Recently, Otto Apocalypse was very melancholic.
He had once heard that a philosopher from the East would reflect upon himself three times a day.
Feeling he could not compare to that person, he reduced the number to twice.
First, he had miscalculated, failing to accurately estimate the time it would take Vester to change her clothes.
Second, his wording was clumsy, and he had failed to clearly explain to Vester what had happened that day.
Especially the second point!
‘Oh my, I understand, I understand.
There’s no need to explain ~’
Whenever Otto wanted to say more, Vester would pat him on the shoulder, giving him no chance to explain at all.
“Why does Vester think I would like that female gorilla?”
“Kallen!!!”
Recalling past heartaches, grief welled up inside him, and Otto angrily shouted out the name of the culprit.
“Why are you shouting so loudly?”
As it turned out, Kallen was right at the door of Otto’s estate, and upon hearing this, she shouted back.
Kallen Kaslana was also very sad.
She didn’t like reading or studying, so she didn’t know how to describe it…
She remembered Vester seemed to have said her head was pointy, and she wondered if it had anything to do with that.
Anyway, after almost being seen by Vester attacking Otto that day, Vester frequently left her and Otto alone together.
She was very happy that Vester cared about her, but the time spent with Vester had decreased, making her quite melancholic as well.
Two people meant double the melancholy; it was simply melancholy squared.
Oh, come to think of it, without Vester, the two of them were quite lonely too.
Get what I mean?
“Otto, you don’t want to stay with me either, do you?” Kallen pushed the door open and entered.
“Duh, seeing you makes me uncomfortable.” Otto curled his lips.
“What if Vester is here too?” Kallen continued.
“…”
This time, Otto didn’t answer, instead giving the other person a look that told her to continue.
“We need to take the initiative, otherwise Vester will only give us more and more time alone together in the future.”
Having witnessed the two of them “pinned against the wall”, Vester had been creating opportunities for them to be alone more and more frequently lately.
Clearly, her world-shaking wisdom had caused full-blown distress to both Otto and Kallen, to the extent that the two of them temporarily set aside their disputes and formed a most desperate alliance.
“Let’s declare a truce for now.”
“Alright.”
“Vester says it’s dangerous, but isn’t she following along anyway?”
“Ahem, I’m just afraid you guys might get into an accident!”
The blonde girl explained righteously.
Otto and Kallen locked gazes, displaying a rare tacit understanding in their actions.
Their plan was very simple: since Vester liked to leave them alone, they would create a condition that Vester could not leave behind.
Having spent so much time together, plus the coordination between Kallen and Otto, Vester’s personality had basically been completely figured out by them.
“Vester, you look very interested in this matter too.”
“Ahem, ju-, just a little bit.”
Saying that, the blonde girl guiltily averted her gaze.
Being able to witness the battle between the powerhouse of the Kaslana Family and a Honkai Beast would make the price of admission worth it even in death.
Upon hearing Kallen and Otto propose to sneak a peek at Francis subduing a Honkai Beast, Vester immediately couldn’t sit still anymore.
Thus, she followed the two of them to this place.
“This way!”
Arriving before the entrance of the sealed-off street, Kallen led the two of them past the guards of the Kaslana Family and sneaked inside the cordon.
“Will there really be a Honkai Beast in here?”
Vester asked curiously.
“Heh-heh, I heard it yesterday when Dad and Grandpa Arthur were talking.” Kallen patted her own chest.
“Someone witnessed a powerful Honkai Beast appearing on this street, so Dad decided to come subdue it himself.”
‘Was there this plot in the manga?’
The plot of Honkai Impact 3rd already spanned several years, coupled with frequent retcons, leaving Vester with very vague impressions of many plot points.
She frowned, unable to recall any related Remembrance in her mind.
On the other side, the few of them had already approached the location where the battle was taking place.
The gigantic Honkai Beast charged toward the white-haired man, but the latter only left the few of them with a steadfast, unmoving back.
Gunshots rang out, and the Divine Key named Judgment of Shamash burst forth with a crimson beam amidst a roar.
As the gunshots subsided, his trench coat was still fluttering in the wind, while the ferocious, roaring Honkai Beast had already disintegrated into shattered purple cubes.
Such a scene happened dozens, if not hundreds, of times within moments.
Facing this man, the Honkai Beast could not advance even a single step.
“Wow, that’s insanely cool.”
This ridiculously powerful scene made Vester lose her focus for a moment, so much so that she failed to notice a rush-type Honkai Beast.
“How is it, my dad is awesome, right—”
“Hey, watch out!”
By the time Vester noticed that rush-type Honkai Beast, it was already right before her eyes.
Subconsciously, she spread her arms to block in front of Otto.
Otto knew this very well.
‘Vester, will she die?’
Realizing this, Otto felt as though time had slowed down.
‘Otto, move already!’
He shouted in his heart, but his body stubbornly refused to respond.
At the height of his despair, his peripheral vision caught a flash of white appearing at the edge of his sight—
“Vester!”
——Kallen, possessing a stronger reaction ability, pushed away the blonde girl who was in the path of the Honkai Beast’s collision.
Thus, Kallen, who replaced Vester’s position, and Otto, who was still stunned in place, became the targets of the Honkai Beast.
‘To actually die here with this guy…’
‘Forget it, as long as Vester can survive, that’s enough.’
Thinking of this, Otto closed his eyes.
“Why are you guys here?”
At the critical moment, without even turning his head, Francis shifted the muzzle of his gun.
As his voice fell, a beam of light flashed, and that Honkai Beast vanished without a trace.
“Stay behind me, I will protect you.”
The three of them were still shaken, failing to react for a good while.
“It’s merely a bit of wind and frost.”
With her face having already returned to a calm and composed look, Vester, who had leaked a few drops, was silently applauding herself in her heart for going to the bathroom before leaving the house.
“Useless guy, look at that spineless look of yours from just now when you couldn’t move at all.”
On the other side, Kallen, who had faced the Honkai Beast’s impact head-on, had somehow slumped down to the ground, yet her mouth remained merciless.
“…”
Uncharacteristically, facing Kallen’s provocation, Otto did not make a sound.
“What, were you really scared out of your wits?”
Seeing this, Kallen raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“No, I’m fine.”
Taking a deep breath, Otto actually reached out and grabbed the other person’s hand, pulling her directly up from the ground.
“Thank you for today.”
“Hmph, I’ll reluctantly accept your thanks.”
Unsurprisingly, the trio was chewed out thoroughly for sneaking into the cordoned-off scene.
After being grounded at home for a full week because of this, when the three of them gathered again, Vester was still glowing with health, whereas Kallen and Otto appeared listless, looking precisely like they were going through withdrawal symptoms.