Honkai: Strijder

Time rewinds to fifteen minutes ago

At that time, Kiana, while carrying a bag with a handgun inside of it, held an ice cream in her hands, happily licking the delicious treat and walking back towards the hotel that she and Sigurd are occupying with a joyful mood.

"Why doesn't Sigurd like such delicious ice cream? He's such a strange person."

Kiana casually commented, feeling sorry that Sigurd couldn't enjoy such a delicacy.

Suddenly, her slightly reddened ears in the cold winter moved. Kiana couldn't help but turn around and look at a dark alley behind her, tilting her head in confusion.

"It seems like... I heard some voices?"

Kiana licked her ice cream, blinked her eyes in a dazed manner.

Then, being foolishly brave as she was, she showed no sign of fear and decided to go in and take a look.

"Is anyone there? I think I heard someone screaming for help."

Kiana licked her ice cream, stepped on her red shoes, and entered the darkness without any precautions.

She passed through a narrow intersection, turned her head, and met a pair of sinister eyes.

Lick~ lick~ lick~

"Uncle, what are you guys doing here? Oh! You guys are human traffickers!"

Kiana slightly moved the ice cream away from her mouth, showing an expression of sudden realization.

She saw three to five men in black, one of whom held a wriggling sack with one hand.

From the sack, Kiana heard the struggling sounds of a child.

Then, one of the tall men walked over and reached out his hand towards Kiana's little head.

"Couldn't you just pretend to not hear anything? Forget it, since you've seen us, don't blame us for being ruthless-Fuck! My arm!"

The strong arm was grabbed by Kiana, lightly squeezed, and the man who made the move screamed in pain, kneeling on the ground and emitting sounds of agony.

"What are you doing? Is this a time to joke around?"

The black-clothed man holding the sack coldly rebuked.

Clearly, he didn't think that the petite and tender Kiana had any strength and believed that his companion was joking at an inappropriate time.

"It's not! Big brother, something's wrong with this kid! Ah!!"

Kiana kicked the large man's face in front of her, causing him to scream in pain and fall heavily to the ground.

If it weren't for his legs twitching a few times, one would have doubted whether he had been kicked down to hell.

Kiana put the ice cream back in her mouth.

Lick~ lick~ lick~

"Uncle, if you know what's good for you, put the person down and you'll have a less bitter experience."

Kiana said casually, without a trace of fear.

Come on, she's a warrior who can fight against Honkai beasts. A few strong men like them were nothing to Kiana in hand-to-hand combat.

Unless they had guns!

And then, they took out their guns.

"Be careful, she's not an ordinary person. Get rid of her!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

What rang out were not gunshots, but the muffled sound of fists hitting flesh.

In the instant the men in black reached for their guns, Kiana dashed out like lightning, taking advantage of the cover of night. Like lightning and a phantom, she swiftly took them down before they could react.

"If you want to use guns against me, at least keep your distance! Oh, I forgot, I have a gun too. Compared to the Kaslana family, people with skills like you are far behind!"

Kiana kicked the man at her feet, a smug expression on her face. And then, feeling unsatisfied, she stuck her tongue out at the unconscious man and made a face.

Once she dealt with them all, Kiana looked at the ice cream left in her hand, and with an "ah-woo" she swallowed it in one gulp.

Afterward, she clapped her hands and crouched down, opening the sack.

"Let me see who's the poor and lucky little one that I saved."

Opening the bag, against the dim night, a delicate and cute little face appeared before Kiana's eyes.

The pitiful young girl, with innocent and frightened eyes, looked at her like a newborn creature, observing a strange world in fear and confusion.

Thud!

Kiana felt like her heart was struck, as a surge of warmth rushed from her heart to her brain and flushed her cheeks.

The next second, she was already embracing the girl.

"Ah! How can there be such an adorable child! Let me rub you, let me rub you~~"

"Sorry, sorry, I got a bit too excited! Where is your home?"

"Wait! Someone is coming after us, there is quite a few of them. Let's go to a safe place first!"

...

Time returns to the present.

Smack!

Sigurd delivered a chop to Kiana's head, who was seeking praise after finishing her story.

"So, you never considered the possibility of putting yourself in danger?"

Sigurd said with a cold expression.

But Kiana held her head, looking quite aggrieved.

"The situation was urgent, how could I think about all that? Sigurd is so unreasonable, lacking sympathy, a stingy person, hmph~"

"...Big Sister, thank you for saving me."

While Kiana and Sigurd were having their standoff, a timid little head peeked out from the side. Soft golden hair, dewy eyes like a baby deer, a milky-white chubby little face, and a sweet and pitifully soft voice.

Thump!

Kiana clutched her chest, completely defenseless against this cuteness attack.

The next second, she reached out to embrace the adorable little creature.

Sigurd lifted his foot.

Bang!

"Oops!"

Clutching her stomach, Kiana collapsed to the ground. Her chubby little legs twitched a few times on the ground, as if a white ghost was floating out of her mouth—resembling the kidnappers she had knocked down earlier.

"Big Sister, Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, she's as resilient as a tardigrade. She'll recover in a while."

