The moment the Shadowkhan soldiers beside her vanished, Kiana instantly found her courage again.
"I'm not acknowledging a guy like you."
She shouted loudly, but her eyes still darted around, afraid that another group of Shadow Clone Army soldiers would suddenly appear and pin her to the ground.
"Whether you acknowledge me has nothing to do with you."
Russell spread his hands, then seemed to recall something and looked toward Rita.
"Rita, could you help me pass a message to Durandal?"
"Please, go ahead."
Rita's expression was unprecedentedly serious.
This battle had been far too bizarre for her. From beginning to end, it had been targeting her.
Though no one had said it outright, she understood very well that, in Kiana's eyes, she might have fallen from a reliable big sister to an idiot who constantly embarrassed herself.
If possible, she wanted to stack some buffs through other means.
For example, through her brother-in-law.
"Tell her this girl has been kidnapped by me, and the kidnapper wants her to lend me Oath of Judah for a few days."
Russell coughed as he said something that made Kiana jump up in an instant.
"Look, Rita! His fox tail is showing now!!"
This samoyed practically wanted to grab a meatpacking plant stamp and press the words "LIAR" onto Russell's face.
"What kind of decent person needs such underhanded means just to borrow something?"
That did make some sense.
Even Rita's expression grew somewhat solemn.
If Russell's adoptive father was Cecilia's sworn younger brother, then he definitely knew Theresa.
If he wanted to, he could certainly borrow it.
Why did he have to resort to such crooked methods?
"Your explanation has certain loopholes. Unless you provide an appropriate explanation, even if you are Lord Durandal's elder brother, it will be difficult for me to assist you."
Rita spoke.
The meaning was actually very simple.
She needed Russell to explain why he had to use such a strange method to obtain Oath of Judah.
The young man froze.
He looked at Rita and Kiana with a bewildered expression. After remaining silent for a long while, he finally spoke.
"Would you tell your plans to an idiot who's close to Otto and whose brain doesn't work very well?"
Rita's delicate body trembled.
That did seem to be the case.
Theresa.
The Honkai series' famous idiot.
She had not been born an idiot. In fact, she could even be considered somewhat clever.
But she had a grandfather who spoiled her excessively.
The girl got whatever she wanted, and ninety-nine percent of the time, she never needed to use her brain.
She had also been implanted with Honkai Beast genes. Her physical development was slow, and her body found it difficult to provide her mind with proper feedback.
With both factors combined, one could imagine just how terrible Theresa's mental maturity was.
And anyone with even a little sense could easily infer that Lord Durandal's godfather and the Bishop had an extremely bad relationship.
There was no trace of that man in any of Schicksal's databases.
Even using Lord Durandal's authority, she could not find even the slightest bit of information about him.
There was clearly only one person capable of sealing away someone's information so completely.
—Archbishop Otto.
Under those circumstances, discussing borrowing a Divine Key with Theresa was more or less equivalent to helping Otto rack up achievements.
"If you're worried that I'm trying to get something for nothing, I can put up a very useful item as collateral."
The young man seemed to see Rita's hesitation as well. After thinking for a moment, he spoke.
Ah...
A useful item as collateral?
Kiana nearly rolled her eyes.
Wasn't the most valuable weapon in this world a Divine Key forged from a Herrscher core?
What could possibly compare to a Divine Key?!
If you wanted to scam a Divine Key, just say so.
"I absolutely will not cooperate with you."
Kiana declared resolutely.
"I, Kiana, would rather die here, jump off this building, than help you scam my aunt!!"
"Are you sure?"
Russell looked at the white-haired ball of fluff with a "not listening, not listening, turtle chanting scriptures" expression and showed a faintly amused smile.
With a nimble flick of his hand, a talisman bearing a blue horse appeared in his palm.
What was he trying to do?
Kiana and Rita beside her were both a little stunned.
The young man clapped his hands. Then, a Shadowkhan returned to his side with an Akun.
