To be honest, even though Kiana had mentally prepared herself to face those who had passed away ever since she started this plan—a plan she and Lynelle had cooked up together (or more accurately, one Lynelle had forced upon her)—such a sudden and unexpected reunion still left the current "Customer Service Kiana-chan" completely flustered.
Or, to put it more accurately, it was like that nervous feeling of returning home after a long time.
Just like when Helia and Coralie came to the moon to learn from her, and Kiana, a first-time teacher, had been a bundle of nerves for quite a while.
But this time, Kiana was about to face Cecilia—a mother who could only be described as her "white moonlight."
A whirlwind of emotions—excitement, exhilaration, anxiety—all surged within her, so much so that Kiana even felt a fleeting urge to run away.
If it weren't for the fact that whether it was Elysia or any of her other system-hacking friends, could only cover her shifts for a short while, she would've genuinely preferred to hide until Cecilia had left.
'That damn Lynelle…'
Looking at Lynelle, who was temporarily enjoying a "quality nap" thanks to the Honkai fission bomb, Customer Service Kiana-chan's voice was dripping with resentment.
'Just you wait until all this is over! I'm going to have a nice, long chat with Mei about how she got those 28-centimeter horns, and then invite her to join me in giving you a punishment session you won't forget…'
'Ah, forget it. Since I'm already here, and it's not like I can just find a body for Cecilia in this Star Rail world anyway… The chaos of the three phases has been getting worse lately.'
'Who knows when I'll be able to return to the Honkai side next time? I should just check and see if Mama Cecilia and Sirin are okay for now.'
After a careful examination, Customer Service Kiana-chan let out a defeated, almost broken laugh.
According to the results, neither Sirin nor Cecilia was seriously injured.
Sirin would need a month or two to fully recover her soul—after all, the earlier outburst from the five Herrscher Cores had done quite a number on her. As for Cecilia…
Maybe it was because she was the rightful wielder of the Divine Key, or perhaps because some of the blood of the Kaslana Saint still lingered in her veins, automatically mending her wounds—whatever the reason, her condition was far better than Customer Service Kiana-chan had initially estimated.
To be precise, Cecilia was highly likely to wake up within two days.
'Uwaah… Lynelle, I hate you…'
Customer Service Kiana-chan (in full-on floor-rolling mode.jpg)
"What… what is all this?"
The moment Lynelle's consciousness stirred, she immediately opened the system interface. Thanks to Herta's stasis pod, she could afford to lounge around a bit even after switching worlds. So, she decided to check the results of her earlier use of [Something Unto Death].
But the moment she opened the system screen, Lynelle was completely baffled by the massive wall of text Customer Service Kiana-chan had spammed across it.
[Uh… Host, please just pretend you didn't see any of that.]
Kiana, who had been rolling around on the floor, froze instantly and began frantically deleting the long string of unhinged logs from the screen.
No matter how unrestrained she felt, at this point in time, she still had to keep up appearances in front of Lynelle.
If she wanted to completely "drop the act"... she'd probably have to wait until Lynelle fully unlocked at least one Herrscher's authority and regained a portion of her Origin powers.
"Alright then~"
Lynelle smiled faintly. Truth be told, one reason she had chosen to save Cecilia and Sirin this way was to test this so-called Customer Service Kiana-chan.
After all, if she had remained completely indifferent during the Second Honkai Eruption in Siberia, it could have been brushed off as having absolute faith in Lynelle's arrangements.
But this time, with Cecilia thrown directly into the mix, there was no way she could stay unmoved, right?
If she had, it would have completely disproven Lynelle's suspicion that Customer Service Kiana-chan was connected to Kiana. But judging by her reaction just now… well, well?
"So, Kiana-chan, how are Cecilia and Sirin doing?"
Completely unaware that she had just been subtly tested, Customer Service Kiana-chan answered without a second thought:
[Their souls are fine. They just need some time to rest and recover from their injuries. Sirin will probably need a bit longer, but Cecilia… she should wake up in the next few days.]
[So, Host, are you really planning on carrying them around inside your body like this? If one body hosts multiple souls for too long… it might put a strain on you.]
"Not necessarily. Based on my current plan, Sirin can be returned to Kiana's body—that should solve the problem of the Herrscher's manifestation later on."
"As for Cecilia… whether we use one of the discarded clones in St. Freya Academy's underground area, or go to World Serpent to get a Type-V body from Hare, it shouldn't be too difficult."
[So…]
"So, let them stay in my body for a little while longer~"
Lynelle's smile was exceptionally bright.
[Guh…]
Customer Service Kiana-chan let out a pathetic sound of defeat.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just then, a series of taps on the pod's hatch pulled Lynelle out of her amusement at teasing Customer Service Kiana-chan and back to reality.
"If you're awake, stop lazing around in there and come out already."
The voice of Madam Herta came from outside Lynelle's stasis pod.
"I'd like to run some tests as soon as possible and see what that so-called Herrscher core you obtained can actually do."
"Oh, right!"
Lynelle suddenly remembered.
Earlier, she had been so focused on checking on Cecilia and Sirin's condition, and on observing Customer Service Kiana-chan's reactions, that she had completely forgotten about her other gain from this trip—aside from the crystals.
That is, a Herrscher core.
And not just any core—it was the core of the Herrscher of Corruption, renowned for its survivability and versatility.
Although, according to Sirin, to ensure that Lynelle's rather mediocre physique could withstand the core's violent intrusion, the Will of the Honkai had personally placed layer upon layer of seals on it.
These seals would gradually unlock as Lynelle's own Honkai energy adaptability and physical strength improved. Still, none of that dampened Lynelle's excitement.
After all, this was a huge breakthrough—going from zero to one in terms of power.
With this Herrscher core, at the very least, Lynelle wouldn't have to worry about her combat capabilities anymore.
Otherwise, given her current state, she'd have to rely on drawn items and character cards to fight Otto, and to take on a Zombie… she'd still need items and character cards.
Let's not forget, most of the items obtained from the system were consumables. Even if Lynelle were a heavy spender, she wouldn't be able to sustain such high consumption—and she wasn't. She was a completely free player who couldn't even find the recharge portal.
With that in mind, Lynelle hurriedly opened the pod hatch, sat up, and began looking forward to the upcoming round of "comprehensive physical examinations" by The Herta.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.