From Kiana the Lord Ravager Onward: A Grand Fabricated History
Author: Better Hang Myself Than Write
"Huh? This time Herta only brought Ruan Mei back with her?"
Inside Herta Space Station, Kiana—currently hiding herself with the authority of Space—looked a little surprised.
Today, Herta had finally returned in person.
According to Kiana's expectations, Herta should have brought all her genius little friends along with her.
And yet, so far, the only extra person Kiana had found was Ruan Mei.
As for Screwllum and Stephen?
Kiana hadn't seen either of them.
"Herta, where's the Lord Ravager you told me about?"
At the moment, Ruan Mei was asking Herta with complete seriousness, clearly already impatient to begin studying this new subject.
"Ruan Mei, let me remind you of something first—put those little thoughts of yours away."
"That child, Kiana, has already been adopted by me. Before you start formally gathering samples, you need to help me check whether she's suffering from any aftereffects."
Ruan Mei nodded and did not argue. "Then are you still going to gather samples or not?"
"Don't rush. Let me ask first."
[Herta: 1]
Kiana: ???
Seeing the one-line message on her terminal, Kiana froze.
Good grief.
This Herta was absolutely displaying textbook scumbag-girl behavior.
Back on Jarilo, she had clearly said she was going to adopt her.
But what happened after that?
The moment she brought Kiana to the space station, she vanished without a trace.
And now that she had finally returned, she brought another woman with her to come study Kiana!
Damn it, that wasn't how things worked in a galgame.
You were supposed to take me home first, raise my affection through careful attention and loving care, then slowly deepen our bond—and only after that were you supposed to casually slip your research in on the side!
If she didn't cough up at least tens of thousands of points today, this matter was absolutely not over.
[Kiana: ?]
Kiana tapped at the screen and sent back a dignified question mark.
[Herta: Where are you? Asta said you've disappeared.]
[Kiana: (ᗜ˰ᗜ)]
The instant Herta saw Kiana's bizarre little emoticon, she immediately realized something was off.
She stayed silent for a full five seconds before finally making another move.
[Herta: ...What's wrong with you?]
[Kiana: Nothing's wrong. Just letting Madam Herta know that I'm still here and haven't run away.]
Herta raised an eyebrow.
That did not sound like someone who was perfectly fine.
As a genius, Herta possessed not only an extremely high IQ, but also perfectly adequate emotional intelligence.
Or rather, as a genius, Herta knew very well how to act like someone with high emotional intelligence.
It was just that Herta had always had that sort of personality—she only occasionally showed that side of herself to people she acknowledged or people she considered valuable.
And because of that, the outside world had long since come to regard her as eccentric.
Now, looking at Kiana's obviously pointed reply, Herta sank into thought.
Could it be that the girl was upset because she had been gone too long?
In the beginning, Herta really had been quite excited about the grand feat of adopting a Lord Ravager.
But wasn't she busy too?
After all, Kiana had been asleep for so many years. If Herta were asked to believe the girl had been left with absolutely no aftereffects whatsoever, there was no way she'd buy it.
And in truth, matters had turned out exactly as Herta had observed.
Back on Jarilo, Kiana had certainly displayed power at the level of an Emanator.
But because the strength of Kiana's persona had still been a little lacking at the time, Herta had only felt the quality of an Emanator—not the quantity.
That was precisely why she had gone to find a specialist in this area, Ruan Mei. She wanted to help the girl recover properly first.
Of course, being the tsundere that she was, there was no way Herta would tell Kiana any of that.
[Herta: (location) Good, then come here. For the sake of your health, I specially brought in a professional friend to examine you.]
[Kiana: I don't want to.]
Kiana rejected her outright. Right now, she had no interest in meekly cooperating with Herta's sampling or treatment.
Her main goal at the moment was to exploit the information gap and rake in a few thousand—preferably tens of thousands—of points first.
[Herta: Be good. Listen to me. I'm doing this for your own good.]
[Kiana: No no no.]
[Kiana: Didn't Madam Herta just dump me in the space station and stop caring about me? And now you suddenly remember I exist? (ᗜ˰ᗜ)]
Kiana pressed the attack.
With no other option, Herta—who had already resolved to be a good guardian—could only follow Kiana's line of argument.
[Herta: Then what would our adorable little Kiana have me do so you'll forgive me?]
Herta swore to herself that this was absolutely the first time in her entire life she had ever spoken to someone in this tone.
Off to the side, Kiana—secretly spying on the whole thing—actually felt a little embarrassed now.
Just imagine it:
A beautiful genius girl who, in front of everyone else, was cold, strange, tsundere, sharp-tongued, unreasonable, and impossible to deal with—
and yet only in front of you was she willing to show her softer side.
Could that kind of contrast really not make someone fall?
Kiana's answer was very simple.
Nope.
She had the feeling that Herta might genuinely be trying to raise her like a daughter now.
…Wait.
That made her realize that there might be a synchronization problem in the information Herta and she had.
As for Cecilia's situation, Herta had never asked, and Kiana had never told her.
Could it be that Herta thought Cecilia was already dead?
The more Kiana thought about it, the more likely that possibility actually seemed.
Well, whatever.
That matter could be dealt with later. There were more pressing things to handle now.
So Kiana sent another reply.
[Kiana: Unless you come comfort me personally.]
Herta replied instantly.
[Herta: Fine. Then send me your location and I'll come find you right now.]
But this time, Kiana did not hurry to answer.
[Herta: ?]
[Kiana: No. I'll come over myself.]
[Herta: ...Then come now?]
[Kiana: No. I'm still deciding whether to forgive you. Once I've finished deciding, I'll come over.]
[Herta: ???]
Herta was stunned. She had clearly not expected Kiana to answer like that.
Usually, she was the one who pulled this kind of shameless nonsense on other people.
She had never imagined someone would one day turn around and do exactly the same thing to her.
Off to the side, Ruan Mei—who had originally been quietly waiting for Herta—also noticed that something was wrong.
"Herta, what's the matter with you?"
Herta turned back irritably, as though wanting to vent her frustration on Ruan Mei instead.
"Wait a moment. Don't annoy me."
Ruan Mei: ?
[Herta: Then how far along are you in deciding now?]
This time, the reply came quickly.
[Kiana: (ᗜ˰ᗜ) Still deciding. Progress: 10%]
[Herta: ...]
Forget it.
At this point, there was nothing for it except to go find her personally.
Sigh.
Who would have thought that being a parent could be this difficult?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 135)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter67)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter85)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 60
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 65
From Junkman to Wasteland 50
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 35
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 40
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 37
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