"Mom Bronya Is the Best."

Seeing Raven hidden beneath her hood, Cocolia had never expected her to come all the way to the Far East.

"I don't want to waste words on you, Anti-Entropy's executor. Think about how you got everything you have, then think about our cooperation."

Raven had never wanted to confront this woman, who disgusted her from head to toe, but there was no helping it. In World Serpent, the only reliable people were her and Grey Serpent.

Grey Serpent was good at negotiating business. When it came to threats, though, it had to be her.

"Are you threatening me?"

Cocolia sat in her chair, arrogantly looking at the person who called herself a World Serpent officer.

Seeing her attitude, Raven let out a soft sigh.

Why did Grey Serpent always like dealing with these warlords? They didn't have a shred of humility.

Cocolia snapped her fingers, and five or six Titans instantly surrounded Raven. Countless weapons locked onto her as well.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Let me make this clear first: I'm only here to notify you. Forget it, there's no reasoning with you anyway."

Raven felt that Cocolia probably wanted to show off her strength before negotiating terms and taking advantage of World Serpent.

Perhaps Grey Serpent could have discussed this with her, but there was truly nothing for Raven to discuss.

"I'm just an assassin. Why make things difficult for me?"

Raven removed her hood, revealing the black gun hidden behind her.

The moment it appeared, an unimaginable sense of danger made Cocolia's hair stand on end.

"The Third God Key, Sin Mallet Thunder of Seven. If I'm not too ignorant, this God Key should have the strongest piercing and destructive power of all the God Keys. Killing a Rank S Valkyrie would be effortless. Oh, and I forgot to remind you—it also has a tracking function. There's nowhere you can run."

Raven said with a smile.

"You should know that God Keys are very picky about their users. Just like Anti-Entropy's Star of Eden, or Schicksal's Oath of Judah, Judgment of Shamash, Abyss Flower..."

Raven walked over and patted Cocolia on the shoulder.

"By sheer coincidence, I happen to be able to use this God Key."

After saying all that, Raven did not wait for Cocolia's reply. She simply waved and left.

"I'll be staying in the Far East for the near future. Think it over carefully."

Faced with Raven's blatant threat, Cocolia could only grit her teeth and slam the table twice.

"Bastard!"

Choosing to cooperate with World Serpent was no different from conspiring with a tiger. Cocolia had known that long ago.

"How much longer will the experiment take?"

"It is expected to be fully prepared by the end of May."

"Why are you so happy?"

"Rosia" looked at Rosia, whose lips remained slightly curved even in sleep, and sighed.

"She traded a fake, pretentious smile for your heart."

"That isn't fair."

"Mother Bronya Is the Best."

April.

Winter's cold glint had vanished completely. New buds had sprouted in March, and flowers bloomed in the Far East's April splendor.

Inside the Far East's largest commercial arcade.

"Rosia, which one do you want?"

Bronya looked over the many claw machines in the arcade, along with various prize machines that relied on skill or luck, then pointed at Kiana beside her.

"Anything you can catch is fine. As for luck, rely on your Sister Kiana."

"Hmph, you still have to rely on me, Bronya."

Kiana raised her little head proudly.

"Yes, yes. Idiot Kiana is only a little luckier when it comes to prize draws."

Though she was unhappy about it, Bronya had to admit that Kiana's luck really was impressive.

Basically, there was no card-drawing game Kiana could not finish within ten pulls.

"You're welcome, Rosia. Your Mother Bronya nearly emptied this entire arcade with the claw machines last time. The owner was practically ready to give Bronya the counter too."

Kiana complained.

"Then I'll take that Houmu plush."

Rosia smiled and looked toward a Houmu claw machine.

"A Houmu plush? Bronya, see if they have the one you want."

Kiana leaned over and examined the various Houmu plushies inside the machine.

"Mm..."

Hearing Kiana, Bronya went over for a look as well.

"It's gone. According to the official announcement, that limited-edition Houmu plush has sold out."

Bronya said with slight regret.

As a loyal Houmu fan, Bronya had a great deal of interest in Houmu.

"Really? That's a shame."

Kiana gently shook her head, then picked Rosia up in front of Bronya.

Given her build, carrying Rosia looked perfectly natural. After all, Kiana was ten centimeters taller than Bronya.

"Which one do you want?"

Seeing Kiana's casual action, Bronya's mouth twitched.

