In a dark underground base somewhere, Raiden Ryoma was adjusting an ice-blue tachi—the Plasma Kagehide.
*Bang—*
Siegfried, carrying two cases of beer, kicked open the lab door and walked in.
"Ryoma, my man, I got word that my precious daughter is going out on a mission. I'm gonna go see her. You wanna come, Ryoma old boy?"
Raiden Ryoma put down his work and shot Siegfried a disgusted look, roaring at him:
"I believe I've told you not to bring alcohol into my lab, and why did you kick my door! It wasn't even locked, you could have just opened it! Don't you know how tight our funds are right now!"
"Ehehe, I've only got one hand, you see~ I was carrying the beer, couldn't open the door!" Siegfried held up the two cases of beer, offering a brazenly unapologetic explanation.
Raiden Ryoma rolled his eyes. In the short time he had been staying here with Siegfried, his blood pressure had already started to rise.
Taking a case of beer from Siegfried, the two of them sat down on the steps, each with their own case, and began to drink slowly.
"Sigh... I wonder when my Mei will be able to go on a mission. I haven't seen her in so long either."
"Give me a break! You can at least call her. I don't even get a chance to talk to Kiana..."
"Tsk, and here's the guy who's afraid that the moment he hears Kiana's voice, he won't have the heart to stay hidden anymore, now acting all pitiful."
Siegfried finished a bottle of beer, then drunkenly and cheekily walked over to the Plasma Kagehide and picked it up.
"Spilling the beans, are we? Then why don't we talk about this Plasma Kagehide... oh! Isn't this the tachi that Ryoma old boy said could freeze even a Herrscher? I heard it was forged to slay the Herrscher of Thunder, was it?"
Hearing Siegfried bring up the Plasma Kagehide, Raiden Ryoma's face instantly darkened. The Plasma Kagehide was a weapon that Raiden Ryoma had prepared to prevent the advent of a Herrscher after he had implanted the gem into Mei's body.
Unfortunately, its development was too slow, and it was only nearing completion around the time of the Third Honkai Eruption. It was because he was developing this weapon that the vixen Cocolia found an opportunity to frame him, using the excuse of "ME Corp's president secretly embezzling large amounts of company funds to develop prohibited weapons" to get him thrown in jail.
Then the Great Honkai Eruption happened. Raiden Ryoma stood outside the academy with the blade in hand, hesitating, not knowing what to do.
With over three million people in Nagazora City, he should have killed Mei, and then himself, to atone for his sins. But he could never bring himself to strike Mei.
It wasn't until Raiden Mei was recovered by St. Freya High School and he confirmed that she was safe that Raiden Ryoma was finally able to rest easy.
Raiden Ryoma had no face to meet the three million-plus souls of Nagazora City, and even less to face Mei. So he had been hiding from Mei, avoiding her. Even though he knew her contact information, he would only stammer a few words when she took the initiative to call him...
"If one day in the future, the Herrscher of Thunder descends again, I will draw this blade once more..."
As luck would have it, Siegfried happened to be looking for him and overheard him saying this. And as even worse luck would have it, the Herrscher of Thunder had descended several times since the Third Honkai Eruption.
And the most Ryoma had done was recalibrate the Plasma Kagehide...
Ryoma shook his head, trying not to think about these sad and embarrassing things. But then, as if he remembered something, he looked at Siegfried with a mocking expression.
"By the way, I heard your girl was snatched away by that Ryn? I told you he was Otto's man! Hah, look at him now, he's become a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie."
"..." Siegfried didn't say anything. He just quietly put down the blade and sat back on the floor to drink his beer.
"Some things are better left unsaid... see this beer? This is what I brought to drown my sorrows..."
Raiden Ryoma: "Hilarious. My precious daughter Mei is so much better. Although I was shocked when I first heard she had the title 'Queen of Thunder' at school, thinking about it now, at least I don't have to worry about her getting into a relationship too early~"
"Hehe..."
Siegfried let out a cold laugh. Hearing Ryoma say that, he suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore. After all, thinking about how painful and twisted Raiden Ryoma would be in the future when he found out his daughter had also been snatched away by Ryn, he was sure to be in more agony than Siegfried was now.
Siegfried pushed the rest of his unopened beer over to Ryoma's side, then stood up and patted the Judgment of Shamash at his waist.
"If you're not coming, Ryoma old boy, I'll be on my way. I only know their general coordinates, so if I don't get there early, I won't be able to find them once they start moving."
"Tsk, my precious daughter isn't going, so I'm not going either."
Ryoma waved his hand, showing no desire to go at all. Besides, even if he did, he wouldn't dare face Mei... Raiden Ryoma bore an undeniable responsibility for both the Gem of Conquest and the subsequent Third Honkai Eruption.
"I'm off then~"
"Wait, wait..."
Raiden Ryoma called out to Siegfried, then jogged over to the command console and completed the final adjustments on the Plasma Kagehide.
Once finished, he picked up the Plasma Kagehide and tossed it to Siegfried.
"Help me give this weapon to Kiana's group. Ask them to pass it on to Mei for me... Also, tell Mei... Dad's been busy lately and hasn't had time to check in on her. Tell her to take good care of herself, and if she's short on money or anything, she can text Dad..."
Siegfried caught the Plasma Kagehide, slung it across his back, and then gave Ryoma a cheeky smile and a wave goodbye.
"You got it, son. Dad heard everything loud and clear~"
"Get lost!"
———————————————
New Zealand, Queen's Hotel.
Ryn, Kiana, and Fu Hua, following the informant's directions, disguised themselves and blended in with the regular guests at the Queen's Hotel.
The three of them were currently in the reception hall, gathering reliable information from the idle chatter of others.
However, before entering the hotel, Ryn had been about to use his Authority to create some detection-capable floating dust to gather information. But Fu Hua had stopped him, arguing that according to the mission's rating, it was indeed just a standard mission with an intern, so there was no need to be so dramatic.
Therefore, Fu Hua wanted to follow standard mission protocols and teach Kiana some infiltration and reconnaissance techniques.
But Fu Hua had forgotten that they were in a reception hall, a place where a buffet of various delicacies was always available.
So, from the moment they entered, Kiana's eyes lit up, and she vanished in a flash, getting lost among the food on the various dining tables.
Fu Hua's eye twitched. She turned to discuss the next steps of the mission with Ryn, only to find that he had also disappeared.