Keno Kaslana

Honkai, Kaslana's Way of Survival

Author: Metal Gear☆Bronya

Synopsis:

"Bro, did you know? Sis went shopping with Rita today, and she looked really happy!"

"I know. She told me about it. What's wrong?"

"Then, bro, did you know? That little brat Bronya went shopping with Seele, and she looked really happy too... Oh, the blue one."

"I know. Seele told me about it, so what's the matter?"

"Do you think they could possibly be, you know...?? Huh?"

"I kno... What did you say?!"

"I saw them holding hands while they were shopping. They looked really happy."

"They... Forget it, that's pretty common among Valkyries. As for Bianca... Rita is quite a few years older than her, but let her be."

With a sigh, Kaino, sprawled on the sofa, suddenly noticed something was off and stared suspiciously at the white-haired bundle in front of him.

"How did you know?"

Kiana smiled sheepishly, a pleading look appearing on her face.

"I saw them when Mei and I were out shopping... I was pretty happy too, at the time."

Miscellaneous Volume (Expected to Be Entirely Free)

Preliminary Notes

This volume will contain leave notices, chapter recommendations, setting collections, or things that would be too much filler in the main story, such as unresolved plot points. They will be posted here for free as supplementary material.

Readers who have not yet started the main story are advised to skip this... Though it may not have much impact on reading, it's not as if it has none, right?

And thank you for reading.

Memories of Law? Part One: The Newcomer

"Klein~ Klein, do you have time?"

.%,81

"Doctor? Sorry, I still need a little time to sort out the meeting materials..."

"The meeting? Ah, that sort of thing doesn't matter. There's something more important now."

"Klein, tidy up the laboratory. A newcomer will be arriving soon. I don't care much about such things, but we should at least leave a good impression of the lab on the newcomer."

"A newcomer? Doctor, did I hear that right? Someone is actually willing to come to our laboratory?"

"..."

"Was he recommended by Senior Blanca too?"

"No. I had to put in a great deal of effort to snatch him from Moth Chasing Fire's upper ranks."

"Come to think of it, we have the Second Herrscher's strength to thank for making them wary. Otherwise, it probably wouldn't have been so easy."

"Heh. Humans are such creatures. On one hand, they yearn to glimpse the truth; on the other, they fear the unknown. They only admit their own weakness and become willing to pay a trivial price after something even more terrifying descends upon them."

"Still, if Elysia hadn't suddenly appeared, I might have gotten him approved more than a month ago."

"..."

"He sounds like someone as formidable and dangerous as you, Doctor."

"?"

"Ah, Klein, it seems you've misunderstood something."

"Although he certainly deserves to be called formidable, dangerous does not suit him at all. He's as docile as a kitten. It's just a pity those higher-ups can't see that... Or perhaps they saw it but don't dare believe it?"

"..."

"In any case, the laboratory will be welcoming another researcher. Doctor, do we need to purchase any additional experimental equipment?"

"Heh, that's why I said you misunderstood something, Klein."

"That newcomer isn't a researcher. He's an experimental subject... an experimental subject who miraculously survived despite a one-in-a-million chance."

"Of course, perhaps he can serve as a researcher in certain situations. But in any case, he doesn't need equipment."

"...I understand."

"Mhm."

"By the way, Klein, have you seen the box I left on the experiment table? It seems to have disappeared."

"The little black box? I put it in your research room, Doctor."

"..."

"Doctor, was there something important inside?"

"Ah. Of course. Of course it was important."

"That... was the truth."

Memories of Law? Part Two: The Hero

"Elysia? Tsk, what are you here for again?"

"This time, I don't have any Badges here."

"Oh my, we're both such lively and adorable young beauties. Don't be so cold to me, Doctor."

"I came to chat with you this time."

"Chat with me? Forget it. We have nothing to talk about."

"Incidentally, there have already been twelve people today who used chatting with me as an excuse to enter my laboratory. That's more than the number of people who usually come in over an entire year."

"But after only a few words, every single one of them turned the topic toward a certain person in the laboratory."

"So stop wasting time and tell me what you want, Elysia."

"That way, I can throw you out."

"Boohoo, but I really did come to chat with you. As some of the few beautiful girls in Moth Chasing Fire, we should communicate more often."

"..."

"Oh, of course. I did also want to meet the hero who single-handedly killed the Third Herrscher and saved ChangKong City."

"Just as I thought."

"Klein, see the guest out."

"Oh, don't be in such a hurry, Doctor Mobius."

"Please, take pity on this young maiden before you and satisfy her curiosity."

"Tsk."

"Fine. But watch your wording. Don't provoke him again with talk about heroes."

"It isn't easy to soothe someone with the soul of a child. Klein isn't good at that sort of thing either, and I don't want to do it for the thirteenth time."

"Yay!"

"Thank you, Doctor Mobius. Next time I come, I'll bring you a little snake plushie."

"..."

"Boring."

