Chapter 107: The Butterfly Flaps Its Wings
"I didn't expect you to find her so quickly." Theresa walked over and patted Irene's hand. "You did a good job. I thought you were going to be out for another twenty days or so."
"I guess I was just lucky." Irene stretched her back lazily. "I didn't really have to fight much; it was smooth sailing all the way, and the outcome could be considered perfect."
Moreover, she had severely pressured a certain someone. Hmm, conservatively speaking, Kevin definitely wouldn't be coming back within this year. After all, he had been nagged by everyone in the Elysian Realm.
Kevin... if he didn't bring Griseo back this time, he probably wouldn't be able to come back at all. However, regardless of whether Kevin returned at the original point in time, it wasn't a big problem. After all, there were no enemies that specifically required Kevin's help to solve.
Or rather, Kevin was actually the biggest enemy, so if he came back a bit later, it really wouldn't be a big issue.
Besides, Kevin should have a sense of time in his own heart; he wouldn't truly stay away forever just because he couldn't find Griseo. Griseo was important, but helping humanity break free from the Honkai was even more important.
This was Kevin's obsession, and even more so, the promise he had made to everyone. For this cause, he could endure the cold shoulders of all, become enemies with everyone, and that included giving up on searching for Griseo.
However, what was certain was that Kevin definitely wouldn't come to disturb them for now.
"So how did you fish this child out?" Theresa glanced at Seele. "Didn't you say you might not be able to bring anyone back with you?"
" luck, I suppose. I found a gap." Irene took off her trench coat. "And my exact words at the time were that I 'might' not be able to bring anyone back. That is a very important distinction."
"In any case, it's a good thing the person is back. It saves us from having to go back in to fish her out again."
Theresa casually took the trench coat and spread it over the back of the sofa. "You didn't just find her right at the start, and then spent these past few days wandering around inside the Sea of Quanta just to find an opening to send this child back, did you?"
"Sort of." Irene shrugged, offering no further explanation. "Why waste that effort? Direct person-to-person retrieval service—remember to give a five-star review next time."
"It looks like that's exactly what happened. I really don't know what to say about you." Theresa looked up at Irene. "I get the feeling this was also something you had already calculated."
"Forget it, this isn't bad either. If you weren't this kind of person, you wouldn't have come to help us, right?"
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Irene looked down at Theresa. "What is it? Is this the first day you've known me? Achieving the best possible ending as much as possible—that is what I like."
"...It's nothing." Theresa shook her head. "By the way, should Seele call Bronya 'Elder Sister'? But looking at this height and body type, you can't really tell, can you?"
After all, looking at it now, Seele was actually taller than Bronya, and... Theresa reached out and gestured; her figure was probably bigger than hers and Bronya's combined.
"Tsk..."
"Aiya, people have their own ways of addressing each other." With a smile on her face, Irene picked Theresa up and placed her on the sofa to the side, so as not to disturb the long-awaited reunion of the pair.
"Seele..." Bronya raised her head slightly, looking at Seele, whose eyes were welling up with tears. Her originally emotionless face also carried an excitement and relief that could not be suppressed.
"Bronya has finally found you. Next time we play hide-and-seek, don't hide in such a faraway place again."
"Mm." Seele nodded vigorously, hugging Bronya tightly in her arms. "Seele will absolutely never hide in such a faraway place again."
After they embraced, Bronya looked up at Seele again. After a moment of silence, she spoke: "Is Seele interested in going to the seaside to play now? Bronya can take Seele to see the sea this time."
"Mm, of course." Seele nodded immediately. Although they had traveled by sea when returning with Irene, different people would always bring different scenery.
Moreover, their promise back then was to go see the sea together. She wanted to go with Elder Sister Bronya.
"Mm." Upon hearing Seele's answer, Bronya nodded, but then she remembered something and turned to look at Theresa. "Um, Principal, Bronya wants to ask for a day off today. Is that okay?"
"If I didn't agree at a time like this, I would definitely be killing the mood." Theresa looked at Bronya and spread her hands. "Give me a leave request note later. Uh, or giving it to Irene works too."
"Oh, right. While you two are still here, let me ask tentatively." Theresa rubbed her hands together, her gaze sweeping over the Stigmata on Seele's chest.
