Kiana continued:
"I have a dad. He left me and vanished when I was very young. To find him, I've traveled everywhere, starting from Siberia."
"Every time I find a trace of him, I'm always one step too late and end up empty-handed. Dammit..."
Kiana squeezed her fists indignantly and went on, "Recently, in Nagazora in the Far East, I found a trace of my stinky old man. I even met a kind teacher who helped me enroll in Chiba Academy, so I headed there."
"Once I get back from this hellhole and find that stinky old man, I'm definitely going to find out why he abandoned me back then. If his answer doesn't satisfy me, I'll never talk to him again!"
Sakuraba Ema's eyes were full of worry. "Miss Kiana..."
Yukinoshita Yukino remained silent, deeply shocked and somewhat admiring of Kiana:
A single-parent family, and she was abandoned by her father. To find him, she crossed from Siberia all the way to the Far East—she's practically a superhuman.
Kushida Kikyo was the first to offer the blessing Kiana cared about most:
"I believe Miss Kiana will definitely find her father!"
Natsuyu's thoughts drifted.
Kiana's father, Siegfried, had actually been protecting Kiana from the shadows all along; otherwise, it would have been difficult for a child like her to traverse multiple countries.
He wondered if Siegfried would go mad after discovering Kiana had vanished, getting hit hard by the boomerang of his own choices. Perhaps he'd regretfully set out on a path to find Kiana, only to end up with lifelong regrets.
Thinking about it was actually quite intense!
Of course, the best thing was still to find the way home as soon as possible.
Kiana rubbed her forehead and gave a sunny smile. "Hehe, you can just call me Kiana."
"I'm very strong. If we run into danger, you can hide behind me."
"I control Honkai Energy. I can't really say exactly what Honkai Energy is, but it makes me stronger than ordinary people and even lets me defeat Honkai Beasts."
Natsuyu looked at the grinning Kiana and nodded slightly.
In her normal state, Kiana's combat power allowed her to beat a Chariot-class Houkai Beast as large as a building to death with a baseball bat. She was definitely the highest combat power among everyone present.
If pushed too hard and the second personality of Queen Sirin inside her body awakened, she would turn into a Herrscher, capable of destroying heaven and earth.
Of course, Sirin hated humans.
If she came out, Natsuyu and the others would likely be the first to die.
—However, the birth of a Herrscher required Honkai Energy.
This wasn't the Honkai world, and there was no Honkai Energy in the air. Even if Queen Sirin had the Ability to connect to the Imaginary Space to obtain Honkai Energy, she probably wouldn't be able to reach it.
Kiana probably couldn't turn into a true Herrscher here, right?
Natsuyu pondered the status of the highest-stat member in his hands and spoke up:
"If we encounter Monsters, we won't just let you do all the fighting. We need to divide the work and cooperate. We won't let anyone slack off, nor will we put all the pressure on one person."
Kiana put her hands on her hips and showed a big smile, the corners of her mouth curling like a cat's. "Handsome, you're not bad at all!"
Sakuraba Ema and the others didn't know what a Honkai Beast was, but they roughly understood that Kiana was different from them; she had possessed a Superpower long ago and had even defeated Monsters.
Could she be a superhero hiding in the shadows?
With the reliable Natsuyu on one side and the powerful Kiana on the other, a sense of security surged within them!
Almost simultaneously, the gazes of the four girls turned toward Natsuyu.
Sakuraba Ema said expectantly, "It's your turn."
Natsuyu nodded to Sakuraba Ema, and she gave a shy smile.
"My name is Rurikawa Natsuyu. You can just call me Natsuyu."
Sakuraba Ema's throat bobbed. "Y-yes, Natsuyu-kun!"
"Rurikawa?"
Yukinoshita Yukino pondered for a moment before speaking. "Isn't that a noble surname from over in Tokyo?"
Kushida Kikyo was surprised. "Eh? Ru... Natsuyu is actually a high noble?"
Natsuyu shook his head. "Just fallen nobility."
