Temporary Partner (2)

Hello, it's me again, Kane Kaslana.

Ahem, please don't be annoyed with me. You know, as a straight male in the Honkai World, I'm freaking terrified, okay?!

Due to reasons that some authors don't want me to reveal yet, I found an opportunity to sneak away from the Kaslana Family. However, due to my lack of social experience, I failed to conceal my Stigmata, which led to me being targeted by a mad scientist.

"So put this glove on me. If anyone sees you again, I won't save you!" The white-haired boy, or rather, the girl, who was walking with me to my temporary lodging threw a glove at me.

Just now, Luming put on a bracelet, and after a burst of light, she looked like this.

"Don't stare so wide-eyed, it's just an illusion, my true form is still the same." Xing slapped the curious Kane on the head with a chop, thinking, "You're such an ignorant fool, you're a disgrace to Kaslana."

Kane eagerly put on the Tesla -developed bracelet. After a flash of white light, he looked down at his body and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized he wasn't a girl. But when he took out a mirror and looked at his face, his expression instantly turned cold. "Hey, this piece of junk doesn't even have a beauty filter, why does it make my face so ugly? I've lost a tenth of my original handsomeness!"

"You weren't that handsome to begin with, so stop complaining and do more work." The girl put on her voice changer with a bow tie, grabbed Kane's ear, and started walking forward.

"Then why are you more handsome than me?" the boy exclaimed, feeling it was unfair.

Hearing this, she turned around and glared at him. "Watch your tone when you talk to me. Do you still want to be Kamen Rider?"

"Sister Luming, please do as you please..." Kane's tone was extremely humble.

(The Honest Man silently gave a thumbs up, then thought for a moment and decided to unleash a powerful move on Utsumi – the Never-Defeated Crocodile Scissors!)

—Jonouchi Flame!—

The room was simple, with a few household items scattered around; it looked like a normal boy's room.

If you look closely, you'll find some subtle signs of damage. Even if Little Te repairs it carefully, it's difficult to completely restore it. However, the landlord probably won't notice.

"Hurry up and pack what you have, don't dawdle," Xing said impatiently, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.

"Um, that..." For some reason, Kane looked a little awkward. "Luming, I just remembered something. Could you do me another favor?"

"Aren't you being too demanding? What is it? Don't think I'm some pushover you can order around. My gentleness is very precious." Xing's anger flared up instantly.

"No, no, you've misunderstood," Kane quickly explained. "Wait a moment, I'll show you those." He turned and went inside, and after a few seconds of rummaging through drawers, Kane emerged carrying a pile of notebooks. "Please take a look at this, no matter what!"

Xing took a deep breath and picked up the topmost notebook, which looked like a notepad. She intended to flip through it casually to see what he was up to, but an unintentional glance piqued her interest.

"On the best moment to use Kaslana Gun-Kata to counter enemy attacks... I remember this is from 'Kaslana Gun-Kata: From Beginner to Expert,' did you copy it from the library because you couldn't afford the book? Wait, how come this record is more extensive than the book... no, more comprehensive?!"

Kane's eyes widened upon hearing this. "You, you've actually read my book?"

Xing suddenly looked up, her pupils shrinking dramatically. "What did you say? You wrote that?!"

She took out the Kaslana Gun-Kata Series 3 from her Fourth-Dimensional Pocket: "From Beginner to Exit", "From Exit to Master", and "From Master to Master", and placed them all in front of him. The front of the books clearly read "Author: Kane Kaslana".

"That Kane, you're him?" Xing looked at him incredulously. Hey, shouldn't someone who could write a book like this be an old man with a lifetime of experience in Gunslinger Arts? How come it's a kid who looks like he's not even an adult yet?

The girl was completely unaware that she was not yet an adult, even though she was mentally past the age of adulthood.

