Next day. Near a certain coast.
Durandal, who had just finished most of the world's small and medium-sized Honkai-related missions yesterday, looked at her friend beside her today and felt that something was off about her.
"I say, Rita, I'm glad you woke up safely, but the problem is..."
Looking at the smiling Rita, Durandal thought for a moment before asking her directly.
"What exactly are you planning?"
"Planning what..."
Hearing Durandal's question, Rita smiled and said to her.
"I just feel that we haven't seen Leo in a long time."
"Lady Durandal, you're free this time, and Lord Bishop also happened to give both me and Leo a holiday. Since everyone is free, it's not a bad thing for us to get together and meet, right?"
"...That's true."
Thinking about recent events, Durandal felt that the three of them had indeed contacted each other less recently.
During the time Rita was in a coma, Durandal and Leo Ash had actually contacted each other a few times.
But because Durandal was too busy, although they were in contact, the time they spent talking was pitifully short.
To be honest, Durandal quite wanted to chat more with Leo Ash.
But the problem was—Leo Ash's psychological issues were too severe, and she didn't have the ability to cure him. Sometimes, talking too much might not be helpful.
As a Valkyrie who lived by the creed of hard work, Durandal knew very well that sometimes, trying to do things you weren't good at was worse than working hard to do what you could do well.
What she was best at was dealing with Honkai Beasts.
And some time ago, Leo Ash had been confined to the Far East Branch by Lord Bishop Otto and couldn't go out.
Under these circumstances, Durandal's line of thinking was very clear.
Leo Ash is confined → Durandal and the Immortal Blades solve the other Honkai incidents → Even if Leo Ash's psychological issues can't be cured, he won't have a chance to act up without any Honkai to fight → The problem is temporarily suppressed.
It was a simple deduction, but Durandal felt there was nothing wrong with it.
As for the next large-scale Eruption breaking out and forcing Leo Ash to fight for his life...
Honestly, the Third and Fourth Eruptions were complete accidents.
The Third Eruption might not have happened, but Cocolia facilitated its outbreak.
And the Fourth Eruption... according to Lord Bishop, if Dr. Magi hadn't stolen the Gem of Serenity, the Fourth Eruption wouldn't have broken out so easily.
In the end, although large-scale Eruptions are Honkai events that break out in random regions, they normally only happen after a long time.
In Durandal's eyes, a large-scale Eruption breaking out near Leo Ash and threatening his life...
This was clearly a low-probability event. Scaring oneself over such a low-probability event was, in Durandal's view, like an ordinary person worrying about choking to death while drinking water—a complete overreaction.
As for whether Rita was planning something, Durandal felt she didn't need to be so suspicious.
They had known each other for so long. Rita had always been protecting Durandal as a senior, a friend, and even an unofficial sister. She could feel that.
And now, to suspect someone close to her because of a strange feeling was, in Durandal's opinion, completely unnecessary.
But right now, Rita, who was beside Durandal, was actually...
—Indeed, just as Durandal suspected, planning something.
Of course, Rita would never want to harm Durandal.
Although the current Durandal was very powerful, she was still very naive in terms of mentality.
As someone who saw her as an important person, Rita would naturally not want to harm her.
But, after sleeping for a long time this time, Rita felt that she had had an 'epiphany'.
In the past, she would work hard to complete the tasks Otto gave her. And because of this, Otto regarded her as a very important subordinate, allowing her, with her sufficient strength and ability, to be quickly promoted to S-rank.
But looking back at her actions over the past few years, Rita felt that she had been too passive.
She did whatever Otto said, and tried not to do what Otto disliked. This was Rita's 'survival rule'.
However, due to the sudden outbreak of the Fourth Eruption and the problems with Wendy, Rita finally realized something.
Her boss was not only not a good person, but also a super maniac.
Actively creating a Herrscher could be said to be for the sake of having a powerful soldier to fight against the Honkai.
Actively creating a large-scale Eruption to slaughter innocent civilians in an enemy country seemed very efficient, but...
—Human lives are not just a string of numbers.
If Leo Ash hadn't stopped the Fourth Eruption that broke out in Singapore in time, that large-scale Eruption induced by Otto could have easily killed millions of people in Singapore.
Once she realized how ruthless her boss was, the awakened Rita could no longer continue to operate in the same way as before.
From a long time ago, Rita had felt that Lord Bishop's actions were inscrutable.
And now, after a good sleep and having thought through many things, Rita felt that she really couldn't place all her hopes of fighting the Honkai on Otto Apocalypse.
Currently, Rita's parents were settled in Kolosten. As long as Schicksal wasn't completely breached by the Honkai, her parents would not be in mortal danger.
But, when Otto started actively creating Honkai like Cocolia, there was actually no place in the world that could be called absolutely safe.
Rita was a Valkyrie with a relatively normal mind and values.
