Chapter 396: Rest Day
A lively dinner washed away the dust of travel for the three who had returned.
Aside from Raiden Mei, who was still dying of embarrassment at the beginning, the evening ended smoothly.
Late at night, in Sigurd's study.
He held a solid, manifested copy of a pre-civilization literary classic, flipping through it absently.
Bang!
The door burst open.
Kiana—who had just reluctantly parted ways with Mei—stormed in, each step heavy with righteous fury.
Bang!
Her pale fist slammed into the hardwood desk, leaving a deep dent.
Hands on her hips, cheeks puffed in anger, she scolded:
"Sig! You need to seriously reflect on your behavior!"
Sigurd shot her a sideways glance. He turned a page, unfazed.
"…What nonsense are you up to now?"
"I'm not up to anything! But what you did to Seele was too much! And to Mei too!"
"Mei aside, I did compliment her, didn't I? As for Seele and Wendy… what do you want? Let them keep falling for me?"
"I—ughh! You're impossible! Look, whatever! Just don't make them sad, okay!?"
Kiana scratched her head in frustration, laying down the most unreasonable demand imaginable.
On the one hand, she didn't want anyone else sharing Sigurd.
Love was selfish; she'd already helplessly accepted Bronya and Sin Mal—too late to change anything—but any more additions? That was out of the question.
On the other hand, the girls around her were family—sisters in all but blood, companions who had lived and died together countless times, she couldn't stand seeing any of them hurt.
So she essentially dumped an unsolvable problem on Sigurd and expected a perfect solution.
Sigurd lifted his gaze, calm and unhurried, looking at her in silence.
"…What?"
Kiana flinched a little under his stare, then puffed her chest out and demanded with forced bravado:
"Don't look at me like that! You're still fixing this—no negotiation!"
Yes! All of this was the fault of this stupid, woman-attracting man!
Obviously he had to fix it!
Kiana puffed her chest out again, the picture of righteously shifting blame.
That was when she noticed Sigurd's brows suddenly draw together.
"Huh?"
Her heart tightened—was he about to explode?
But in the next moment, Sigurd's expression relaxed. His hand slipped under the desk, as if touching something beneath it.
Rustle, rustle—
The sound of clothes brushing came from under the table.
A moment later, a small light-grey head emerged, elegant ringlet curls swaying mischievously as Bronya popped up from beneath the desk.
"Bronya! Y-you— YOU TWO!?"
Kiana's eyes went wide, her expression collapsing into full "Sparta meltdown mode."
Bronya crawled out, wearing a cool, thin strap-nightdress, bare jade-white feet softly stepping on the floor.
She nuzzled Sigurd's cheek once before saying apologetically:
"Sorry. Bronya has to go take care of Seele tonight, so… it had to be like this. The rest is up to Kiana. Good night, Sigurd."
"Good night. And don't go stirring Seele up."
Sigurd pinched her cheek with helpless affection.
He knew all too well—unlike the relatively normal Kiana, who would get jealous, sulk, and stew—Bronya practically wanted him to bring Seele into the family.
Having seen the ugliest sides of humanity, Bronya believed that her gentle, innocent little sister would only ever be safe if Sigurd was the one taking care of her.
Her little covert attempts to coach Seele or create opportunities? Sigurd had noticed some of it.
But since it was all born from sincere affection for her sister, there was no reason to reprimand her.
Only… helpless resignation.
Bronya gave a sweet little smile and said nothing. She simply turned around, brushed past the still-frozen Kiana, and walked out of the study.
Silence settled over the room.
In that stillness, Sigurd lowered the book in his hands. His clear, crystalline blue eyes shifted toward Kiana.
Kiana's knees trembled. Her face flushed scarlet as she lowered her head.
"Um… I… that… I mean…"
Under Sigurd's gaze—growing more and more like that of a predator—Kiana's face turned an even deeper shade of red. She fumbled for words, unable to form a single coherent sentence.
Ever since their training had ended, the days inside the Elysian Realm had been peaceful… peaceful enough that Bronya—with her polished maturity—and Kiana—with her bold, youthful ardor—had taken turns teasing and provoking Sigurd without restraint.
But some switches, once flipped… stop being something you can casually turn off.
Bronya's physique, compared to that of a Herrscher, was delicate—her strength and stamina negligible.
Kiana, on the other hand, is a Herrscher. And a Kaslana, famous for being sturdy enough to survive almost anything.
—The problem was that Sigurd's physical strength was such that even Kevin—the original, the ancestor—found him difficult to withstand. In front of that, Kiana's durability might as well have been child's play.
And so, the balance of power had long since inverted.
"You… you have to be gentle, okay? It's just me tonight…"
Kiana's blush had spread all the way to her ears. Head lowered, she fidgeted shyly, her soft, pleading voice sounding less like a plea for mercy—and far more like a signal.
Sigurd sensed that clearly.
He tilted her chin upward. In the flutter of her eyelashes and that adorable, bashful expression, a playful smile slowly curved across his lips.
