"Oh? Is that Big Bronya?"
The moment Mo Wang saw the gray-haired girl in the military uniform, his face lit up. He was about to call out, but then his eyes drifted down to her chest, and his expression soured into one of disdain.
Right, this one couldn't be called Big Bronya.
Compared to her counterpart from the other world, this version seemed to have only grown taller than Seele. Her chest hadn't changed one bit.
How should he put it? If the original Bronya was a pure loli, and Big Bronya was a mature, beautiful woman, then this one was somewhere in between... Medium Bronya, perhaps. She looked to be around eighteen.
At that thought, Mo Wang's brow furrowed as something incredible occurred to him.
In the other world, Bronya had stayed at a height of 147cm all the way until the end of the first act. But five years later, she shot up to 165cm, growing over ten centimeters and blossoming into a mature beauty.
Considering that girls usually stop growing around eighteen, did that mean Bronya had a massive growth spurt of over ten centimeters in just one year?
Did she use the power of the Herrscher of Reason to construct a new body for herself?
Honkai, am I right? It's a magical thing.
What's that? You're asking why I'm not mentioning Gepard standing next to her?
He may be my future brother-in-law, but given that he kept popping up every time I pulled on a banner back in the day, to the point where he's almost at max Eidolons, I've decided to just ignore him.
"Who are you people?! What are you doing here?! And what is your connection to that man, Sampo?!"
The Belobog soldiers raised their weapons and aimed them at Mo Wang's group. From their aggressive stance, it was clear they weren't in the mood for a friendly chat.
"Uh, he's talking to you, Sampo. Friend of yours?" March 7th nudged Sampo, signaling for him to deal with it.
But Sampo just looked around with a bewildered expression. "Sampo? Who's Sampo? Is there a Sampo here?"
Old Sampo was making it clear: the person they wanted was Sampo. What did that have to do with him, a hairless chieftain? He didn't know anyone by that name.
"Stop hiding, Sampo! I'd recognize you even if you were reduced to ashes! Don't think you can get away just because you look like that!"
However, Gepard declared that even if Sampo had turned into an African native, he'd still be able to identify him. That uniquely scummy aura was one-of-a-kind in all of Belobog.
"Seriously, Captain Gepard, you can still recognize me? Are you part bloodhound or something?"
Sampo was stunned that Gepard could see through his disguise. Was his personal charisma really that distinctive?
"Wait, this person is... Sampo?"
What was even more unbelievable was the look of sheer disbelief on everyone else's face after Gepard's instant identification.
This bizarre, gorilla-dark figure, without a decent piece of clothing on his body and not even a single strand of hair on his head, was Sampo?
In the soldiers' minds, Sampo was a complete scoundrel, but he was always impeccably dressed. The man before them looked nothing like the high-end-fashion-wearing con artist they knew.
Bronya frowned slightly, her gaze flicking between Sampo and Gepard, clearly confused. She raised a hand, signaling the soldiers to stand down. "Gepard, are you certain... this person is truly Sampo? He looks... nothing like he used to."
Gepard crossed his arms, nodding with conviction. "Commander Bronya, I'd bet my rank on it. This man is definitely Sampo. He might look like a wildman who just crawled out of a mine, but that sleazy aura is impossible to imitate. No one else in Belobog has it."
Hearing this, the surrounding soldiers exchanged incredulous looks. One couldn't help but mutter, "Captain Gepard, do you have some kind of special detector installed in your eyes? How can you tell?"
"I know, right?" another soldier chimed in. "Sampo used to be a well-dressed swindler, at least. Now he looks like he escaped from some primitive tribe."
Besides marveling at their captain's uncanny Sampo-detector and the man's bizarre new look, the Belobog soldiers felt a flicker of respect for him. After all, not just anyone would be willing to set themselves on fire and run out into a blizzard naked just to avoid a few months in jail. The fact that he was still alive was a miracle in itself.
Hearing the chatter, Sampo rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in exasperation. "Hey, what's wrong with you people? I told you, I'm not Sampo! Why won't you believe me? Besides, even if I were, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover! This is... fashion! Get it?"
The soldiers collectively rolled their eyes in response. If this was fashion, then Belobog would be the capital city of cavemen.
Seeing that no one believed him, Sampo pouted and stroked his bald head with a profound air. "You mortals simply don't understand my artistic pursuits. This is called 'returning to one's roots,' understand? And look at this skin tone! So healthy! So vibrant! Much better than you lot hiding in your armor all day."
"Cut the crap, Sampo," Gepard interrupted with a snort. "No matter what you look like, you're not getting away today. Start talking. Why are you here? And who are these people with you?"
"Well, about that..."
Sampo glanced at March and Mo Wang, then suddenly threw himself at Mo Wang's leg and started wailing.
"Captain Gepard, sir! These are my family! If it weren't for them, I would've died out here!"
"The hell?"
Sampo's utter lack of shame left not just Mo Wang, but everyone present, completely dumbfounded.
