'Shouldn't she be dead? She should have been killed by Sirin's personality when Kiana was a child. How is she still alive? Can my existence cause such a big variable? Or is it because the past has been changed by my senior?'
His expression quickly returned to normal when he thought of this, although there were still many questions in his mind.
From what Kouro knew in-game, Ragna Lothbork was an A-rank Valkyrie who led a team called 'Assault Squad', she was the one who taught Durandal and Rita, and she was also Himeko's instructor and teammate.
He knew that the world had changed due to the arrival of his senior, from Higokumaru and the surviving Sakura, Dr. Mobius, the core fragment of the Herrscher of the End, and... Even his own existence...
Kouro then thought about the various possibilities of how Ragna could still be alive, the crucial point of how she could have died was because she was killed by the Sirin personality that rose from Kiana when she was a child.
After narrowing down several possibilities, he finally came up with the two most likely ones.
First, someone or something saved her life, about this possibility he could ask Ragna directly.
Second, the current Ragna was different from the Ragna he knew, after all, the past had been changed by his senior.
But he felt the first possibility was the most likely to be it because this world was still the same as he knew in the game, even if some things had changed, meaning it was because of his own existence, this could be seen from Ayame who turned into a Pseudo-Herrscher.
Wait! If it's like that then... The person protecting him right now... Could there be such a possibility as well?
The person protecting him is someone who should not exist or perhaps is someone who should be dead but is alive due to historical changes or perhaps due to his existence.
If it was really like what he thought then Otto must know something, considering he was an Overseer, he might even know the truth about his parents' death.
'Let's think about this later, I can ask Ragna-san if my guess is right.'
After thinking like this he then raised his head and looked at Ragna more intently.
Ragna was a woman who looked about Himeko's age, she had long brown hair with pink ends tied in a ponytail. She had dark fuchsia eyes and wore a Valkyrie Battlesuit with the Schicksal crest on its back.
"Are you Hanagami Kouro? The name's Ragna Lothbork, your team leader, nice to meet you." She extended her hand towards Kouro.
"It is truly an honor to work with you, Ragna-san." Kouro extended his hand and shook hands with her.
"Oh? You know about me?"
"Himeko-sensei has talked a lot about you." Kouro lied as naturally as he breathed.
"Hahaha~ I see, so you're Himeko's student." Ragna smiled softly at his words.
Well... Technically he was not lying because Himeko did often talk about her teammates in the past, but what he did not expect was that the person she was talking about was Ragna.
"By the way, Ragna-san, from what I heard from Himeko-sensei, your team was disbanded due to certain issues, I also heard from her that you retired."
"Well... What you said is true, it's just that... " Ragna glanced at Otto who was still smiling before sighing helplessly.
"Ragna-sama weren't you the one who accepted Overseer Otto's request? " Amber replied.
"Well..." Ragna scratched her hair with a helpless expression.
Seeing her expression, Kouro somehow understood, it seemed that Ragna had indeed retired but was called back by Otto to work.
"Let's not dwell on that, I've already received your first mission from Overseer Otto, let's go meet your teammates."
Ragna led Kouro out of the Overseer's room leaving Otto and Amber alone.
Looking at the door where they exited, the smiling Otto returned to his normal expression, "Ashborn, I've done what you asked, now do you want to help me?"
Ashborn who was seen leaning against the wall looked at the door where Kouro and Ragna came out before saying, "Fine, I'll help you find the whereabouts of the Second Key."
__
Kouro had already sent a message to Ana and Lin that their team had received the mission, he told them to wait in his room.
On the way, he could see that any Valkyrie who saw Ragna would immediately give her a military salute but with an enthusiastic expression.
Ragna returned their salute with a smile, even making small talk when she met a veteran Valkyrie, it seemed like she was really popular well... This was not surprising considering how her personality traits were.
According to him, Ragna is a gentle and free woman, she has a mature aura that has been honed by her various experiences in being a Valkyrie, she is also a wise and kind person.
