A.N rah whatever man imma just do whatever I want.
Theresa led us out of the building.
Waiting outside were Kiana, Mei, and Bronya.
Himeko wasn't there.
I didn't really know what to say.
Kiana waved first. "Whoa! Lee, your battlesuit looks so cool~!"
She circled me like she was inspecting a sports car. "I'll get one even cooler someday!"
"You better pay attention in class if you want to make it to S-rank," I said.
Kiana puffed her chest out. "I'll become the strongest Valkyrie ever! Then I'll find out what happened to my dad."
Durandal spoke without much expression. "Your father is currently wanted by Schicksal for treason."
Kiana crossed her arms. "Kaslanas aren't traitors! I'll find him, and when I do, I'll beat him up until he tells me why he left."
I glanced at Shamash.
They were just standing there, quietly observing everything.
Bronya noticed. "What is that?" she asked.
"It's an ELF," I said. "An autonomous Soulium construct."
Shamash stayed silent.
Kiana gasped. "It's so cute!"
Before anyone could stop her, she ran forward and scooped Shamash up, rubbing her face against its metal head.
Mei frowned, just slightly. Kiana didn't notice.
"Where's Himeko?" I asked.
Mei sighed. "She's really busy. Classes start in a few days."
Kiana chimed in. "She was super mad, by the way! Said Aunt Theresa ditched her to go help you."
Theresa crossed her arms. "I didn't ditch her. I tactically reassigned the workload. I was needed for something only I could handle."
Durandal spoke up absently. "You didn't really do anything but watch."
Theresa flushed. "I was ready to use the Oath of Judah in an emergency!"
Shamash finally spoke. "Oath of Judah?"
Theresa straightened. "It was given to me by my grandfather—" She paused. "By Otto, when I became an S-rank Valkyrie."
Kiana grinned. "Isn't that nepotism?"
Theresa's face twitched. A moment later, Oath of Judah's golden spears erupted from the air and pinned Kiana to the ground.
"What did I even do this time?!" Kiana yelled.
Theresa only grew more angry.
Bronya looked at Durandal. "You are Durandal, correct?"
"Yes," Durandal replied simply.
Mei blinked in mild confusion.
Kiana, still on the ground, raised a hand. "I know this one! Durandal's one of Schicksal's strongest Valkyries!"
"You only know that because I told you," I said.
Theresa finally retracted the Oath of Judah.
Kiana jumped back up and immediately pointed at Durandal. "Fight me!"
Theresa groaned. "You sure are a Kaslana, I haven't even prepared a battlesuit for you yet, and you're already challenging an S-rank?"
Kiana smirked. "S-ranks aren't that tough. I could probably take Lee down anytime."
"We've never even fought," I said.
"I'm still stronger than you!"
"Raw strength isn't everything."
I lifted my arm and aimed at the far end of the courtyard. A charged shot blasted out, landing with a deep metallic roar. A six-meter golden sphere of energy bloomed on impact, leaving a smoking crater.
Theresa's eyes widened. "My courtyard!"
Before I could even lower my arm, Oath of Judah's chains appeared again.
They slammed me flat into the ground right beside Kiana.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I yelled.
Theresa crossed her arms. "If you want to show off your weapons, use the range!"
After a moment, she sighed and retracted Oath of Judah.
Shamash spoke up. "The energy output of that blast was not Honkai Energy. Its composition cannot be identified. It matches the same signature you used during our previous battle. Is it Schicksal technology?"
Theresa frowned. "I have never seen anything like it."
"It's amplified by Schicksal equipment," I added quickly. "We can talk about that later."
Kiana tilted her head. "So how long are you staying here, Lee?"
Honestly? I wanted to go back to my apartment as soon as possible. Quiet. Alone. No shouting Kaslanas. No courtyard damage bills.
"I'm needed for an experiment in a few days," I said. "But I also have to return to Schicksal for… other business." I gestured toward Shamash.
Kiana pouted. "So when are you leaving, then?"
