This was a remote rural area near the border between the German Confederation and the Republic of the White Eagle.
At this moment, Xier was sitting in a farmhouse, relatively silent.
Beside her was an elderly woman, plainly dressed, thin, and with gray hair, who, under the light of a woven white lamp, was attentively helping her apply ointment to the burn wound on her right forearm.
For a moment—
"Hiss~"
It seemed to sting suddenly, causing Xier to involuntarily take a deep breath.
Seeing her like this—
"Sorry, child."
The old woman's medicated hand trembled slightly, and an apologetic expression appeared on her face.
To this—
"No, no, no, you were willing to take me in when I was desperate... we're already very grateful."
Xier said quickly, "and we ourselves weren't careful about these injuries."
She said, "Please don't say that."
Until today, Xier had been wandering the gray areas of the city of Berlin.
She was not, therefore, an innocent person.
In her eyes, a remote rural area like this, where you couldn't even find a TV at home (Reloaded Bunny had detected wide-area signals in advance), would raise a group of people whose behavior is either extremely strange and opportunistic toward outsiders, or whose general character is very simple.
So, when she drove that super cool motorcycle near this village, and the latter took the initiative to hide, follow, and protect the flank to avoid unnecessary noise, Xier was initially very suspicious of the natives here.
Fortunately, there were no rebellious people in this "countryside," and its customs belonged to the second kind she hoped for.
Not long ago, an elderly couple was out eating, and upon seeing that both she and Bronia—unsteady and visibly injured—were hurt and that their clothes were heavily damaged, they felt pity and took them in temporarily.
And based on that—
Even so, due to her childhood circumstances, Xier was not naive, so she had already made plans—she and Bronia must not stay here long.
Otherwise, they would surely implicate the kind elderly couple.
To be honest, if she hadn't been truly at the end of her rope at this moment, she actually wouldn't have wanted to involve those two.
But—
"Child, don't think too much about things that might sadden you for now."
The old woman had already finished applying medicine to Xier and was still quite strong, so she picked up the medicine box and was about to walk to another room.
There, since her injuries were more serious, Bronia—who had already received first treatment—lay quietly on an old wooden bed, sleeping peacefully.
Her breathing had become much more stable than before.
Although her eyebrows still occasionally furrowed, at least—
"I'm really troubling you. Thank you."
Xier said very politely.
"It's fine, no problem."
The simple old woman had a kind smile on her face. "Rest early, child."
Once she had left—
"Sigh~"
Sitting alone in the house, Xier sighed helplessly.
On the way here, they had passed by the quantum robot that called itself "Reinstalled Bunny 19C"... Well, with her current knowledge, she simply didn't understand the concept of "quantum," she just knew it was a robot.
But the latter could communicate with her using words.
It was also through this method that Xier gained a general understanding of why so many troublesome things had happened to her today.
Civilization, the Honkai disaster, the body of the Sixth Herrscher.
The messages, one by one interconnected and far too strange, felt like reading a sci-fi novel.
Although, all this time, what Xier actually preferred was the bedtime fairy tales Nata used to tell her when she was a child.
But blending into the outside world—and especially in gray areas—could lead to harassment if one showed weakness, or even worse.
So she tried to avoid that.
Whether for herself or for others in the orphanage.
She loved those bedtime fairy tales.
Childishness—a sign of weakness.
So even if she really liked them, she would never show it.
Well, that's off topic.
All in all—
"Nata's Honkai disease—almost incurable."
"And I... am suspected to be the kind of monster that will become a Herrscher in the future, the kind of monster that is powerful but kills, feared and rejected by everyone?"
"So those people... came to catch me."
As she thought, Xier moved to the only wooden bed in this room, placed her hands on her knees, buried her head, and her expression could not be seen clearly.
"Why..."
These messages, precisely because they were so strange, had a high degree of credibility.
Because the very existence of "Rabbit 19C" had already refreshed her previous worldview.
And—
Today, at that earlier, most critical moment, the gray-haired girl called "Bronia" had chosen to risk severe injury rather than prioritize her own safety.
That emotion couldn't be faked.
Let's say, if it really were fake, then—
Xier would still acknowledge it.
As long as the other person was truly protecting her.
Now, she had seen the extensive burns on Bronia's body, as well as the swelling on her forehead.
For the average person, all of these injuries could easily be fatal.
Perhaps Bronia was not an average person.
The injuries on her body were slowly healing.
But... reverse the roles, put yourself in her shoes... At least she herself wouldn't have gone that far for a stranger she had just met.
There must be a reason.
There must be... something she didn't know—something about that big robot, or some unspoken, sensitive reason.
Besides that, there was Nata's condition, the question of what would follow at the orphanage, and the child who had been kidnapped by traffickers the other day.
"Forget it, I'd better sleep for a while."
Xier really couldn't hold on anymore—she lay back and lay down on the bed.
"Hiss~"
Because her subconscious movements were too forceful, she accidentally agitated the wound on her right forearm and gasped in pain.
But she soon fell asleep.
There was no helping it—today—
She was truly—
Physically, mentally.
Exhausted.
"Buzz~"
Inside the room, the Reloaded Bunny—who had autonomously shrunken significantly several times—appeared floating in the air.
Gently, acting like a clumsy girl, it laid a blanket over the person beside the bed.
Looking at that face, incredibly familiar, yet misleading—
[...]
It harbored strong thoughts about what had happened to Bronia.
It could be said to have witnessed everything from start to finish.
From the beginning, when Bronia personally took the limbs of the black-haired boy, to the latter's return from hell and his own vengeance filled with abyssal malice.
"I'll make sure you feel alone again."
Nowadays, the "Xier Fullerey" she had once created had completely disappeared along with the entire era of modern civilization.
That man (Ling Ke) had succeeded in his revenge.
But now, when Bronia had arrived in another era... this strange era before civilization—
The appearance of another "Xier"... and, unconsciously, getting close to her...
Truly—
With that person's (Ling Ke's) character and methods—
Wasn't this really... another kind, gently crafted countryside trap?
Perhaps, the existence of this Xier was just something that person (Ling Ke) had arranged to stir Bronia's Honkai psychology with a dynamic rise and fall.
Not just some "boring" dead thing.
[...]
Reloaded Bunny, lost in thought.
After a long while, it decided not to dwell too much on these matters.
It was a machine.
Just protect Bronia and be her support.
Just like... what the "Xier Fullerey" once hoped for.