"Aunt won't be in any trouble, will she?"
Raiden Mei looked toward the direction Xia Yu had left with deep concern.
Standing beside her, Kiana gave a cheeky grin. "Mei, instead of worrying about whether Sister Acheron is okay, you should think about how to clean up these massive heaps of scrap."
"Sister Acheron is so strong, who could possibly beat her?" she said confidently. "She probably found the person controlling these Mecha from behind the scenes. Right now, she's likely giving them a thrashing—the kind where even their mother wouldn't recognize them. Relax."
"And don't you dare say you want to follow her. I'm sick to death of those movie plots where people just drag the team down."
She comforted Mei, unaware that her words were practically a joke given the reality of the situation.
Fortunately, on the other side, a fight had not actually broken out.
"What were you trying to do just now? Just appearing by Kiana like that?" Xia Yu looked at Siegfried with confusion. "And then stimulating her all over again, repeating the tragedy of Siberia from years ago, right here in a city of millions?"
"I couldn't just stand by and watch my daughter fall into Otto's hands," Siegfried said through gritted teeth.
In truth, he was already starting to regret it; he knew this person was right.
The Herrscher of the Void must never be allowed to awaken in Nagazora City.
Just now, his rationality had simply been crushed by that sudden moment of panic. He had experienced enough of Otto's methods in this lifetime to know better.
He didn't dare imagine what would happen to Kiana if she fell into Otto's hands.
But Siegfried also had to admit he hadn't been calm enough.
"As for you," he held Shamash tightly, "who exactly are you? Why are you mixed up with an S-Rank Valkyrie from Schicksal?"
"Me?" Xia Yu replied with a faint expression. "Just a traveler. As for the Valkyrie? Do you mean Rita?"
"She is my spoil of war."
"Spoil of war?!" Siegfried's voice jumped several octaves. "What do you mean, spoil of war?"
That was an S-Rank Valkyrie! With Shamash in hand, Siegfried didn't fear an S-Rank Valkyrie (specifically Rita), but combatants of that level were few and far between across the globe.
"She attacked me first," Xia Yu said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "So I kept her as my maid. It's perfectly reasonable."
"A maid..." Siegfried's expression became strange. "You're using her as a maid?"
"Why, is there a problem?" Xia Yu tilted her head. "Rita is very good at it. I see she's been taking excellent care of your daughter."
"Her? Taking care of Kiana?" Siegfried sneered. "It's likely at Otto's behest, trying to win her trust that way."
"That's not entirely wrong," Xia Yu thought for a moment; Rita did indeed know Durandal's true identity...
"Regardless, I won't watch people from Schicksal hovering around Kiana," Siegfried said, sizing up the person before him. "And why do you look so familiar... right."
He pulled a photo from his pocket showing Raiden Mei's face. "What is your relationship... with Ryoma's daughter?"
"Raiden Ryoma?" Xia Yu raised an eyebrow. "Hasn't he been sentenced yet?"
"The liquidation on Cocolia's side hasn't been completed," Siegfried replied. "He has been escorted back to headquarters. Sentencing... is only a matter of time."
"Oh," Xia Yu nodded.
"What do you mean, 'oh'?" Siegfried frowned. "You should be related to the Raiden Family, right? Why so indifferent to Ryoma's fate? And I never heard him mention your existence."
"He knew nothing to begin with," Xia Yu shook her head. "I am only here for Mei."
"Then why did you contact Kiana?" Siegfried narrowed his eyes.
"First of all, your daughter was the one who clung to Mei," Xia Yu corrected. "She has worked very hard looking for you all these years. She somehow got a piece of Anti-Entropy Honkai Energy monitoring equipment and tracked your trail all the way to Chiba Academy."
"I had no choice," Siegfried lowered his head. "But I'm curious, how do you know about the incident in Siberia?"
He also wanted to know how she knew about Kiana's bodily issues.
"I am all-knowing," Xia Yu said indifferently. "Kaslana... hmph, even your ancestor wouldn't dare question me like this."
