The Scent of Another Woman!

After clearing out quite a few Honkai Beasts that had spawned again along the way, they finally reached the safe East District and arrived here.

The girl in his arms raised her head and looked at Ming Yu with sparkling eyes, asking:

"Big Brother Ming Yu, where do you live now?"

"Mm... somewhere not too far from here. I came to Changkong City this time to carry out a mission, and I brought you some supplies while I was at it."

As he spoke, Ming Yu set down the pack on his back.

Considering shelf life and carrying capacity, he had chosen Schicksal-standard compressed rations along with some ingredients that could be stored for a long time.

They might not taste particularly good, but nutritionally, they were beyond reproach.

Noticing the arrival of an outsider, quite a few little heads poked out from the other rooms to see what was happening.

At Xiaokong's call, the children gradually gathered in the relatively spacious living room as well.

Bronya had originally been sitting quietly to one side, watching Ming Yu play with the children, when she noticed a little girl in the crowd secretly staring in her direction.

The little one limped with every step, her foot wrapped in bandages. She must have been injured during the disaster in Changkong City.

Though her life had been saved, she had been left with impaired mobility.

"Doll... cute..."

She looked from afar at the Homu doll in Bronya's arms, hesitant yet longing.

For children their age, a Homu doll held considerable appeal.

"..."

The silver-haired girl silently stood up and slowly floated over. She handed her doll to the little one before her and said in the gentlest tone she could manage:

"This is for you."

"Eh, but..."

The little girl looked flattered and overwhelmed.

"It's fine. Bronya has lots of Homu dolls."

"Th-thank you, big sister..."

She thanked her timidly.

Seeing the little one happily hugging Homu, Bronya suddenly felt a little guilty.

Perhaps it was the suggestion of that mysterious donkey-eared woman, or perhaps it was facing these innocent children, but Bronya was beginning, for the first time, to think beyond blindly following Mama Cocolia's orders.

For example, she began to consider that the person who had left these children homeless was her beloved Mama Cocolia.

And would Seele, that gentle and kind girl, truly be happy to return at the cost of destroying an entire city and taking the lives of millions?

The answer was probably no.

No, when it came down to it, had everything her mother done so far truly been for the sake of saving Seele...?

A year ago, hadn't she been the one who had personally caused Seele to disappear in the laboratory?

"..."

The silver-haired girl felt troubled and restless. She glanced at Ming Yu, who was playing with the children, then stood and floated outside.

"By the way, Xiaokong, is your teacher in Changkong City?"

After playing with the children for a while, Ming Yu finally sat up and asked the purple-haired girl beside him.

"Teacher left a few days ago and hasn't come back yet."

Xiaokong answered obediently.

Raven only returned here once in a while and did not stay in the nest for long periods.

That was only natural. As a capable World Serpent officer, she was constantly carrying out all kinds of missions around the world.

"Mm... then, Xiaokong, I have a letter for you. When your teacher comes back, can you give it to her for me?"

Ming Yu took an envelope from his pocket.

It was something he had prepared the night before setting out.

There was another, more important reason he had come to the place where these children lived, aside from visiting Xiaokong, whom he had not seen in a long time.

—To find Raiden Ryoma's whereabouts.

Though the official explanation given to society was that he had been arrested and imprisoned over an economic case, those involved naturally knew that he had been framed by Cocolia.

So where exactly this former Anti-Entropy executive had been imprisoned was well worth investigating.

Anti-Entropy was now clearly divided between the radicals led by Cocolia and the conservatives led by Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla. Since Raiden Ryoma, a member of the conservative side, had been framed, the other executives in the same camp could not possibly have done nothing.

They must have tried to send people to locate and rescue Raiden Ryoma, only to come up empty-handed.

Therefore, Ming Yu deduced that Raiden Ryoma was most likely being held by Cocolia in some secret location under her control, rather than in a prison under the jurisdiction of the Far East government.

Well, that was not somewhere he could guess on his own right now, so he needed a special helper to find Ryoma's whereabouts.

If possible, he still intended to rescue Mr. Ryoma as soon as he could.

On one hand, it was for Mei. On the other, he naturally hoped to use Ryoma's standing within Anti-Entropy after regaining his freedom to restrain Cocolia's usurpation.

—He had no intention of obediently waiting until Queen's Advent several years from now, then waiting for the Abyss City incident to break out before settling scores with Cocolia.

If he was going to do it, the sooner the better.

Whether it was turning Bronya against Cocolia or rescuing Raiden Ryoma, both were parts of his current plan.

And the person who could help him find Raiden Ryoma's whereabouts...

