Honkai: Strijder
Chapter 442: Conclusion
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Inside a liquid chamber made of transparent material, Kiana stood naked in pale green nutrient fluid. Her blue eyes occasionally darted around, sometimes settling on Sigurd's face outside the chamber. While repairing the minor injuries she had accumulated during the fight with Senti, numerous detectors connected to her body were reading detailed physiological data. Meanwhile, a sense of relief from surviving a near-disaster flowed through her heart—being spared from having her skull casually crushed by Sigurd was truly fortunate!
Sigurd listened to the data-collection signals coming from the electronic equipment. A virtual screen floated above his hand, gradually constructing a holographic model of Kiana's body based on the data, reflecting her physical condition.
"Gulululu?"
"Don't move around. Wait just a little longer. Once the data reading finishes, you can come out."
"Gululu…"
Kiana spoke while bubbles gurgled out of her mouth as she opened it, wearing a confused little expression. A single tuft of hair floated and swayed adorably in the liquid. Sigurd responded smoothly with reassurance—it was hard to imagine how he could understand what she meant from such "conversation."
After quite a while, Sigurd raised his hand and nodded to Kiana.
Boom!
The liquid chamber suddenly shattered. Kiana shook the liquid off her hands and walked out, looking puzzled.
"What's going on? Why such a serious physical exam all of a sudden? There's nothing wrong with me!"
"Next time, don't casually destroy experimental equipment."
"Got it, got it. Next time for sure!"
Kiana waved her hand indifferently.
Sigurd knew perfectly well that the girl had let his words go in one ear and out the other, not taking his request seriously at all. But now wasn't the time to argue about such trivial matters. A new white dress appeared in his hand, and while carefully examining the data he said:
"Icarus, give her a bath."
"Yes, my lord!"
Hot water poured down with a splash. Kiana happily began washing her body right in front of Sigurd.
After some time, Icarus stopped the water. Kiana's body temperature rose, quickly drying herself off and leaving her clean and refreshed from head to toe.
Sigurd casually tossed the clothes over while finishing his data analysis.
"Put it on."
"Oh!"
Rustle rustle
A moment later, Kiana finished putting on the dress and spun around in front of Sigurd. The floral skirt fluttered in the air, highlighting her slender, willow-like waist.
"Sig, how does it look?"
Kiana placed both hands beside her cheeks in a flower pose and asked with a bright, adorable smile.
Sigurd nodded, then sighed.
"Sigh… It looks good."
"Huh? If it looks good, then it looks good—why are you sighing? Come on, tell me. Something feels strange about you."
"It's nothing much. Theresa and Siegfried came to tell me you might be pregnant. I checked, and that's not the case. That's all."
"Pre—pre—pregnant!?!?"
Kiana cupped her cheeks with both hands, staring wide-eyed in shock.
Watching her reaction, Sigurd's eyes showed a complicated expression. He felt relieved, yet also a little disappointed, and somewhat annoyed at having been misled. In short, it was hard to describe.
Kiana froze for a long moment, then suddenly jumped onto Sigurd. Her arms wrapped around his neck while her jade-white legs clasped around his waist. Pouting, she pressed him with questions:
"Really not? We clearly worked very hard!"
"The laws of nature— the more advanced and complex a lifeform is, the lower the probability and the higher the cost of reproducing. Besides, a MANTIS and a Herrscher—this kind of combination has never existed before. There are many unknowns."
Sigurd reached out with his index finger and tapped Kiana on the forehead, soothing her as he spoke. Then he noticed that some of her silver-white hair had fallen loose. Taking a hair tie, he reached both hands behind her head and neatly tied her hair into a clean ponytail.
Kiana waited until Sigurd finished tying her hair before she slumped against his chest in disappointment and said:
"Alright… But I really want to have a child with you, Sig. Think of it, someone as smart as you, as brave as you, as capable as you…"
"Why only say they should be like me? What about the part that comes from you?"
"Let's not make them like me, okay? I've thought about it. If they're like me—unreliable, lazy, gluttonous, kind of dumb, always messing things up, and always acting on impulse… If they're like me, then where would that child go to find another person like you to take care of them in the future?"
Kiana counted off her shortcomings on her fingers, then pursed her lips and shook her head firmly.
Sigurd thought for a moment and nodded with some agreement. Then he rubbed Kiana's head and chuckled softly.
"That makes sense. I agree. But if the child were like you, I think I'd like that child very much."
"Huh? Really?"
"Mm."
Sigurd answered softly, a smile appearing in his eyes—yes, he would like them very much, as long as the child was Kiana's.
"Hehe! Sig is the best! I love you so much!"
Kiana happily leaned forward and pecked Sigurd on the lips to show her joy.
But the current Sigurd was no longer the passive type who could be easily teased. From hearing the news to confirming it wasn't true, the emotional ups and downs had been a rare experience even in his life. His complicated emotions were stirred by Kiana's light peck and turned into another kind of excitement.
