Where's the Third Honkai We Agreed On?!!

Yae, who had been sorting through the documents, hurriedly saluted. An A4 sheet slipped through her fingers and drifted down.

In the corner of that fluttering white sheet, black words on white paper read: Kiana Kaslana, daughter of Cecilia Schariac, the previous-generation Saintess of Schicksal.

P.M. 18:45—

The multi-story villa occupied by the Invincible Trio Squad plus their captive duck was collectively referred to as a detached house in the Far East.

In this country, living in a high-rise apartment in a prime location was often the true symbol of wealth and status.

As a result, detached houses with poor space efficiency were generally located in relatively remote areas, making them convenient hideouts for the group to relocate from at any time.

A layer of dust covered the furniture, indicating that the owner had not returned in quite some time. There was no awkward scenario where they were eating hot pot and singing songs only to get caught in an affair.

After entering, Fu Li had even used his arts to thoroughly clean the place, which counted as payment for temporarily staying there.

That was assuming the owner would still be in the mood to come back after the Third Honkai broke out. (laugh)

"He just thinks this place is dirty and doesn't want to lie down!"

Kiana Cat put on a detective cap identical to Sherlock Holmes's and solemnly declared that there was only one truth!

"Who'd want to be covered in dust if they could stay clean?"

Fu Li placed the unconscious little duck on the sofa, then sat beside her and rubbed his faintly aching temples.

Controlling phantoms for so long had consumed more Mental Power than he had expected. Fortunately, the phantom he had just sent out to gather intelligence had been focused down and destroyed, easing the pressure on him considerably.

Unable to sit still, Kiana played the role of a COC investigator and rummaged around everywhere. A moment later, she returned to the living room hugging a document like treasure. "A Li, Mei, look!"

Mei's poor condition had already eased somewhat during the journey. Seeing this, she could not help frowning. "We already broke into someone's home without permission. Isn't it a little wrong to go through their things too?"

Fu Li casually took it and glanced at it. "A floor plan? It's recorded pretty thoroughly. Leave it here. I'll study it first."

The first floor had one bedroom, two living rooms, and two bathrooms. The second floor had three bedrooms and two bathrooms in a somewhat cramped layout. There were also two basement levels: the first was an entertainment area, and the second was a parking garage.

"Waaah, I was wrong, Mei."

After being lectured by Mei, Kiana Cat wore a mournful expression. But she immediately sat beside Fu Li, leaned against him, and chattered away. "So? What does it say?"

"It makes escaping easier."

The boy answered as though it were obvious. "For example, the plans say that the garage on basement level two leads directly outside. If the roads above get blocked, we can still escape through there."

"I see~"

Kiana put on a look of sudden realization, letting out a silly laugh.

Fu Li gave her two suspicious looks, then suddenly remembered that she had previously said she always observed her surroundings in advance whenever she arrived somewhere unfamiliar.

"Hehe."

The white-haired girl swung her fair, adorable little feet, as though she had said something, yet also as though she had said nothing at all.

And she was not the only one. Mei had also taken off the thigh-high stockings on her legs.

After traveling nonstop and fighting all the way here, they had long since been soaked through with sweat.

Beautiful girls cared quite a bit about how they looked in front of the opposite sex. Even if there was no odor, what if Fu Li happened to have an especially sensitive nose?

And considering the supernatural things he had displayed recently...

"No!"

Growing increasingly flustered the more she thought about it, Mei abruptly stood up, grabbed Kiana, and ran for the bathroom. "Fu Li, wait a moment. We're going to rinse off first!"

"Huh?"

Kiana was lifted entirely into the air, and her delicate, pretty features suddenly took on a lewd look.

This was the first time her beloved Mei wanted to bathe with her! If they were bathing together, was sharing a bed far behind? Was doing things that could not be written down far behind? Come to think of it, which countries allowed same-sex marriage? Their honeymoon destination could be Hawaii!

Fu Li, seated on the sofa, gave her a bland glance.