"Kaino, come out and satisfy this young maiden's curiosity."

"Fine, she's seen enough now. Go back."

"...?g?"

Memories of Law? Part Three: Eyes

The sound of files being slammed heavily onto the table startled the other person in the laboratory, who had been somewhat dejected. He looked at the furious Doctor Mobius in confusion.

"Doctor, did something terrible happen? As far as my past memories go, you do not seem to have ever been as angry as you are today." After a pause, the boy added, "After all, you once said that getting angry causes pimples."

"Didn't I tell you, Kaino? Don't casually believe what researchers say." Rolling her eyes at him, Mobius said indifferently, "Also, don't casually bring up topics like pimples in front of women. Although I don't particularly care about such things, your inability to adapt really makes me doubt whether you can communicate smoothly with others."

"At least with you and Klein, Doctor, I can communicate quite smoothly." After a pause, Kaino added, "I could also communicate fairly smoothly with Miss Elysia, who came to your office last time, though she seemed a little angry by the end."

"Oh, that was nothing. Even if I don't care about it, it remains a fact that my figure is superior to hers." Mobius looked at Kaino with an inexplicable gaze, a faintly dangerous curve lifting the corner of her lips. "But don't you think all the people you chose are exceptions? Broadly speaking, whether it's me, Klein, or Elysia, we're all rather unusual socially."

"As for normal people in the broader sense... Isn't the reason you're so depressed now because you had a genuine interaction with them?"

"..."

"Tell me. How did it feel?"

"Terrible," Kaino said quietly. "Strictly speaking, I did not even have what could truly be called interaction with most of them. During the operation to eliminate the Third Herrscher, they did not pay much attention to her. Instead, they stared at me with fear written all over their faces."

"After the Third Herrscher was successfully eliminated, aside from the team transporting her corpse asking me to hand it over, no one else interacted with me either—they kept far away from me."

"You still had the energy to pay attention to other people's gazes during battle. It seems your strength after fusing two cores is indeed quite impressive." Mobius nodded thoughtfully and continued, "As for those people's gazes, you don't need to care too much."

"...But, Doctor, you were the one who told me to interact more with other people."

"Heh, then let me comfort you for now." Taking a sip of the coffee on the table, Mobius continued, "You needn't define 'other people' so broadly. They fear their own powerlessness and dread death, but when great power capable of delivering them from death appears, they begin to fear violence instead... In this current apocalypse, people like that will soon be excluded from the very concept of humanity."

"Rest assured, in the very end, the remaining humans will no longer look at you strangely."

Kaino nodded thoughtfully. "I understand."

"~"

"Then, Doctor," Kaino continued, "what was the reason for your earlier rage?"

"What else could it be?!" Mobius slammed the table again, her eyes turning sharp as snake pupils in an instant. "Those lives that still fall within the category of humanity fear strength and the unknown. My application for the Third Herrscher's corpse and core was rejected, and they even cut our laboratory's funding. Heh, perhaps it has something to do with that Doctor mei who was rescued?"

"Perhaps because that Doctor mei is truly exceptional, they have begun to think fighting Honkai is no longer difficult and that we are no longer worth valuing?"

"Heh. Naive."

"..."

"Then let me comfort you for now, Doctor." Like an eager child, Kaino imitated the words she had spoken not long ago and addressed the somewhat stunned Mobius. "Though not completely, you also do not need to care too much about the Third Herrscher to a certain extent."

Kaino extended his right hand and showed Mobius the lightning flickering above it.

"Perhaps I am weaker than her. But I can probably do everything the Third Herrscher could do."

Mobius widened her eyes in disbelief at the tiny spark of electricity. An expression even more excited than if she had obtained a core suddenly filled her face, and she looked at Kaino like a gambler waiting for the dice cup to be opened.

"You..."

"For some reason, I can see, understand, and reproduce the power used by the Third Herrscher. The Second Herrscher's power is the same," Kaino explained. "Unfortunately, I killed the Third Herrscher too quickly. By the time she was carried away, I still had not fully understood her authority."

Prologue? The Beginning

Kaino Kaslana

Lying in bed, Kaino struggled to open his eyes. Once his vision cleared, he stared blankly for a while before turning to look at the alarm clock beside the bed.

7:36.

Damn it, why had he woken up so early today?

There were still twenty-four minutes before the alarm was set to ring, but those remaining twenty-four minutes clearly were not enough for him to get another good sleep.

Kaino struggled to stretch out an arm and turn off the alarm. After staring at the ceiling for a while longer, he slowly got out of bed.

The blankets were far too warm, and he could only escape their seal by using all his strength. If possible, he definitely would not get up at this hour. Even after waking, he would still curl up beneath the blankets for another hour.

But today was the day he had long planned to go out with his little sister and father, so there was no time to waste beneath the blankets—indeed, even if he wanted to waste time there, his sister would surely start knocking on his door and urging him to get up not long after the alarm rang.