The deep blue canopy was studded with diamond-dust stars, the Milky Way a swath of scattered silver powder stretching north to south across the night sky.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Meeting unexpectedly at the kitchen door, the white-haired and blonde girls let out a startled cry, their equally perfect cherry-lips simultaneously emitting ear-piercing shrieks.
As an S-rank Valkyrie, Bianka reacted faster. The moment she closed her mouth, she shot her hand forward like lightning.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Her small mouth clamped shut, Kiana made muffled noises. Her eyes, like those of a startled bird, landed on the other girl. As relief washed over her, she flipped her wrists and holstered the already-loaded Guns of Artemis.
She had been wondering who could have bypassed her B-rank detection skill, Feilian, which had been enhanced by her spatial awareness. In her panic, she had been prepared to go down with the intruder.
Bianka's face showed a hint of approval, but she also felt a bit amused.
Who would be on high alert while sneaking a midnight snack? What on earth had this girl been through?
Grrrroooowl—!
The sudden emotional rollercoaster naturally led to calorie consumption. An unfortunate sound once again emanated from the fittest abdomen in Schicksal.
"Ah... I'm so sorry."
Two crimson clouds bloomed on Bianka's pretty face. She released her hand, freeing Kiana's mouth.
The latter blinked her large, sapphire-like eyes and asked tentatively, "Are you hungry too, Sister Durandal?"
Bianka's registered birthday in Schicksal was January 1st, 2000. Theoretically, Kiana should be older than her.
However, for some reason, whenever the girl met her, the word "Sister" would instinctively come out.
Bronya had no objections to this. Who has a figure like that at fourteen? Durandal definitely lied about her age!
"...Yeah, a little."
The knight-girl nodded slightly. Under the bright moonlight, her waist-length blonde hair shimmered with a faint silver glow.
Kiana felt a great sense of warmth from this scene. She said enthusiastically, "This lady is a pro at this! You know us Kaslanas are always in a quantum superposition of being not-quite-full and hungry. Waking up in the middle of the night to forage for food is totally normal!"
As she spoke, she moved aside, pulling Bianka by the hand into the kitchen.
"It used to be Li who made me late-night snacks, but now Mei has programmed the cooking procedures into the Cat Paw Cakes' smart chips. We can just ask them for help!"
"Moyomo!"
Several white-shelled Cat Paw Cakes dressed as chefs hopped out. They held Q-version pots and pans, and their white hats were printed with phrases like "I will enter the kitchen in exchange for a full meal for you!" and "Pots and pans, submit to me!"
Bianka picked up the most lively one and held it in her arms. "What a bunch of cute little things."
"Mei printed the words on their hats," Kiana explained awkwardly. "Her naming taste is, um, a little different from ordinary people."
"Everyone has a different personality. I believe it's fine as long as it doesn't affect normal use."
If Mei were present, Bianka would have definitely engaged in a verbal battle with this love rival.
But since she wasn't, the girl wouldn't stoop to badmouthing her behind her back.
Kiana muttered under her breath, "You haven't seen all the messy sticky notes in the Massive Electric Corp lab..."
Mei had an incredible memory. One of her frequent habits was to first memorize pi to several hundred thousand decimal places, then randomly cut out a segment, reverse the order, and use it as a password, claiming it was very convenient.
When she named equipment and inventions, the names were also dozens of characters long, making the posthumous titles of Shenzhou emperors seem concise in comparison. She could remember them all, but it was a pain for Fuli and the others.
"Sticky notes?"
"It's nothing."
As the saying goes, don't air your dirty laundry in public. Kiana didn't dwell on the topic. Instead, she bent down and hugged the chef Cat Paw Cake modeled after Theresa.
Lifting it high, she rubbed her cheek against it as if showing off. "Sister Durandal, what do you want to eat? Just tell them!"
"Hmm, then I'd like to have—"
Before long, a rich aroma filled the kitchen.
After a veritable feast, the two sisters, full and satisfied, leaned against each other, clutching their five-months-pregnant-looking bellies.
"When Hyperion was first established, Li used to hang a large net made from his Shadow trailing Sword at the stern of the battleship. He could catch a lot of fish with one pull!"
Kiana said excitedly, "He even caught baby whales and dolphins a few times! Phew, I still can't forget the feel of that little orca. It was super cute, squeaking and all!"
Bianka asked with a straight face, "You didn't eat it, right? It's a protected animal."
"Of course not! When we occasionally pass by that sea area, it still brings its mom and dad out to greet us!"
Kiana propped herself up indignantly, then lay back down again.
She had eaten too much and had no energy.
"That's nice."
Bianka murmured softly, "Unlike me, I'm either on a mission or training every day. There are so many beautiful sights, but I don't even have the time to appreciate them."
"In exchange, you've saved a lot of people."
Kiana's eyes sparkled with admiration. "Wiping out all the Honkai incidents on the surface of the entire continent in a month without rest, doesn't that sound totally awesome!"
"It was only around Europe. I can't enter Anti-Entropy and Taixuan Front's territories. I'd be shot down for provocation."
Feeling her stomach settle a bit, Bianka glanced at the clock, which showed the hour hand pointing to 1. She got up. "Let's not talk about this. If we don't go back to sleep, the sun will be up soon."
"Tomorrow—ptui—today is Sunday. We can just sleep in."
Kiana was unconcerned, then realized, "You have another mission?"
"The UN's Disaster Containment Agency has commissioned the Immortal Blades to handle the development of Boundary Slices."
Bianka said, "The Third Honkai Eruption has weakened Earth's spatial barrier again. Recently, many World Bubbles from the Sea of Quanta have 'surfaced' and connected with our world, many of them appearing in densely populated areas."
If it were a major power like one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, or a second-tier regional power, they would more or less have plans and countermeasures for this situation. Many high-level officials were even sharpening their knives, planning to make a fortune, as this was essentially territorial expansion.
But for those strange little countries, this was a complete and utter disaster.
Who knew what the situation was on the other side of the border? Even if it was resource-rich and harmless, the bloodhounds of certain multinational corporations would smell it and come running.
"Uh... ah..."
Seeing Kiana's eyes spinning in circles, Bianka smiled faintly and ruffled her long, straight white hair. "Just think of it as upholding justice for the weak."
Although many of these would fall into Schicksal's hands, Schicksal was at least an anti-Honkai organization.
If certain ambitious people got their way, who knew if these resources would be used against humanity itself.
"I-I see!"
Kiana clapped her hands and stood up with an air of importance. "Then you must get a good rest tonight!"
"Indeed."
The knight-girl snapped her fingers, activating the power of the Immortal Blades.
The residual grease on the dinner plates on the table was decomposed through her ability to manipulate fundamental particles, causing the Cat Paw Cakes to gasp in amazement.
"Mo!"
"Having you guys cook was troublesome enough. I'll take care of the cleaning myself."
With that, Bianka turned and disappeared around the corner with a cool and dashing flair.
"So cool!"
Leaving Kiana behind, staring at her back, wondering when she could be like that.
If I could, I'd definitely make that silly Li fall head over heels for me!
No! Don't get me wrong! It's not like I like Li! This is just naturally showing off my charm as a mature woman!
I just want to see the sight of that usually smug, stinky Li bowing down before my four-dimensional skirt!
"Um?"
"Ah!"
The white-haired Tuna's wandering thoughts were suddenly interrupted. She looked up in a panic to see Bianka returning.
"Um."
"Wh-what is it?"
Scratching her cheek, the knight-princess added awkwardly, "I can't find my way back to the guest room."