"I wonder if Miss Seele has time to come to my St. Freya Academy as a student?"
"A student?" Seele looked at Bronya beside her. Seeing Bronya nod, she then looked at Theresa and nodded. Elder Sister Bronya wouldn't trick her.
Besides, with her Elder Sister Bronya here, enrolling wouldn't be a big problem for her. As for Cocolia Mama's side... mm, that could only be discussed when the time came.
"Alright. Whenever you come back, just come to the office to find me." Theresa nodded happily. A Stigmata Awakened—she could ask Grandpa for a bit more funding again.
Although Grandpa didn't seem very reliable, and might not necessarily be reliable in the future, Theresa didn't hesitate in the slightest to take money from his pocket right now.
"I'll personally handle your enrollment. As for your room..." Theresa turned back to look at Irene, who was hugging her. "Speaking of which, Irene, are there any spare rooms here?"
Ever since Irene moved in, Irene and Mei had been handling the housework. They probably knew the structure of this villa even better than Himeko herself.
"You're asking me about this?" Irene tilted her head, but still pointed towards the interior of the room. "There are two more rooms, but we still have to ask Himeko."
"Oh, if it's Himeko, it doesn't matter." Theresa waved her hand. She would just explain the situation then, and Himeko would agree. Anyway, one person makes it lively, two people make it lively; they never emphasized breaking up couples.
Naturally, they wouldn't plan any forced evictions. Although Himeko always emphasized that she was straight, Himeko also understood that in a place like Schicksal, there weren't necessarily many straight Valkyries, but there were definitely a handful that swung the other way.
"Alright, if there are no other problems, I won't disturb you two going to the seaside to play." Theresa jumped down from Irene's embrace. "I'm going to work."
"I wish you a smooth session of slacking off today." Irene gave a parting instruction to Theresa, who was heading out with the Oath of Judah on her back. Then she turned around, just preparing to fish the remote control out of the sofa crevice.
Anyway, if she calculated the time, she was still on vacation today. There was absolutely no need to attend class; she could slack off to her heart's content.
Bronya looked at Irene, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Does Sister Irene want to come along?"
"Hmm?" Irene, who had just turned on the TV, tilted her head, thinking, Why are you dragging me along on your little couple's date? I'm not a lightbulb. "You two just go and have fun."
"Don't worry about me. Just have a good time."
"But it was Sister Irene who allowed Seele and Elder Sister Bronya to reunite." Seele also looked at Irene. "So..."
Before Seele could finish speaking, Irene stood up from the sofa. She walked over, and under the expectant gazes of the two, Irene picked both of them up single-handedly and carried them outside the house.
Subsequently, under their puzzled gazes, Irene put them down and ruffled their hair. "If you want to thank me, throw me a separate party later."
She then turned around in their line of sight. Just as she was about to step into the room, she suddenly turned her head to look at Seele again. "Are there any decorations you prefer? I'll tidy up a room for you later."
"Eh? Sister Irene, no need..." Before Seele could finish, she saw Irene wave her hand at them.
"I won't disturb your little gathering anymore. Have fun." After speaking, Irene closed the door without looking back and clapped her hands. She had no interest in being a third wheel.
"Seele can tidy it up herself..." Seele looked at the tightly closed door and lowered the hand she had just raised in an attempt to make her stay.
"...It seems Sister Irene wants to rest for a while." Bronya looked at the closed door and sighed. Then she turned to look at Seele and gently took Seele's hand.
"Let's go, Seele."
"Mm..."
"Mei, Mei, why hasn't Bronya come yet?" In the classroom, Kiana's gaze kept drifting toward the empty seat that originally belonged to Bronya.
"Class has already started. She hasn't gone back to playing games and forgotten the time again, has she?"
"She shouldn't have." Mei shook her head. "Bronya is a child who values time very much. Well, before she gets addicted to a game, she is..."
"You mean that time we went into Homu Fantasy to drag Bronya out, right?" Kiana understood what Mei wanted to say as soon as she heard it.
Previously, because Bronya had become too addicted to games, one could say she was completely immersed in the virtual space, playing for nearly several all-nighters.
In the end, Mei couldn't stand watching it anymore. She dragged Kiana along to pull her out, and it took quite a bit of effort to finally get the person out.
