Chapter 26

Although Bronya was unwilling to inherit the responsibilities of the Supreme Guardian, she was still willing to leave a truly clean and efficient administrative team for the next ruler.

When the people of the Lower City walked into the Upper City, everyone was surprised to find that the situation had changed.

Amidst cheers and jubilation, people searched for old friends and relatives who had lived in the Upper City.

Some were sad and pained to learn of the passing of their old friends, while others were moved to tears upon seeing their living parents.

All these human emotions were observed by Cocolia and Bronya. Cocolia remained silent, having personally orchestrated one tragedy after another. Within this ancient city-state, her crimes were unforgivable.

But she had no intention of escaping.

She had brought too much pain to this land, and now she had to pay the necessary "price" for her actions.

"From now on, all hatred will be chained to me."

"Bronya, as long as you sever this root chain, Belobog... no, Jarilo-VI's new life will be complete."

"Mm."

Bronya remained silent. She already knew everything Cocolia had done, and she was not qualified to forgive Cocolia on behalf of all the people of Belobog.

"Bronya, you were right to give up the position of Supreme Guardian."

She continued speaking, and knowing her own end, Cocolia's words became much more fragmented.

"You are my adopted daughter, and others will always hold prejudice against you because of this relationship."

"You were right to choose to leave Jarilo-VI. I hope you can make amends for some of my mistakes in the future."

"You must get closer to those Nameless, especially that Shirou Emiya. That man is very capable, but if you sincerely ask him, he seems to never refuse. However, do not try to morally blackmail him because of this. Bronya, maintain the passionate and sincere heart you have now. I believe that if you travel with them, those people will never betray you."

"When you go out, remember to adjust your mindset. You will no longer be the commander of the Silvermane Guards, but just an ordinary Bronya Rand... Bronya... When you have the opportunity to make choices in the future, please... do not seek shortcuts like I did, and do not let yourself regret it."

Her voice gradually became choked with emotion. Perhaps as a Guardian, she was indeed not very qualified, but her feelings for Bronya were genuine.

"You must, strive to live a better life than now."

"Mm."

Cocolia's response was an almost inaudible grunt.

And so, after the great purge of the noble incident, the scandals surrounding Cocolia, the Supreme Guardian, began to be dug up. Soon, a large amount of public resentment was directed at this Guardian.

The storm of downfall broke out very quickly. Within just two or three days, Cocolia Rand was brought before the tribunal. After the temporarily appointed judges read out all her crimes and punishments, amidst the curses and cheers of countless citizens, Cocolia Rand was led to the guillotine.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, this Supreme Guardian, who had once stood at the pinnacle of Belobog, calmly accepted her end.

The eighteenth generation of Rand thus perished.

The temporarily appointed "Commander of Fire" from the Lower City's Boulder Town and the current head of the Upper City's Landau family, the "New Minister of the Interior," began to take over all affairs of Belobog.

And on the eve of the eighteenth Rand's demise, two women paid a sudden visit to the inn where the Visitors from Beyond were staying.

"What are you doing?"

"Let me make this clear, I'm not a casual person."

"...You've really caused me a lot of trouble. Fine, I'll only help you with Cocolia's matter this once."

"So, I've actually died once?"

Cocolia sat in the temporary clinic in Boulder Town, her expression somewhat dazed. She touched her neck, her expression unnaturally recalling the slight pain and warm sensation when the guillotine blade severed her neck...

"You did die. Your body was burned to ashes and scattered into the snowfields. The people didn't even want your ashes to remain in Belobog."

Serval laughed unreservedly at her 'resurrected' old friend.

"Your body was recreated by that Young Master Emiya, and your soul was collected and put into this vessel immediately."

"In other words, people truly executed Cocolia Rand, and you now... should start over with a new name."

"A new name? Forget it, I don't plan on changing my name. I'll just live somewhere else like Bronya."

Having died once, Cocolia was not foolish enough to give the people another outlet for their anger. This was not a fake death to escape. She had already accounted for her actions to the people and, in the process, shed her responsibilities as Supreme Guardian.

"I want to become a true 'City Builder'."

She looked at her best friend from her youth and, smiling, extended an invitation.

"Serval, let's go together, just like Alisa Rand did back then."

"It might not be that simple..."

"What do you mean?"

"Shirou Emiya."

