As evening's hues began to paint the sky, Kiana and her two companions arrived, not without a few scares, at the residential area Bronya had earlier suggested would be a suitable spot to rest.
Once the trio had safely reached their destination, Kiana—blessed with formidable 'luck of the draw'—suddenly felt that vague premonition of something good about to happen growing intensely stronger.
So, before Mei and Bronya could even discuss and decide which house would be most suitable to rest in for the night, Kiana unexpectedly volunteered, proposing she lead everyone to find a 'treasure' first!
Mei, the most easy-going of the trio, seeing Kiana so brimming with confidence that she could handle this, naturally found it hard to outright refuse her suggestion at that moment.
Bronya, who usually didn't see eye-to-eye with Kiana, acted out of character this time and didn't deliberately say anything to deflate Kiana's overconfidence while she was getting carried away.
Though Kiana found it odd that the 'brat' Bronya hadn't mocked her this time, she didn't have a masochistic streak, so she certainly wasn't going to insist on being insulted just because Bronya had, for once, held her tongue.
The reason for Bronya's unsettled mind was that ever since setting foot here, she kept catching faint, elusive whiffs of a uniquely sweet, milky fragrance—one that belonged solely to her dear little sister Seele!
Even after three years apart, Bronya was absolutely certain she could never mistake the scent of her most precious little sister.
Yet, she had seen Seele fall into the depths of the Sea of Quanta with her own eyes back then…
"Sigh… It must be my imagination."
Unable to figure out why Seele's scent would appear here, Bronya could only conclude, for now, that the sudden smell was an illusion born from her longing for Seele.
However, as the trio, guided by Kiana's unreasonable 'lucky' intuition, drew closer and closer to Lunelle's location, Bronya was overjoyed to discover the 'Seele' scent lingering in the air seemed to be growing noticeably stronger.
Soon after, the trio arrived collectively at the front door of Lunelle's house!
What followed, naturally, was Lunelle having just finished her bath, only to immediately encounter the awkward situation of a certain 'bug' knocking at her door as if ghosts were after her.
Faced with the knocking of her 'fourth wife,' Kiana, Lunelle found herself in a dilemma.
Should she pretend to be mute and act like no one was home?
Or should she grit her teeth and answer, asking her future wives not to disturb her 'sneaky development'?
But considering they were currently in the high-risk zone of Nagazora City, theoretically, the appearance of one Kiana almost certainly meant all three members of the trio had come knocking!
Lunelle was well aware that her current ethereal voice bore a ninety-percent resemblance to that of her 'first wife,' Seele!
If she spoke now and was overheard by a certain little 'Duck' outside…
After careful thought, Lunelle decisively chose to see if she could bluff her way through by pretending no one was home.
However, just as Lunelle, clinging to a sliver of hope, attempted to pretend the house was empty, she hadn't anticipated that her [Milky Snow-Skin] talent—with only a door between them—had already betrayed her presence, and quite thoroughly at that!
"If there's really no one inside, I'm coming in, you hear?"
At such close proximity, even through a door, Kiana's keen perception for beautiful girls allowed her to clearly detect an unbearably sweet, milky fragrance wafting from the small house, one that tantalized and beckoned her.
The scent was so incredibly sweet that just smelling it made Kiana's mouth water uncontrollably!
"Kiana? What if there is someone inside? Wouldn't this be a bit… improper?"
"Mei, if someone were really there, they'd have at least answered after I called out so loudly, right? I bet there's just a zombie or something in there. Why don't I just kick this warped, broken door in and see what goodies are inside?"
After knocking a few times with no response, Kiana, now thoroughly intrigued by Lunelle's scent, was actually preparing to kick the door down!
"Idiot Kiana! This house is already on the verge of collapse. If you kick it, you'll probably bring the whole thing down!"
Just before Kiana could deliver a mighty kick, Bronya, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up to stop her from forcing the door open.
"Huh? Oh… right… But the door's all twisted like this. If we don't kick it, how else are we supposed to get in?"
Reminded by Bronya, Kiana, who had been almost intoxicated by the milky scent seeping through the doorframe, belatedly came back to her senses.
"It's merely a non-Soulium door. Bronya naturally has safer and more effective methods to open it."
With that, Bronya directly materialized Project Bunny 19C from its quantum state.
"Bronya! You're not planning to blast it open with a cannon, are you?!"
Seeing Bronya summon that terrifying giant robot, Kiana—remembering their first meeting involved a lot of 'artillery'—instinctively assumed Bronya was planning to fire a shot!
"Idiot Kiana, Project Bunny isn't limited to cannon mode."
If not for her impaired emotional module, Bronya would have definitely given Kiana an exasperated eye-roll right then.
"Project Bunny 19C, activate melee lance mode!"
Upon receiving Bronya's command, Project Bunny's default cannon-arm swiftly transformed into a sharp lance.
As a stigma legacy weapon from the Previous Era, Project Bunny 19C was constructed primarily from highly malleable Soulium.
A lance made of Soulium could naturally slice through an iron door with physical ease.
So, under Bronya's control, the severely warped and twisted door was cleanly peeled away along its frame.
The whole process took less than a dozen seconds, and it was done with remarkably little noise!
