Chapter 62: A New Home

After chatting for a bit and confirming how the orphanage would operate in the future, Bronie and Cioara headed to the cafeteria.

The children were eating here, and they would also eat here in the future, so it was good to come early and get to know each other.

When Bronie opened the cafeteria door, all eyes turned towards her.

"Ahem, everyone, I'm Bronie, and from now on, I'll be your big sister! Normally, I mainly develop games, but from now on, I'll also be your teacher, accompanying you through the days ahead. As for Director Cioara, she's a mascot. Once I come of age, the orphanage will be under my name."

Bronie stood with her hands on her hips, as if challenging anyone to oppose her.

The children's young eyes were greatly shocked, and little Sin looked equally incredulous.

"Is it strange? Indeed, it may seem strange for someone my age to do these things, but in the days ahead, strange things will be commonplace. So don't be too surprised. Anyway, that's how it is. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me."

Sin raised her hand at this point.

"Um, Bronie big sister, does that mean the director will temporarily leave, and you will stay?"

"Exactly! What awaits you next will be a life like hell!"

Bronie grinned mischievously, and suddenly all the children fell silent, waiting quietly for Bronie's next words.

"You will be forced to wear various clothes I give you, like dolls constantly changing outfits. You'll eat delicious and nutritious food until you're full every day, then drown in a sea of homework, only able to change your future destiny through learning knowledge!"

The response to Bronie was silence.

"I told you, scaring them like this won't work. Actually, these children are quite sensible, although it's possible that this is also a manifestation of lack of security."

What exactly did Cocolia do to these children?

To make them feel both insecure here and loyal to Cocolia.

It's like, Stockholm Syndrome, right?

"Okay, enough joking. In short, there's only one rule in the orphanage for me, and that's not to harm family members. That's enough. If you want something, just tell me, and I'll do my best to fulfill your wishes."

"But... what about the experiments?"

Sin thought it might be Cocolia's subordinates or colleagues who took over the orphanage, and the experiments would continue.

"Children should be like children, they should enjoy their childhood. Don't think about those things. I'll take care of the treatment, and you won't participate in the experiments. That's for adults to handle. Letting children take on adult responsibilities is a failure of an adult, so I won't let you participate in any experiments."

"But aren't you..."

Bronie placed her hand on Sin's head.

Because Sin is still relatively young, and it's still early in the day, Sin hasn't been deeply influenced by Cocolia, and her personality distortion isn't as severe as imagined.

So the cute, long-haired Sin looked a bit timid.

"Just be cute, okay?"

"Uh... okay."

Bronie's kind eyes made Sin hesitant to speak up.

Although she was like the king of children in the orphanage, her status actually came from Cocolia's attention and favoritism.

Now that Cocolia was gone, and so were the experiments, the precision in controlling Honkai also meant nothing. So now, in front of everyone, Sin was just an ordinary child.

After scanning around and confirming the presence of Seele, Bronie nodded in satisfaction.

"They're all such lovely children. Although we're not very familiar right now, I'll be able to get along with them soon."

"Using Elysia's method?"

"Using the Bunny's way. I might have to temporarily put aside the game production based on the voting system. I just realized that there are very few games I've made so far that children can play and enjoy."

Elden Ring isn't very suitable for children to play, and Kiana's situation is a bit special, so playing it is not a problem.

"Well, only you can do it this way."

Indeed, only Bronie can produce games and such.

"Elysia and others make friends sincerely, and I'm the same. I sincerely hope they have a happy childhood, while Cocolia sincerely hopes they die with value."

"This kind of thing, it's better not to talk about it in the cafeteria..."

Cioara was also helpless, but what else could she say? Arguing with a lunatic?

That's right, after a brief exchange with Cocolia, Cioara directly categorized her as mentally ill.

"It's nothing, just a little angry, you see these children here, they are all so adorable, and they are all lovely girls."

God knows why, but this is probably the world of Honkai.

Those with a slightly stronger resistance to Honkai are mostly girls. Originally, Bronie was afraid that she might treat others differently based on gender.

But is there still a need to consider such things now?

Certainly not.

Cioara didn't stay long in the afternoon.

After all, she was really worried about Kiana. Cocolia wasted too much time, and wandering around outside could easily attract the attention of the World Serpent.

That's not good.

And naturally, Bronie stayed behind. They introduced each other, and then got to know each other better.

Children with resistance to Honkai are actually quite difficult to find. Apart from the familiar Vodka sisters, Sin, and Seele, there are still four unfamiliar children left.

But they were equally adorable.

Bronie remembered their names: Nina, Isabella, Sofia, and Anila.

"Well..."

After dinner, Bronie returned to her office, pondering what kind of game to make for the children.

Being too enthusiastic might make the children nervous, so Bronie chose to stay in her office. Besides, her room was right next to the office, so she could rest anytime after work.

But then Bronie's office door was pushed open.

A shy girl with short blue hair peeked out from behind the door, as if she had something to say.

"Hmm? I remember you're Seele, right? What's up?"

"Big sister Bronie, I heard you and Director Cioara discussing Mother Cocolia in the cafeteria earlier, and... um, do you know what happened to her? Everyone is very concerned about this issue, but a bit afraid..."

Unexpectedly, the shyest girl was the first to muster the courage to ask such a question.

It seems they also know that Cocolia is really unreliable and could crash at any moment.

"She's in prison, charged with arms trafficking, intentional murder, and illegal human experiments, with children as subjects."

In total, five died at Cocolia's hands. After taking over the orphanage, Cocolia finally faced reality and confessed her crimes.

