Flowers, Sea Salt, and Moonlight

"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Bishop. As an old man, I have already lost too much along life's road. I have only this granddaughter left—I truly cannot imagine what my life would be like if she, too, were sacrificed for Schicksal."

Heh.

Otto sneered inwardly.

In an instant, he saw both humility and threat in Dr. Maki's words: he would work his utmost for Schicksal, so long as his granddaughter Marlene did not become an experiment and was not sacrificed by Schicksal.

As though... Schicksal could not function without him.

"I will keep an eye on that girl."

Otto did not turn hostile on the spot—the old man before him still had value to be squeezed dry. He flicked his hand and continued,

"Miss Marlene's future will be as you wish. As for you, Dr. Maki, since I have cut this project short, why not turn your research toward stigmata and genes? A set of materials concerning natural stigmata will happen to become available soon. I believe you will be quite interested."

"As you wish, Lord Otto."

The white-haired old man deliberately echoed Otto's phrasing. Trembling, he bowed, gave the blond man a deep look, then shuffled out of the laboratory.

"...Absurd and laughable."

Long after he had left, Otto tossed the Honkai Energy Isolation Box into the air again, still looking utterly unconcerned.

"I have to admire old Maki's nerve," Changguang could not help mocking. "His granddaughter is in Schicksal, yet he still dared confront you face-to-face."

"What is so surprising about that?"

The blond man shrugged.

"Back then, someone even stormed a Schicksal laboratory with her eight-year-old daughter and stole my test subject. Once you live long enough, you meet every kind of eccentric."

"True enough... huh?"

Before Changguang could finish, Otto tossed something to her. She hurriedly caught it with quick hands and sharp eyes, only to find that it was the Honkai Energy Isolation Box Dr. Maki had just delivered.

"This...?!"

"I have already sent the detailed manufacturing method for Black Abyss White Flower to your terminal," the blond man said. "That was actually my primary reason for coming here—suspend development of the fourth-generation Valkyrie armor and complete a new Black Abyss White Flower as quickly as possible."

"...What sin did I commit in my past life to work myself to the bone for you here?!"

"Are you saying I was so ugly in my past life that you said you could not offer yourself to me, so you would repay me in this life?"

"Who knows..."

Changguang muttered softly, then sighed as she flipped through her terminal.

"I am just doomed to toil... Everything you do not want to make gets piled onto me. It was the same with Bianca last year, and now you suddenly shove a Divine Key manufacturing project onto me..."

"I am quite busy as well. Later, I still need to awaken an old friend—wait, did you mention Little Goose's World Bubble issue?"

Otto raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you can transfer the relevant files to me."

"Huh?" Changguang's fingers paused over the keyboard. "Our ever-busy Lord Bishop is planning to take over Miss Bianca's World Bubble problem?"

"Yes. I have recently gained a few leads," the blond man confirmed. "Or rather, my interest has been piqued, and I wish to study the World Bubble."

"...Reaching S-rank earns her the Bishop's personal service?"

Changguang fell silent for a moment, then expertly opened a folder and sent it to the blond man.

"It is not only that," Otto replied. "Perhaps—perhaps I simply want to look after this well-behaved, sensible student."

"Then take good care of her."

This time, Changguang did not tease him again. Instead, she answered seriously and solemnly.

"I will take the Black Abyss White Flower assignment. As long as the data you gave me is accurate, I should be able to finish it quickly. As for the fourth-generation Valkyrie armor—give me the relevant Valkyrie's data, and I will make it as soon as possible."

"I only hope... you truly treat her as you said you would."

Her final words were very, very quiet, carrying a devout blessing.

Flowers, Sea Salt, and Moonlight

"My child..."

Cecilia spoke softly.

"She must have suffered terribly in the past."

She and Otto stood outside the simulation chamber, watching Durandal take her S-rank Valkyrie examination behind the glass.

The white-haired woman smiled bitterly, her eyes filled with affection and heartache.

"..."

"Well... Cecilia, that depends on which aspect you wish to discuss."

In the end, the blond man merely shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Cecilia's words.

"If we look only at the result, our Little Goose has done quite well."

"She was born with an invincible talent, had a maid at her side, acquired Durandal, a super artifact capable of splitting continents, defeated a great demon king from another world, linked herself to a World Bubble, and gained power enough to influence the course of the world. I would not call her life smooth sailing, but it does not seem... all that bad, does it?"

"...What about the process?"

Cecilia asked.

"...Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes." The white-haired woman did not hesitate. "I want to know more about my child—not only her glory, but also her pain."

"...Very well."

Otto sighed, then changed his tone.

"There is no need to mention her fall from an altitude of ten thousand meters. After I successfully treated her, I transferred her to an orphanage in Germany. Later, a Honkai outbreak occurred, and Ragna, the mentor she loved and respected most, died."

"At eleven or twelve, Bianca joined Schicksal. In her first battle, every one of her comrades died."

"At fourteen, she had already become an A-rank Valkyrie. In 2012, she took part in a mission to explore a World Bubble, where she met many friends. She endured the deaths of at least three of them."

"In the end, Bianca Durandal Atagina transferred that World Bubble into her own body and, from then on, bore the responsibility of an entire world."

