Honkai: Strijder
Chapter 438: Staying Alive
"Ah…"
The red tea slid down his throat, its rich and sweet flavor lingering in his mouth, followed by a smooth warmth as it went down.
"Good tea. Your skills haven't declined, Rita."
Sigurd commented casually, crossing his legs. His expression toward Rita seemed to soften a little.
"Th–thank you for the praise, Lord Sigurd!"
Rita smiled in a flattering yet extremely cautious way.
As far as Rita knew, when someone offended Sigurd, if they were considered one of his own people, they might at least keep their life after a whipping and brutal beating. But if they weren't one of his own—
She had heard that the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor in Shenzhou provided attentive service and extremely professional standards. Perhaps she should order their luxury package in advance. That way, she might at least sleep more peacefully.
So… was she considered one of Sigurd's own people?
Thinking about this question, Rita remembered the several times she had refused Sigurd's invitations using Archbishop Otto's name as an excuse. She also recalled the many times she had openly and secretly obstructed Lord Sigurd from getting close to Lady Durandal.
Perhaps she should check the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's booking hotline as soon as she got back. She might need it.
Sigurd held his teacup, too lazy to guess what Rita was thinking. He simply rubbed his temples, easing the fatigue from heavy thinking, and asked casually:
"You're dressed pretty lightly for going out so late at night. Are you very hot?"
"Ah—yes, yes, it is a little hot, Lord Sigurd."
"In any case, judging by how you look, you probably won't be able to sleep. I've already sorted out the overall direction and framework. What's left is filling in the gaps. For now, help me supplement and polish these documents."
"Ah yes yes—ah, huh!?"
Having already resigned herself to a bleak future and started to give up entirely, Rita stared blankly as countless document windows suddenly appeared before her.
Then her eyes lit up.
Work meant value. And value meant hope.
For Lady Durandal. For Lady Theresa. Rita decided to bring out two hundred percent of her ability and complete this task beautifully.
Then she pushed the documents apart with both hands and began rapidly reviewing them.
"Several Guiding Opinions on Fully Utilizing the Hive System to Stimulate the People's Imagination and Creativity to Promote Technological Development."
"Guiding Opinions on the Integrated Model of Valkyrie Forces and Mecha Troops."
"Guiding Opinions on Further Eliminating Backward Forces."
"Guiding Opinions on the Dissolution and Reorganization of the Schicksal Organization and the Anti-Entropy Organization."
Guiding opinions, guiding opinions—countless ones covering an enormous range of fields.
Even from a brief glance, it was enough to demonstrate the boundless scope of the Emperor's knowledge, as well as his domineering and absolute authority.
Gulp
Rita swallowed, truly realizing the immense weight carried by the title and position of Emperor.
"Ah, any problem?"
"No, none! Rita will certainly do her best!"
"Then let's begin."
Sigurd set down his teacup, and more floating windows appeared beside him.
And so, throughout the night, Sigurd continuously refined various grand plans into concrete documents ready for implementation, passing them to Rita one after another for polishing and supplementation.
Rita watched in despair as the harder she worked, the more tasks piled up. Her brain seemed to reach an unprecedented speed, yet it was still like trying to extinguish a burning cart with a cup of water.
Even so, she had no choice but to push herself to carefully understand and refine every document related to the fate of civilization.
Thus, the entire night passed quickly.
…
Morning arrived. The rising sun outside the window cast orange-red rays into the room.
Sigurd moved his stiff neck after working all night, producing a series of cracking sounds, then picked up the tea Icarus had prepared.
"Ah…"
One cup of tea, a pile of documents, one night, one miracle.
The Emperor's life was just this simple, unadorned, and boring.
Watching the ripples on the surface of the tea, Sigurd once again—for the Nth time—considered throwing both Welt and Otto into the Earth's molten core for a hot bath.
And once again—for the Nth time—he used reason to remind himself:
Not yet.
Those two still had their uses. At the very least, he would wait until after defeating the Finality.
Thinking about Finality, Sigurd also began considering the preparations needed to have a face-to-face talk with that young lady.
