Kaslana's Way of Survival

Maybe on a normal day his sister would cut him some slack, letting him sleep another half hour. But when they were going out to play together, his suddenly high-energy sister absolutely wouldn't allow him to waste any time.

Kaino personally felt that the whole "refusing to get out of bed until your sister urges you, even enjoying it" thing only existed in Hou Master comics.

Maybe it happened in real life too, but at least he wasn't like that.

After all, those guys' sisters must be gentle and cute, not the kind of ruthless sister who'd run over and pound on her brother's bed because he was dragging his feet too much.

Especially when that sister had enough strength to pin her brother to the ground and beat him up—though his sister had never actually done that.

So why, when they were twins, did he end up being the older brother despite inheriting none of the family's physical prowess or Honkai energy resistance?

Just because the Schicksal medical staff pulled him out first, that decided he was the older brother? That was way too arbitrary! Though it seemed that's how twin birth order was always decided.

Kaino let his mind wander as he got dressed, then headed out to wash up.

But just as he passed a brown wooden door, Kaino suddenly stopped, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth, and he slapped the door hard.

"~Kiana? Don't sleep in, time to get up!" Kaino shouted at the wooden door. "The sun's already burning your butt!"

Having yelled that, Kaino didn't linger a moment in front of the door; he quickly walked away.

Just before heading down the stairs, Kaino vaguely heard some kind of yell from inside the room.

Kaino couldn't help but smirk, then slowly calmed his expression.

He, Kaino Kaslana, was the most caring older brother when it came to his sister's health. As long as he got up before Kiana, he'd make sure she understood the benefits of early to bed and early to rise—repaying the favor of Kiana helping him do the same.

Not that he'd gotten up before Kiana all that often, anyway.

When Kaino walked out of the bathroom, the first thing he saw was Kiana heading toward it.

The white-haired girl had two little braids tied at the back of her head and wore a cute dress printed with Hou Master patterns. She froze for a second when she saw Kaino, then immediately glared at him with wide eyes.

"Ugh, Kaino, why are you up so early today?" Kiana looked at him indignantly. "And even if you are up early, why did you have to call me so early too?"

"My dear little Kiana, that's all your big brother's deep love for you!" Kaino blinked, smiling as he used his pre-prepared spiel to fool his sister. "You said you hate the sound of your alarm clock when you're sound asleep, right? By calling you early, I saved you from being woken up by it, didn't I?"

The girl froze again, then started mulling over whether that made sense.

"How could that possibly make sense?!" Kiana, halfway through thinking, suddenly looked up. "Even if I wasn't woken by the alarm, being woken by you isn't any different! And I can't even get mad at the alarm..."

"How doesn't it make sense? Come on, Kiana, let me break it down for you."

Realizing the girl hadn't immediately resorted to violence, Kiano saw that her attention had shifted from losing sleep to which was worse—being woken by an alarm or by her brother—and he continued his smooth talk.

"See, first, you definitely didn't have to hear that annoying alarm, right? Second, by calling you early, you get up early, eat early, and play early... Look at it that way, doesn't everything get done ahead of time?"

Kiana frowned and thought it over for a while, then finally nodded slowly. "It still feels a bit off... but I guess that's how it is?"

"Right, trust your big brother." Kaino winked mischievously again. "I'll go call Dad first. You go wash up."

"No need, I already called Dad." Kiana's attention was completely diverted. "Dad said he wanted to play games in his room a bit longer... Seriously, he's always so irresponsible."

"Wait, shouldn't you have charged in and dragged him out? He said yesterday he'd make breakfast today!"

"He said today's breakfast should be mine... Ah! No, yours!" Kiana shook her head quickly and darted into the bathroom. "I'm going to wash up, Kaino! Breakfast is on you!"

With a bang as the door slammed shut, Kiana fell silent.

"It's me again... I thought I'd get a day off." Kaino's face fell, and he trudged stiffly toward the kitchen.

This was exactly why Kiana always urged Kaino to get up in the morning—maybe because he'd barely inherited the Kaslana physique? Anyway, Kaino showed decent talent in cooking, and the food he made was way tastier than what Kiana or Ziegfried could whip up.

...It was just normal food at a normal person's level, but considering he was a Kaslana, that was already impressive.

Most Kaslanas' cooking had you worrying about whether it was edible, not fussing over the taste. Among them, Ziegfried and Kiana were on the better end—their food wouldn't kill you, but it definitely wasn't good.

Unless they both put serious effort into learning to cook, that probably wouldn't change much.

