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Chapter 79: Wendy Doesn't Need Pity

"Get up here, you can do it on your own."

Sigurd patted the bed of the wheelchair, saying so.

Bronya began to move closer to Wendy, intending to reach out and lift Wendy, but before she could come any closer, she was stopped by Sigurd using the back of his hand.

Looking at the boy's hand that is placed right over her navel, Bronya gave the only male kid in the room a puzzled look.

Ignoring the questioning look from the smaller girl, Sigurd crossed take back his arm and crossed it, and with an indifferent tone, he calmly said to the girl in the wheelchair:

"Do you want someone to carry you up, or do you want to do it with your own strength?"

Hearing the word, Wendy looked up.

Originally, she had thought that she would see a mocking or contemptuous look on Sigurd's face, the kind of face that the researchers in the Oceania branch would often show to her when they are about to start their experiment, it’s the kind of face who were serious in front of her but actually mocked her behind her back.

But to her surprise, there wasn't.

Sigurd's expression was just cold and indifferent, nothing else, as if he were asking her a very ordinary question.

Despite being ignored by the taller boy, Bronya seemed to understand something, took two steps back, and didn't touch the wheelchair.

Wendy lowered her head and, after a moment, said in a slightly hoarse voice:

"I can do it myself."

After taking a breath, she began to climb onto the platform.

Her body was not originally capable of bearing the Gem of Desire, and the researchers in the Oceania branch apparently didn't have the technology or patience to strengthen her body first before implementing the gem into her body. After the numerous experiments she had experienced, not only she couldn't move her legs, her once powerful arm strength that could wrestle with mechs barehanded was now far weaker than an average person.

Even though it was so close, and the height difference between the wheelchair and the platform wasn't that great, Wendy climbed very slowly.

She moved bit by bit, gritting her teeth, her face turning pale, her breathing trembling, using her weak and feeble arms to move her body onto the platform.

Looking at the scene, everyone is silent, not daring to make a sound.

Even the Raiden Father and Daughter combo, who were both extroverts who like to talk, just watched this scene in silence and didn't say a word.

Raiden Ryoma touched his daughter's hair, looked at the young girl who was trying to climb into the bed, and then at Sigurd's seemingly overly cold and indifferent expression, and sighed.

"My Lord, I think I know why you are so decisive in accepting him."

Previously, Sigurd has brought up the matter of recruiting him into Anti-Entropy and even promoting him to an Executor the first time they met.

With a smile, Welt replied in a very low voice, as if he was afraid of disturbing Wendy's actions:

"I may be bad at other things, but I wouldn't misjudge a person."

While they are talking, Wendy is still struggling to climb, she is both stubborn and incredibly tenacious.

After what seemed like an excessively long time to the onlookers, Wendy finally lay on the platform, panting and staring at the ceiling. Unlike her previous gloomy state, she seemed to have a different aura in her eyes.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Loud applause came from the side. It was Kiana, standing by Sigurd's side, gazing at Wendy with pure joy and admiration on her face, saying, "You're amazing! You're so impressive!"

Then, Bronya gave a slight smile and joined in the applause, neither too fast nor too slow.

Sigurd glanced around, seeing that some of the other people inside the room were also clapping, began to reluctantly join in — he could pretend it was reluctant.

She was the Valkyrie of Schicksal, and she might be in a sorry state, but it didn't diminish her brilliance at this moment.

This was a girl with the ambition to climb the S-rank throne and participate resolutely in dangerous experiments to save the world. She had her pride, and even though she was stuck in the mire, she didn't need condescending pity.

Wendy's face blushed for a moment, perhaps due to her previous efforts or because of the applause at this moment.

Sigurd tossed a clean towel to her and said, "Wipe your sweat. It's about to start... Don't be afraid; no one here will harm you."

Wendy followed his advice, wiped the sweat from her forehead, gave Sigurd a deep look, and then closed her eyes, quietly being placed into the testing device.

A few minutes later, Sigurd flipped through the freshly printed report and casually threw it to Einstein.

He came to Wendy's side and decisively lifted one of her legs.

Without her stockings, her leg was pure white, smooth, with a graceful curve, it’s well-proportioned, and the faint veins beneath the skin indicated excellent health. It was indeed a good leg.

Wendy blushed.

Sigurd squeezed it gently, confirming its excellent texture and elasticity, then asked with an expressionless face, "Do you feel anything?"

Without saying whether she felt anything or not, Wendy's face turned even redder.

Suddenly, Kiana rushed over like a cannonball, pushing Sigurd aside unexpectedly, opening her arms, and, like a mother hen protecting a chick, shielded Wendy.

