Hide-and-Seek (Part 2)

Bronya nodded gently and got off the bed, hugging HOMU doll that was the same size as her.

"You really like it, but unfortunately, a boring adult like me can't get the appeal."

"?" Bronya's eyes showed confusion. "What does brother like?"

"Me? As for me... Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Gundam, Maid, Black Stockings, Giant... Pshaw, just pretend you didn't hear the last few Bronya!"

As he was speaking, his words slipped out again.

"In any case, go see your sisters now."

"...Um."

Bronya nodded.

Thankfully, this child isn't the type to pry into everything.

Liu Bai breathed a slight sigh of relief.

As for the meaning, he guessed Bronya wouldn't understand either.

However... Bronya actually understood.

Well, Bronya truly doesn't understand are the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Gundam, but she completely understands maids and black Bronya.

Bronya had seen maids when she infiltrated the homes of high-ranking officials.

As for black stockings... she wore them before—in fact, Bronya was wearing black stockings when Cocolia knocked her unconscious. Bronya carried out assassination missions by lowering the opponent's guard with her appearance and then unexpectedly strangling them with the black stockings, without needing to bring her own weapons.

Who would be wary of a delicate young girl taking off her stockings in front of you?

Therefore, although Bronya was a child soldier, she actually knew the two things that Liu Bai said she should least know the most about.

So... is there any necessary connection between maids and black stockings?

And what about giants... Bronya was slightly puzzled.

However, since Liu Bai told her to pretend she didn't hear it, she was naturally willing to obey... probably.

"Stop daydreaming, let's go." Liu Bai took Bronya's small hand.

"Hmm..." Bronya suddenly let out a soft gasp.

"What's wrong?"

"...nothing."

Bronya shook her head.

This feeling of being held in such a gentle manner was a first for Bronya —in fact, for Bronya right now, being treated gently in any form was a completely new and unfamiliar experience.

And there's another thing, the feeling of being led by Liu Bai is a little strange.

... After all, Liu Bai is currently a ghost possessing the disguise cloth.

Bronya's compatibility +5%

Bronya followed Liu Bai obediently, clutching her HOMU doll, while also keeping an eye on her surroundings—a habit Bronya often had.

"Oh, right, Bronya, you might have a few unruly kids among your sisters. How should I put it... they're not exactly well-behaved, but try to keep them in check."

Liu Bai reminded him.

For Bronya, her instinctive counterattack could break an adult's neck, and since Bronya has just left her child soldier status, she might experience stress symptoms, which is why Liu Bai specifically reminded her of this.

"Um."

Bronya hugged the doll in her hands slightly tighter and nodded.

"Don't be afraid, there are mostly good kids here."

Liu Bai smiled slightly.

Afterwards, Liu Bai and Bronya arrived at the orphanage's courtyard.

The same little ones were still in the yard, and Liu Bai even saw Seele had just been taken away.

Cocolia was supposed to buy her a new doll, right? Where is she?

Liu Bai was slightly puzzled, but the children's noise quickly interrupted Liu Bai thoughts.

"The White Cloth Monster has appeared again!"

"..."

No, I find your way of addressing me quite frustrating.

"Yes, it's the Alliance Leader, brother."

Seele tried to correct him rather timidly, but the excited little ones didn't pay any attention to Seele's words and quickly gathered around.

"And there's a new older sister!"

Compared to the "White Cloth Monster" they had seen once, the children were clearly more interested in Bronya, their new older sister.

... Even though no one is bothering me, why do I feel a subtle sense of frustration?

"My name is Isabella!"

"My name is Sophia!"

"Rosalia Arlene! This is my sister Lilia!"

The children quickly surrounded Bronya, curiously examining Bronya.

"Um... Bronya Zaychek."

Although she seemed a little nervous, Bronya still managed to say her name very smoothly.

Peers... This is the first time Bronya has seen such energetic peers; their eyes are sparkling with happiness.

... So dazzling.

"Sister Bonya?"

"It's Bronya," Bronya corrected.

