Honkai: Strijder
Chapter 10: Vera Klov
Let us turn back time to fifteen minutes earlier.
At that moment, Kiana was walking back toward the inn with a shoulder bag containing a handgun. She held an ice cream in both hands, happily licking the delicious treat with her little pink tongue. In high spirits, she skipped merrily along the street.
"How can Sig not like ice cream this delicious? What a weirdo."
Kiana cheerfully complained, feeling sorry that Sigurd couldn't enjoy such a wonderful delicacy.
Suddenly, her slightly reddened ears, chilled by the winter air, twitched.
Kiana couldn't help turning around and looking toward a pitch-black alley behind her. She tilted her little head.
"Hmm? Did I hear something?"
Still licking her ice cream, Kiana blinked blankly.
Then, being the fearless little fool she was, she showed absolutely no sign of fear and unhesitatingly decided to go inside and investigate.
"Is anyone there? I think I heard someone shouting for help."
Licking her ice cream and wearing her little red shoes, Kiana wandered into the darkness without the slightest caution.
She passed through a narrow passage and turned her head, only to meet a pair of sinister eyes.
Lick~ Lick~ Lick~
"What are you uncles doing here? Oh! You're human traffickers!"
Kiana moved her ice cream slightly away from her mouth, wearing an expression of sudden realization.
She saw three to five men dressed in black. One of them was holding a wriggling burlap sack under one arm.
From inside the sack, Kiana could hear the struggling sounds of a child.
Then one of the tall men approached her and reached out toward her little head.
"Wouldn't it have been better if you hadn't come in here? But since you've seen us, don't blame us for being ruthless— Ah! It hurts! It hurts!"
The moment the burly man's arm was grabbed by Kiana, she gave it a gentle squeeze.
The man immediately screamed in pain and dropped to his knees, howling in agony.
"What are you doing? Is this really the time for jokes?"
The man holding the sack barked coldly.
Clearly, he didn't think a petite little girl like Kiana could possibly possess any strength. He simply assumed his accomplice was fooling around at an inappropriate moment.
"No! Boss, there's something wrong with this kid! AAH!!"
Kiana kicked the burly man squarely in the face.
He let out a scream before crashing heavily to the ground.
If his legs hadn't twitched a few times afterward, one might have wondered whether that single kick had sent him straight to the afterlife.
Kiana brought her ice cream back to her mouth.
Lick~ Lick~ Lick~
"Uncles, if you know what's good for you, put that person down. You'll suffer a lot less that way," Kiana spoke casually, without the slightest trace of fear.
Give her a break! She was a warrior capable of fighting Honkai Beasts. In hand-to-hand combat, Kiana didn't consider three or five burly men much of a threat.
Unless they had guns!
And then they pulled out guns.
"Careful! She's not an ordinary person! Take her out!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But what followed wasn't the sound of gunshots. Instead, there were dull thuds of fists striking flesh.
The instant the men in black reached for their guns, Kiana shot forward like lightning.
Using the cover of night, she moved like a flash of lightning and a phantom, knocking them all down before they could even react.
"If you want to use guns against me, you should at least put some distance between us! Oh, I forgot that I have a gun too. Even someone like Sig would have a hard time winning a shootout against a member of the Kaslana family!"
Kiana kicked the men lying at her feet, looking rather pleased with herself. Then, feeling that wasn't enough, she stuck out her tongue and made a face at the unconscious men.
Once everything was taken care of, Kiana glanced at the ice cream that was almost gone.
Nom!
She swallowed the rest of it in one big bite.
Only then did she clap her hands, crouch down, and open the burlap sack.
"Let's see which unlucky yet fortunate little kid has been rescued by yours truly!"
As she opened the sack, a delicate, adorable little face came into view under the dim night sky.
The pitiful little girl looked at her with innocent, frightened eyes. Like a newborn animal, she seemed to be cautiously and bewilderedly examining an unfamiliar world.
Thump!
Kiana felt as though something had struck her heart.