"Sigurd! I misjudged you! I didn't expect you to be like this! If you want to touch a leg, you can just find me; I would let you touch it all day! How can you do this to Wendy!? Pervert! Disgusting!"

Sigurd, Wendy, Bronya, Welt, and others can only look at the white haired girls in silence, noticing something wrong with what she had said.

"..."

Did she just say something strange as a matter of course?

Sigurd patted the spot where Kiana had touched his clothes, squinting his eyes.

Just as Sigurd was contemplating how to give this stupid tuna a more lasting lesson, Welt appeared behind him and patted his shoulder.

"Ahem! Well, Sigurd, I know you want to understand her physical condition, but she's still a young girl. Shouldn't you be a bit more... you know."

"Fine."

Although to researchers, that leg was just a piece of flesh, Sigurd understood the implication of Welt's words from a broader perspective.

Then, Sigurd pushed Kiana to the side by patting her face and approached Wendy again, saying, "Your situation is quite dire. The Gem of Desire inside your body is overly active, and you don't have the ability to suppress it. If left unchecked, the power of the Gem of Desire will spread from your legs to your upper body, then your hands, and finally your brain. After that, the one looking at the world through these beautiful eyes won't be Wendy, but a new Herrscher."

Wendy, lying on the platform, visibly paled after hearing his word.

"But it's not too late. I will save you. That's my promise."

Sigurd added, in a matter-of-fact and resolute tone.

Wendy fell silent for a moment and then asked, "Are you with Anti-Entropy?"

"Yes."

"You are a little different from what I know."

"What do you know?"

Hearing her words, Sigurd raised an eyebrow.

Wendy seemed to contemplate for a moment and said slowly, "The people of Anti-Entory believe more in cold, heartless machines than in flesh-and-blood people. They are similar to sewer rats, having the both the trait of being despicable and shameless, often resorting to extreme measures, they have a lot of mad scientists amidst their mist, with a Herrschers as their backer, it’s an ambitious and dirty organization."

"Hmm."

Sigurd stroked his chin and looked at Welt, who already had a stiff expression at the not so untrue word.

Then he turned to Wendy and asked, "And now?"

"I... don't know."

Wendy turned her head and looked at the people in the laboratory with a confused expression.

Bronya and Kiana were good people. Whether it was when they brought her out of the Oceania branch or in their recent interactions, they treated her gently.

Sigurd, who appeared cold and unfeeling, had shown her respect — something she had never received since her disability.

The other people... they didn't seem to be as twisted and cruel as the rumors had suggested. In fact, she felt they were much friendlier than many at the Oceania branch.

It was as if she had returned to her hometown rather than being in the heart of an antagonistic organization.

Wendy bit her lip and asked, "Do you... want the core in my body?"

Sigurd nodded and gave a straightforward answer, "Yes."

Wendy's eyes dimmed, she closed her eyes, and let out a long sigh.

"I'm powerless to resist, but I will never betray Schicksal."

"You think too much, Otto and I are old friends. In the time you were away, I even served as the head of the Oceania branch for a while. Well, the point is, I have no intention of making you betray Schicksal or anything like that."

Hearing his words, Wendy blinked her eyes, and with an incredulous look, stared at him like he was insane. "The Archbishop? Really?"

Sigurd took out his phone, and after tapping it for a while, he showed Wendy a photo of himself and Otto taking a selfie side by side, in which the Sigurd in the picture appeared unwilling to have his photo taken, while Otto had a beaming smile on his face.

"...It's photoshopped! I won't fall for it!"

Wendy's expression did waver a bit, but she remained resolute.

Sigurd put away the photo and didn't bother explaining. Instead, he said, "I will go straight to the point, we do want to remove the gem from your body. However, at the same time, we will also heal your body."

"What's the catch?"

"There is no catch, I just want to help"

"I... I won't trust you."

Wendy stuck to her judgment. Even though her actual interactions with Anti-Entropy didn't match her impressions, she wasn't going to trust these people easily.

"In that case, there's no need to force it."

The one who spoke these words wasn't Sigurd but Welt, who had come forward.

With a gentle smile, Welt brushed away the stray hair from the stubborn girl's forehead, ignoring her earlier biased words. He sincerely said, "We don't force you to believe; we just want to save you, that's all."

"What's the catch?"

Wendy asked again.

Welt glanced at Sigurd and repeated with a smile, "We just want to help."

It was an answer with no substance, no convincing reasons or logic.

But for some reason, as Wendy turned her face away, she suddenly felt much more at ease.