I Am Honkai

Chapter 899: Proposal

Bang!

"Uwaa! Sister Bronya... there really is too much stuff."

"Tch, it’s all that idiot Kiana’s fault. A party is just a party, so why insist I bring all of the company’s new products along? She tried them without giving any feedback, and in the end she didn’t even sponsor anything. So stingy."

Walking out from the main transit line exit of the upper district of the Stargate Spaceport, the pretty young woman with light gray curls stuffed the heavy boxes of various sizes, helmet-like electronic devices, and even the oversized ’bathtub’-shaped cabin module along with her personal luggage into the portable spatial storage belt at her waist. She wiped at the nonexistent sweat on her forehead and casually smoothed her slightly messy bangs.

"Isn’t that woman a planetary governor? Where’s her salary? Where is it..."

Dressed like a sharp and capable urban professional—pure white low-cut knit sweater underneath, black Western-style short jacket over it, hip-hugging skirt, slightly pointed heels—Bronya Zaychik muttered under her breath, gray eyes matching her hair.

"Um, Sister Bronya... Sister Kiana has been funding orphanages, welfare homes, and poverty relief foundations in her jurisdiction with her own money... She’s already turned herself into a pauper, and she even owes Sister Mei and the others quite a large sum..."

A slightly timid voice offered the reminder softly.

"Heh heh heh, owing money to Sister Mei—does that even count as debt? Sister Mei works in the field. She makes money fast and has plenty of connections. At worst, that idiot Kiana can just wrap herself up and sell herself to Sister Mei."

"Sigh... Sister Bronya, aren’t you just complaining because you didn’t manage to, um... attract enough investment?"

"Uh..."

Called out like that, Bronya blinked. Her gaze gradually drifted, lips pursed upward into a faint ^ curve. "Not at all. I just find it troublesome."

"That idiot Kiana gave so many high-sounding reasons. Isn’t she just trying to show off in front of me? Hmph, she’s even learned how to talk like a bureaucrat now... that grasshopper."

"Mm-hmm."

The gentle girl merely smiled and nodded, hands clasped beneath her chin, delighted that the pure bond between her sister and her friend—though their careers had long since diverged—remained unchanged. She leaned forward slightly, listening to more of Bronya’s half-complaints delivered with a grin, her shoulder-length black hair tinged with blue swaying as she moved.

"Seele’s gotten bad. Kiana taught you!"

Seeing this, Bronya quickly changed the subject.

"No. Wasn’t it Sister Bronya who said I should learn to refuse things and speak words of advice and reminders?" Seele lifted her ocean-soft eyes.

"..."

"Hee hee..."

"Hahahahaha... I can’t take it anymore, I’m dying—Liliya, don’t just cover my mouth—hahaha, Sister Bronya... hahaha!"

A burst of uncontrollable laughter rang out as a flat-chested pink-haired girl with a pink-and-white tail bounced around. Bronya’s eyes immediately sharpened.

Bang!

"Ow!"

"Idiot Rozaliya."

The blue-haired girl spoke in a flat tone as she silently dragged her dizzy, teary-eyed sister away.

"Haa..." Bronya withdrew her hand, which had been shaped like a knife-edge strike. Looking at the Arlene sisters—who had followed her into entrepreneurship and whose personalities had not changed much—she smiled faintly and shook her head. "Mentor Kayaba’s expectations fell through. But that was to be expected."

This trip to visit Kiana at the Colony World II-202149 (Attack on Titan), where she served as chief administrator, had been pleasant. Truly pleasant.

Bickering with Kiana. Competing with her over the nourishing feast personally cooked by Sister Mei. Watching Kiana repeatedly hit black death screens in the high-difficulty game Bronya had overseen the development of...

A nostalgic feeling.

It swept away the fatigue of developing games and keeping company only with code.

Despite her verbal grumbling, Bronya did not actually care about those matters. It was just that before setting off on leave, her mentor in quantum physics and game design—Kayaba Akihiko—who worked on a commercial world directly under the Empire’s Ministry of Taxation, had entrusted her with a task after hearing the news.

Namely, to invite a high-ranking official of the Imperial government, planetary governor Kiana Kaslana, to invest in his company developing virtual reality technology and fantasy-themed games.

