Inside the Valkyrie dormitory—
To celebrate the near-flawless end of the Fourth Honkai Eruption, a grand victory banquet was held.
After all, with only heavy losses to tactical mechs and fewer than ten casualties, this kind of brilliant record would have stunned even those in the Previous Era.
But most importantly, yet another Herrscher had successfully defected from the Honkai side to join humanity.
The future of the Current Era looked brighter than ever!
In the banquet hall, Elias listened to the lively chatter of his girls while offering words of comfort and rewards.
"To think you could simultaneously control so many of the weapons I left behind and wipe out an entire horde of Honkai Beasts in one go—truly amazing, my dear Bronya! What a pity I couldn't see it with my own eyes… tch, Welt, hurry up and hand over that core!"
Elias beamed with pride as he pulled Bronya onto his lap and planted a kiss on the cheeks of the ever-stoic bunny.
"It was thanks to the weapons you constructed, Elias," Bronya replied humbly—though her face clearly said, keep the praise coming, please.
"Seele was incredible too today. Besides Bronya, she had the highest number of Honkai Beast kills and saved more teammates than anyone else."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Elias turned to the blue-haired girl beside him, her cheeks slightly flushed with embarrassment. He could tell that Seele had grown into someone mature and dependable.
That's when Bronya's reliability as a big sister showed. Knowing her little sister was too shy, she gave Seele a push at just the right moment.
"Go on, Seele."
"Thank you, Bronya-sis… Papa Elias, I… I want…"
The butterfly-like beauty closed her eyes nervously and turned her face slightly to the side. Elias immediately understood what she wanted and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.
In the very next second—
"My turn now. Can't play favorites, Father. Seele may have saved the most, but I had the highest kill count. So..."
Dark Seele popped out to claim her reward.
Unlike the angelic Seele just now, she was like a mischievous little devil, hopping right onto Elias' lap and attempting to boldly claim a kiss of her own.
"No lips, Dark Seele."
However, she was quickly met with the barrel of a cannon-sized weapon pressed to the back of her head. Bronya calmly reminded her that while she didn't mind giving her little sister a taste, there were unspoken rules—no younger sister was allowed to outpace her big sister.
"Tch."
Dark Seele clicked her tongue, silently vowing to find an opportunity to overtake her. Unlike her other self, she was rebellious through and through.
Elias chuckled at the sisters' little skit. After handing out the rest of the rewards, he noticed someone missing.
"Rita's not here… Still taking it to heart, huh."
One maid was absent from the banquet.
Though most of the dishes on the table were made by Rita, she herself hadn't shown up. Elias didn't need to think twice—she was clearly brooding somewhere, shutting herself off.
She was someone who always held herself to perfect standards. And even though today's crisis wasn't her fault, her own hands had triggered it. Rita likely felt she had no right to attend the celebration.
"Sigh~ The ones who look the strongest are often the most fragile inside… guess I have no choice."
Setting down his wine glass, Elias walked up to the second floor toward the maid's room. Without knocking, he walked right in.
"You said you'd give everything to me, didn't you? Then don't blame me for not being polite with what's mine. Rita, where are you?"
Bzzz Bzzz!
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
He opened his phone—it was a message from the maid.
[Lord Elias, please don't look for me.]
"So she is here after all. Heh, playing hide-and-seek with me, huh? Alright then~ I'll play along. Don't worry, I won't cheat."
Elias cheerfully began searching the girl's room.
Ten minutes later—
"I give up, Rita. Where the heck are you?"
Elias sat awkwardly on the sofa.
He'd checked under the bed, inside the closet, even the ceiling—and found nothing. Turns out his maid was even better at hide-and-seek than he'd expected.
[I'm sorry, Lord Elias.]
"Apologies mean more when said in person."
[But I'm too ashamed to face you right now.]
"But I want to see you right now. Sigh~ fine. If you insist on being difficult, I guess I'll have to cheat a little. Too late to regret it now."
If he couldn't win fair and square, it was time to go full cheat mode.
Elias's eyes sharpened. He may be a classy gamer, but real life was a garbage game—of course he'd use hacks.
He picked up Rita's glass from the table and took a sip, clearing his throat. Then, with deep emotion, he spoke:
"Rita Rossweisse—I believe in you."
Clang—!
A sound echoed from somewhere in the house.
Fwooo~
Elias whistled, the corners of his lips curling into a sly smile, like a fox whose plan had just succeeded.
"See? Found you."
He turned toward the source of the noise, and his gaze landed on an overlooked spot.
Elias's eyes widened slightly. Surprised, yet finding it all too reasonable and amusing, he walked over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
"You really are the mistress of the fridge, Rita."
"Lord Elias… you're too cunning…"
"And you're a sneaky one yourself, making it this hard to find you."
Elias looked over the maid curled up in the fridge.
There she was—Rita huddled in the upper cooling compartment, eyes red and tear-streaked. The face that always wore a perfect smile was now filled with sorrow and grief.
By the way, the fridge was big enough to fit three or four people, and since no one would think to look in the food storage, Elias had simply overlooked it.
"Heave-ho!"
"L-Lord Elias!"
Before Rita could resist, Elias scooped her up in a princess carry. Not that she would have resisted anyway—the guilt-ridden maid had no will to fight back.
Kicking the fridge door shut with one foot, Elias carried her to her bedroom and unceremoniously tossed her onto the bed.
"Alright, that's enough. While you do look beautiful with that sorrowful, pitiful expression, I still prefer the elegant and composed you."