"Furthermore... you seem to have misunderstood one thing," she tilted her head. "You just said you wouldn't let people from Schicksal near your daughter... but hasn't she been living among Schicksal people all these years?"
Xia Yu decided to drop some heavy news on Siegfried to keep him from interfering with her plans.
Word of Rita would surely get back, and Super Goose might actually come knocking. Xia Yu had no time to deal with her. Yes, that's it—let Siegfried handle her.
"What do you mean, Kiana has been living in Schicksal?" Siegfried became instantly serious. "Are you saying... Schicksal has known Kiana's whereabouts all these years?"
"Shouldn't that be obvious?" Xia Yu looked at him with a strange expression, then nodded as if having a sudden realization. "Oh, I see. You still don't know..."
"How pitiful, Siegfried. You've completely lost the last thing Lady Cecilia left for you."
"What on earth do you mean by that?!" Siegfried trembled. "Why mention Cecilia?"
He had a bad premonition, but he couldn't grasp the thread of it; the inspiration was like a fish in water, constantly slipping through his fingers...
"Instead of that, why not look closer at this world?" Xia Yu sighed. "Perhaps you will find the answer yourself."
After saying that, she turned to leave.
"Don't follow me. You know Kiana cannot meet you."
Until her figure completely vanished from Siegfried's sight, he remained stunned.
"Cecilia..." Siegfried's eyes were vacant, and that woman's meaningful gaze kept surfacing in his mind.
What does it mean... the last thing Cecilia left for me, and I lost it completely?
Siegfried couldn't understand.
Xia Yu, however, was in a great mood. Let him stew for a bit; who told him to try and use Shamash, Uriel! on her group without a word?
On the way back, she happened to run into Bronya.
"It seems you've found the truth." Looking at Bronya sitting helplessly at the villa entrance, Xia Yu walked to her side and patted her head.
"Sister Acheron," Bronya's eyes were red. Her so-called lost emotional circuits from the experiments were actually still there; it just usually made her appear stoic.
Bronya could actually express her minor emotions.
"Can you help Bronya? To sever Cocolia-mama's unrealistic fantasies!"
"Sorry, I cannot," Xia Yu sat beside her. "I am here for Mei. Solving the issues with her body is my primary mission."
"...But if left alone, Sister Mei will also be in danger!" Bronya looked up suddenly. "The Honkai eruption will surely trigger the Gem of Conquest in her body. If she transforms into a Herrscher then..."
"Then let her become a Herrscher," Xia Yu said indifferently. "Bronya, I remember telling you."
"The most effective way to protect a child isn't putting her in a greenhouse, but training her so she has the power to resist fate herself!"
"But if that happens, the million people in Nagazora City..." Bronya looked at Xia Yu with such a strange gaze. "Sister Acheron, do you also feel that these people are prices that can be sacrificed?"
"Am I that kind of person in your eyes?" Xia Yu tapped her forehead lightly. "Sacrifice is a noble word. In my eyes, it isn't decided by one's own will but set by others—that's not called sacrifice, that's called an offering."
"It's just a city, isn't it? This small amount of Honkai Energy, I can still handle it."
She was actually afraid the Herrscher of Thunder's output wouldn't be large enough.
"But what about the other Herrscher?" Bronya still wouldn't give up.
"If she's not good, I'll hit her until she is," a smile curled on Xia Yu's lips. "After all, I am the Aunt. What's wrong with educating a niece?"
"Bronya, come and help me. In exchange, I'll show you a clear path. If you want to find Seele, first gather the power of three Herrschers."
Xia Yu rubbed her hair. "Otherwise, when the door to the Sea of Quanta opens, the snake will follow the sound. Without such power, you won't be able to negotiate with the snake, and the hope of saving Seele will be even more slim."
In reality, Kevin wouldn't actually do anything to Seele.
"Three Herrschers..." Bronya was stunned. "Where is Bronya supposed to find three Herrschers?"
