Kiana could no longer remember how many places she had been.
From the academies of Siberia to the cities of Europe, crossing the continental corridor, traversing Shenzhou, and finally arriving in the Far East... four years. It had been four long years.
Not a single shred of information.
Her father seemed to have vanished into thin air, as if he had never existed in this world. The only proof of his presence was her.
When she was twelve, after a severe illness, she woke up to find him gone. Back then, a tiny Kiana, carrying a camouflaged backpack half her height, walked with uneven steps across the frozen snowfields...
To this day, Kiana had found no clues. Sometimes she felt her efforts were futile, yet she persisted.
Four years.
After arriving in the Far East, she felt an inexplicable attraction to Mei. Almost as if possessed, she used her small savings gathered over the years to forge an identity and enroll in the academy. She intended to stay for a while; after four years, she was tired.
She just wanted to rest.
Who could have known that just as she made that decision, a clue would crash into her vision so unexpectedly?
Kaslana... yes, Kaslana!
She was Kiana Kaslana, and her stinky old man was Siegfried Kaslana. He told her that day... that was the surname.
Kiana desperately wanted to ask Acheron what the Kaslana name represented. But seeing those indifferent eyes, she calmed down.
Mortal enemies. Ancient blood feud.
Those words weighed heavily on her heart.
The Kaslanas and the Raiden family were mortal enemies?
'Does that mean me and Mei... are Romeo and Juliet?'
'Pah, pah, pah! Now is not the time for that!'
She looked at Acheron's cold gaze, then at the overlong tachi by her side. If they truly were mortal enemies... 'Oh my god, if I bring Sister Acheron home, am I leading a wolf into the house?'
No wonder she insisted on coming home with her. In Acheron's eyes, Kiana was the threat to Mei.
She had to save her own skin first.
"Um, Sister Acheron," Kiana said with a forced smile, "if I said I really didn't know anything about a blood feud, would you believe me?"
Xia Yu looked into her eyes seriously and nodded. "I believe you."
"If you don't believe me, I have no... wait, what?" Kiana had her follow-up excuses ready to go, but then realized what had been said.
"You actually believe me?" Even she thought it was ridiculous. 'Since when did I become so eloquent? One "I don't know" and she buys it?'
Xia Yu suddenly closed the distance, standing almost face-to-face, their eyes locked.
"Your eyes," she said earnestly, "are pure. Untainted. There are no schemes or calculations in them, so I believe you."
Then she pulled back and sat on the edge of the bed.
'Is she praising me?' Kiana was stunned. 'I guess so?'
"Thanks for the compliment, Sister Acheron," she recovered quickly, pulling a chair over to sit in front of Xia Yu with a flattering smile. "But seriously, I truly don't know what's so special about the Kaslana name. Can you tell me about it?"
"White hair, blue eyes," Xia Yu reached out to touch her hair. "Plus that monstrous strength and the inherent trait of being unable to walk away upon seeing a Raiden... You are undoubtedly a pure-blooded Kaslana."
"The first few are normal," Kiana said hesitantly, "but that last one... isn't it a bit..."
"Don't doubt it," Xia Yu glanced at her. "That is an aesthetic preference carved into your ancestors' DNA. It cannot be changed."
"What kind of thing gets carved into DNA?" Kiana reflexively asked. "An aesthetic? You can carve that in?"
"As long as you are strong enough," Xia Yu nodded solemnly.
"So my ancestors were that power—Wait, like hell they were!" Kiana couldn't hold it in. 'I was wondering why, after years of traveling the world and seeing everything, I couldn't move once I saw Mei in Nagazora City! So that's it! It's all the ancestors' fault!'
Seeing that Kiana was being fooled into a daze, Xia Yu nearly broke her poker face.
'Sixteen-year-old Kiana is way too easy to trick!'
Meanwhile, Kiana was having a brainstorm.
'Wait, if that's the case... Mortal enemies? A blood feud? Is the relationship between the Kaslanas and the Raidens that complicated? Unrequited love? Parted by death? Star-crossed lovers?'
Countless melodramatic soap opera scripts flashed through her mind.
'Wait, that's not the point!'
"Sister Acheron!" Kiana looked up at Xia Yu with burning eyes. "Do you know a man named Siegfried Kaslana?"
"Siegfried?" Xia Yu feigned confusion. "Why do you ask about him? Is your mission related to him? Are you going to hunt him down?"
"But with your strength... honestly, you won't die. Siegfried won't kill you since you're a Kaslana too, but as for finishing the mission..." She shook her head.
The implication was clear: 'You're a total noob.'
Kiana almost jumped. "The old ma—Siegfried is being hunted?!"
'Is that why he vanished all these years?'
"You didn't know?" Xia Yu acted surprised. "Among the defectors from your side, Siegfried is the most prominent. The hunt for him has never stopped."
"Defected?" Kiana felt her brain was no longer enough.
Tonight she received too much information: from the Kaslanas being a powerful family, to the grievances with the Raidens (not really), to that romance-brained ancestor who carved preferences into DNA (fake), and finally, the news of the stinky old man's defection.
"Then, Sister Acheron, do you know why he defected?" Kiana asked immediately.
"I've heard bits and pieces," Xia Yu nodded. "Apparently, it was for his daughter. He escaped from Europe in '06. Unfortunately, his daughter died during the pursuit."
"After that, he wandered alone, occasionally sabotaging the deployments over in Europe. That's why your wanted posters are updated so frequently."
Xia Yu intentionally omitted the name Schicksal and looked at Kiana with a suspicious expression. "Reasonably speaking, it's impossible for you not to know he's wanted."
"Haha, I knew he was wanted," Kiana faked a smile. "I just didn't know the reason. By the way, Sister Acheron, you said his daughter died in the pursuit..."
