"In simple terms, your sister Sirin asked me to research something to assist her, and in the process, to look after Raiden Mei, who has recently become friends with you..."
Luo Lin explained, while the white-haired girl adopted a puzzled expression, as if the words were going in one ear and out the other.
"Oh, I see. What do you need me to do?"
"..."
Kiana seemed completely unwilling to engage her brain. Was it because she had Luo Lin, Fu Hua, and Raiden Mei as teammates that her buff, "Lone Wolf," which could boost intelligence and combat effectiveness, couldn't take effect?
Luo Lin rubbed her head in frustration and said, "Um, do you have Mei's phone number?"
"Oh, haha, I haven't gotten it yet... But I know where Raiden Mei lives! It's in the famous upscale villa area of Nagazora! Why don't we just go there and find Mei...?"
The black-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Forget it. If we have to find her, it'll probably be just you going alone. Besides, you still don't fully understand things related to the Honkai, so it's unclear what's going on... Why don't we just go to school as usual tomorrow, catch Mei after school, and invite her to a café or dessert shop to have a good chat?"
Kiana was puzzled. "Why do I have to go alone? Can't we all go together?"
"Well, neither Fu Hua nor I can directly approach her. AE behind ME Organization and the Schicksal we're part of are mortal enemies—the real kind. Just meeting without fighting would be considered good luck. If there's a real chance, they won't hesitate to act."
Kiana clenched her fists cautiously and asked, "Then, are my parents also members o Schicksal?"
Luo Lin scratched her head. "Your mother, Cecillia, was a member of the Schicksal until she died. Your father used to be, but he fled with you from the Schicksal a few years ago... He's still on the Schicksal's wanted list."
"What? So you won't arrest me, will you?"
Seeing the cowering white-haired girl, Luo Lin helplessly covered her face. "Kiana, Schicksal is a global military organization with bases worldwide and cooperates with governments of various countries... If they really wanted to arrest you, you would have been brought back when you were surviving alone in Europe."
"Luo Lin is right, Kiana. You're not on the wanted list, and the Schicksal doesn't have the resources to pay attention to those not on the list... Although your father, Siegfried, is on the wanted list, he's an S-rank force, and ordinary people can't touch him."
Fu Hua had much higher authority than Luo Lin, and she had more say in this matter. "If he's really provoked, Siegfried, who's always by your side, can turn everything upside down... So most people just report his location to the Schicksal headquarters and leave it at that. There aren't many who actually try to catch him."
She paused for a moment and added, "And, there are very few high-end forces who can fight Siegfried. They usually have other tasks and are busy dealing with Honkai events around the world... Besides, even though Siegfried defected, he hasn't retaliated against the Schicksal, so everyone has an unspoken agreement to leave him alone."
"As long as we know he's not in danger..."
The white-haired girl asked, "By the way, did you say earlier that your... Schicksal has information about where my father is?"
"If your father hasn't fully concealed his tracks and is discovered by the Schicksal's local intelligence agencies, then yes, Schicksal would receive the information." Fu Hua used several conditional clauses very cautiously. "Do you want to find your father, Siegfried?"
"Yes, I want to know where he is and then go ask him why he left me alone in Europe." Kiana murmured, "Now that I think about it, I've been looking for him for so many years, but it seems like I haven't figured it out at all. I don't even know what my smelly old man is doing..."
Luo Lin couldn't help but comfort her, "It's okay, Kiana. Now that I and Fu Hua are with you, we can find a chance to explain everything to you..."
"Um, Luo Lin, I still have a task on me, I have to go to Saint Freya Academy next..."
As she spoke, Fu Hua seemed to have realized something and fell into thought. She rubbed her chin and asked, "Kiana, are you interested in attending a Valkyrie Academy?"
"Valkyrie Academy? What's that? Is it a subsidiary organization of the Schicksal?"
"It's a school specifically for training warriors to fight against the Honkai... Your mother, Cecilia, also attended this school... It not only offers academic courses but also teaches combat skills and other things."
Kiana was a little intrigued, but she immediately thought of Raiden Mei, who was also involved with the Honkai, and couldn't help but worry about her.
------------------------------
Raiden Mei was currently quite bewildered. She looked at the scenery outside the window and the clock on the wall, feeling like she had just had a very long dream...
"Did I oversleep?"
She picked up her phone, looking at the missed calls and several text messages, from both her teachers and several classmates, asking why Raiden Mei hadn't come today and what the situation was.
However, at noon, the teacher sent another message, saying that he had already applied for leave for Raiden Mei and even communicated with the other teachers who were absent today, asking them to help mark her attendance, so it wouldn't affect Raiden Mei's usual grades...
Raiden Mei was speechless. Of course, she knew what the teacher was thinking. They were trying to please her in order to gain the favor of her father, Raiden Ryoma, who could easily promote his career and life with just a nod from her father, the chairman.
She felt annoyed as she scrolled through her phone, seeing no messages from her father. Taking a deep breath, she tossed her phone aside and lay back on the bed in frustration.
"Ugh, so annoying... If only I really had superpowers like in my dream... I'd just zap all those annoying and oblivious people!"
*Crackle!*
Raiden Mei suddenly sat up, staring at the blue arcs sparking from her fingertips and her phone beside her, already glitching and emitting smoke. Her breathing quickened.
"...That, that wasn't a dream?"
Jumping out of bed, she rushed into the adjacent dojo, grabbed a practice wooden sword, and ran her hand over it just as she did in her dream—
Bright, pulsating blue energy coated the wooden sword, illuminating Raiden Mei's face.
Taking a stance, she swung her arm, and a dazzling blue blade shot out, slicing the wooden post in half.
Unfortunately, the wooden sword seemed unable to withstand such power and snapped in two with a creaking sound.
"Huff... Hahaha!"
Raiden Mei laughed heartily, holding the broken wooden sword.
—I, Raiden Mei, have entered the realm of the extraordinary!