Inviting a girl out for drinks the moment they met? That behavior could hardly be called normal.
At least, that was how Durandal saw it.
And there was another viewer in the Live Stream who felt the same way.
"Hmm... I feel like he's another person who's going to disappoint me. How could he say something like that right after meeting someone? Sigh... Could it be that among Schicksal's higher-ups, only Academy Principal Theresa is easy to get along with...?"
A blue comment drifted past timidly...
From Seele's comment, Beichen could tell that the girl might have developed a slight misunderstanding about Schicksal...
But before he could explain, Durandal sent a comment in rebuttal. "Actually... I think the others probably aren't like that..."
In short, other people's business had nothing to do with her?
Haha, that was quite a reasonable explanation.
While the two viewers chatted through comments in the Live Stream—
The camera cut to Siegfried sitting on a supply crate, his hands clasped together as he explained the situation.
There was one piece of bad news and one even worse piece of news. The bad news was that the Valkyrie squads had already been deployed to search for the Second Herrscher. But so far, they had found nothing.
As he spoke, the camera slowly moved upward and settled on Siegfried's stern expression as he faced the screen.
The worse news was that, due to the lack of progress in the operation, Bishop Otto had ordered Cecilia to deploy.
"Suddenly, he seems kind of cool... but also kind of scary..." Not long after Siegfried turned serious and began reporting the situation, Seele's comment appeared on the screen.
Durandal's agreement followed right after.
"Scary... is he? I think that's the kind of bearing a warrior should have."
"The bearing a warrior should have... I don't really understand what that means..."
While the two exchanged comments, Siegfried had already stated the objective.
Cecilia would arrive in Siberia in thirty minutes. Before then, they had to find the Second Herrscher. Then, kill her.
As Siegfried declared the kill, the camera suddenly shifted to the screen behind him.
Haha, it looked like God had not completely abandoned them.
"Report: We've received communications from Valkyries in sectors O-23 and O-17. Both have discovered traces of the Second Herrscher."
As the communications line connected, the game's background music suddenly became intense and urgent.
Theresa was the first to realize the problem.
"Damn it, is she trying to split us up?"
"There's no other choice. I'll go to O-23, and you go to O-17. Whoever finds the target, don't hold back."
After confirming the objective and assigning their tasks, Theresa was the first to show concern for Kiana.
"Kiana, stay here. It should be safe here."
"Huh? Kiana?"
Theresa's warning caught Siegfried's attention.
Only then did Kiana finally get the chance to introduce herself.
"Yes, sorry. I have the same name as your daughter. But I won't stay here. I want to join the battle too."
As Kiana stated her intentions, the camera switched again, showing Theresa and Kiana in profile.
"But..."
"You saw it in the previous battle, didn't you? I'm capable of fighting."
Before Theresa could continue objecting, Siegfried spoke first.
"I think it's feasible. You can tell from this young lady's eyes that she's an excellent warrior. Theresa, let her act with you."
"Fine."
Since Siegfried had already agreed, Theresa did not argue any further.
Normally, after assigning the target and missions, they should have moved out immediately.
But Kiana did not.
"Oh, there's one more thing."
Smack!
The moment she spoke, the camera switched again to Siegfried's shocked face and Kiana's raised hand.
"This is just the interest. After we defeat the Second Herrscher, I'll teach you a proper lesson. Just you wait, you stinky old... no, Siegfried. Siegfried Kaslana!"
Kiana poured all her feelings into her right hand and struck. The camera finally settled on her smiling face.
"For some reason... that slap felt pretty satisfying..."
Before the screen faded to black again, a blue comment floated by.
The person who made that remark was Seele, who had some complaints about Siegfried...
Not long after Seele's comment drifted past, a green comment followed after it...
"Haha, indeed. Very satisfying. If it weren't for..."
As Beichen looked at Otto's comment, it was as though he could see the Bishop's stern gaze.
Come to think of it, if Siegfried had not worked so hard to protect his daughter, Kiana might never have gone through what happened afterward.
That was something capable of changing the lives of both Kianas, and it was even more so for Bishop Otto... after all, he had been counting on conducting experiments.
"Forget it. He's irrelevant now anyway."
Indeed, just as Otto had said, whether Siegfried was dead or alive, or where he was now, no longer mattered. The test subject he had tried so hard to protect had already been discovered in Arc City.
Beichen withdrew his gaze and continued streaming the story.
After the cutscene ended, a conversation between Theresa and Kiana appeared on the screen.
