Honestly, before coming here, Leo had not expected anyone to be one step ahead of him, arriving at this home he hadn't returned to in so long.
In the past few years, aside from training at Schicksal HQ, he had spent the rest of his time with his adoptive sister, Rita, and his roommate, Bianka.
Even though he had etched the 'death of his parents' into his heart, Leo had always avoided returning to this place.
Perhaps by doing so, by not directly confronting those happy memories, Leo could still cling to certain fantasies.
Sirin's soul could be reincarnated. Cecilia's soul could inhabit the Abyss Flower. These were things that had clearly happened in the original story.
It was because he had witnessed these miracles that a thought lingered in Leo's heart: 'Maybe Mom and Dad have also been reincarnated somewhere.'
But now, as Leo reintegrated his split personalities, he felt that even though he was terrified of returning to this home, he didn't want to run away anymore.
And only after arriving here did he realize something.
Rita, with her meticulous attention to detail, had probably been doing one thing in secret all this time.
"Sister, have you..."
Watching Leo walk into the house, Rita smiled.
"Oh my, I thought you would have returned to this place sooner."
"But, Leo, I really didn't expect that you would choose not to return here at all for the past two years."
Hearing Rita interrupt his question, Leo already had his answer.
For the past two-plus years, Rita had probably been coming to clean Leo's home in Shenzhou regularly.
As for the reason...
Perhaps it was a sister doting on her younger brother, not wanting him to see a dilapidated scene when he finally returned to his original home.
Leo, having found his answer, and Rita, whose heart was filled with complex emotions, both fell silent at the same time.
They both had many things they wanted to say to the family member before them, but this was clearly not the time.
Leo, silent, looked at everything in the house, feeling that nostalgic pang from his mindscape assault him once more.
Even after so much time, just looking at the furniture in this house, Leo could recall every little moment with his parents.
The new color TV his parents bought two years ago was still as pristine as the day it was purchased.
The small refrigerator the three of them had discussed replacing was still as worn-out as it was years ago.
And the range hood, which his parents had always complained was hard to clean, now looked brand new.
Only now did Leo remember that his sister was not only an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, but also an all-capable maid.
When it came to housework, her abilities definitely far exceeded those of an ordinary person in Shenzhou.
But now, even though nothing had changed much, Leo only felt the sadness in his heart being amplified by everything he saw.
It couldn't be helped. Since that day, the owners of this house had died at the hands of the Honkai.
And Leo, as the inheritor of his parents' property, had chosen to numb himself with training, not daring to return to this home. Naturally, he couldn't add the traces of time to this furniture.
Opening the door to his parents' room, Leo looked at the group photo hanging on the wall and suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The photo on the wall was his parents' wedding anniversary photo, taken before he was born.
In Leo's eyes, his parents in the photo looked so happy.
But... if it was just this, it wasn't enough.
Shaking his head lightly, Leo walked to a cabinet in his parents' room, pulled open one of the drawers, and took out a photo album.
In this album, every moment of his family of three's life over more than a decade had been recorded by his parents with a camera.
Gently flipping through the album, the memories Leo had forcibly suppressed now threatened to completely overwhelm his consciousness.
The happier the past recorded in these photos, the greater the pain they inflicted on Leo now.
And Rita, watching all this from the doorway, desperately wanted to walk over to Leo, but she forced herself to hold back.
Because she knew that Leo, immersed in his past, absolutely did not want to be disturbed by anyone else.
Even if the one disturbing him was his adoptive sister, Rita, it was absolutely not okay.
Leo, who had been flipping through the album, finally reached the last page.
Unconsciously, as he closed the album, Leo realized that he had, embarrassingly, shed tears.
*Sure enough, in the end, I'm still just a useless brat.*
*I thought I could pull myself together and face all this, which I should have faced long ago. But now, I've finally confirmed one thing...*
*I don't want to fight any Honkai, and I don't want to be some hero burdened with a heavy responsibility.*
*I was just an orphan. From the very beginning, I just wanted to live a simple, happy life with Mom and Dad.*
*If I could have lived like a normal person, who would want to force themselves to become an Avenger, living only for revenge?*
But now, the wish to live on with his parents had become an impossible luxury.
What happened to me is, at this very moment, still happening to other people.
Grief and sorrow, tears and scars...
—These things that cannot kill me will only become my strength to fight!!!
The moment he placed the album back in the drawer, Leo suddenly felt a soft sensation on his back.
"Leo, I originally didn't want to disturb you."
"But now, rather than letting you continue on like this, I feel I really should..."
Leo, who was being hugged from behind by Rita, wiped away his pathetic tears with the back of his hand and struggled out of her embrace.
Turning to face the young woman before him, Leo saw, as expected, a look of worry on his adoptive sister's face.
"Sister, don't worry. I'm fine."
"Is that so..."