"..." Kane's mouth dropped open as he looked at the three books that were clearly frequently read by their owner. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his voice choked with emotion. "You, you actually bought three of my published books! Besides Julia, someone actually bought my books! I, I, I'm so touched!"

"Are you really Kane?" Xing was incredulous that the simpleton she thought he was could write such a book.

"Uh, if there isn't another Kaslana named Kane, then it would probably be me." Seeing the girl's wide eyes, Kane scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled.

I've struck gold!

"You wrote all of these, from the first to the third part? Is the fourth part finished yet? When can we expect to see it?!" Xing asked excitedly, pressing down on his shoulder.

You know, he spent most of those months at the Oceania Branch studying this book!

"Hehe, I encountered some difficulties with the fourth book. I started writing the first book when I was 8 years old. I originally planned to publish one book every two years, but I didn't publish the third book until I was 16. The gap between ideal and reality is indeed huge."

"You wrote it..." The girl's expression became friendly, and even her voice softened considerably.

"(Finally, I've found a kindred spirit!) Yes, I self-published it and put it on Schicksal Shop, but unfortunately, sales have always been low." Kane nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. Finally, someone who appreciates its value has found it.

The next second, Xing grabbed his collar and said angrily, "The book is good, but when you wrote 'From Beginning to Destroying the Master,' could you have paid attention to the layout? Also, remember to include a table of contents! And remember to add subheadings to each section!"

God knows how much pain he endured watching from the Oceania Branch back then!!!

"Huh? What's this layout?" Kane stared blankly at the furious girl, at a loss for words.

"Also, printing and publishing doesn't mean you can just put the manuscript directly into the printer! And explain to me why this section is different from the one in the book, with too much content missing!" Xing casually picked up a manuscript, found the corresponding content in the book, and asked in an unfriendly tone, "What, you've been holding back a secret, haven't you?"

"Oh, that's something I added recently. What you've seen are my first drafts." Kane was incredibly embarrassed. Although he didn't know what Xing meant, it was obvious that there was a reason for his book's low popularity. After all, even his rare loyal readers had said so, so it must be his problem.

"To be able to further improve upon Kaslana Gun-Kata as it was already perfected to that extent, you're truly a genius. Alright, now you're worthy of my protection." After the anger subsided, Xing looked at Kane's improved manuscript with shining eyes and couldn't help but admire him.

"A genius?" Kane paused, as if remembering something, then lowered his head and murmured, "Ha, what good is a genius..."

"What did you say?" Xing, who was engrossed in reading, heard him say something and looked up to ask.

"It's nothing!" Kane was startled, quickly regaining his composure and changing the subject, "By the way, about my becoming a knight..."

"It's not that simple. Transforming isn't something you can do with just enthusiasm. Let me make it clear beforehand, if you really want to become Kamen Rider, you'll have to be prepared to risk your life." Sachi placed her hand on his chest, feeling his strong heartbeat. "Are you sure you really want to obtain this power? Once you get power from me, you might not be able to return to the Kaslana Family."

The pros and cons have been made clear. I can't possibly give the Build Driver to someone who might betray me. Kane is talented and a real asset; it would be a real shame if he didn't come to my aid.

After all, we might have to go against the Schicksal World Serpent in the future, and a few people won't be enough.

"If I wanted to go back to that place, I wouldn't have come out." Kane paused for a moment before finally giving his answer.

The moment he said those words, he felt a sense of lightness throughout his body, as if he had lost something, or as if he had gotten rid of something.

Goodbye, Julia. You're a good girl. You don't need to sacrifice your happiness for me.

"(I'm a little curious about what he's been through, but now's not the time to ask that.)" Xing Zai pondered for a moment, then gave a bright smile. "Well then, welcome to the organization—the name will remain a secret for now. I will conduct a test for you when we get back to confirm whether you have the ability to control the current Knight System."

This attempt to get something for nothing finally fooled him!

"That means—" Kane exclaimed excitedly, "I can transform now!"

