Thousand-Person Ruler's Personal Opinion Chapter 20

Cocolia pinched Anqi's cheek and complained with a wronged expression:

"My precious daughter, you have no idea how annoying those old guys are. They all call themselves reformists, but they're more timid and stubborn than the conservatives. Sometimes I really wish I could dismiss them all, so they wouldn't keep bothering me!"

"Then I'll get rid of them!"

"Don't be silly! I still need the various resources they control, and besides... at least investigate first. We're not terrorists, we can't just go around fighting and killing all the time!"

"So troublesome! Mom is so naggy!"

Anqi said with a look of disdain, yet she reached out and patted Cocolia's head, clumsily trying to comfort her.

Cocolia's eyes darted around, and she chuckled. Then, pressing her face against Anqi's, she said:

"Here, if you really want to help Mommy, say this with me now – I love Mommy Cocolia the most!"

"...No!"

"Eh? Why not?"

"I just don't want to! It's too childish. I'm not a kid anymore. Go find those two idiots, Rosaliya and Liliya!"

"That's too much! I spoiled you, and now you won't get afternoon tea and cake today!"

Cocolia puffed out her cheeks and poked Anqi's face with dissatisfaction.

Although she was a married woman past thirty, Cocolia possessed a face as delicate and refined as a twenty-year-old girl. Her mature, alluring figure and childish expressions made her appear exceptionally cute.

At least Anqi, who was sitting obediently in her lap, didn't find it annoying at all.

My lower back hurt for over a week, I had a persistent cold, and felt continuously unwell. I only felt better after taking ibuprofen for five days... After recovering, I realized that those symptoms might have been COVID. But during that time, I didn't get tested for nucleic acid, nor did I think to check my temperature. I even foolishly forced myself to go to work... Whether I spread the virus at work, I've given up thinking about it. The main thing is that I could have actually taken leave! Oh man, I missed out, it feels so bad, like I lost a hundred million! 2

Chapter 31: Mom Must Be In Love!

"Ah! My dear precious daughters, you're finally here! Mommy missed you so much! Come, let Mommy kiss and hug you! Mwah~ mwah~ mwah!"

The little girls with pink and blue hair, dazed, arrived at a room deep within the snowy mountain base. They hadn't even changed out of the fluffy clothes they wore for warmth during the flight before Cocolia embraced them tightly.

"Was it cold on the way?"

"Were you good at home?"

"Did you miss Mommy?"

"Let me kiss you again, mwah!"

Cocolia was so enthusiastic, so excited, that her usually sharp and calculating purple eyes were now filled with surprise.

Rosaliya and Liliya were squeezed tightly in Cocolia's arms, their bodies pressed against her ample chest. Startled, they reached out towards Anqi by the door, their big, frightened eyes pleading for help.

"Anqi! Save us!"

"Help! Mommy Cocolia seems to have gone crazy!"

They struggled with all their might, but they were just ordinary little girls, their strength no match for Cocolia's grip.

Anqi leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, smiling maliciously.

"You two big idiots, just enjoy it!"

That's right, enjoy the change in Mommy Cocolia! After all, only she had to endure this enthusiasm for the past few days. And as members of Cocolia's orphanage, how could she let these two escape?

"Tsk!"

However, as Anqi looked at Cocolia's bright, happy face filled with indulgence and joy, her own smile suddenly vanished.

'What's going on? This morning she said I was her favorite daughter, what a liar!'

Anqi patted her cheeks with her hands, shaking her head and trying to shake off the inexplicable bad mood.

Cocolia hugged the two girls, who were bundled up like two top mascots. As she nuzzled and kissed them, she could feel the soft, warm skin of their cheeks.

The affection from her past life, the residual memories and emotions of the original Cocolia, and the girls' own cuteness combined, making the current Cocolia ecstatic.

"Ah! Why are there such cute children? Mommy loves you to death! Let me kiss you again, mwah! Mwah! Mwah!"

"Bang!"

Just as Cocolia was about to lose control, Anqi's small fist hit her on the head.

"Mom, that's enough. They're about to cry!"