Click
At that moment, Kiana and Durandal pushed open the bedroom door and walked out—holding hands.
The two of them, dressed in simple pajamas, had just come out chatting and laughing when they saw Sigurd sitting there bathing in the morning sunlight and drinking tea. More importantly, there was Rita—dressed in something clearly not suitable for children—collapsed limply on the sofa as if her soul had left her body. From her messy hair to her long legs wrapped in black stockings, from her dazed expression to her hollow eyes, everything about her—inside and out—seemed to be telling the aftermath of some unspeakable story.
"Si! Gurd!"
Boom!!!
Kiana's messy silver hair floated upward without wind. Her white skirted armor and red long blade appeared, and sparks of flame spread through the air.
"You actually dared to cheat on me behind my back! Die! Aaaah!"
"Kia—"
Bang!!!
Durandal had only just raised her hand halfway to stop Kiana. Before she could do anything at all, Kiana was already lying face-down beside Sigurd's sofa with a huge bump on her head. The silver-haired Herrscher's face had sunk into the floor itself, and she stretched out a trembling finger pointing forward.
Durandal didn't understand what had just happened, but she was deeply shocked.
"Na…"
Durandal blankly finished saying Kiana's name. Although she was a step too late, at least she expressed her intention to stop her. If she had spoken a little faster, perhaps she wouldn't have been too late.
"Good morning."
Holding his teacup, Sigurd tilted his head and spoke to Kiana on the floor.
With a cracking sound, Kiana pulled her face out of the shattered floor. Pouting, she replied stiffly:
"Morning!"
At the same time, the Herrscher skirted armor and flaming blade disappeared. Kiana climbed up, dusted off the dirt on her little face and pajamas, then placed one hand on her hip and pointed at the dazed Rita with the other, puffing her cheeks angrily.
"What's wrong with her? Why is she dressed like that? And what's with that completely 'broken' expression? What did you two do last night?"
"We completed some work. It may have been a bit too heavy of a burden for her. As for the outfit… that should be her personal preference. There's no need for me to care."
"Oh, then it's fine. I'm going to wash up."
"Alright."
Sigurd nodded casually, as if his attention were still half absorbed in other matters.
Kiana turned back, took Durandal's hand again, and—as if nothing had happened—smiled brightly and continued toward the washroom.
As Durandal walked, she couldn't help glancing at the crater in the floor that Kiana had made with her face. Then she looked at the completely unfazed Sigurd and Kiana. Her slender willow-leaf eyebrows couldn't help twitching.
"Kiana, the relationship between you and Lord Sigurd… is really quite strange."
"Huh? What? Oh, you mean how he secretly spent the whole night alone with a beautiful lady like Rita—long legs, slim waist, pretty face, big chest—even though he's a married man? Yeah, that's pretty outrageous, right? But you should trust Sig's integrity. If he says nothing happened, then nothing happened. Sig is pretty reliable about that!"
"No… what I meant was… being around Lord Sigurd seems to demand an incredibly high level of survivability."
"Does it? I'm already used to it. Sig isn't that brutal. Normally he wouldn't casually use violence on people. Of course, I'm the exception! Hehe!"
Kiana rubbed the lump on the back of her head, which was already slowly swelling down. She blinked, then put both hands on her hips, somehow looking oddly proud.
"…"
Wait, how is that something to be proud of?
At that moment, Durandal had countless complaints she wanted to voice, but in the end she said nothing.
…
Kiana and Durandal entered the washroom. Meanwhile, Rita finally pulled her wandering soul back into her exhausted body. She looked at Sigurd gloomily and asked in a lifeless tone:
"Why did Lady Durandal come out of Lord Sigurd's bedroom?"
"Go ask her yourself. I'm too lazy to explain."
"…Understood."
Rita replied wearily.
At least Lady Durandal's chastity seemed to be intact. At least Rita's own life was probably safe for the moment.
And right now, Rita no longer had the energy to dig into whatever hidden truth might be behind all of this.
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Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 490: There's Going to Be Trouble[1]
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[2] https://www.patreon.com/Strijder/posts/honkai-strijder-161536858