Kiana felt that she might really have problems in certain aspects.
During those four years, she had traveled from Europe to the Far East alone... Okay, looking back now, Schicksal members were probably crouching in the shadows monitoring her.
But at least on the surface, Kiana had indeed crossed that long journey by herself.
The past her, if not a lone wolf, was at least a very independent person.
But now...
Anxiety. Unease.
These two emotions occupied almost all the space in her heart.
Incomprehensible.
*This young lady can handle things alone, obviously. But why, now that I've become stronger, has my heart become so... fragile?*
*Is it because of meeting Mei in Nagazora City, or because...*
*Did I become weaker because of Aaron?*
*After meeting again, he left before we could settle down and talk one-on-one.*
*I know clearly he's acting for our safety, but why does my heart...*
*This feeling, what on earth is it?*
*How did I become like this?*
*And thinking about it now, it's a bit strange.*
*Aaron calls Mei 'Mei'... which wouldn't be a problem normally.*
*But why was his tone when calling Mei's name more natural than when he called my name when we met?*
*Wait, could it be?!*
Previously, when Kiana was bickering with Bronya, she had very directly stated that Aaron liked 'em big and wouldn't make a move on a little girl like her.
But just as Bronya said, the biggest person here is Raiden Mei.
Don't ask her how she knows; she subconsciously compared them during a hug.
She didn't think much of it before, but now...
*No, it can't be, right?*
*Did Aaron really set his sights on Mei?!*
*That pervert, actually thinking of making a move on this young lady's best friend!*
*He's rebelling... wait, this young lady has no position to stop the feelings between him and Mei...*
*Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!*
*What is wrong with me!*
*Mei and he just met; their only interaction was Aaron beating Mei up. Why would I twist things to this extent?*
*Ah, sure enough, I've gone a bit crazy.*
"Um, Kiana..."
Raiden Mei, who had been watching Kiana the whole time, whispered to Kiana seeing her troubled expression.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No no no! Nothing at all! This young lady is perfectly fine!"
Kiana, who had just been fantasizing about certain scenes, waved her hands in a panic to explain.
"This young lady was just thinking... Right! This young lady was just thinking about what this little girl's foster mother intends to do!"
Immediately changing the subject, Kiana continued on this topic.
"Kid, this young lady advises you to be honest. Right now, out of the four of us, you are the weakest. If you plan to pull any tricks..."
"Bronya... will not betray the Master."
After coldly dropping this sentence, Bronya shut her mouth, seeming to choose to refuse further communication with Kiana.
*This guy... really makes one angry!*
"Bronya... is it okay if I call you that?"
Raiden Mei, who had completely calmed down by now, walked to Bronya's side and asked softly.
"Can you tell me why that woman named Cocolia wants to trigger the 3rd Eruption?"
"..."
Faced with her mission target towards whom she felt guilty, Bronya couldn't completely ignore her.
After taking a deep breath, Bronya whispered a response to Raiden Mei.
"Because Mother Cocolia... feels that current humanity is too lukewarm. She believes that to fight the Honkai, one must use the power of the Honkai side."
"So she chose you—Raiden Mei. You have a natural Stigmata, and a Herrscher Core of the Herrscher of Thunder inside you. With just a little guidance, there is a high probability you could be converted into a true Herrscher."
"Just for this reason—she chose to trigger a Honkai Eruption in Nagazora City?!"
At this moment, Raiden Mei truly felt that Mr. Hell's warning to her was absolutely correct.
If not for Mr. Hell's warning, Raiden Mei was certain that killing intent toward Cocolia would have reignited in her heart.
"You want me to become a Herrscher to fight the Honkai; I don't blame you. But—couldn't you have changed the location to guide me into becoming a Herrscher?"
Raiden Mei simply could not understand the thoughts of Bronya and her foster mother.
"After Dad went to prison, I was just an ordinary high school student who knew a bit of Kendo. Kidnapping me and taking me away from Nagazora City wouldn't be difficult for you, right? You clearly could have let those people live."
"...Because Mother Cocolia said Nagazora City is one of the best locations to trigger an Eruption. Furthermore, Mother Cocolia stated that if you were transported elsewhere, Schicksal might discover the clues and intercept us."
"Anti-Entropy's overall combat power is inferior to Schicksal, so to avoid these unexpected situations, we could only... trigger the 3rd Eruption in Nagazora City."
"Cocolia, Cocolia—always keeping this murderous woman on your lips. Do you have no thoughts of your own?"
Hearing this name, Kiana felt her blood pressure spike to the limit.
Without anyone to counsel her, Kiana was originally a girl who easily exploded with genuine emotion. After learning of Cocolia's plans and actions, Kiana's rage toward Cocolia burned to the extreme.
"She is your foster mother, yes, but what she did is undoubtedly wrong. You know clearly her actions are wrong, so why help a tyrant do evil?"
"If my stinking dad wanted to do such a terrible thing, not only would this young lady not help him, I'd pull out [Judgment of Shamash] (Cleaver of Shamash/Rebellion) to stop him from making more mistakes. You don't look like a bad person, so why can't you be like me and stop your foster mother!"
"Because..."
*Because that is Bronya's mother!*
Bronya wanted to say this, but in the end, she said nothing.
After her emotional circuits were damaged, she became more and more rational... or perhaps it should be said, she was forced to be more and more rational.
Under these circumstances, she couldn't continue to make excuses for her foster mother in front of the victim.
