Otto had to support Kiana as they walked onto the plane.
It wasn't because he was worried about jostling a baby.
It was because she had kicked Otto's Soul Steel face, and kicking solid iron with her foot was bound to cause an injury.
If it weren't for her special constitution, a normal person would have been bedridden for some time with that kind of injury.
After helping Kiana to her seat, Otto plopped down right beside her. In the enormous cabin, they were the only two passengers.
Kiana was still wearing the White Comet armor, though she now had one of Otto's jackets draped over it, its hem just long enough to cover her perky rear.
Although Otto very much liked seeing Kiana wear such a lewd battlesuit, he only wanted her to wear it for him to see.
Perhaps this was the ugly possessiveness of a man.
"How come there's no one else?"
Kiana looked around, puzzled. Besides Otto and herself, there were no other guests.
"Maybe there just aren't many people flying directly to Nagazora City. The others are probably in first class. After all, they only sold economy class tickets."
Otto said with a smile. In truth, Schicksal had booked this entire plane long ago. Otherwise, if there were people named Leon, Joseph, Shinjou, or Daigo on board, Otto would be seriously worried about whether this plane could safely reach Nagazora City.
Aboard this flight, there was only the Schicksal Overseer and a Schicksal Valkyrie.
And his reason for choosing economy class was very simple.
This way, he could be closer to Kiana.
Otto could almost smell the honey-like fragrance from Kiana's body, a scent that lifted his spirits.
"Want something to eat?"
Otto asked with a smile, and Kiana responded with curiosity.
"You can eat on a plane?"
"Of course. What, my cute little kitten, have you never been on a plane before?"
"Nope. The tickets are super expensive, where would I get the money for this?"
Kiana said, which surprised Otto a little.
"Then how did you get to Italy?"
"I have legs, you know."
Kiana patted her own thigh. Otto looked at the firm thigh wrapped in the tight bodysuit, and he wanted to pat it too.
However, Siegfried had likely been living with her in eastern Siberia. To get to Europe from there...
"Badass."
That was the only way Otto could describe it.
No wonder the lines of Kiana's hips and legs were so amazing.
After a short wait, the plane gradually took off. A golden light shone in Kiana's eyes as she pressed herself against the window, watching the scenery recede with an excited expression.
For some reason, she really loved the sky.
Otto pulled his gaze away from Kiana's back. He leaned against his seat; the slight feeling of weightlessness was a bit unfamiliar.
He closed his eyes. Compared to the carefree Kiana, he had far more to worry about.
Nagazora City, the Herrscher of Thunder, the Third Honkai Eruption.
Every one of those terms placed immense pressure on him.
The slightest misstep could mean the deaths and panic of millions of people.
The moment Otto chose to intervene, his decisions became tied to the lives of everyone in Nagazora City.
The closer he got to Nagazora City, the more pressure he felt.
Although he could have Schicksal directly capture Mei, he didn't feel at ease. Entrusting something that could be tied to his own life to others was something he simply couldn't relax about.
He closed his eyes, and time trickled by. Kiana, who had been excited and noisy at first, gradually quieted down.
When he opened his eyes again, Otto found Kiana's head resting on his shoulder.
She was sleeping with a look of pure innocence on her face.
Like a child resting after playing herself to exhaustion.
But K423 was indeed a child. She was created by Otto in 2006, Siegfried left her in 2010, and this year was 2013.
A smile touched Otto's lips. When Kiana chose to join him, her destiny was overturned, and Otto's destiny was changed as well.
As long as she lived well, Otto could live well.
Therefore, we will all have a bright future.
Otto tilted his head and gently kissed Kiana's lips.
It was a fleeting touch. Otto closed his eyes again, then placed his hand over Kiana's.
"Good night."
There was no response in the silent cabin.
---o---
"You're telling me, Otto suddenly descended from the sky, punched you, and stole the Seven Thunders of Retribution?"
Deep within a World Serpent base, the organization's executive, Jackal, felt like she was listening to a fairy tale.
"Are you the kind of woman who would mistake Iron Man for a blond mongrel?"
Jackal frowned as she looked at Raven. She found Raven's story truly difficult to believe.
"It's the truth. You don't believe me?"
Losing the Seven Thunders was a major incident. Thus, as soon as Raven escaped, she immediately returned to World Serpent for a full physical examination to check if she had been brainwashed by Otto.
Only after confirming that Otto had left no backdoors in her mind did she go to see Jackal to report what had happened.
She even reported Otto's offer to have her join Schicksal.
It was far better to disclose it now than to have World Serpent find out on their own.
But despite this, Jackal still looked at Raven with distrustful eyes.
Jackal sat in her chair, deep in thought. While she couldn't believe some of the details, one thing should be certain.
World Serpent had been exposed.
But to what extent?
Had her Shinjo Pharmaceuticals been exposed?
If Shinjo Pharmaceuticals was compromised, most of World Serpent's human experiments would run into problems. This gave Jackal a bit of a headache.
And so, she showed Raven a smiling face.
"How could I not believe you? But first, go report to Gray Serpent. He hasn't been at the base recently; seems he's been observing that Cocolia he thinks so highly of."
"Hmph, if Cocolia can really obtain a complete Third Herrscher Core, then letting her join World Serpent is acceptable."
"Her experiment seems to be located in Nagazora City. Gray Serpent has high hopes for her, you know. I'm rather curious to see what that woman can achieve."
She told Raven this intentionally.
This was information Raven didn't have before.
And it was also information Schicksal didn't have.
"I need to think about how to retrieve the Seven Thunders. You go find Gray Serpent first."
"Understood."
Raven nodded, neither servile nor overbearing.
They were both World Serpent executives. In terms of rank, although Jackal was slightly higher, it wasn't enough to make her grovel.
Watching Raven leave, the smile on Jackal's face vanished. She picked up her communication terminal and said.
"Investigate everything that has recently happened around Raven, especially who she has met and what she has done. And keep her under constant observation."
Verbal trust was never truly worthy of trust.