The young girl finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But unlike Kiana, who was charmed by the adorable creature, Sigurd narrowed his eyes slightly and examined the little cutie with a scrutinizing gaze. There was a shade of wariness hidden in his eyes. Kiana didn't realize her own situation, but Sigurd understood just how deep the water behind this little girl was. Being kidnapped and coincidentally encountering Kiana while she was out looking for food? Too many coincidences!

The level of cuteness was off the charts.

The attire was exquisite and refined.

The eyes and expressions showed normal fear and nervousness, without anything peculiar.

No Honkai response—there didn't seem to be any.

"I'm Sigurd, Sigurd Alvis. This lump on the ground is Kiana Alvis. What's your name?"

Sigurd asked, giving himself a surname and assigning a fake surname to Kiana. Then he began to observe the little girl's reaction.

When outside, caution came first. Sigurd felt that it was too coincidental. If he was overthinking, he could adjust his attitude later. But considering the troubles surrounding Kiana, the possibility of being a spy from Schicksal couldn't be ruled out. The most extreme possibility—if she was Otto's clone? Even if the probability was small, just the thought of that possibility made Sigurd's scalp tingle.

"I'm Vira Klov..."

"So, where is your home? Why were you kidnapped?"

"I- I'm from Jörmungandr. I came with my dad to find my mom. My dad went to meet someone, and then... then I got captured by them."

"Jörmungandr?"

Sigurd raised an eyebrow. It was the name of the neighboring port city. At least, nothing seemed out of place so far.

In other words, from a logical perspective, she was a wealthy young lady from the city?

Sigurd glanced at the squirming tardigrade on the ground and thought to himself. Moreover, she should be a true young lady, not someone like Kiana who carried the Kaslana name but lived like a beggar.

"Who kidnapped you and why did they target you? Forget it, just tell me where your dad is. You probably don't know about these things."

"I- I don't know where my dad is! Sob-Sob-"

Seemingly frightened by Sigurd's cold and relentless questioning, Vira's tears started flowing like beads falling from a broken thread. She cried with hiccups and sobs.

Sigurd(?_?): "..."

She cried quite convincingly. But, really? She's this fragile? How could there be such a difference between her and the headstrong Kiana, despite both being little girls?

Sigurd pressed his temple and suddenly remembered that Kiana was actually an exception. In his previous life, he seemed to have never been good at interacting with girls and children.

And Vira Klov was a combination of both.

At that moment, a small hand rested on Sigurd's shoulder.

Sigurd turned his head and saw Kiana's exasperated expression.

"Sig, when you talk to cute girls, you need to do it in the correct way!"

"...Then you do it."

"Fine, I will!"

Kiana flicked her hair, adjusted her clothes, and put on a previously unseen gentle smile. She crouched down in front of Vira.

"My adorable little princess, why are you crying? Although your tears are as beautiful as crystals, I know that your smile is the most captivating scenery in the world. Please don't be afraid or sad. In this world, countless people love your smile, just like me right now."

"Hic-"

Vira hiccupped, stopping her tears, and looked at Kiana with her reddened, moist eyes.

Kiana held Vira's hand, locked eyes with her in a tender gaze, and then lowered her head to give a gentle kiss on the little girl's snow-white hand.

"Little princess, don't be afraid. Whatever happens, I, bearing the name of Kaslana... Cough....Alvis, vow to protect you and reunite you with your father as soon as possible. So, tell Sister Kiana, where is your dad, okay?"

"I... I really can't remember."

Vira replied with a soft voice tinged with a sob.

However, Kiana's face lit up with a radiant smile.

That was even better. They could just bring this adorable creature back home-Ahem. Kiana stopped herself from uttering such words and sincerely said with a smile:

"It's okay, we will find him together. How about resting here with us for tonight? Tomorrow, Sister will take you to find him, okay?"

"Hmm! Thank you, Big Sister Kiana."

"You're so cute~ Come, give Big Sister a hug."

"Okay-uh, Sister, you're hugging too tight!"

Bang!

There was a muffled sound as Sigurd clenched his iron fist and knocked Kiana down to the ground. Everything seemed fine for now, but his suspicions had not been completely cleared. That's why Sigurd felt an inexplicable anger towards Kiana's overly familiar behavior.

Vira trembled in fear, almost on the verge of tears again.

She looked up and saw Sigurd's back, his face hidden in the shadows, revealing a sinister and chilling smirk.

"I want to have a talk with her. Wait here for a while, okay?"

"Y-Yes!"

Vira trembled and nodded repeatedly.

Then Sigurd grabbed Kiana by one foot and dragged her step by step into the bathroom, slamming the door shut with a bang.

Vira looked down and saw scratch marks on the floor, evidence of Kiana's futile attempts to resist.

After that, there were noises coming from the bathroom, as well as muffled conversations between the two.

"What? Send her away? Sig! Are you even human!?"

"If I weren't human, I would have sent you away too."

"No, why!?"

"Just listen to me!"

"Vira is so adorable, I can't just stand by and do nothing! It goes against the chivalrous spirit of a Kaslana!"

"Do you have any common sense left? You damn lolicon!"

"I'm doing this for justice!"

"To hell with your justice! You're just obsessed with her appearances, you damn silly tuna!"

"Anyway, it's not happening! And what the hell does that even mean!?"

Crash! Bang! Bang! Bang!