Theresa slammed the receiver down, her knuckles white.
“Argh!
That bastard Grandpa!”
Before the heavy tension in the room could settle, the cheerful, 8-bit melody of the Homu’s Big Adventure theme song blared from her pocket.
Catching the subtle, teasing glances from the girls around her, Theresa’s cheeks flushed a furious crimson.
She cleared her throat loudly, checked the unfamiliar caller ID, and tapped the screen.
“Hello?”
“Headmaster Theresa, nice to meet you,” a calm, unhurried male voice drifted through the speaker.
“I’m Frez, a friend of Kiana’s.
Where are you right now?”
“You know Kiana’s whereabouts?!”
Theresa’s eyes widened.
She practically vaulted out of her oversized office chair.
Beside her, Raiden Mei and Bronya instantly perked up, abandoning their previous tasks to crowd around the small device.
Theresa quickly tapped the speakerphone button.
Frez’s voice continued smoothly, cutting through their rising anticipation.
“She’s in a very safe place right now.
I ambushed Miss Rita, and she’s currently unconscious.
I used her to make a deal with Otto.
I’ll need your help with the rest of the logistics later.”
“I don’t care about Rita,” Theresa dismissed with a wave of her hand.
“Kiana—how is Kiana?
Let her talk to me.
Let her talk to her Aunt.”
“That probably won’t work.
Kiana has been entirely too exhausted these past few months and needs to rest.” A brief pause hung on the line.
“But is Miss Bronya with you?
Seele, why don’t you talk to Bronya?”
“Bronya-oneesama…?”
The soft, timid question froze the room.
Bronya stiffened, her usual stoic demeanor shattering in an instant.
She stood at rigid attention, her gray eyes trembling.
“Seele?!
Is that you?
Seele?!”
“It’s me, Bronya-oneesama.”
The girl’s weak voice filtered through the speaker, thick with the overwhelming joy of a long-awaited reunion.
But Seele didn’t stop there; she immediately began asking Bronya a rapid-fire series of questions—secret, intimate details that only the two of them could possibly know.
Bronya answered every single one without hesitation.
As the final answer left her lips, Seele finally broke.
A quiet sob echoed through the phone.
“That’s great…
I’m finally back.
Bronya-oneesama, I’m back!”
“Welcome back, Seele.” Bronya’s voice cracked, a rare, deep warmth bleeding through her usual flat tone.
A rustle of fabric sounded over the line as Frez took the phone back.
“You guys can come pick up Seele in a little while.
This girl got lucky and stumbled into us.
But as a token of gratitude, I’m going to need a large amount of snacks.”
Theresa blinked, the emotional whiplash catching her off guard.
“Snacks?”
“Offerings.
Just consider it a thank-you gift.”
On the other end of the line, Frez glanced at Kiana’s highly satisfied expression and offered a dry smile.
“Can I leave the subsequent transaction to you, Headmaster Theresa?”
“Of course, leave it to me.
We’re currently stationed near Arc City. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
We’ll come find you right away.”
“Good.
I’ll send you the coordinates.”
Using Rita’s confiscated communication device, Frez forwarded their exact location to Theresa’s phone.
Beside him, Seele wiped the corners of her eyes, bowing her head as she continuously thanked Frez and Kiana.
“You are my follower now.
Do not show such an embarrassing expression,” Kiana declared, crossing her arms.
Her golden eyes gleamed with haughty pride.
“Seele, you must remember—if anyone dares to bully you, you just say my name!”
“Yes, I understand, Queen Sister.”
Seele smiled softly.
She knew Kiana wasn’t a bad person.
Despite the heavy tsundere act and her insistence on calling herself a queen, she was actually incredibly kind.
Oh, and a massive glutton.
Beyond that, Seele felt a deep, deep gratitude toward Frez.
If it weren’t for his intervention, she never would have found her Bronya-oneesama so quickly.
“Thank you, Brother Frez.”
“Ahaha, you’re calling me brother now?
There’s no need for all that.” Frez waved a hand dismissively before turning to the Herrscher floating beside him.
“Kiana, you need to go hide and play by yourself for a bit.”
Kiana frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if they see your face right now, they’re going to have an immediate stress response.”
Frez gestured loosely to her attire.
Kiana was currently draped in the full, imperious regalia of the Herrscher of the Void.
If Theresa and the others caught even a glimpse of her looking like the entity that had nearly destroyed them, they would likely draw their weapons on the spot.
“I refuse,” she huffed, turning her head away.
“Think about the box of snacks.”
Kiana paused.
Her golden eyes darted sideways.
“…Fine.”
