Siegfried silently looked at the photo on his phone. Looking at the girl with long white hair, the expression on his face was angry and distorted.
"Otto!"
"Siegfried, you need to stay calm."
The woman communicating with him advised.
"How can I possibly stay calm? Look at this child. I can see my shadow in her, and Cecilia's shadow. That bastard Otto, even though I took the test subject away, he still used this method to cultivate his own tool. Does this bastard not have a shred of respect for life?"
"I know you're angry, but don't let anger consume your reason. Don't forget you still have a child now."
Siegfried thought of K423, whom he had previously given a name. His original surge of fury seemed to be extinguished by a bucket of cold water, and his whole being became a bit more despondent, his body hunching further.
He was a useless husband who could not protect his wife.
He was a useless father who lost his own child.
He was just such a good for nothing waste, and now the only thing this waste could still protect was the K423 test subject he had saved by gambling his own life and even his daughter's life.
No, she could not be called that now. She was called Kiana Kaslana.
Siegfried gave that girl the name, and at the same time strangled the last bit of wishful thinking in his heart. After all, how could a child survive falling from a height of ten thousand meters?
He just did not want to believe it, so he had wandered in a daze for so many years. Recently, when he saw the same will to protect others in that girl, and saw that conviction, his heart was finally touched.
He gave the girl this name to care for her as if she were his own daughter.
It was also his longing and guilt for his own daughter.
"Although I know this question might be stupid, Siegfried, is it possible that she is Kiana?"
Another female voice sounded from the phone, though this voice sounded somewhat younger.
"Theresa, stop deceiving yourself. If you calculate carefully, little Kiana would only be 10 years old now, and this child looks fourteen or fifteen. How could she be Kiana?"
Siegfried forced a smile onto his face and said, "This child is almost like an illegitimate daughter Cecilia and I had before marriage, but you also know that is impossible. After all, if that had really been the case back then, you would have already come to beat me up with Judah."
"...Sorry, Siegfried."
"There is no need to apologize, Theresa. This is all Otto's fault. It has nothing to do with you. You are now the Overseer of the Far East Branch and also the Principal of St. Freya Academy. I hope you can change the current Schicksal."
"I will."
The communication was cut off. Siegfried still looked at the photo on his phone, looking at the girl inside who, in terms of appearance, leaned more toward Cecilia.
He looked for a long time, finally turned off the phone, and covered his face.
"I'm sorry, Cecilia. I really am the most incompetent husband and father in the world!"
Low sobs echoed in the dim room at this moment. Perhaps only when alone could he temporarily put down the responsibilities he carried and release the guilt and pain in his heart through this kind of weeping.
Inside Schicksal Headquarters, Bianka sat before the vanity mirror in her private room, changing her hair color from gold to white and back again.
At first, she thought that after receiving the gift from Caelus, her hair had permanently turned gold. However, after mastering the power, she discovered that her hair only turned gold when she used the extra power within her. If she did not use it, it would revert to its original white.
Although she appeared somewhat mature on the outside, at her core she was still a child, and Bianka played with it for a while out of curiosity.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. She turned her hair back to its original white, then opened the door and saw Otto and a young girl she had never met before.
"Bianka, let me introduce you. This will be your partner for future operations, Rita Rossweisse."
The girl named Rita greeted Bianka with a smile and full courtesy.
---
[The time limit for this special mission has ended. Final judgment commencing...]
[Fate deviation: 8.846%. Causality interference rate: 6.71%. Overall rating determined... B-rank evaluation achieved.]
[Rewards issued based on the evaluation. You have received 8000 System Credits and one System Lottery draw.]
Caelus sat on the train sofa. After seeing the mission rewards, he remembered that he had not used his previous lottery draw, so he decided to use it together with this one.
Two tickets suddenly appeared out of thin air and landed in his hands. The tickets were gold overall with red ticket stubs, and featured a pattern resembling a train head, looking quite mysterious.
If the Traveler's memories had not been completely lost, he would surely have recognized these as Star Rail Special Passes from Honkai: Star Rail.
He tore off the stubs of the two tickets, and the tickets floated up, turning into beams of light, one blue and one purple.
When the light dissipated, two items floated in mid air.
One was a mask. The mask was entirely white, with only a gaping maw painted on the mouth area, while the nose and eye areas had no markings.
The other looked like a potato, only with a duller and grayer color.
[Equipment: Eater of Emotions Mask.
Effect: After wearing this mask, one can perceive and devour the emotions of surrounding living beings to a certain extent.
Evaluation: This is a tool created by certain intelligent beings born without emotions to compensate for their own deficiencies, used to experience and learn emotions.]
[Curio: Energy Potato.
Effect: As long as it is planted in soil, it can quickly take root and sprout without the need for water, sunlight, nutrients, or any other requirements. The secondary energy potatoes that grow can be used for food and energy needs.
Evaluation: This is a wondrous potato created by a crazy neighbor with a pot on his head. The original intent behind its creation was merely to find a substitute for sunlight.]
"System, where is the next destination?"
["The next world will have plenty of emotions waiting for you to experience and savor. After the next world, you should be able to resist the erosion of Nihility and live a normal life in your own universe."]
"What kind of place is that?"
However, the System did not give an answer, merely unfolding a pure white screen in front of Caelus.
It seemed to have said something, but also seemed to have said nothing at all.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)