Overseer with his mission."

Saying this, Lin Wei looked embarrassed again, and then added,

"...Though, I still have no idea what my mission is... haha..."

"It's okay, Mr. He Kun, I'll ask the Overseer to explain everything to you soon."

Durandal felt like she owed him one, and promised Lin Wei, while thinking, "We can't keep messing around like this, I need to get the Overseer to explain what's going on."

After that, seeing that things were getting kinda awkward, Lin Wei found a way to say goodbye to Durandal, and thankfully didn't ask for that autograph again.

Seeing Lin Wei being so understanding, Durandal felt a little relieved.

I'm not some celebrity or something...

"But, I do kinda owe him a favor, right?"

Durandal hesitated for a moment, feeling a bit awkward. She just decided she should do something to thank him when she realized Lin Wei was already gone. She felt a bit regretful and apologetic.

"Oh well, maybe next time..."

Then, Durandal pulled out her phone and told Otto everything that just happened, waiting for his reply.

On the other side, Lin Wei, who had been acting the whole time, quickly left the park. He rubbed his face, finally letting out a big sigh of relief.

"Finally done..."

Unlike messing with the sly Otto, tricking Durandal, who was so innocent, didn't make Lin Wei feel good at all.

"What's wrong with me? Why do I feel like the bad guy for doing nothing wrong?"

Lin Wei felt like he was turning into someone he didn't want to be.

"Weren't you the one who decided to use her to get to Otto?"

Yae Sakura's calm voice came into his mind again.

"Don't think too much about it. You're not actually hurting her, Lin Wei."

"...Yeah, you're right."

Lin Wei was speechless for a moment, not sure if she was comforting him or teasing him.

But anyway, that weird feeling went away, and Lin Wei calmed down again, focusing on what he needed to do.

"Whether it's to scare Otto or just to test the waters, now that I've told Durandal about the 'viral video' thing, let's see if Overseer Otto can still stay calm and do nothing."

Lin Wei chuckled softly.

"And when Otto finally does something, then Dr. Jackal can follow him, right?"

"Man, I'm so helpful and awesome!"

Lin Wei gave himself a mental high-five, then pulled out his phone.

"Can't leave out the Anti-Entropy guys from this funny show, right?"

At least, because of their agreement before, he should share the info he got with Anti-Entropy – especially the stuff about Overseer Otto.

Thinking that, he tried to call Anti-Entropy.

But surprisingly, nobody answered right away...

"Hello, this is Dr. Tesla."

After a long ringing sound, a recorded voice came on.

"I'm busy, leave a message. Friendly reminder, I'M BUSY! So keep it short!"

This voice sounded super impatient and bossy.

"Huh?"

Lin Wei was a bit surprised and hung up.

Whatever, I'll just call them later.