Kiana had a dream.
In the dream, she didn't encounter anything uncomfortable...
But some bizarre images created an indescribable feeling in Kiana's heart.
She saw Mei... well, it should be said, the Mei of the future.
The Mei who appeared in the dream clearly had a more mature temperament, and her figure had become even better.
A certain part had also become bigger.
Fine, Mei was already bigger than her in that area; for the future Mei to grow to that extent...
—That's still too outrageous, hey!
And that wasn't even the most outrageous part.
Mei's figure was already quite good now, so it wasn't strange for it to get better in the future.
But the problem was, why would that little flat board Bronya also become so big!!!
This isn't scientific!
Seeing the future forms of the two, Kiana suddenly thought of a sentence.
A sentence she had once said herself.
He likes big ones.
Likes big ones.
Big ones.
Ahhhhhhh, why should this young lady care about whether that guy likes big ones or small ones!
And what exactly is this weird feeling!
As these inexplicable emotions began to spread from her heart, Kiana was suddenly startled awake.
Then she discovered she couldn't quite fall back asleep.
Unlike those vague dreams from before, Kiana could clearly recall the images she saw in this dream.
"Bronya... was that really Bronya?"
The face was right, the hair color was right, but that figure...
"Tch, why does this young lady care about these things!"
Rolling up the blanket to cover her head, Kiana muttered to herself.
"I must be too tired lately to have such strange dreams."
"Yeah, don't think too much. Hiding and dodging all this time, and always training hard to stop Cocolia's conspiracy."
"Especially that guy Aaron, shutting himself in his room most of the time. That's why this young lady insisted with a tough attitude this time that he go out and have fun with everyone."
"Rest well today. And tomorrow..."
"This young lady is definitely going to play to her heart's content!"
.....................
At the same time. Mei's Room
Inside the room, Mei looked at the gradually familiar ceiling and sighed slightly.
[What is it, Mei?]
Sensing some inexplicable emotions in Mei's heart, Hell spoke in Mei's mind.
[Aren't you all agreed to go out and relax tomorrow?]
That's true... but I just feel a bit uneasy.
[Hah, what is there to be uneasy about? With your current strength, there aren't many people in this world who can pose a threat to you anymore.]
Ugh... Senior Hell, why are you so sure about this?
[I chatted with that kid about some things. A little comparison leads to that conclusion.]
And I've also met one of the strongest people in this world.
Judging by the intelligence Lady Cecilia Schariac told me after our exchange in the Demon Castle, a little comparison shows that there aren't many high-end combatants in this world.
However, Lady Cecilia is already dead. Neither she nor that kid wants others to know about this... Heh, I won't tell Mei about it for now either.
[In this past month, I've basically seen the current power of the four of you. Aside from that gray-haired little girl whose strength isn't worth looking at, you three all possess considerable power.]
[Under these circumstances, even if an enemy appears that one person can't handle, the probability that the three of you can't escape by working together is extremely low. If you really encounter such an enemy, worrying now won't be of any use.]
That's true.
But Senior Hell, you aren't stopping us from having fun?
[Why would I stop you? Combining work and rest is the right way.]
[If anything, the fact that the kid can maintain a mindset of diligent training is what surprised me a bit.]
Yes, Aaron is indeed very hardworking.
[But this isn't a good thing.]
Huh?
Why?
Is there a problem with working hard to train one's strength?
[Mindset. His mindset hasn't just been a problem recently.]
[Craving power itself isn't a bad thing, but the problem is—he's too impatient. Haste makes waste. Trying to force himself to become stronger without adjusting his mindset might actually harm his foundation.]
[So this time, the white-haired girl actively proposing everyone go out and play in a 'mischievous' way was actually quite smart.]
...Kiana, did she notice the problem too?
[Heh, if anything, she has the most stable mindset among the four of you right now.]
[She usually looks carefree, but now that she knows where her father is, she has absolutely no other psychological pressure.]
[Although the power system is different, I can feel that as long as she continues like this, her progress will be advancing by leaps and bounds.]
[As for you... after that girl named Yuno appeared last time, your mindset fluctuated again.]
[Expecting you to adjust your mindset immediately is impossible.]
...I'm sorry for disappointing you, Senior.
[It's not to the point of disappointment. Feeling down and sad because of such things is actually proof that you still have a conscience.]
[And that little girl seems to be troubling herself because of the bad things her mother did and some other reasons.]
[So this trip, while it looks like the white-haired girl is messing around, she's actually doing it to let all three of you relax.]
[You're still young. You'll encounter more things and hardships in the future. Don't drive yourself to a dead end just because you've encountered some difficulties and setbacks now.]
[That brat probably won't listen to these words, so we can only count on him adjusting slowly by himself.]
[However, as one of his 'companions', if you have the ability, you could indeed consider thinking of ways to help him decompress.]
...I'd thank the heavens just not to drag him down.
[Hah, you young people... forget it, I won't say more on this.]
Sensing that Hell had no intention of continuing, Mei didn't respond further in her mind.
Decompress... even if Senior Hell says that, I don't know how to help Aaron decompress.
