"Are we safe?"
"For now, I guess."
The lifeless mansion lit up once again. The three of them gathered together, the atmosphere no longer as tense as it was during the day.
Especially Kiana, who could finally put her heart back in her chest.
She had thought that the hateful Blondie was going to use this opportunity to steal her girl, but it turned out that after a battle of wits and courage, what surfaced was a conspiracy related to the Honkai.
The change in genre was a bit fast, but considering ME Corp and Raiden Ryoma's status, it was all very reasonable.
At Raiden Ryoma's level, it would be strange not to know about the existence of the Honkai.
"What did you say to that girl? What should we do next?"
A Kaslana's muscles always act before her brain. Kiana's eyes were burning as she asked the question she was most concerned about.
Raiden Mei's eyes held concern, reflecting the same question.
Being caught in the situation, they didn't want to be puppets whose lives were not their own.
"I just pointed out some facts to her, to make her see the current situation clearly." Although he said this, Brian's face wore a look of assured victory.
The power of words can be great, or it can be small.
Simply pointing out the facts that Bronya was unwilling to face was not enough to make her change her mind; at most, it would only make her waver.
Humans share a common trait: they all harbor a sense of wishful thinking.
Even if they know the path under their feet is a dead end, they will still have the mentality of "let's give it a try" before they learn their lesson. Bronya Zaychik was just like that, refusing to give up until she hit a dead end, wanting to try regardless of whether it was useful or not.
But combined with the power of mental suggestion, his words took root in Bronya's heart like seeds.
Everything she experienced would become fertilizer for these seeds to grow, until they blossomed and bore fruit.
One lie needs more lies to cover it up.
The more lies, the more loopholes there will naturally be.
The promise Cocolia made to Bronya would soon be shattered by the ironclad facts.
Kiana scratched her head. "I don't get it. Can she help us in any way?"
"Of course. If you can't understand, just think of her as being in a similar position to Raiden Mei."
This single sentence made Raiden Mei's expression flicker.
She hadn't expected that the girl pretending to be disabled was actually the daughter of her enemy.
"Her adoptive mother is Cocolia, Raiden Ryoma's political rival, and the current controller of ME Corp."
"This woman is an ambitious she-wolf, and right now, the power in her hands is at its peak. She's very difficult to deal with."
Brian continued, "But Bronya's situation is different from Mei's, which gives me a chance to break the stalemate. Her mother conducted an experiment some time ago that caused her to lose her sister and her legs."
"..."
The two girls looked at each other.
To think there was such a vicious mother who could heartlessly harm her own daughter.
They thought such things were artistic fabrications, happening in various films and TV shows. They never expected something similar to happen right beside them. It was truly an eye-opener.
"Her only reason for participating in her adoptive mother's plan is to save her sister, nothing else."
Hearing this, Kiana's eyes lit up, and she immediately clapped her hands. "I get it! As long as we rescue that girl's sister, we can make her turn over a new leaf and become one of us!"
Kiana felt she was so smart to have thought of a way to turn a key enemy figure to their side.
Raiden Mei shook her head, a doting look on her face as she watched Kiana.
This silly child, if it were really that easy, they wouldn't be sitting here now, but would be overcoming all obstacles.
"Alright, Kiana, quiet down." Raiden Mei turned her head. "What should we do next?"
Brian: "Bronya's sister is currently trapped in a dangerous place. With our current strength, we can't rescue her yet."
Kiana looked crestfallen. "Aren't you just lying to people then? You can't even save her sister, why should she listen to your empty words?"
After Blondie, Brian now had the label of a liar.
This was the one thing he disagreed with.
"Kiana, what are you talking about?" Young Brian's face was solemn, almost making Kiana think he really had a plan. "This is a reasonable plan for the future, to make her recognize reality and take fewer detours."
"How can you use 'lying' to describe my kindness?"
The light of the righteous path shone upon young Brian.
Without him, Bronya would have been stained as an accomplice, despised by her own sister.
With and without, it was clearly a deed of immeasurable merit!
"..." The snow-haired girl pouted and made a gagging gesture.
This Blondie was truly shameless!
Seeing this, Raiden Mei shook her head helplessly and interjected, "If Bronya reports us to her adoptive mother, what should we do?"
Don't speak of victory, speak of defeat first.
You only live once, you can't afford to gamble.
The correct approach was to think of a retreat plan in advance and be fully prepared.
"Then I'll have no choice but to burn our bridges and bet on my final plan."
Evidence that Cocolia wanted to trigger a Honkai Eruption was hard to find, but the Gem of Conquest in Raiden Mei's body was a solid fact.
If he found a way to spread this news widely, the Valkyries of Schicksal would surely come flocking like sharks that smelled blood.
However, the risk of doing so was too high. It would cause the situation to spiral out of control like a runaway horse, attracting countless people with ulterior motives. It was a choice to be made only at the last moment.
"Okay, we'll listen to you."
For some reason.
Looking at Brian's face, Raiden Mei felt a sincere sense of peace.
It seemed that as long as this man was by her side, no difficulty was insurmountable.
Perhaps rescuing her father would still take some time, but overcoming the current difficulties was not out of reach.
The girl smiled gently, her gaze as soft as water. "You must be tired today too. Let me cook. What would you like to eat?"
The white-haired furball's ears twitched. "I want to eat Mei's handmade omurice!"
"Kiana..." Raiden Mei was filled with helplessness.
----------------------------------
Somewhere in Nagazora City...
"Report the situation to me."
The silver-gray-haired girl did not hold a position here, but no Anti-Entropy member present dared to disobey this seemingly adorable Russian loli.
"Raiden Mei and the others have left. No abnormalities have been detected at present."