"I'm truly sorry, Lord Elias… once again, I've disgraced myself before you. But… I no longer have the right to face you. Today… I really did kill you."
Rita looked down at her hands, her face filled with remorse.
"I've betrayed your trust."
"I've broken my promise."
"I've made an unforgivable mistake."
She listed her sins as though reciting a confession.
If she could, she'd cut off the hands that had wielded her scythe. How could she betray someone who had trusted her so deeply?
Rita cursed her own weakness.
Even though the root cause was that damned Otto, it didn't change the fact—she had attacked Elias, the one she was supposed to serve.
Rita was more disappointed in herself than ever before.
If not for her "betrayal" today, none of what followed would have happened.
Otto's scheme had ultimately failed when the Honkai Fissile Bombs was destroyed—but it was because Rita was too weak and got controlled by the battlesuit that the extra crisis even occurred.
"Maybe that's true. But when you make a mistake, what you should do isn't run away—it's atone and make amends."
Elias pulled the maid into his arms. Rita instinctively struggled a little.
But it wasn't that she didn't want to be held. She just felt she no longer deserved his embrace.
Looking up at him blankly, Rita murmured,
"...Atone and make amends."
"Yeah. And I believe you've done more than enough of the first. Probably too much, actually. So now, all that's left is to make it right."
"Please tell me how, Lord Elias."
Rita gazed at him with a desperate longing.
If she could atone for her sins, she was willing to do anything.
The next second, Elias placed a hand over her heart.
"Making it right is simple. Since you broke my heart, then... give me yours. Don't make me say it again—non-physically, of course."
"...Would you still accept it? Someone like me—a useless, failed maid—might one day hurt you again, bring you more irreparable trouble."
"Don't make me say it a thousand times, Rita… I believe in you. I will always believe in you. Even if you drove a blade into my heart again, that trust wouldn't change. Sigh~ saying it out loud makes me sound hopeless. But I really am hopeless."
Elias smiled bitterly at himself.
But there was nothing he could do.
Because, just like that bastard Otto said—
Having no defenses against those he loved was Elias's only weakness.
And it was a weakness that could never be fixed, no matter how strong he became.
"Ah…"
Tears slipped down Rita's cheeks.
Her body trembled, and her heart felt like it might leap from her chest straight into Elias's hand.
This man… always like this.
Always saying things far beyond her imagination.
Always trusting her so completely.
She wanted so badly to offer him her whole self—to respond to his expectations, to earn more of his gaze, his words.
"My lord…"
Rita pressed her head against his chest, letting her feelings engulf her.
She knew—
Even if she made more mistakes in the future.
Even if she raised her weapon against him again and again.
Elias would still choose to forgive her.
But—
"There will never be a next time. I, Rita Rossweisse, swear with everything I have—I will never let you down again."
Even if Elias could forgive her, Rita would never forgive herself.
She didn't want to betray his trust ever again.
If something like this ever happened again, Rita would swing her scythe at herself before ever pointing it at him.
Because if she didn't, she'd have no face left to meet him.
She would never be able to repay her mistake.
"After all… I no longer have a second heart to atone with." she said, as if joking.
"Finally smiling again, huh? Yare yare~"
Elias let out a breath of relief and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
And in that moment, he understood—
From now on, this maid would live only to respond to his expectations.
Anything he wished for, even a careless comment or fleeting desire, Rita would take as her mission.
She was a heavy-hearted, pitifully endearing maid.
A girl he had accidentally won over too thoroughly… not that he'd even tried all that hard.
"Lord Elias, since you're still willing to let me be your maid, then I must boldly offer you some advice."
Rita drew a deep breath, as if summoning her courage.
"Advice? About what?" Elias blinked in surprise.
"You're far too gentle. While that's certainly one of your virtues, sometimes kindness can turn into a poisonous indulgence. That's why, occasionally, punishment is necessary."
"A maid who makes mistakes must be punished harshly. Only then will she remember and never dare to repeat them."
As she spoke, Rita began removing her outer coat, her blouse, and the hem of her skirt. Under the moonlight, her figure looked like a work of art.
"Lord Elias, please punish me. Don't hold back—this is not a reward, but a punishment."
"...Maybe you're right."
Elias's throat involuntarily tightened, his eyes widening as he found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the stunning scene before him.
However, just as he was about to reach out—
Thud!
A certain paramecium fell through a portal.
"S-Sorry! I just couldn't find Elias anywhere, so I came to look for him—I didn't mean to! I'll leave now, I'll go, I'm going right now…"
Though Kiana's mouth said she would leave, her feet stayed firmly planted. The hands covering her eyes had gaps wide enough to drive a bus through, and her bright blue eyes were opened as wide as possible.
In that moment, her breathing trembled. The sight before her was an entirely new world.
Elias felt unspeakable anguish.
But Rita's lips curled into a sly smile.
"Miss Kiana, would you like to join us?"
"Eh?"
"Rita?!"
Kiana and Elias were both stunned—was this maid being just a bit too bold? This didn't sound like a joke at all!
"C-Can I really?"
"Of course, Miss Kiana."
"Well, I guess… I wouldn't mind..."
Faced with Rita's sudden co-op invite, Kiana hesitated for only a split second before accepting. Then she crawled over like a curious kitten.
Elias glanced between the two girls in front of him, then looked up at the serene and flawless moon outside the window.
(Ah… Looks like tonight's going to be a sleepless night.)
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