I pulled out my communicator. "It's six now. I need to be back tonight. Flight takes about an hour forty, so… maybe twenty or thirty minutes."
"Why not just sleep over?" Kiana asked.
Because my bed is infinitely better than any bed on this island. One of the perks of being S-rank: Schicksal-grade comfort tech. Probably black tech. Probably overkill. Absolutely worth it.
"Like I said," I answered out loud, "I've got other stuff to deal with."
Kiana grinned anyway. "Then let's at least eat dinner together! Mei can cook—her cooking's the best!"
"It's only six," I pointed out. "Bit early for dinner."
Mei glanced back from the kitchen. "Six is normal dinner time, actually."
"That's weird," I said.
Durandal spoke up. "I am a little hungry. Eating sounds nice."
Of course. Both Kaslanas, Durandal and Kiana, black hole stomachs. Mei was going to need to cook for ten people at this rate.
Mei frowned but sighed. "You're welcome to join us, Durandal."
Durandal blinked, seemingly a bit confused by the fact that she wasn't actually automatically included in the group, then nodded. "Okay?"
Kiana smirked. "Nobody can eat more than me anyway!"
"Being able to eat a lot isn't exactly a talent," I muttered.
The kitchen of Himeko's apartment smelled incredible.
Steam rose from several pots at once, and the sound of sizzling filled the air.
Mei was in her element. Her sleeves rolled up, hair tied back, focused entirely on the stove. Every time someone took a plate, she was already filling another.
There weren't nearly enough seats. The counter was packed, the couch occupied, and anyone else was balancing plates wherever they could find space.
Himeko had taken up position near the kitchen doorway, leaning against the frame with a drink in hand, nonalcoholic this time.
She looked more tired than usual.
Across from her, Theresa was trying very hard to look innocent.
"So," Himeko started, "you're telling me you didn't ditch working on class prep and dump it all on me?"
"I didn't ditch anyone," Theresa said quickly.
"It was a tactical reassignment. I was needed elsewhere."
Himeko gave her a long, unimpressed stare.
"A tactical reassignment, sure."
Theresa turned slightly red. "It was important! Lee needed to use the Jizo Mitama and I needed to be there to watch!"
Himeko rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink.
On the couch, Bronya was quietly working through her food while staring at Shamash, who was just hovering beside the coffee table. The ELF had been given a plate but didn't seem to know what to do with it.
"Do you even eat?" Bronya asked.
"No," Shamash said simply.
"Thought so."
Kiana and Durandal were sitting next to each other at the counter, their plates stacked like miniature towers.
Durandal ate quickly, clean and efficient, barely pausing between bites. Kiana, on the other hand, kept sneaking glances at her plate, then at Durandal's, then back again, trying to keep up.
Every few seconds, she'd shovel down another forkful as if the fate of the world depended on it.
Mei noticed but said nothing. She was already halfway through frying another batch of vegetables.
Durandal finally put down her third bowl, still half-full, and exhaled softly. "That was excellent, Mei. Do you need help cleaning?"
Before Mei could answer, Kiana slammed her fork down. "Ha! I win!"
Durandal blinked. "Win?"
"I ate more food than you did!"
A pause. Durandal looked at her, clearly buffering.
"Why," she asked slowly, "would that mean you won?"
"Because it does!" Kiana said proudly.
Durandal turned to Mei. "Is this… normal?"
Mei sighed, wiping her hands on a towel.
"Ignore her. She gets like this."
She walked over and took Kiana's hands before the girl could grab another plate.
"That's enough for now. You'll explode at this rate."
Kiana grinned, her face softening instantly.
"Okay, okay, fine. I'm just saying, if this was a competition, I'd win next time too."
"Sure you would," Mei said, smiling faintly.
Theresa was still trying to defend herself from Himeko, who had now moved on to listing the number of reports she'd had to fill out alone.
"I had to sign off on twelve maintenance requests. Twelve! You know how much paperwork that is?"
"I offered to help later!" Theresa protested.
"Later isn't now, little nun."
"I'm not—ugh, never mind."
