Lin Li took the phone from Theresa, snapped a photo of herself, changed her eyes in the picture to sky blue, and handed it to them.
"Gasp..."
Theresa's mind was completely blown, while Kiana's eyes began to sparkle.
"I think it actually sounds pretty good."
"What do you mean, pretty good?! This is just..."
Theresa still found it hard to believe that Lin Li had been born from two girls.
Even Schicksal couldn't achieve this kind of technology yet, could it?
If such technology really existed, it would have become widespread within Schicksal long ago.
"Why not? Our biology teacher said girls have XX chromosomes, right? Then wouldn't a child born from two girls also have XX chromosomes?"
"So a child born from two girls would be a girl."
Even "Lin Li," who had been bored out of her mind, was stunned by Kiana's reasoning.
"You really are a genius."
Bronya: What Is Your Name...
"Kiana, don't only listen to half of the lesson next time..."
Although the fact that Kiana actually attended class was a small surprise to Theresa, the overall result was worse than if she had not listened at all.
"Bleh..."
Kiana scratched her head. She thought it made perfect sense.
"Little Lin Li, do you have any identification documents on you? If not, I can get them from Shenzhou for you."
Living in the Far East without proof of identity was rather troublesome. Even enrollment at St. Freya Academy required it.
"No. The headmaster never made any identification documents for me."
Lin Li gently shook her head.
"I see..."
This was not particularly difficult for Theresa. As long as she asked, she could obtain identification documents from practically anywhere. After all, every country still gave Schicksal considerable face.
"Then whose surname should Little Lin Li take? Mother Bronya's or Mother Seele's? Should Bronya give you a new name?"
From Lin Li's behavior, she clearly did not like the Shenzhou orphanage that had raised her. Since they were registering her identity again, having Bronya give her a new name would be good. Even if Lin Li still wanted to keep her original name, they could always give her a Shenzhou name later.
"Either is fine."
Lin Li nodded obediently.
She was not particularly attached to her name. She was only called that because no one besides the headmaster had ever named her.
She had considered changing it later, but there had been too many things to do, so she never acted on it.
"Bronya, come in."
Seeing that the time was about right, Theresa called Bronya inside.
She knew Bronya had never left the doorway. After listening for so long, she should have calmed down by now.
Besides, only Bronya could carry out what came next.
Even if Bronya did not want to acknowledge her, the report was right there. There was no doubt that Lin Li was related to Bronya by blood.
"I..."
After taking the report from Theresa, Bronya only needed one glance to confirm the result.
At that moment, it was both good news and bad news to her.
The bad news was that she had a ten-year-old daughter at only fourteen. The good news was that this daughter was most likely hers and Seele's...
Looking at Lin Li's appearance, Bronya did not believe for a second that she had nothing to do with Seele.
Lin Li had said so herself just now. She was Bronya and Seele's child.
But...
Even though the genius Bronya did not specialize in biology, she knew it was impossible for her and Seele to have a child.
Even a clone could not possess so many of both their genetic traits at once. Besides, current cloning experiments had enormous flaws; even clones produced without any genetic modifications could suffer accidents.
"Was it an experiment Mother Cocolia conducted?"
Bronya strongly suspected that it was an experiment conducted by Cocolia.
"Bronya..."
Seeing the conflicted expression on Bronya's face, Lin Li wanted to call out to her, but stopped halfway. She was afraid that her form of address would trouble Bronya.
"Good girl."
Bronya did not actually feel any dislike toward her. On the contrary, after recovering from the shock and accepting reality, she felt a little happy for some reason.
Reaching out to pat Lin Li's head, Bronya knew that regardless of why she had been born, Lin Li was deeply connected to her. She was only a child barely over ten years old; Bronya could not possibly ignore her.
Although she was only fourteen herself, Bronya's mind was even more mature than that of most adults.
"From now on, you'll take Seele's surname."
Looking at Lin Li's appearance, there was no doubt that Seele's genes had the upper hand. It suited her rather well.
"As for your name? Let me think..."
Bronya felt a little conflicted.
She could come up with game usernames with ease, but she had never thought about how she should name her own child.
"How about Losha?"
"Losha Floe."
Bronya looked at Lin Li, a little worried that she might dislike the name she had chosen.
There had been so little time and no references to draw from, so she could only piece it together from familiar characters.
"Mm, my name is Losha Floe."
Hearing the name Bronya had given her, Lin Li happily swayed her little head.
