Although her resolve really was not firm enough, wasn't it a little too soon for her to turn around and start considering the consequences of failure?
At least teach me how to kill someone!
Under the youth's gaze, Peggy tilted her head and thought for a moment before seriously saying, "I won't give you away."
That was the only thing she could do.
No matter what torture or suffering she endured, she would never betray her benefactors.
Besides, since she could no longer kill anyone, how could she continue disappointing Shi Hen's expectations?
Looking at the girl who had already resolved to die, Shi Hen felt that something seemed to be wrong with her way of thinking.
Bang!
After lightly tapping Peggy on the forehead, Shi Hen sighed. "If it really comes to that, you should surrender immediately, and then say..."
"You... want to be my father?"
Looking at the voluptuous blonde woman before her, Peggy asked cautiously, like a rabbit poking its head out of its burrow.
"Father?"
Lowering her head to look at her enormous sins, Cocolia blinked innocently.
Did she really look that much like a man?
"What father? I won't be your father." Cocolia shook her head. "But if you're willing, you can think of me as your mother, okay?"
Father or mother, she would never use children as tools.
Children were things that needed to be carefully cherished like flowers, not cold, merciless blades.
Beneath Cocolia's gentle gaze, Peggy could not help thinking of the black-haired youth, who always wore an indifferent expression.
In a daze, Peggy gently nodded.
"Then..." Cocolia pulled the girl into her arms, pressing her little head tightly against her broad chest as she smiled gently. "From today onward, you are my daughter."
Feeling Cocolia's almost suffocating tenderness and warmth—something she had never experienced from Shi Hen—Peggy seemed to understand everything in an instant.
So that was what he meant.
December 24, 2012. Arctic Circle.
"So this is the aurora..."
Standing atop an iceberg, Shi Hen could not help sighing as he watched the gorgeous lights drifting across the eternal night sky overhead.
In the star-speckled black night sky, light drifted in from an unimaginably distant place, slowly flowing across the heavens like a winding river.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Raven smiled as she looked at the youth beside her.
"Yeah. It's the most beautiful sight I've ever seen."
Shi Hen gently nodded as he gazed up at the night sky.
The river of glowing particles stretched across the pitch-black heavens. Though it was an ordinary sight that occurred every day, the wonder and splendor it brought never faded.
"Whenever I see this, I can't help thinking how fortunate we are to live on a planet like this."
Raven also gazed at the brilliant night sky above and let out a long sigh.
"Isn't that the truth?"
Shi Hen spoke softly.
Even in this world where Honkai existed, Earth remained the only planet with life humanity had ever seen.
"Come to think of it, you've been with World Serpent for nearly three months now."
Brushing a lock of hair beside her ear, Raven looked at the youth beside her and sighed.
"Yeah, about that long."
After giving it some thought, Shi Hen nodded.
Although he had not paid much attention to time, he could still roughly sense the passage of the years.
"Time really passes quickly..."
Raven could not help sighing.
The day she had agreed upon with Gray Serpent was almost here.
"No matter whether it is long or short, time always passes evenly. Only the human heart finds it fast."
Shi Hen explained.
Raven: "..."
At a time like this, you just had to ruin the mood, didn't you?
"Tomorrow is Christmas."
Raven changed the subject.
"Ten minutes left."
Shi Hen glanced at his phone. It was currently 23:50.
"Is there any Christmas gift you want?"
Raven asked.
"This is already the best Christmas gift."
Shi Hen pointed at the aurora and night sky overhead.
This was nature's most beautiful gift to humanity.
"I knew you'd say that." Raven sighed and shook her head. "Still, at a time like this, it's okay to act a little spoiled around your big sister.
After all, once this Christmas is over, I'll be leaving World Serpent."
"You can resign from World Serpent?"
A surprised expression appeared on Shi Hen's face.
He had not signed any kind of employment contract when he joined.
"Maybe I'm just special."
Raven smiled self-deprecatingly.
Compared to World Serpent's other executives, who were steadfast in their beliefs, her casual attitude made her practically an oddity.
Looking at the youth beside her, Raven added, "Or maybe now that they have you, the organization no longer cares whether I stay or leave."
"Does Sister Natasha want to leave?"