"The biggest one."

Seeing the hesitation on Rosia's face, Bronya spoke up.

"Okay."

Rosia did not particularly care about the Houmu plushies, but this was something Mother Bronya liked.

"The claw strength, if I remember correctly, changes at..."

Strong grip, then weak grip...

Bronya's silver-gray eyes gleamed. She calculated when the machine would switch to weak grip so that, when the Houmu plush dropped, it would be caught by the claw on the other side.

Yet contrary to her expectations, the claw maintained its strong grip from beginning to end, firmly locking onto the Houmu plush.

"Mother Bronya is amazing."

Though Bronya found it somewhat strange, Rosia and the others thought Bronya's skill was especially impressive.

"It's nothing, Rosia. Is there anything else you want? It would be a waste not to spend the remaining coins."

Bronya placed the Houmu plush in Rosia's arms and smiled.

"There's nothing else I want..."

Although Rosia said that, Bronya and Kiana still took her to use up all the remaining coins. Rosia and Kiana ended up carrying more than a dozen different plushies each.

"Bronya, weren't you a little too over-the-top today?"

Even Kiana was surprised this time. Normally, even Bronya would have a high chance of messing up on her first try, but today she had not made a single mistake.

"Maybe I'm just lucky today."

Bronya shook her head thoughtfully.

When they left the arcade, Raiden Mei walked over.

"Let's have hot pot for lunch. While wandering around just now, I happened to pass a hot pot restaurant. The owner said I was their thousandth customer, so I can bring people for a free all-you-can-eat hot pot meal."

Raiden Mei said with a smile.

This was the Far East's central shopping district. Every shop was basically a major brand, so running into promotions was perfectly normal.

"Okay, we'll listen to Sister Mei."

When Bronya and Rosia sat down, Bronya was slightly stunned when she saw the menu handed over by the waiter, complete with Russian translations.

"What's wrong, Mother Bronya?"

Rosia asked in confusion.

"It's nothing."

Bronya gently shook her head.

Perhaps she was being too sensitive.

The hot pot at noon tasted quite good, and the flavors happened to be exactly what they liked.

That afternoon, just as everyone was preparing to have dessert, they came across a newly opened dessert shop inviting them to a free tasting.

While playing in a haunted house, they encountered a special Easter egg, and the owner even gave Rosia and Bronya a gift.

While choosing clothes for Rosia at a boutique clothing store, Bronya saw an exquisite blue-and-white dress displayed in the most prominent spot.

"Was our luck really that good today? Such expensive clothes just happened to be ninety percent off?"

Kiana was still complaining about the day's experiences.

From morning to night, whenever they wanted to do something, they happened to encounter exactly the right people and exactly the right places.

Everything had gone so naturally and smoothly.

Even when they took the bus home, they had happened to catch the last free ride.

"Bronya, why have you been so quiet today?"

Kiana curiously looked at the silver-gray-haired girl, who had remained silent and offered no opinions since noon.

Kiana had teased Bronya plenty of times today, but Bronya had ignored her most of the time. That did not suit her personality at all.

Only when she and Rosia came out of the haunted house alone that afternoon had Kiana seen her looking somewhat happier.

"Shh..."

Bronya did not answer Kiana. She merely gestured, then indicated the blue-haired girl leaning against her shoulder, who had gradually fallen asleep.

"She's sleeping so soundly."

Looking at Rosia's sleeping face, Kiana rested her chin on her hand and murmured.

"Oh, right, Bronya. These are two tickets to Dreamland Amusement Park that Mei and I won in a prize draw while you and Rosia were in the haunted house today. Mei and I have both been there before, and the tickets can be used until the end of May. Remember to take Rosia there when you have time and let her have fun."

Looking at the two amusement park tickets Kiana stuffed into her hands, Bronya stood frozen for quite a while. In the end, she smiled in relief.

Raiden Mei and Kiana were both stunned. They had often seen Bronya wearing a smile lately, but ever since they had met her, this was the first time she had actually laughed aloud.

Kiana did not know how to describe the emotion in Bronya's eyes, but judging from her expression alone—

Bronya was smiling very happily.

April 25.

"Today, Mother Bronya caught so many cute plushies. Mother Bronya looks really pretty when she's serious..."

"In the afternoon, we went to the haunted house. It was very scary, but Mother Bronya was there, so it wasn't scary."