"I'm not sure, it depends on whether your body can keep up with your will." Xing spread her hands and shrugged.

Tesla imposed core limitations on the Build Driver, meaning that without strong emotions, even if the Honkai Energy adaptability meets the requirements, transformation is impossible.

"Ah?" Kane wailed, immediately becoming worried. He had already knelt down; if he couldn't transform, wouldn't he have suffered a huge loss?

Fortunately, he noticed his worry and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I already said it's the current Knight System. Even if you can't adapt to the current one, you can wait until Knight System with fewer restrictions is created in the future."

"But I can't wait..." Kane looked at her wistfully, thinking, "The Jackal are chasing me!"

The girl thought to herself, "It's alright. I'll just let you be my lab subject for Little Te. Don't worry, I'm not as crazy as Jackal. I won't dissect you."

Kane suddenly shivered.

"Oh, right, right, I didn't understand this part at all when I was looking at it. Can you explain it to me?"

"Oh, so this means... didn't you say you were in a hurry?"

"No rush now~"

"(Muttering to himself) The former clan chief was right, girls can change their minds faster than turning the pages of a book."

Bang!

After a loud bang, Kane touched his unharmed head and looked at the pale-faced girl with embarrassment. She silently withdrew her aching fist.

——Ko no Dio da! ——

Sachi's Kaslana Gun-Kata is quite good. Besides Kallen's insights into Gunslinger Arts and Kiana's persistent training with him, the "Kaslana Gun-Kata" series also helped a lot, although Sachi still didn't understand it after watching it for more than a year.

He vaguely remembered that when he first St. Freya, he simply chose the cheapest Gunslinger Arts training manual from among many expensive ones, and then...

The two, having removed their Disguise Bracelet, began sparring in the cramped room, using real combat to provide the best answers and explanations. Well, is this what you'd call a family of Battle Mania? Their conversation quickly turned into a fight.

"Luming, as a Kaslana, isn't your strength a bit lacking?" Kane teased, easily catching the girl's heavy punch and realizing she wasn't as strong as he'd imagined. The next second, however, a series of combo kicks left him questioning his existence.

"Ah, I'm the speed type." The girl raised her long, fair legs high, revealing the black safety shorts under her dress. She put her feet down, a little dissatisfied.

If I could change back, I would definitely show you what the joy of being a power-type red chef is like! Luckily, I wrote this down in my little notebook.

"Cough cough, that hurts! That's so unladylike." Kane clutched her aching stomach, secretly relieved she hadn't forgotten to kick, otherwise she really wouldn't be able to think about Julia anymore. "By the way, do you know the eight basic forms of Kaslana Gun-Kata? I can see you have a classical Gunslinger Arts style; could you let me experience the complete form?"

"The eight basic forms..." Sachi recalled Kallen's memories, her eyes flickering.

"In the long development of Gunslinger Arts, the original eight forms evolved into sixteen forms, and later even more. Today, it's impossible to count how many versions of Gunslinger Arts exist, but the original eight forms have been lost. Luming, you know this, right?"

"Yes, but there's something I want to say: Kaslana Gun-Kata has never had a fixed style. Whether it's the Eight Styles, the Sixteen Styles, the Thirty-Two Styles, or even tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of styles, they all come from the same source."

The red lines were faintly visible on his right hand.

"The so-called Gunslinger Arts is just a technique that someone summarized in combat practice. It became famous because the person who invented it was Kaslana," Sachi said very seriously. "The sword of the hero is not the one who draws it, but the sword that the hero holds."

"Your theoretical foundation is strong, and your improvements to Kaslana Gun-Kata are novel and unique, but they are too sophisticated for most people, and you'll find it difficult to find a kindred spirit. Moreover, Kaslana Gun-Kata has already reached its peak after so many years of development; no matter how talented you are, it's difficult to make significant breakthroughs, Kane, you—"

Xing stopped, glanced at his manuscript, and then said, "Have you ever thought about creating your own completely new Gunslinger Arts?"