Night deepened.
…
In Seele's room—a cute, pink-themed sanctuary.
Two pillows rested on the pale blue bed. Seele used only one, leaving the other half of the bed empty.
She knew Bronya onee-chan would be coming to sleep with her tonight.
Sure enough, the door soon opened, and Bronya slipped under the blankets.
"Bronya onee-chan— you're here!"
"Mhm. Good evening, Seele."
"G-good evening…"
"Oh—let me rinse my mouth first."
Bronya cut off Seele's greeting. In her confused stare, Bronya headed to the washroom, rinsed thoroughly, and only after quite some time returned to the bed.
Seele still looked slightly dazed, but thought nothing of it.
Until Bronya leaned close to her ear and whispered a few things.
Seele froze. She clutched the blanket with both small hands—steam practically bursting out of the top of her head.
"B-B-B— Bronya onee-chan! L-let's— let's sleep early! Seele is really tired!"
She yanked the blanket up over her face, hiding cheeks so red they could drip blood. Her muffled voice trembled through the covers.
"Tsk."
Bronya straddled her in one swift movement, yanked the flustered girl out of the blankets, grabbed her face between both hands, and stared straight into her eyes.
"You really need to grow up a little. Listen, Seele—Bronya will support you. Sin Mal and Kiana would resist, but if Sigurd accepts you, they won't make any real trouble in the end. So the only thing you need to do—"
She tugged Seele's cheeks harder.
"—is hurry up and get Sigurd."
"W-w-wah! Bronya onee-chan!"
Seele's voice came out muffled from her squished cheeks, but her darting eyes told Bronya all she needed to know.
The message had definitely landed.
Bronya kneaded Seele's cheeks for a while, pinching and molding the girl's soft, marshmallowy face until it turned rosy red. Only then did she finally let go, looking down at her as she spoke:
"You need to understand—only before you become an adult can you use your 'child' status to make Sigurd soften up and let you get close to him. Time isn't on your side. Once you outgrow this stage without making progress, you might not get another chance."
"..."
"This is Bronya's Complete Sigurd Strategy Log—it records all his habits and preferences. And with this Ultimate Strategy Guide to top it off, you'll definitely—"
"Bronya onee-chan!"
Seele suddenly cupped Bronya's face in her small hands, stopping her from saying another word.
Bronya paused, blinking. She couldn't read what Seele was thinking from her eyes—but she could feel the quiet determination in them.
"Seele, you…"
"Bronya onee-chan, Seele… Seele's happy with things the way they are."
"But—"
"Bronya onee-chan… this is my decision—and Wendy's too. We can't cause trouble for Sigurd-nii anymore!"
Seele's voice was soft, but firm.
Bronya's lips moved as if to argue, but when she met Seele's gaze, the words wouldn't come out.
Seele kept her eyes on her—those violet pupils gradually filling with a faint sorrow.
"Bronya onee-chan… I've been to the battlefield so many times. I've seen how everyone struggles to survive against the Honkai. I know… every single day, people die because of it. And I even asked Mr. Su how the previous civilization fought the Honkai…"
Her small hands tightened slightly.
"Sigurd has something very, very important to do. Seele wants to help him… not burden him. Do you understand, Bronya onee-chan?"
"…You little fool."
Bronya set down all the notebooks she'd written by hand, took Seele's hands, and sighed—affectionate, helpless, and proud all at once.
"Kids should act like kids. Leave the big things to your older brothers and sisters."
"K-Kids… shouldn't be falling in love, either… right?"
Seele countered weakly, blinking those big, innocent eyes.
Bronya stared at her in speechless disbelief.
Seele's lashes trembled and her gaze began to dart around. She almost never talked back to Bronya—maybe once a year at most—and realizing she'd actually stunned Bronya into silence made her feel guilty… and just a tiny bit exhilarated.
Bronya's lips then curved upward. She reached out and gently patted Seele's head.
"Alright, sleep. Since you've decided, Bronya won't bring it up again."
"Mm. Thank you, Bronya onee-chan."
As Bronya lay back down, Seele immediately beamed and snuggled into her arms.
Bronya stiffened for a moment—then sighed and let the clingy girl burrow close.
"I love you the most, Bronya onee-chan!"
"Oh? And what about Sigurd?"
"Uh… also the most…"
"Oh? And the other Seele? And Cocolia? Rozaliya? Liliya? Kiana? Mei—"
"Bronya onee-chan! You're being mean!"
Seele puffed up her cheeks and glared at her with big watery eyes.
Bronya, having successfully flustered the little girl, lifted the corner of her lips in triumph—her turn to win this round.
After that, the sisters chatted under the blankets about their experiences, their growth, and everything they hadn't had time to share. The night grew deeper, and eventually they drifted off, still holding each other.
As for what Kiana was going through at that exact moment… Well—Bronya took no responsibility for that.
Today was her day off, after all.
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