A surge of excitement rushed from her heart to her brain, then from her brain straight to her cheeks.
The very next second, she had already thrown her arms around the little girl.
"Ahh! How can there be such an adorable child?! Let me cuddle you! Let me cuddle you~~!"
"Sorry, sorry! I got a little too excited! Where's your home?"
"Wait! Someone's coming after us, and there are quite a few of them! Let's get somewhere safe first!"
...
Back to the present.
Smack!
Sigurd delivered a swift chop to Kiana's head after she finished explaining everything and proudly tilted her head back, clearly expecting praise.
"So you never considered the possibility that you might get yourself dragged into a dangerous situation?" Sigurd asked with a completely expressionless face.
Kiana, however, clutched her head and looked utterly aggrieved.
"It was an emergency! How was I supposed to think about all that? Sig, you're so unreasonable! You have no compassion! You're so stingy! Bleh!"
"...Thank you, big sister, for saving me."
While Kiana and Sigurd were arguing, a tiny head cautiously peeked out from beside them.
Soft, fluffy golden hair. Large, dewy eyes like a little deer's. A chubby, milky-white face with adorable baby fat. And a soft, sweet voice that sounded as innocent and pitiful as a little baby's.
Doki—
Kiana clutched her chest. The adorable little creature's attack had completely broken through her defenses.
The very next second, she reached out, intending to hug the little cutie.
Sigurd raised his foot.
BAM!
"Ugh!"
Kiana clutched her stomach and collapsed face-first onto the floor. Her short, chubby little legs twitched a few times, as though a little white ghost could be seen floating out of her mouth.
She looked almost exactly like the kidnappers she herself had knocked unconscious earlier.
"Big sister… are you alright?"
"Don't worry. Her life force is as tenacious as that of a paramecium. She'll recover in a little while."
Only then did the little girl seem to relax.
However, unlike Kiana, whose mind had been completely overwhelmed by cuteness, Sigurd narrowed his eyes slightly. He examined the exceptionally adorable little girl with a scrutinizing gaze, wariness hidden beneath his shadowed eyes.
Kiana had no idea what kind of situation she was getting herself into, but Sigurd understood just how deep the waters surrounding this little girl might be.
Kidnapped, and then coincidentally rescued by Kiana while she happened to be out looking for food?
How many coincidences could there possibly be!?
Cuteness: Ten out of ten.
Clothing: Exquisite and meticulously made.
Eyes and expression: Normal fear and nervousness. Nothing suspicious.
Honkai reaction: Nothing noticeable. She probably wasn't a Honkai-related entity either.
"I'm Sigurd. Sigurd Alvis. The lump on the floor is Kiana Alvis. What's your name?"
Sigurd introduced himself, giving himself a surname and assigning Kiana a fake one as well. Then he began observing the little girl's reaction.
When traveling outside, caution always came first. Sigurd still felt that the circumstances were far too coincidental.
If he was simply overthinking things, he could always adjust his attitude afterward. But considering the trouble surrounding Kiana, a Schicksal spy wasn't out of the question.
And in the most extreme possibility… what if this was one of Otto's clones?
Even if the probability was incredibly low, just thinking about that possibility was enough to make Sigurd's scalp tingle.
"Vera Klov…"
"Then, where is your home? And why were you kidnapped?"
"I… I live in Yordle. I came here with Daddy to look for Mommy. Daddy went to look for someone, and then… then they caught me."
"Yordle?"
Sigurd raised an eyebrow. That was the name of the neighboring port city.
In any case, so far, he hadn't noticed anything suspicious.
In other words, assuming her story was true, she was the daughter of a wealthy family from the city?
Sigurd glanced at the little tuna wriggling on the floor and thought to himself: And probably a genuine little heiress, unlike Kiana, who carried the Kaslana name while living like a beggar.
"Who kidnapped you, and why? Never mind. Just tell me where your father is. I doubt you'd know anything about the rest."
