"It's fine, it's fine. I can tell Sister Mobius doesn't mean any harm to me." Kiana waved her hand with an air of naive innocence, casually placing Mobius on a pedestal.
Truth be told, her mom had already warned her about what kind of person Mobius really was. Even with her leftover fondness from past lives, it wasn't like she'd lose all sense just at the sight of her.
The system didn't exactly have a feature to check someone's favorability meter directly.
But maybe her intuition was just sharper than most.
She could genuinely sense the difference between good and ill intent. And naturally, she could tell that Mobius was… surprisingly better than she'd imagined.
Besides!
Didn't you see? When Kiana responded to Blanca like that—Mobius's lips curved upward by a whole pixel.
See?
No matter how tough the snake talks, her kisses are still soft.
She loved it.
As she spoke, Kiana subtly observed both Blanca and Mobius.
Her distant older cousin looked like she'd just graduated from university—familiar light blue mid-length hair, though compared to Mobius, she seemed a bit more gentle and refined. She certainly carried herself like an intellectual researcher.
Don't think that just because Blanca had been working as an assistant in Mobius's lab for years, she wasn't capable.
Kiana remembered: this older sister had dual master's degrees from a top university. She'd finished her studies years ahead of schedule in her early twenties—already something of a prodigy.
Besides, everyone knows how Miss Snake is.
Even though her institute is always hiring, if you're not capable enough to keep up with her pace, she won't keep you as an assistant, much less spare you a second thought.
Looking at the story of the Previous Era, the only ones Mobius ever really cared about were Blanca, Mei, and Klein.
And with Mei, they simply pursued different paths—Mobius let her go willingly.
But Blanca? Stolen away by Ato. Just the thought of it made her grind her teeth.
That alone shows how highly she valued Blanca.
Today, Blanca wasn't wearing a lab coat.
It might sound like a stereotype, but even Mobius, who wore that same outfit year-round, knew to dress a little more casually when meeting Kiana.
Blanca had put on a light touch of makeup.
Her lovely features looked soft and gentle.
She had an excellent figure—just look at Older Griseo and you'd know.
It's all in the genes.
Though compared to Miss Snake beside her… well, she still fell a little short.
Today, Miss Snake wore a women's suit, a pencil skirt, and black stockings that hugged her long, beautiful legs—absolutely mesmerizing.
Kiana knew perfectly well: in the original story, her smaller size was a side effect of being a MANTIS, and being killed over and over by Kalpas.
Reviving again and again, shrinking each time.
What a shame.
This grown version of her was unmistakably a mature beauty—curves in all the right places, with a hip line to die for.
Though it seemed like she didn't exercise much, maybe carrying a little softness around the waist—but nothing you'd call chubby.
While Kiana had some interest in Blanca, most of her curiosity was directed at Mobius. So even though both she and Mobius were sitting right there, Kiana found herself stealing more glances at Mobius.
Mobius, of course, could feel Kiana's eyes on her.
And she was studying Kiana right back.
Shoulder-length silver-white hair, a slender figure—but unlike her build, her… assets were far from modest.
Perhaps sensing Kiana sneaking looks at her legs, Mobius deliberately, almost casually, crossed them, even shifting slightly to give her a clearer view.
The corner of her mouth lifted uncontrollably.
In the end, only Blanca kept dutifully explaining her and Dr. Mobius's purpose for visiting—which didn't surprise Kiana at all. In fact, multiple groups had already reached out to her beforehand.
So.
She wasn't really listening.
Noticing that Dr. Mobius seemed distracted too,
Blanca couldn't help but sigh.
She looked even more frustrated.
Seeing her pout and fall silent, Mobius finally chuckled softly, turning a smiling gaze toward Kiana.
"So, how does it feel?"
"How does what feel?" Kiana played dumb—or maybe she was pretending to.
Her confused expression only made Mobius's smile widen.
"Being exposed as Fire Moth's savior, the future Herrscher of Finality… How does it feel?"
Mobius had endless patience for Kiana. "Oh, and you're not like those ordinary people who have no idea Honkai exists in this world, are you?"
"No, I know."
Kiana shook her head slightly.
She glanced at Mobius and Blanca.
Thoughtfully, she said, "It feels… pretty whatever. At least for me, I'm still me. What happens in the future… that's future-me's problem."
Her mother wasn't with her.
Almost as if to avoid something.
So, in this living room, it was just the three of them.
Clearly, Mobius wasn't satisfied with Kiana's textbook answer.
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "I'm asking how you feel. Right now. Tell me, okay?"
The truth was, that's how higher-ups always were.
They wanted to feel reassured, yet they never truly could be.
They claimed to want to maintain the status quo, yet they always craved total control over every variable.
Aside from her own agenda, the top brass also wanted Mobius to engage more with Kiana.
From her expert perspective, they wanted a profile: what was Kiana's current mental state?
Was she manageable?
Did they need to consider… other measures?
Kiana understood perfectly.
Even if some believed a gentle approach was better, there would always be those who insisted on stricter methods.
Just like in that Naruto storyline she'd seen in her past life.
The Third Hokage might have successfully trained Naruto into obedience, but Danzō still didn't trust him.
Never mind whether the Third was genuinely two-faced or just limited by his circumstances and forced to compromise, resulting in Naruto's miserable childhood.
Everyone thinks differently.
Even if you told them that showing hostility would only push Kiana further toward corruption—that if the darkness in her grew too strong, she'd still become the world-ending Herrscher of Finality—after the initial panic faded, they suddenly thought they had it under control.
'A little testing the waters couldn't hurt, right?'
'Just probe a bit, find the bottom line. As long as we don't cross it, it should be fine, shouldn't it?'
Kiana saw right through it.
Even Mobius looked down on it.
Mobius had never intended to seriously carry out the higher-ups' task.
So no matter what Kiana said, she'd already prepared her report.
The reason she asked was purely out of personal curiosity.
A future Herrscher of Finality, a destined Herrscher vessel—what would change once she became aware of her own identity?
She was fascinated.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.