I'm Otto's fiancée?
In that case, back at the hotel... wasn't he cheating on me right in front of my face?
No, no, that's not right.
"How is that possible!?" Kiana cried out. She'd never heard anything about having a fiancé!
"Is it not? Fine, fine. I suppose having five children might be a bit taxing on your stomach," Otto mused.
"Then four will do. If they're all twins, two years should be enough."
Seeing the Paramecium get her hackles up, a genuine smile spread across Otto's face. The pressure from dealing with Raven and Rita completely vanished.
When life gets you down, just go poke the Paramecium.
Oh, right, the bridge interaction system was removed. Never mind, then.
"Is that the problem here? This young lady isn't giving birth at all!"
Kiana ground her teeth. So many kids—did he think she was a sow? She slammed her hands on the table in protest.
"I've never heard my dad say a single word about a fiancé!"
Still, a seed of doubt made her ask hesitantly, "...Is it true?"
Kiana had a vague feeling that the Kaslanas were probably a large and important family. Novels were always full of arranged marriage plots. Maybe she had been engaged without her knowledge. After all, Otto looked like a high-quality man.
Damn you, you good-for-nothing old man! Don't let me find out you're the one who arranged this! You don't even come to see me, and then you pull a stunt like this? If I ever get my hands on you, I'll punch you square in the jaw! Twice!
But when she saw the unconcealable mirth in Otto's eyes, she suddenly realized she'd been had.
"You're tricking me!?"
Kiana angrily lunged forward to grab Otto's collar, but he simply leaned back, and her hands grasped at empty air.
"I wasn't lying, however. My previous fiancée was indeed a Kaslana."
"Previous?" Kiana latched onto the key word.
"She died."
Otto's tone was flat, but he allowed his gaze to grow dim, and a palpable air of sorrow emanated from him.
Kiana fell silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry."
She felt like she had just poked at someone's old wound.
In a way, she could empathize. Her own father was as good as dead to the world.
But she still had hope of finding him.
She lowered her head and began eating the cake on the table, her pace quickening. This was probably a classic case of channeling grief into appetite.
What a sensitive girl, Otto thought.
He liked girls like this.
Otto watched Kiana, feeling nothing for Kallen's death. He had no intention of reviving her with the same mad obsession as the original Otto.
To him, Kallen was just a character he kept on the back burner in his account.
He only ever took out her stigmata set when he wanted to have a little fun.
"So, my dear little kitten, would you like to start a relationship with me? I think the two of us are quite compatible," Otto said with a smile.
Hearing this, Kiana raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms with a look of theatrical disdain.
"Are you trying to hit on this young lady?"
"You're not my type."
"Give it up. You don't have a chance."
Kiana hit him with a rapid-fire three-part rejection.
The refusal was entirely expected. If Kiana had agreed on the spot, Otto would have suspected she was an imposter.
Even though this particular Paramecium had yet to meet her future personal chef, she was still a difficult target to win over.
"How heartbreaking. I've been shot down so quickly," Otto said, though Kiana couldn't detect a trace of sadness in him. In fact, he was smiling quite happily.
She felt like he was just toying with her, like she was a cat.
"Well then, can we at least be friends? You should know by now that I'm not really a bad person."
Kiana swallowed a mouthful of cream and thought for a moment. Although her first impression of Otto was poor, she hadn't seen him do anything truly heinous. He was more like a classic Italian scoundrel than a genuine villain.
"Fine."
Friends.
But friends were the kind of thing that, after a period of separation, would never contact each other again, slowly fading into strangers.
That was Kiana's experience, from childhood to the present day.
She had no friends.
Growing up, it was always just her and her father, and he never taught her how to get along with others.
After setting out on her journey alone, even when she did make friends, she would always have to leave them to continue her search for Siegfried, and they would never speak again.
So even if Otto became her friend now, they would surely grow distant in the future.
"Good. You and I are now friends."
Otto nodded in satisfaction. At least he was no longer a random bystander. Their relationship had just taken a huge leap forward.
He genuinely wanted to build a good relationship with Kiana, as there were countless benefits and no downsides.
Bonds are what make K423 strong. Bonds are what will allow K423 to kindle the final flame and shine.
So why couldn't the object of her bonds be him?
Love is what allows these girls to grow. Love is what allows them to achieve anything.
So why couldn't the object of their love be him?
This way, even if they discovered all the messed-up things the original Otto had done in the past...
They wouldn't kill him. At worst, they'd just beat him up a bit.
They might even stop others from trying to kill him.
And so, Otto extended a hand toward Kiana.
"And as your friend, I want to give you a gift."
"A gift?" Kiana asked, still eating her cake, her curiosity piqued.
"Yes," Otto affirmed.
"I want to give a lonely, helpless little kitten... a place to belong."
"Will you stand on my side?"
"Do you want to become my person?"