"Huh?!"

These words struck Kane like a thunderbolt, leaving him utterly stunned. "How... how is this possible?!"

"I've broken so many impossibilities!" Sachi laughed as she recalled her experiences. "Humanity has developed from one impossibility after another. You have to believe in yourself."

"Have you figured out how to write the fourth book, 'Kaslana Gun-Kata: From Apprenticeship to Demise'?"

As if struck by lightning, Kane felt as if a door to a new world had opened before him. He took a deep breath and bowed gratefully to Xing. "Thank you for your guidance. I feel like so many ideas are popping into my head right now, and I can't wait to write them down! No, I should type them out!"

"Hmm, this child is teachable." Xing nodded with satisfaction. Very good, he successfully fooled one!

"But Luming, you're amazing! Not only do you possess immense power and an air of mystery, but your intellectual level is also so high. Compared to you, I, this 'genius,' am nothing. Only that Xing can be compared to you, right?" Kane said with admiration.

Fortunately, her current favorability rating is 65 (for a friend she just met).

"Ahem, it's nothing." Xing coughed awkwardly a few times. "I was just using principles borrowed from others to lecture some people. As for myself, I'm still far from being good enough."

No way!

The two exchanged Gunslinger Arts and both felt they had benefited greatly from the discussion. However, when Xing glanced out the window, he discovered that it was already pitch black outside.

"Oh no! If I go back this late, Sister Natasha (the shopkeeper) will kill me!" Both white fluffy balls (one of which was a flower ball) let out a mournful cry.

Since it was already late, they decided to just go for it and had some drinks and instant noodles for dinner before starting to pack up their things.

Ten minutes later, Kane looked at the several large boxes in front of him and fell into deep thought. He could move them, but not so many at the same time. It would be too embarrassing for a man to ask Luming for help.

Then, the girl gently placed her small hand on it, and the box vanished into thin air.

Seeing this, Kane slowly typed a "?".

"Calm down, standard procedure." Xing looked curiously at the box that Kane had heavily reinforced. What's inside? Hey, why is there a crack here? Let me press it—

Bang!

A huge pile of meticulously packaged comics, models, and figurines emerged from it, Kane instantly turned gray.

My life is over...

Everything was laid bare before Luming without reservation...

Julia, see you in the next life...

The boy, who was practically dead on the spot, wished he could launch a super powerful attack to clear his name and leave this world. But then he discovered that Sachi had actually picked up a manga and was reading it with great interest.

"Ultraman, why is the cover of this movie featuring Fourzai? Um, wait a minute, it seems to make sense."

"What the heck is 'Kuga Ultraman'?! And it's even an official one?! That's outrageous!"

"Wait a minute, this is a limited edition Arahanto model! You actually have one in your collection?!"

Seeing the girl's eyes light up at his collection, Kane's lips gradually curved into a smile, "So you do too..."

Oh, we're kindred spirits! That's fine then!

A moment later—

"So you're fascinated by the protagonists in manga who can transform, which is why you crave the Knight System so much?"

The shy boy nodded sheepishly, "Yes, it's childish, isn't it?"

"It's childish, but there's nothing wrong with it. Who doesn't start out childish?" Xing packed up the last of his things, took his arm, and said, "Okay, let's go. Fast food can't meet our nutritional needs. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll cook more dishes when we get back. Um, I need to go buy some ingredients first."

"I heard from Brother Dawei that we need to film a second demonstration video and have a live interactive event with everyone in the next few days. Just thinking about it gives me a headache."

"It seems being an idol isn't easy," Kane couldn't help but sigh, seeing Xing's worried expression.

"Nothing is easy. Hey, wait a minute, don't move." Xing stared intently at Kane's forehead, a faint red feather appearing in her palm. "There's a mosquito on your head!"

Snap!

