After hearing the little girl's uncertain, frightened tone and what she had said, Edelweiss found it a little amusing and said gently, "Void is such a cute, well-behaved child. Who wouldn't like her?"
"But..."
Inside the space, the girl hugged her legs with both arms, her chin resting against her fair knees. Her golden eyes revealed her fear of being abandoned by her family.
Within the void-like space, a delicate purple-haired little girl slowly opened her golden eyes. She stared hollowly into the empty space, with only one clear command in her mind.
"Carry out Honkai's will!"
Her consciousness gradually awakened as well.
She was an envoy who carried out the will of "Honkai," and she could also be called a Herrscher.
As the Second Herrscher, "Void" was the name—or perhaps designation—she had been given.
She should have been the second Herrscher to appear this century, but for some reason, she had awakened ahead of schedule. She did not concern herself with that, however, and simply carried out Honkai's will.
"Destroy humanity's civilization in this world."
Now, her soul would take over this body and carry out Honkai's will.
But the moment she took control of the body, the vast number of memories it contained flooded directly into her soul.
A dull, ordinary, uneventful life; a pure white space; days spent in a library full of books, accompanied by books; and a life of growing up among a group of innocent, simple children until the age of five.
The immense flood of memories entered the girl's mind all at once, leaving her unable to recover for a moment.
As she accepted the memories, the girl slowly browsed through and experienced the things and emotions within them.
After accepting all the memories, several words emerged in her mind.
Life... birth... family...
The girl was somewhat flustered, but Honkai's will still compelled her to take over the body she occupied.
When the girl opened her eyes, she saw her own immature little hands, as well as the people surrounding her. Their bodies radiated frightening energy.
Yet the terrifying aura they gave off did not frighten her in the slightest, because she could sense that she could crush them to death with one hand.
The girl looked around. Beneath a pile of rubble, a chestnut-haired girl with red liquid running down her head looked at her. Her eyes were vacant, as though she had lost consciousness, and she murmured, "Little Mio..."
Upon hearing the little girl's weak call, scenes related to him instantly surfaced in her mind.
Their bickering, playing, sleeping, and eating together.
A series of images appeared in her mind.
Big sister... sis... Sister Touka... sister...
Family...
She stared blankly at the unconscious girl on the ground and said, "Sis... sister..."
For her, an unfamiliar word had come from her mouth.
At a loss, panicked...
She panicked. She truly panicked. For the first time, her golden eyes revealed an emotion called panic. Having inherited his memories, she had gained the consciousness to make her own judgments.
Honkai's will and the memories of the original body had caused her to form her own judgment.
The contradiction between the two left her even more lost.
She fled...
"Space."
Using her innate ability, "Space," she escaped from that body. She placed her soul within the core and fled without anyone present noticing.
For safety's sake, the ability of "Space" instinctively transported her to a boundless snowy mountain range. There, she met Edelweiss. Although the two had clashed when they first met, Edelweiss later invited her to live in her home.
As she came to understand his memories more deeply, although part of them remained blank and she had no idea what those memories were, she gradually understood the meanings of the three words birth, life, and family.
Luo Mio... Toudo Touka... family...
In his memories, "Herrschers" were humanity's natural enemies, agents of civilization's destruction—Herrschers born from the "Honkai" that humanity hated, loathed, and feared.
Could I, a calamity like this, obtain a family... become his family?
Void sat within the space, blankly watching through it as Luo Mio walked down that road outside.
He wore a cheerful, warm expression as he chatted easily and happily with his friends.
I want to talk to you like that too...
Big brother...
Outside the space, Edelweiss sensed Void's low spirits. Her eyes flickered as she looked toward the hotel where Luo Mio was. Then, her gaze happened to fall upon a nearby phone booth, and her eyes lit up.
Connecting the Call
The three of them returned to the hotel entrance. Luo Mio felt uncomfortable because he was sweaty, so he returned to his room first, while Ikki and Arisugawa went to buy food.
