"Cecilia, you're still as beautiful as ever."
"Hmm, this body is modeled after when we first met. But you're still exactly the same as you were back then, Siegfried."
Siegfried and Cecilia chatted about everyday things, a seemingly harmonious scene, but upon closer inspection, one would notice a washboard beneath Siegfried's knees.
Siegfried knelt on it obediently, without a single complaint, and even as sharp pains shot through his knees, he smiled and answered Cecilia's questions.
"Hey, Siegfried. What happened to your left hand? Why?"
Cecilia looked at Siegfried's left hand; it was gone, only his sleeve fluttering in the breeze remained.
"Don't tell me it was severed during a fight with a Honkai Beast. Even when you fought Sirin and delivered the final blow with Judgement of Thunder, you didn't end up like this."
"Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Cecilia couldn't believe any Honkai Beast had the strength to take Siegfried's arm. Siegfried himself had the strength of an S-Rank Valkyrie, not to mention he possessed the divine key—Judgement of Thunder.
Siegfried didn't know how to answer Cecilia's question; the injury to his left hand was the price he paid for using Judgement of Thunder.
But the reason he used Judgement of Thunder was because he wanted to suppress his foolish daughter with that move, yet he hadn't expected his stamina at the time to be insufficient to fully activate Judgement of Thunder.
As a result, his left hand was burned to ashes by the residual power of Judgement of Thunder, and his left hand disappeared forever.
Siegfried lowered his head, finally sighing, and told Cecilia about how he had taken care of K-423, or Kiana, back then, and also about Kiana's rampage.
He had initially expected Cecilia to be angry upon hearing about Kiana, but who would have thought Cecilia showed no sign of anger at all.
Cecilia merely sighed, the black abyss in her hand disappeared, and in its place appeared Hundred Flowers.
Hundred Flowers was a pure white spear, inheriting the power of the Sixth Herrscher [Creation], possessing the ability of regeneration.
Cecilia carefully thrust the Hundred Flowers in her hand into Siegfried's body, activating its power.
Siegfried had once used the power of Judgement of Thunder to deal with Sirin, but using the true power of Judgement of Thunder would consume the user's life.
However, Siegfried was saved by Cecilia, who arrived later and used the power of Hundred Flowers, thus avoiding death.
Understanding the power that Hundred Flowers possessed, Siegfried showed no excessive reaction, merely kneeling silently on the washboard, feeling the sensation constantly emanating from his left arm.
The power of [Creation] continuously affected Siegfried's left hand; where it had been scorched by the flames of Judgement of Thunder, fair skin began to appear.
Although a new arm successfully began to grow, the process of growth was accompanied by some pain. If it were an ordinary person, they might have cried out long ago.
But who was Siegfried? He was a man who had unleashed two incredible attacks and still hadn't died. Although the regeneration process of his arm brought immense pain, he persevered.
The regeneration process was very fast; in less than a few minutes, the arm that had been missing for several years returned to Siegfried's body.
At this moment, Siegfried was covered in cold sweat. As Hundred Flowers was withdrawn, Siegfried, who had been enduring the pain, gasped, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.
"I've used the power of Hundred Flowers to regrow your arm. Even the physical problems you've had these past few years due to drinking and smoking have been resolved. You're very healthy now, Siegfried."
"Then... then I'm truly grateful, Cecilia. You're right, the feeling after my left hand returned is completely different."
Although he had grown accustomed to life with one arm, Siegfried, with his left hand regrown, could feel his strength returning.
In the past, his strength at Schicksal was roughly that of an S-Rank Valkyrie, but after losing his left hand, his strength was somewhat affected.
Now that his left hand had returned, he could once again dual-wield Judgement of Thunder, which was very impressive.
However... when Siegfried heard Cecilia's subsequent words, the sweat on his face increased.
Siegfried remembered that Cecilia disliked the smell of smoke, and because drinking was harmful to the body, she also didn't allow him to drink excessively.
But in these years since losing Cecilia and Kiana, Siegfried had constantly drunk and smoked to numb his heart, to numb the feeling of being torn apart.
'I should quit smoking... and drink less alcohol too.'
Siegfried secretly made up his mind. Although it would be very painful at first, everything had changed now, and he didn't want to continue like this.
After dealing with Siegfried's issues, Cecilia turned to leave.
Coming back too late would worry Kiana, and staying with Siegfried for too long, she was worried she might do something against the rules, or rather, Siegfried might be cut in half.
