Chapter 35: Siegfried: Honey?!

After Siegfried blinked, he felt like the whole world had subtly changed.

Now he was squatting outside an unfamiliar pedestrian street, greedily drinking from a free-flowing water source.

The main reason? He had just eaten some skewers from a barbecue stall that many people were crowding around...

Well, the taste was indeed good, but it was also incredibly spicy.

"Haha... Thanks for bringing me here, little girl."

"It's nothing! Most people who eat at Brother Kalpas's barbecue end up like this..."

The girl with the cat-eared hood scratched her head bashfully, her eyes darting around as if observing something.

"Brother Kalpas? Oh, the barbecue stall owner, right."

Siegfried paused, feeling his taste buds finally recovering. He looked around at the bustling street scene, scratching his head.

To be honest, he had been in Nagazora for some time now, and he had explored almost every nook and cranny of the city. Yet, he couldn't recall any bustling pedestrian streets or popular barbecue stalls like this one.

It was all very eerie...

Wait a minute, was this really still Nagazora?

As Siegfried looked around at the various signs that seemed familiar yet unfamiliar, he put his hands in his coat pockets, feeling the handle of the Judgement of Shamash. The Divine Key continued to transmit that surging and exhilarating power that made his fingers tingle, which somewhat reassured him.

While Siegfried was seeking comfort by gripping Shamash, the cat-eared hooded girl beside him also noticed his movements. With just one glance, she discerned that the white-haired man had handguns hidden in his clothes.

However, this didn't startle her; instead, it piqued her interest.

"Boss, you seem quite capable. You must be a big shot..."

The girl gracefully approached Siegfried, introducing herself, "I'm Pardofelis, a merchant—whether it's people, goods, or information, as long as the price is right, I can help you get what you need."

"Oh? Quite confident, aren't you?"

Siegfried raised an eyebrow, looking at the girl's eyes sparkling under the shadow of her hood. Confident in his own abilities, he straightforwardly asked, "In that case, I want to know where Kiana Kaslana is."

"Kiana Kaslana..." Pardofelis rubbed her chin thoughtfully, murmuring, "Ah, right, I think I saw that name when I was purchasing goods at the research institute... Yes, I do know where she is."

Purchasing goods...

Siegfried clicked his tongue, speculating about the girl's identity under the hood. However, it wasn't the right time to bring it up. The white-haired man continued, "Can you lead me to her? As for the reward..."

Siegfried reached into his coat pocket, pulling out something shiny—a coin engraved with a cat's paw, a pile of purple crystals with "x100" inscribed on them, and even two pink and two blue cards, each with a Homu doll drawn on them, totaling four.

Siegfried didn't know where his East Asian currency had gone, but these items that replaced the money did come in handy, allowing him to buy skewers...

Pardofelis looked at the items in Siegfried's hand, her eyes gleaming. "Wow, Boss, you're really generous! You even have Space-Time Passes, Precision, and Expansion Supply Cards!"

"Yeah... I don't know which of these is valuable, so why don't you pick what you want?"

After Siegfried finished speaking, Pardofelis looked up at him in admiration. "So, Boss, you're one of those super-rich people who only use cards for payment. Let me introduce you. The most common here is the 'Shiny Coin,' which can be used to buy daily necessities. The Space-Time Pass is priceless, and as for the Supply Card..."

The tone of the cat-eared hooded girl became lighter. "That's something you can only buy with crystals, and countless people are obsessed with these cards. I suggest you keep them safe."

Siegfried looked surprised at the pile of items in his hand, then smiled. "Thank you, I thought you would... be more..."

"More cunning? No, no, that's not my style. Boss, your search commission, I think only a few Shiny Coins are needed." After taking a few coins from Siegfried, Pardofelis showed a brilliant smile. "Alright, Boss, let's go."

Siegfried didn't feel like it was a waste at all. After all, these "coins" appeared out of thin air, and he didn't mind at all. He put the remaining items back into his pocket and followed behind Pardofelis, traversing the familiar yet unfamiliar streets of the city.

Along the way, Pardofelis enthusiastically introduced Siegfried to some of the city's famous landmarks:

"There's a place called the Senba Academy, where the rooftop is considered a scenic spot. It's said that a famous couple was born there, and their love story was full of twists and turns. They went through hardships but ultimately fulfilled each other. Their story became a legend, and many people still go there on pilgrimage, praying to meet their true love like them..."

"In this city, many places refresh their commissions, but according to rumors, there are some unique commissions that refresh in mysterious locations every day. As long as you complete them, you can get crystal rewards—yes, the precious currency used to buy those supply cards!"

"In the Forest Park or somewhere else, there's an exceptionally large cherry blossom tree. Mysterious events often occur around that tree, like suddenly losing phone signal or seeing blurry white figures in photos... Some say there's a magnetic mine there, causing poor electronic signals, but I know there's definitely something there."

Siegfried stored this information in his mind. Although it sounded like urban legends, for him, who frequently dealt with Honkai-related incidents, these bits of hearsay were worth noting:

Most Honkai events didn't happen suddenly; they would spend some time increasing the concentration of Honkai energy in the area. At that time, rumors of supernatural occurrences would circulate locally. Coupled with high-precision Honkai energy detectors, it was possible to predict the arrival of Honkai events in advance.

Just like the cherry blossom tree Pardofelis mentioned, Siegfried found it very worthy of attention...

"Mom, over here!"

"Be careful, don't run! Sirin! Slow down!"

Sirin?

Siegfried's ears caught the intriguing name, and he swiftly turned his gaze toward the source of the voice.

In the next moment, he stood frozen in place.

"Why aren't we moving, Boss?" Pardofelis tilted her head, asking curiously.

Despite the crowd bustling around them, Siegfried immediately recognized her.

The tall, white-haired Valkyrie seemed to sense something and turned her head, locking eyes with Siegfried.

"Honey?!"

"Siegfried!?"