Won't You Buy Me a Drink, My Friend?

It would be much easier to settle things with Cocolia then.

"I know."

Rosia was somewhat surprised. She did not understand why Otto was here or why he was helping her, but she had no choice but to ask him for help now.

"Idiot, are you trying to get yourself killed? Do you know what that experiment means?"

"Rosia" had been rebuking her in her ear all along.

Ever since Bronya injected Rosia with the serum, she had been disappointed in all of them.

Fortunately, Bronya had not been foolish enough to hand Rosia over to Cocolia, but now this little fool wanted to go back and throw herself into danger...

"If I don't go back, Mother Bronya will be in danger..."

Rosia gently shook her head.

If Bronya truly fell out with Cocolia, then given Cocolia's methods, even if she did not take Bronya's life, she would still leave lasting damage behind.

Rather than saying Cocolia possessed motherly love, it would be more accurate to say that she had always used her own "motherly love" to shape her children's understanding.

"...Something could go wrong."

Although "Rosia" knew that even the worst outcome would only be her body collapsing and entering Quantumization, it would be troublesome if some unexpected situation arose.

The Stigmata power created by Mei was powerful, but correspondingly, the price of obtaining that power was a will strong enough to match it.

Even "Rosia" was not confident that she could fully bear that power.

"Trust me, okay?"

Rosia smiled faintly.

The blond youth beside her, listening to the girl talk to herself, was a little stunned.

He had thought she was a perfectly normal child. Was she suffering from some kind of split personality now?

Even with the imitation Feather of the Wind, Otto still had not noticed anything unusual around Rosia. Perhaps it was an ability of the Stigmata within her body.

"The train will arrive at the terminal in one minute. Passengers wishing to disembark..."

"Thank you. I hope we meet again someday."

Rosia waved to the blond youth and prepared to get off the train.

From afar, she could see the blond woman waiting at the end of the station, with a silver-gray-haired girl standing beside her.

"..."

Otto watched her retreating figure. His green eyes flickered twice before he finally sighed.

The moment the train doors opened, the blond youth stood beside the girl and met Cocolia's gaze as she approached.

If he were acting as the Bishop of Schicksal, Otto had countless ways to control Cocolia. Even now, with this Soul Steel body, taking her down would not be difficult.

But sometimes, even Otto was powerless.

"We meet again."

Cocolia smiled at the blond youth. A few months ago, when she had first arrived in the Far East, he had warned her. She had not expected him to still be helping Bronya protect her daughter now.

"Yes, we meet again. After all, you did not take my advice."

The blond youth gently shook his head.

"Ha. If Your Excellency is concerned that my actions in the Far East have been somewhat extreme, then there is no need to worry. We will be leaving the Far East soon. But if this is about our family matters, please do not interfere."

Cocolia could not see through the blond youth or determine which faction he belonged to, so to be safe, she needed a reason to send him away.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Otto looked at Bronya beside Cocolia. The girl's expression was exceptionally cold at the moment, with not a trace of emotion in her eyes.

"Rosia, come with me."

Bronya extended her hand to her.

"Strange. It isn't hypnosis..."

Otto saw the girl's abnormality, but strangely enough, even with Feather of the Wind, he could not detect anything wrong with her mind.

Unless...

Otto's gaze toward Cocolia began to change.

She had implanted a biological chip in the girl...

Rosia beside him could not possibly have failed to notice something so obvious. Otto gently shook his head, signaling that Rosia could leave and that he would help stop the two of them, but Rosia took Bronya's outstretched hand.

The thing Otto feared most had happened after all.

"Okay, Mother Bronya. Let's go."

The girl smiled softly, without the slightest fear or apprehension on her face.

"See? Your Excellency, the mother and daughter get along very well. There is no need for you to worry."

Cocolia drew the two of them to her side and spoke coldly to the blond youth.

"Our family matters are not something Your Excellency is suited to involve yourself in, are they?"

"Unless Your Excellency wishes to tear apart our family reunion..."

Otto smiled as Cocolia began to morally blackmail him.

Since when did he possess something like morals?

It had been a long time since Otto had heard anyone speak to him like that.

If he could, he truly wanted to kill Cocolia in front of him and adopt Bronya and Rosia.

That way, even if they lost their mother, at least they would still have him.

He could become the guide in their lives, providing them with resources, connections, and even faith.

But unfortunately, this time he could not.

The blond youth saw the plea in Rosia's eyes and could only leave in the end.

"One final reminder: they are also members of Schicksal. If they cannot return to Schicksal safely, I hope you know what is good for you."

Hearing the blond youth's unmistakably threatening words, Cocolia smiled and replied in a cold, mocking tone.

