"Durandal, your memories have recovered?"
Elias looked at the blonde Valkyrie before him in astonishment.
Because of his time travel, the entire Snowwolf Squad had joined St. Freya Academy. Now, twenty-four years later, Shigure Kira and the others had all become S-rank Valkyries.
But even so, Bianka—Durandal—Ataegina, who had just turned seventeen this year, was still the strongest Valkyrie of the Current Era, despite being the youngest S-rank Valkyrie.
No, not just of this era.
She was even the strongest Valkyrie in history.
One could only say this girl truly lived up to her reputation as the Golden Goose Saint. The true destiny's chosen dragon among Schicksal's ranks. The strongest bloodline, the strongest talent, and a personality that worked insanely hard.
It would not be surprising if the other eight S-rank Valkyries of this era teamed up against Durandal and still failed to defeat her.
With such a configuration, plus the Dea Anchora armor, the Holy Blade Durandal, and in the future, Palatinus Equinox—even among the Flame-Chasers, only a few would be qualified to cross blades with her.
One had to remember, she was only seventeen this year. Yet at the age of twelve, Durandal had already saved a bubble world. Among everyone present, perhaps only her achievements could compare with Elias'.
Moreover, because Elias' time travel had altered the past, Durandal's background had changed as well.
Her father was still Siegfried, that much was true. But her mother was now another direct descendant of the Schariac family.
Although she did not possess Cecilia's level of talent, Durandal's mother still carried a certain degree of Holy Blood. And she was currently alive and well—though she probably would not have much screen time.
"No, my memories haven't recovered yet."
Durandal shook her head with regret. She had lost all memories from before the age of seven, and to this day, she still had not regained them.
After the Second Eruption ended, Siegfried had defected from Schicksal and joined Anti-Entropy. In order to bring the young Durandal back, he had once again broken into Schicksal headquarters. At the same time, he rescued his wife and... Kiana, who had still been K423 at the time.
But an accident occurred during the operation.
The aircraft they were riding was shot down. Durandal was struck in the head by debris at an altitude of a thousand meters and fell toward the ground.
At the time, Siegfried had thought his daughter was doomed. Yet Durandal's absurd toughness far exceeded his expectations.
After being struck in the head and falling from a thousand meters, she survived relying solely on the cushioning of the snow below. In the end, that damned schemer retrieved her and returned her to Schicksal, paying a tremendous price to save her life.
After she was healed, as a side effect, her hair changed from white to a dazzling gold. At the same time, she lost her memories. But from that moment on, her talent and potential were fully awakened.
And thus she completely embarked on the path of the Goose Overlord.
At ten, she became a Valkyrie.
At twelve, she became an A-rank Valkyrie and saved a bubble world.
At fourteen, she became the youngest S-rank Valkyrie in Schicksal's history.
At seventeen, she became the strongest Valkyrie of all time.
Such an outrageous growth history left everyone stunned. Anyone who knew Durandal had at least once wondered—was this girl really Siegfried's daughter?
How did a husky like that produce a phoenix? If it wasn't superior DNA from her mother's side, then it had to be a genetic mutation—or perhaps the babies had been swapped at birth.
After that, during the Fourth Honkai Eruption, Elias defeated Otto and recruited Durandal and Li Sushang into St. Freya Academy. At the same time, Siegfried completed his reunion with her.
But even now, the girl had yet to recover her memories.
"Emmm... let me take a look."
Elias beckoned to Durandal.
She immediately walked over obediently.
Even Durandal herself could not explain why, but whenever she looked at Elias, she felt an indescribable sense of closeness. And that sense of familiarity even surpassed what she felt toward Siegfried.
If Elias and Siegfried were to fight right now, she might subconsciously help the former.
"Tsk. Looks like they're really gone."
Elias frowned slightly. Just now, he had carefully examined her using the authority of the Herrscher of Sentience. He discovered that her memories from before the age of seven were truly completely gone—utterly erased.
Even cleaner than what had happened to Fu Hua in the original storyline.
But that had been the price Otto paid to save her. Durandal's brain had lost those memories—not forgotten them, but lost them entirely.
"...Elias, is the part of my memory that I lost related to you?"
Durandal asked seriously.
"Yes, it is somewhat related to me."
Elias nodded and admitted it frankly.
"Then can you tell me about it?"
As she spoke, Durandal stepped closer to him. Her clear sapphire-like eyes met his golden pupils directly. That alone was proof of the courage within her heart.
Someone timid would instinctively look away the moment they met Elias' golden gaze. Even those who were not timid rarely had the courage to look straight into his eyes.
Elias had endured far too many trials. And the eyes were windows to the soul—often, just through eye contact, one could see what kind of person stood before them.
Very few people could look directly at the sun.
In the past, Eden and the others had once commented—though she was still somewhat immature, Durandal was very similar to Elias. The two of them possessed an unyielding will stronger than steel.
"Elias, please tell me. Even if I can't remember now, I still want to know what happened between us in the past," Durandal said bluntly.
"Uh, don't phrase it in such a misleading way. And what you lost was all your memories from before seven. The portion related to me accounts for less than one-thousandth of that—about an hour or so."
Elias took a small step back.
It was not a pleasant memory, so he felt that even if she never remembered it, that would be fine.
"Even so, I still want to know."
Durandal stepped forward again, closing the distance even more than he had retreated.
"Good daughter, don't stand so close to him! This guy is very dangerous!"
Siegfried could no longer sit still.
Watching Elias and Durandal at a distance so close they could almost feel each other's breath, this old father's blood pressure was soaring. An invisible alarm bell was clanging wildly in his head.