Shi Hen asked in a serious tone.
"I don't know either." Meeting the youth's deep gaze, Raven slowly shook her head. "I've been in World Serpent for twelve years... almost thirteen now. I've long since grown used to this place.
But... how should I put it? I've always wanted to see other places.
I've been a mercenary long enough. I want to try living another way. Maybe it'll feel different."
"I see..."
Shi Hen also sighed.
He had actually sensed it for a long time.
It had clearly been a simple debt-collection mission, yet Raven had insisted on bringing him along. She had also lingered in Siberia for so long and taken exceptional interest in Peggy.
She had long been preparing for her departure from World Serpent.
On the one hand, Raven had hoped this trip to Siberia would let him glimpse World Serpent's darker side and warn him to remain vigilant.
On the other hand, Raven had hoped he would keep Peggy, so that he would not be alone in World Serpent afterward. After all, his usual style did not fit World Serpent's at all.
But unfortunately, the youth's choice had not been what the mercenary wanted.
"Sorry for bringing this up at a time like this."
Raven spoke quietly.
"There's an old saying in Shenzhou: no feast lasts forever." Shi Hen shook his head. "Besides, even if Sister Natasha leaves World Serpent, it's not as if we can never meet again.
As long as we're still living in this world, we can always see each other.
It's not like Sister Natasha doesn't have my contact information."
In this modern society of convenient transportation and advanced communications, parting no longer meant never seeing each other again as it had in ancient times.
Although World Serpent's inside and outside were practically two separate worlds, Shi Hen had never cared much about the organization's rules.
World Serpent revered the strong, and Shi Hen now possessed the privilege of making the organization change its rules for him.
"Ha, that's true..."
Wiping away the tears that had nearly spilled from the corners of her eyes, Raven immediately smiled.
"For my Christmas gift, Sister Natasha can give me a hug. Then next Christmas, I'll give it back to you."
Shi Hen smiled and opened his arms.
Thump~
Raven glanced at the youth, then threw herself at him without the slightest hesitation. She used so much force that she directly pinned Shi Hen into the snow.
"Maybe you're the best Christmas gift I've ever received..."
Raven whispered into the youth's ear.
Being able to meet Shi Hen during her final stretch in World Serpent had been both fortunate and unfortunate for her.
But no matter what, she had been very happy during this time.
"Then, Merry Christmas, Sister Natasha."
Shi Hen softly spoke as he patted the woman's back.
"Mm, Merry Christmas..."
The mercenary responded as she hugged the youth tightly.
Author's Note on Going Premium
The title says it all.
Generally speaking, an author's note for going premium starts with some misery-baiting, but I don't think I need that.
Everyone can see the various vote counts. It's miserable enough already. (??o·(? ??? )?o·?)
As for bonus chapter rules and the like, I looked at the requirements other authors set, then decided I should just honestly keep writing... (??)σ
So, I'll simply talk about this novel.
Objectively speaking, I'm probably a fan of the original work. What I love is the radiance that the Valkyries unleash when they fight to save the world and protect those around them.
That is precisely why I wanted to work hard to make the characters' portrayals in this book fit who they truly are. But my writing ability is limited, so I probably can't guarantee that. Please bear with me.
Characters like Kiana will develop relatively close relationships with Shi Hen, but that should have nothing to do with romance. Because they are people who carry the world on their shoulders; they would not abandon the world for one person. There's even a good chance they would stage a righteous execution of their own kin.
Of course, there should still be room for the characters to occasionally have sweet moments or stage some kind of fated showdown.
PS: This is the author from a million words later. I'm overturning my own claim that the protagonist would stay single. There must be fated showdowns, and naturally there must also be snuggling up to beautiful girls. That is the basic quality of an outstanding transmigrator in the Honkai World... _(°ω°"∠)_
Finally, back to Shi Hen. The protagonist I wanted to create was not a savior, nor had he ever considered himself one. He was probably just someone who wanted to become a big boss, but was not quite that bad.
Just like during this trip to Siberia, Shi Hen could treat many people as chess pieces, turn a blind eye to Raven's somewhat cruel methods, and remain unmoved even though he knew he had the power to change Siberia's situation.
He had never wanted to become any kind of savior.
Before you continue