Bronya carefully pressed her ear against the door.
Unfortunately, she couldn't hear a thing.
This place had been converted from the former Schicksal HQ, so the doors had excellent soundproofing.
Even Bronya couldn't hear what was happening inside without using her powers.
The wait was nearly killing Little Bronya.
"Weird. Why did she kick us out?"
Bronya was thoroughly confused.
Sirin was right behind Bronya, also trying to listen in.
She didn't dare use her powers to eavesdrop either, terrified that Noldrei would find out and give her a lashing.
"I don't know. She probably kicked us out to have him all to herself, right? That horrible woman, always using her 'official business' as an excuse to monopolize his time. Isn't the Honkai crisis over? What's wrong with everyone enjoying themselves a little?"
Sirin had no interest in changing the future of human society. Her earliest memories were of the painful experiments in the labs. An experience like that would have been explosive even in the industrial age.
Facing emotionless injections of Honkai Energy day in and day out certainly hadn't convinced her that the old society was anything good.
The new world Noldrei had created was a good world, one where everyone spoke the truth.
Since it was already created, what "official business" was there left to discuss?
Sirin couldn't help but ask the person behind her, "Rita, was the Schicksal Overseer always this busy back in the day? Would Miss Amber also speak with Otto in a private room like this, away from everyone else?"
Rita's pupils contracted. She felt this was definitely not a question she should be the one to answer.
Still, she had to explain. "As for whether Miss Amber... had even a shred of affection for Otto, I truly cannot say for sure. I don't know if Miss Amber saw Otto more as a father, or more as... a man, or if it was simply a superior-subordinate relationship."
Sirin pouted. "It's definitely not that simple. Look at Noldrei and that idiot—they're not simple at all. What they say with their mouths and what they feel with their bodies are definitely two different things!"
Rita paused for a moment before saying, "Regarding that sort of thing, you should probably be thinking about Dr. Tesla."
Rita felt that Dr. Tesla was being cheated on spectacularly. If anyone had a claim, it certainly wasn't Sirin. And yet, Sirin was the one who loved to stick to Noldrei the most these days.
Bronya didn't find it strange. At the very least, she couldn't make her own body refuse him.
It wasn't that her dear Seele wasn't good enough, it was just that Brother was a little too amazing.
Bronya was a bit nervous, too. As far as she knew, Kiana hadn't had any overly intimate contact with Noldrei. But both of them were monsters who could perfectly control their own bodies; no feelings, hormones, or anything else could affect their thoughts.
Little Bronya couldn't help but ask, "Sirin, how do you know about this stuff? Have you... experienced something with your own body?"
Sirin couldn't resist firing back a taunt of her own. "Don't ask me, you should worry about yourself. Did you really think you could hide it from everyone? We all know what you're doing at night when you're not in your room!"
Bronya's face flushed crimson. She hastily explained, "I was just playing games! Isn't it perfectly normal to find someone to carry me?"
Seeing the skeptical looks from Rita and Sirin, Bronya couldn't help but shrink back.
"F-Fine... I know this is really embarrassing. But... you don't understand... he's really nice, and so gentle with you. Even if he has a lot of tricks, he can guide you step-by-step, deeper and deeper."
Rita gently raised a hand to stop Bronya. "We don't want to know what exactly you're 'playing'," she said with a sigh. "What Sirin meant was that Seele probably already knows what you've been doing."
Bronya's face instantly went white. She didn't dare think about it any further.
"I should have known. If even a dummy like Sirin knows, then someone as smart and sensitive as Seele must know too. That means Mother Cocolia knows, which means Sin Mal must know as well?!"
Bronya clutched her head and slumped to the floor, her world falling apart.
With just a few sentences, Sirin and Rita had teamed up to take Little Bronya down.
But soon, Bronya rallied. She clenched her fists, her face flushed with rage. "No, Brother will help me! As long as I ask Brother, there's nothing Bronya can't do!"
Rita's lips parted slightly, at a complete loss for words.
Sirin figured this was all because Noldrei spoiled them too much. He had completely ruined Bronya, a former assassin.
"How ridiculous. You're the one who used Noldrei as a substitute, and then you got found out by your best friend."
Sirin mentally plotted her revenge, vowing to find a chance to strike hard and sweep all these freeloaders out the door!
Bronya squatted down again, clutching her head. She couldn't imagine what her image in Seele's eyes had become.
The only saving grace was that the specifics of what she and Noldrei did hadn't gotten out.
Surely Kiana wouldn't stick her eye out to peek every time they did something, right?
'No, she absolutely would do something like that!'
The thought sent Bronya spiraling even further into despair.
She imagined her image in her friends' eyes, how she had been acting all secretive when, in fact, everyone knew everything the whole time.
"Sorry, Bronya can't stay here any longer."
Legs trembling, Bronya walked away, off to who-knows-where to nurse her wounded heart.
Watching Bronya leave, Sirin suddenly felt she might have gone too far.
If her own deepest thoughts were known to everyone, and they were all hiding it from her, Sirin figured she'd probably want to find a hole to crawl into, too.
"Rita, is everything really okay? I saw them go in to talk so long ago. What on earth are they talking about?"
Rita couldn't bring herself to tell Sirin the truth: that as his beloved daughter, her only job was to provide emotional value. Kiana, on the other hand, had to bear the heavy burden of humanity's future.
Saying that would surely make Sirin explode on the spot.
"Mm, it should be fine. Besides, you just need to find more time to spend with him. Don't be anxious. You could try being honest about your feelings; you might get a better response, you know?"
Rita really couldn't bear to tell Sirin the whole truth. It was so rare for the girl to have someone she could truly open her heart to.
But Rita had learned from Dr. Tesla that Noldrei had no intention of staying in this world.
Rita imagined Noldrei going on a "business trip" for several hundred years. By the time he returned, she feared, Sirin might just turn evil all over again.
A joyous expression bloomed on Sirin's face, as if she was already imagining all the wonderful ways she would get along with Noldrei.