Cecilia Schariac

"Stop fooling around. Tell me already."

Ophis sat up and walked toward Ling Yuan.

Then, under Ling Yuan's puzzled gaze, she climbed onto the chair.

She stood at the same height as Ling Yuan.

Her two soft little hands held either side of Ling Yuan's head.

She leaned down.

Ling Yuan's pupils contracted.

Soon, Ophis slowly released Ling Yuan. His bewildered face was reflected in her tiny black pupils, and the corners of her lips lifted slightly. "Master, you belong to Ophis."

It took Ling Yuan a long while to come back to his senses.

He instinctively touched his lips, then looked at the expressionless Ophis.

Damn!

He had been flirted with by his own pet.

What should he do? Should he just go along with it?

But would Uncle JC refuse to listen to his explanation?

No, that wasn't the important part.

Ling Yuan's expression turned serious. "Xiao Fei, who taught you to do this?"

Unhurriedly, Ophis took out a book from the void.

"Big Sister Lucy gave it to me. She said it was her favorite novel."

Ling Yuan took the book.

On the cover, a knight was kissing a lady's hand.

"But even so, that was only a hand kiss."

"Because Master enjoyed it."

"?"

As she spoke, Ophis pressed a slender jade finger against her cherry blossom-petal lips. "Didn't Master say before that we should do it once every day?"

Ling Yuan: "..."

The living room fell silent for a moment.

About a minute later,

Ling Yuan turned around and headed for the kitchen without looking back.

Just as Ophis thought Ling Yuan was angry, his calm voice came from ahead.

"Tell me before you do something like that next time. You caught me too off guard—I didn't even get to properly enjoy it."

Ophis: "???"

Chapter 28: Cecilia Schariac

1990.

Schicksal's Middle East Training Base.

A silver-haired girl in a gray tank top was wiping the sweat from her body with a towel.

Beside her stood a pure white Knight's Spear, blooming like a white lily.

"Today's training is over."

The girl's voice was pleasant, like a spring breeze.

Gentle and soothing.

Just as the girl enjoyed this brief moment of leisure, an image suddenly appeared on the wall.

A silver-haired girl wearing amber goggles appeared, and a calm voice came from the screen.

"Lady Cecilia, a small-scale Honkai outbreak has occurred on the outskirts of Siberia. Lord Bishop hopes you can go there."

The silver-haired girl paused while wiping her hair.

Though she was already tired of such a life, a gentle smile still appeared on her face. "Thank you, Amber. I'll go right away."

"My apologies, Lady Cecilia, for disturbing you during your vacation."

The girl named Amber offered a perfunctory apology before closing the screen.

"Phew..."

After Amber closed the screen, the girl named Cecilia softly exhaled.

She walked to the pure white spear by the wall and gently gripped it.

My name was Cecilia Schariac.

I was Schicksal's strongest current S-rank Valkyrie, as well as the Saintess of the Schariac Family, one of Schicksal's three great families.

In other people's eyes, I was someone who possessed every honor.

But I wasn't happy because of that identity. The more expectations placed upon me, the more I had to bear.

How she wished she had been born into an ordinary family.

Because of this identity, her entire life could be said to have been bound by Schicksal.

In all of Schicksal, Theresa was the only person with whom she could share her true feelings.

She put on her Valkyrie battle suit.

Calling it a battle suit was generous—it was merely an ordinary outfit with no protection whatsoever.

What she truly relied on was still the weapon in her hand.

She arrived at the destination.

Under the awestruck gazes of all the accompanying Valkyries,

she leaped into the air and used one strike to annihilate Rageel, the King-class Honkai that had caused the Siberian forest fire.

She landed on the ground.

Facing the admiring and excited looks of the other Valkyries, Cecilia could only offer a reserved smile.

After killing the Honkai Beast, Cecilia slowly entered the vehicle with Black Abyss White Flower in hand.

The moment she entered the carriage, Cecilia let down all her defenses and leaned against its inner wall as though all her strength had drained away.

She quietly stared at the ceiling of the carriage.

Missions, training, etiquette...

These things had run through nearly her entire life. Even if she wanted to experience novel things, she would restrain herself.

Through the gap in the vehicle, she watched the Valkyries outside chatting and laughing as they dealt with the Honkai Beasts.

She wanted to blend into that atmosphere too.

But she couldn't.

Silence and carrying out orders—those were the things the girl named Cecilia had learned within the organization known as Schicksal.

Ding! The Super Dimensional Group Chat invites you to join the group chat. Join?

Just as Cecilia closed her eyes to rest, a cold voice rang out in her mind.

"Who?!"

In an instant, Cecilia's eyes flew open.

She gripped Black Abyss White Flower beside her and vigilantly scanned her surroundings.

"What's wrong, Lady Cecilia?" A puzzled voice came from outside.

Cecilia froze for a moment, carefully looked around, and finally fixed her gaze on the line of text before her.

"N-Nothing, Miss Ragna. I probably didn't rest well last night," Cecilia said to the Valkyrie outside.

"I see. Then please take this time to get some proper rest, Lady Cecilia."

With that, the Valkyrie named Ragna left.

After sitting down again, Cecilia curiously looked at the small line of text before her.

"Super Dimensional Group Chat? What is that?"

Looking again, she discovered that there were actually two options below it.

Yes.

No.

This time, her intense curiosity could no longer be suppressed. After carefully glancing around, Cecilia pressed Yes.

The next moment,

Cecilia's consciousness entered an incomparably vast space.

Ding! Group member Sanjat has joined the group chat!

Lightning Dragon Slayer: "Welcome, newcomer."

Eighth Princess: "Welcome, newcomer."

First Prince: "Welcome, newcomer."

Hearing the notification, Hongyan casually added a +1.

Sanjat: "Th-This... where is this place? Are you talking to me?"

Inside the carriage,

Cecilia froze. The words were entering her mind directly...

Maple: "If there's anything the newcomer doesn't understand, please click the group avatar. If there's anything else you don't understand, you can ask the Group Owner @Ling Yuan."

Ling Yuan: "Shocked. Sanjat—are you Anna or Cecilia?"

Akame: "The Group Owner knows?"

Ling Yuan: "It depends on the person."

Eighth Princess: "Brother Ling Yuan has been casually peeking at other people's world trajectories again."

Katarina: "Ahem, I have a bold idea. Since the great Group Owner can see the trajectories of other worlds, does that mean he can see other people's daily lives?"

Ling Yuan: "..."

Ling Yuan: "Doujin warning."

Katarina: "!!!"

Ling Yuan: "Don't worry. No one likes watching monkeys."

Katarina: "???"

So I was supposed to thank you for not liking me?

Maple: "H is forbidden!"

Cecilia slightly opened her mouth.

The people here were so bold...

But it was so interesting!

Akame: "If you keep talking like this, you'll scare the newcomer away. @Sanjat, out of politeness, introduce yourself. I'm Akame."

Eighth Princess: "..."

Lightning Dragon Slayer: "..."

Ling Yuan: "..."