For no apparent reason, the guilty Kiana jolted and twisted her wrist free from Mei's hand.

The girl coughed lightly and said with a serious expression, "Mei, you go ahead. I need to keep an eye on A Li so he doesn't get a chance to peep."

"Then I'll go first."

Mei did not suspect a thing and quickly headed toward the bathroom.

The sound of running water soon began.

Kiana reluctantly withdrew her gaze and pouted at Fu Li, who sat as steady as a mountain. "What is it that you have to say in private?"

"I'm wondering why the people from Anti-Entropy insist on capturing Mei."

The boy was concise.

"Why is that strange?"

Kiana looked as though it was perfectly obvious. "It must be because my Mei is so, so, so, so, so charming!"

She proudly raised her head. "Even five-star general MacArthur once said: someone said, 'Raise your hand if you find Mei charming!' And then the Earth turned into a sea urchin."

"I know Mei is charming too. Those long legs make very comfortable pillows. But what I need to know is what makes her most charming in the eyes of those Anti-Entropy people."

Fu Li curled his lip and picked up a bottle of mineral water from the coffee table, intending to wet his throat.

"She has two of the most charming points right on her front armor!"

"Pffft!!!"

As though that was not enough, Kiana added with stars in her eyes, "The woman who gave birth to Mei is the modern-day Einstein, the white lotus atop the Himalayas, a sage who has penetrated philosophy and the soul, the brightest pearl on this planet, the driving force of the Axial Age, a philosopher, a hero, light itself, the embodiment of all kindness and justice. If Socrates saw her, he would surely lose to Hippias, because the essence of beauty has truly gained a tangible form!"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Fu Li put down the tissue, the corner of his eye twitching. "Do you like Raiden Mei, or Raiden Mei's mother?"

"I like them both!"

Kiana blurted out.

"Fine, I get it. It was my fault for asking you about this in the first place."

Fu Li rubbed his faintly aching brow. After saying that, he continued remotely maneuvering the Shadow Blade against the mechanical troops.

A soft sigh drifted into his ears. "Maybe it's because I'm Raiden Ryoma's daughter..."

Without looking up, Fu Li said, "I considered that reason, but if they wanted to capture Raiden Ryoma's daughter, they would have done it long ago. Why insist on taking her now—"

"A Li!"

Kiana's loud shout cut off his next words. The boy belatedly looked up and saw Mei standing before him with wet hair and a heart-wrenching expression.

Fu Li scratched his head awkwardly, which was rare for him. "Uh, you finished washing that fast?"

"Mm."

The girl answered softly.

It seemed Kiana was not the only one who had noticed Fu Li's hint.

And perhaps because she wanted to make the act more convincing, Mei was now wrapped in nothing but an oversized bath towel. Whether it was her fragrant shoulders, smooth as carved jade, or the full curves of her chest, the towel covered remarkably little.

That only made Fu Li, who had deliberately sent her away, feel even more awkward.

Fortunately, there was still someone as conspicuous as Kiana in the living room.

"No looking!"

She bared her teeth and claws as she shielded Mei, forcefully breaking the silence in the air.

Then she pointed at Bronya. "Besides, the person who wanted to capture Mei is right here. If there's really a problem, why not just wake her up and ask?"

Once both feet left the ground, her clever IQ seized the high ground!

Fu Li froze, then immediately showed an enlightened expression. "Right! There's that option too!"

It was not that he was being stupid. His accumulated habits over the years had instinctively made him regard Bronya as one of his own, so he had directly tossed the notion that Bronya was the culprit to the back of his mind.

Kiana was extremely displeased when she saw his expression. She snorted and shoved Mei toward the bathroom. "This time we're bathing together. If someone peeps on us, I'll blow his head off!"

Both heads, top and bottom!

"Go on, go on."

Fu Li replied perfunctorily and headed for the kitchen.

Their ingredients were stored there. He had not eaten since noon, and he was starving to death.

