Seele. / That's Right, I Like Girls.

72

Chapter Seventy-Two: Seele.

"Is this the orphanage?"

Kiana and Sirin stopped at the entrance of an orphanage. This was the orphanage Sirin had told her about after the car accident two days ago.

They had agreed to come here the day after tomorrow.

Sirin had called her out early that morning and handed her the identity card she had arranged for her.

Sirin really was incredibly efficient.

Sirin looked at her phone again, compared the name with the orphanage's sign, and nodded. "This is definitely the place."

"Want to go in and take a look?"

Since they were already here, of course they had to go in and look around. Better yet, they could ask the person in charge whether anyone besides that man had targeted the orphanage.

"Don't worry. I already made an appointment with the person in charge."

"Of course we should go in."

Although Sirin had said that the man had many enemies, Kiana could not understand why hearing that he had targeted the orphanage had caused him to die suddenly.

She simply felt that his death had something inseparably connected to his targeting the orphanage.

As everyone knew, Honkai orphanages were prone to spawning Bronya and Seele.

Although this was Izumo, Mei was here, Sirin was here, and Yae Sakura and Welt were here too. Would it really be strange for a Bronya to show up?

Not strange at all.

There were already two duck-ducks in this universe. She felt it would be perfectly normal for a few more to appear.

Because Honkai: Star Rail was surnamed Honkai.

"All right, I'll make a call."

Rather than rudely walking straight in, Sirin dialed a number. She exchanged a few brief words with the person on the other end, then hung up.

Seeing Kiana curiously studying the orphanage, she said, "According to the records, this orphanage has been around for quite some time."

"You can tell from the outer walls."

Kiana paused after speaking, then turned around in confusion. "It has been around for quite some time, right?"

Sirin nodded and was about to continue when a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties came out.

There were only the two of them at the orphanage entrance.

The other woman spotted them chatting at once and walked over somewhat nervously. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

"We're the ones disturbing you. I'm Sirin, and this is Kiana."

Sirin was much more pleasant when dealing with ordinary people than she usually was. "You should have received part of the donation to the orphanage, right? I'd like to see the children before giving the rest. I hope you can understand, Director."

"I understand, I understand!"

The orphanage director hurriedly led them inside, explaining the history of the orphanage and its current situation as they walked.

Kiana glanced at Sirin strangely. So this was the appointment Sirin had mentioned.

"What are you looking at?"

Being watched like that made Sirin uncomfortable. She lowered her voice. "I'm an orphan too."

When the Amatsukami disaster happened, she had been only twelve. After a brief period of wandering from place to place, she had been chosen as the wielder of the Edict Blade.

Having lost the mother who had depended on her and whom she had depended on, Sirin harbored a deep hatred for Amatsukami. That resentment extended to the blade that had acknowledged her, as well as Welt, who had done everything he could yet still allowed the entire Far North to suffer a massive disaster.

"I can understand what it feels like not to have parents. And... I might even be luckier than they are."

Despite having a great responsibility and needing to shoulder the task of saving the world, she had embarked on the path of slaying demons from that point onward.

But her mother had loved her dearly.

After joining the Blade Assembly, she had gained the corresponding rights and no longer needed to worry about making a living or being bullied by others.

As the saying went, it was already good enough that she did not bully other people.

"Sirin..."

"Seeing sympathy on your face really takes some getting used to."

Sirin rubbed her arm and quickly followed her into the courtyard. Kiana, whose homeland no longer even existed, had suffered far more than she had.

"These children..."

The director chatted with Sirin about the orphanage and played games with the children who ran up to them. The atmosphere was warm and cheerful.

Kiana's attention, however, had already been drawn to the girl under the tree who was handing snacks to the other children.

She had shoulder-length black hair with a blue sheen and wore a practical black-and-blue jacket with shorts. Her smile toward the children was incredibly soothing.

Compared with Seele from Honkai Impact 3rd and Bronya's Seele, the Seele before her felt more like... Fire Moth Seele.

Apart from not having a Stigma.

"Hello?"

Kiana had become so absorbed in staring that her gaze was far too obvious. The girl noticed the unfamiliar girl who had entered the courtyard. After giving a snack to a child who had come to ask for another and sending them off to play elsewhere, she walked toward Kiana and greeted her.

"Are you here to volunteer too?"

The girl's smile was clean and sincere.

"Volunteer?"

Kiana glanced at the children in the orphanage in surprise, then looked back at the girl before her.

Well... judging by her age, she really did not look like one of the orphanage's children.

"Ah, I see. You came with the benefactor beside the director, right?"

The girl suddenly understood, then added, "I almost forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Seele. As you can see, I'm volunteering at this orphanage right now."

She raised the plate in her hand. A few small, adorable pastries remained on it. Smiling, she said, "Would you like to try one? I made these at home and brought them over."