"Maybe something suddenly came up." After thinking for a moment, Mei was still willing to believe that Bronya wouldn't be deliberately late just to play games.
"I guess she's mostly likely out playing somewhere." Kiana twitched her lips. Bronya wasn't some honest person; she had plenty of bad ideas in her head.
"Achoo~~"
Sitting on the beach holding Seele's arm, Bronya suddenly sneezed.
"Did Elder Sister Bronya catch a cold?" Seele looked at Bronya, who was wiping her nose. "Is the weather too cold today?"
"Probably not." Bronya shook her head. How could mere coldness make her catch a cold? "Bronya's physical constitution is very good; this degree won't cause a cold."
"Bronya believes that a certain idiot must be talking about me."
"A certain idiot?" Seele tilted her head. "Is it a new friend of yours, Elder Sister Bronya?"
"Mm, a hot-blooded idiot with white hair." Bronya took out her phone from her pocket, opened the photo album, found a group photo taken previously, and showed it to Seele.
"This one with white hair and a silly grin is Kiana. Although she is a bit silly, she is a very good person. Seele can interact with her more."
"This sister with purple hair is Sister Mei. Seele must be careful not to make Sister Mei angry; Sister Mei is currently in charge of the household kitchen."
Taking this opportunity, Bronya briefly introduced the current situation to Seele and incidentally coordinated their stories for later use.
St. Freya · Irene's Villa
"So that was the reason for your restlessness last time." Kiana scratched her head, looking at Seele sitting obediently on the sofa, and then at Bronya.
"Hello..." Seele looked at Kiana somewhat timidly. "Miss Kiana?"
"Oh, oh, hello. Mm, nice to meet you." Kiana waved her hand carelessly, then slipped over to Bronya's side. "Such a cute girl, why didn't you tell us about her before?"
"..." Bronya glanced at Kiana silently. Do you not have any clue in your own heart as to one of the reasons why I didn't say anything?
"I didn't expect you to go help Bronya complete this matter so quickly." Himeko turned her head to look at Irene. Last time inside Chiyou's body, when Irene and Bronya were discussing matters, it wasn't as if she hadn't heard anything at all.
So, Himeko had also used her own authority to look up a few things. Although Schicksal didn't have any special research on this, they still knew some basic things.
For example, descriptions like Quantum Tide or Quantum Shadows, and how dangerous it was inside.
At the time, she thought Irene would wait a while—say, for some equipment, technology, or just find a better time to go. She hadn't expected this guy to take leave and secretly finish the job herself.
Fortunately, no accidents happened, so it could be considered a happy ending for everyone.
"Aiya, anyway, nothing happened in the end." Irene waved her hand, looking indifferent. She hadn't encountered any danger on this trip to the Sea of Quanta anyway.
As for Kevin, who should have been the biggest threat, Irene simply had too many cards in her hand to deal with him. Kevin couldn't possibly do anything to her.
"Forget it, you've already done it anyway." Himeko shook her head somewhat helplessly. Now that Irene had already brought the person back, what else could she say?
Himeko looked up at the clock. It was already ten o'clock at night. Let's call it a day; just file this child's profile into the archives tomorrow.
Sigh, but it's another troublesome matter. She had to find an address for this child to live at first. After all, she couldn't directly fill in 'Sea of Quanta' as the place of residence.
Meanwhile, Irene sat on the sofa, sticking close to Theresa, watching Bronya and Seele. There was a faint smile on her face; this was what she wanted to see.
As for what kind of waves this butterfly—herself—would cause by flapping its little wings this time, she no longer wanted to care. Nothing was more worth it than the blush and bright smiles on the young girls' faces.
Finally, Irene cast her vision into the System. The matter of her saving Seele earlier had also been judged by the System as a mission, and she had another chance to draw a prize.
[Mm? Is another new friend coming?] Sensing what Irene was about to do, Irene's mind also began to bustle with activity.
She wondered which friend it would be this time? Or perhaps someone they didn't know yet would join their ranks.
[Not necessarily. Maybe it's a skill or something...] The mental projection of [Irene] watched the Character Card gradually falling in front of her. Especially after seeing the card art on it, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
"I#%@!"
[One Person, Thousand Minds · The Vacationless One · Klein]
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