Caelus glanced in a certain direction. Little Daylight's perception was already keenly developed, and when two bodies were in close proximity, there was a modest amplification effect on that perception as well.
"Someone's coming. Are they heading for me?"
Silver Wing summoned Project Bunny and used its detection systems to lock onto the approaching target.
Night had fallen. A new moon climbed the sky.
Beneath the clean glow of the crescent, Silver Wing — the secondary manifestation — caught sight of a graceful silhouette, fluid as an elegant dancer, leaping lightly into view.
A brief moment of stillness. A name rose unbidden to the surface of her mind.
The two doll-like little lolis lifted the corners of their eyes in unison. Their gazes brightened at the same instant, the corners of their lips curving into identical arcs of delight — a perfectly mirrored motion.
"Well, would you look at that — what a coincidence!"
Daylight and Silver Wing extended their small hands and slapped a high-five, both smiling wide.
The two little lolis, brimming with cheerful mischief, clasped hands like a pair of best friends and stepped with light, quick paces into the shadow of a three-story building.
Daylight deliberately fell half a step behind Silver Wing so that whoever appeared before them would not be able to immediately see the golden-haired girl's face.
"We've come this far — won't you step out for a chat?"
Silver Wing stopped walking. She turned a light smile toward the corner of the street ahead, and her milk-soft voice — carrying all the poise of a crime-family heiress — rang out in the quiet surroundings.
"What a delightful coincidence, Miss Bronya~!"
The sharp click of high heels against the pavement was startlingly distinct in the empty street. A young woman of impeccable bearing materialized like a ghost stepping out of the dark.
Ash-gold hair cut to the shoulder, soft bangs sweeping over her left eye. The eye that was visible gleamed like a gorgeous ruby.
A black-and-white off-shoulder maid's dress, accented with vivid flower embroidery. Her snowy, fragrant shoulders were smoothly rounded, and the silk fabric of her bodice was stretched into an unapologetically proud curve.
"My sincerest apologies for disturbing you at this late hour. Rita Rossweisse — pleased to make your acquaintance."
A faint smile rested at the corner of her lips as Rita curtsied with perfect grace, her slender fingers — wrapped in black lace — delicately pinching the hem of her skirt as she lifted it. Utterly captivating.
A natural enchantress, through and through.
In the ancient civilization of Shenzhou, a woman like this would have been called a calamity — her very existence alone enough to serve as the origin of conflict, or even disaster.
It made Daylight and Silver Wing look forward to the day a character card related to Rita might be pulled.
Though, to be honest — compared to Rita herself, Caelus preferred the long-haired version of Miss Rosemary.
A mysterious, elegant witch-sister with just a touch of dangerous allure, combined with Rita's face... that was an absolute XP critical hit!
Rita's gaze briefly slid over the small golden-haired girl half-concealed behind Silver Wing, a faint furrow crossing her willow-leaf brows for just an instant.
That girl was unmistakably a companion of the Silver Wolf of the Urals — but why did she stir this strange, instinctive feeling of familiarity, as though her DNA itself were resonating?
Rita shifted her eyes back to the silver-haired girl. When engaging in conversation, keeping one's gaze in the zone between the other person's eyes and mouth was a subtle technique for creating a relaxed atmosphere.
"Ah — there is no need to be so guarded."
It was obvious that Silver Wing's silence — that composed, unresponsive smile — had led Rita to misread her as being on high alert.
"S-rank Valkyrie of [Schicksal], Miss Rita — a friend of mine once mentioned that you have... a certain fondness for lolis."
The silver-haired girl touched the corner of her lips with a smile and spoke words that left Rita momentarily stunned:
"So then, Sister Rita~~ — are you fond of me?"
It was like Haxxor Bunny imitating Theresa's magical-girl transformation — the deliberately exaggerated baby-soft voice she had squeezed out was tremendously powerful. Sweet, adorable, and utterly disarming.
"...?"
What on earth is going on with this Silver Wolf of the Urals?