Seele... That really was a name that came as no surprise at all.

Kiana returned the smile with one just as bright and friendly. "Kiana. You can call me Kiana. The person beside the director is Sirin. She and I are friends."

Seele glanced at the purple-haired girl standing beside the director, who was listening in silence. She took the initiative to lead Kiana beneath the tree, where the sun was less intense, and said, "I know the benefactor beside the director. She's a good person. The director was especially happy this morning because all the people who used to support the orphanage suddenly stopped making donations. They couldn't find any new benefactors, and no one was willing to promote the orphanage. The orphanage was almost unable to support these children anymore."

Kiana immediately thought of the car that had spontaneously combusted two days ago. Aside from that man, no one else should have had any reason to target an orphanage.

"Fortunately, Miss Sirin helped us. She donated a large sum of money, enough for the orphanage to get through the next few years."

Seele smiled. "As long as we make it through this period, the orphanage will gradually get better."

"...It definitely will."

The culprit was gone, and the Blade Assembly seemed to hold an unusual position. Her interest in the orphanage would probably attract some attention, not to mention that she had donated such a large sum of money.

Now that the mastermind was gone, the orphanage should continue to develop for the better.

"Do you go to school nearby?"

"Yes."

Seele nodded. "The school I attend is nearby, so whenever I have time, I come to the orphanage to help out."

After seeing Seele, Kiana had a rough idea of what she had witnessed at the accident scene that day.

But she and Seele had only just met. Asking whether she had an older sister would be rude and could easily arouse unnecessary suspicion.

73

Chapter Seventy-Three: Yes, I Like Girls.

She and Seele chatted briefly about the orphanage a few more times, but Kiana still learned very little. Most of what Seele talked about concerned the orphanage.

She did mention that she was an orphan too.

"Your family? As far back as I can remember, I've never seen any relatives. They probably remained behind in that disaster more than a decade ago."

"The Far North region? More than a decade ago, the Far North was struck by an unprecedented disaster. Many, many people died or were injured. That disaster made the Far North's already harsh environment even worse. Even now, it still..."

"Were you also a victim of that disaster?"

Sirin's voice suddenly rang out.

Kiana, who had been listening intently to Seele, was nearly startled out of her wits. Only when Sirin spoke did she realize that Sirin had already finished talking with the director.

"Also?"

Seele hesitated for a moment, then looked at Sirin and asked uncertainly, "Miss Sirin, are you also...?"

"What a coincidence."

Sirin said this, but there was no joy on her face at meeting someone from the Far North. She was reminded of the disaster from more than a decade ago.

She looked at Seele again and estimated her age, realizing that she must have been only a newborn at the time.

She probably had no memory of it.

Not having any memories could also be a kind of happiness.

"I didn't expect to meet someone from my homeland in Changkong City."

Sirin came back to herself and looked at the girl before her. "Do you help out at this orphanage?"

"Yes."

Seele was somewhat reserved around Sirin. "I grew up in an orphanage too, so after coming here to attend school, I wanted to help children like us."

"...That's a good idea."

As she spoke, Sirin took paper and a pen from her pocket, wrote down a string of numbers, and handed it to Seele. "This is my contact information. If you need any help, you can contact me at any time."

Seeing this, Kiana took out her phone. "Let's add each other, Seele?"

"This... O-okay."

Seele accepted Sirin's contact information and added Kiana as a friend.

Since it was still early, Kiana and Sirin stayed at the orphanage for the entire day, joining Seele in experiencing life as volunteers there.

They got along fairly well and did not leave until evening.

They hailed a taxi by the roadside and returned to the hotel.

After they left, a perfectly concealed modified drone flew back and returned to the silver-gray-haired girl with curly hair standing on the rooftop.

"Big Sister Bronya, stop watching. They didn't come because of Bulls's death."

Seele, who had also already left the orphanage, was now beside the silver-gray-haired girl.

"I could tell."

Bronya put away the drone and smiled. "I never expected getting rid of Bulls to have the unexpected benefit of five million."

Judging from her words, the girl was clearly the culprit who had planned the vehicle fire two days ago.

Bronya had learned from the director that someone would be visiting the orphanage that day. She knew they had become suspicious of the orphanage, which was why she had monitored the place all day.

It was not because she was afraid of being discovered.

She simply wanted to see whether the visitors were in league with Bulls. If they were, she would not have minded continuing to rid the world of another menace.

But now it seemed that they had merely realized the vehicle fire was abnormal and noticed the kind person who had helped the orphanage.

"Try to be more restrained, Big Sister."

Seele pressed a hand to her forehead. "I don't want to have to flee from another city that has only just stabilized."

"Oh, don't worry, Seele. My skills have improved quite a bit. We won't be discovered again."

"But you said that last time too."