A naturally intelligent girl, once forced to face reality, couldn't stop thinking about how terrible the consequences of this matter truly were.
If Bronya were just the selfless child soldier of the past, then the current her certainly wouldn't care about the lives of others.
But because she met Cocolia and the children of the Cocolia Orphanage, she changed from the Silver Wolf of the Urals back into Bronya Zaychik.
It could be said that precisely because of Cocolia, she regained her [Heart] as a human.
But now, Cocolia, who allowed her to regain her [Heart], had buried countless human lives for her own goals.
Once these thoughts circled in her mind, Bronya couldn't stop feeling that she had truly done something irreparable.
And once these thoughts appeared, she even started to feel...
"Stop! I only left for a day, how are you already bullying the kid?"
Having rushed back to the clinic, Aaron looked at Bronya, who was clutching her head in agony, and spoke helplessly to Kiana and Mei, who were now at a loss.
"The 3rd Eruption is, in the end, Cocolia's doing. Under those circumstances, this brat couldn't do anything, so don't expect she could have stopped Cocolia, who had already gone off the deep end."
"What the heck, making me look like the bad guy—this young lady didn't scold her!"
"Yes, Master. Miss Kiana and Miss Mei... did not scold me."
"...Sigh, I heard what happened just now."
Finding a chair to sit down, Aaron took out [Shambhala], which had finished its cooldown, and sighed slightly.
"Before leaving here, I thought about it and felt I should still tell you this. Bronya, prepare yourself a little."
"...Master, is Mother Cocolia planning to do something again?"
"I don't know. I only know that she left a backdoor in your bio-chip. And this backdoor allows her to control your body at any time, making you do things you don't want to do—oh, just like your current state."
Seeing Bronya's body tremble slightly, Aaron continued.
"Sorry for not considering your feelings, but since they spoke up today and caused a serious blow to your mood, to avoid your heart receiving further shocks later—I feel I should tell you this news today."
"I am not a good person. And your foster mother isn't a good person either. I don't want to say anything else; prepare yourself."
"As long as you still have a conscience, you and your foster mother will only drift further apart on two different paths. If you want to remedy your own mistakes, you should be about ready to prepare yourself."
*Mother Cocolia left a backdoor in the brain chip to control my body?*
This chilling piece of intelligence was instantly denied by Bronya.
Although she knew very well that Aaron, who could already control her actions, had no need to tell such a boring lie, the girl's heart instinctively resisted this fact.
If Mother Cocolia wanted Bronya to do something, there were countless ways; there was no need for such a boring trick.
This intelligence... must be fake!
Yes, the words Mother Cocolia usually spoke, and her gentle expressions, were definitely not fake things.
So... this intelligence is absolutely not true.
"Alright, enough nonsense... Oh right, I haven't returned the mask/shield to this unlucky bro."
Walking up to the doctor he had hypnotized, Aaron took out a stack of bills and the unlucky guy's relevant ID documents, then walked back into the room and snapped his fingers lightly.
Subsequently, the moment the doctor woke up, the four of them were teleported to the stronghold Aaron had prepared on his way back.
"Mm, this place... forget it, this young lady is too lazy to care where this is."
Glancing at the exquisitely furnished room, Kiana walked up to Aaron, turned him around directly, and pushed him toward the bathroom.
"Go in and take a shower! Then rest properly! Your dark circles can hardly be hidden anymore!"
"It's not that exaggerated..."
"Why are you taking out a mirror at a time like this!"
Seeing Aaron actually take out a mirror, Kiana said with immense annoyance.
"To think you don't trust this young lady even on such a small matter! I! Am! So! Mad!"
"Give me a break, isn't it because I guessed you were trying to hoodwink me!"
"...This young lady understands. You're expecting something, right, you pervert."
Raiden Mei, who hadn't figured out the situation at all, watched as Kiana suddenly and very directly took off her Senba Academy jacket, then approached Aaron with a cold sneer.
"No, wait a minute—"
"Wait for what?"
"Can't you pay a little attention to your surroundings! There's a kid here who hasn't graduated middle school! Mind the influence, okay!"
*Wait, is that the thing that needs to be cared about?*
Raiden Mei, who hadn't expected Kiana to make such a move or Aaron to react this way, was completely stunned.
Although she knew they already knew each other, this relationship... *Have you two really progressed to this stage?*
"Ah? Bronya?"
Looking back at the silent girl who was still in a daze, Kiana spoke very calmly.
"She crashed. The little maid you caught can't service you right now. Do you need me to slightly guest star as a cat-eared maid and help you scrub your back, Mas~ter~?"
"...I'm going, okay?"
Watching Aaron scurry into the bathroom, Kiana put her clothes back on.
Only then did she realize that Raiden Mei's face had turned completely red.
"Ki-Ki-Ki-Ki-Ki-Kiana! How could you do such a thing!!!"
"Ah... that? Oh, this... special circumstances, special handling."
Realizing only now what she had just done, Kiana turned her head away with a flushed face and said,
"Although that guy is a pervert, he's currently in a state of being all talk and no action. Desperate times call for desperate measures; I just used this method to force him to take a shower and rest—it's the first time this young lady has done this too, so don't look at me with eyes saying 'how can you be so shameless' (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻."
"Is, is that so..."
*But, your relationship is really good.*
*I shouldn't have this emotion.*
*But, why does my heart...*
*Always uncontrollably feel envious.*
.............................