Staring at her adoptive brother, whose expression had now returned to calm, Rita instead felt that the current Leo was exuding a dangerous aura.
This so-called dangerous feeling wasn't that Rita felt Leo would suddenly go berserk and attack her or anyone else.
More than worrying about others, Rita was incredibly worried that her adoptive brother, by actively stimulating his own emotions, would do something overly drastic.
"Yes. Of course I'll be fine."
After saying this softly, Leo muttered, as if to himself.
"Although I never intended to become a warrior fighting the Honkai at first, now that I'm on this path, I will definitely keep moving forward and do what I have to do."
"I am in pain because of Mom and Dad's passing, but... this pain I bear is, in the end, just what everyone else in the world persecuted by the Honkai is also enduring."
"Until I achieve my goal, I cannot die, and I will not die. So..."
Before Leo could finish his last sentence, he suddenly felt a soft sensation on his lips.
After a moment of daze, Leo looked at his adoptive sister, suddenly at a loss for words.
After their lips parted, Rita looked at the Leo before her and said softly.
"Leo, you... you're really too tired."
"I was hoping you could open up to those girls, and let your heart become a little less... radical. But... you really can't let these things go so easily, can you?"
"Defeating the Honkai is important, of course, but Sister still hopes that at the moment the Honkai is defeated, my little brother can still be by everyone's side, like a human being."
"If even they can't ease the pain in your heart, then..."
After gently pushing Leo down onto the Bed, Rita once again completed the vow Kiss with the man before her.
"Don't forget, no matter what, we are all family, forever."
"Cast all your worries aside. Sister will help you relax properly."
.....
Meanwhile. Schicksal HQ.
At Schicksal HQ, Kiana put down her communicator and suddenly let out a helpless sigh.
"Sigh, Senior is busy again today."
"If possible, I really wish he could rest for just a few days."
Bianka, walking beside her, listened to Kiana's complaint and said helplessly to her sister.
"But you know that's impossible, right?"
"Yeah."
After saying this resignedly, Kiana, who had grown used to being with her sister, suddenly looked up at her.
"Sis, has Senior been in this state all these years?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
Recalling the time since she first met Leo, the helplessness on Bianka's face still wouldn't fade.
"Before the Third Eruption, everyone in the organization thought I was the one who worked the hardest."
"But in reality, just looking at training time, Leo, who wasn't qualified to go on missions, trained far, far more than I did."
"Eh, is that right?"
Hearing her sister's words, Kiana said, confused.
"Then if he worked so hard, why... why does it seem like no one in the organization knew about it?"
"Ah, about that..."
Hearing her sister's question, Bianka thought for a moment before deciding to tell Kiana the truth.
"It was actually Rita who asked Senior Wraith to help cover up that information."
"Although many people in Schicksal work hard, if one person works so hard that everyone knows about it, he will naturally attract more attention."
"At the time, Leo, who was already working hard, had his physical data secretly altered by Rita and wasn't chosen by the combat units. So he tried to use this method to get the attention of the higher-ups, to let others know that 'Leo Ash' was capable."
"But he couldn't even hide this little scheme from me. Rita naturally guessed his thoughts after he'd been at it for a while, so..."
"So, Miss Rita covered it up so that Senior could fight in a safer place?"
"Yeah. But there's an old saying in Shenzhou, 'Gold will always glitter.'"
Recalling Leo's experiences these days, Bianka said with great emotion.
"Leo worked hard for over a year, and in the end, he still proved himself in Nagazora City."
"In these past six months or so, he has grown from an ordinary Schicksal Agent to the warrior who defeated Otto and Kevin. The strong foundation he built for himself back then can be considered a great contribution."
Hearing the intel from her sister, Kiana felt nothing but heartache for Leo.
Since meeting him in Nagazora City, it wasn't that Leo had never smiled.
But thinking back now, Leo's smiles were divided into several types.
A sneer to mock his enemies, a professional smile for comrades and colleagues, a fake smile when lying, a special smile to appease companions or as a disguise, and an apologetic smile when he felt guilty.
But among all these smiles, Kiana felt that she had never once seen Leo's truly carefree, genuine laugh.
Now, gradually understanding the person she loved, Kiana truly felt that Leo was forcing himself far too much.
It had even gotten to the point that, recalling these past events, Kiana truly felt that when Leo was making love to her, he perhaps wasn't feeling much pleasure at all. Instead, it was more like he was performing a job, mechanically completing certain tasks to help Kiana soothe her nearly collapsing emotions.
It wasn't just her. Perhaps when Leo was with others, he also felt something similar.
As for why Kiana suddenly had this thought, it was mainly because...
—In the past two months, Leo had almost never initiated contact with her.
In Kiana's eyes, the current Leo was less like a teenage male and more like a tool, mechanically working toward a certain goal.
Saying things like 'Become mine,' and then just leaving her hanging.
This kind of guy, this kind of guy...
—is truly, so infuriating.
.......