In the end, Siegfried chose a metal baseball bat with a star and cat paw pattern as the gift for Kiana.
On a pedestrian overpass in a certain city in the Far East, Shun leaned against the railing, letting the cold wind blow on him, while Siegfried was testing the feel of the newly bought baseball bat beside him.
Although the vast majority of the Kaslana family do not play baseball, for some reason, baseball bats seem to be weapons etched into the DNA of the Kaslana family members.
Shun had no suggestions to offer regarding Siegfried's gift. Although giving a baseball bat as a birthday gift for one's daughter didn't seem very appropriate.
But if it was for Kiana, and if it was within Honkai, then a baseball bat carried far too much meaning.
"Yoohoo, this feels great!" Even though he had bought it for his daughter, Siegfried was swinging it with great enthusiasm after purchasing it.
"Alright, alright. You're a nearly forty-year-old man. Do you really need to get this excited over playing with a baseball bat?"
Seeing Siegfried acting like an old child, Shun felt somewhat speechless, but after thinking about it, he decided not to stop him.
"By the way, if your other daughter were still around, what would you plan to give her?" After a while, Shun spoke again.
Upon hearing Shun's words, Siegfried's expression stiffened. The hand swinging the bat became as heavy as if filled with lead, and he could no longer swing it.
"Ugh, why bring that up…" Siegfried's eyes dodged, seemingly not daring to meet Shun's gaze.
Kiana Kaslana, his biological daughter—that was a pain he could never erase in his lifetime.
"What if I told you that your daughter isn't dead?" Shun thought that there probably wasn't a more suitable time than today.
However, he had still underestimated Siegfried's level of excitement. The moment he said those words, Siegfried rushed right up to his face, his expression out of control as he looked at Shun, looking as if he were about to cry, completely defeated.
"You… say that again… She's not dead? Tell me, is this true!"
Shun pushed Siegfried away with a look of disgust and said, "She's not dead. She's living well!"
"Then… why hasn't she come to see me all these years… No, a negligent father like me has no right to beg for something like that to happen. Anyway… it's good enough that she's still alive."
After Shun pushed him away, Siegfried did not press forward to entangle him again, but his muttering to himself made people shiver.
"Alright, alright. Let me tell you exactly what happened. Calm down—we're still out on the street."
After the earlier events, the duo of Shun and Siegfried had already attracted quite a bit of attention. He sighed, then used the Cosmic Juggernaut, taking the surrounding environment as a template to create a temporary space.
"Go ahead and speak. I'll listen carefully…" Siegfried sat down dejectedly on the ground and said.
"Alright… The matter starts from when Schicksal's Valkyrie troops found the heavily injured and near-death Kiana Kaslana in the snow."
Thinking about it carefully, Durandal's story wasn't actually that long. Telling it from the beginning wouldn't take much time.
Most of what Shun recounted was a storyline combining visual novel elements with some of the game's plot points.
"And so, she became Schicksal's strongest contemporary S-rank Valkyrie, as well as the most powerful Valkyrie in Schicksal's five-hundred-year history…"
Although it wasn't long, continuously telling the story to Siegfried alone left Shun's mouth somewhat dry. However, seeing Siegfried's face show no reaction at all, Shun genuinely felt a bit annoyed.
"I told you to calm down, and you really showed zero reaction. After I finished, you could at least clap or share your thoughts!"
"But for me, knowing that she's alive is the greatest surprise. Even if I later learn that K… Bianca has become the strongest Valkyrie, surpassing her mother, I would only feel proud of her."
"I see… Yeah, that's how it is for parents." Shun nodded and said nothing more.
"By the way, what do you plan to give Bianca? Since you now know your eldest daughter is still alive, you should at least show some gesture."
The reason Shun had said so much was precisely to make up for some regrets. In his timeline, this family had not yet learned the truth—that was an immense regret.
"Of course I'll give her something. I remember you mentioned that Theresa went through a lot of effort to invite her to your house as well? Could I…"
Siegfried looked at Shun ingratiatingly, hoping to get the answer he wanted from him, but Shun decisively shook his head the next moment.
"No. Not to mention Bianca—you shouldn't meet Kiana either. It's not the right time right now."
It wasn't that Shun was being cruel or heartless. On Kiana's side, there was Sirin, a ticking time bomb.
Back in Nagazora City, Sirin had nearly gone off. Who knew if Siegfried showing up would cause another explosion? As for Bianca's matter, it would be better for her to find the answers herself.
Otherwise, even if you told her her background outright, it would be unlikely for her to accept it so quickly.
Bianca was a person with very strong opinions and stubbornness to a certain degree. This kind of person couldn't be handled with just a few words from Shun.
Fortunately, Siegfried was very obedient. Seeing that Shun wouldn't budge, he did not force or pressure him. After all, Shun was the benefactor of him and his entire family.
The things he had done so far were also for their own good. Siegfried was not an ungrateful person and naturally wouldn't fall out with Shun over such a small matter.
"Then, what does she like now? I'll buy it for her." Siegfried had never learned about the current strongest Valkyrie Durandal, so he naturally didn't know what kind of personality or hobbies his eldest daughter had now.
However, from Shun's story, he could tell that his eldest daughter was now a well-deserved Valkyrie.
"Tsk, I'm not that familiar with her either. Anyway, she likes cats." To be honest, Shun's impression of Bianca wasn't actually that extensive. After all, she was a late-game character, and his familiarity with her was even lower than with Rita.
Besides the stereotypical obsessive fondness for cats, Shun really didn't know much more about Bianca.
"She likes cats… still the same as before. Speaking of which, the reason she liked Kiana at first glance back then—was it because little Kiana looked like a cat…"
Siegfried's muttering couldn't escape Shun's ears. The cat-like girl Kiana was also a memory from the old Captain's early days. Early versions of Kiana's armors and skins had quite a strong cat element to them.
Shun dispelled the temporary world bubble, and the two returned to reality. He casually pointed to a doll shop open by the roadside and said:
"Look, there's a huge cat hugging pillow over a meter long. Trust me—give her that…"
For some reason, the thought of Bianca—the valiant and heroic Valkyrie on the battlefield—hugging that pillow and rolling around on the bed made Shun feel like laughing.
"Eh! This is nice!" Siegfried took one look and immediately made his choice.