The massive battleship, cloaked in white, pierced through clouds and mist. Under Hyperion's full-speed voyage, it swiftly reached the nearest Anti-Entropy base equipped with advanced medical facilities.
The girls trailed the medical staff, watching them carefully transfer Murata Himeko to an advanced treatment pod. Gazing at her withered, burned-out figure, the atmosphere grew somber.
"So, next, Bronya and I head back to St. Freya to retrieve the God Key called 'Jizo Soul' and hand it to you, right?"
Theresa straightened up, her face tinged with embarrassment.
On the way here, Shiraki had briefly explained the origins of Jizo Soul, clarifying it was a freebie God Key with no strings attached.
Looking back at her actions, Theresa couldn't help but feel she'd outdone herself in foolishness.
"Yup. Leave the negotiations with World Serpent to me and Kiana."
As he spoke, Shiraki noticed Dr. Tesla emerging from the medical wing's lab, holding a small cage with a single, fluffy, adorable creature inside.
"Here, your lab mouse."
"Thanks." Politely accepting the cage from Tesla, Shiraki opened it and reached inside.
The mouse scurried in panic, but escaping a human's grasp was futile.
These lab mice were impeccably clean, safe to handle directly.
"By the way, what're you doing with it?" Tesla watched Shiraki's movements, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
The other girls, aside from Kiana, shared the same intrigued stares.
"Nothing much, just a small experiment."
Shiraki opened his slender palm, and to everyone's astonishment, the lively, healthy mouse seemed to dissolve into his fair hand, like it was sinking into seawater.
On Earth, a blue-haired girl at a computer desk extended her delicate hand, and the seemingly sleeping mouse slowly materialized.
Oh, wow!
Shiraki and Reverie blinked in unison.
Good news: Beings other than Shiraki could traverse worlds via the mysterious space.
Bad news: Any entity whose soul wasn't "Shiraki" would have its soul obliterated the moment it entered the mysterious space.
Biologically, the mouse was still "alive." Compared to its state in the Honkai world, not a single cell had changed—physical laws, biological functions, and genetic sequences were identical to a second ago.
But it was effectively "dead"!
"Hm, all things considered, it's good news."
Dead or alive, as long as the mouse's genetic makeup, cellular mechanisms, and structure remained unchanged, it meant demon cells could be studied in this world.
"Wait, what was that? What did you just do?"
The red-haired, twin-tailed glasses girl stared at Shiraki's hand in disbelief, her eyes gleaming.
As a dedicated scientist, witnessing such a bizarre physical phenomenon—seemingly unrelated to Honkai energy—how could Tesla stay calm?
"Just a basic spatial ability." Shiraki met Tesla's eager gaze, spouting nonsense with a straight face.
No one could call him out on it anyway~!
Speaking of which, Reverie had just checked Baidu for Einstein and Tesla's ages. The former was 79, the latter 82. Not just older single ladies—way past prime, right?
Dressing like a neighborhood sister—suspiciously youthful, no?
In other words: Why's an old hag acting like a blushing maiden?
"…" Tesla's eye twitched. She didn't buy it, but she had no proof.
And she sensed some inexplicable malice in Shiraki's gaze.
Tch, this guy's personality feels kinda rotten!
Just then, Einstein, who'd been overseeing Himeko's transfer to the life-support pod, stepped out of the medical bay. In a calm tone, she briefed the girls on Himeko's condition, then turned to Tesla, who was circling Shiraki with an odd look.
"Dr. Tesla, what are you doing?"
"Frizzy Head, didn't you see? Just now…"
Tesla recounted Shiraki's experiment with precision and objectivity, her tone still tinged with wonder.
"Call me Dr. Einstein outside."
Knowing it was futile, Einstein added the correction anyway, then looked at Shiraki with a rare hint of astonishment.
On the way to the base, Shiraki had explained the plan to treat Himeko, with Einstein and Tesla listening throughout.
This boy named Shiraki possessed intelligence far beyond their expectations—not just about Destiny, Anti-Entropy, and the shadowy World Serpent, but even details of the Previous Era.
And it was clear his information was factual, as much of it could be traced.
Einstein was genuinely curious: How did Shiraki know all this?
Siegfried's daughter's boyfriend… so mysterious!
"Right, ol—cough. If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Siegfried is currently recovering at an Anti-Entropy branch base, yes?"
