He, he, he, didn’t he just kiss that stargazer not long ago? Why, why would this big-looking aunt stick to him so nonchalantly?! Kiana screamed in her heart.
He, he, he, isn't he Rita's boyfriend? I just saw them kissing each other at the entrance of the hall! Why would this seemingly great dean hug her so... so shamelessly! Raiden Mei also roared in her heart.
"Miss Yuexia." Rita walked to Yuexia and the store manager at the right time. Her smile was as gentle and elegant as ever, but her wine-red eyes showed no warmth at all. "For humans like me and the store manager, it's already very late. If you really can't vent the nighttime energy that only vampires have, why not ask Brownie for advice and ask her if there are any video games suitable for vampires like you to play all night? I believe that as a game lover, she will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."
Yuexia raised her head from the store manager's chest, narrowed her eyes slightly, and snorted coldly: "Huh, why do I remember that a certain witch lady who is active in dreams is actually the same as a vampire like me. She is the type that is more active only when humans are asleep?"
"This is a huge misunderstanding. Although in the original world, Rita could only live in the dream collection of humans as a soul, after obtaining the power of the lantern, I became a dream witch and of course I also got a body like humans." Rita said with a smile, "Rather, it is because of my transformation into a dream witch that I can become the store manager like I am now."
"If it's a misunderstanding, isn't it the same for me?" Yuexia also smiled. "Early before I was brought back by humans, the negative systems of vampires had already been unable to have any substantial impact on me. Don't you know this?"
Kiana and Raiden Mei stood there in silence, not daring to move.
These things, can outsiders like them hear them for free? ? ? ? ?
"Also, don't treat me like a child. I already know that even normal humans will have activities that are unique to the night. Or are you trying to tell me that tonight, you are going to go back to your room and sleep like a little girl?" Yuexia's lips curled up slightly, and she straightened her heart that had buried the manager's arm deeply. "That's right. After all, Rita is indeed younger than me. It's my mistake to be as harsh on you as I am on a mature woman. I apologize."
At this moment, the bathroom door was suddenly pushed open, and Brownie, wrapped in a thin bath towel, walked out of the bathroom with a normal expression. His front was so flat that even if he was on some B video website, it would not be an eyesore if a paladin or a shadow priest came over. His silver-gray slightly curly hair drooped naturally.
"What are you guys doing standing at the door?" Brownie rolled his eyes and walked to a place not far from the stairs with a subtle expression. "If you don't go to bed early, you won't be able to get up tomorrow."
"..."
Rita and Yuexia looked at Brownie's flat ground, then looked at each other, and smiled knowingly at the same time.
Yuexia smiled and said, "It's just some topics between mature women. It has nothing to do with Brownie. If you feel tired, you can go to bed early."
Rita also said with a smile: "Miss Yuexia is right, Miss Brownie, you are the best barista among us at making drinks, and you are also the hardest working one among us. If you feel tired, you might as well take a rest early. The cafe will still be open tomorrow. I hope you can take care of your health."
"Oh, really? A topic between mature women, right?" Brownie repeated Yuexia's words in a strange tone.
"Yes, is there any problem?" Yuexia and Rita said at the same time.
"Since this is a topic between mature women—"
Without any warning, Brownie suddenly stretched out her hand, grabbed the young store manager's arm, and ran away without looking back.
"——Then it has nothing to do with him. Manager, I will borrow it first. You guys can continue to talk about your mature women. Bye~"
Boom! With the slam of a door, the air in the corridor returned to silence. Rita and Yuexia stood there dumbfounded.
Chapter 2 Theresa: I suddenly have a boyfriend, and I feel very uncomfortable (k)
Night is a silent night, and silence is the Hyperion of tonight.
Kiana and Raiden Mei swallowed at the same time. They looked at Rita and Yuexia who were disheveled in the wind, then looked at each other and nodded to each other.
They held their breath, bent over in tacit understanding, stood on tiptoe, leaned against the wall, and walked into the temporary bedroom assigned to Kiana by the stargazing team one after another. Then they closed the door quietly, completely isolating themselves from the impending torrential rain.
The piercing thunder and the sound of electric saws were endless, and the cracks in the door were filled with the interweaving light and shadow of heterogeneous energy.
——Yalilo No. 6, Beloberg, Administrative District.
It was late at night, and the only remaining Everlasting City in the frozen soil was completely silent. The street lamps and the mineral energy called Earth's Marrow in the heaters illuminated the empty streets. Most of the lights in the buildings had been turned off, leaving only a few windows of sleepless people still lit.