"Are you leaving, Cecilia?"
Still kneeling on the washboard, Siegfried said with a somewhat lost expression, watching Cecilia's retreating back.
"...Yes, this time I only intended to meet you. And Kiana is still waiting for me to return; I can't be out for too long."
"Kiana? Ah, Kiana has been brought out by you. That's good, that's good."
Siegfried nodded. Kiana being able to leave that place was a good thing, and with Cecilia taking care of her, he didn't need to worry about Kiana's problems.
But Siegfried soon remembered about Kiana. Regarding the clone of his daughter, when escaping Schicksal Headquarters, Kiana did not take Kiana, but rather Kiana.
Cecilia must have known about this, but she had never spoken up. Was she displeased with his decision?
Even if she was displeased, it would be natural. What mother would want to see her child suffer?
When Kiana was first born, as her parents, they absolutely did not want Kiana to become a weapon against Honkai.
Rather than becoming a hero for humanity, they preferred that Kiana could live safely and peacefully, just like any ordinary Little Girl.
After Cecilia's death, as her father, he should have taken good care of Kiana. Yet, not only did he fail to care for Kiana, he also allowed her to endure so much pain.
"I'm sorry, Cecilia. Regarding Kiana, I truly…"
Before Siegfried could finish, he saw a pair of hands block him. He looked up to see Cecilia smiling at him.
"Don't be like this, Siegfried. Although I don't know what exactly happened back then, I know you must have had your reasons for doing what you did."
"Actually, when I first learned about this, I was really angry. Kiana was still so young, and you didn't take good care of her. As a father, you were truly derelict in your duties."
Cecilia said with some anger. When she first heard about this from Inaba Tsukiyo, Cecilia was genuinely furious.
But after her anger subsided, Cecilia also began to consider Siegfried's reasons for acting that way.
Even though Siegfried always acted unconventionally, he didn't follow grand principles; he only did what he believed was right.
"I understand. Leaving the sky island of Schicksal Headquarters and then wanting to go back is simply too difficult."
Moreover, when Siegfried left the sky island, he was wanted by Schicksal. How could he possibly return to the heavily guarded sky island while being a fugitive?
Siegfried was willing but unable, and after losing his left arm, it became even more difficult when facing other Schicksal Valkyries.
"Kiana will be well taken care of. As for Kiana… since you've made this choice, then you must see it through, Siegfried. After all, you gave Kiana her name, and the kaslana name to her."
The kaslana name represents the meaning of guardianship. Since Siegfried gave the kaslana name to Kiana, Cecilia believed Siegfried would certainly uphold his decision.
After Cecilia finished speaking, she turned and left the alley, heading towards the hotel.
Everything that needed to be done had been done; the rest was now up to Siegfried.
Siegfried smiled as he stood up from the washboard, stretching his aching knees. Thinking of Cecilia's words just now, he suddenly felt much better.
Perhaps the guilt he had felt towards Cecilia for all these years could finally be put down, or perhaps he finally had the ability to better protect what he cared about.
From Cecilia's reaction, she had no aversion to Kiana, the clone.
Although Kiana and Kiana would inevitably have some conflicts when they met, he believed that with his and Cecilia's mediation, they should be able to coexist peacefully.
Next, what he needed to do was carefully watch Kiana's growth and prevent Otto from harming Kiana.
"Oh, Siegfried. There's one more thing I forgot to tell you."
Suddenly, Cecilia's head peeked out from the corner of the alley, smiling at Siegfried.
This startled Siegfried, who quickly straightened up, like a soldier awaiting his officer's command, every part of him radiating fear.
"Hehehe~ Don't worry, it's nothing important. I just hope you don't drink so much alcohol or smoke so much."
"Otherwise, the next time we meet, it won't be as simple as a washboard. Understand?"
"…Yes."
Facing Cecilia's angelic smile, Siegfried wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded subserviently.
Cecilia, having received a satisfactory answer, turned and left the alley. After confirming Cecilia had left, Siegfried finally let out a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"You scared me to death. Although I know she's concerned about me, Cecilia's presence is really terrifying."
Siegfried insisted this wasn't about being afraid of his wife; he was just respecting her. What was this 'fear' in their eyes?
As Siegfried dusted off his knees and prepared to leave, he noticed the washboard hadn't disappeared; it was still lying there quietly.
Looking at the washboard on the ground, Siegfried bent down, picked it up, wiped off the dust, and turned to leave.
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