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  **Chapter 11: The Journey**

  As Ryouma listened, he couldn't help but down two more bottles of alcohol. He looked at Siegfried and said:

  “So, if that girl was sent by Otto, then she’ll end up just like you—another sacrifice for Kiana’s eventual awakening?”

  “Yeah… probably… I should’ve died a long time ago. Cecilia and our daughter… they’re waiting for me on the other side. The only thing keeping me from dying now is the current Kiana and the hope of defeating the Honkai. If she’s destined to become a Herrscher and be killed anyway, then I’d rather believe in Otto and bet everything on one st chance. If we fail, I’ll just take Kiana to meet Cecilia and ‘Kiana.’ But if we succeed, she’ll gain full control of her power, no longer threatened by an unstable Herrscher personality, and finally have the strength to live in this goddamn world. Then I can finally go to Cecilia without regrets.”

  “That’s way too cruel to Kiana. Even if she survives, she’ll spend the rest of her life haunted by the shadows of you all.”

  (In the game, Kiana lives under Himeko’s shadow for a long time until the Fme-Chaser arc helps her step out of it.)

  “Sigh… This world’s never been kind. All I know is how to fight. But even with that, in the end, I couldn’t protect a damn thing… It’s harsh, yeah. But if Kiana can live on, then that’s enough. Living is always better than dying.”

  Ryouma shook his head helplessly. He didn’t have a better idea either. This wasn’t his problem after all. It’s not like *he* would ever become a Herrscher sacrifice—wait, to put it nicely, a “humanity anchor point.” He made a mental note to ask Welt when he got back if there was a better way.

  (Mei: “Ah yes, Father, I’m gonna go be the sacrificial mb first.”)

  “You do know I’m going to report this to Welt when I get back, right?”

  “Of course. You’re with Anti-Entropy. Tell Welt—he’ll know what to do.”

  (Welt: “Not only do I know about this pn, six years from now I even gift your daughter a Moonlight Throne.”)

  “By the way, what’s with your arm?” Ryouma poked Siegfried’s missing limb with a beer bottle, earning a gre.

  “Seems some of Sirin’s hatred passed down. The Herrscher of the Void’s personality harbors a major grudge against me. Just being around Kiana triggers the Herrscher to stir. One time Kiana lost control, I hesitated—and she ripped my arm clean off.”

  “Tsk tsk, such a loving father-daughter retionship. My Mei’s still the best—so obedient. I’m going to forge her a good sword when I get back. Better safe than sorry. Anyway, come join Anti-Entropy. I’ll build you a mechanical arm.”

  “We’ll talk ter. I need to make sure Kiana’s safe first. Once I confirm that, I’ll find you.”

  “Alright…”

  After a long while, Ryouma flew off. Siegfried remained, drinking silently. He picked up his phone, thought about calling Otto to confirm something—but ultimately gave up and put the phone down.

  —

  Around midnight, Kiana had unknowingly clung onto Jiuxiao like a koa thanks to her bad sleeping posture. Jiuxiao wasn’t much better—he hugged her back. The one who woke up first was doomed.

  Unfortunately, that was Jiuxiao. He looked at Kiana, then at where his arms and legs were. He quietly withdrew them and carefully snuck out of bed.

  The moment he left the room, Kiana opened her eyes and stretched zily.

  (Her bug-waist… such a tempting bde… lick, lick.)

  She had actually woken up earlier, but upon realizing she was hugging Jiuxiao, she got too embarrassed to move. So she just y there until he woke up and left first.

  Come morning, both of them tacitly said nothing about it. After washing up, they packed their bags and resumed the journey to find Siegfried.

  No set destination—they just followed the main road and took it as it came. Whenever they reached a vilge or town, Kiana would get all excited and curious, exploring everything. But when they found no trace of Siegfried, they’d hit the road again.

  Since they had no set route, they didn’t bring a map. At first Jiuxiao worried—he had no money, and neither did Kiana. He was thinking of finding some part-time job to earn travel expenses.

  But the moment money came up, Kiana proudly pulled out a bck credit card from her backpack.

  “This is a card Dad left me. He said as long as I have this, I don’t need to worry about money. Just swipe it wherever.”

  “Oh? How much is on it? Wonder how long it’ll st us.”

  “What do you mean how much? I just remember Dad said it has no limit—you can swipe it all you want. It’s the Kasna family patriarch’s bck card. Hehe~ My stinky old man *is* the head of the Kasna family, after all. I’m a proper young dy, you know?”

  Jiuxiao immediately dropped to his knees and held the bck card like it was a divine artifact. From now on, this thing was his *real* dad. Who could say no to a limitless bck card with no repayments?

  Siberia was massive. Even after a full day of travel, they only came across three poputed areas. By 8 or 9 p.m., they finally reached a small town. Good news—there was a shopping street. Bad news—most of it had closed already.

  Excited, Jiuxiao dragged Kiana around looking for a hotel. Thankfully, hotels didn’t always need ID nowadays. Otherwise, as undocumented drifters, they’d have been in trouble.

  “Miss, give me two standard rooms, please,” Jiuxiao said cheerfully at the counter, holding Kiana’s hand.

  The receptionist looked at the two and asked:

  “Siblings? How old are you? Where are your parents?”

  “Um… we’re siblings. I’m the big brother, 15. She’s 12. Our parents are out in the car—they’re sleeping there and told us to stay at the hotel.”

  “Such a handsome little guy, with such a nice voice too—almost mistook you for a girl. I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you a single room with a double bed. That’ll save you a bit of money.”

  “Thank you, sis!”

  “Oh right—do you know anywhere around here to eat? We saw a lot of pces closed.”

  “Our hotel serves food too. There’s a menu in your room—just use the phone on the nightstand to pce an order with reception.”

  “Got it, thanks!”

  “You’re such a sweet talker. Here’s your room number, head up over there.”

  “Okay! Bye, sis!”

  “Bye-bye.”

  Jiuxiao led Kiana off. Kiana, watching them both smiling despite every word being a lie, found it kind of fascinating. Everything they said was fake, but it still made the receptionist happy. Jiuxiao had told her before they walked in, “Let me do all the talking—don’t say anything.”

  Once inside the room, Kiana didn’t even take her backpack off before pouncing onto the big bed and burying her face deep into the sheets.

  “Mmhh—Jiuxiao, this is so soft and comfy. Just smells a little weird.”

  “Probably just disinfectant, or maybe the sheets have been left on too long. Put on some pajamas—we’ll make do. I’m gonna go shower first.”