The office on the top floor of Klippe Castle was brightly lit. Beside the curved guardian's desk, a thin and delicate figure was still reviewing administrative documents. Under the light of the chandelier, she looked particularly lonely.
It had been less than forty-eight hours since Bronya was inaugurated as the new Grand Guardian, and the young noble girl still hadn't adjusted to her job.
At a certain moment, she suddenly stopped reviewing the documents and rubbed her brows. The muscles between her brows could not relax no matter what she did. Fatigue kept rising up, but she was not sleepy at all, because she knew that every stroke of her pen would determine a major event that would affect the fate of everyone on this planet.
Although the core of the star has been successfully sealed by the pioneers of the train group and the rift that was eroding the planet has stopped expanding, the existing rift still needs some time to heal. The long-term cold wave has already caused irreversible damage to the ecosystem of this ice planet.
In addition, the upper and lower class passages that had been forcibly blocked by Cocolia for more than a decade had brought about completely irreconcilable conflicts between the people on both sides.
External problems and internal conflicts were like continuous thorns, piercing Bronya's heart one after another.
As a ruler, Bronya, who is kind-hearted and has received a relatively positive education in life, is undoubtedly responsible and friendly. However, the problem that Beloberg... or the problem that this planet is facing now, is not a problem that can be easily solved by a ruler.
For example, although the blockade of the Upper and Lower Districts has been gradually lifted under the leadership of Bronya, the resources that Beloberg can mobilize are still extremely limited. For the residents of the Lower District who have not even seen the sun for more than ten years, they would certainly hope that the reconstruction of the Lower District can be put on the agenda as soon as possible. However, at this moment when the rift has not been completely lifted, in order to protect the lives and safety of the people, Klipperburg still cannot mobilize too much manpower to support the reconstruction of the Lower District.
At this desperate moment... the young manager of the coffee shop used such a tough attitude to force her to make a "deal" as if it were a child's play.
When Bronya thought about the prank she had suffered in that cafe, she felt both wronged and angry.
It felt like meeting an unreasonable elder, but for some reason, I was completely unable to resist.
Obviously, she was so busy that she even wanted to tie up Xier, who was completely illiterate, to help her. However, the manager of the coffee shop relied on his superior strength to force her to visit him when she had no free time at all.
But she was worried about letting other people go to that dangerous store. If someone got hurt, Bronya would never forgive herself.
Mother, is this what you once said to Bronya: "The higher the position, the greater the responsibility"?
Bronya slumped weakly in the Guardian's office chair, poking the young store manager's nostrils in her heart while unconsciously calling out to her former mother. Her eyelids gradually began to droop.
I don’t understand, I don’t understand, Mother Cocolia.
Bronya, what should you do to fulfill your duties as a guardian?
In confusion, Bronya fell into a dream.
——Changkong City in 2013.
The Hyperion, which was speeding away from the city's airspace, made a low roar.
"I've said this for the seventeenth time, I don't have a boyfriend!!!"
In a cabin of the Hyperion, a young, clear voice screamed like a groundhog.
Theresa's eyes were bloodshot with fatigue. Behind her was Kiana lying on the bed, and in front of her was Raiden Mei, who looked at a loss.
Suddenly, she turned her head sharply and said viciously:
"Jizi, if you dare to laugh again, I will throw you out here!!"
"Don't be so angry, Theresa, phew."
The mature red-haired woman smiled frivolously. She spread her hands and showed an extremely exaggerated envy on her face: "Having a boyfriend who can accompany you is not a bad thing. Besides, from what the girl said, the boy is also very popular. If you calculate it this way, you still win."
"What does it have to do with me whether he's welcome or not? I don't even know him!" Theresa felt like she was on the verge of going crazy. She pointed at the red-haired woman and yelled, "If you think you've made a profit, why don't you do it yourself?!"
"I would like to do it myself, but from what this girl said, isn't that boy your boyfriend?" Ji Zi shrugged. "No matter how horny I am, no matter how much I want to find a good man, I won't do anything to your man. And from what this girl said, isn't that boy not much older than you? At least in terms of appearance."
"It's really great, Theresa, to have such a perfect boy as your boyfriend." After saying that, Ji Zi couldn't help laughing, and her laughter was full of gloating.
"Okay, no more jokes." Having laughed enough, looking at Theresa's increasingly dark face, Himeko wisely seized the moment when Theresa completely lost her mind, and before she really put into action the act of "abandoning her to Hyperion", her expression became serious, "Little girl... I'll still call you Mei. So, to sum up what you just said, there was a boy whose hair and eye color were very similar to mine, who controlled you and another girl who had lost control, right?"