And any Valkyrie with a normal mind would be very clear—just how terrifying the outbreak of a large-scale Eruption and the birth of a Herrscher were.
If she hadn't noticed what Lord Bishop was doing, she could have continued to be a high-level tool.
But now that Otto was already doing bad things, Rita felt that if she didn't prepare a backup plan, she would sooner or later be forced by her boss to do things that might betray humanity.
Since the boss could no longer be trusted, Rita felt that seeking another way out—was definitely not an option.
Besides Schicksal, only Anti-Entropy and the World Serpent were fighting the Honkai in the world right now.
And Anti-Entropy had just successfully integrated the members of the radical faction; the greatly weakened Anti-Entropy still couldn't defeat the Honkai.
The World Serpent's methods of fighting the Honkai were too extreme, so extreme that Rita could never consider joining them.
Under these circumstances, all Rita could do was pull the people she cared about out of the vortex, and then find a way to raise her own status so that Lord Bishop would be a little more 'tolerant' of her actions.
Rita didn't have a mature plan on what to do specifically.
But now, having deeply experienced how crazy Otto was, Rita definitely didn't want Leo Ash and K423 to continue getting closer.
As a sister, it was not appropriate for her to intervene in this matter.
But—Lady Bianka is different!
Today, Rita brought Durandal to the vicinity of the place where Leo Ash and the others were having a party, and even prepared a swimsuit for Durandal in advance, precisely for this matter.
As long as the intimacy between Leo and K423 was high enough, Lord Bishop would definitely move his plan to the next stage at the right time.
So, thinking in reverse, as long as the affection level between Leo and K423 wasn't that high, Lord Bishop would wait a little longer for the sake of the plan's stability.
As for how to lower the affection level between the two—the problem would be solved as long as someone more suitable for Leo to fall for appeared.
In terms of feelings, Leo and Lady Bianka have a foundation of affection.
In terms of looks and figure, Lady Bianka is not only not inferior to Miss Kiana, but can even surpass her.
Under these circumstances, as long as Lady Bianka shows her charm, then everything will not be a problem.
As for if Leo and Miss Kiana have already developed an overly intimate relationship...
If it really came to that, she could only take it one step at a time.
According to what Lady Fu Hua told me in a private chat, Leo hasn't had any overly intimate relationships with the girls in the dorm during this time.
Lady Fu Hua is a serious and reliable person, she wouldn't lie about this.
So, under this premise, everything can still be salvaged.
First, pull Leo out of the vortex, then think about other things.
As for if Lord Bishop starts to reprimand me because of this...
In the end, this is just a very normal meeting between siblings and close friends.
If Lord Bishop doesn't even let me do this, then it won't be too late to change the plan.
Now that we're here, as long as I continue with the plan and make Leo realize that Lady Bianka is not just a 'little sister next door', my goal for today will be achieved.
"Rita..."
At this moment, hearing Durandal's call, Rita immediately turned her head with a smile to look at her friend beside her.
"What is it, Lady Durandal?"
"Have you felt it? A gaze is watching us."
"...Now that you mention it, I do feel that way."
At this moment, the two perceptually sharp Valkyries simultaneously turned their gazes in the same direction.
And the direction they were looking at—as they expected, showed some 'reaction'.
In the bushes they were staring at, some small movements were immediately heard.
"...Are we being watched?"
Although she felt that the other party's gaze held no hostility, for the sake of caution, Durandal still rushed out immediately and directly grabbed the peeper in the bushes.
"Let, let me go!"
After pulling the peeper out of the bushes, Durandal immediately saw a white-haired girl in thin clothes struggling desperately.
"Hmm, wait, that's not right..."
However, this white-haired girl with dark green pupils suddenly stopped struggling after sniffing Durandal.
"This auntie..."
"Auntie???"
Hearing the little girl's address, Durandal couldn't help but laugh.
"Call me big sister, I'm only fourteen."
"Eh, is that so?"
Hearing Durandal's reminder, the child said with great difficulty.
"But, but I'm from Shenzhou."
"People from Shenzhou emphasize proper etiquette. To me, you... are an auntie?"
If any other girl were to be called that by a child, they would more or less be a little unhappy.
But Durandal, who didn't care about this at all, could only shake her head helplessly after hearing the girl's troubled words.
"Forget it, you can call me whatever you want."
"Little one, although it's not dangerous here, I remember there aren't many people around this area."
"You're so young, being here all alone, your parents will be worried."
"Yes, I also think my mom and dad will be worried about me."
The girl, who was placed on the ground by Durandal, said with some distress.
"So, I'm trying very hard to find my mom and dad."
"Lady Durandal, this child..."
Looking at the child in front of her, Rita narrowed her eyes slightly.
"We should contact Schicksal's rescue team and have them search for the child's parents."
"Rita, you're being strange today."