Although we live in the same house, he spends most of the time training his power.
Normally, aside from meal times, we barely exchange a few sentences. Under these circumstances... how on earth am I supposed to help him decompress?
Moreover, although that fellow hasn't popped out lately, I can feel that she hasn't disappeared.
Existing within me, she could seize my body at any moment...
Suddenly, I seem to understand why Aaron has been training his power so hard.
I felt it before.
Although he doesn't intend to kill me, he is indeed constantly guarding against the 'her' inside me.
Although Schicksal and Cocolia should be constantly investigating our intelligence, given that they don't know where we live at all, we are actually quite safe.
With no enemies coming to trouble us, the reason Aaron is still working so hard...
Isn't it so he can suppress the 'her' inside me without killing me?!
After a little thought, Raiden Mei discovered an incredibly awkward fact.
If she continues to get stronger, once her body is seized one day, that Herrscher will inevitably attack Aaron—who beat her up back then—first thing.
Looking at it this way...
—The reason Aaron is so hardworking is entirely because Raiden Mei has given him too much pressure.
And what's even more awkward now is that if Raiden Mei doesn't train her power, the probability of her body being seized by the Herrscher is even greater.
If she gets stronger, the probability of being seized decreases, but once control is seized, the disaster she causes will be greater.
But if she stops training the power of Magnetic Field Rotation... she might directly fail to suppress the Herrscher of Thunder's consciousness and end up becoming a ticking time bomb that explodes every day.
No, I have to find a way to solve this problem.
Otherwise, if this goes on, not just Aaron, but Kiana and Bronya... and the ordinary people around us might all get hurt because of me.
..................
The Next Day
After Aaron used the Dimensional Formation to transport the four of them to today's destination, [London], he calmly pulled a travel brochure out of his storage space.
"This is..."
Scanning the surroundings, Kiana only saw a deserted alley.
"When on earth did you get the coordinates for this place?"
"Look at what you're saying. After coming out of Nagazora City, I often flew to various parts of the world using other people's IDs."
As Aaron flipped through the travel brochure in his hand, he spoke to the three looking at each other in dismay.
"During that time, I used Shambhala to record the coordinates of some countries and hypnotized some locals, telling them to inform me through secret channels immediately if they discovered any anomalies."
"In this situation, if precursors to a Honkai outbreak really appeared, we wouldn't be too late to act."
"Secret channels? When did you come up with something like that???"
"Constructing a secret channel known only to a few people is not difficult for a mature hacker."
Glancing at Bronya, who clearly had something on her mind, Aaron exhaled lightly and spoke to her.
"Relax a little. Coming here this time, I..."
"Stop right there!"
Realizing the topic was going completely off track, Kiana suddenly spoke with a cold face.
"We agreed to relax together today! At a time like this, can't you put down the matters in your hands for a bit?"
"This young lady has wanted to say this for a long time. When you keep moving, the people around you will unconsciously run along with you."
"A group of people running desperately towards a goal..."
"Wouldn't that get us to the destination faster?"
"Everyone might die of exhaustion halfway there before that happens, hey! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"
Hearing Aaron's unromantic words, Kiana felt her blood pressure spiking rapidly.
Subsequently, ignoring Mei, who was still conflicted, and Aaron, who was a bit confused, she grabbed both their hands and dragged them out of the alley.
"Bronya, you too. Don't think so much."
"Follow our lead. Let's play to our hearts' content today—Cocolia's affairs have nothing to do with you. Just party today!"
"...Bronya understands."
Looking at Kiana dragging the two away, Bronya exhaled gently.
Although Aaron didn't finish that sentence just now, as Aaron's 'servant', she could actually sense a small part of Aaron's thoughts.
During this time, Bronya had learned that even with the power of the Herrscher of Thunder, she couldn't save Seele.
Knowing this, Bronya felt even worse inside.
On one hand, naturally, it was because she couldn't save Seele.
On the other hand, it was because Bronya had also realized—Cocolia clearly knew this too.
She clearly knew that the power of the Herrscher of Thunder couldn't save Seele, yet she still told her of this false possibility, making her act to seize the Herrscher's power for her.
Continuing to deduce... did this even need deduction?
This clearly showed that Cocolia didn't kill those millions of people for Seele at all.
She was simply committing irrevocable atrocities for her own desires.
But Bronya could feel just now that the sentence Aaron didn't finish was obviously meant to tell her that he chose this place as a relaxation spot to figure out a way to solve her problem.
On one side was the person who 'enslaved' her with a Divine Key, and on the other was the adoptive mother who had once given her warmth.
Bronya, who should have been striving against the former for the sake of the latter, now shockingly discovered that when she placed both on the scales, her heart clearly leaned towards the person who had 'enslaved' her.
This wasn't a result caused by the Key of Corruption.
The real reason for this result was that Bronya had completely lost faith in her adoptive mother due to Cocolia's various actions.
"Forget it. I'll listen to Big Sister Kiana today and stop thinking so much."
Seele, wait a little longer.
Even if Mother Cocolia doesn't plan to save you...
Bronya will definitely find a way to save you!
......................