Half an hour later, Theresa and her group arrived at the designated coordinates in a breathless hurry.
The absolute second Bronya and Seele locked eyes, the space between them vanished.
The two sisters collided in a desperate, tight embrace, weeping with unfiltered joy.
Giving them a wide berth, Theresa stepped forward, her blue eyes locking onto Frez.
“What exactly is Kiana doing now?”
“I’m not entirely sure.
I haven’t known her for very long,” Frez replied, his tone casual.
“I just helped her trick Rita, so now we’re finalizing the trade.
But I suspect Otto will try to pull a fast one on me, so I’ll have to trouble you to sign for the delivery, Headmaster Theresa.
I’ll come collect the goods in a while.”
As he spoke, he casually hoisted the still-unconscious Rita by the collar and handed her over.
“No problem.” Theresa accepted the captive S-Rank Valkyrie without batting an eye.
She could handle a minor logistical issue like this.
Beside her, Raiden Mei could no longer hold back.
She stepped forward, her hands clasped tightly against her chest.
“Hello.
You’re Mr.
Frez, right?
I’m Raiden Mei, Kiana’s classmate and roommate.
We’re…
we’re very good friends.
Is she really okay now?
If possible, can we just talk to her?
We’re so worried about her safety.”
“You can’t help her right now.
The Herrscher of the Void could seize control of her body at any given moment.
With the exception of Theresa, if she goes berserk, not a single one of you can stop her.” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Frez shook his head, his brutal honesty cutting through Mei’s desperate hope.
“Kiana has developed some severe psychological trauma.
I’ve already asked a specialized psychiatrist to help her work through it.
As for whether she’s willing to come back to you…
that depends entirely on her own will.
Right now, she firmly believes she’s a burden to all of you.”
“What on earth is that idiot child thinking?!” Theresa snapped, her protective instincts flaring.
“I’m her Aunt!
How can she possibly think she’s a burden?
How can she shoulder this kind of nightmare all by herself?”
“Because she’s a clone.
That’s how she sees it.”
“So am I!” Theresa shouted, her fists clenching at her sides.
“I’m a clone created by Grandpa, but aren’t I living just fine?!”
“It’s different,” Frez corrected smoothly.
“You knew your identity from a young age.
You knew exactly what you were and how you were brought into this world.
Kiana didn’t.
From the moment she was little, her entire life has been built on a foundation of lies.
Honestly, given her thick-headed personality, she normally would have cried it out and moved on.
The problem is that everything collapsed on her all at once.
It’s too much weight for one person to bear.
Give her time.
She’ll find her own way out.”
He bent down, picking up the massive box of requested snacks from the ground.
“You’ll all see each other again eventually.
Look at the time—I should be heading back.”
He turned his attention back to the teary-eyed girl still clinging to Bronya.
“Seele, make sure you collect Kiana’s umbrella in a bit.”
“Okay, Brother Frez.”
Seele nodded, remembering the specific instructions Frez had given her before the others arrived.
The Umbra: Void Umbrella would serve as the anchor for Kiana to travel between the two worlds later.
Kiana was coming back, but since she wasn’t ready to face Bronya and the others just yet, Seele had been tasked with keeping it safe for her.
“I’ll leave the matters of the divine machine and the Schicksal airships to you, Headmaster Theresa.”
“Fine, fine.
Just come pick them up the next time we meet.” Theresa’s gaze softened as she looked at the empty space around Frez.
“Just…
help me pass a message to Kiana.
Tell her we are always waiting for her to come home.
And tell her she will always be my dear niece.”
Hidden safely in the shadows of the alleyway, Kiana bit her lip.
She silently opened her umbrella, ducking beneath its canopy to hide her face.
Frez vanished on the spot, teleporting directly back to their faction’s Schicksal Headquarters.
“Here.
A tribute for Her Majesty the Queen.”
“Hmph.
At least you have some discernment, knowing to offer a proper tribute to this Queen.” Kiana materialized, nodding with exaggerated satisfaction as she snatched the heavy box of snacks from his hands.
Frez chuckled.
“I’ll have to rely on your help later.”
“No problem, leave it to me.
As long as there are enough snacks—and don’t you dare forget the evening tribute.”
Frez raised an eyebrow.
You’ve already eaten several massive meals today, and you still want more?
It was genuinely hard to comprehend just how terrifying Kiana’s caloric intake was, but then again, Herrschers operated on an entirely different biological metric than ordinary humans.
After a moment’s thought, Frez triggered his ability once more, crossing the dimensional threshold and returning to the neon-lit streets of Lungmen.
[Akarin’s Note:
Enjoying the story?