What is the face of Schicksal? It's the Valkyries, and the armor they wear. As a prestigious S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, how could Ryn not have a Valkyrie battlesuit!
Although it might not be of much use to Ryn, appearances must be kept up. Otherwise, when Ryn goes out on missions in the future, what if he's mistaken by national governments for one of those paupers from Anti-Entropy?
So, Otto sent Ryn a message, saying that the battlesuit he had been longing for was now calibrated and ready. He was to go to the God-Slaying Armor vault beneath Helheim Labs for verification and acceptance.
Ryn, who had been lazing around playing games with Kika, was overjoyed upon hearing the news. After all, strength is just a matter of whether your cheat is powerful enough, but being cool is a matter for a lifetime.
"Kika, want to come along?" Ryn jumped up excitedly, eager to put on his new armor right now.
Seeing how happy Ryn was, Kika opened her arms to him.
"Carry me. I don't want to move."
"Walk on your own, it's not like you don't have legs."
Ryn had no intention of carrying Kika to Helheim Labs. There were so many people along the way, did he not have a reputation to uphold?
But Sabayon, floating above Ryn's head... successfully convinced Ryn that his reputation was not that important.
"Carry me!"
"Alright, alright, my lazy princess."
Ryn scooped Kika up in a princess carry, and Kika nestled into his arms. Then, Kika took a lollipop from Ryn's pocket, placed it in her mouth, and pointing forward with the lollipop stick, she called out in a sweet, childish voice.
"Sir Ryn, charge!"
As Ryn had expected, their intimate posture drew stares and whispers all along the way. However, no one said anything negative; instead, they were met with well wishes.
The lifespans of Valkyries were extremely short. Even if they didn't die in battle, they would die young due to genetic collapse... So, Valkyries never stingy with their blessings when a comrade found a partner, Siegfried being the exception.
But as she listened to the Valkyries' blessings, Kika's mind was elsewhere.
Kika patted her own cheeks to steel herself, then accepted everyone's blessings with a smile. However, the more beautiful the Valkyries' blessings were, the more pained and tormented Kika's heart became.
Along the way, a few bolder Valkyries came over under the pretext of greeting Ryn and Kika, subtly pinching Kika's little face and copping a feel from Ryn.
Unable to tolerate being felt up, Ryn took off with Kika, flying towards Helheim Labs, which only made Kika even more unhappy.
From Helheim Labs, they transferred to the God-Slaying Armor vault beneath it. Otto was already waiting for them there.
"Tsk, you two are really getting along! Does Kiana know about this?" Otto teased with a smile, looking at the incredibly intimate pair.
Otto had previously worried that when the Herrscher of the Void descended, Ryn might not be able to bring himself to act, given their bond. But now, seeing this, he feared that the moment the Herrscher of the Void awakens, she would probably tear Ryn to shreds.
A Herrscher's persona is born from a certain emotion of the host personality being infinitely amplified by the Honkai... What if she gets jealous~
Thinking of the dramatic scene to come, Otto could barely contain his smile.
Just as Ryn was about to explain, Otto, the drama enthusiast, cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Don't worry, Ryn, you don't have to worry about the hatchet problem. Come and see this God-Slaying Armor I've prepared for you. It just so happens to offer all-round, gapless defense. Look at this metallic texture, look at this defensive power, it's filled with a sense of security! You won't have to worry about being hatcheted at night at all~"
As Otto spoke, he winked at Ryn, signaling that he needed to handle his emotional affairs properly, or else...
"Ahem, can we be a bit more normal..."
Although Otto had always been rather unconventional, being teased like this by him made even Ryn feel embarrassed.
Ryn patted Kika, signaling that they had arrived and she should get down. But Kika clung tightly to Ryn's neck, wanting to stay nestled against him a little longer.
Kika rested her head on Ryn's shoulder, her face pressed against his, and said in a displeased tone, "You weren't shy when all those people were outside, why are you so shy with only Otto here! Let me just..."
"Sigh... forget it, it is what it is. When we get back to the academy... you belong to me anyway..." Kika gave Ryn a kiss, then jumped down from his arms and stood quietly to the side. She didn't say anything more, but her face was full of resentful displeasure.
"I..." Ryn was at a loss for words.
"I don't object to Valkyries dating freely, but Ryn, if emotional problems aren't handled well, it's a major taboo for a Valkyrie, you know~"
Otto came over and patted Ryn on the shoulder, his face filled with the confidence of a love guru. He had witnessed countless epic love stories, and as for Kika and Ryn's relationship, Otto felt he knew exactly how to handle it.
"Go and comfort her with a hug. It's not good to let a small thing hurt your relationship. Don't worry, this won't interfere with the armor testing, and I'm the only one here."
Ryn nodded at Otto, and Otto tactfully moved to a distance so as not to disturb them.
Ryn took out a lollipop, tore off the wrapper, and held it to Kika's lips.
"Are you upset?"
"Hmph, how could I be upset over such a small thing? Don't look down on me!" Kika opened her mouth and bit down fiercely, as if she were biting Ryn himself.
"But you are upset, aren't you?" Ryn bent down slightly to be at eye level with Kika, gently caressing her face, wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes, and keeping his tone as gentle and calm as possible.
"I'm sorry, I've been neglecting your feelings."
It was one thing when Ryn was his usual carefree self, but at a moment like this, his gentleness caused all of Kika's grievances to surge up, and her eyes couldn't help but become more watery.
Both Kika and Mei had already disregarded their reputations to commit to Ryn, yet Ryn's eyes were only for Kiana, and he treated them merely as ordinary family.
But Kika didn't want to be ordinary family.
Kika grasped Ryn's hand, "Ryn... in your heart, what are Mei and I to you?"
"A hug pillow and a cook?" Ryn answered subconsciously without a second thought.
"External armor Sabayon, activate!"
"Just kidding, just kidding..." Ryn hurriedly pushed away Sabayon, which was now pressed against his forehead. The muzzle of that thing was already starting to glow red.
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"Making a joke at a time like this!" Otto was in awe, silently giving Ryn a thumbs-up in his mind.
This kid has my style from back in the day... truly worthy of being someone I have my eye on.
Damn, why am I getting sadder the more I say this.
Lost in thought, Otto squatted down and started drawing circles on the ground.
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