That night, Zeus slept very sweetly. Having a soft, fragrant loli as a pillow (body pillow) was simply too enjoyable. But Kiana, miraculously, suffered from insomnia because Zeus wasn't sharing her bed. That bed was already small, and with Zeus, Mei, and that girl all squeezed onto it, there was no space left for her. In the end, she could only lie on the sofa, feeling dejected, and make do for the night. That night, she was truly miserable, constantly feeling like a green patch had appeared on her white head. The thought of her exclusive spot being occupied by some inexplicable loli left her with no sleep at all, and she stared at the ceiling with wide blue eyes.
It wasn't until the sunlight streamed through the window that she realized she had experienced insomnia for the first time in a long while. But since it was already morning, she didn't want to laze on the sofa, so she got up and went to the bathroom to wash up. Seeing the faint dark circles under her eyes, Kiana unhappily began washing her face.
"Good morning, Kiana."
"Morning, Mei-senpai!"
Kiana replied to Mei's words weakly. As the 'concubine' in her internal hierarchy, though a bit different from the 'empress,' Kiana still liked her senpai very much. But a sleepless night had still affected her spirit.
"Kiana, didn't you sleep well? You have dark circles!"
The observant Mei indeed noticed the faint dark circles under Kiana's eyes and asked with concern.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about how to get out of the city."
I can't exactly say I spent the whole night wondering if I was being cheated on, can I? Kiana said to Mei awkwardly, while roaring internally. Mei felt a little strange but didn't find anything suspicious, so she let Kiana go and start washing up.
Returning to the room where they rested last night, Kiana saw a heartbreaking scene: Zeus was helping that annoying little girl get dressed. That 'mother dressing her child' scene made her so sad. She had never been treated like that by Zeus, had she?
"You're up unusually early today, Kiana. What's wrong?"
After helping Bronya put on her leg armor, Zeus looked at Kiana, who had scratched five holes in the doorway, and said. If no one helped Bronya, it would be difficult for her to put the armor back on herself. Anyone who has read the Honkai Impact 3rd manga knows that Bronya's experiment not only sealed her emotions but also left her legs without sensation, forcing her to rely on the armor to walk or float in mid-air. During her baths at Anti-Entropy, Cocolia probably helped her. Although Cocolia was using Seele and Bronya, the love she gave was genuine; she truly loved these adopted daughters. So Bronya couldn't live independently, and only Cocolia looked after her.
"Nothing. But that little girl is so big and still can't dress herself."
After smiling at Zeus, this scoundrel's hands started acting up again, reaching out to touch Bronya's head. But before her hand could even make contact, Bronya slapped it away.
"According to Bronya's judgment, the creature named Kiana has the 'idiot virus.' If Bronya stays with her for too long, she will be infected, and her intelligence will decrease. Bronya advises Zeus to stay away from this creature."
"You little brat, are you calling me stupid?!"
"Yes! If there are no other creatures named Kiana."
After slapping her, Bronya began to advise Zeus, saying words that made Kiana so angry that even her two pigtails behind her head stood up. Kiana, already fuming, completely started bickering with Bronya after she said such infuriating things. Zeus watched the scene helplessly from the side.
"What happened?"
The loud noise attracted Mei, who had already finished washing up. She looked at Zeus, puzzled, and asked.
"Nothing, just playing around! It's fine, go prepare the supplies first. We'll leave in a bit."
"Mhm, okay."
Zeus smiled at Mei and said, then began to walk towards the two who were bickering. Mei, seeing Zeus go to break up the fight, went to follow Zeus's instructions and pack up the compressed biscuits and other things they had collected yesterday. These were essentials; even if they were heavy, they had to be carried, or they would definitely starve.
"Alright, you two. Kiana, go check the weapons again and heat up breakfast. We'll eat breakfast soon and then set off."
Zeus pulled the two bickering little ones apart and said to Kiana.
"Huff! Huff! Understood."
Kiana obediently nodded to Zeus, then glared fiercely at Bronya before going to prepare.
"Let's go wash up."
Holding Bronya's small hand, Zeus said to Bronya, not as overbearing as she was with Kiana. Bronya was an obedient good child in front of Zeus; she nodded understandingly to Zeus, and followed Zeus's steps into the restroom.
The four of them quickly finished breakfast and walked out of ME Corp. Along the way, they rushed towards the nearest exit marked on the map. All the while, Zeus could feel the observing gazes from above. Zeus, of course, knew who it was, so she never avoided their observation.
At this moment, apart from Zeus, the other three had no idea that they were now on a massive aerial battleship named 'Hyperion.' On a huge light screen, the every move of the four was visible to two women.
"Himeko, what do you think?"
"Madam, there must be something fishy going on, ah, ptooey~! Sorry, wrong line. It's just four little girls, but they're really lucky to have survived the Honkai."
At this moment, the loli with the dangerous side ponytail hairstyle said to a fiery red-haired woman beside her. The woman, however, wasn't very interested in the four people on the light screen. Rather, she was more focused on this third Great Honkai. A Honkai of this scale was bound to give birth to a Herrscher, so where was the Herrscher?
"This child is! Kiana!"
Looking at the silver-haired twin pigtails, a trace of nostalgia and apology flashed in the loli's eyes.
"This is? Raiden Mei, the young lady of ME Corp? Why is she here?"
The camera focused again, capturing Mei observing her surroundings, and Mei's information was displayed on the light screen. It seemed this light screen was composed of a super electronic computing system, capable of identifying people by facial recognition.
"This girl is? An Anti-Entropy weapon! Her armor is quite similar to ours!"
Theresa (the silly one), who had been 'wandering the world' for decades, immediately recognized that Bronya's armor was not from the hands of Schicksal. The only ones capable of producing such things and contending with Schicksal were Kyushu and Anti-Entropy. Kyushu couldn't possibly produce this, which meant Anti-Entropy.
"This is?"
When the camera captured again, Zeus's face appeared on the light screen.
"Cecilia? Is that you?"
Looking at the face so similar to Cecilia's, Theresa lost herself for the first time in decades. She reached out and pressed her meager chest, her eyes somewhat blurry as she looked at the light screen. The next second, she shook her head, temporarily suppressing that uncomfortable emotion. Looking at the different pupils and hairstyle from Cecilia, she told herself something she didn't even believe, but the smile on this person's face was so much like Cecilia's—no, it was exactly the same.
"Hello! My name is Cecilia, what's yours?"
"Theresa, you must eat well, or you won't grow tall."
"Come, Theresa, try the raspberry mousse I just learned to make for you."
I still remember the first time I saw her. When she smiled at me, I thought, 'I'm done for.' To see that smile again, I would surely do many things I knew I shouldn't.
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