Cocolia's Orphanage

"Eh!"

"Lobster Doctor, you don't think you can recruit people with just a few casual words, do you?"

"Ugh..." Tesla was momentarily at a loss for words. Her eyes darted around before she said, "Come with me and I'll give you candy."

Lin Nai said, "Isn't that kidnapping?"

Einstein said, "Dr. Tesla, I look down on you."

Bronya said, "Weird woman."

"Hey! I was joking!!" Tesla hurriedly shouted.

She had only wanted to try and sweet-talk him, but she hadn't expected him not to fall for it at all.

Lin Nai: I'm not a three-year-old.

Even three-year-olds these days might not happily follow someone just because they offered them candy.

"Still... going with you isn't impossible."

Tesla's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Cocolia gave Tesla a puzzled look. She did not understand why this Doctor was so excited.

Could this Doctor have some kind of pedophilic tendency?

"But! I have a condition!"

"What condition? As long as it's within my abilities, I'll get it done for you!"

Tesla patted her not-so-large—more like nonexistent—chest.

"Help me find someone. Siegfried Kaslana."

"Wh... who? Siegfried Kaslana?" Tesla frowned.

"You know him. I can tell from your expression." Lin Nai smiled.

Upon hearing that, Kiana stood up and fixed her eyes on Tesla.

Tesla did not know what to say for a moment.

She had not expected Lin Nai to ask her to find Siegfried.

Siegfried Kaslana? Of course she knew him.

During the Second Honkai War, they had fought alongside Siegfried, and after defecting, Siegfried had relied on Anti-Entropy for his operations.

Even now, he was still receiving Anti-Entropy's help to suppress the Honkai Beast genes in his body.

Kiana could not be allowed to meet Siegfried right now, because the Herrscher of the Void might awaken...

Tesla's mind spun rapidly. She was a genius, sure, but she could be incredibly slow on certain occasions.

At a time like this, she did not even know what she should say.

Hide it...

Tesla felt that if she hid it, Lin Nai would notice. It was a gut feeling.

Not to mention, he had already noticed.

"Fine. We'll help you find Siegfried Kaslana."

Einstein spoke first.

Idiot Tesla. Lin Nai had only said he wanted them to look for someone; he never said they had to find him.

They only had to agree, then reveal just a tiny bit of information.

"Deal."

The corners of Lin Nai's lips lifted into a smile. Of course, he knew Einstein was playing a word game.

Looking for someone and finding someone were two different concepts.

Rather, this was exactly what Lin Nai wanted.

It was still too early for Kiana to meet Siegfried.

Lin Nai was not sure whether he could handle a Herrscher, so he needed to find a way to grow stronger.

If they traveled, he could just use Anti-Entropy's funds for work-related travel.

Simple enough.

Lin Nai and Einstein exchanged a glance, silently reaching an agreement.

Cocolia Orphanage

The orphanage.

Led by Cocolia, the group arrived at this place.

"Whew, so this is your orphanage, Cocolia?"

Lobster Doctor looked at the orphanage before them in surprise.

She had not expected it to be this large.

"Yes, Dr. Tesla." Cocolia stood at the entrance to her orphanage.

Because of Honkai.

Many children had been displaced.

So she had brought them back.

This orphanage had been built with Anti-Entropy's assistance.

But speaking of Honkai...

Cocolia glanced at Kiana, who stood beside Lin Nai. She felt that this child looked somewhat familiar...

Back during the Second Honkai War, a white-haired woman with blue eyes had saved her.

And the child before her resembled that woman.

"Alright! We'll rest here for the night, then return to Anti-Entropy Headquarters tomorrow!"

Tesla stretched lazily, looking exhausted.

Einstein glanced at Tesla. "Don't forget to notify Anti-Entropy to retrieve the mechs."

"Ah... Bird's Nest Head, those mechs can't be used anymore, right?" Tesla's stretching motion paused.

Einstein nodded. "But we cannot waste them."

Anti-Entropy was not exactly well-funded either.

Otherwise, Anti-Entropy would not have resorted to making animations and the like to earn operating funds.

"True..."

Tesla glanced at Lin Nai behind her.

Those two mechs had been completely scrapped by the aftershock of Lin Nai's ultimate move.

Lin Nai had stepped in and saved them, causing the Honkai Beast to fall without crushing the mechs.

But that move had been too powerful.

The mechs that had been too close to the Honkai Beast had been scrapped by the aftershock.

One could imagine how much energy Lin Nai had used at the time.

"Lin Nai, can their organization really find my stinky old dad?" Kiana still did not quite trust Tesla and Einstein.

Their mechs were indeed cool.

Building them might require a great deal of money, but finding someone was not something money alone could accomplish, right?

Even if they knew her dad, still...

"Don't worry. If they can't find him, I'll keep traveling with you until we do."

Lin Nai reached out and ruffled Kiana's smooth white hair as he smiled.

Kiana's current combat ability was still not quite enough.

So on the way here, Lin Nai had also mentioned helping Kiana become stronger.

"Alright." Kiana nodded, then noticed Bronya spacing out.

"Hey, Bronya, what are you looking at?"

Hearing that, Lin Nai followed Bronya's gaze.

A little girl with shoulder-length black hair tinged with blue, ocean-like eyes, snow-white skin, and a timid, delicate appearance stood on the second-floor balcony.

She was timidly sizing up the group standing at the orphanage entrance.

Bronya stared at that girl.

Lin Nai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Was this the world's corrective force?

What a pity.

If Bronya did not lack a Stigmata, he would have said Stigmata bearers were drawn to one another.

Wait, could Bronya's sister complex be acting up?

Surely not...

Hadn't Bronya only broken free from her cage today and become a little more normal?

Was a sister complex... considered normal?

Lin Nai: I'd say it's more normal than being numb toward life...

"Hey, Bronya, you wouldn't..." Kiana's expression turned strange.

"Idiot Kiana, don't talk nonsense." Bronya gave Kiana an expressionless glance.

Kiana stuck out her tongue and hid behind Lin Nai, afraid that this little runt would hit her.

"Come to think of it, Lobster Doctor, why were you Anti-Entropy people there?"

"Hey, brat, be more polite! What kind of name is Lobster Doctor?!"

Tesla put her hands on her hips, extremely dissatisfied with the nickname Lin Nai had given her.

When he called Bird's Nest Head, he still called her Dr. Einstein!

Why did she have to be Lobster Doctor?!

Lin Nai: Who told you to call me brat?

"Dr. Tesla and I received an alert that Honkai energy levels had exceeded the limit in a certain area, so we came over."

Einstein explained why they had appeared there.

Since Cocolia was more familiar with this area, she had acted as their guide.

"Honkai energy levels exceeding the limit..."

Lin Nai recalled that Tank-type Honkai Beast. That thing truly was not something that would normally appear.

To be safe, he had even fully charged the Photon Ice Blade.

Now it seemed a little like overkill.

There had been no need to fully charge it. Perhaps a simplified version would have been enough.

Tank-type Honkai Beasts... were not all that hard to fight...

But was a Honkai Beast's power related to the surrounding Honkai energy?

Lin Nai fell into thought.

Tesla's tone turned serious. "It may not be at the level of a major Honkai eruption, but it should still be taken seriously."