Waves of shock crashed through her heart. 'If that's the case, it makes sense... why the old man left without a word and vanished. He did it to protect me. Nobody outside knows I'm still alive. He's been attacking the family (wrong) deployments all these years to disguise himself as a vengeful ghost, drawing the family's (fake) attention away from me?'
Thinking of this, her eyes stung, and she nearly cried. 'Stinky old man... you...'
Looking at the silent Kiana, Xia Yu sighed.
She couldn't tell her the truth yet. Siegfried stayed away because of the Second Herrscher, Sirin, inside her. As someone deeply involved in that great war, his presence would undoubtedly trigger Sirin's awakening. In Siberia four years ago, she had already woken up once.
To bring Kiana back, Siegfried lost an arm. Schicksal's elite Valkyrie assault squad was nearly wiped out, with Murata Himeko being one of the few survivors. It was after that incident that Himeko applied for a transfer from headquarters to teach at St. Freya.
Kiana wasn't ready. It wasn't time to tell her those truths. At sixteen, she wasn't the savior who fought through the Honkai; she was just a simple girl looking for her father.
Let her enjoy this hard-won peaceful life for a little longer.
"It's just hearsay," Xia Yu stroked her hair. "I can't guarantee it's entirely accurate."
"So, why are you asking so much about Siegfried? Did they send you to assassinate him?" Xia Yu frowned. "Have they lost all sense of ethics? Sending a girl roughly the same age as his daughter—one who is innocent and knows nothing—as an assassin?"
"To bet that Siegfried won't be able to pull the trigger?"
"I knew that man lacked a bottom line, but I didn't think he'd do this... Hah!"
Kiana's mouth twitched. She wasn't an assassin. She was just a girl looking for her dad who had accidentally stumbled into these complications... no, these conspiracies.
At this moment, in Kiana's eyes, Schicksal was basically sitting at the same table as the Sicilian Mafia.
"Take my advice," Xia Yu suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "Kiana, you are no match for Siegfried. Give up. Even in the city, no matter what despicable means you use, you cannot defeat him!"
"Wait, the stinky—Siegfried is in Nagazora City?" Kiana looked up, her eyes sparkling.
"Since you're here, he must be too," Xia Yu feigned ignorance. "Otherwise, why would they send you?"
"Oh, that's what you meant," Kiana's face fell again.
She thought she actually found a trace of him. It turned out Sister Acheron just assumed he was here because she thought Kiana was an assassin sent to kill him.
"But during these turbulent times, if Siegfried is in Nagazora City," Xia Yu considered seriously, "I don't know whose side he will take. But he had better not become my enemy!"
"Otherwise..." She reached out and touched the long blade beside her.
Kiana instinctively shivered.
"Wait, you mean you think Siegfried isn't on your side?" she asked quickly.
"Raiden Ryoma was a high-ranking member of the organization, yet he was arrested without a word of warning," Xia Yu said convincingly. "Even though Siegfried was often seen drinking with him, he is still a defector and a Kaslana. We must be on guard!"
Kiana was completely stunned.
'Siegfried was often seen drinking with Raiden Ryoma?!'
'So me and Mei actually have this layer of connection?'
'True, as a defector, where else would the old man go? To the family's rival side, of course!'
'So that means if I rescue Mei's father, I can wait for the old man to show up?'
Kiana's eyes flickered with excitement. She looked at Xia Yu and said excitedly, "Boss Acheron, do you know where Uncle Ryoma is being held? Why don't we just go and break—"
"Call me Sister!" Xia Yu flicked her forehead without hesitation.
"Sister, Sister Acheron," Kiana immediately corrected herself. "Let's go raid the prison!"
The reason she blurted out 'Boss' was because Xia Yu had completely led her astray. Schicksal was the Mafia, and this side was like the Yakuza.
'I'd love to see the look on her face when she sees St. Freya's Hyperion...'
"Raiden Ryoma is in no danger," Xia Yu shook her head. "Unless we find out what the person behind the scenes wants, rescuing him won't help. It would only alert the enemy. Right now, no one knows I am here, and that is my greatest trump card."
'Are you kidding? I can't rescue him now. If I do, how am I supposed to keep acting? Ryoma would definitely know if Mei had a secret aunt or not.'
"And you, Kiana," she looked down at the girl. "You should know by now that they sent you here purely as a disposable pawn."
"You are the pawn sent across the river to test if Siegfried has the heart to kill. If he doesn't, you might have a chance to take him down. If he does, you die, and they will use your death to craft the next plot against him."
"No matter the outcome, you are dead meat." Xia Yu reached out to her. "So, how about it? Want to join my side?"
"I can't guarantee you riches, but living a stable life won't be a problem."
"I'll go through fire and water for you, Sister Acheron!" Kiana grabbed Xia Yu's hand with a snap.
'No way I could refuse this! I have no feelings for the so-called family (Schicksal). Even the old man ran to this side, so what's wrong with joining in?'
Still, she was cautious enough not to reveal her true identity to Acheron, though it was useless anyway.
"Then it's settled," Xia Yu looked deeply at the hand gripping hers. "Now, your first mission: go and build a good relationship with Mei."
"Don't let anyone bully her. Your identity is useful on this side. I will hide in the shadows and investigate the people who framed Ryoma!"
"Understood! Mission guaranteed!" Kiana's eyes lit up. This was a great mission.
"It's late. I should be going," Xia Yu stood up to leave.
"Wait, Sister Acheron, didn't you say you had nowhere to stay?" Kiana's eyes gleamed.
"It's fine," Xia Yu shook her head. "I'll find any spot to spend the night."
"That won't do!" Kiana said righteously. "Sister Acheron, you are our trump card! You must rest well! How can you just sleep anywhere?"
"Just stay here with me," she said, her mind working fast. "I don't mind!"