"She would spend her life seeking a way to graft the World Bubble back onto the Imaginary Tree, spending her life searching for a path to save the world."

"This was destined to be an extraordinarily difficult road. Defying the rules of the world had never been easy."

(Note: Calculated according to the real Kiana, she was indeed fourteen in 2012.)

"..."

Cecilia pressed her lips together, and the way she looked at Durandal grew gentler and more self-reproachful.

Standing side by side, Otto watched Durandal gradually gain the upper hand in close combat against the virtual Honkai Beast and sighed.

"Sometimes, I truly marvel at the tenacity of life. Everyone uses all sorts of methods to strive to live, to strive to grow up. Durandal... she truly did her utmost and accomplished miracles that even astonish me."

"Yes, yes. My child has always been the best."

Cecilia smiled, but tears shimmered in her eyes.

And she has always... been the one who breaks my heart the most.

Her beautiful eyes were as gentle as autumn water. Watching the Emperor-class Honkai Beast opposite Durandal get beaten back step by step, she finally smiled in relief.

At that moment, the woman radiated maternal warmth so strongly that even Otto could not help closing his eyes, feeling a warmth like an embrace.

How long had it been since he had felt a mother's embrace? Five hundred years? More than a decade? Or... forever?

Only when Durandal let out a cry of "Haah!" and defeated her opponent did he slowly open his eyes. His smile was warm, his gaze as calm as ever, yet beneath that tranquil surface, greed flowed in the depths of his eyes.

Like boiling magma hidden beneath the earth, waiting for the moment to erupt and devour the beauty and gentleness of life.

"Would you like to go see her?" Otto asked. "It would be fitting to offer a mother's blessing during Little Goose's final battle as an A-rank Valkyrie."

Cecilia hesitated, then finally shook her head. "I have not yet decided... how I should meet her."

She was still smiling, but her smile had turned bitter. "I am... an unqualified mother."

"I will not offer unsolicited opinions on such matters." Otto lightly patted the woman's shoulder. "But I want to tell you that you need not hesitate over how to treat our little Bianca."

"Loving one's child never requires a predetermined method."

"She remembers the story of the Second Honkai Outbreak by heart. You, Cecilia Schariac, have always been a hero in her heart."

"A hero... Heroes have moments of hesitation too." Cecilia sighed. "I truly do not know how to seem more like a mother."

After thinking for a moment, she added,

"Mm, the mother of a teenage girl."

Honestly... in her mind, her little Kiana had still been a child just a month ago, using an umbrella as Black Abyss White Flower and tugging at the braids of someone who looked like the Bishop in his youth.

How had she suddenly grown up so much...

"If you ask me, it is not such a big problem..."

Otto pondered briefly, then said,

"For Little Goose, a mother's scent should be flowers, sea salt, and moonlight."

Cecilia tilted her head, slightly surprised. "You truly understand Durandal well."

She knew that, because both she and her child had proven themselves so remarkable, the Bishop would pay special attention to little Kiana. But she had never expected the Bishop to understand her so deeply that he could answer even such a question so smoothly.

His earlier affectionate address of "Little Goose," along with his familiarity with every detail of little Kiana's experiences, had already left her flattered and overwhelmed.

And now, his precise grasp of her inner feelings made Cecilia feel so grateful that she was almost apprehensive.

The woman never considered whether Otto might be making it up—the Bishop naturally had no need to deceive her in a conversation he did not even need to continue.

(Of course, he was not making it up. There was a line like this in Herrscher of Flamescion's English voice-over.)

Thank goodness you are here.

Cecilia thought this once again.

"It is not difficult."

Otto naturally demonstrated his concern through the smallest details.

"After all, a child's secrets are treasures meant to be shown off. They will raise their little hands and hold them high all on their own."

"Ha ha."

Cecilia's curved lashes fluttered as she savored the childlike words, her smile turning sweet.

"Hold them high... I also want to hold my treasure high again."

It truly was not difficult, but... it required the companionship built up day after day, or attentiveness in every detail.

At that moment, she completely believed that the Bishop's care for little Kiana stemmed not only from the child's extraordinary nature, but also from his sincere concern for her.

What he had done was practically a perfect fulfillment of the role of little Kiana's father...

Merely because of her plea before death, Brother had nearly said that he regarded little Kiana as his student... Then what if, what if little Kiana were Brother's child...

Cecilia's thoughts could not help wandering. She imagined Otto handing the newest and most advanced Valkyrie armor to the present Durandal, placing several Divine Keys into her armor's storage space, carefully reminding her not to be careless or underestimate her enemies, then sending out a clone after she set off because he still could not rest easy...

Then, after everything ended safely, exchanging a smile with her like an old married couple before a remote surveillance monitor, lowering his head, and kissing her rosy lips...

???

Cecilia jolted in alarm. How had she entertained such an improper thought again?

A blush spread across the woman's face. She glanced at Otto with some guilt, then turned her head aside and watched Durandal's movements from the corner of her eye.

"Thank you, Lord Bishop."

Otto looked somewhat puzzled at Cecilia, who had fallen silent for no apparent reason before suddenly speaking. Was her reaction time... not a little too long?

But seeing her pretty face flushed red...

Heh, interesting.