So Sigurd supported Kiana's full, rounded hips with one hand and lifted her chin with the other. As her face flushed red, he leaned closer.
Kiana: "Mm—!!!"
After quite a while, during a brief pause while Sigurd caught his breath, Kiana braced her hands against his chest and barely managed to push herself away a little. Then she said softly:
"Um… it's still daytime… and there are people waiting outside! Tonight… tonight I'll… give it to you… okay?"
Kiana lowered her head. Sigurd could see her long eyelashes trembling and the faint blush spreading beneath her eyelids.
The corner of Sigurd's mouth curved into a smile.
"Alright. Let's go out."
"Ah! You're awful!"
Sigurd gave Kiana's backside a quick squeeze, earning a shy, annoyed glare from the girl. Then he let go of her. The two naturally held hands and walked out of the examination room.
…
Outside the door, Theresa was holding a teacup, elegantly sipping black tea.
Siegfried was also holding a teacup with a smile on his face—he had been smiling like that for a very long time, maintaining the same posture. Clearly, while waiting he had already lost the ability to think or react.
For Siegfried, the idea of becoming a grandfather was simply too shocking to handle.
Sip—
"Calm down, you useless idiot."
Theresa said with narrowed eyes, while Siegfried continued smiling without moving.
Theresa snorted softly, gave up on trying to wake the fool, and instead turned her gaze toward the metal door of the examination room, quietly waiting for the result.
Time slowly passed. Just as Theresa was starting to grow impatient, the electronic door opened. Sigurd and Kiana walked out hand in hand under the light of the examination room.
"She's not pregnant. You were overthinking it."
Sigurd stated the result directly. Kiana scratched her cheek and nodded, confirming Sigurd's judgment.
Theresa stiffened for a moment, then lowered her head, unable to hide her disappointment. Siegfried had already turned to stone on the spot, completely unresponsive.
"Auntie, why are you in such a hurry? We'll definitely… anyway, we'll talk about it later. There will definitely be one eventually! Also, what's wrong with stinky old Dad?"
"He's fine. The emotional ups and downs were just too intense, and his emotional management failed. Just ignore him. If you're not pregnant, then what about the other aspects? Your body should still be fine, right?"
Theresa shook her head and quickly adjusted her mood, showing Kiana a loving smile.
Kiana walked up to Theresa, crouched down in front of her, looked up, and replied with a smile:
"Of course I'm fine! I'm Kiana, after all. My body's tough as can be, hehe!"
"That's good. This time it was our misunderstanding, we ended up causing you trouble."
Theresa smiled and reached out to stroke Kiana's head. Her sapphire-like crystal eyes were full of tenderness. Though she was a small nun, she radiated a gentle and holy aura of compassion for all.
Enjoying the care from her elder, Kiana reached out and gently hugged Theresa.
"Auntie, thank you for caring about me so much!"
"You silly child, what are you saying? Isn't caring about you only natural? Alright, since everything's fine, go have some fun. Auntie still has work to do."
"Mhm!"
Kiana nodded, her smile bright and radiant.
Theresa gave Kiana's head one last pat, sighed with a hint of regret, then stood up, dragged the still-petrified Siegfried along, and left the waiting room.
After smiling and seeing the two off, Kiana stood up, dusted off her skirt, and said to Sigurd:
"So… when do you think we can tell them about that thing, Sig?"
"Anytime."
"Really?"
"Durandal is more open-minded and tolerant than I expected. Since she can keep her composure, everything else will be easier. You can find a time yourselves to explain things clearly. The most important thing is not to let yourselves be wronged."
Sigurd flicked Kiana lightly on the forehead.
Both Siegfried and Theresa valued emotions deeply. For them, the truth wouldn't really change how much they cared about Kiana. The only thing Sigurd had worried about was Durandal's attitude as the person directly involved. Now, thanks to Kiana's strong affinity and good character, she had earned Durandal's goodwill, so the rest wouldn't be much of a problem.
Kiana rubbed her forehead and nodded obediently.
"I understand. I'll find a time to gather everyone together and explain everything clearly. You don't need to keep worrying about this for me anymore, Sig—I've grown up already. You don't have to keep fussing over me like this all the time. It must be exhausting."
"So you know I'm tired, huh?"
"I… I do know in my heart. Sorry."
Kiana shook Sigurd's arm and smiled in a slightly ingratiating way. There was probably no girl in the world more troublesome or harder to take care of than her. At the same time, there was probably no one else like Sigurd who cared about her so thoroughly.
Sigurd pinched the girl's cheek and smiled helplessly.
"Alright. As long as you understand how hard I've worked, then my efforts weren't wasted. Handle your own matters yourself, but if there's any problem, come find me anytime."
"Okay! And what about that young lady? What are you going to do about her?"
"That… is my matter. You don't need to worry about it."
Sigurd's gaze sharpened as he stepped away.
Kiana puffed up her cheeks, a little dissatisfied at being treated like a child again and excluded from the matter. But she couldn't oppose Sigurd, so in the end she reluctantly followed after him, with nothing else to say.
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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