Anqi said, hands on her hips, feeling exhausted.

It wasn't that she had softened towards these two little idiots who usually picked fights with her. It was just that with Bronya not here, Anqi was the eldest daughter at home. When her mother started becoming unreliable, she had to take some responsibility.

Cocolia calmed down, released the little darlings in her arms, and pouted with dissatisfaction as she patted their heads, "One by one, you're all growing up and becoming disobedient. I'm the mother here!"

"If you're the mother, then act mature! You're acting like a pervert addicted to little girls!"

"I don't care! This is everyone's first time being human, why should I act mature? I want to be clingy, I just do!"

An-Cocolia-Qi sat on the ground unhappily, kicking her legs and spouting incredibly willful remarks.

"Bang!"

Using her most practiced method of violence, Anqi ended the dispute between mother and daughter.

She rubbed her reddened little fists and looked to the side, seeing Rosaliya and Liliya hugging each other in a state of confusion.

"QAQ!" x2

A dinner, entirely one-sidedly enthusiastic from Cocolia, passed.

Afterward, while Cocolia was washing dishes, Rosaliya and Liliya dragged Anqi into a corner. The three of them squatted down and started talking.

Rosaliya: "Is Mom sick?"

Liliya: "I think she might be furious that Bronya ran away from home, so her brain is malfunctioning."

Anqi: "...I don't know. Anyway, after she went to the front-line base, she suddenly became like this when she came back. As soon as she sees me, she has to hug and kiss me, and at night she insists on sleeping with me. It's like she's a completely different person."

Anqi didn't think the problem had much to do with Bronya. She was quite clear about the reasons for Bronya's departure and hadn't noticed anything unusual about Cocolia during that time. However, these serious matters were irrelevant to the naive and adorable Arin sisters. At least, neither Cocolia nor Bronya would want the two of them to know, so she decided to ignore it.

In any case, Anqi was also trying to figure out the reason for Cocolia's change.

Rosaliya and Liliya exchanged glances, and the sisters vigorously activated their not-so-bright little brains.

Suddenly, Rosaliya's eyes lit up, and she raised a finger.

"I get it! When a woman suddenly changes, it's definitely because she's in love!"

"..." x2

Anqi looked at her own fists, clenching and unclenching them. She felt ashamed that she had actually felt a moment of expectation towards Rosaliya just now.

Liliya, with a blank expression, shuffled a couple of steps to the side, silently moving further away from Rosaliya.

Oblivious to her sisters' reactions, Rosaliya proudly tilted her nose and declared with full confidence:

"It's always like this in anime! No matter how powerful, cold, or proud a female protagonist is, once she falls in love, she immediately becomes dumber and gentler! So it must be right, Mom suddenly becoming like that must be because she's in love!"

Anqi sized up Rosaliya, who was gloating about her "discovery," then moved to be with Liliya. She pulled out a tablet and said:

"I suspect the problem still lies with the front-line base, so I've retrieved a lot of related intelligence. In conclusion, everything else is normal. The only unusual thing is that a soldier met Mom late at night, and the two of them stayed alone in a room for a night. However, everything that happened in between was blocked out by Mom, so no one knows what they discussed."

"So the problem is with this person? Kuerla Endrabid, a big sister I don't recognize at all."

The two of them mumbled and discussed, but they couldn't find any issues with Kuerla's photo or resume.

At this moment, Rosaliya appeared behind them, putting her arms around their shoulders.

"Ho ho! This is the evidence! A single woman and a single woman alone for a night, and afterward Mom became like that. And this Kuerla is so good-looking... they must be in love!"

Rosaliya nodded repeatedly, completely convinced of her guess. As for why two women could be linked to romance, that was something they didn't find strange at all. Cocolia Orphanage had no male presence, nor had it taught the girls about gender norms. In the eyes of these little girls, love was simply a relationship of flirting, and gender was a point they wouldn't consider at all.

However, Anqi and Liliya had already started treating Rosaliya as if she didn't exist.

Liliya: "I think we should find a time to ask Mom. If it's something she can tell us, she won't hide it from us."