Looking at Rita who was making a big fuss, Durandal said with great surprise.
"Normally, shouldn't we help her look for her relatives who are most likely nearby?"
Yes, that's right, normally.
But, this child...
Somehow, after seeing her, I have a bad premonition.
"This short-haired auntie, your gaze... is so scary."
Looking at the smiling Rita, the child suddenly took two steps back and hid behind Durandal.
"I, I didn't do anything bad."
"Rita~"
Durandal, who was shielding the girl behind her, said to Rita in annoyance.
"See, you've scared her."
...
That's right, I must be overthinking it.
She's just a little girl, and I don't feel any Honkai Energy fluctuations from her.
What threat could she possibly pose to us?
"Sigh, you're just too smart, so your mind works overtime when it's not necessary."
"Anyway, Leo Ash and the others are going to be at the coast all day today, so it doesn't matter if we're a little late, right?"
Durandal looked at the child beside her and said softly to her.
"Do you know where your parents are? We big sisters can protect you on your way there."
"Mmm, thank you, auntie."
After hearing Durandal's suggestion, the child immediately smiled happily.
"Auntie, you're such a good person."
"As expected, the feeling of 'mother's scent' I got from you just now wasn't my imagination!"
Ah?
Mother's scent?
At first, Durandal didn't understand what that meant.
But when she remembered that she was only fourteen, her eyes suddenly sharpened.
I'm just an ordinary Valkyrie with no blood relatives. I don't really believe I have any particular 'scent'.
Does this child mean that her mother is similar to me in age or appearance?
If it's the latter, that's fine, but if it's the former—this child looks at least seven or eight years old, a six-year-old mother??????????
No, no, no, that's definitely impossible, right? Who would be so beastly?
But in any case, leaving this child in such a desolate place, her parents are definitely not responsible parents.
When I meet her parents, I will definitely give them a good talking to.
At this moment, watching Durandal being led by the girl, Rita felt that the situation was getting more and more strange.
Wait, this direction, why does it feel like it's the same direction as where Leo and the others are?
Didn't they say that the beach area was booked by them and there were no other people?
Could it be that this child's parents are the staff of the facility over there?
Or perhaps...
An idea suddenly popped into Rita's mind, and after thinking about the girl's eye color, she shook her head with a bitter smile.
I'm really tired.
Theoretically, all K-series clones should have blue eyes.
Although this child has white hair, her eye color is not blue.
She definitely doesn't have Kaslana blood in her, so I should stop overthinking it.
What I should be thinking about now is not this child's matter, but how to carry out my plan after meeting Leo.
Sigh, I hope Leo can notice Lady Bianka's charm.
If you continue to get closer to K423, I really won't be able to pull you out.
.....
Meanwhile. Near the beach.
On the beach, Bronya held an ice pop and calmly watched Kiana and Mei, who had already changed into their swimsuits.
Ah, Sister Kiana and Sister Mei are indeed very charming.
But the problem is—what's with this 'fighting spirit' constantly emanating from you two?
It's just a matter of love, but you're acting like you're about to fight a Honkai Beast...
Well, perhaps for you two, fighting a Honkai Beast is actually simpler.
Brother Leo Ash, don't blame Bronya.
If you weren't so crazy, Bronya and Sister Yuna wouldn't have resorted to this.
"Alright, Bronya."
At this moment, Yuna, who had taken out a cold drink, said to Bronya beside her with a smile.
"Relax, we've done our best in this matter."
"Next, if Mei and Kiana don't live up to expectations—then there's nothing we can do."
"That's true, but..."
After glancing at the swimsuit on Yuna, Bronya felt that something was not quite right.
Strange, Bronya could feel that Sister Yuna likes Brother Leo Ash.
But now, why did she choose this inconspicuous, even somewhat plain-looking swimsuit?
Looking at the swimsuit she picked out for Sister Mei—didn't she choose very well?
"Alright, stop staring at me."
Noticing Bronya's gaze, Yuna said to her companion nonchalantly.
"I'm just a green leaf, not some outstanding 'flower'."
"I'm not the main character today anyway, so why should I make myself so conspicuous?"
"So that's how it is."
However, besides Sister Yuna, everyone else seems to be...
Not only Sister Kiana and Sister Mei, but Sister Anna and Class Rep have also changed into their swimsuits.
Sister Anna's swimsuit is so daring.
Although Class Rep's swimsuit isn't flashy, it perfectly matches her temperament.
Strange, when did she prepare this swimsuit???
Ah, as expected, you can't judge Class Rep's inner thoughts by her outward appearance.
In her heart, she must also care a lot about Brother Leo Ash.
Sigh, it's probably going to be a mess today.
Brother Leo Ash, this is all because of you.
I have to say, although you are a really good person, in matters of love...
—Brother Leo Ash, you are truly a man of many sins.
......