“Tap, tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-tap…”
One hand pressed against her forehead, the other tapped lightly against the porthole.
On her second day in Siberia, Sienna had already joined the squad cleaning up the remaining Honkai Beasts, leaving Schicksal’s base behind.
“You sure Cocolia is trustworthy?”
Even with a bunch of Valkyries sitting around her, Sienna—now totally in sync with her abilities—effortlessly split off a part of her consciousness into the Dominance space.
“Probably.”
Back in that space, Sienna shared her call with Cocolia from the day before with Cecilia.
“You’re not worried she’ll just take your money and bolt? You’re a combat Valkyrie, wouldn’t it be better to leave this to the Logistics Division?”
Cecilia couldn’t figure out why Sienna, a Valkyrie who usually stuck near HQ, would invest in some stranger all the way out in Siberia.
From what Sienna said, this Cocolia was someone she’d met before.
One of the two people she’d saved on the edge of the battlefield while leading her troops against the Honkai.
Part of Schicksal’s funding came from centuries of their own built-up assets.
The rest came from countries that had signed agreements with them to handle Honkai disasters.
For Siberia’s post-disaster reconstruction, Schicksal wasn’t just clearing leftover Honkai Beasts.
They also had to pitch in rebuilding the damaged areas.
Sienna’s little side project felt like overkill.
“I’ve got my reasons. Besides, if I found her once, I can find her again.”
After hanging up with Cocolia, Sienna thought about tracking her through phone signals and hiring some locals to keep an eye on her.
But after mulling it over, she dropped the idea.
Cocolia was the kind of person who’d climb to lead the ‘Radical’ Faction of Anti-Entropy in just about ten years.
In high-level meetings, she could even push back against the ‘Conservative’ Faction led by Einstein and Tesla, two of Anti-Entropy’s founders.
To pull that off in the future, she had to be tough as nails, both in action and personality.
They’d just talked last night—Cocolia was definitely suspicious right now.
If she caught wind of being watched, Sienna’s image in her mind would tank for sure.
And if Cocolia did run off with the money? The source of this chapter is g.com.
In a few years, Sienna could just roll up with her own crew and pay that orphanage a visit.
“Just don’t blow your Herrscher cover.”
Sienna hadn’t spilled what she planned to do once she met Cocolia again, so Cecilia let it drop.
“Obviously.”
With that, Sienna’s focus snapped back to her body.
“Sure you won’t stick with us?”
As the plane landed, Sienna walked alone toward the hatch.
Just before she reached it, a nearby Valkyrie called out.
“The Honkai density here? I can handle it solo. You all focus on your missions.”
Sienna’s request to fight on the front lines was personal—she had more freedom in choosing her spots than the officially deployed Valkyries.
Her only condition for coming here was fighting alone every time.
Her reason: she had her own squad and didn’t need to be folded into others.
“But going solo’s way riskier than teaming up.”
The Valkyrie trying to keep Sienna around genuinely worried about her getting hurt in this desolate place.
She also wanted Sienna, a B-Rank from the Kaslana family, to help them against whatever enemies they’d face.
Right now, with Schicksal’s S-Rank and A-Rank Valkyries practically wiped out?
Sienna—not the kind of B-Rank a decade later who relied on gear—was their squad’s strongest asset.
“I came here with my own goal. Can’t team up ’til it’s done.”
“…Roger. Take care then.”
Seeing Sienna’s face suddenly turn grim, they figured she’d lost comrades here before.
The other Valkyries stopped pushing.
“Collaboration? Next time for sure.”
Having spun them a line, Sienna dropped a phrase she’d used online all the time before her jump.
“Okay.”
Before the hatch closed, Sienna waved goodbye to everyone on board.
Weapon out, Sienna relied on her own Honkai detection—way better than Schicksal’s gear—to sniff out creatures.
In the snow, she quickly ‘saw’ a few Honkai Beasts nearby.
“If not, take this!”
Charging at the clueless beasts, she looked nothing like a typical Valkyrie facing down Honkai.
–+–
As Sienna geared up for battle, Cocolia—kept up all night by that call—headed back to the bank.
“Does she really think I’ll definitely work with her?”
The day after that girl Sienna called, Cocolia went to check on the money she’d mentioned depositing.
Her account, emptied yesterday, now showed a one followed by a bunch of zeros.
A rough guess: enough to live easy for years without lifting a finger.
“What a weirdo.”
They didn’t even know each other, yet she’d straight-up offered to fund a place for adopting kids.
Dropped an advance way bigger than any negotiation deposit.
Didn’t even set a time or place to meet in person.
If not for the massive sum staring her in the face, Cocolia would’ve called it a prank.
“Hope you really can help me.”
After thinking it over, Cocolia withdrew a tiny fraction of Sienna’s funds.
At first, she hadn’t planned to touch the money.
One, she didn’t need it now.
Two, if Sienna turned out to be using her to round up kids for some warlord’s child soldier scheme?
She could give it back and kill the deal.
“And she wants me to find the Colonel’s wife.”
In their last chat, Sienna had asked Cocolia to track down Bronya’s mother—the one she’d been pulled out with.
Keep her safe, help her out.