When the fiery, strong older sister mentioned that name, her face flushed slightly unnaturally. She tilted her head slightly, preventing her best friend from seeing her expression.

"Someone paid a price for your resurrection."

"What price?"

"It's... well, you might need to prepare to be a grandmother."

Cocolia fell silent. After a long pause, she suddenly burst into laughter and tears, "I originally planned to entrust Bronya completely to him. Now it's just a pure transaction?"

"It's not that straightforward. If Bronya didn't have some good feelings for that guy, she wouldn't have actively sought him out. And that guy didn't really refuse. Bronya will be leaving this planet with them, the Nameless, to travel the universe later. It's only natural for family to board the train, right?"

"Wait, why do you know so much detail?"

"...Because I was there that day too. I also wanted to leave Belobog and see the world. Besides, Young Master Emiya is a good person, he likes tinkering with machines, knows some music, and is skilled at cooking... although he's a bit of a sadist in private, he's already the best man I could hope to meet."

Listening to Serval list someone's virtues like a well-rehearsed speech, the blonde older sister's expression turned ashen. She woke up to find her daughter had been "taken," and even her best friend had been poached by that person...

And her own body had been rebuilt by hand...

The good news was that she wasn't completely excluded.

The bad news was that she woke up as part of a family package deal... possibly even a freebie.

Chapter 054: One-for-One is a Traditional Art, Not to Be Missed. (Seeking First Order, 6/10)

"Flame Spear, Charge—!"

Fiddling with her newly activated weapon, Little Grey Hair seemed very excited. During the previous disturbance, in order to awaken the residents who were being bewitched by the Stellaron and protect them from the erosion of Void creatures, she resonated with the Supreme Guardians within the spear, activating the Path of Preservation.

Knowing this, Shirou didn't find it particularly strange. The power of Paths was extremely idealistic. When you truly possessed that will, as long as you had the opportunity to push open that door, you could naturally step through it.

Whether facing a powerful enemy or protecting others, the will of Preservation was always this pure and direct.

For the previous Path of Destruction, Little Grey Hair's concept was, "Fighting feels good."

Now, her concept of Preservation was equivalent to, "Come at me head-on!"

It could only be said that the simpler and more direct the manifestation of a Path, the easier it was for Little Grey Hair to grasp.

Thinking about it, Mr. Emiya found it difficult to imagine this Little Grey Hair stepping onto the Path of The Genius. Although she wasn't as lacking in both literary and martial skills as Li Da Zheng Tou, Little Grey Hair truly had a chasm separating her from the Path of The Genius.

As for the Path of Hunt, perhaps if March 7th were to be stabbed one day, and an arrow from an Emperor Bow fell beside her, it might happen.

As for the Path of Joy, maybe one day she'd pick up a Masked Fool's hat... Hmm, could old Sampo's mask become a job change item?

Mr. Emiya couldn't help but entertain this possibility with a bit of malice. This time, old Sampo had suffered greatly in his own turf. First, he met misfortune at Shirou's hands, and then he became a clown at Sparkle's.

When he learned that Shirou had taken 'beauty photos' of Miss Sparkle, old Sampo swore he would buy some from him. However, old Sampo was currently facing some financial difficulties and would probably need some time to save up Credits.

"Damn it, Asta has a new Path, and Shirou, you also showed great skill in the incident. Only this girl here felt like she was just a bystander."

Looking at the Flame Spear her companion was wielding, March 7th was full of envy. They were all playing the same script, so why did Mr. Emiya become a honored guest and savior of Belobog? Her companion was also called a hero for protecting many residents after activating the Flame Spear. Even Dan Heng, who had been offline for a long time, had repelled many Void creatures during the incident and proactively provided negative materials from nobles. He had also received flower baskets and fruit baskets from many young girls.

"March, switching Paths is very simple for you."

Shirou took out a strange card from his pocket and handed it to March 7th, saying seriously, "When you get something that can read the contents of this card, you can directly transform into this Kamen Rider. Then your Path will definitely switch to Destruction."

"No, it looks like a beetle."

"This is one of my favorite suits!"

Mr. Emiya pouted. He couldn't believe his favorite Heisei era Kamen Rider suit was being disliked. But to be fair, the Heisei era suits did carry significant risks, naturally possessing the potential to go berserk and destroy everything. Not everyone could evolve to the ultimate form like Yusuke Godai and even achieve a red-eyed state.