However...
"Dad, please be quiet."
"Siegfried, quiet."
Durandal and Elias turned their heads at the same time and spoke in unison. Perhaps their combined presence was simply too overwhelming—Siegfried was instantly suppressed.
"I—I..."
The two of them ignored him and continued looking at each other.
"Alright. I'll tell you the part related to me. It's nothing that serious." Elias shrugged.
"Thank you. I'll listen carefully." Durandal nodded, ears practically perked up.
Elias then roughly explained what had happened.
Back during the Second Eruption, he had forcefully broken into Schicksal headquarters and rescued the young Durandal.
However, unlike the situation with Cecilia at the time, Elias had still been merely a weak five-Core Herrscher. After tanking all of Schicksal's missiles head-on, he had already been on the verge of death.
On top of that, that inhuman schemer had given Durandal a bomb-shaped HoMu doll.
In the end, Elias' rescue attempt failed.
The exploding Houu doll blasted both of them from a thousand meters in the air. With his last remaining strength, Elias saved Durandal's life—then died himself.
"...So something like that happened."
Durandal stood there in a daze.
Though Elias had spoken lightly, she did not need to think hard to know the situation back then must have been a hundred—no, a thousand times more dangerous. Charging across vast distances in a near-death state, storming Schicksal headquarters alone just to save a seven-year-old girl.
The fact that he had even managed to snatch her out alive was already an unimaginable miracle.
"Elias, I owe you my life," Durandal said solemnly.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I've got plenty of lives." Elias waved it off carelessly.
Besides, there were already tens of billions of people in this world who owed him their lives. He couldn't possibly collect on all of that.
"That won't do. When I was carrying out missions in Shenzhou before, I heard a saying—repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring. If you ever need anything from me in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
Durandal patted her rather impressive chest.
With that upright, noble knightly demeanor, she shone like the sun itself.
Resting his chin on his hand, Elias sighed inwardly. The cute little white-haired dumpling who once called him a magician had truly grown up. Siegfried, your daughter is amazing.
Suddenly, he felt like teasing this overly straightforward goose.
"Anything at all? Then tonight, you can help warm my bed together with Rita."
"Warm your bed? Alright, no problem! Though the weather has been getting warmer lately, so it shouldn't be cold at night. But if you need it, Elias, just leave it to me."
Durandal blinked, then agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"My precious daughter! Absolutely not!!!"
Siegfried looked ready to explode.
"Uh... she's dense to this extent?"
The corner of Elias' eye twitched. He realized she clearly had not understood what he meant. She was far too pure.
"Lord Elias, please don't tease Lady Durandal. Matters such as sharing a bed are still too early for her. Tonight, it would be best to leave it to Rita alone."
"Sh-sharing a bed? Wasn't it just warming the bed?" The goose was utterly shocked.
"Ahem. Please don't mind such minor details, Lady Durandal." Rita revealed a flawless smile.
No one in this world understood this goose better than she did. Though Durandal's instincts were exceptionally sharp, she was far too straightforward. If one wanted to mislead her, it was actually very easy.
Moreover, since her daily life consisted almost entirely of training and missions, Durandal was somewhat lacking in common knowledge.
For example, in her understanding, AV stood for Animal Video.
Unlike a certain Kiana whose mind was already filled with colorful thoughts, this goose remained pure and immaculate.
"And besides, warming Lord Elias' bed is quite a physically demanding task," Rita continued gently. "It would be better for me to handle it."
"It's fine, Rita. You know I'm very good at physical work. Leave it to me," Durandal insisted seriously.
"Ahem. That's enough. I was just joking earlier. Let's pretend I never said that," Elias hurriedly cut in.
"Aaaah! Elias, we cannot coexist under the same sky! Take this—Shamash Assault! Hot, hot, hot!"
As Elias' second-favorite weapon, the Judgment of Shamash was hardly going to obey this husky. Instead of igniting its blade, it extinguished the flames along the edge and set the hilt ablaze, nearly roasting Siegfried alive.
(Judgment of Shamash: Kaslana husky, with your level of strength, you can't even make me transform into Might of An-Utu, and you dare swing me at my master? I haven't even settled accounts with your lot yet! Kevin, you too! And Siegfried—how dare you use me as a flamethrower to grill Honkai Beast meat and bake Totest pizza!)
"Eh~ Uncle Siegfried, give the Judgment of Shamash back to me! Elias said it belongs to me now!" Kiana protested.
"...Pfft! My heart is shattered."
In fact, after Durandal and Siegfried had acknowledged each other as father and daughter, Kiana had voluntarily stepped aside.
She had even intended to return the name 'Kiana Kaslana' along with it. But Durandal, the true owner of that name, had said there was no need.
She had no intention of changing back to her original name. To her now, the name Bianka was more important than Kiana.
Siegfried had been reluctant at first, but... after thinking it through carefully, he realized he had no right to call himself Kiana's father.
Back then, he had abandoned a Kiana who was not even ten years old, leaving the poor girl to search the world for him. And when he believed Durandal had died, he had once treated Kiana coldly.
Those two things alone left him with no face to act like a father.
In fact, after hearing about those matters, Durandal had once looked at Siegfried with deep disappointment and helplessness in her eyes.
(Perhaps I'm not qualified to say this, but Dad... you truly did wrong.)
"Ah~ Father-in-law, women and children in this world may afford to be careless and make mistakes—but we men cannot," Elias said leisurely.
"Alright, Elias, you're right... wait, no! Don't call me father-in-law!"
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