After the Guards departed, Chino also returned to Twilight City from Thundercloud City, and the detained Lugo and the others were also released.

As for the "Chino's assassination of Burton", which is originally a non-existent matter, because the news is well blocked, no one in the people knows about it at all, and no one discusses it.

As for the influence among the officials of Twilight City, Bolton solved it with a handwritten notice, which not only restored Chino's reputation, but also made many officials feel that Chino had climbed to the great figure of Bolton and respected him even more.

On the same day, Chino finished handling a batch of urgent government affairs that had been squeezed for a long time in the office, and was ready to go out to meet with relevant officials.

As soon as he opened the door, he found a petite figure kneeling in the doorway.

It's none other than Niko, who was seriously injured by the reincarnation before, but fortunately, Roman takes care of him every day, and uses the best medical supplies of the Guards Legion, and the whole person recovers quickly, although she is still injured, but her daily activities are no problem.

Chino was very puzzled by this, and looked at her suspiciously: "What are you kneeling here for?" ”

Neko's knees could be seen spreading a large flush outward, apparently kneeling here for a long time, her teeth clenching her lower lip slowly loosened, her blood-stained lips kept trembling, and she muttered two words: "Guilt..."

Chino felt even more inexplicable: "What is there to feel guilty about?" Are you doing something wrong? ”

"The night the Guards came to raid my house, I had already met a visitor from outside the world... But he couldn't beat her... If I can beat her... If only I could be stronger—" Nicol couldn't say any more, her pupils fluttering, and she felt like she was about to burst into tears.

Chino was helpless: "If you can't beat it, you can't beat it, what's the use of you kneeling here?" If you kneel from day to night, and then from night to day, can you still kneel to death visitors from outside the world? ”

"Guilt doesn't solve anything, it just makes you doubt yourself and keep falling into negative emotions. If you have time to kneel here and feel guilty, you might as well hurry up and practice your sword, and strive for the next time you meet a visitor from outside the world, so as not to be cleaned up too badly. ”

This kind of ostensibly comforting but actually perfunctory words made Niko's heart even more uncomfortable.

Niko has a lot of affection for Chino, not the kind of affection that men love and women love, but the first time she met last year, Chino chose her among so many excellent reserve royal guards, took her away from that oppressive group, placed her in Twilight, gave her a decent job, and gave her the incomparably precious cicada cry.

This admiration for the grace of knowing is purer and stronger than the so-called love between men and women.

Niko seized an opportunity to repay her kindness during the Seven Calamities Incident, and with the power of faith, she was born immune to illusions and was expected to break the game, but because her strength was too weak, she was beaten by the Big Three of Shilin Town and failed to complete the Jedi counterattack for Chino.

This time the alien invaded, she seized the opportunity again, and had the opportunity to find out the true face of the woman, but because her strength was too weak, she lost to the opponent's men, causing Chino to be almost regarded as the real murderer of Burton.

Two opportunities, two failures, all because they were too weak...

In front of admirers, girls are already easy to become sensitive, plus Niko is only a 16-year-old little girl, her heart is not as mature as adults, and the guilt makes her unable to hold back for a while, tears fall down, and she said in a trembling voice: "I feel very sorry for you, I can't be of any use, I have failed to live up to your expectations, I..."

"I'm sorry, you seem to have misunderstood something." Chino directly interrupted Niko, his tone was very indifferent, as if he was discussing commonplace, but the second half of the sentence made her tremble unconsciously, "When did I expect you?" ”

When did I expect you?

When did I expect you?

...

Niko's whole person is now clouded, Chino's voice keeps echoing in her head, flickering far and near, even her vision begins to blur inexplicably, and the person in front of her has become a layer of ghosting, as if it will disappear in the blink of an eye.

Chino casually took out a piece of candy from his arms, unpacked it, put it in his mouth and bit it with his tiger teeth, and said calmly: "Actually, I don't want to talk to you about this topic, but since it's already been mentioned, let's talk about it."

"First of all, I apologize to you, I lied to you at the time. In the selection of the Reserve Imperial Guard, I lied to you—that you are no worse than any of them in my opinion—in the selection of the Reserve Imperial Guard. ”

"The first time I saw you, I knew you were very poor. The arm span is short, and the attack range is extremely limited. He is short and has a narrow stride. The weapon is not up to the mark, and it cannot play to the advantage that the sword should have. Covered in the body, from head to toe, I can't find any merit, I don't even know how such a mediocre person as you can get into the reserves. ”

Niko's eyes were already sloppy, tears welled up but she didn't know it, she looked at Chino blankly, her voice confused and helpless: "Then why did you choose me..."

Chino: "The reason I chose you is simple, I don't want people with impure intentions around me. Reservists like those with excellent qualifications must have received the favor of the royal family, and it is impossible for them to be loyal to me anymore. ”

"And a person like you, who is at the bottom of the grades and on the verge of expulsion, has no value in the eyes of the royal family, will not be valued by any minister, and there is room for plasticity, so I will bring you back."

Seeing that Nieko was as sluggish as a statue, Chino gently touched her head, seemingly gentle, but in fact it was a cold, condescending pity: "Silly boy, don't you really think that I see any good in you?" Don't you have a little self-awareness? Do you really feel like there's something in you that deserves my attention? No, non-existent. ”

"So, you said that you lived up to my expectations, and this sentence is fundamentally logically wrong - I never expected you, I just had no choice but to choose you."

Chino's words pierced Niko's heart like a knife, and the whole person was like losing her soul, crying helplessly, now it was obviously the hot red lotus season, but she inexplicably felt chills all over her body, and her body couldn't stop shaking.

"Want to be clearer?" Chino squatted down and looked at Nico at eye level, and said lightly, "You're just a homeless puppy, the previous owner didn't want you anymore, so I picked you up, you just need to eat and drink enough with me, don't bite people, and help me take care of the home every day - if you really want to talk about expectations, my expectations for you are up to this point." ”

"As for other things, those things that are more responsible and more vigorous, I really didn't count on you, so you really don't have to feel guilty."

Niko's face was already full of tears, and she lowered her head and cried and whimpered: "Then why are you still being nice to me... It's good that you keep me like a puppy... Why do you stand up for me in the meeting, why do you send me chills and weep..."