Chapter 4 Jizi, Theresa: Who? ? ? ? (k)
Before arriving in Changkong City, Theresa and Jizi knew nothing about what was happening in the city.
They only knew that Destiny had detected a strange collapse event in Changkong City that was even more intense than the Herrscher's, but lasted for a very short time.
The Sky Mandate Headquarters was very concerned about this strange collapse incident. Not only did they notify the Far East Branch immediately and request the Far East Branch's ace and commander-in-chief to go out at the same time, they even took the initiative to propose the promise of letting the strongest Valkyrie who had just been promoted to the S-level sequence not long ago to come to support.
The attitude of the Schicksal Headquarters was so strict that Theresa and Himeko certainly had no choice but to be serious. However, after arriving in Changkong City, the Hyperion did not detect any Honkai energy signals in Changkong City.
Not only was there no signal of Honkai energy, but there wasn't even a shadow of a dead soldier or Honkai beast to be seen in the entire city.
Just when the two of them were confused, a flash of fire suddenly appeared on the ground.
What followed was a sudden high-intensity Honkai energy reaction.
Ji Zi, who had been mentally prepared for this, immediately changed the course of the Hyperion and set her target at the place where the fire was lit. Theresa's pupils shrank when she saw the fire.
As Siegfried's former comrade-in-arms and relative, it was not difficult for her to recognize the blazing gunshot of the Holy Tribunal of Heavenly Fire. Theresa immediately realized that the enemy who could make Siegfried take out the Holy Tribunal of Heavenly Fire must be quite difficult to deal with. So she quickly armed herself with her cross, with an unprecedented solemn expression, and prepared for the upcoming battle.
Seeing Theresa showing a serious look after a long time, Jizi, feeling a little depressed, also prepared herself mentally to use the Nexus system.
But when Hyperion arrived at the destination, the images sent back by the monitor stunned them both.
Although one commercial street was severely damaged and there were flames from the explosion of the Holy Fire Judgment in the distance, Theresa and Jizi did not see any enemy in the ruins. Instead, there were only the wreckage of destroyed mechas scattered all over the ground.
They walked out of the hatch cautiously and came to the edge of the bridge, using their sharp vision as Valkyries to scan the situation on the ground, but the information they finally obtained was no different from Hyperion's surveillance.
Except for the two girls captured by Jizi.
When they were found, one of the silver-haired European girls had lost consciousness, and the other black-haired Oriental girl was in a state of confusion. She frowned and held her brain in her hands, staring blankly into the void, as if she had lost something very important, and kept muttering strange words.
Seeing the two girls, Theresa immediately chose to collect them. But just as she jumped to the ground, the black-haired oriental girl suddenly got shocked and hit her with a club that still made her eyes full of stars.
—Hyperion…Hyperion…!!! Yes! Hyperion! Hyperion Cafe! The manager of Hyperion Cafe!
At that time, the black-haired girl shouted to Theresa:
——You are the store manager’s girlfriend!!
Theresa was stunned at once. She couldn't even react to the word Hyperion coming out of the child's mouth. She waited until Jizi jumped down. She stayed where she was and couldn't refute the girl's words. As a result, she was ridiculed by Jizi who was just watching the fun until now.
Fortunately, despite looking out of place, Jizi is still a Valkyrie whose mission is to fight against Honkai, and she can always distinguish the priorities of things.
So after mocking Theresa enough, she still put on a stern face and began to confirm the specific situation of the recent incident with the girl who was still conscious.
It has to be said that Himeko is worthy of being a general with the rank of major. She looked like an aunt who had heard gossip a second ago, with a teasing look on her face. But when she showed a serious expression, the murderous aura forged by blood and tears on the battlefield still made Raiden Mei feel nervous unconsciously.
But even though she was nervous, Mei Raiden didn't lie, so she didn't feel guilty even though she was nervous. She just hesitated for a moment and nodded, confirming Ji Zi's summary:
"Yes, that's right. It was that boy who controlled me and that girl together."
Theresa and Jizi looked at each other and saw a hint of doubt in each other's eyes.
Whether it was the warning from the Mission Headquarters to the Far East Branch, or the Honkai energy fluctuation just detected by the Hyperion, their energy levels had already exceeded the critical point of 1000HW, which was enough to generate the Herrscher core. It stands to reason that only the Herrscher could cause Honkai energy fluctuations of this level, but at the scene of the Honkai outbreak, they did not find any Herrscher, but only found these two girls who looked harmless... but were not harmless at all.
According to Mei Raiden's description, both she and the other silver-haired girl who had lost consciousness had briefly lost control not long ago, and showed an extremely aggressive and destructive attitude.
