"Boss, ten orders of takoyaki."
Kiana stood in front of a small takoyaki cart, quietly waiting while eating a candy apple.
"Aren't you going to buy anything else to eat?" Ryn nudged Kika beside him.
"There's nothing good. I'm not interested in things that aren't sweet." After saying that, Mushoku Kika took out a lollipop, stuck it in her mouth, and said no more.
After a while, Kiana came back with the food, handing a portion to him and Kika. Kika showed no hesitation in accepting it and even took another portion from Kiana.
"I'm just trying it to see how it tastes... Don't get the wrong idea. I don't really like this stuff..." Kika ate happily. The 'true fragrance' law is never wrong, but facing Ryn's eye-roll, she still stubbornly explained herself.
"Let's go get some red bean and rice cake soup! I heard people say someone's selling it over there, and there's a big crowd, so it must be really good." Kiana pulled Ryn's hand and skipped towards that direction.
Mushoku Kika was still standing there, but as soon as she heard 'red bean and rice cake soup,' she perked up.
When she was young, she fell ill during a harsh winter. The endless forced feeding of soups and medicines nearly destroyed her appetite. Kika's health deteriorated day by day, and the Mushoku family was as anxious as ants on a hot pan. When everyone was at their wit's end, the housekeeper grandma made Kika a bowl of red bean and rice cake soup. Finally, with the grandma's tearful encouragement, Kika took a bite and immediately felt a cloying warmth seep into her cold body. The sweet, smooth red bean paste was topped with white rice cakes, bringing infinite warmth to Kika's winter. From then on, Kika fell in love with red bean and rice cake soup, but... because Kika ate too much and became overweight... the grandma rarely made it for her anymore.
Kika was just about to follow Kiana when she realized the two had already run off and disappeared. Little Kika, unable to get her red bean and rice cake soup, started crying and throwing a tantrum, rolling on the ground.
"That damn couple, why did they have to bring me along on their date!!! Damn you, Kiana, if you ask me out again, I'm not coming!
Forget it, Kiana will definitely buy a lot of red bean and rice cake soup, I can just freeload off her. Brother Ryn will probably remember me... and bring me a portion. That way, I can get one from Kiana and one from Ryn, double the happiness... But standing is so tiring... I really want to lie down..."
As she spoke, Kika pulled out a large sofa from her interdimensional skirt, did a 'Ge-You Lying' on it, and began to rest with her eyes closed.
However, Mushoku Kika hadn't been resting for long before she was disturbed.
"Hello, lovely young lady. May I ask you a few questions?" A noble lady dressed in a gorgeous green and white off-the-shoulder long dress and wearing a large green hat politely asked Mushoku Kika.
[Image]
Kika opened her eyes and looked at her. Blonde hair, green eyes... didn't recognize her.
"Go ahead."
"I am searching for a family with a long and storied history of 'demon-slaying'—the 'Mushoku' family. They were once well-known to the people during the time when the Honkai ran rampant, but they also declined due to the disaster known as the Honkai, and were gradually forgotten.
I admire those who continuously dedicate their lives to fighting the Honkai. Their stories should not be forgotten by the people...
So... I want them to join Schicksal, to become the blade in my hand. Fighting the Honkai is not the responsibility of just one family. You need Schicksal's help, and Schicksal needs you. Mushoku Kika... Otto Apocalypse, the Overseer of Schicksal, hereby extends to you the most sincere invitation to join Schicksal and fight the Honkai together."
Otto extended his hand to Mushoku Kika. He had already visited the Mushoku family. They had neither refused nor accepted his invitation to join Schicksal. Schicksal did a good job of protecting the world. Apart from those who had directly faced the Honkai and survived, and those who fought against it, the general populace was unaware of the Honkai's influence.
As an ancient and long-standing family, the Mushoku family had always adhered to Shinto traditions, believing in gods and referring to Honkai Beasts as demons. In the past, whenever they heard of demons running rampant somewhere, it was sure to be Honkai Beasts, and they would immediately rush over to deal with them. But now that news of the Honkai was being suppressed by Schicksal, Schicksal would dispatch Valkyries to subjugate any Honkai that appeared.
The Mushoku family had not received news of demons for a long time and had gradually forgotten their mission to fight the Honkai. Due to the disaster of the Honkai, the Mushoku family had few members left. They could no longer afford the cost of fighting the Honkai, but they also couldn't completely abandon their mission. So they left the choice to the most beloved young lady of the Mushoku family, Mushoku Kika.
This completely stunned Mushoku Kika. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She didn't immediately respond to Otto's question. The meaning behind this choice was a bit too heavy...
Kika knew of Schicksal, the organization founded by the three great families: Apocalypse, Schariac, and Kaslana. The Overseer of Schicksal, Otto Apocalypse, a man who had lived for 500 years, had indeed protected the world. The Schicksal organization had resolved ninety percent of the world's Honkai disasters.
But for families with a long history like the Mushoku family, Otto was both a respectable and a detestable figure. Schicksal had monopolized the responsibility of fighting the Honkai, which was equivalent to stifling families like theirs who also fought the Honkai. Most families who fought the Honkai were warriors who did not fear death; they were good at fighting, but not at making a living. They wanted to join Schicksal but had no opportunity, and were eventually eliminated by the times.
Kika didn't know what to do. If she agreed, the Mushoku family would once again step onto the front lines of the fight against the Honkai. In that case, how many of her beloved family members would ultimately survive... But if she refused, she would be evading the Mushoku family's mission, and the Mushoku family could not possibly evade its mission to fight the Honkai.
In the end, Kika still took Otto's hand and agreed to the alliance.
"I... on behalf of the Mushoku family... agree to join Schicksal. But not everyone in the Mushoku family will go to the battlefield. Most of them have forgotten how to fight... and even the Mushoku family's Stigmata has lost the meaning it once carried through its long inheritance."
"You will not regret your choice. For my promise to her, humanity will surely triumph over the Honkai." Otto nodded. He didn't need ordinary people to fight the Honkai; only high-end combat power was what he required.
Reviving Kallen was Otto's goal, and his promise was to let Kallen live in a beautiful world free from the Honkai after her revival. Kallen might blame him for what he did to revive her, but if he eliminated the Honkai, she would surely smile again...
"By the way, how did you find out about the Mushoku family?"
Kika took out a lollipop and put it in her mouth. Although she had already agreed to join Schicksal, there were still some things she needed to understand.
"The Mushoku family bears a mission, which is to fight the Honkai from the shadows of human civilization. Like our surname 'Mushoku' (colorless), our value lies only in eliminating the Honkai, without needing to leave our own mark. We've always sniped Honkai Beasts from a distance and never left any traces at the scene, nor are we known to the world. So how did you find us?"
Just then, Ryn appeared, holding Kiana's hand, both of them carrying several portions of red bean and rice cake soup. At first, they thought Kika was chatting with an acquaintance, but when they got closer, they saw it was a cross-dressing Otto!
"What the hell, Otto, what are you doing here? I never knew you had a cross-dressing fetish!"
Otto rolled his eyes at Ryn and didn't bother explaining, instead saying to Kika.
"I didn't know at first. While investigating Ryn, I naturally paid some attention to the people around him, and then I discovered you, which led me to investigate the Mushoku family."