A dizzy Kane, slapped in the face, said, "I seriously suspect you just brought up a personal grudge..."

"Oops, sorry, I used too much force." The girl turned around and smiled at him. "So, are you ready?"

Kane was taken aback. "What?"

"Help me carry my things later~"

—Cat Gate—

In the pitch-black night, the two, whose appearances were concealed by the bracelets, walked side by side on the road. Kane looked at his empty hands and thought to himself, "I thought I was going to be doing all the hard work, but she took it away again. Is this ability, which is like having a spatial backpack, something that comes with the Knight System? Will I be able to have such a cool ability in the future?"

"Hey, hey! What are you daydreaming about?" Xing waved her hand in front of him a few times. "If Sister Natasha scolds you later, then you'll have to be the one to suffer."

"Why me?!"

"Can you bear to see a lovely girl being criticized and blamed?" Someone made full use of her current privilege.

"I can't bear it..."

"That works then~"

"Even selling out teammates shouldn't be done so casually like this."

The boy, on the verge of tears, thought to himself, "Luming seems to be the kind of person who's all bark and no bite. I'm in for a rough time."

The two continued walking. Perhaps because it was so late, the streets were very quiet. There were no pedestrians or vehicles, and the silence was somewhat eerie.

Fortunately, Kane was pulled back and stopped in her tracks. She looked around warily, and noticed that she had somehow put the Build Driver on her waist.

Disguised as Blue Adult Form, Sachi shouted towards a dark corner, "Come out, Jackal! I can smell your awful stench even from this far away!"

Snap, snap, snap.

The familiar Dog-headed Strategist clapped his hands and stepped out of the shadows. "As expected of you, Xing Kaslana. What a pity, you're not on my side. Why do you have to be my enemy?"

"Hey, are you sure it's okay for you to use his appearance?" Kane, who had been told by Sachi about the source of her mimicry, whispered to her.

"It's okay, I'll take the blame anyway."

Heh, I'm carrying it myself anyway, what's the big deal?

The Jackal sighed with regret, "Alas, that's truly a pity. Since I can't have you, no one else can either." With that, she waved her hand, as if sending some kind of signal.

In that instant, Kane's instincts warned him of impending mortal danger. He wanted to act, but his body couldn't keep up with his mind.

Bang!

A bullet pierced through flesh, blooming into a brilliant flower of blood. Kane's eyes widened, for the gun had been fired at him.

But he wasn't the one who got shot.

"Ha, ha, this is terrible." The girl clutched her shot-in-the-abdomen abdomen, blood gushing out continuously, her face deathly pale.

"Why?" he asked, looking at his companion who had just pushed him away.

The girl didn't answer him. She took out the medicine she carried with her and injected herself to temporarily stop the bleeding. Looking at the modified monsters that were gradually emerging around her, she took out the red and blue bottles, shook them a few times, twisted the caps, and inserted them into her belt.

"Why? Don't even think about those things before you take action." Xing opened her left hand to protect the boy behind her. "You don't have the power to fight them right now. Leave it to me. You just need to protect yourself."

He clenched his fists in resentment, but then helplessly let them fall back down. Admittedly, even if he didn't want to admit it, he had been accepting the girl's protection all along.

"Rabbit!" Tank! Best Match!"

Fortunately, she slowly pulled the joystick, and two tubes extended, forming a transformation area in front of and behind her. The red and blue half-armor appeared in a frame that resembled a model stand.

Are you ready?

In a low but still powerful voice, she slowly uttered the incantation. "Transform."

"Steel Moon Salt! Rabbit Tank! YEAH!"

A red and blue knight appeared amidst rousing sound effects. She took out the Drill Crusher, ran her left hand over the goggles on her head, and said, "Alright, let's begin the experiment."

Then, he charged toward the enemy.

Author's Note—

Listen up! Sachi isn't stupid! She won't easily change anything just because she's stuck in a girl's mindset!