Chapter 165: Bronya: We're Going to My Auntie
Learning that the real Kiana was not only alive but had grown into Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie, a righteous and excellent child, Siegfried felt completely reborn. He spent the entire day with a boyish grin on his face.
The next day, after lending the Might of An-Utu to Second Silverwing, a content Siegfried planned to leave.
This time, there was no disappearing without a word, so…
Kiana grabbed Siegfried's empty sleeve, her tone stubborn and determined. "I finally found you! Don't think you can just dump me again!"
"Ahaha…"
Siegfried, a repeat offender, broke out in a sweat. He then reached out and patted Kiana's head.
"Kiana, Daddy's not going anywhere this time. I'm just going to see your Uncle Ryoma."
"Then I'm going with you, you stupid old man!" The little white-haired girl wriggled free from Siegfried's rough hand, shaking her head defiantly.
"Then what about Bronya, Silverwing, and Mei?"
Siegfried's words made the Kiana-slob pause. She turned her head to look at the two girls watching them.
Dad, or wifeys?
This was a serious and difficult choice.
"Of course I'm staying with Silverwing and Mei!"
The little white-haired girl flew over to the two of them. As for Bronya?
She was just a bonus that came with Silverwing!
"But, stupid old man, you can't leave either!" Kiana then put her hands on her hips and shouted bossily.
"Kiana, Daddy promises, I absolutely, definitely won't run away again, okay?"
With a pleading smile, Siegfried coughed twice and put on a serious expression when the little girl shot him a suspicious look. "In the name of Kaslana, I promise you! As long as you contact me and I see it, I will definitely reply properly!"
Although this statement had the potential for a loophole—if he didn't look at the messages, he wouldn't have to reply—the simple-minded Kaslanas wouldn't play such games.
"I'm just going to your Uncle Ryoma to get my body checked out."
To say "checked out" was an understatement. Second Silverwing had noticed the abnormality in Siegfried's body when she fought him with Project Bunny.
The Kaslana genes that had been activated during the Second Honkai War were still beyond Siegfried's control. Half of his body was a deathly white, with ominous purple and blue patterns intertwining with a faint glow in his veins.
Now, Siegfried had made up his mind. He had to heal his body and strive to master that power.
Only then could he protect his two daughters in the future and not let that kind of thing happen a second time!
"Well, okay then."
Hearing her dad make a promise in the name of Kaslana, a pouting Kiana finally relaxed and broke into a cheerful, lively smile.
Staying with Silverwing and Mei, and being able to contact her dad whenever she wanted—it was perfect!
"Miss Silverwing, I'm entrusting Kiana to you," Siegfried said with great solemnity.
"Of course, of course~"
"This young lady will protect Silverwing!" the white-haired girl declared, patting her chest with zero self-awareness.
After Siegfried left, Mei looked at the silver-haired girl with a hint of anticipation and asked:
"What are we going to do next? Should we follow Mr. Siegfried's suggestion and go find Kiana's great-aunt?"
Regarding their next destination, Mei had asked for her father's opinion.
Raiden Ryoma also believed that compared to Anti-Entropy, with its complex internal factions and the immense external threat from Schicksal, Schicksal's Far East Branch, currently under Theresa's leadership, was a more suitable place for Mei and Kiana.
"No."
Lying back on the sofa, the silver-haired girl crossed her slender, white-stockinged legs and shook her head with a light laugh.
Although the den of devils, St. Freya Academy, was excellent at cultivating Herrschers, and for Mei and Kiana, it was one of the most accessible and suitable places to get stronger at the moment, it had to be said that the atmosphere at St. Freya was far too relaxed.
If they were going there to experience the life of a Valkyrie and enjoy their youth, it was a good choice.
But with various disasters and trials looming in the future, playing house at St. Freya would be a waste of time. Otto's gambit, relying on the bonds between people, was brilliant but too slow.
Second Silverwing didn't have that kind of patience, not only because the growth rate was slow, but also because if they were happy and relaxed now, they would inevitably have to compress their growth into a very short period in the future.
They needed a profound and painful experience, an encounter that would lead to a complete awakening, to pull them out of their peaceful, beautiful dream.
In the original story, those moments were the Final Lesson and Lament of the Fallen.
Second Silverwing didn't want the two of them to experience that kind of painful, overnight growth, so she needed to make use of the "playing house" time in the early stages.
Therefore, St. Freya Academy was a pass.
Anti-Entropy was also not an option, and its numerous internal factions were only one of the reasons.
Tesla and Einstein were undoubtedly titans of physics and could help a Herrscher elevate their control over their authority, but to have the Kiana-slob and Mei learn spatial physics and electromagnetism…
The difficulty of that was no less than pulling a random person from the world of Jujutsu Kaisen and teaching them to cultivate with the goal of defeating Sukuna.