Under the strange looks of the two girls, Russell swung his sword and removed Akun's chicken wing.
Akun was just about to let out a miserable howl, but the noble horse had already activated its power, and the stripped-away chicken wing returned to its body once more.
"Cluck—"
Akun, who should have been screaming in agony, wore a bewildered expression on its chicken face.
It seemed to have lost a chicken wing, yet it also seemed not to have lost one...
Should it still scream?
Akun fell into deep thought.
"The Horse Talisman. Its Ability Nature is 'expulsion' and 'healing.' Its upper limit is unknown, but I don't think repairing the arm of someone who makes my old man furious whenever he hears about him would be a problem."
The young man introduced one of the talismans he possessed.
Kiana's expression froze instantly.
Of course she knew who Russell meant by the one-armed man.
The famous male lead of last century's morning drama—Siegfried Kaslana.
Her father.
"Since you, Kiana, are unwilling to cooperate with me, then I can only give up on obtaining the Key of Binding."
The young man stretched lazily and did not press the matter.
That nonchalance was genuine.
Because besides Oath of Judah, there was indeed another weapon in this world that was highly effective against Mobius.
"Come to think of it, Jizo seems pretty useful against enemies like Memeory Bodies. The only pity is that thing is only a half-finished product. If I want to use it, I'll have to reshape it myself."
"But if I can successfully reshape it, I should be able to clear the stage perfectly. And I wouldn't even have to return it to anyone."
Having said that, the young man smiled and cheerfully ordered Rita around.
"Rita, take Kiana to school."
"Siegfried is a major proponent of free-range parenting. Kiana probably never had the chance to study properly while following him. It's time for her to make up for her academic deficiencies."
After saying that, he waved to the girl who had been enjoying the Oscar-worthy performance from the sidelines, then stepped entirely into the shadows.
Kiana watched his carefree departing figure, opening her mouth as her expression grew increasingly sorrowful.
Rita beside her could barely bear to keep watching.
Judging from how quickly Russell had left, he might really need Oath of Judah, but he did not need it that badly.
And Siegfried truly needed the so-called Horse Talisman.
Having been firmly grasped once again, the girl rushed forward with a pained expression.
"Brother Russell, wait!!"
On the Idea of Making the Herrscher of the Void Mine Coal
"I still prefer that rebellious look of yours."
Russell turned back with a smile, hugged Kiana, and vigorously rubbed her face.
Kiana's face felt amazing, soft like a baby's.
Rubbing it a little more seemed to improve his mood considerably.
Of course, Miss Kiana, whose face was being kneaded, probably did not feel as good as Russell did.
She had been firmly grasped again.
For once, Miss Kiana felt utterly powerless.
She did not know whether it was an illusion, but whenever she faced Russell, nothing good seemed to happen afterward.
This guy might not be her nemesis...
He was her natural predator!!
Just how long was this guy planning to keep rubbing her face?!
Kiana felt like her cheeks were starting to hurt from all the kneading.
Then—
"Rita, Skadi, do you want to rub it too?"
"This girl's face feels absolutely amazing!"
Kiana's eyes widened.
No, was it not enough for him to rub it alone? He even wanted to call his friends over to rub it too?!!
Did he think she was mahjong?!
"That's too much!!"
Kiana deftly took a step back. Under Rita's somewhat disappointed gaze, she planted her hands on her hips and shouted.
"I'm telling you, if you've got the guts, don't use my old man's situation to threaten me..."
"If you keep threatening me, I won't help you get that thing. Seriously."
"Then let's talk about Mei's marriage prospects. Well, neither Mei nor I have much interest in marriage, but Raikou Ryoma really wants to set the two of us up..."
The young man smiled and used an even more old-fashioned move.
If Siegfried was off the table, then he would talk about Mei.
Kiana looked at the bastard before her, a sense of helplessness rising within her.
Heavens, what did I do wrong in my past life to deserve meeting a bastard like this to punish me...
Before you continue