"I aspire to be a correct person, and the voice in my head tried to lure me with that as well. I didn't fall for it, but I was still dragged here."
Sakuraba Ema was very surprised. "Natsuyu is also someone who pursues what is correct? You're exactly like my friend Hiro."
"Hiro is my childhood friend. I can't compare to her in any way. She's very popular, loved by everyone, always works hard to uphold justice, and is even the student council president... I feel like Natsuyu is becoming more and more like my friend."
Natsuyu shook his head slightly and said softly, "I am not her. The 'correctness' we pursue is different."
Kiana asked, "Can you tell us about it?"
"There's nothing that can't be said."
Natsuyu spoke calmly. "My father was a matrilocal son-in-law of the Rurikawa family. My mother died early, and my father worked hard as the head of the house."
"He was a Mr. Attorney who frequently fought against evil and performed correct actions. He also hoped I would become a correct person."
Kiana realized and said with some envy, "My stinky old man can't compare to your good dad at all. You're pursuing correctness because of your dad's teaching."
"That's not the case."
Natsuyu lowered his head to adjust his sleeves, his fingertips lightly rubbing the skin of his wrist. He continued with a calm expression, "I actually wasn't interested in that at all. I just wanted to earn some money, eat and wait to die, and spend my life lying flat in comfort."
Yukinoshita Yukino offered a poison-tongued comment, "For an old noble, being a parasite is already the most helpful ideal for society."
Sakuraba Ema asked curiously, "Then why does Natsuyu want to pursue correctness now?"
"Because of my father's death."
"!" *4
The four girls were shocked.
Especially Kiana, who had brought up the topic; Yukinoshita Yukino, who had just said something unkind; and Sakuraba Ema, who had asked for the answer.
The three girls' expressions wavered, and a deep sense of regret surged within them at the same time:
I'm such a jerk! Why did I have to be so curious and ask!
Natsuyu continued his narration. The four girls carefully observed his calm expression and braced themselves to listen:
"About half a year ago, someone broke into our home intending to kill us. Mr. Attorney, in order to protect me, died along with the intruder."
Following Natsuyu's words, Kushida Kikyo offered soft comfort, "That person was too evil. Natsuyu, are you okay now?"
Natsuyu spread his hands and said, "I'm fine, don't worry so much. I didn't even feel particularly sad back then, and I certainly won't now."
After all, as a transmigrator, Natsuyu's feelings for Mr. Attorney were more about recognizing his upright character. There were some family feelings, but he truly couldn't view him entirely as a father; their relationship was more like good friends.
"However, you're wrong. The intruder wasn't an evil person."
"Eh?"
Kushida Kikyo let out a confused little sound.
Natsuyu explained, "I only learned the ins and outs of the matter then."
"A group of bad people had gathered information on my commute to school and used me to threaten Mr. Attorney into helping them with a legal defense to escape their crimes."
"Mr. Attorney defended the bad people and, using his connections, achieved a perfect victory."
"The intruder was actually a family member of the victim. In Mr. Attorney's words, it was a righteous revenge."
"Mr. Attorney died along with the intruder. Before he died, he said to me, 'There's no need to admire your father anymore. He did something wrong and isn't worth following. Go seek your own, true correctness, Natsuyu.' He even sentimentally thought I admired him."
Kushida Kikyo's throat felt dry and uncomfortable. Looking at Natsuyu's calm expression, she began to admire his composure.
Wait, how do all of you have tragic pasts!
Could it be that Yukinoshita Yukino also had a tragic experience that turned her so cold?
Kushida Kikyo shot a pitying glance at Yukinoshita Yukino, having completely misunderstood.
Natsuyu said, "I thus developed doubts about what is 'correct.' Since it was Mr. Attorney's final wish, I want to pursue the true correctness."
"And without a doubt!"
Natsuyu's voice suddenly rose. "This hellhole, ignoring the will of those involved and bringing us here, is an absolutely incorrect act."
"So, we must unite and work hard, stop internal strife, tolerate one another, find the way home, and leave this hellhole together!"