Luo Mio sat on the sofa in his room, holding a cup of water. Just as he was about to tilt his head back and drink—
"Ring, ring, ring..."
System: Boss, you have a call~
A cool, magnetic, sexy mature woman's voice, aloof as a snow lotus, came from the system's little ball of light.
"..."
Hearing the system's sexy mature-woman voice, Luo Mio could not help but shudder.
"What are you doing?"
Luo Mio rubbed both arms back and forth.
"Can you stop talking in that voice? I've got goosebumps."
System: ...
System: But according to the host's memories, you really like the voices of older women.
Luo Mio: ...I like loli—
System: FBI! Open the door!
Ignoring the system going crazy in his mind, Luo Mio took out the Student Handbook.
"Who is it?"
Luo Mio looked at the unfamiliar number on the Student Handbook.
He answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Edelweiss... will this really work?" Void's uncertain voice came from the floating space around Edelweiss.
"Trust me~" Edelweiss stood inside the phone booth, holding the contact information she had just obtained from Tsukikage Makuya.
"**********"
"Okay!" Edelweiss raised the phone.
"Beep~ Beep~ Beep~"
Void watched the unanswered phone in Edelweiss's hand through the space. Expectation, nervousness, and unease filled her heart.
Will he... really answer?
And then, at that moment—
"Beep."
"Hello?" Luo Mio's puzzled voice came through the phone.
"Hello?"
Luo Mio greeted them twice in a row. Hearing no response, he felt confused.
"Hello, may I ask if you need something?" Still, out of courtesy, Luo Mio asked.
At the other end of the phone booth—
Edelweiss anxiously looked toward the constantly shifting space due to Void's nervousness and hurriedly whispered, "Say something already!"
"I-I'm a little... scared..." Void spoke softly.
Scared?!...
Those words left Edelweiss somewhat dumbfounded.
Back then, who had started a fight with her at the drop of a hat? And now she was saying she was scared?
Then, looking at the phone in her hand, Edelweiss gently bit her pale red lip.
Luo Mio still heard no sound. He frowned, preparing to hang up.
"Hello."
A refined, pleasant female voice came through.
Upon hearing it, Luo Mio quickly said, "Hello. May I ask what this is about?"
Edelweiss looked at the floating space beside her as she spoke to Luo Mio.
"Actually, my daughter is a huge fan of Classmate Tōdō and really wants to talk to you."
"Wait... Edelweiss!" Void's quiet voice rang out.
A huge fan...
"Then, may I ask how old your daughter is this year?"
"Ah, she's eleven this year."
Eleven...
System (muttering): FBI! Open the door!
Furious.
Shut up! Just shut up already!
"Then why won't she talk to me?" Hearing that there was a young little girl on the other end, Luo Mio unconsciously softened his tone.
Edelweiss glanced at the space beside her, her eyes narrowing into smiling crescents.
"That child heard the voice of the person she had been longing to speak with and became so shy that she didn't dare answer the phone." Like a real older sister worrying over her younger sister, Edelweiss explained with a slightly troubled tone.
You drama queen! Who told you to make up so much backstory for me?! And who's your daughter?!
Void screamed inwardly.
"Could I trouble Classmate Tōdō to wait just a moment?"
Hearing the faintly pleading tone in the other woman's voice, Luo Mio said gently, "Of course."
System: Host~, three years...
Luo Mio: Shut up! I fucking know what you're going to say.
Inside the Consciousness Space, Fu Hua sat cross-legged with her eyes closed. Listening to the mental conversation between the system and Luo Mio, she could not help but sigh.
Meanwhile—
Edelweiss used magic to create a soundproof barrier around the phone.
"Hurry up, Void!" Edelweiss urged.
"But, but..."
"But what?!"
"I-I'm not your daughter either." Void's soft voice slowly came through.
"..."
After hearing Void's words, a vein popped up on Edelweiss's beautiful temple.
Before you continue