Honkai, Kaslana's Survival Guide

This was bad.

Had she heard him talking to himself just now?

He had not really said anything, but having someone overhear him muttering to himself still made him feel inexplicably embarrassed.

He was not particularly puzzled by her sudden appearance. After all, the commotion from his battle had not been small. He had indeed relaxed considerably after subduing Ganesha, so it was normal that he had not noticed her.

"Ahem."

After coughing lightly twice, Kaino shifted his gaze to the long blade at her waist.

"You're also a contestant in the Beast Tamer Tournament? Honestly, contestants who fight in person are pretty rare."

Although Kaino personally took the field every time he tamed a Honkai Beast, the proper way to play this sort of competition was supposed to be a cycle like big fish eating little fish—capture weaker Honkai Beasts, make them stronger, then capture even stronger Honkai Beasts.

What Kaino did was completely heretical.

"No, I am not a contestant. The blade in my hand is merely for self-defense; compared to you, my strength is hardly worth mentioning."

The woman shook her head.

"Come to think of it, I have a question. Are you a native resident of this World Bubble?"

Kaino's pupils contracted slightly. He frowned and carefully sized her up.

"What do you mean?"

Was she some official of this World Bubble responsible for dealing with stowaways?

She was not here to hold him accountable for printing money without authorization, was she? Could she let it slide, considering he had cleared out the Honkai Beasts?

Or should he just be decisive and hit her with a Feather of the Underworld?

"My apologies. It seems my words have troubled you, but I bear no ill intent."

Noticing that Kaino did not look pleased, the woman hurriedly explained:

"My name is... Yae Sakura. Like you, I came to this World Bubble from the Quantum Sea."

"I came here to find someone. When I heard the commotion and came over, I sensed the aura of the Quantum Sea on you, which was why I asked. I wanted to know whether you had seen her."

"The Quantum Sea has an aura?"

Kaino looked skeptical.

"...Not a literal aura. It is merely a figure of speech. You may understand it as a special ability that allows me to tell whether someone has entered the Quantum Sea."

"A special ability? Fine."

For the time being, Kaino dismissed his suspicions of her.

His own ability was extremely unusual, and she had not shown him any hostility either.

Even so, he could not possibly lower his guard around someone from the Quantum Sea. If necessary, he...

"I'm Kaino Kaslana. Who are you looking for? I might have seen her."

"Kaslana..."

Yae Sakura nodded without changing her expression and continued:

"She is a pink-haired, blue-eyed girl. Very beautiful and cute, with a tail behind her. About this tall."

As she spoke, she gestured around the level of her mouth.

"Your little sister? And what's with the tail?"

Were people with tails normal? Or, like the accessory on this woman's head, had that girl attached a tail behind herself too?

How strange.

"No, she is not my younger sister. She..."

After thinking for a moment, Yae Sakura ultimately shook her head and prepared to leave.

"Never mind. Since you have not seen her, I shall search for her myself."

"Also, a word of advice. This World Bubble is not so simple, and leaving it will not be so easy."

With that, Yae Sakura walked away, leaving Kaino standing there with a furrowed brow.

Once Yae Sakura had gone far enough, he hurriedly opened an Imaginary Gate leading outside the World Bubble and stuck his head through it.

Looking at the Quantum Sea, still a void no different from before he and the others had entered the World Bubble, Kaino could not help scratching his head.

It was not hard to leave at all, was it?

"Xia, it seems you have done something unnecessary."

A deep male voice, altered through a voice changer, sounded beside Yae Sakura shortly after she had left.

Upon hearing it, Yae Sakura stopped.

"I do not understand what you mean."

"You only needed to guide him toward Delta, and he would naturally obtain a way to leave. There was no need for you to do anything extra."

Yae Sakura said nothing, and silence fell over the surroundings.

After a long while.

"Forget it. That isn't important."

"We completed our deal with her, and in the end, their connection was able to deepen as well. Another seed leading to the future had been planted. A happy ending for all... wasn't it?"

"Letting him notice the truth of this world a little earlier won't cause any major problems. Just make sure there isn't a next time."

"Yes."

Yae Sakura lowered her head.

"Also, while searching for Delta, keep an eye on him. Find out why she thinks so highly of him, if possible."

"That way, we won't be so passive."

"Yes."

"Hi, Seele, Bella, I'm back!"

Poking his head out through the door to the Imaginary Space, Kaino greeted the others.

Then he froze on the spot.

The once empty and messy ranch had undergone a drastic transformation. It was now spotless and...

Neatly arranged?

