〘March 7th〙: What does that mean?
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: It means 'I love you' in German.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: German? But I don't know German. Why did I read it out loud?
....
『 "Huh… I read it out? Why? I clearly don't understand this sentence, but I know how to pronounce it?"
After stumbling through the magic spell, Kiana was shocked that she actually knew how to read it.
Just as Kiana was feeling confused, Cecilia came to her side and asked, "Kiana, did you find anything here?"
"Lady Cecilia, look at this!"
Kiana handed the diary in her hand to Cecilia. Cecilia took it and said, "A diary? Let me see…"
With that, Cecilia opened the diary and began to read. After finishing, she closed the diary and returned it to Kiana.
"I didn't expect such a thing to have happened here. But I've never heard of Babylon Labs being a medical institution."
"Huh? Then this child is actually…"
Before Kiana could finish, her head suddenly began to throb as if it were about to explode.
She clutched her head and cried out, "Ah, my head! It hurts so much!"
"What's going on?"
The scene around Kiana began to flicker with data streams, alternating between the virtual space and the simulated prison cell.
"My head… hurts so much!"
"There's something… in my mind…" 』
『 ....』
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: It's not you, is it? @Herrscher of the Void
〘Herrscher of the Void〙: Is there anyone else in your brain besides me?
....
『 With a quick scene transition, Kiana slowly opened her eyes.
"Ugh…"
"Are you awake, Kiana?" Cecilia asked gently, looking at Kiana, who had opened her eyes while lying on her lap.
"Huh? Lady Cecilia!" Feeling the gentle stroking on her head, Kiana's face flushed. "What happened to me…"
"You suddenly fainted after reading the diary just now," Cecilia explained. "Are you alright? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
"I'm fine! Just a sudden headache…"
"This diary suddenly reminded me of some things from the past…"
"Things from the past?"
"I was also separated from my mother since I was a child so that I can understand this child's feelings. My heart feels so empty…" Kiana replied in a dejected tone.
"With no one to rely on."
Hearing this, Cecilia hugged the sad Kiana. "Poor child."
Feeling the warmth of a mother's embrace that she had never experienced before, Kiana froze.
"No need to be shy, Kiana."
"Just rest well in my arms."
Feeling her mother's embrace, her mother's warmth, and her mother's reassuring heartbeat, Kiana hugged Cecilia back.
Finally, in this virtual space, Kiana felt the motherly love she had never possessed in reality.
"Thank you, Mom…"
"No, it's… Lady Cecilia." 』
『 ....』
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: A mother's embrace… must be really warm.
〘Raiden Mei〙: Kiana…
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: Hm? I'm fine, Mei. Once I get stronger, I'll make Theresa take me to that church to enter this virtual space.
〘Theresa Apocalypse〙: Talk about that after you can suppress the Herrscher in your head.
〘Herrscher of the Void〙: What a joke. It's only a matter of time before I break free.
〘·HSR· Void Archives〙: I have a suggestion for you guys. You can bring out the Herrscher of Sentience. I'm sure Otto would be willing to help with this.
〘Otto Apocalypse〙: You got me. Tell me what to do. As long as it doesn't affect my final plan, I'm happy to see Theresa happy.
〘·HSR· Void Archives〙: First do this and that… then do that and this… and then like this… Oh, right, here comes the most critical step: you must wait at the scene for her to wake up!
〘Otto Apocalypse〙: Is there a catch?
〘·HSR· Void Archives〙: You'll know when you do it. Why would I trick you, right?
〘Otto Apocalypse〙: Tsk, sounds like trouble. Whatever, who cares.
....
『 "Are you feeling better now?" Cecilia asked with concern, looking at Kiana who had stepped out of her embrace.
Kiana nodded quickly and patted her chest. "Mhm, I'm all right now! Let's continue searching the other rooms!"
With that, Kiana walked out. Cecilia smiled at the energetic Kiana and went out to investigate other rooms as well.
(Right, I should bring the diary I found just now.)
(But the spell in the diary… when I read it out loud just now, I was wishing in my heart for Mom to hold me tight.)
(And it actually came true… Hiss… No way, could it really grant my wishes?)
By the time Kiana stopped her wild thoughts, she had already arrived at another room. Looking at the room, which was quite different from the previous ones, she said:
"This room seems a bit different from the others. Is it a guard room?"
"There's a strange card on the bed… Ah, I see, this is an electronic key!"
Kiana picked up the electronic card from the bed and cheered, "Great! This way, Mom will praise me!"
After cheering, Kiana caught sight of the spot where the card had been out of the corner of her eye. There was another piece of paper there. She had been too excited about finding the card earlier and had overlooked it.
"Oh, there's another piece of paper next to it. Is this… torn from that diary?"
Kiana put the card away, picked up the paper, and read it aloud.
"My body is hurting more and more. The doctor said I need to undergo an examination and took me to a room with lots of TVs."
"I love watching TV the most. I like being held by my mother, lying on a comfortable sofa and watching TV."
"But the TVs here only have strange numbers. It's not fun at all. And… it hurts so much… Mom…" 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: A laboratory… which means the doctors are researchers, the TVs are instruments, and the numbers are research data. Oh my god…
〘Stelle〙: That's so dark…
〘Ukinami Yuzuha〙: Indeed, human experimentation exists in every world.
〘Komano Manato〙: Yuzuha, is something wrong?
〘Ukinami Yuzuha〙: Nothing, just lamenting a bit.
....
『 "So pitiful. Happy memories with mother turned into this kind of thing. But, I've never even watched TV with my mom…"
"I'm so envious." Kiana put down the paper, looked back at the giant tower, and muttered, "I wonder if there are TVs in this tower? But without a sofa, it wouldn't be comfortable to sit on…"
"…Ich☆liebe☆dich"
After chanting the magic spell, Kiana quickly shook her head. "No, no, what am I doing! I really can't waste any more time!"
"But… I really want to get a little closer to Mom. Just let me be selfish one more time."
Kiana muttered to herself, convincing herself, and then she made a soft wish: "I want to watch TV with Mom…"
"No, that's not enough. I want to play games with Mom! Ich☆liebe☆dich"
Looking at the surroundings which remained completely unchanged, Kiana stamped her foot in anger. "Why did nothing happen? This is infuriating! It really is a lie after all!"
"Making me look like an idiot."
After venting her anger, Kiana sighed. Indeed, pinning her hopes on this spell was too foolish.
"Sigh, forget it. I should hurry up and bring the key to Mom." 』
『 ....』