Whether bronya is pronounced as "Bonya" or "Bronya" depends on the punctuation. "Bron/nya" is pronounced as "Bronya," while "bron/ya" is pronounced as "Bonya." Obviously, among these children, one or two will not pronounce it so fluently.

Incidentally, the name Bonya is the origin of Bronya's nickname "Bronya".

"Armored Sister?"

"Isn't Sister Rabbit's voice better? Besides, Sister Bronya is holding HOMU doll in her arms."

Although Bronya corrected her, the children's conversation quickly veered back to Bronya's name.

After all, the victims of the Second Honkai mainly came from Siberia, and these children had no problem speaking Russian, so the topic naturally evolved along with the pronunciation.

"Hmm..."

Bronya didn't know how to handle the situation, so she could only turn to Liu Bai for help.

This was the first time she had realized that her name was generating so much discussion.

Liu Bai could not remain indifferent to this.

"Alright, alright, little ones, quiet down a bit."

Liu Bai shook the white cloth violently, making a "whoosh" sound, successfully attracting everyone's attention.

"If you keep making a fuss, I'm going to tell your mother."

Here it comes! The shameless tactic of snitching!

Sure enough, everyone present fell silent as soon as he said this, staring quietly at Liu Bai — Cocolia still held considerable prestige among the children.

"... You guys are suddenly so quiet, it feels really strange to me. Don't you have any troublemakers around?"

Liu Bai felt like something was missing... Oh, Xing, that mischievous kid, had disappeared somewhere.

"Okay, let's get back to the point—want to play hide-and-seek with your Sister Bronya?"

Just when all the children thought that the "white cloth monster" in front of them was going to give them a long speech, Liu Bai made a suggestion that they could not refuse.

"Huh?"

Bronya was slightly taken aback, but the children didn't care and cheered in unison.

"Want!"

"Yay!"

"Who will be the ghost?"

"Of course it's the White Cloth Monster!"

"You should call him brother."

"Brother White Cloth Monster!"

"..."

Let's see if Cocolia has a feather duster.

I'll transform myself into "Brother Feather Duster" and spank these little girls to teach them a lesson.

"Brother... I don't know how to play this game."

Bronya raised her hand frankly and said.

"It's very simple... How about this, you and I will be the ghosts together, does anyone have any objections?"

Without a doubt, the children had no objection to this.

"Count to one hundred! The area is within the orphanage; no one is allowed inside the building!" The children warned as they scattered, seeing Liu Bai and Bronya turn their backs.

"Let's start counting! 100, 99, 98, 97..." — But then again, whether to count backwards or forwards in hide-and-seek depends on habit; there's no fixed rule.

Liu Bai quickly finished counting the hundred numbers.

"So, are we going to go find them now?" Bronya quickly grasped the rules of the game of hide-and-seek.

"Yes, you must be very good at this, right?"

Liu Bai patted Bronya's head.

Bronya's compatibility +5%

"Hmm... but I'm usually the one who gets arrested." Bronya nodded slightly.

"... You've really worked hard."

Liu Bai rubbed Bronya's little head again.

"Then this game is in your hands—show your older sister your authority for the first time to your group of younger sisters."

"My sister's... authority?"

Bronya tilted her head, somewhat puzzled.

But... as long as we find them, that should be enough, right?

Bronya looked down at the ground; the messy, small footprints had already shown Bronya the way.

Although it wasn't something to be proud of, as a young soldier specializing in assassination, the traces of her younger sisters were all too obvious to her.

Especially...

A little girl huddled behind the slide next to it, peeking out with her head.

"Seele, you've been found out."

This is definitely Xiao Seele...

"The Alliance Leader is really amazing..."

Surprisingly, Seele's face did not show any fear, as if she was... no, she was deliberately hiding here.

Are you worried that Bronya and Liu Bai won't be able to find anyone?

"... I don't think it's because you're so good, brother, but Seele you're hiding too conspicuously."

Bronya, completely ignoring Seele's meaning, corrected her.

Is this a form of complaining?

This is truly a huge improvement for Bronya.