"But..."

"Even if the children volunteered, it still violates laws and regulations. Not to mention whether the children volunteered or not, conducting human experiments is inherently unethical and should never be done in the first place. So being arrested for a crime, isn't that normal?"

Seele was speechless.

The little knowledge stored in her young mind couldn't answer Bronie's questions.

"Are you worried about Cocolia's safety? Don't worry, when you grow up, you can visit her in prison. And don't worry about how well she's doing in prison, it's a place for repentance, not punishment. Cocolia won't be harmed too much."

Moreover, behind Cocolia, there's the shadow of the Ash Snake, but who dares to say that Bronie doesn't have people within the World Serpent?

With the answers she wanted, Seele breathed a sigh of relief.

But when she looked at Bronie again, Seele felt that although Bronie looked cool, she was actually quite kind...

"By the way, I mentioned before, I'm a game developer, specializing in making games, right?"

"Yes, everyone is very curious, including Nina. She said you, Big sis Bronie, seemed familiar."

"Familiar? That's good. Come here, I want to make a game for everyone, but I don't know what theme you'd prefer."

Saying that, Bronie hugged Seele and put her on her lap.

Then Seele saw the full design sketches on Bronie's computer desktop.

There were cute little animals, one with a strange rodent with yellow skin and black stripes.

There's also a chubby pink blob, wobbling cutely as it walks.

And a plumber uncle, who seems to be on a mission to rescue a princess?

Each art style was so cute that Seele was immediately drawn to the images on the computer.

At the moment, Seele, small and very cute, looked about nine years old.

Even younger than Kiana.

As a 'wife' from HI3rd, she naturally had to be nurtured very well from a young age.

Righ-No, she was getting sidetracked. No unholy thoughts.

"This one!"

Seele immediately picked Kirby.

That's normal, girls like pink things, right?

"Great, tonight I'll print out the story settings collection and then let everyone vote for the game they want to play the most and the second most. I'll make them all in the future for everyone to enjoy! Oh, and don't think there can only be one... How is that possible? These adorable games, I can't just give up on all of them. Rather, these games are important games to clear my name, to prevent everyone from calling me the 'Dreadful Evil Bunny '."

The traps in the dungeons of Elden Ring did cause quite a bit of resentment, and although Bronie offered ample rewards, players still gave her the nickname.

There's nothing she can do about it. Those two games, where players conquered the dungeons, really struck a chord with people.

Just think about it, in the process of exploring the dungeons, accumulating one's own Runes continuously, and suddenly losing all of them accidentally.

All the hard-earned Runes saved up for leveling up disappeared in an instant.

Anyone's mentality would explode.

"Haxxor Bunny..."

"That's the username I use online. Look at these games."

"Wow!"

From Undertale, to Spiritfarer, then to Civilization, and Elden Ring.

Although young Seele couldn't understand what these games represented, from the art style, comments, and Bronie's pride, she could feel Bronie's excellence in game development.

Unlike Cocolia's cold military demeanor, Bronie was like a spring breeze, building relationships with others as an elder sister.(Learnt from Elysia)

"It's getting late. If you don't get enough sleep, you won't grow tall, remember to go to bed before ten o'clock at night, and when you go out, call Sin in too."

Sin was more cautious, more insecure, while Seele was just shy. But with care from family, she could muster courage faster.

It was Sin who lacked a sense of security and felt awkward, knowing her own limitations, so she didn't dare to provoke Bronie.

After noticing Seele's departure, Sin also tried to gather information about Bronie from Seele, at least to understand Cocolia's situation.

So she lurked outside the door, eavesdropping on Seele and Bronie's conversation.

Sure enough, Bronie knew about Cocolia's situation!

But she didn't expect Cocolia to really mess up.

After Seele left the office, Sin tried to hide, but when she saw Sin's figure, Seele also walked straight towards her.

"Sin, Big sis Bronie wants you to come over. Mom... she's gone to prison... We can visit her in prison in the future."

After saying that, Seele escaped like she was running away and went back to her room.

Watching the half-open door of Bronie's office illuminate the corner of the corridor, Sin fell silent for a moment, but still pushed the door open and entered.

Entering the office, what she saw was not Bronie sitting in the office chair like a boss.

But a back figure rummaging the closet like a racoon.

At this moment, Bronie seemed to be looking for something in the cabinet, because the cabinet was not designed for children's use, so it looked like Bronie had been eaten by a mimic.

Then Bronie came out, holding a violet little dress in her hand, which looked very gorgeous.

"I'm sorry about Cocolia, but if I say it directly, it might break the ideal image of her in your hearts. The world is never black and white, everyone has their own faults, but don't worry, if you can't find the meaning of your life, it's okay to take a temporary break and then slowly embark on the journey of searching. After all, the meaning of life assigned by others is different from the one you find for yourself, and that's where the fun lies, isn't it?"

Sin didn't quite understand, but she seemed to understand something.

Bronie didn't mean any harm to her.

Is it like this?

"This dress is for you! Of course, everyone in the orphanage will also have new clothes, and there will be more in the future. But I think you might look even cuter dressed like this."

With this set of moves, Sin was completely confused.

But surprisingly, Bronie's straightforward words were very helpful to Sin, and in just a few words, Bronie gained some of Sin's trust.

However, holding the little dress nervously, Sin ran to the door of the office and said, "Don't think this little gift will please me! Being cute is not my style at all!"

With that, Sin fled the office like she was escaping, and even remembered to close the door behind her.

But this Sin, still with long hair, is also very cute. She wonder if Sin will wear that little dress tomorrow.