Honkai: Strijder
Chapter 443: Preparation
"Outrageous! This is too outrageous! He went way too far this time! I was just having a perfectly normal combat training session with Kiana in the training room! I didn't damage any public property outside, and I didn't prank anyone, it was a completely normal training! So why did he treat me like that!?"
At dinner time, in the living room, Senti paced back and forth beside the sofa. The redness and swelling on her forehead hadn't faded yet, and she occasionally stomped her feet in anger.
Fu Hua sat on the sofa, stroking the Book of Fuxi while watching Senti pace around. She wanted to say something to comfort her but didn't know where to begin.
Suddenly, Senti spun around to face Fu Hua, pointed at her reddened forehead, and said angrily:
"Look at this yourself! That guy definitely used gravity to boost the impact, and he even used the power of erosion to brutally attack my mind! Are you kidding me? I didn't do anything bad! Why did he treat me like that? Old Timer, Little Xuan—say something! Are you on my side or not!?"
"Uh… well…"
Fu Hua scratched her cheek, looking caught in the middle and unable to find the right words.
Meanwhile, the Book of Fuxi rummaged inside its long sleeve, pulled out a large medicinal patch, and handed it to Senti.
"Here."
"Oh, thanks."
Senti took the patch, lifted her bangs, and stuck it onto her forehead. Then she continued her angry questioning:
"Well? Take a stand already! This time he was clearly the one messing around—it's not my fault! Hmph!"
"Little Xuan thinks we should just pretend nothing happened. After all, he's the emperor now, when would it ever be your turn to argue reason with him?"
"I'm not going to reason with him, I'm going to teach him some physics!"
"Sigh~ That just shows you have no self-awareness. Think about it carefully, can you even beat him?"
The Book of Fuxi bluntly stated the real reason Senti was here asking for support. If she could actually beat Sigurd, she would have gone to settle the score herself long ago. Why would she need to ask the adults to step in?
In short, the Book of Fuxi made it clear she didn't want to get involved. Senti puffed up her cheeks and turned her expectant crimson eyes toward Fu Hua.
"I… well… um… Sigurd probably had his reasons. Maybe we should ask him first before deciding, okay?"
"AAAAAH!"
Seeing Fu Hua try to smooth things over without taking a clear stance, Senti became so angry she jumped up and down. Finally she simply collapsed onto the floor, kicking and flailing like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.
But this time, both Fu Hua and the Book of Fuxi knew she had genuinely been wronged, so they couldn't bring themselves to stop her.
Just as the situation was getting out of control, Kiana, who had just arrived, walked over. She bent down, looked at the Senti sprawled on the floor, and extended her hand with a smile.
"What's going on here? Get up already. You're the great Immortal Emperya, aren't you afraid people will laugh if they see you like this?"
"So what if I'm an immortal? Can't immortals demand justice too? You tell me—what exactly was Sigurd trying to do? He treated me like that for no reason. Does he think I'm easy to bully!?"
Senti pointed at Kiana's face and shouted indignantly.
Kiana brushed a strand of hair aside, showing an apologetic smile. Then she clasped her hands together and said ingratiatingly:
"Sorry, I'll apologize on Sig's behalf! I'm really sorry. The main reason is that he thought I might be pregnant earlier, so he got a little worked up. I'll make it up to you properly, so please don't be angry anymore, Senti!"
"What? You two have a baby already? Let me see!!"
Senti instantly sprang up like a carp leaping from water. All her grievances and complaints were forgotten as she shouted excitedly and reached out to touch Kiana's stomach.
That loud shout was enough to make everyone nearby perk up their ears.
A moment later, voices erupted one after another:
"Kiana-nee is pregnant!?"
"They're having a child!?"
"Sigurd-oniichan's baby!"
"Damn it! Sin Mal was supposed to get pregnant first! So unfair!"
"Should we say congratulations?"
"Red bean rice! We need to prepare red bean rice!"
"By the way, what kind of gift should we give?"
The room burst into a chorus of chatter.
Kiana hadn't expected the news to be so explosive that it would throw the entire room into chaos. She had no choice but to clap her hands loudly.
Clap! Clap!
"Everyone listen to me! It was just a misunderstanding—I'm not pregnant, so stop imagining things… And Senti, stop touching already! I told you I'm not!"
Kiana slapped away Senti's hand that was feeling her stomach and rolled her eyes helplessly.
Senti rubbed the reddened back of her hand, unable to hide her disappointment. Like someone who had just lost a beloved toy, she muttered gloomily:
"Your stomach's flat… soft too… looks like there really isn't anything… What the heck, so there's nothing after all…"
Why do you care so much about whether I'm pregnant? Don't tell me you're thinking that if you can't beat Sigurd, you'll just beat Sigurd's kid instead?
Kiana twitched her lips, unable to figure out Senti's thoughts. Looking at the many gazes being directed at her from all around the room, she could only sigh and rub her forehead.
Explaining everything clearly would probably take some effort.
…
By the time Sigurd finished handling some urgent official work and stepped into the living room, pairs of eyes all turned toward him at the same time.
"What is it?"
Sigurd asked calmly as usual, meeting their gazes one by one. His ice-blue eyes showed not the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"It's about the pregnancy thing, I just finished explaining it to everyone!"
Kiana said helplessly while holding a plate piled high with meat.
Sigurd nodded.
"She's not pregnant yet. That's all. Let's eat."
