Chapter 32: Oh no it's a Ca-

The white-haired girl slowly woke up. The fireplace burned quietly nearby, and warmth washed over her face like waves.

Outside, it was still a vast expanse of white. She had been in this house with the guy who claimed to be her 'father' for seven days now. But before these seven days, she knew nothing.

One thing was certain. She could understand her father's words and the meaning behind them.

But she still couldn't understand who she was, where she was, or what she was supposed to do.

Apart from the food she could barely eat every day, it was just quietly waiting for her father to come back with his injuries, and then waiting and sleeping again.

Her father spoke very little, but he said he loved her. Occasionally, he would bring back some cute dolls to put in the house. But the girl still didn't quite understand these actions. She quietly observed her father's behavior, silently watched him get hurt, and then silently learned how to treat wounds by observing.

But today...

"Today, Dad still hasn't come back for lunch..."

When her father wasn't around, the girl would talk to herself. Because this wouldn't let her forget how to speak too early, and because of this, she could also greet her father carefully when it was appropriate.

Seven days. Her head still hurt a bit, but her body had recovered a lot, so going out was definitely not a problem. And just when the girl was hungry...

A faint scent, never smelled before, drifted over from somewhere.

The smoke divided the azure sky in half, and the extending black lines seemed to want to embrace the sun. And under that black smoke, there were two figures seemingly chasing each other.

What are they doing? Are they throwing snow on the ground at each other? And the expressions on their faces were something she had never seen on her father's face.

Is that a smile? Why do I know it's a smile? The girl wasn't sure.

As a father, Siegfried was actually very incompetent. Especially after claiming to be the girl's father, there was never much communication. He never even mentioned not to go out when strangers were at the door.

Maybe he was confident in his fierce appearance? With a powerful physique that could fight against the Honkai Beasts, a hint of killing intent acquired from years of war, and the hatred towards Otto, his eyes carried a hint of ferocity. He thought he could scare the villagers away.

But with Kaslana's genius intellect, coupled with his sad mood, Siegfried never considered the possibility of outsiders suddenly appearing nearby his house.

The key was that outside was indeed very suitable for a picnic, although it was indeed very strange to have a picnic in a snowy wilderness.

"When you see her later, don't be too surprised, and don't mention the name Kiana Kaslana, or else our disguise will be blown."

"Am I that kind of person? Wait, why Kiana?" While waiting for the charcoal to burn, Bronie mischievously attacked Cioara.

And Cioara, unwilling to be outdone, kept trying to counterattack while dodging. But Bronie's agility was quite flexible, as if she had also used some power of Signet?

Setsuna, right?

Increasing reflexes, dodging the opponent's attacks in the blink of an eye, and counterattacking in an instant.

How could Bronie absorb the techniques from the Signets and apply them faster than herself? Is this what genius looks like?

"Why Kiana? You'll know later..." Then Bronie noticed that the door of the wooden house was slightly open.

At this point, the girl's head was still wrapped in bandages, and she hadn't even been named by Siegfried yet.

She just carefully observed the two people in front of her.

One was a tall big sister with a proud figure, and the other looked just a little older than herself.

Then drool uncontrollably flowed from her mouth. It had to be said that Siegfried's almost free-range and wild child-rearing methods were really amazing.

Just the scent of barbecue completely lured the adorable K342 out.

"Oops, sorry, I'll use the space near you for a barbecue. After that, I'll make sure to clean up the garbage around." Bronie noticed that the other party had completely walked out of the house, but her thin clothes were not enough to withstand the cold outside, so she quickly retracted half of her body back into her own house.

But even through the mask, the smell of barbecue wasn't completely masked.

"What's a barbecue?"

Obviously, Little Kiana knew the local language. However, it seemed that her vocabulary was relatively limited? Upon hearing the confusion, Bronie suddenly realized, then opened her mask.

"Cooking outside, making the food you like to eat, and going out to play with your family."

As the mask opened, a burst of white heat gushed out, like a huge cotton candy floating towards the sky. Plus the smell of barbecue. Envious eyes dripped from the corners of her mouth again, this time not being retracted by Little Kiana, but falling to the ground, forming a beautiful snowflake.

