"Aunt?!"
"My aunt?" The paramecium pointed at herself, a blank look on her face.
She had lived with her father for only a short time, and although she knew her mother's name, she had always been aware they would never meet.
Learning that she still had other relatives out there—well, anyone would be shocked by that.
"That's right. She's a close friend of Cecilia's," C.C. explained gently, though there was more to it than she let on.
There might even be some… complicated feelings mixed in.
The lively, energetic girl suddenly fell quiet, blinking in a daze as her expression grew tangled.
But that wasn't the real issue right now.
The real concern was the heiress Kiana.
Her icy-blue eyes were filled with a deep, conflicted thoughtfulness.
This girl, who looked just like Kiana, even used the alias "Sirin" as a disguise.
It was practically a neon sign flashing "I'm suspicious!"
Anyone who'd experienced the Second Eruption would hear that name and immediately think of one person—or rather, one Herrscher.
"What… should I do?"
The heiress Kiana's slender fingers pressed against her chin as she pondered her dilemma.
Never mind the name Sirin—just her face alone would probably give her aunt a heart attack!
Because there was no information on her counterpart in Honkai Impact 3rd, the young lady didn't jump to the conclusion that her alternate self in this world had been abandoned.
She'd grown up surrounded by loving family, never doubting that her father and aunt would have had important, unavoidable reasons—maybe even secrets they couldn't share.
"Let's just keep it simple~"
C.C. had never intended for the heiress Kiana to act in secret.
When the enemy was Otto, raw power alone was nowhere near enough—unless, of course, one had power on the level to flip the entire chessboard.
Even after absorbing all the Honkai energy that didn't directly lead to the birth of a Herrscher in the Third Eruption, Nagami and C.C. still didn't have the kind of overwhelming might needed to run rampant across the Honkai world.
But self-preservation was well within their grasp.
As for St. Freya Academy, it wasn't something the heiress Kiana desperately needed—it was the paramecium Kiana and Mei who needed the academy's resources to grow stronger.
To be honest, C.C. was actually leaning more toward sending Mei to Anti-Entropy, trading Honkai intelligence for some serious physics lessons from Tesla and Einstein!
Not that she was aiming high—she'd be satisfied if Mei could at least cobble together a positron cannon.
C.C.'s brilliant golden eyes narrowed slightly as she processed the feedback from her detection ability.
Judging by Honkai energy readings alone, there were currently two S-rank presences aboard the Hyperion.
One was Valkyrie Judah, and the other… well, there was really only one possibility.
Meanwhile, the Hyperion-class floating battleship hovered over their destination, motionless for the moment.
On its broad deck walked a small group of equally stunning girls, each radiating a unique charm.
"I didn't expect the vice-captain of Immortal Blades to come in person. Looks like headquarters is taking this Honkai event seriously~"
Dressed in armor the same fiery red as her long hair, Murata Himeko leaned her shoulder against the greatsword beside her.
Her tone was somewhere between sarcastic and teasing as she looked at the silvery-haired girl next to her.
It was polite enough on the surface, but there was a note of disappointment and irritation underneath.
Damn it!
The Honkai spike had reached 5000HW—a record high!
And headquarters only sent a vice-captain?
If it weren't for those two mysterious figures who'd popped up out of nowhere and intervened, Himeko would have thought HQ was ready to abandon the Far East altogether.
True, the satellite monitoring station had suffered some glitches—thanks to the Herrscher of Thunder's awakening and her abilities.
But before the Herrscher even emerged, Nagami and C.C.'s actions had been almost entirely caught on camera.
"You're too kind, Himeko-sama~"
As if she hadn't heard Himeko's pointed tone, the girl in a maid's uniform folded her hands demurely in front of her waist, her ruby lips parting in a gentle, polite smile.
Her short, ash-blonde hair fell like golden sand, her bangs sweeping across her forehead to hide her left eye, while her visible right eye gleamed a rich, wine-red hue.