"Daddy… Daddy… Vera doesn't know! Waaah!"
Apparently frightened by Sigurd's cold and merciless questioning, Vera's tears immediately began falling like beads from a broken string. She started sobbing uncontrollably.
Sigurd (눈_눈): "…"
She certainly sounded convincing. But seriously? Was she really that fragile?
They were both little girls, so why was there such a huge difference between her and the thick-headed Kiana?
Sigurd pressed his fingers against his forehead and suddenly remembered something.
Kiana was actually an exception. In his previous life, he had apparently never been particularly good at interacting with girls or children.
And Vera Klov was a combination of both.
At that moment, a little hand landed on Sigurd's shoulder.
Sigurd turned around and saw Kiana looking at him with an expression of profound disappointment.
"Sig, that's not how you talk to a cute girl!"
"…Then why don't you try?"
"Fine! I'll handle it!"
Kiana flipped her hair, straightened her clothes, and broke into a smile more gentle than any she had ever shown before.
She crouched down in front of Vera.
"My adorable little princess, why are you crying? Although your tears are already as beautiful as crystals, I know that your smile is the most breathtaking sight in this world. Please, don't be afraid or sad. There are countless people in this world who cherish your smile, just like I do right now."
"Hic…"
Vera let out a little hiccup between sobs. Under Kiana's gentle smile and beautiful words of praise, her tears finally stopped. She looked at Kiana with her reddened, watery eyes.
Kiana took Vera's little hands in hers and gazed into her eyes with an expression as tender as flowing water.
Then she lowered her head and gently kissed the girl's snow-white hand.
"Little princess, don't be afraid. No matter what happens, I swear in the name of the Kaslan— Alvis family that I will protect you and help you reunite with your father as soon as possible. So, could you tell Big Sister Kiana where your daddy is?"
"I… I really don't remember, Big Sister Kiana," Vera answered in a soft, tearful voice.
Kiana, however, broke into a radiant smile.
Even better! That means I can take such an adorable little creature home and raise her…
"Cough, cough!"
Kiana stopped herself before saying that out loud and instead put on a sincere smile.
"It's alright. We'll find him eventually. How about you stay with us tonight? Tomorrow, Big Sister will take you to look for him, okay?"
"Mm! Thank you, Big Sister Kiana."
"What a good girl. Come here, give Big Sister a hug."
"Okay… Um, Big Sister, you're hugging me too tightly…"
THUD!
A dull impact rang out.
It was Sigurd, who had clenched his fist and knocked Kiana to the floor.
Everything seemed fine so far, but her suspicions hadn't been completely cleared. Seeing Kiana act so familiar with the little girl had filled Sigurd with inexplicable irritation.
Vera shuddered in fright. The tears she had just managed to stop nearly fell again.
She looked up and saw Sigurd standing with the light behind him, his face hidden in shadow. He was giving her an extraordinarily sinister smile.
"I need to have a little talk with her. Wait here for a moment. You don't mind, do you?"
"N-No!"
Vera shuddered and hurriedly shook her head.
Sigurd grabbed Kiana by one foot and dragged her step by step into the bathroom before shutting the door with a loud bang.
Vera lowered her head and noticed scratch marks on the floor, apparently left by Kiana's little hands as she had desperately tried, and failed, to resist being dragged away.
A moment later, the bathroom erupted with a series of crashing and banging sounds, accompanied by the muffled voices of the two arguing inside.
"What?! Send her away? Sigurd, are you even human?!"
"If I weren't human, I'd be sending you away, too."
"But why?!"
"Just listen to me."
"Vera is so adorable! There's no way I can just stand by and do nothing! That would go against the chivalrous spirit of the Kaslana family!"
"You've actually got the nerve to justify yourself?"
"I'm doing this for justice!"
"Justice, my ass! You're just a shallow appearance-obsessed idiot, you stupid tuna!"
"Absolutely not! And what the hell does tuna even mean?!"
Crash! Bang! Bang! Bang!