"Family..."

Hearing the word "family," the girl naturally thought of Siegfried.

Then she looked at Bronie again.

"Do you want to try it? My homemade delicious skewers! There are European-style ones, Orleans-style ones, and also, wear warmer clothes before going outside."

With a bang, the girl suddenly closed the door, followed by a sound of rummaging from inside the house.

While Cioara seemed to be preparing to eat barbecue on the surface but in fact, her heart was already in turmoil!

What's that? What did she just see?

Kiana Kaslana!

No, she just glanced at her at the plane crash site before.

Even a discerning person could see that something had happened there. And Bronie had also shown her Kiana's strong vitality.

But how long has it been? It couldn't be that simple to recover from a free fall.

"How about it. Its a bit shocking, isn't it?"

Turning back, Bronie didn't see a shocked expression, feeling slightly regretful. But that was the basic quality of a qualified mercenary, a poker face, to avoid revealing one's emotions and intentions easily.

"What's going on?"

"Natasha, you have to think more~"

Bronie smirked mysteriously, and at this moment, Kiana also walked out from inside wearing a thick down jacket.

But the bandages on her head made Bronie feel a bit distressed.

Was Kiana injured in the head? No, that was just to cover up the abnormality in her other eye.

The Core of the Herrscher in the current Kiana was still unstable, so in the eyes of others, it was heterochromia.

And in Siegfried's eyes, it was a dagger constantly stimulating painful memories.

"It seems like you didn't have lunch at noon, did your family forget? Geez, with such a little kid at home, they actually forgot her at home, that's too bad. Oh...Don't eat too fast, or you'll burn yourself!"

Children love sweets, so Bronie gave her either honey barbecue wings or Orleans-style chicken legs.

And the girl enjoyed them heartily, completely forgetting the situation around her. She was not even considering the possibility of danger.

Perhaps it was because of Bronie?

"There are so many wonderful things in this world, but sometimes they're like playing hide and seek with you, needing you to actively search for them.

Even in such a harsh environment, there are still bright flowers of civilization blooming.

Perhaps that's also the reason why this country was once powerful. Cioara, don't just stand there, the barbecue will get cold if you don't eat it."

"Oh? Okay..."

Then Bronie took out a pot from the barbecue grill and scooped out the soup inside with a spoon.

"And here is the old hen soup. In this kind of environment, nothing beats a pot of old hen soup with Codonopsis pilosula, it's the most comforting. I think you might not like beet soup, so I prepared the taste from Shenzou."

"I always feel like you're a bit more partial to the cuisine from Shenzou?"

"Of course, because I used to live in the Taixuan Sect, where I grew up eating Shenzou-style food, and it's delicious, isn't it?"

Little Kiana ate quite fast, but because her body was small, her stomach was also small. She felt full after a few bites.

But soon, she suddenly felt like it wasn't very nice to just eat up the food brought by the other party like this, right?

Just as she was thinking like this, Bronie brought a bowl of soup. "When you receive kindness, you should know to be grateful. At least you know this much, you're really a good kid. Just remember this. You're still young now, and there are many things you don't know yet, but you'll definitely understand in the future."

With two more sips, the magical taste spread in her mouth, much better than the food her dad made!

"Thank you!"

Upon hearing this thank you, Bronie felt satisfied too!

However, Cioara seemed to think of something very bad, and her expression turned a bit sour.

The cold wind blew, making Cioara shiver.

She quickly finished the soup and then swiftly devoured the grilled meat on the barbecue grill. "I still have ingredients, do you still want to grill?"

Seeing that Cioara seemed to want to leave, Bronie asked, "No need, I'm already full."

"But I'm not full yet, are you?" Bronie looked at the girl.

The sensitive girl also sensed something, reluctantly putting down her bowl. "Sorry..."

"Why apologize?" Bronie asked puzzledly.

"Because my presence made big sister unhappy, right? When dad drinks, his expression when he's in a bad mood is the same, and every time he sees me, he is also... like that..."

Although she had many doubts and didn't understand, she felt she should do this.

Everything was because of her.