"Hey, who's your family?! Don't you dare make things up! We just met less than half an hour ago! Get off me! I'm warning you, I'll get physical!" Mo Wang raised his hand threateningly.
"Hey, hey, don't go claiming random relatives!" Mo Wang tried to shake him off with a disgusted look, but Sampo clung to his leg like a piece of chewed gum, still howling.
"As they say, to meet is fate! And if it's fate, how are we not family? Captain Gepard, you must see the truth! These people are my family! Without them, I would have frozen to death in this wasteland!"
You had to hand it to him; as a veteran follower of Elation, Sampo threw his dignity away with remarkable decisiveness. Even Mo Wang had to admit he couldn't pull off such a shameless act of latching onto strangers.
The soldiers looked on, speechless. "That guy's skin must be thicker than the walls of Belobog," one of them muttered.
Bronya's brow furrowed. She looked from Mo Wang to Sampo, then said coldly, "I don't care if you're his accomplices or not. Since you were with him, you'll all return to Belobog for questioning."
"Wait!" Mo Wang yelped. "We're innocent! We just met this guy, we don't even know his name! Arrest him if you want, but don't drag us into it!"
"Yeah, yeah!" March chimed in. "We were just passing by! We have nothing to do with this... this burnt dude!"
But Bronya wasn't buying it. She waved her hand, signaling the soldiers to move in. "Say what you will, but you're coming with us first. If you are truly innocent, you will be released after the investigation."
"Chotto matte!"
Just as the soldiers were about to advance, Mo Wang yelled out. The soldiers instinctively paused.
They watched as Mo Wang glanced down at Sampo clinging to his leg, then swung his fist.
POW!
The force of the blow sent Sampo flying in a perfect arc. He skidded across the snow for a good ten meters before crashing into a tree. He lay there, butt in the air, twitching occasionally. If not for that, everyone would have thought he was dead.
"Wh-what was that for?"
Bronya and the others stared, stunned, at the airborne Sampo. Were these people really his accomplices? A punch that hard could have been fatal. Okay, the guy's a menace, but he didn't deserve to be killed on the spot.
"Y-You... what did you...?" Sampo raised a trembling hand and pointed at Mo Wang. Honestly, that punch had been a bit much. His face was nearly caved in.
"What do you mean, 'what'?! I'm telling you, I knew you were no good from the start! I can't believe how wicked you are! We saved your life, and you try to drag us down with you? And you dare spout nonsense in front of these fine officers! I'm already showing you mercy by not killing you on the spot!"
Mo Wang turned to Bronya with a righteous expression. "Commander, since he called me family, we cannot compromise with such an evil-doer. I am now disowning him for the greater good and handing him over to you. Please, you have to believe us! We're just ordinary passersby! If we had known he was such a heinous criminal, we would have never saved him!"
"Y-You... you...!" Sampo stared at Mo Wang, utterly flabbergasted. He couldn't believe someone so shameless could exist.
Mo Wang met his gaze with a cool glance. You're the one who tried to sell us out first. Don't blame me for returning the favor. Besides, it's better you than me. Sacrificing one Sampo to save four of us is a pretty good deal. I'll just be sure to burn some extra paper money for you next year. Rest in peace, Sampo-senpai. We will remember your sacrifice.
"Actually, it wasn't quite that serious," Gepard said, looking as bewildered as everyone else.
"Ahem, while it seems you aren't his accomplices, we don't have the authority to pass judgment here. Therefore, we must still take all of you back with us."
"We're still getting arrested?! Didn't we just prove we have nothing to do with him? Why?!" March protested. If they were going to be arrested either way, what was the point of all that?
"Uncle Yang, do something! Say something, Uncle Yang!" March finally seemed to remember Welt, who had been AFK for a while.
But Welt just looked at her with a melancholic expression.
Sorry, the Welt you have dialed is currently shut down. Please try again later...
Okay, that was a joke. But it was true that Welt had mentally checked out. The sight of Bronya had triggered something akin to PTSD. He couldn't wrap his head around why there was a Bronya on this planet.
He knew about parallel worlds and that there were alternate versions of people he knew—hell, there was a parallel Himeko on his own train—but Bronya was different.
The moment he saw her, Welt felt like an employee slacking off who had just run into his boss.
"Don't panic. Let me think of something," Welt said, finally coming back online. He was about to use his legendary powers of persuasion to resolve the situation.
Unfortunately, he seemed to have forgotten that the biggest troublemaker in their group was far more problematic than the soldiers in front of them.
"Hah! I've had it with you people! We try to be nice, and you just walk all over us!" Mo Wang roared. "You want a fight?! Then come and get it!"
He raised his hand, and the Might of An-Utu materialized in his grasp.
BOOM!
A pillar of fire erupted from the greatsword, and in that instant, the blizzard raging around Belobog vanished. In its place, the ground, stripped bare by the intense heat, was revealed to all.