"Let's see, eggs, apples, bananas, milk, and... bitter melon? Forget that. Hey, there are still a few cups of instant noodles?"

Kaino, halfway through grabbing ingredients, suddenly noticed several cups of Hou Master Instant Noodles tucked inside the fridge and froze for a moment.

"When did we buy these? They're still here uneaten... Alright, let's just go with these. The whole family loves them anyway."

He shoved all the other ingredients back, hesitated a moment, then grabbed three cartons of milk. He put a pot of water on the stove to boil and decisively settled today's breakfast.

Yeah, plain Hou Master noodles with milk, nothing extra added—this breakfast already beat most Kaslana creations.

...In both health and taste.

Chapter 2: Distracted Ziegfried

Kaino, fork in hand, stared blankly at Ziegfried across the table alongside Kiana.

He had no idea what was happening.

Just now, Kiana, done washing up, had called their dad out of his room for breakfast, leading Ziegfried bouncing over to the table.

During that, Kiana had asked Ziegfried about breakfast, and he'd replied with a "smells great."

Then Ziegfried sat down, picked up the milk... and poured it into the instant noodles.

Even for a Kaslana with disastrous cooking skills, as long as their basic understanding of food wasn't broken, they shouldn't do something like this, right?

"So... you can eat instant noodles like this?" Kiana muttered quietly beside him, her eyes lighting up. "Yeah! That way the noodles are more nutritious, and you don't have to drink the milk separately. What a great idea!"

With that, Kiana reached for the milk on the table to pour it into her own noodles.

Well, Kaino took back what he said.

"Don't joke around!" Kaino snatched the cup noodles right out of Kiana's hands. "Forget that the milk just came out of the fridge—how could noodles mixed with milk possibly taste good!?"

"But Dad ate it pretty happily, didn't he?" Kiana said, her eyes locked onto the bowl Kaino had taken, one free hand twitching restlessly.

"...How exactly did you read 'happy' on Dad's face? His expression hasn't changed once since he sat down, has it?"

Kaino glanced at Ziegfried as he spoke, shifting Kiana's noodles further away to make sure she wouldn't lunge for them.

Even as the two of them argued and wrestled over the noodles, Ziegfried sat across from them, his expression unchanged, eating his ice-cold milk-soaked noodles as steady as a mountain.

"But if it were gross, Dad wouldn't be like this!" Kiana thought for a moment, then turned to Ziegfried. "Dad... how are the noodles today?"

"Hm? Tastes the same as usual." Ziegfried looked up at Kiana, his face calm.

Hearing that, Kiana immediately lunged at Kaino and snatched the noodles back.

"Heh, trying to trick me? See, I asked Dad and now I know!"

Ignoring the light fading from Kaino's eyes, Kiana lifted her chin and flaunted her victory.

The next moment, she poured all the milk into the noodles.

"Mmm~ milk noodles, let me try!"

Kiana took a bite with excitement, but her smile froze, and her face slowly fell.

After a moment, she turned and whispered to Kaino, who had already started eating. "Dad... isn't he acting a little off?"

"Shouldn't a normal person have noticed when he poured the milk in?"

Kaino swallowed his noodles and shot Kiana a glance.

"Also, I've already eaten these noodles. No sharing."

"Hmph."

After breakfast, the terrible day—for both Kiana and Kaino—began.

Normally, on weekends, the three of them would start with Kaino watching Ziegfried and Kiana play soccer, then a boat race, followed by a big meal out. In the afternoon, they'd hit the shooting range for a contest, then watch a movie Kaino liked.

Kaino didn't join the soccer or boat races because he hadn't inherited the Kaslana family's monstrous strength. Though he was healthy enough, he was just a slightly sturdy nine-year-old. Joining their games would bore all three of them.

That's also why they picked movies Kaino liked. Ziegfried often recommended Arahato to him, trying to get him hooked.

Though Kaino wasn't really interested in Arahato—or movies in general.

But today...

Soccer was delayed by 3000 seconds, the boat controls were reversed, and even watching his favorite Arahato couldn't hold his attention.

And for a Kaslana who used the Judgement of Shamash all the time, Ziegfried even managed to hit someone else's target at the shooting range.

"So Dad really is off today."

Kiana, wearing her hair in the same braids as Aunt Theresa, walked along the road, frowning as she watched Ziegfried shuffle ahead like a zombie.

"It started this morning, so maybe it's because he lost at the game I was playing in my room?" Kaino guessed.