Was naturally Raven, the mercenary affiliated with World Serpent.

Though Mei had long since asked Theresa and the others to help look for him, the intelligence capabilities of the Far East Branch alone clearly could not compare with World Serpent's.

If he could use World Serpent's intricate intelligence network, which had long infiltrated every major organization, finding Ryoma's whereabouts should not be difficult.

And Raven happened to be the sort of mercenary who would do anything as long as she was paid, which was why Ming Yu intended to entrust this matter to her.

He had left a secret private email address inside the envelope so he could contact Raven later.

"Okay... When Teacher comes back, I'll give it to her."

Xiaokong obediently nodded and tucked the envelope into her little bag.

Seeing that the sun was already setting outside, Ming Yu spoke with Xiaokong for a while longer before saying goodbye once again.

He returned to Chiba Academy with Bronya, picked up Mei, and set out on the journey home.

With Yuna, one of the survivors, joining them, this team on its first deployment had successfully completed its mission in Changkong City.

The Scent of Another Woman!

St. Freya Academy, weekend, morning.

Although Ming Yu maintained a very good routine during the usual school days from Monday to Friday, he still liked to sleep in on the rare weekends.

Mm, this was what people called balancing work and rest.

Only this could ease the fatigue brought about by the excessive training made possible by Time Reversal.

Even so, there were still faint sounds in the dormitory, which should have contained only Ming Yu at this hour.

A girl left her room and stepped into the hallway.

She wore a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit. Her features were delicate and well-proportioned, her snowy shoulders exposed, her legs long and slender. Beneath her fine, graceful brows, her teal-blue eyes shone bright and clear, while her milky-white skin was smooth and flawless.

Her sakura-colored hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, leaving behind the faint fragrance of cherry blossoms wherever she passed.

Her room was at the very end of the second floor, so she passed Ming Yu's room while walking through the hallway.

The heightened senses granted by her Pseudo-Herrscher constitution allowed her to faintly hear his calm breathing even through the tightly shut door.

After going downstairs, she entered the living room as usual, pulled out a chair, sat down, and opened the book she had not finished reading yesterday.

With birdsong and floral fragrance drifting in from outside, it should have been a particularly peaceful and tranquil morning.

However, Higokumaru, who had not appeared for a long time, manifested herself once more.

The enormous fox seemed to occupy the entire living room. Compared to the last time she had appeared, the flames burning across her pitch-black fur seemed even more vigorous.

She growled softly:

"Woman..."

"Why did you come out?"

Yae Sakura did not even raise her head, her gaze still resting on the book in her hands.

"Do you really intend to remain in this academy forever?"

Higokumaru demanded.

"What would be wrong with that?"

The sakura-haired girl replied calmly.

This academy belonged to Schicksal, sharing the same name as the organization her close friend had once mentioned, the one that fought against the Honkai.

Through her reading over the recent period, she had learned that today's Schicksal was not the same Schicksal Kallen had once belonged to.

The old Schicksal had been overthrown by the new Schicksal, which had endured from more than five hundred years ago until now.

It could be said that the current Schicksal better aligned with her close friend's ideals, dedicating itself to fighting the Honkai and protecting the world.

Since that was the case, she was quite willing to stay here and offer some help to the people here.

For her, having been resurrected into a world that felt as though it had changed beyond recognition, this was currently the motivation that kept her moving forward.

"Heh heh..."

Higokumaru revealed a mocking expression and said:

"You helped that guy deal with a Herrscher once. You don't really think that makes you a hero of justice, do you?"

"...It is precisely because my past is too painful to look back on that I must continue atoning."

Yae Sakura answered calmly.

"Your ideals are beautiful, but how long can you keep running from me?"

Higokumaru said in a low voice:

"You do not even have the courage to accept my power, like that girl who commands lightning did."

"..."

"You are not like her. That girl can overcome the will of the Honkai, but you cannot. You are merely a... coward who cannot escape her past."

"...Get out."

As Yae Sakura's expression turned slightly cold, the gigantic black fox was once again forced to disperse.

Although Higokumaru had already been silenced by her, she no longer had the mood to continue reading the book in her hands.

The sakura-haired girl raised her head to glance at the clock, then stood up.

She might as well prepare breakfast. At this hour, it was time to wake him up as well.

Just then, Yae Sakura's fox ears twitched slightly.

—She heard something from the entrance: the sound of the front door opening.

"...!"

It was not particularly strange for someone to visit Ming Yu's home on the weekend.

The girl named Raiden Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder whom Yae Sakura had possessed Ming Yu and fought before, came here every weekend.