"Aren't they right here?" Xia Yu smiled meaningfully. "If Mei wants to control her own fate, she must hold power. In this world, only when your fists are hard enough will others sit down and talk reason with you."
"But what about the other two?" Bronya asked dejectedly.
"Welt counts as one," Xia Yu counted on her fingers for her. "Kiana is one."
"Wait, Kiana?" Bronya was incredulous. "That silly Kiana? She's a Herrscher too?!"
"You could say that," Xia Yu nodded. "The Herrscher of the Void and she are two sides of the same coin."
"But isn't the Herrscher of the Void a great enemy of Human-kind?" Bronya pressed.
"But Kiana isn't," Xia Yu explained patiently. "Kiana is a good child. If she wins in the struggle against the Herrscher of the Void, then humanity gains a Herrscher on its side. As for how she became like this, don't ask."
"But looking at her... it's hard for Bronya to believe she can win," Bronya still couldn't accept it.
"Then that depends on you all," Xia Yu patted her head. "The road must be walked by oneself after all, Bronya. You are smart, which is why I've told you so much."
"Remember, it's never wrong to build a good relationship with them."
"Why does it sound like you're about to leave, Sister Acheron?" Bronya keenly noticed this.
"I can't stay here forever being your babysitter," Xia Yu shook her head helplessly. "I have many roads to walk and many promises to keep. It's impossible to stay on Earth forever."
"Do you know, Bronya? Beyond the Solar System, in the starry sky where the Cocoon of Honkai cannot reach, the world there is truly wonderful."
"Alright, that's enough. Go back and think carefully about whether you want to help me." Xia Yu stood up, took her hand, and opened the villa door.
"Bronya... will think about it carefully," the latter said with a heavy face.
"Ah, Sister Acheron, you're back. Oh, and you brought Bronya," Kiana popped her head up from the sofa. "I'm telling you, Rita's cooking is truly amazing!"
"Oh, then why are you so far from the kitchen?" Bronya said reflexively. "Were you kicked out?"
"Huh? What do you mean kicked out?" Kiana's blood-rage instantly maxed out. Lies don't hurt; the truth is the sharp blade. She really had been kicked out.
The reason was her constant stealing of ingredients.
"Bronya is making a logical deduction." Bronya watched her in a state of powerless fury, her heart wondering—this not-so-smart look... is this really the Second Herrscher?
It really doesn't look like it...
Kiana originally wanted to pounce and have a contest with her, but she was slowly frozen mid-way by that chilling gaze.
"Brat, why are you looking at me like that?" Kiana uncomfortably rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. "It feels so weird. You're definitely not thinking of anything good!"
Bronya hesitated for two seconds, remembering Xia Yu said it's never wrong to be on good terms with her, and that to get Seele back, she had to gather the power of three Herrschers...
She slowly approached Kiana, who instinctively took a step back at her silence.
But Bronya was faster. She floated to Kiana's side and took her hand.
"Brat! Bronya!" Kiana looked at the weird Bronya, her face full of terror. "What are you trying to do? Be normal, I'm a little scared..."
Ignoring her wailing, Bronya recalled the detail of how Sister Acheron loved to rub her head, took Kiana's hand, and placed it on her own head.
"Sorry, Kiana," she said very much against her will. "I shouldn't talk back to you at every turn."
Seeing this, Kiana instinctively rubbed. Mm, silver-haired loli, top-tier feel!
But, but! Brat, aren't you acting a bit off?
"Are you okay?" she asked concernedly, moving her hand from the top of the head to the forehead, feeling it with the back of her hand. "You don't have a fever, do you?"
"Kiana, you idiot! Paramecium!" Bronya was about to die of anger.
"She's just a little stimulated," Xia Yu said with a smile, pulling Bronya into her own arms and comfortably resting her chin on her head. "Don't indulge her; she'll be back to normal soon."
"As for you, Kiana, don't you have something you want to say to me?"