During the time when she lost control, she suddenly awakened a special ability that seemed to be able to control lightning.
Combining this description with the Honkai energy fluctuations they had previously detected, Theresa and Himeko, who were very experienced in fighting Honkai, could actually guess some of the truth.
To be fair, they didn't think that Mei Raiden had deceived them, but was such a thing possible?
Just a brain collapse was enough to forcibly defeat the awakened Herrscher's consciousness? Theresa, who had experienced the second collapse thirteen years ago, was a little skeptical about her life.
Moreover, there was another problem in Raiden Mei's description that she could not ignore at all——
Theresa walked in front of Mei Raiden and pointed at the silver-haired girl with rolled eyes with an unpleasant expression: "Are you saying that this child just showed a strong desire to destroy just like you?"
"Hmm... Hmm." Raiden Mei nodded cautiously. She looked at Theresa's face and suddenly realized, "Huh? You look..."
Theresa pursed her lips and said, "I look a lot like that child. You are not mistaken. In terms of blood relationship, I am a relative of this child and the one-armed man you mentioned."
As she was talking, Theresa suddenly made a rather unhappy sound, and a trace of gloom and pain appeared in her azure pupils: "- Tsk, that bastard Siegfried, it would have been fine if he just left his daughter with me, but he also made things so complicated. Why did Kiana become a Herrscher? What on earth did those damn Siegfried and Anti-Entropy do to Cecilia's child..."
"..." Is this child's name Kiana? Raiden Mei silently looked at the girl lying on the bed and quietly memorized her name in her heart.
Although this silver-haired girl looked reckless and had some strange thoughts about her that made her speechless, she still resolutely chose to help her when she misunderstood that she was in danger. It could be said that she was in the same boat with her...
...Well, anyway, you should get along with her properly after you have clearly rejected her.
Seeing Raiden Mei's thoughtful expression, Jizi pondered for a moment and asked calmly: "Do you know why you lost control?"
Raiden Mei thought for a moment and said, "Is it because we are a kind of existence called Herrscher?"
"It seems that you are not completely ignorant of what happened to you." Jizi raised her eyebrows. She looked at Raiden Mei's calm expression and suddenly felt a little weird. "Don't you think the Herrscher is dangerous?"
Mei Raiden blinked and suddenly froze for some reason, as if she was recalling something.
After being stunned for a long while, Mei Raiden honestly expressed her thoughts: "It is very dangerous for ordinary people like us, but for those of you who know the inside story, it should be easy to deal with."
"Why do you think like this... uh, it seems there is no need to ask this question." Jizi glanced at the bruise between Raiden Mei's eyebrows, and the corner of her eye suddenly twitched.
She took a long breath and said, "Although I may disappoint you, unfortunately, even for us, the Herrscher is a very dangerous thing."
There was an obvious hint of suspicion in Raiden Mei's eyes.
"...It's useless even if you look at me with eyes that don't believe me. I don't need to lie to you. It's us who should be having a headache." Ji Zi pressed her forehead, her bright and mature face full of helplessness. "We went to the place you mentioned before leaving Changkong City to look for the coffee shop you just mentioned, but as for the result, I think you should have seen it too."
Mei Raiden's eyes dimmed all of a sudden. She bit her lower lip lightly and said hesitantly, "But, but, if that coffee shop doesn't exist, then what exactly did I encounter..."
"Don't worry." Jizi walked to the metal wall of the cabin, took a glass of drinking water from the port embedded in the wall, and handed it to Raiden Mei. "We have checked the traces at the scene. Although we didn't find the cafe you mentioned, from the wreckage of the mecha at the scene, it seems that a very powerful person did appear in the ruins."
"That's right." Theresa nodded. "Although Siegfried's strength is not weak, he has lost an arm and is not strong enough to destroy those mechas without relying on the Holy Fire Judge. Therefore, we have not arbitrarily judged the testimonies you provided to us as groundless conjectures."
"...Except for the fact that you said that boy is my boyfriend, of course."
"But, I really saw you..." Mei Raiden took the cup of water from Himeko's hand, and was hesitant to speak.
"Are you sure it was Theresa you saw?" Ji Zi asked.
"Huh? But she does look like the store manager's girlfriend..." As she spoke, Mei Raiden's voice suddenly became lower.
Theresa's expression eased a little. "Could it be someone who looks like me? You told us that you stayed in that store for half a day. During that time, did you hear that person's name?"
Mei Raiden hesitated for a moment: "Okay... It seems to be a name from Shenzhou, called Stargazing or something..."
