Chapter 407: A Familiar Scene
The moment the door was pulled open, a row of round little heads came into view, stacked one atop another from bottom to top right beside the doorway.
Sigurd & Sin Mal: "..."
So who exactly was crouched there eavesdropping?
Kiana, Bronya, Seele, Wendy, and Mei went without saying. They had all grown up together, so being concerned about Sin Mal's condition was only natural.
Senti—well, as a troublemaking kid. Nothing she did was ever surprising. She was probably here mostly just for the spectacle. Book of Fuxi was sitting on top of her head, likely dragged along simply by going with the flow.
Elysia? A pure instigator. Ignore her.
At the very bottom was the tiny Mobius. She was probably here for an experimental follow-up visit, which was also perfectly reasonable.
But—
"Why are you being childish with them too, Fu Hua?"
Sigurd questioned Fu Hua's entire character setup.
At this moment, Fu Hua had half her body draped over Senti's back, while above her sat the smiling Elysia.
In Sigurd's impression, Fu Hua was supposed to be gentle, upright, and mature—the type who served as a teacher to a group of girls. In short, not someone who would join in on childish antics like this.
Fu Hua's face reddened slightly. Before she could say anything, she hurriedly straightened herself from the tightly packed pile of human bodies.
"Wah—!"
"Fu Hua-sensei, don't move around!"
"Balance— Bronya has lost balance—"
"Ah!!"
Amid a bout of pushing and shoving, panicked and frantic screams rang out. Then the group of girls collapsed into a heap on the floor, one on top of another.
Only the Book of Fuxi, relying on her small size and advantageous position, wobbled her way out of the disaster zone. She floated over to Sigurd's shoulder and sat down with perfect composure.
"So much happening first thing in the morning. Little Xuan is exhausted… haa~"
Perched on Sigurd's shoulder, the Book of Fuxi opened her mouth wide and yawned, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. Though she was called a robot, the line between her and a living being had always been rather vague. After undergoing a certain degree of modification and upgrading by Sigurd, even in a physical sense, the Book of Fuxi could be considered a form of life—so things like not getting enough sleep and tearing up naturally happened.
Sigurd turned his head and gently rubbed her head with his finger.
"Is your energy supply still sufficient?"
"Totally fine. I just didn't sleep well… Senti's snoring is a bit loud. Looks like she's having a great time here."
"Want to try a strong sleeping pill? With a high enough dose, even a Fusion Warrior could be put to sleep."
"That sounds like a good idea."
The Book of Fuxi stroked her chin and nodded solemnly.
The great emperor—ahem, Sigurd—didn't have many people around him with whom he could chat so freely, and even fewer who could consistently put him at ease. The Book of Fuxi was one of that very small number.
It was hard to say exactly why. Perhaps this was simply what people called fate.
With Fu Hua and Senti—two top-tier combatants—at her back, the Book of Fuxi certainly had some "capital." But Sigurd didn't really care about that. More likely, it was because they were all, in a sense, guardians—and because the Book of Fuxi had absurdly high emotional intelligence. In the end, though, it probably came down to just two words: kindred spirits.
"Hey! Don't discuss poisoning me right in front of my face!!"
Senti struggled to lift her head from the crowded pile, trying to fight for what little human rights she had left.
However, in front of authoritative guardians, a brat's protest carried very little weight.
Seeing that Sigurd and Book of Fuxi reacted blandly, as if they hadn't heard her objection at all, Senti immediately panicked and instinctively started using force within the pile.
"Ah!!" ×N
Amid a chorus of screams, a flock of girls was sent flying in all directions, scattered far and wide. The scene was rather spectacular.
"(๑‾ꇴ‾๑) Sig, catch me!"
A certain long-scheming tuna seized the opportunity and flew straight toward Sigurd.
Sigurd sidestepped.
Smack!
That was the sound of Kiana's face colliding head-on with the wall—crisp, clean, and unmistakably painful.
"Oww, oww… I can't get up unless Sig gives me a kiss!"
Kiana lay sprawled on the floor with her hips raised, clutching her face and wailing out her plea for affection.
Unfortunately, her performance was far too exaggerated and lacked all credibility. Sigurd ignored her outright. Instead, he lifted his foot and lightly nudged the only one still at his feet—the one-year-old toddler, Mobius.
Because of her disadvantage in height, Mobius had claimed the very bottom spot while peeking at the door earlier. It was a prime position—no pressure, no need to bend down.
But everything has two sides. Once the pile collapsed, that advantageous position turned her into the very bottom cushion, completely buried beneath the crowd.
"Enough, I'm not dead!"
Mobius raised a chubby little hand and declared this in a soft, babyish voice, then calmly stood up as if nothing had happened.
"Ahem! So then—my little lab rat, how's your body doing now? Let me have a look!"
Her round snake-like pupils gleamed as she toddled toward Sin Mal, one unsteady step after another with her tiny feet.
Sin Mal, holding Sigurd's hand, suddenly frowned.
Mobius's physical age limit had been drastically reduced. Even through Sin Mal's uniquely warped perspective, the change was obvious—but essence did not change.
Almost immediately, Sin Mal recognized the culprit who had driven her berserk and even caused harm to Sigurd.
In an instant, her gray left eye was swallowed by pitch-black darkness, some unknown black substance seeping out from within.
"Die."
Sin Mal was a decisive child. She was like this when expressing affection toward Sigurd—and just as much so when delivering a killing blow.
Boom!!
With a thunderous crash, Sin Mal kicked Mobius square in the stomach. It was so fast that almost no one could react in time. The kick carried power far beyond what she'd had before, sending Mobius flying into the wall, smashing straight through it, and vanishing from sight.
"Whoa! You can really bring yourself to hit such a tiny kid? That's way too brutal, right? Don't you think so, Sig?"
Kiana wrapped her arms around Sigurd's waist, deliberately matching Sin Mal's height as she openly badmouthed her.
Sin Mal also clung to Sigurd, assuming a posture of open rivalry. The blackness in her left eye faded away as she shot Kiana a dark look.
"I used my foot, you idiotic tuna!"
"That's really not the point!"
"Keep yapping and I'll kick you out too!"
"Sig, look! She's bullying me!"
Sin Mal's eyes widened as she hurriedly looked up at Sigurd for his reaction. Seeing no displeasure on his calm face, she finally let out a big sigh of relief.
Then she turned back, glaring murderously at Kiana.
"Stupid tuna, you're despicable!"
"Hmph! Since when is there such a thing as 'despicable' in love battles? Victory is the only truth! You're still too green, brat!"
"But Bronya won first!"
Sin Mal puffed out her chest proudly, as if she were honored by the fact.
That line was a direct critical hit.
The fact that Sigurd's first time had been stolen by Bronya through underhanded means was a thorn in Kiana's heart. She couldn't really blame either of them—but Sin Mal deliberately rubbing salt into that wound was no different from lighting a fuse on a powder keg.
"You're asking to die!"
"Hah! You're just a lowly tuna—if anyone's dying first, it'll be you!"
The two roared as they slammed into each other right at Sigurd's feet. Plastic friendship capsized on the spot, and a heated struggle broke out.
Sigh.
The scene was as familiar as ever—and so was Sigurd's reaction.
Ding—ling—ling!
The Herrscher of Rock's core trembled at Sigurd's waist.
As Kiana and Sin Mal froze simultaneously, Sigurd looked down at them from above. His icy eyes held not a shred of mercy.
"AAAAH!!" ×2
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