Anqi: "I think so too. Also, I've been trying to contact this Kuerla recently. Anyway, let's try to figure out what happened to Mom as much as possible. I'm a bit worried about her like this."

The two of them smoothly exchanged opinions, and amidst Rosaliya's occasional naive remarks, they discussed how to uncover the truth.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Theresa Wants to Join the Trip

At the kitchen door, Cocolia leaned against the doorframe with one hand, looking at the girls huddled together in the corner, a gentle smile in her eyes.

'Hey, hey, hey, get it straight. You're not their Cocolia mom!'

'Why not? The protection and care Cocolia can give them, I can give. The closeness and affection Cocolia can't give them, I can also give. Why can't I be their Cocolia mom?'

'...I feel like you're deceiving yourself. From a factual perspective, we are actually their enemies, the killers of their mother.'

'As long as we don't say it, it's fine. Anyway, we'll continue to use the identity of Cocolia until the day she 'dies'. I like them very much, and I'm confident I can continue to be their Cocolia mom.'

'Fine, self-deception it is. Let's just consider it all Cocolia's fault.'

'Well, who can resist the super cute Vodka sisters and Anqi?'

'Cocolia's death was deserved. As for deceiving them, we can only strive to make them happy in the future.'

'Where in the world are things perfectly complete? We're adults now, don't be childish.'

Anqi and Anqi communicated back and forth, setting aside the unresolvable moral issues and reaching a consensus that An·Cocolia·Qi would continue to be a good mother.

"But speaking of which, all the bodies I've ever possessed were technically virgin. How did I suddenly get upgraded to a seasoned mom?"

Cocolia's mouth twitched. The most extreme thing she had done so far was masturbation. As for anything more profound, she had no experience with anyone, male or female.

Thinking of this, Anqi and Anqi simultaneously felt a deep sadness.

'Cocolia Anqi, Young Lady Anqi, this is St. Freya Anqi, please respond if received!'

'Huh? What's going on?'

'Oh, Theresa showed up.'

'Great opportunity! Then, it's the Young Lady's stage now!'

Time rewound five minutes.

In the Japanese-style tatami inn room, a lavishly priced but pitifully portioned seafood sushi feast was laid out before Anqi and the other four.

Kiana's hands moved so fast they were a blur as she shoveled food into her mouth, thoroughly enjoying herself. Although each portion was small, the total number of portions was large, enough to sustain her high consumption rate.

"No Mei… munch munch… it's not as good as hers… munch munch… but when eating out… munch munch… I can't be that picky…"

The ahoge on the white-haired girl's head swayed joyfully, yet she still remembered to maintain Raiden Mei's esteemed position in her heart.

—Specifically, the position of top-tier cook.

Raiden Mei chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise. Watching Kiana devour the food, her light purple eyes shimmered with an incredibly tender glow.

Bronya asked Raiden Mei for guidance on proper eating etiquette.

"Sister Mei, wasabi and soy sauce are used like this, right?"

"That's right, Bronya, you're doing great. But if you really want to aim for perfection, you could lower your elbow a bit, creating an elegant curve between your wrist and the back of your hand… like this."

Raiden Mei gracefully demonstrated the eating motion, lightly covering her mouth with one hand and subtly moving her jaw to chew, as if every pore was exuding an aura of elegant, cultivated nobility.

It was truly befitting the queen of the Raiden family, the daughter of a native noble samurai from the Far East; her meticulous attention to etiquette was eye-opening for everyone present.

Seeing their surprised or admiring expressions, Raiden Mei suddenly smiled shyly and said, "Alright, these are all just strange formalities that are never really needed in daily life. The most important thing is to enjoy your meal, so you don't need to worry about them."

Everyone watching immediately nodded.

Indeed, they were Valkyries fighting the Honkai, not socialites dedicated to marrying into wealthy families, so they didn't need such overly elaborate rituals.

As long as they didn't eat like Kiana, who was like a wild boar digging for food.

"Sigh…"

At this moment, Anqi, nestled in Himeko's soft embrace, sighed dejectedly.