Seeing Einstein and Tesla's probing gazes, Shiraki quickly changed the subject.
It wasn't entirely a dodge. Reverie had spent the night researching Honkai's plot on Earth. Later events might shift due to butterfly effects, but for now, the ripples weren't strong enough.
After Kevin's return, World Serpent cadres would soon target Siegfried for his Skyfire Judgment, and he'd be taken to World Serpent, imprisoned in a Stigmata space by Kevin.
Shiraki wouldn't let that happen.
Kiana's father was his father. Sure, Siegfried wasn't exactly Father of the Year, but he was still family.
"Yeah! That deadbeat dad's still with Anti-Entropy!"
Her slender fingers intertwined with Shiraki's, his thoughts echoing in her mind, making Kiana's expression shift.
The peaceful, idyllic life at St. Freya had long pushed finding Siegfried to the back of Kiana's mind.
Wait, hold off on the filial piety.
Shiraki remembering her dad at a time like this—doesn't that prove *her* devotion?
The filial kind, not the laugh-out-loud kind.
"This…"
Einstein and Tesla exchanged glances. The latter's face stiffened, and she started whistling.
Siegfried was indeed recovering at an Anti-Entropy branch, but he'd made them swear not to tell Kiana.
They'd agreed, knowing why Siegfried avoided his daughter.
But now that Kiana learned his whereabouts from her boyfriend, it wasn't their fault. Still, facing Kiana's confirmation, Einstein and Tesla felt stumped.
Scratching her messy light-blue curls, Einstein's usually composed face showed a trace of helplessness.
"Alright, I understand."
From the doctors' expressions, Kiana easily guessed her dad had told them something like "Don't ever reveal my location."
"Then please pass a message to him!"
Kiana held Shiraki's hand with one hand, the other on her hip, her refined, fair face frosted with icy resolve.
She narrowed her piercing eyes. "Tell him I'm marrying my boyfriend next month. If he doesn't want to miss his daughter's big day, he'd better show up!"
Gasp!!!
The moment Kiana spoke, a chorus of shocked inhales filled the room.
Mei, Bronya, and Theresa were outright dumbfounded. After a brief silence—
"M-m-marriage!!?"
Their unified shout nearly blew the roof off, the shrill pitch making Shiraki, who'd been smiling, cover his ears.
Raiden Mei looked thunderstruck, her world crumbling, her background fading to grayscale.
"Uh, Mei, don't panic. It's just a ploy to get Da—Mr. Siegfried to meet her. We're not actually getting married."
"Oh, uh…" Mei nodded dazedly, even more bewildered that Shiraki, her supposed "rival," was comforting her.
Not just her—everyone stared at Shiraki and Kiana like they'd seen a ghost.
What kind of chaotic mess was this relationship!?
"Oh, right, right! Mei, don't worry. Even if we did marry, we could divorce anytime!"
Kiana, catching on belatedly, joined Shiraki in reassuring Mei, her words making scalps tingle.
Marriage is a legal act where spouses establish their relationship under lawful conditions, bearing resulting rights, duties, and responsibilities.
But what was Kiana and Shiraki's relationship?
They were one person!
Their rights, duties, and responsibilities were inherently unified. They needed no external validation—laws and norms had no place in defining their bond.
A marriage certificate? Just a scrap of paper to them!
If Siegfried didn't show up, Kiana wouldn't hesitate to register a marriage with Shiraki, have Tesla slap the certificate in her dad's face, and see if he still hid from her!
Next time, she'd dare to have a daughter… uh, no, kids were off the table for now.
Tesla & Einstein: "Genius!"
"If you put it that way, no problem. We'll make sure he gets the message!"
Tesla's expression was solemn and resolute, like a hero tasked with saving the world.
Einstein nodded gravely.
The blue frizzy head and red lobster duo activated ghost sprint and bolted, eager to deliver this bombshell to Siegfried.
Theresa, Bronya, and Raiden Mei exchanged glances.
Through this half-joking exchange, they finally grasped Kiana and Shiraki's relationship.
Casually discussing marriage without batting an eye said it all!
Theresa and Bronya set off for St. Freya to retrieve Jizo Soul, neglected for years due to Theresa's epic blunder.
Raiden Mei listened to Kiana and Shiraki's tag-team explanations beside her, her expression a mix of oddity and daze.
What even was this situation!?