After half an hour of busy work, a small hand suddenly reached out from beneath the table where the dishes had been temporarily placed.

It swiftly grabbed a peeled prawn, pulled it back under the table, and stuffed it into its owner's mouth.

Fu Li did not pay much attention, so the little hand began pushing its luck.

Now this was truly unbearable. He wiped the water off his hands, crouched down, and stared at the white-haired ball hiding beneath the table with a fake smile. "Isn't taking the whole plate a bit much?"

"Mmph! I didn't take it!"

Her cheeks were puffed out. It was impressive that she could still force out a few words while chewing.

Gulp!

She swallowed.

"A Li, your cooking isn't bad! Mmm! I officially appoint you as the personal chef for Mei and me!"

Her tender little face was brimming with happiness, and her freshly washed skin gleamed brightly.

Fu Li leaned back tactically. Like Mei before her, this girl had come out wearing nothing but a bath towel.

And since she was currently crouching, from his angle, he could even see that mysterious place—

"Fourth-Dimensional Skirt?!"

"Hehe, got fooled, didn't you?"

The girl smugly wiped her nose, lifted the lower half of her bath towel, and showed off proudly. "You can't see it! Ha! You just can't see it!"

Damn it, Kiana!!!

It felt as though ten thousand alpacas were galloping across the Hulunbuir Grasslands in Fu Li's heart. But soon, a pitying gaze returned to the lively white-haired girl who had already jumped up and started shaking her hips.

Kiana felt uncomfortable under his gaze. She stopped throwing her tantrum, her willow brows rising. "Why are you looking at me like that!"

"Nothing. I was just reminiscing about a certain heterochromatic-eyed kitten I picked up and carefully looked after in a hotel—the wonderful feel of every inch of her skin, whether soft enough to break with a puff or alluringly curved."

Fu Li took back the thoroughly licked-clean plate from her hand, thinking that he had remained completely calm even when facing her two years later, when she did not resist at all. This caterpillar-like version of her interested him even less.

After all, compared to two years later, after the Final Lesson, the current Kiana could only be described as immature.

That was not merely because of whether her body had fully developed. Even in terms of temperament, the difference was like heaven and earth.

Back then, the girl's silver-white hair draped over her shoulders, her eyes lowered in meek, pitiful submission, while an immensely vulnerable aura surrounded her.

She was like a white-haired puppy that stumbled through a torrential downpour to your feet. Her weakness and humility made one ache for her, while also inevitably stirring the desire to utterly ruin her, to destroy and torment her.

Most importantly, after learning the truth following the Final Lesson, Kiana truly felt an immense degree of guilt toward Fu Li. In both word and deed, she made no effort to hide that this body of hers—Kiana Kaslana—could be used however he wished.

She had promised him when they were children that Kiana would become his bride once she grew up.

Since that was the case, she, who had stolen another's place, should fulfill the promise on behalf of the girl who had died.

Fu Li was also an eighteen-year-old boy going through adolescence. Faced with such temptation, how could he possibly refrain from charging forward with blazing passion?

Heh! As it turned out, he could!

"Stop pretending. If you can't remember, then you can't remember. What's there to feel guilty about?"

Back then, he had sneered and continued changing the dressing on the white-haired girl, who stared fixedly at him.

Kiana's eyes held poorly concealed innocence. She still had not "remembered" the promise they had made as children.

That was why Fu Li refused. They were friends, and only friends.

If he took advantage of a friend's vulnerability, would he still have any face left?

The next day, the stimulated Kiana disappeared after leaving behind a note filled with "I'm sorry" and "I'm not."

Fu Li had actually considered going to find her. He had spent such a huge sum saving her life, so she ought to at least pay some medical expenses.

Unfortunately, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, codenamed Durandal, seemed to appreciate how efficiently he handled matters and specifically named him to accompany her alone on another mission.

Fu Li had no way to refuse. Even the pills used to treat Kiana's injuries had been bought on credit from that kind blonde bombshell who had been relentlessly hitting every one of his preferences.