Honkai Beasts of all sizes lay foaming at the mouth, piled into a small mountain. Two armored figures had been tied up and sprawled trembling in front of the pile, while Seele stood beside them with a blood-red scythe in hand, staring coldly at them.

What was going on?

Kaino couldn't quite make sense of it.

"Master, you're back."

Bella, who had been moving Honkai Beasts toward the pile, was the first to notice Kaino. She tossed the Honkai Beast in her hands onto the heap, then gave Kaino a slight bow.

"You must be exhausted. Why not rest for a while first?"

"No, no, it's fine. I'm not tired."

No. Kaino hurriedly shook his head.

"Oh, you're back?"

Hearing the commotion, Seele looked over and waved at him with her free hand.

"Looks like things went pretty smoothly for you?"

Ah, it looked like Red Seele was in control.

"More or less. I caught all the Honkai Beasts I ran into. We can use them as bargaining chips when we meet the ranch manager."

Stepping out of the door, Kaino stomped his feet on the ground, then looked at the pile beside Seele and pointed at it.

"By the way, why are you piling all the Honkai Beasts together? And why are they foaming at the mouth?"

"My roar, as a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, was simply too terrifying for them, so they were frightened."

Bella said, "On top of that, they were too exhausted after traveling all the way here, so they began foaming at the mouth. As for why they were piled into a small mountain..."

"That was my idea."

Seele puffed out her chest and lifted her little chin. Her tone was light and cheerful, like a kitten waiting to be praised. "We can't work for them for nothing, can we? We have to ask for something in return later."

"That manager might not be a good person. When you negotiate terms with the ranch manager later, Kaino, just stand in front of this mountain of Honkai Beasts. Wouldn't that manager be so scared that they'd have no choice but to agree?"

"Then thanks. I'll treat you to a meal later."

Seele had thought of the same thing he had.

Kaino hadn't immediately assumed the manager was a good person. After all, the other two judges made it difficult for him to believe this one would be any more respectable.

That was exactly why he hadn't returned the Emperor-class Honkai Beasts stored inside the Honkai Balls. He planned to use them as bargaining chips instead.

Kaino smiled and patted Seele's head, then pointed at the two armored figures on the ground. "So what's going on with those two?"

Before Seele could say anything after giving a smug little hum, King and Queen seemed to be stimulated by something. They suddenly stopped trembling, wriggled over, and crawled to Kaino's feet.

King, Queen: "Boss, save us!!!"

Kaino pulled Seele a step back with a look of disgust.

"Talk properly, and stay away from me. Also, don't call me Boss. It gives me a strange sense of sadness."

King: "Waaah, big bro, this lady tied us up!"

Queen: "She didn't just tie us up—she even used that scythe..."

Before Queen could finish, Seele's scythe shot into the ground right in front of it with a sharp whoosh, frightening it into instant silence.

That scythe had landed about one centimeter from its armored face. It could even clearly see the patterns on the blade.

"Seele, don't do that."

Kaino reached out, pulled the scythe from the ground, and shook his head at Seele. "That's not nice."

Hearing this, Queen's helmet slit lit up as it nodded rapidly. "Yeah, yeah, this really isn't good."

Then Kaino turned the scythe around and stuck it back in.

Mm, with the blade facing the armored figure.

Queen froze and swallowed. "Boss, I think we really don't have to..."

Kaino placed a hand on the scythe's shaft and lightly pressed it down, bringing the blade almost flush against Queen's face. "Speak properly. Don't call me boss."

King said, "Then, Boss, I'll just—"

Kaino casually recreated a scythe and planted it in front of it.

"Whoa, aren't you even better at this than me?"

Seele's eyes lit up, and she helped Kaino press down the handle of that scythe.

Kaino shrugged. He had no good impression of these two unidentified creatures.

Leaving aside everything else, the fact that they had released all the Honkai Beasts was enough to send his blood pressure through the roof. He had ignored them at first only because he had been in a hurry to deal with the Honkai Beasts. Now that he had time, couldn't he do whatever he wanted with them?

"Th-then we have nothing to say."

Unable to look at each other with scythes in front of their faces, the two armored figures still spoke in unison.

"Then stay here for now. Once your boss comes back, I'll talk to her before letting you leave."

Kaino pulled out both scythes, returning Seele's to her while dismissing his own.

"Let's go, Seele. It'll be completely dark soon. Let's hurry and get dinner—Houmu Happy Restaurant. Maybe we'll even run into that administrator."

"Then, big brother, could you bring us a serving? We're hungry too."

"Or could you untie us? We can go ourselves."

King and Queen spoke one after the other.