"Kaino, you mean... Dad's like this because he lost a game?"

"Kiana, promise me you'll never wear braids like Aunt Theresa's again, okay?"

"What do braids have to do with it... But Kaino, I don't think Dad lost a game. It feels more like he's got something on his mind."

As Kiana spoke, she looked ahead and stopped in her tracks. "I've got an idea, Kaino. You go ahead and stall Dad for me!"

Watching Kiana run into the flower shop ahead, Kaino scratched his head and walked over to tug on Ziegfried's pant leg.

"Dad."

"Hm? What is it, Kaino?" Ziegfried turned around, noticed one of the kids was missing, and quickly scanned for Kiana. "Where's Kiana? Did she get lost?"

Kaino pointed at the flower shop. "Kiana thinks you've got something on your mind. She went to buy you a gift."

"A gift?" Ziegfried blinked, looking toward the shop just as Kiana came out holding a bouquet of lilies.

"These are... lilies?"

Ziegfried crouched down and took the flowers Kiana handed him.

"Yeah, I bought them for you, Dad." Kiana looked at Ziegfried, her voice softening. "You've been distracted all day... You must have something on your mind, right?"

"—Don't deny it! Kaino and I both saw it!" Kiana cut him off before he could speak. "Anyway, take these flowers and go talk to Mom for a bit?"

"No matter what's bothering you, talking to Mom will make you feel better!" She planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. "Don't worry about Kaino and me eavesdropping. We'll head home first and give you and Mom some space."

Ziegfried paused, then let out a relieved sigh. He reached out and ruffled Kiana's hair.

"Kiana, you've really grown up."

"Of course! Who do you think your daughter is?" Kiana squinted under his touch, smiling even brighter.

"What about me?" Kaino cut in at the worst time, poking Ziegfried in the side. "Your son's right here too."

"Alright, alright. Kiana, and Kaino—you've grown up too."

Ziegfried smiled gently.

Chapter 3: The Sirin Project

"Kaino, say..." As soon as she stepped through the door, Kiana grabbed Kaino's clothes, fidgeting uneasily. "Is Dad trying to find us a new mom or something?"

"Huh?" Kaino's eyes went wide as he stared at Kiana in disbelief. "Don't tell me you've been moping with your head down the whole way home just thinking about that?"

After seeing Ziegfried off, Kiana hadn't relaxed at all—instead, she'd kept her head low and stayed silent, as if holding in a grudge. Kaino had actually worried she was plotting revenge for some prank he'd pulled on her, even fretting over it for a bit.

Then again, if she really remembered, she'd have started throwing punches right then and there. No way she'd hold out until they got home.

"Yeah." Kiana nodded, but her brow was still furrowed. "Mom's been gone for so many years. It wouldn't be weird if Dad wanted to find someone new. And Big Auntie's been acting lately..."

"Stop, hold it right there!" Kaino pressed his left index finger against his right palm, staring straight at Kiana. "I feel like if you keep going, you're about to say something that breaks the law and gets on the Overseer's bad side. Cut it out!"

"Besides, if you're that curious, why not just check Dad's room?" Kaino pointed at Ziegfried's door and raised an eyebrow. "Dad was in there for that long this morning. There's probably some clues left behind, right?"

"Hmm, that does make sense, but..." Kiana suddenly turned to Kaino, her face serious. "Kaino, Dad's room might have his private stuff. Going in there would be invading his privacy. That's wrong!"

"—But!" Kiana abruptly shifted gears. "Dad's room is definitely a mess. I should take this chance to fold his clothes for him. So if it's just me, it's fine!"

With that, Kiana dashed into Ziegfried's room with a clatter of footsteps.

Rolling his eyes helplessly, Kaino followed her into the bedroom.

Kaino felt things weren't that simple. He'd noticed Ziegfried acting off all day—every bit of it was etched into his memory.

That definitely wasn't the look of someone trying to find a stepmom... probably.

Kaino suspected their dad might have racked up some huge debt, or done something shady behind their backs and was getting blackmailed for it.

After all, Schicksal always had that rumor floating around, didn't it?—That Kaslana's knight, Sir Ziegfried, had groped every Valkyrie in the entire organization~

If that was the case, then as Ziegfried's kids, Kaino figured he and Kiana had the right—and the duty—to know... and to beat Ziegfried up together.

Once inside the bedroom, Kaino glanced at Kiana, who was earnestly tidying up the bed, and couldn't help but sigh.

You're really just here to clean the room? At least search through the clothes or something!