"It's okay! It's not your fault. Sometimes people involuntarily recall some bad memories, like the pain of a scar being torn open. It's helpless!"

"Is it because of me?"

The girl finally heard an explanation. But she still didn't quite understand, and it seemed to be because of her?

"It's okay. If it's really because of you, why can't you also evoke happy memories for the other person?"

It should be like this!

Bronie's words seemed to open a door to a new world for the girl. Perhaps she could really do it?

"But I don't know how to do it..."

"Then create a happy memory, like a simple hug, of course, after obtaining the other person's consent."

"A hug?"

"Just like this." Bronie opened her arms. This action touched the girl.

When Siegfried brought her to this cabin, he hugged her as they crossed the snowy landscape. The warmth of the embrace, the strong heartbeat, the rise and fall of the breathing chest. And that immense sense of security. She still quite remember those vividly.

Bronie and the girl hugged each other. It was similar feeling, but with an indescribable difference.

"How does it feel?"

"I'm very happy!"

"Right?"

Then Bronie let go of the girl and stood up to face Cioara.

"For a child who knows nothing to be inexplicably angry, you're really a troublemaker~ Troublemaker~ Troublemaker~ I thought you agreed with me. Don't dwell on the past. Face the future properly. If you really can't do it, then you really are a troublemaker~"

Knowing that Bronie was joking and trying to make her laugh, Cioara couldn't help but laugh a little, but then quickly held back her smile. "Don't be too arrogant, little devil, do you know everything?"

"This is a trial."

"Huh?"

"Only by constantly overcoming their weaker self from the past to stand victorious against it can make one reach higher peaks. I thought your reaction would be more intense, but now it seems better than I imagined?"

"If it were the old me, I'm sure no one could stop me, right? But who made you stand in front of me? Family..."

In Bronie's self-introduction earlier, she referred to herself as family. There was some sincerity in it.

Cioara knew this. Because she knew this, she didn't want to disappoint Bronie. She also didn't want to show herself as a demon who only knew revenge in front of Bronie.

"We're family!"

Getting a definite answer from Bronie, Cioara returned to her seat.

"I really admire you, you're becoming more and more mysterious in my eyes." But Cioara still smiled.

"Dad!"

At this time, Siegfried came back!

He didn't forget about his girl, but something else delayed his trip. Perhaps he realized that the food he made was very unappetizing? Or maybe he was worried about the girl's malnutrition?

In his hand was a large pizza box, but in the snowy wilderness, it was probably frozen solid and couldn't be eaten.

And Siegfried's sharp eyes under his white hair scanned the two of them.

Cioara, Bronie, one too young, one still a child. Although they had Russian blood, they didn't look like villagers.

"I don't remember having you two in the village."

The town was actually very small. Although Siegfried didn't greet the people in the town much, he remembered each and every one of their faces and names very clearly. This was also for their protection.

"What are you doing here, this daughter's father! You bastard actually left the child at home to be hungry! And what's with this injury, is this domestic violence?" Bronie also didn't back down, glaring back fiercely.

Now Siegfried was at a loss.

"Why do you care about my family affairs, you little child!"

She is so unlike a Valkyrie.

After all, a young child like her probably didn't even have the qualifications to go on a mission.

This kind of child couldn't hide anything in their heart, and the Anti Entropy wouldn't send such a child.

So he tried to look fierce, just to make them fear and dislike him, and then stay away from his home.

Honkai wasn't a good thing to approach after all.

"No, if you don't explain properly, I won't let it go. I'll call the police and report you for child abuse!"

"Tch..."

"Dad is a good person, you can't catch him... Let's go..."

"You..."

Siegfried was also surprised. K423 actually took the initiative to stand in front of him.

She was like a little knight. A knight who protects her family. The way she opened her arms seemed like she was trying hard to protect a little chick.

"You hear what she said?, so there's nothing to do with you here! Just go back where you came from!"

Then the little girl turned her head, as if she had something to say to Siegfried.

"To two sisters... Dad is... being... being inexplicably angry, dad, you're really a bastard? A bastard..."

A bit awkward imitation. But the unexpected last words from the girl made Siegfried freeze on the spot.

"Huh? What have you taught my daughter!"