No sooner had Bronya directed Project Bunny to physically remove the door than she—acting even more impulsively than the hot-headed Kiana—dashed straight into Lunelle's small house, led by the intensely rich milky fragrance in the air!
Meanwhile, Lunelle had just finished quietly changing into the fresh clothes she'd brought into the bathroom.
She was now wondering if she should use the dwindling safe time to find a wardrobe or a large crate inside her little house to hide in…
But before she could put these thoughts into action.
BAM!!!
The slightly ajar bathroom door was suddenly slammed open with force!
"Eeek!!!"
The sudden loud noise gave the unprepared Lunelle a tremendous fright.
That instinctive shriek of hers, however, completely revealed her ethereal voice, almost identical to that of her 'first wife,' Seele.
In that moment, Lunelle clapped a hand over her mouth while fervently praying internally that even if it was her fourth wife, Kiana, who'd broken in, please, please don't let it be a certain flat-chested…
But as fate would have it, the things you least want to happen always seem to happen right in front of you.
"Seele! Bronya has finally found you!!!"
The moment that excited, milky voice of the intruder rang out, even without turning around to confirm, Lunelle recognized just who had arrived from that unmistakably distinctive tone.
The instant Lunelle's flawless back—perfectly overlapping with Seele's silhouette—entered Bronya's field of vision, everything became clear to Bronya!
This had to be her little sister Seele! It just had to be!!!
Completely overcome with emotion, the little 'Duck' charged forward without a second thought, wrapping her arms tightly around Lunelle's slender waist from behind.
Bronya held on fiercely, as if afraid that letting go for even a second would make Lunelle vanish before her eyes!
Project Bunny, sensing the moment, tactfully switched back to quantum mode, giving the two 'sisters,' reunited at last, some private space.
Belatedly realizing she was being hugged by the little Duck, Lunelle wasn't sure what attitude to adopt towards this 'third wife' who hadn't fully matured yet.
Lunelle knew that, thanks to the modifications from various strange talents, as long as her 'first wife' Seele remained trapped in the Sea of Quanta, there probably wasn't another person in the entire world who resembled Seele more than she did!
So, if Lunelle truly wanted to replace 'first wife' Seele, it was actually quite possible to pull off.
But still, both the little Duck and Seele were among her designated future wives.
Getting close to a future wife while wearing another wife's 'skin,' while not impossible, felt rather awkward to Lunelle!
Plus, if she really did this, wouldn't her first wife Seele tear her apart alive when she eventually returned from the Sea of Quanta?
Thinking this, Lunelle finally found the resolve to push away the little Duck clinging to her!
A mere little Duck wife—with her own stamina stat now over 20, she should be able to easily overpower and restrain her in no time, right…
Huh? Wha… why won't she budge?!
"Uhhh..."
At that moment, Lunelle discovered, to her immense embarrassment, that her paper-stat 'superhuman' stamina was utterly useless against Bronya's tight embrace!
Damn it! In her memory, wasn't Bronya supposed to be among the physically weaker rear-line Valkyries?
How could a supposedly fragile backline Valkyrie's strength so effortlessly overpower her like this?!
Was this the power of those who could become Valkyries in this Honkai world? That's just unfair!!!
"Ahem… miss, who exactly is this 'Seele' you're talking about? I don't think we've met before, have we?"
After several unsuccessful attempts to pry the 'duck claws' locked around her soft, slender waist, Lunelle, at her wit's end, could only hope to use words to make the little Duck quickly understand that she and 'first wife' Seele were clearly two different people!
But while Lunelle was still trying to reason with Bronya, "Impossible! Seele is Seele. Bronya absolutely cannot be mistaken!"
Bronya, immersed in the joy of having found Seele, adopted a 'hear no evil' stance, refusing to listen and absolutely unwilling to let go of Lunelle's exquisite waist—enhanced by talent to be addictively huggable!
After all, the moment she held Lunelle tight, Bronya—who used to sleep hugging her precious little sister Seele every night—was one hundred percent certain: the feeling of holding this girl was exactly, one thousand percent, the feeling of holding her own Seele!
Bronya's stubborn refusal to let go quickly left Lunelle feeling numb, both mentally and physically!
If her phone hadn't been wrecked, Lunelle probably would have pulled up a chat app right then to ask the all-knowing netizens for advice:
Suddenly, my third wife mistakes me for my first wife, and no matter how I explain, she won't listen. How do I handle this situation? Online help needed, urgent!
Just as Bronya was clinging to Lunelle for dear life, the other two members of the trio, Kiana and Mei, arrived at the scene in quick succession.
The remaining two of the trio then bore witness to the intimate scene of Bronya 'forcefully embracing' Lunelle.
Faced with their intense scrutiny and utterly unable to break free, Lunelle simply gave up trying.
Well… there were witnesses now anyway. Any chance of clearing up the relationship between her and the little Duck was as good as gone!
Though, it wasn't a total loss, considering this involved one of her future wives.
But Lunelle just couldn't understand it! She had only wanted to find a place to lie low and develop sneakily!
Why had the trio actively sought her out, and why had she been so unlucky as to get caught red-handed by the very person she least wanted to meet—Bronya?!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.