As long as it was a name Mother Bronya had given her, she would like it.
"She's hopeless."
"Lin Li"—no, she had to change her name to "Losha" now too.
She did not care about names at all either, but since Bronya had chosen this one, she disliked it a little.
What she wanted was someone who could truly protect Losha, not someone whose mind was always filled with "Seele, Seele."
"Hah..."
The moment Bronya saw the smile on Losha's face, she let out a breath of relief, though her expression did not change much.
If she treated Losha as a substitute for Seele, then not only would Losha resent it, Bronya herself would feel uncomfortable deep down.
But if she truly regarded Losha as her and Seele's daughter, then it was a little different.
One was a "companion"; the other was a child.
Seeing Seele's shadow in Losha would not make Bronya reject her. Instead, it would make her like Losha even more, because she could see her own shadow in Losha as well.
"That's good, then."
Seeing the mother-daughter relationship between Bronya and Losha gradually ease, Theresa was relieved as well.
At this rate, Bronya and Losha should get along very well in the future. Under the worst-case scenario, Theresa could have adopted Losha herself.
Emotionally, she genuinely liked this child. The very first time she saw her, Theresa had been drawn to her.
Rationally, as the Headmaster, she could not possibly refuse to nurture such an outstanding Valkyrie prospect.
"Ah, what a shame. Bronya, can you let Losha sleep with me for two days? Just two days!"
Kiana, watching this unfold, felt somewhat regretful. If Bronya had taken another two days to accept it, Losha could have stayed with her during those two days.
She liked this child very much too. Even when she first met Mei, she had not felt this strongly.
"No. If it's idiot Kiana, she'll definitely do something weird."
Bronya lifted Losha out of Theresa's arms and bluntly refused.
"This child..."
The moment she held Losha, Bronya felt more than just a soft little body. More noticeably, she sensed a mingling of their auras.
Even Project Bunny behind her unconsciously reached out to protect Losha.
"You acknowledge her too?"
Noticing Project Bunny's reaction, Bronya murmured.
Project Bunny was the last gift Seele had given her. Bronya did not know whether Seele could sense anything through Project Bunny, but its actions still put her at ease.
"I wonder how Seele will react when she sees her?"
Raiden Mei: I Want to Make Her Cry?
"Now you get to live with the Mother Bronya you've been dreaming about. You're happy now, right?"
"Losha" teased.
That afternoon, Theresa had accompanied Losha to handle all kinds of documents. That evening, since they were either attending class or busy with work and had no time to clean up a room, Bronya said she needed time to process things. Letting Losha sleep with Kiana was far too unsafe, so she would simply sleep with Mei tonight.
"You're not happy? Why do you hate Mother Bronya so much?"
Losha asked in confusion.
"...As long as you like it."
"Losha" fell silent at that moment. As a twin consciousness, she could only consider Losha's current circumstances.
Realistically speaking, given Losha's identity, joining Schicksal was far more stable than joining St. Freya Academy. She was only worried that Otto might take an interest in the natural Stigmata on Losha's body.
"If you want to stay with them, then stay with them. Six months will be enough."
"Losha" said helplessly.
From her perspective, she had thought this reconstruction would be the safest option, yet an accident had still occurred.
"I should have used Raiden Mei's template back then."
Looking at the purple-haired girl thoughtfully packing clothes for Losha nearby, "Losha" thought.
But in truth, it did not matter much. This early part of the story was the safest period in all of Honkai.
Later, things like the super Dudu, ancestor Kevin, and pseudo-god Otto were not something ordinary people could handle.
For now, the only troublesome ones were those two Rank S Valkyries. Even if "Losha" could not defeat them, she was confident she could escape.
"Losha, this set of pajamas is for you."
Raiden Mei looked at the petite blue-haired girl. From the first moment she saw Losha, she had felt something strange.
It was not the overwhelming amazement brought by her appearance, but a unique temperament that came from within.
She was the sort who became cuter the longer one looked at her. No wonder Kiana had begged Bronya so persistently to let Losha sleep with her.
"Okay, Sister Mei."
Losha nodded obediently and changed into the pajamas.
The pitifully adorable air of the already tiny girl after changing into the somewhat oversized pajamas made even "Losha," standing nearby, purse her lips.
"This idiot, how can she be so foolishly cute..."
Although she knew Losha had a "same-sex attraction Max" talent, she was genuinely having a hard time with it.
Before you continue