"I hope Your Excellency's identity qualifies you to represent Schicksal."

"Won't You Buy Me a Drink, My Friend?"

"Mother Bronya..."

Rosia had noticed Bronya's abnormality from the very beginning. She also knew that she had to return, or Bronya would be implicated next.

Cocolia looked at the blue-haired girl obediently holding Bronya's hand, and an extremely intense feeling rose within her.

Before, she had only observed her through videos and photographs. Now that she saw the girl in person, Cocolia realized just how much she resembled Seele.

Whether in appearance or personality, she was even more striking than Seele, more likely to inspire pity and draw attention.

"Rosia?"

When they arrived at the Anti-Entropy base near them, Cocolia bent down and spoke to Rosia for the first time. Her purple eyes looked at the girl.

"I'm your Mother Bronya's mother."

Cocolia very much wanted the girl to call her something, but clearly, Rosia only cowered behind Bronya, as if the fear brought by the unfamiliar environment had turned her into a startled little beast.

"...Don't be afraid. There are no bad people here."

Cocolia reached out again to pat Rosia's head. Rosia wanted to dodge, but Bronya looked at her as well.

"Rosia, be good."

Seeing Rosia's unnatural, awkward expression, "Rosia" was furious. She gritted her silver teeth and stared at Cocolia.

If not for Rosia's own wishes, she would have torn Cocolia apart long ago.

Whether it was her disgusting, pretentious face or her attempt to control Bronya and deceive Rosia, everything about it was revolting.

Even Otto had not disgusted her this much.

"Would you like something to eat? Cake, or candied apples?"

Cocolia gave the order, and her subordinates brought over a pile of exquisite pastries and snacks.

Every one of those snacks looked expensive, sweet, and delicious, yet Rosia had no appetite at all, nor was there the slightest desire in her eyes.

"Don't you like them?"

Cocolia frowned. She had investigated every food Rosia had bought over the past few months. She should have liked these things.

"Rosia, I know you may still find me unfamiliar and do not trust me, but that's okay. We will have plenty of time to get to know each other in the future..."

"Do you remember your Mother Seele?"

Looking at the obedient girl who had remained silent, Cocolia finally spoke.

"Mm..."

This was the first time Rosia had responded to her.

"You must really want to know where she went, right? I'm sorry. Because of one of our experiments, Seele was sent to a place very far away from us..."

"I truly regret it. If only I had stopped the experiment back then..."

Cocolia defended herself.

In truth, the complete X-10 experiment process had not been cheap. It could even be called expensive.

Its entire process was somewhat similar to the original Stigmata Project, using high concentrations of Honkai energy to select people capable of bearing Honkai power.

Naturally, the consequences were the same. Those who could not endure it had only one fate.

Cocolia knew very well that Seele had been infinitely close to success at the time, or perhaps had already succeeded. She simply did not know what had caused her quantum collapse.

The experiment had already reached its final stage. Even if Cocolia had wanted to stop it, it had been too late.

Of course, that did not prevent Cocolia from explaining it to Rosia this way.

"All these years, I have regretted it every moment. Bronya and Seele are both my finest children. Seeing them separated hurts me deeply as well..."

Although she had her own selfish motives, Cocolia truly did care about her children. It was only that this concern might seem somewhat twisted in the eyes of ordinary people.

Rosia merely watched Cocolia's performance without saying anything.

Even she, who had favorable impressions of almost everyone, did not particularly like this side of Cocolia.

Cocolia seemed to wear a hypocritical mask at every moment, leading others around in circles to achieve her own ends.

On one hand, she constantly repented. On the other, she possessed no real awareness at all.

Perhaps she had love, but she did not understand what "respect" meant.

"I found many people and tried many methods. I even chose to cooperate with certain people..."

If Rosia's existence had not given Cocolia hope, she would already have cooperated with World Serpent and headed for the Sea of Abyss Eye.

The danger of exploring the Sea of Quanta through the Sea of Abyss Eye might have been even greater than the X-10 experiment.

Moreover, World Serpent had its own goals. They wanted to bring dangerous things out of the sea, and Cocolia could not guarantee that they would still help her retrieve Seele after achieving their objective.

"But we truly have no other options now..."

Was Cocolia conflicted?

Yes, she was conflicted too, because she could not guarantee that completing the experiment would truly bring Seele back. But this last remaining fantasy was already enough to keep her from staying rational.

She was not a scientist with rational thinking. She was merely a mother who wished to bring her daughter back from the Sea of Quanta.

Even if the price of failure was somewhat too devastating.

"I understand..."

Seeing the expression on Rosia's face soften, Cocolia continued.