"We must, we must destroy the Second Herrscher quickly. Otherwise, otherwise..."
"Kiana, what are you talking about?"
Theresa interrupted Kiana's muttering.
When Theresa asked, Kiana told her about her worries for Cecilia.
After hearing her, Theresa immediately promised that she would do her best to eliminate the Second Herrscher before Cecilia arrived. At the same time, she explained Siegfried's concerns, as well as the power and side effects of Judgement of Shamash.
"There's actually a weapon so powerful that it harms its user? That weapon is terrifying..."
A blue comment drifted across the screen, expressing Seele's confusion over Judgement of Shamash.
"Why use a weapon like that? Does Uncle Siegfried really consider his own life so unimportant?"
"Ahem, is there a possibility that it's not because he takes his own life too lightly, but because he values other people's lives?"
Seeing Seele's mistaken conclusion, Beichen could not help but speak up.
"After all, Theresa once said that this was something unique to the Kaslana family."
"Is that so... The Kaslana family really is a great family."
As Seele's admiring comment floated past, the game entered the gameplay section once more.
Ri Duck, who had been floating through the wind and snow for so long, could finally move forward toward the other end of the road.
Not long after following the yellow guide line on the map, several Titans were airdropped from the sky to block her path. But before Ri Duck, those Titans were as fragile as paper.
After the Titans were dealt with, the obstruction on the road disappeared as well.
Ri Duck and Theresa continued forward, eventually reaching the end of the guide line.
Soon after they arrived, a story conversation between Theresa and Kiana appeared on the screen.
"So this is O-17. These are... fragments of Valkyrie armor? It looks like the Valkyrie squad in this area has already been wiped out! But these damaged suits of armor are still transmitting communications, making headquarters believe that the Second Herrscher is here."
"She can even control Valkyrie armor? Just how far do the Second Herrscher's abilities go?"
While Theresa was still shocked, Kiana suddenly urged her to leave immediately and rendezvous with Siegfried.
However, during their conversation, they mentioned a Schicksal anti-Honkai Beast heavy helicopter.
Then, as the stage alarm sounded, a massive helicopter flew out.
"Wow! What a huge aircraft. But it looks... kind of crude..."
When Seele saw such a novel thing as a large aircraft, her attention was immediately drawn to it.
But after getting a look at the heavy helicopter's appearance, she had nothing more to say.
Maybe girls simply did not care much about things like planes and cannons?
Of course, that was not the important part.
The important part was that it had a health bar. It was an attackable enemy.
That made things easy!
Beichen had Ri Duck dodge the bullets from the RPC-6626, then launched an attack with a weapon skill followed by a charged strike.
The monster's health bar instantly dropped to the bottom...
"Eh... This heavy helicopter went down that quickly?"
Because the battle had ended too fast, Seele's comment carried a trace of disappointment...
At that moment, Theresa had only just deployed Judah. She had barely landed a few hits before the battle ended...
"We've been delayed for quite some time. If this place was the decoy, then the Second Herrscher should be at O-23."
In the post-battle story dialogue, Theresa analyzed the Second Herrscher's strategy.
"Kiana, we need to get there immediately. Headquarters, how long will it take to reach O-23 from here?"
"About fifteen minutes."
"Contact Siegfried. Tell him he has to hold off the Second Herrscher. Under no circumstances can he let the Second Herrscher approach the 'Tower'!"
After Theresa said that, Beichen clicked to enter the next stage.
As soon as he entered the stage, a combat communication between Siegfried and Theresa appeared on the screen.
"Theresa, I heard the operator's report. It seems the Second Herrscher is heading my way. Hmph, looks like my luck is better."
Hearing Siegfried's tone, Theresa immediately said with concern:
"Siegfried, don't push yourself! I'll be at your side in ten minutes!"
"..."
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Otto send another string of ellipses, Beichen was a little puzzled. Was there something wrong with this conversation?
"I thought Theresa and Siegfried had a particularly poor relationship. So now... I'm a little surprised."
Otto's remark was reasonable enough.
After all, in their previous conversations, Theresa had sounded very dissatisfied whenever she mentioned Siegfried.
Yet now, she was worrying about him like this...
"That does seem a little strange. Could it be... the Academy Principal is actually not good at expressing her feelings?"
Not long after Otto's comment drifted past, Seele chimed in as well.
Not long after her comment passed by, another green comment appeared.
"Not good at expressing herself? Heh, there is some truth to that. But her thoughts are actually easy to guess."
Before you continue