Sure enough — just as the latest intelligence update in the mission briefing had described — the girl's personality was completely different from everything recorded in the old files.
After an extremely brief moment of thrown-off contemplation, Rita smiled and responded:
"'Fondness for lolis'... that phrase hardly suits a lady. Rita is simply a feminist — one with a particular appreciation for charming young women such as yourself, Miss Bronya."
Rita maintained her flawless, impeccable smile:
"If it would please you, Rita would love to invite Miss Bronya back to her residence. There is an excellent selection of red tea and sweets already prepared~"
To the silver-haired little miss's question, Rita had answered with a question of her own — and she had to admit, this version of the Silver Wolf of the Urals truly was quite adorable.
"Oh~ Is it the kind of red tea that puts you to sleep after the first sip?"
The silver-haired girl sounded genuinely intrigued.
Rita folded her hands neatly at her waist in a perfect maid's posture and gave a quiet laugh. "Miss Bronya truly has a wonderful sense of humor."
"The name 'Silver Wolf of the Urals' carries considerable renown in the world of contract killers. How could Rita possibly dare to take liberties with someone who holds the all-time speed record for reaching the top of Charon's List~?"
With an expression of composed elegance, Rita inclined her head slightly. "In that regard, Rita is something of your junior, after all."
"The Dark Rose?" The silver-haired girl paused briefly, as if searching her memory.
"I had not expected Miss Bronya to know Rita's alias — you truly flatter me."
The gentle, mildly surprised cadence of her voice was the kind only a veteran actress could ever produce convincingly.
"Then — shall we return to the previous topic? What is Miss Bronya's answer?"
The moment the Archbishop's orders had been received, Rita had set out at once — arriving in New Zealand ahead of everyone else.
The mission had two objectives: observe the K423 specimen, and probe Bronya.
"Probing" encompassed many things, and a verbal exchange was clearly the most efficient way to gather intelligence. In all honesty, Rita genuinely wouldn't have minded sitting down for tea and pastries with Bronya.
"And if I refuse?" The silver-haired girl's lips curved slightly upward.
"Then I would be most regretful."
Rita's expression shifted into one of quiet, restrained sorrow. From behind her, she drew a scythe radiating an icy chill — Skadi of Eternal Frost.
"In that case, the 'Dark Rose' would simply have to... experience the craft of the 'Silver Wolf of the Urals' firsthand."
"Are you certain you want to make a move on us?"
The silver-haired girl's smile carried layers of meaning as it reflected in Rita's eyes.
Rita's willow brows arched lightly. Sharp as she was, she immediately caught the emphasis placed on a certain word — and redirected her gaze to the small golden-haired girl who had been silent from the very beginning, half-concealed behind the silver-haired girl.
"Won't you introduce me to your companion?"
The feeling of familiarity grew stronger. Denser.
Who was this girl?
"An introduction? No, no, no — I rather think no introduction is necessary. You'll recognize her the moment you see her."
Silver Wing took Daylight by the hand.
"Oh? Recognize her?"
Rita's brow furrowed.
The golden-haired girl stepped forward. She reached up and pushed her goggles to her forehead.
The crescent moon chose that exact moment to shift position. Brilliant, crystalline moonlight spilled down and fully illuminated the two figures that had, until now, been half-swallowed by shadow.
"Right, Bianca?"
The instant the golden-haired little miss raised her face, Silver Wing spoke her name.
Rita's wine-red eyes contracted to pinpoints in an instant. The flawless maid's smile — serene, composed, and perfectly elegant from the very first moment — shattered completely.
That face was etched into Rita's DNA. It was a face she could never, in any lifetime, forget.
And then that name on top of it.
This girl — she, she was—!
The shock was so violent that Skadi of Eternal Frost nearly slipped from her grasp and clattered to the ground.
"Hello there, Sister Rita~~"
Daylight squeezed her voice into a deliberately adorable baby tone to say her greeting — then seemed to catch herself belatedly, raised a finger to the corner of her mouth, furrowed her little brow in visible puzzlement, and shifted back to her normal voice:
"Mm, Rita said this was part of a disguise training exercise... that doesn't sound right, does it?"
