"Don't follow me."
Seele was walking briskly down a street somewhere in the city of Berlin.
Today, she had hidden her trusty metal water pipe beneath the rooftop water tower of a small building, along with her hooded cloak.
That was her secret base.
Now, from the outside, she appeared to be just a normal, pretty girl.
If not for the deeply impatient scowl twisting her expression, perhaps she would've looked back more often.
Of course, trailing behind her at this moment was a "tail" with an exceptionally high cling rate—impossible to shake off.
This particular tail had quite a rare drill-bit hairstyle.
And she was equally eye-catching.
Most eye-catching of all was the powered armor covering her legs.
A metal machine paired with a small girl—undoubtedly an adorable and striking contrast.
It attracted even more attention.
But—
Seele, you're the one drawing attention here.
Finally, she ducked into another alley.
Bronya had followed her all the way.
Boom~
She was grabbed.
Right then and there, Seele shoved her hand against the wall, pinning Bronya's back to it, leaving no room to retreat.
"I already told you—don't follow me."
Seele snarled, wrapping her other hand around her waist and lifting it slightly.
A sharp knife now pressed against Bronya's throat.
"Remember, I'm in a really bad mood right now."
Seele narrowed her eyes. "Don't mess with me."
.
Looking at that familiar face wearing such an unfamiliar expression...
No, in terms of personality, it still felt somewhat familiar.
The girl before her was like "another Seele" from her memory—
Thorny, eccentric, biting, and difficult to deal with.
But—
"Bronya has something... she'd like to ask your help with."
The girl didn't flinch at the threat of the knife at her throat.
And to be fair, Seele's technique was crude—clearly the work of an amateur.
In a real fight, Bronya could have disarmed her in a second and taken control of the situation effortlessly.
So—
"Ha? You're asking me for help?"
Seele sounded like she'd just heard a joke. "That's rich. And what exactly can I do for you?"
She leaned in close. "Let's step back ten thousand paces. Even if I could help you... why would I?"
At that—
"Bronya can see that something's chasing you."
Without averting her gaze, Bronya said seriously, "Bronya can help you... in exchange, you help Bronya later."
"From the few words you said earlier, I inferred—there are people in this city involved in human trafficking."
"And people you know are tangled up in it... right?"
"Bronya can help you find someone."
She laid out the facts quickly.
To this—
.
The Seele before her remained silent.
But not for long.
"A strong 'Bronya,' the way you say your own name—so annoying."
"You keep saying your name like a three-year-old."
Seele snapped her reply back quickly. "I don't believe you."
She didn't even pull the knife away from Bronya's neck.
Just listen—
"We just met, and you're spouting all this with such passion?"
"And how do you know my name?"
"Have you been spying on me?"
As she spoke, her grip on the knife tightened.
Bronya... didn't know how to answer that.
What was she supposed to say? That the Seele standing in front of her looked exactly like someone she knew, even sharing the same name?
That was the truth.
But it was hard to believe.
Because behind that truth was "time travel."
And that travel spanned an extremely long period—over 50,000 years.
If she said that... then what?
At the very least, the short-haired girl in front of her would only scoff.
Bronya could already tell—it would backfire horribly.
So—
"Bronya doesn't want to lie to you."
Bronya looked straight into Seele's eyes and answered word by word: "But there are some things Bronya cannot say."
"Ha?"
Disgust flickered once again across Seele's face.
For a moment.
"You won't say anything, but I'm supposed to trust you anyway?"
"Are you brain-damaged?"
She didn't hold back her words and even swept her gaze up and down Bronya's body.
Her gaze... lingered for a moment on the powered armor covering Bronya's legs.
Then—
"You said you could help me, and now you want me to help you... Fine."
A wicked grin crept across Seele's face. "Maybe I didn't get involved in that crap you just mentioned."
"But I've got a different favor in mind."
She narrowed her eyes. "Call it a finder's fee."
"How about you give me some money?"
"Let's start at 180,000... Of course, the more the better."
.
Bronya didn't respond.
The girl before her was clearly not her Seele.
Her Seele wouldn't have shown such a worldly, calculating expression.
And yet—
"Bronya doesn't have any money."
She shook her head.
"Then there's nothing more to talk about."
With a disgusted look, Seele withdrew the knife, turned around, and left.
Right now, all she felt was that she had wasted her time completely.
However—
Even though she noticed the powered exosuit on Bronya's legs must be worth a fortune, she didn't try to steal it.
That lingering sense of "decency" made her choose correctly.
After all, the current Bronya, even without the inherited powers of the Herrscher of Reason, was far beyond the level of ordinary humans when it came to personal combat strength.
Even without activating her quantum robot, "Reinstalled Bunny 19C," she alone could destroy an entire special ops force—
In a direct assault.
And if it were an assassination...
"Bronya doesn't have money right now."
The girl no longer argued and was about to walk away on her own. "But Bronya has a way to get a large amount."
At that, Seele stopped.
She turned slowly and eyed Bronya suspiciously. "Where?"
Seeing she was finally interested, Bronya slowly walked forward. "Before telling you how much I can offer—"
"And—"
Their eyes met. "Before confirming a specific figure, Bronya realized the amount you needed was huge and that you were desperate... So—why do you need so much money?"
.
"That's not something that can't be said... right?"
Bronya was reading Seele's expressions.
That's why she asked.
And as expected—
"Tch. Fine, call it bad luck. I'm in trouble."
Seele sighed, then hooked her finger at Bronya. "Come with me."
"Where to?"
Bronya asked, tilting her head.
"To the place where I'm going to spend all that money."
Seele replied, then started walking without looking back.
Bronya hurried to follow.
Watching that familiar figure from behind—
And because she couldn't see the other girl's expression—
Instead—
At this moment, Bronya felt like she could breathe a little easier.
But honestly—
Relaxing at the wrong time isn't always a good thing.
Because—
"Target confirmed."
"Clear surrounding civilians immediately."
Special operations troops loaded with live rounds had already taken position on top of a nearby tall building. Spotters had locked onto Bronya's figure... and Seele's beside her.
Truthfully, if Bronya hadn't let her guard down, with her skills in anti-tracking and anti-detection, she would have easily noticed these people.
But right now, a very unfortunate "coincidence" was unfolding.
And these people—
"Prepare to apprehend—the Sixth Herrscher!"