"Now that the Stellaron issue is resolved, shouldn't we leave Belobog?"

March 7th asked about the next arrangements. She was a restless person. Belobog was now entering a process of comprehensive great rejuvenation, and everyone was enthusiastically preparing for it. The social structure was being reorganized, there were large-scale personnel rotations, and previously closed units were being restarted. However, March 7th couldn't get involved in these matters. Although she could help out a bit, she really couldn't muster any interest in doing menial tasks.

"We can leave, but there's no need to rush, March. Do you want to go somewhere with me first?"

"Where?"

"Mr. Welt's hometown."

"Wha-wha-whaaaaat!"

Little March's bright eyes widened, and she let out an incredulous exclamation. Asta seemed to sense that there was gossip to be had and immediately put down the Flame Spear she was holding, rushing over to join in on the excitement.

"A time beacon I sent out earlier has locked onto a region of space-time where Mr. Welt's hometown is located."

"Does Uncle Yang know?"

"I haven't told him. That place is quite far from the time period of his hometown."

"What do you mean?"

"A world fifty thousand years before Old Yang was born."

Fifty thousand years ago?!

March 7th and Asta's expressions were somewhat stunned. Shirou smiled, "The timeline of Old Yang's world can generally be divided into two civilizations, before and after. Both civilizations experienced a natural disaster trial called 'Honkai Impact.' It can be understood as both worlds having Stellaron, and these Stellaron chose many people like Clio to grant power. These empowered individuals, like Clio, would want to destroy everything."

"And the later civilization, where Old Yang is from, ultimately defeated the Stellaron. As for the previous civilization... unfortunately, they ultimately failed to overcome the final trial."

"When you mention Stellaron, I get it! I didn't get a chance to show off in Jarilo-VI this time, but I'll definitely find a place to make up for it."

"I'm going too!"

How could Little Star Core Spirit give up on something so interesting? Her light golden pupils showed a clear "If you don't take me, I'll cause trouble" expression. Shirou naturally wouldn't refuse this Stellaron spirit. When going to find Elysia, it would be best to bring a group of beautiful girls to max out her favorability immediately.

Now he had March 7th, a pink-haired girl, and Little Star Core Spirit, a cosmic succubus. Add Serval, Cocolia, Bronya, Lynx, Pela, Seele... Especially Little March, who was lively, energetic, pink-haired, ice-element, and an archer, just like Elysia. All the buffs were stacked. It would be unreasonable not to immediately swear brotherhood with her.

If March 7th and Elysia get close, and then I get close to March 7th, it will ultimately mean I can pull Elysia over to get close too. If I can handle Elysia, the true queen of yuri, then characters like Sakura, Mei, Vill-V, and Eden will already be half-conquered.

Ever since Bronya brought Serval to play poker that night, Mr. Emiya started to realize his thinking could be much more open. MiHoYo is all about yuri sweetness. If I can win over one, the other, who is easily swayed, can be dragged along. The "Belt and Road" initiative is a traditional skill, not to be missed.

"In that timeline, Eden has already joined the Flame-Chaser, which means Himiko is dead. What a shame... If I could have contacted Elysia before the Australian incident, I would have had three Himekos. Then, facing Kiana would be a triple critical hit, possibly even critical hitting A-Fu."

"No, the Herrscher of Reason's core can devour the souls of 300,000 people. Could the Plague Jewel also contain a Himiko?"

"There's potential!"

Chapter 055: Non-existent memories have increased. (Seeking first order, 7/10)

"Eden, Eden, please help me see how this outfit looks. I'm meeting new friends today, and I want to greet them with the most perfect image."

In a five-star hotel room, Elysia was turning in front of the mirror, examining her attire for the day.

Eden, as always, watched her best friend with a light smile, occasionally chiming in with a comment.

Sitting beside Eden, the green-haired woman in a white lab coat frowned with a hint of impatience.

"Elysia, you've already changed five times. Stop messing around."

"Cute girls must present their most perfect selves when meeting someone for the first time, Mei."

"Are you thinking about men, Elysia?"

"Perhaps I am."

Elysia gazed at Mei with a smile, then tiptoed quickly closer to Mei, and spoke again.

"If a man appeared who was not only handsome but also an excellent cook, and could bring you more possibilities, I don't believe Mei you wouldn't be interested."