Clang~!
The scythe hit the ground with a peal of ringing metal.
That voice — "Sister Rita" — was so soft, so warmly healing in its sweetness and purity that it seized Rita by the soul. She felt the very core of her being tremble, as if her spirit might dissolve and follow that voice wherever it led.
Something warm seemed to be flowing from her nose. The faintly dizzy Rita quickly raised a hand to gently cover it.
A breeze carried a thread of coolness through the air, and the moonlight hung over everything like heady wine, suffusing the night.
Rita could barely trust her own eyes. Pressing a hand over her nose — which, in a manga panel, would be gushing a veritable fountain of blood — she spoke in a voice full of sheer disbelief:
"Du— Durandal! My Lady! What on earth are you doing here?"
Bizarre? Or dreamed-up? Hard to say which.
As a maid who was both a loli-enthusiast and a Durandal-enthusiast, Rita did not possess even a single shred of resistance against Durandal in her childhood form.
"And moreover..."
Rita — whose creed was perfect elegance and dignified composure — was, in this moment, so emotionally overwhelmed that she had completely lost her poise.
She tried her best to suppress the trembling in her voice, but her heart was hammering faster and faster with every shallow breath. She swallowed quietly:
"You've... become this form again?"
Rita would never forget that day for as long as she lived.
She had been sixteen. Among all the candidates recommended for the Ragnarok program, Rita had stood as the most exceptional. That was when the Archbishop had assigned her a singular, unusual task: to watch over the growth of a particular individual.
And so Rita met a twelve-year-old golden-haired girl. As the girl's adjutant, Rita had followed at her side — caring for her, supporting her, accompanying her to the Sea of Quanta to carry out missions together.
Rita still remembered with perfect clarity how young Durandal had reacted whenever Rita would tease her in those days.
"Please stop calling me 'My Lady' every other second... do you have absolutely no sense of how embarrassing that is?"
"I am simply a Valkyrie who only just met you at the start of this mission. You are nothing more than a temporary adjutant someone forcibly assigned to me — please do not bring the manner in which you serve the Archbishop into our working relationship!"
The little Bianca of back then — proud, exasperated, flustered, grumpy, and vaguely disdainful all at once. The fact that Rita hadn't managed to photograph that expression was the single greatest regret of her life!
Young Lady Bianca's personality, back then, was far — far — less composed than the Durandal of today. She was... how to put it...
Only one word could really capture it.
~~Hot-tempered~~ Adorable, adorable, adorable!
Just thinking about it was enough to make Rita's heart nearly melt!
And what had appeared before her eyes now?
Look — a young Lady Bianca in her larval stage!
The hairstyle, the accessories, the outfit — none of it matched her memories. But Rita could misidentify anyone in the world before she would ever misidentify Lady Bianca.
"I am indeed Bianca Durandal Aglovale — but I am not the Durandal of this point in time. I trust that, with your intelligence, you can easily arrive at a similar conclusion on your own."
The golden-haired little miss kept her small face composed, her expression earnest and serious.
Drawing on ten years of familiarity with Durandal as the senior captain, Caelus used the Persona Mask to construct a simulated persona modeled after Durandal's forthright, slightly-dense, zero-filters personality — and without hiding a single thing, spoke an astounding truth to the beautiful maid before her.
"...Point in time."
The perfect maid forced herself to calm down. She narrowed her long phoenix eyes slightly and ventured, carefully:
"Do you mean... you are Lady Bianca from the past?"
Rita had been working at the Archbishop's side since her teens. If anyone in the world truly understood Otto, she was undoubtedly among those who knew the Grand Archbishop best.
Rita knew his wishes and his goals. And precisely because of that, she understood: temporal travel — in theory — was simply impossible.
"No. I come from the future."
Daylight kept her little face perfectly serious — while inwardly she was bursting with glee.
Auto-battle, activate!
Stand-in — come on in!
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