"Are you perhaps jealous, Theresa?"
Seeing Theresa act this way, Himeko couldn't help but find it amusing.
"O-Of course not!" Theresa certainly wasn't going to admit it. "Why would I be jealous of him? I am Cecilia's best friend!"
"That's good, then. It all happened over a decade ago anyway. Don't worry about it too much. Just think of it as watching a romance movie," Himeko said.
"Hmph..."
---o---
In the vision, after Siegfried brought the unconscious Cecilia back to the small cabin he was temporarily living in, he placed her on the bed to rest while he spent the night sleeping in a chair.
The next morning, Cecilia finally woke up.
"Where... is this?"
Cecilia opened her eyes in a daze.
Seeing that she was finally awake, Siegfried happily leaned in.
"This is my place. I saw you injured and collapsed in the wild last night, so I brought you back. Don't worry, I absolutely did not do anything improper to you."
"By the way, my name is Siegfried. I'm a private detective, I guess. You haven't eaten anything, so if you're hungry, I have some fish soup I made."
"...Th-Thank you, Mr. Siegfried."
Cecilia accepted the fish soup in a bit of a daze. After just one sip, her pretty face immediately twisted into a mask of pain.
"...So sour."
Watching this, Kiana couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy. She knew that Siegfried's cooking skills couldn't be described as merely "terrible." When she was young, she had suffered from it more than a few times, which forced her to learn how to cook at a young age. Otherwise, she would have starved to death.
"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Cecilia. I was wondering if you've seen my two companions?"
After finishing the fish soup, Cecilia finally remembered what had happened the previous night and asked hastily.
"I only saw you. By the way, what happened to you last night?" Siegfried scratched his head.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you what happened..."
Hearing that Siegfried hadn't seen her companions, Cecilia was a little disappointed, but she could only pray silently for their safety.
"Oh, well, forget it. I hate getting dragged into trouble anyway. It's safe here, so you can just rest and recover," Siegfried said.
"No, I still have a mission. I must return to headquarters immediately..."
Cecilia shook her head and, forcing her body to move, sat up from the bed.
"Is a mission more important than your own life? Ugh... I hate that more than anything."
Siegfried's expression turned a little grim, as if he had recalled some bad memories. He turned back to Cecilia and said, "How about this? I'll take you to that headquarters of yours. You're injured and have no money. It would take you a long time to get there on your own, right?"
"But that would be too much trouble for you..." Cecilia tried to refuse, but Siegfried didn't give her the chance, stating firmly, "Hehe, it's no problem. Escorting people is part of a private detective's job. Just pay me what you owe me when we get to our destination."
And so, at Siegfried's strong insistence, Cecilia could only agree. She even changed into a new set of clothes he gave her, and to avoid causing him any trouble, she cut her long hair short.
"Ah! Cecilia!"
When she saw Cecilia cut off her own long hair, Theresa completely blew up.
A girl's hair is her second life!
That damned Siegfried!!!
If Siegfried dared to appear in front of Theresa right now, she would absolutely let him have a taste of Judah.
However, Kiana's reaction was different. She looked at Siegfried with a face full of admiration.
"Wow, that stinky old man is such a good flirt! And Mom is so innocent! No, the next time I see him, I have to learn some of his skills. If I do, then Mei and Class Monitor... hehe... hehehe 🤤🤤."
Forgetting where she was, Kiana started drooling as some questionable thoughts filled her head.
However, Kiana forgot that while she was muttering quietly, there wasn't a single ordinary person present.
Furthermore, they had all been training in the Sword of Taixuan, and their five senses were incredibly sharp. Thus, her quiet muttering was heard by everyone.
Raiden Mei looked at Kiana with a mixture of happiness and melancholy.
She knew it. Kiana was not a woman she could keep to herself.
Kiana always said things like "I like Mei the most" and "I want to drink Mei's 'juice'," but what was the result?
While she was working hard cooking at home, Kiana was out all day fooling around with the Class Monitor. A classic case of eating from the bowl while eyeing what's in the pot.
Sigh... but what could she do?
She was just a cook, after all.
Nearby, Fu Hua's heart was also in turmoil.
She thought of Kiana as a classmate, as a disciple, but it turned out Kiana had... other ideas about her?
To be honest, although Fu Hua had lived for so many years, she was a complete novice among novices when it came to matters of the heart.
First, her reputation as the Celestial Chiyuan was widespread. The people of the world only felt admiration and respect for her. Who would dare commit such a great offense as to express romantic feelings for her?
Second was the matter of her lifespan. A mortal's life lasted for a mere hundred years, while she was untouched by the passage of time. A century was but a fleeting moment to her. Under such circumstances, who could possibly walk alongside her all the way?
Therefore, Fu Hua had never once considered that she would experience love like an ordinary person. From the very beginning, she had only one mission: to fight against the Honkai.
And Kiana actually had other ideas about her... This was somewhat unbelievable to Fu Hua. They were both girls, weren't they!?
Ignoring the chaotic thoughts of Kiana and the others, the vision continued.
It had to be said, Siegfried's flirting skills were truly top-tier.
He said he was escorting Cecilia back to Schicksal headquarters, but on the way, he took her out on a date.
They went to many places, like a bookstore, a clothing store, and a flower shop. They even ate ice cream. These were all things Cecilia had never experienced back at Schicksal.
From a young age, all she had ever known was training and completing missions.
Siegfried's guidance had undoubtedly opened the door to a new world for her, causing her to temporarily forget her mission and just have fun with him.
They even went to an arcade together. Siegfried had always thought he was good at games, but Cecilia, playing for the first time, completely demolished him.
This, while surprising and frustrating Siegfried, also caused a special feeling for Cecilia to slowly blossom within him.