Lee quietly ate her food from the arm of the couch, pretending not to hear any of it. It was safer that way.
Bronya had gone back to typing something on her new laptop, occasionally passing a bite of food to Shamash, who made no move to accept it.
"It doesn't eat," Lee murmured.
Bronya shrugged. "I am testing."
The apartment was noisy, messy, and somehow still felt comfortable.
Himeko sighed again, but this time, it sounded more like relief than frustration. "At least everyone's getting along," she said.
Theresa smiled. "See? Tactical reassignment worked out after all."
Himeko gave her a look. "Don't push it."
>>> 3 Hours Later <<<
By the time I finally got back to my apartment, it was already past nine.
Shamash was still following me. Quiet.
Hovering a few centimeters above the floor like a ghost that had decided to move in.
I honestly didn't know how to deal with them.
Every time I looked over my shoulder, they were just there. Floating. Watching.
Part of me kept expecting them to start shooting or scanning or doing something.
"So," I asked carefully, "you… doing fine?"
"I am fully operational," Shamash replied, voice flat as always.
"Yeah, I figured."
I dropped my bag on the couch and turned to face them. "You know, you're supposed to be modeled after Kevin. But you act like an ice cube compared to other ELFs."
"I exist only to complete my mission."
"Right. Of course you do."
I hesitated for a moment, trying to think of something, anything, to make this less awkward.
"Uh… want to watch TV?"
Shamash said nothing for a long time. Long enough for me to start regretting asking.
Then finally, "Yes."
"Okay then."
I picked up the remote, turned on the massive wall-mounted TV, and was immediately hit by a flood of menus, inputs, and voice options that made no sense.
"Here. You figure it out." Handing the remote off to Shamash.
Leaving them to it, I wandered into my room.
The lights automatically brightened as I stepped in, revealing the ridiculous luxury Schicksal insisted on giving S-rank Valkyries. I dropped my uniform on the floor and headed into the bathroom.
I closed my eyes and let the warmth hit my shoulders. The steam made the whole room blur, the noise fading to a low hum.
A soft chime interrupted it. The smart assistant's voice echoed faintly through the fog. "Incoming message from Kiana Kaslana."
Of course.
"Play it," I said.
"Lee! You better watch out!" Kiana's voice blared. "As soon as I get my own battlesuit, we're fighting for real! We'll see who's stronger then!"
I sighed and muttered, "Hopefully that'll be a long time from now."
I didn't want her, or any of them, thinking I'd always be there to bail them out.
It was also incredibly awkward since I really didn't want what was best for Kiana, for the world to live, Kiana would have to suffer significantly.
I wanted to distance myself from her somewhat, along with the others.
Finishing up, I stepped out, wrapping a towel around myself. The moment I did, the small cleaning bot rolled into the room.
I handed it the wet towel, and it zipped off without a sound.
I changed into sleepwear, brushed my hair dry, and stepped back into the living room.
Shamash was perched on the corner of the couch, sitting neatly on a pillow, eyes fixed on the screen.
They were watching Children's cartoons.
I decided not to comment.
"Everything all right?" I asked. "Need anything?"
Without turning, Shamash said, "I do not require anything."
"Okay…"
It really did feel a bit like babysitting a kid. A kid who could probably level a city block if they wanted.
I went back to my room, grabbed my tablet, and switched it to restricted mode. The system pinged: Authority Level: D rank.
When Himeko had handed me a tablet on the Hyperion, she hadn't bothered with the restriction mode. Maybe because she trusted me. Or forgot.
Either way, I wasn't making that mistake now.
Walking back to the couch, I placed the tablet beside Shamash.
"If you want to look up general info about the world, you can use this," I said. "But Schicksal data is limited to the lowest clearance for now. If you have questions, ask me tomorrow."
Shamash didn't respond.
They just kept watching the cartoons.
I stared for a second longer, then turned toward my room.
"Good night," I said quietly.
No response.
The sound of laughter from the cartoon echoed through the apartment as I walked away.