This can be seen from the original plot where when she almost managed to kill Kiana whose body was being controlled by Sirin, but she then did not do it, Kouro did not know the reason but maybe the reason was the same as Himeko who sacrificed her life... 'Damn it Kouro don't remember that sad thing!'
"Kouro-kun."
"Eh? Yes?" Kouro regained consciousness, he looked at her in confusion.
Ragna seemed to stop, she stared at him for a moment even rubbing her chin as if trying to remember something before making a fist and patting her hand, "Are you Sagaki and Luna's son?"
"Eh? Do you know my parents?" Kouro did not expect, Ragna to know about his parents.
"Well... Old story, Hmm... I see they already have children." Ragna said with an expression remembering the past.
Hearing Ragna's words, Kouro's expression looked speechless, given that this world legalized polygamy... It's not what he thought, right?
Seeing Kouro's expression, Ragna just laughed, she seemed to know what he was thinking, "It's not what you think, I was in the same class as your father, he was the greatest researcher Schicksal ever had even appreciated by Overseer Otto."
"Your Mother was a strong woman who never gives up, your parents used to be my best friends."
"It's just that... Now they're both gone..." Ragna's expression looked lonely.
Kouro was silent, looking at her expression it seemed like she really had a good relationship with her parents.
"Ragna-san... Can you tell me how my parents used to be?"
Kouro's memories of his parents were completely blurred and even after he inherited the original Kouro's memories, those only seemed fragmented, even before he had also asked about his parents to his uncle, aunt, and even his grandfather.
But they always changed the topic when he asked about his father.
But Kouro did not give up looking for information about his parents, previously after he got A-Rank, he used his authority to find information about his parents and he actually found it.
He finally found out that his mother died on February 4, 2000, in Siberia, Russia, in the Schicksal archives she was declared dead due to excessive Honkai corrosion for helping a civilian.
Then when he was going to look for information about his father, it didn't exist, no matter how he looked for it the information about his father, it didn't exist as if it was deleted or even never existed.
That's why the only way he could get information about his father was to ask someone who was in contact with him.
And Ragna seemed to be the right person to ask.
Ragna who heard the words seemed to have a strange expression for a moment before looking at Kouro, "… I'll tell you later after this mission is over. "
After that, they both kept quiet and walked toward Kouro's room.
Lin and Ana were waiting at the door of his room.
Kouro met the two of them with Ragna.
They both stared at Kouro before looking at Ragna beside him in surprise, they quickly gave her a military salute.
"It-it's an honor to be able to work under you Ragna-sama!" said Lin with a loud stutter.
Ana was also seen nodding quickly.
Seeing them like that, Ragna just laughed softly, "Hahaha~ You guys don't need to be stiff like that, just relax, we're a team afterall."
Kouro looked around, Susannah and her friend didn't seem to be around, so he then invited them into his room.
After sitting on a chair, Ragna's relaxed expression changed, and immediately said firmly, "Our mission this time is to investigate an ancient ruin in the southeast Asian country of Indonesia, this ruin is thought to be an ancient heritage from before Christ."
Kouro raised his eyebrows, he did not expect that the country of his birth from his previous life would be visited in this way, but even so, he was actually a little curious about the Indonesia of this world.
He subconsciously smiled slightly, 'I'm really looking forward to it. '
"Is there anything to ask?"
Ana raised her hand, "Leader, are we going to cooperate with the Local Valkyries?"
"Yes. The local Valkyries will be our guides on this mission." she replied.
"Ragna-san, are we allowed to carry weapons?" asked Kouro.
"Yes. Although our mission is only to investigate, we must remain vigilant, as Honkai will be everywhere." she replied.
"Is there anything else to ask?... No? Then prepare your belongings, tomorrow morning we will leave for Indonesia."
"Understood, Leader!"
'Indonesia... I'm coming!' Kouro thought enthusiastically.
Little did they know that their first mission would be one they would never forget...
(E/D: How about you come to America? They have capitalism...)
Sorry if the chapter is short and late, I really don't have free time to write because my country is currently celebrating Independence Day.