Her snow-white face was exquisitely sculpted, as if she were a work of art, and the single beauty mark below her eye was enough to ensnare the soul.
The pure black maid outfit only accentuated her tall, elegant curves; the skirt flared out like a blooming flower, and the black garter stockings encased a pair of long, graceful legs.
No one's first impression of this girl would be "Valkyrie."
Yet ironically, the maid named Rita was one of Schicksal's three S-rank Valkyries.
"Please rest assured, Himeko-sama. The Overseer's concern for this incident exceeds anything you might imagine."
Her honeyed words were calm and unruffled, but to Himeko, they sounded like empty platitudes.
Himeko hesitated, debating whether she should just plaster on a bright smile and keep up the pleasantries.
Because sending only a single S-rank Valkyrie… well, it didn't exactly make Rita's words sound credible.
But this time, it turned out that Himeko was actually underestimating the Overseer.
Rita's assurances were, in fact, entirely true.
————————————————————————
Schicksal Headquarters – The Overseer's Chamber
In the vast, grand room sat a strikingly handsome and youthful European man.
His figure was straight and imposing, accentuated by the tailored, medieval-style formal robe he wore. Golden hair cascaded over his shoulders in a neat ponytail.
At this time of day, he would usually be happily immersed in the fantasies of Kallen, but now there was only silence around him.
His expression was carved from stone, grave and focused.
The usual warmth in his brow had vanished, replaced by a profound solemnity.
His emerald eyes stared unblinking at the multiple floating screens before him.
On those screens: Nagami and C.C. standing protectively in front of Mei, absorbing Honkai energy—two white-haired girls who looked like mirror images of each other.
And finally, one last screen showing a white-haired girl sitting alone in an empty room, slender hand holding a paintbrush that danced across a pristine white sheet of paper.
On the paper, a beautiful, mysterious green-haired girl took shape—alongside a handsome, dark-haired boy.
The artistry was so skilled that anyone could instantly recognize them as the same boy and girl from the first screen.
Otto's piercing gaze swept across the screens, finally coming to rest on that first image.
One hand tapped lightly against the armrest of his chair, a gesture that spoke of deep contemplation.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a pale light that seemed to freeze on his face like sunlight over an icy mountain range.
There was a fog in the depths of his eyes, a mist that hinted at endless thoughts.
The moment these images first appeared, Durandal had been urgently recalled from her mission and was now racing back at full speed.
Today, the Overseer's deliberation was longer than ever before.
————————————————————————
"Alright, setting aside who those two mysterious people are—there's no denying they stopped this Honkai outbreak."
A petite white-haired nun cut off the playful bickering between the confident maid and the current captain.
"Anyone willing to risk their lives to save Nagazora City can't be all bad."
"Right now, I just want to figure out what's going on with those two 'Kianas' down there."
Though her body was small, her presence was anything but.
Her voice was light and cheerful, but beneath it was a weighty seriousness.
Finding her niece should have brought pure joy and surprise—anyone would feel that way.
But to find two of them?
That shock had completely replaced her excitement, though a glimmer of hope had also begun to rise in her heart.
After all, with the intelligence Teresa had access to, there was only one reason something like this could happen:
Grandfather must have let the real Kiana out!
She desperately wanted to believe that.
But Teresa also knew it was unlikely—no amount of begging or puppy-dog eyes would convince her grandfather to let Kiana leave Schicksal so easily.
If it truly was Kiana, Grandpa would have told her long before now.
Yet when Teresa had called to ask him directly, she'd gotten a flat denial.
"The little princess of the Kaslana family is still within Schicksal. As for this 'Kiana' who's suddenly appeared in Nagazora City… I'll leave that to you to investigate, my dear Teresa~"
Remembering her grandfather's words over the phone, Teresa's expression turned instantly serious.
Her short legs picked up the pace as she ran.
Then, with a light leap, she jumped off the Hyperion and began her descent to the city below.