With those words, Sigurd suppressed everyone's urge to ask more questions. He walked to the central seat and began eating as if nothing unusual had happened.
But the words "not yet" carried a particularly meaningful tone, causing some girls to unconsciously clench their hands, while many others' imaginations began to run wild.
In any case, after a dinner with a rather strange atmosphere, Sigurd called Otto, Kevin, and Fu Hua away with him. Most of the remaining people were left for Kiana to deal with in a state of mild panic.
…
"Checkmate, my dear friend!"
Inside the emperor's palace, on a large black-and-white chessboard, Sigurd watched as Otto placed his king piece against Sigurd's own.
"This is chess."
Sigurd looked up at Otto and said flatly.
"Come on, give me a break! Look at my side of the board, I barely have any pieces left. Losing like this is just too embarrassing."
Otto said with a smiling face, pointing to his nearly empty side of the board.
"… "
Sigurd had nothing to say. He simply waved his hand and removed the chessboard.
At that moment, Fu Hua stood up beside them and busied herself with the exquisite tea set nearby. Soon, she poured fragrant tea for the four of them.
A moment later, they held their cups, sipping tea while listening to Sigurd speak.
"Based on all the intelligence we've gathered so far, the young lady's connection to the Finality has become extremely strong. Naturally, investigating it is very important. My decision is that Otto will accompany me. We'll personally go and meet this mysterious young lady whose origins and stance remain unclear."
"I'm going too!" ×2
Fu Hua and Kevin both put down their cups at the same time and spoke decisively.
Sigurd took a sip of tea with the cup against his lips.
"Good tea… My arrangements have their reasons. That young lady's abilities and stance are unknown. This trip contains many uncertainties. I don't want our key combat power to take that risk. Otto's consciousness is like a spiderweb suspended in the spiritual domain, every strand extending outward is a consciousness backup connected to the network in real time. Losing a single body wouldn't be painless for him, but it wouldn't be a major loss either. As a probing chess piece, he's the most suitable."
"As Your Majesty says, my dear Emperor!"
A golden-haired young woman holding a lady's fan walked gracefully over and stood behind Otto. Wearing the same warm smile as Otto, she calmly looked at everyone present.
Kevin frowned.
Fu Hua shook her head and said:
"Otto… I mean Hera going—I don't have any objections to that. But Sigurd, why do you need to take the risk? Your importance is far above ours. If this is an operation with a high level of uncertainty, it would be more appropriate for us to go instead."
"No, I'm necessary for this. First of all, the young lady's methods in the field of space are unexpectedly advanced. Conventional approaches—even the Cosmic Juggernaut and Kiana—are powerless. Only by tracing the source at the level of information, and following the trail as an informational entity, is it possible to reach her location. Only I can do that, and Otto is probably the only one who can keep up with me. Aside from the two of us, no one else can reach that place."
"But… but you still shouldn't take that risk!"
"This isn't a risk. Otto's consciousness-splitting and consciousness-network technology—I've mastered that as well. I'll pull out a fragment of my consciousness while still maintaining a faint connection. The one leading Hera there will only be that fragment. Doing it this way will minimize any possible loss."
Sigurd explained calmly. At the same time, he opened his palm, revealing a brilliant golden speck of light.
On the floor beside them, another Sigurd's body slowly materialized. The golden speck floated over to the body's forehead and sank into it.
Soon, this second Sigurd also opened a pair of calm, ice-blue eyes.
He slowly raised his hand, clenched his fist, and said:
"It works. Very smooth."
The Sigurd sitting on the imperial throne nodded, then looked at the others.
"To avoid extreme situations—for example, if some danger travels back through the connection between our consciousnesses—Fu Hua, your task will be to activate the Edge of Taixuan if necessary and decisively sever the connection between Otto and me and our consciousness fragments. Just like when you once cut the link between Sirin and the Honkai consciousness. Of course, that would only be a last resort—just an extra layer of insurance. The danger might not be that severe."
Since Fu Hua could even sever the link with the Will of Honkai, having her ensure that any risk wouldn't spread back to their true bodies was the most appropriate choice.
Fu Hua hesitated for a moment. Seeing the unwavering determination in Sigurd's eyes, she finally nodded.
"Alright, I understand. I'll go retrieve my main body from Senti and prepare to act at any time. After that, you two can depart."
"That works."
Sigurd nodded.
Then he turned to Kevin.
"As far as I know, you once confronted the Herrscher of Finality head-on. With the support of various powers, you even achieved the feat of forcing Finality into a 12-hour standby state. In short, your impression of Finality should be very deep. I'm keeping you here to provide reference information so we can confirm the young lady's identity. Also, if the Finality of this era has truly appeared, you should take a close look as well and prepare yourself to risk your life to expand the results."
"Alright… If possible, call Su over as well. He can also provide some reference."
"Understood. Then you two go make your preparations. Otto and I will wait here."
Sigurd waved his hand, and a checkers board appeared on the table. He looked at Otto again, clearly indicating he wanted another round.
Otto nodded happily and, without hesitation, moved first, seizing the initiative.
Kevin and Fu Hua left the palace together. Meanwhile, the remaining four—though in truth it was really just Sigurd and Otto—continued their exchange over the board.
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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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[1] https://www.patreon.com/Strijder/posts/honkai-strijder-161536858
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Strijder/posts/honkai-strijder-161536858