For the vast majority of people, even the lowest-tier planetary governor was a position of power beyond reach. Kayaba Akihiko wanted to strengthen his internal connections within the Imperial government and find himself a backer.

It was not a matter of money. Even if Kiana invested a single credit, it would still count as capital. And no matter how Kayaba thought about it, he would never match it with a return equivalent to only a single credit. Any normal official would make some gesture.

But Kiana was not "normal." Her idealism and burning heart were exactly as Bronya had expected.

She refused.

In Kiana’s view, it carried the suspicion of abusing power for personal gain—a transaction between authority and money. Perhaps, if handled carefully and done with enough tact, it would not violate any laws. But that reasoning alone was already sufficient.

"Idiot Kiana. You really haven’t changed."

Unknowingly, a light curve of reminiscence lifted the corner of Bronya’s lips.

"Still, leaving the company aside, don’t you even have money to invest in my game project? She’s putting too much pressure on herself as a planetary governor."

"Mm-hm! I heard that, Bronya—you ice-faced drill, talking bad about me again!"

A soft snort sounded behind Bronya. Kiana, already changed into a formal dress, stood at ease with her arms crossed, rising onto her toes as her long boots tapped lightly against the floor tiles.

"Sister Kiana."

"Hey, Seele."

"You’re ten minutes late again, Kiana."

"Hmph. This lady—no, this governor—has important affairs to handle. How could a drill like you possibly understand..."

"Alright, alright. You two, stop it. The moment you meet you start bickering. You’re not children anymore—why are you acting like elementary school students?"

Rubbing her forehead, Raiden Mei, dressed in casual attire and practically inseparable from Kiana during this period, stepped between the two who looked ready to start another scene.

After another round of Saint Freya-style banter, they returned to normal.

"Kiana, it shouldn’t be time for your performance review yet. As a local chief official, you’ve come to the Imperial Capital... Don’t tell me you’ve been promoted? Or did the new world you’ve been pioneering discover some special mineral deposits or new elements that caught the attention of the Department of Fabrication and the Bureau of Science, and you’re here to cry poor and ask for funding again?"

Bronya asked curiously.

"Neither. And in your eyes, do I only return to the Imperial Capital to cry poor and beg for funding?" Kiana huffed twice, then grew serious. "It’s a ceremony."

"A ceremony?"

"Mm. It was Sister Selene’s idea. I don’t know what happened, but when I went to the Grand Palace, I could clearly feel she was in an excellent mood. Old Master Sebas said a celebration is going to be held. The moment Rita returned, she went straight to work preparing for it."

Kiana thought aloud.

"There were some unfamiliar faces. Sister Selene was talking with an old man I didn’t recognize—the kind who looks wise at a glance, white-haired and elderly. They seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation. That old gentleman even glanced at me. His presence was profound—deeper than even an Astartes Legion commander gave me."

"Sister Selene must have gained something significant this time," Kiana speculated. "Tributes—I’ve heard some news. The central departments and the various Astartes Legions are all presenting offerings. It’s going to be a grand event."

"So that means Her Majesty’s mood will be especially radiant in the near future?"

"Ah, more or less." Kiana nodded subconsciously, then—"...Huh?"

She followed the voice. "You there, from the Bureau of Science... aren’t you the one from Class Monitor Fu Hua’s side..."

Tap tap.

From the hyperspace transfer exit of the spaceport waiting hall, Fu Hua and the cat-eared girl named Pardofelis walked over together. Besides them was a green-haired woman in a specially tailored white lab coat of the Bureau of Science. A small green-haired puppet carrying a thick stack of documents followed behind.

Their atmosphere was somewhat solemn. Kiana sensed it.

She caught the hesitation in Fu Hua’s expression, and the struggling yet hopeful look in Pardofelis’ eyes.

What happened?

"Mobius. You can consider me Hua’s senior, more or less."

With both hands tucked into her lab coat, the green-haired woman lifted her head. Her striking gradient serpent-like pupils fixed on Kiana. "Allow me to introduce myself again, descendant of the Kaslana family."

"What is it?" Kiana asked.

"I have a proposal." Straight to the point, Mobius did not waste words. From the armed puppet Klein’s hands, she pulled out the record file of the ’Earth Expeditionary Army’ bearing the signed authorization of Master Chief John-117.

"A proposal that I believe neither you nor I would be able to ignore."

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