Schicksal Headquarters, East Sector Core.
"Gray Serpent, an executive from World Serpent, has sent us some information. Kiana has appeared in Old Nagazora City. Her image was captured by the surveillance cameras World Serpent left behind."
Master Stargazer slammed a few photos onto the table in front of everyone. They showed a white-haired figure with a high ponytail.
"I'll leave the intelligence here. You can decide how to proceed. I'm going to rest. By the way, I've already processed most of the official documents from your Schicksal organization over the last few days."
"The ones that reached the Overseer's Office were basically as I expected, all more or less the same. They're mostly just applications and reports."
"If you process them quickly enough, you can finish them all in less than half a day. It was only the first few days when I wasn't very familiar with this thing called a computer that slowed me down..."
"So, how did Overseer Theresa, who looks just like me, manage to sit in this chair all day long?"
Master Stargazer posed the biggest question she had accumulated over the past few days...
"Maybe the Headmaster has slacking off engraved into her genes...?"
Everyone thought for a moment and muttered in agreement.
"Sigh... Tomorrow after tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there? I wait for tomorrow, and all things are wasted—"
"Your Eminence, I have said my piece. You're on your own now."
Waving a hand at Theresa, who seemed to be trying to persuade her to stay and help for a few more days, Stargazer strode out the door.
"Let's put the Headmaster's matter aside for now. We should go fetch Kiana back. Thinking carefully, she's actually been running wild outside for so long."
Bronya grabbed the photos left by Master Stargazer, looking almost as if she were filled with a mix of envy, jealousy, and hatred.
"Ahem... My matters can be set aside for now. This mission is primarily about negotiation, though there might be some combat..."
Theresa stepped forward and began to plan their next course of action.
"As you can see, I, the Headmaster, will be going to do office work again."
"Kyuusyou, you... On second thought, you'd better stay at Headquarters. I'm afraid you'll punch Kiana into the ICU... Besides, Honkai activity has become more frequent lately... We need someone to be stationed at Headquarters to support any Branches that might run into problems."
"I'll go find Kiana..."
Before Theresa could make the next arrangement, Bronya took the initiative to volunteer for the task of finding Kiana.
"As for you, Bronya... Very well. You're close with Kiana, so you'll be able to persuade her more easily. Besides, you've learned a lot from the two Leader Welts recently."
Theresa nodded, accepting the request.
"As for our guests from the Sea of Quanta, we won't trouble you this time... However, Miss Bronie, as the Schicksal Overseer, I have a personal request..."
Theresa looked a bit embarrassed as she turned to Miss Haxxor, who was blowing a bubble with her gum.
"Oh? Does Miss Teiriri have a special request? Hmm... Could it be that you want to debut as an idol?"
"Eh eh eh??? Idols are a thing of the past. I want to ask Miss Bronie to teach me some computer skills..."
"Oh, so that's all! No problem!"
Bronie readily accepted Theresa's request.
"A friendly tip from Bronya... The Headmaster is at least in her forties, and she's about to cross the threshold into old age."
Bronya quietly approached Bronie and offered a friendly reminder.
"An old person learning to use a computer... You know what Bronya means, right?"
Cold sweat immediately poured down Bronie's face.
"Then it's decided, meeting adjourned! Bronya, I'll arrange a transport ship for you!"
-
Old Nagazora City, East District, The Nest.
"This is the Nest where everyone lives, Big Sister Kiana."
Sora, who had been leading Kiana all the way to this mini Nest, stopped on a simple elevator platform.
"Big Sister Kiana, please step on. Taking this elevator up will get us into the Nest."
"Eh, okay."
The Knight Princess looked around with curiosity at this unique little Nest, answered Sora, and stepped onto the platform with her.
"Everyone in the Nest should be here today. This is the day of the month when Teacher comes back. Big Sister Kiana, you can see the Nest at its liveliest."
As the elevator platform gradually ascended, the sky that had been blocked by the roof gradually revealed itself.
"Big Sister Kiana, look! That's Teacher's plane."
Little Sora seemed to have spotted something. She tugged on Kiana's sleeve and pointed to a corner of the distant sky.
"A World Serpent transport plane?"
With her Herrscher's superhuman vision, Kiana could see the logo on that plane much more clearly than Little Sora could.
"...This Nest is actually connected to World Serpent? Could this be one of their secret experimental bases?"
Watching the transport plane draw closer, Kiana didn't hide. Instead, she walked to the landing pad with the pink-and-purple-haired girl to wait for its descent. As the aircraft's roar echoed, the children of the Nest who had heard the sound also swarmed the landing pad, forming a dense crowd.
As the transport plane's hatch opened, a female voice emerged from the middle...
"Phew—finally here. My butt is completely numb from sitting—"
Raven, who had just stepped out of the cabin and stretched, heard a somewhat familiar voice—
"It's you! Ms. Island Bomber!?"
A cross-shaped vein immediately popped up on her forehead.
"I told you not to call me Ms. Island Bomber! Wait—White Blazing Cat???"
Cioara's eyes widened as she stared at the Knight Princess who had appeared out of nowhere. The latter also seemed to realize something, and the same question burst from her lips—
"These are the adopted daughters you told me about??? How could you let them live here?!!"
"What? Why are you two asking the exact same question as a couple???!"
"These kids have semi-awakened Stigmata, so they can't go to places where the Honkai concentration is too low. In simple terms, it's like that, do you understand? I'm here to deliver medicine!"
Cioara's reply also completely exceeded Kiana's expectations—
"Wait a minute??! What do you mean by 'the two of us as a couple', who is it?!"
"???"
Cioara looked at the white-haired Knight in front of her in confusion, then gradually understood something, and revealed a look of seeing a scumbag woman.
"You dead scumbag woman, you played with the other girl's heart and then ran away, didn't you??!"
"The poor girl can't stop thinking about you, she almost strangled me to death on the way—"
Cioara revealed a 'you're about to die, you scumbag woman' expression and stepped aside from the cabin doorway—
"Ki—a—na—"
The blue pupils of Miss Knight Princess gradually enlarged, reflecting a figure leaping with purple electric sparks—