"This is the place, Boss Seele."
"Dammit, that bastard Scott actually dares to pull this crap in Wildfire's territory? I'll beat that ugly mug of his into a blooming flower!"
Not long after the two had rescued Bronya, several voices sounded from the periphery of the Fight Club.
"Hey, isn't that Seele? What brings you guys here?"
Stelle recognized the two immediately.
"I heard from Sampo that Bronya from the Overworld got stopped by the Fight Club bunch, so I came to bail her out. Didn't expect you guys to get here before me."
Seeing that someone had already handled the situation, Seele seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
After all, if Stelle could think of it, Natasha and Oleg couldn't possibly have missed it. In situations like this, dealing with it a second sooner could lessen the impact.
"Are you all hurt? And... who's this?"
Seele looked towards Lynelle.
"This is my companion, Lynelle. She's the Nameless I mentioned before, the one who struck a deal with Svarog ahead of us."
Stelle affectionately wrapped her arms around Lynelle's. Through the loose white sweatshirt, Lynelle felt her arm sink completely into a pillowy softness.
'Stelle-baby… really is something else.'
"So it's you!"
Seele looked like she'd just had a revelation: "The boss and Natasha have mentioned you several times. How did you manage to convince that block of iron, Svarog?"
"Uh… Well, probably because he couldn't beat me?"
Lynelle made an 'oopsie' sort of expression.
"Then we should spar sometime. I'm pretty curious about how strong you actually are."
Seele grinned. Compared to the Seele and Dark Seele from Honkai Impact 3rd, her personality seemed closer to the Seele from GGZ, though the one constant was Seele's signature giant scythe.
"And… you're alright too, I suppose? Do you need me to take you back to have Natasha check you over?"
Seele's gaze shifted to the nearby Bronya.
However, Bronya's mind was still a tangled mess, ruminating on what Lynelle had told her earlier. Hearing her name called, she looked up instinctively and uttered,
"Cia-Ciallo～（∠?ω）⌒★"
"Huh?"
Seele's face instantly morphed into a stifled-laughter expression, reminiscent of the 'Hide the Pain' meme.
After holding it in for a moment, she looked towards Lynelle and Stelle, who were also struggling not to laugh. "Which one of you set her up like this?"
"Huh?"
Seeing everyone's expressions, Bronya finally realized something was off. "D-don't tell me that's not a custom here in the Underworld?"
"Folks in the Underworld probably can't pull off the adorable effect you just managed. That said, if you were going for cute, you definitely succeeded."
Seele averted her gaze. Although Bronya's action was pretty funny, setting that aside, coming from Bronya, it was actually kind of cute.
"Still, the fact you believed that… Seems like while you might be physically fine, you really should let Natasha take a look at your head…"
"See that, Stelle."
While Bronya and Seele inadvertently started bickering off to the side, Lynelle gently poked the Stelle-baby beside her.
"In this universe, anyone sporting those two faces has a high chance of ending up together. These two faces are perfect proof for Mr. Yang's 'judging-a-book-by-its-cover' method. You'd better remember that."
"Eh? W-why though?"
Stelle asked, looking utterly confused.
"Because the 'Seabreeze Duo' is the fundamental logic of Honkai."
Lynelle said with a mysterious air. "I guess that's the power of the Russian female executive and her Estonian little secretary."
After resolving the Bronya incident, no one dared to let her wander the Underworld alone anymore. They decided to assign someone to accompany her, and Seele was the natural choice.
After all, Bronya just wanted to understand the situation in the Underworld, and Seele, whose daily duties involved patrols and maintaining order, fit the bill perfectly.
Meanwhile, Lynelle, who had just returned from the Honkai side of things not long ago, took this chance to properly settle in.
It wasn't until evening, after compiling the intel gathered by March and Dan Heng, that everyone reconvened at Svarog's base.
"So, Bronya, you've finally decided to confront the true secret of this planet?"
"Yes. After seeing the state of the Underworld, I've made up my mind. Whether for the sake of the Underworld's situation or Belobog's future, I can't afford to hesitate any longer."
Bronya nodded, her gaze resolute.
"Alright then, Svarog."
Seeing no objections from the others, Lynelle looked towards Svarog, who had already prepared the relevant Stellaron data.
"Requesting access to database files, reference numbers 13175, 24830, 57614. Play them in sequence."
"I helped organize these materials, so I won't sit through them again with you. However, Bronya…"
Lynelle patted Bronya's shoulder. It was clear that Bronya felt somewhat apprehensive, likely because she was about to face her planet's deepest truth.
"After you've reviewed these and had a chance to collect yourself, remember to come find me alone later. There are still some things I need to tell you."
--+--
Perhaps because she had already been leaning towards this decision, Bronya reached her resolution much sooner than she did in the original timeline. Late that night, she gently knocked on Lynelle's door.
"Lynelle, I'm here… Huh? Why is it so messy in here?"
"It's nothing. Just had to fend off a certain super-clingy someone who wanted to sleep in my room…"
Lynelle cleared her throat awkwardly. "Never mind, it's not important. Let's get down to business."
"If I guess correctly, you're planning to sneak back to the Overworld alone, aren't you?"
"As expected… I can't hide anything from you."
A look of chagrin crossed Bronya's face.
"I'm sorry. Even though I know the truth now, the image of Mother in my mind, the life lessons and virtues she taught me, all the care she gave me while raising me… I still can't separate those beautiful memories from her."
"So, I want to try one more time. To go to her personally, express my feelings, and see if I can make her change her mind… But I've also made some preparations for emergencies."
"I've left a handwritten letter and my personal token for you all. If anything happens to me, the siblings of the Landau family in the Overworld will side with you because of it."
"Mmm… I thought as much."
Lynelle didn't interrupt Bronya, listening quietly until she finished before speaking.
"But Bronya, the Stellaron inherently possesses the power to beguile and corrupt. Cocolia has been in contact with it for so long. I'm afraid this corruption isn't something that can be reversed by familial love alone…"
"I know."
Bronya nodded. "I'm mentally prepared for that. If it truly can't be undone… I… I won't hesitate to use force against Mother."
"No, I'm not trying to stop you."
Lynelle gently shook her head.
"In fact, the main reason I asked you to come alone tonight is to tell you two things."
"The first one is a choice… I have a method that could allow you to maintain your sense of self even under the Stellaron's influence, and it might give you a sliver of a chance to save Cocolia. However, this method carries some risk."
"I wonder… if you're willing?"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.