It would be a miracle if they could grow strong quickly!
So, Anti-Entropy was also a pass.
That left only one option!
Although World Serpent's corporate culture didn't align with the trio's ideals, there was a place within World Serpent that was a perfect fit!
Snap~!
The silver-haired girl snapped her fingers crisply, her lips parting in a smile.
"We're going to my auntie."
"?"
Kiana blinked. "Silverwing's auntie?"
"??"
Mei's gaze darted around. "Wouldn't that be Bronya's auntie?"
"???"
Question marks popped up in unison, with Bronya, in the background of the body, being the most bewildered.
Auntie?
When did she get an auntie?
"That's right. Wait a moment, I'll go contact her."
With that, the silver-haired girl shifted, slipped her small, delicate feet into pink canvas slippers, and hopped off the sofa, running upstairs towards Bronya's room.
[Wait, Silverwing, does Bronya have an auntie?] the little duck quickly asked in the mental channel.
Her mother had a sister?
Why had she never heard of it?
"Mhm, not a blood-related aunt, but she and our mother, Alexandra, shared a very deep experience. We were even able to be born into this world thanks to her."
When Cecilia threw the Lance of Longinus, her Stigma reached its limit, and for a brief moment, she transcended the Herrscher of the Void, breaking down all barriers between reality and the Sea of Quanta, thus transforming the Stigma space into a near-human form that manifested in the world—Misteln Schariac.
"It's a very complicated matter. I'll explain it to you in detail later. But you should prepare yourself."
[...Alright.]
Bronya replied after a long silence. She never expected to have such a 'relative' in the world.
She, of course, completely trusted the words coming from her future 'self'.
The silver-haired girl returned to her room, found a communicator, and skillfully dialed a hidden frequency.
Before her death, their mother had entrusted the duckling to Misteln's care. Now, for her 'self' to go to her with her good friends in tow, wasn't that just a matter of course?
...
Meanwhile, in a certain World Serpent base.
Gray Serpent was formulating his next plan.
"That Cocolia woman has completely lost her usefulness."
There was a hint of regret in his hoarse voice.
Although for the conservative faction of Anti-Entropy, Cocolia's imprisonment and ruin was a great thing, for a hidden player like Gray Serpent, losing such a useful, and indeed effective, scoundrel who had been thoroughly exposed and had no chance of recovery, was quite a setback.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Raven to support her in the first place.
But what was done, was done.
Without Cocolia, World Serpent could still achieve its goals if it wanted to; it would just take more time and effort.
It was just a shame about the Nagazora City plan.
World Serpent had many plans in the works, but the one Gray Serpent was primarily responsible for, and the most important one, was the return of the Lord.
To free the Lord from his seal deep within the Sea of Quanta required an immense amount of Honkai energy.
The best source for that level of energy was undoubtedly a Herrscher Core or Gem.
The Gem of Conquest and the Core of the Herrscher of Thunder were the reasons Gray Serpent had cooperated with Cocolia.
Gray Serpent was thinking.
World Serpent's intelligence network was everywhere. There were World Serpent moles in both of the major public organizations, so Gray Serpent knew the location of the Herrscher Gems.
Back when Sirin's 'inheritance' was divided, Anti-Entropy obtained the Gem of Conquest and the Core of the Herrscher of Reason, which already belonged to them, while Schicksal got all the rest.
The Gem of Desire was in New Zealand, and the Gem of Serenity and Gem of Haste were at Schicksal HQ.
The Gem of Conquest was with Raiden Mei, and that Schicksal experimental subject, K-423, had the Core of the Herrscher of the Void.
Compared to the ones at Schicksal, these two little girls were obviously much easier targets.
But the mysterious silver-haired girl who was always with them, with her strange and unpredictable methods, made Gray Serpent wary.
Still, even so, an individual was easier to deal with than the massive, well-established Schicksal, with that old fox at its helm, right?
"Beep beep."
A sudden communication alert interrupted Gray Serpent's thoughts.
"An unknown communication?"
His electronic eye flickered. Gray Serpent found it strange.
As a hidden organization, World Serpent's communication channels should be extremely secure and private. Other than World Serpent executives, there should theoretically be no unknown communications.
Although he was cautious, out of curiosity, he accepted the call.
The moment the video connected, Gray Serpent froze.
The reason was the iconic, milk-scented voice coming from the other end, delivered with the air of a yakuza princess.
"Ohoho, is this Mr. Gray Serpent? This is Bronya, desuwa~!"
"I'm planning on taking my two girlfriends to go see my dear auntie. Could you be a dear and connect us~?"
Gray Serpent: "?"
Little Duck: "?"
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