Honkai Diary: Start With Picking Up A White-Haired Treasure

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The next day, the group boarded their return flight.

In truth, they had enjoyed three full days of sightseeing, making it hardly a failed trip. However, Kiana tumbling down the cliff marred what should have been a joyful conclusion, casting a slight shadow over the journey's end.

Kiana leaned uneasily against Zeke, both still child-sized, comfortably fitting together in the spacious seat.

Kiana leaned comfortably against Zeke's chest. The spacious seats accommodated their still-childlike frames easily.

Restlessly, Kiana squirmed a bit.

"Zeke, I've told you, I'm fine! Let me sit by myself."

"Hush, I need some sleep." Considering the bandages wrapped around her head, Zeke refrained from knocking on it and simply closed his eyes, giving a mild command instead.

Pouting, Kiana didn't resist; she just adjusted her position to make herself more comfortable.

"You should put on some weight, Zeke. Your bones are poking through."

Truthfully, the main issue was that they were both too small.

After nearly a year, Kiana had already outgrown her clothes by one size, but Zeke hadn't changed much physically. Half a year ago, sitting like this felt just right for Kiana, whereas now, she found it slightly cramped.

"Geez..." Zeke murmured weakly, gently tapping Kiana's hand as if brushing away a breeze. His breathing gradually became steadier.

Chasing down Bolon hadn't been difficult, but after all that trouble, there were still follow-up tasks to arrange. With his emotions unsettled throughout the night, Zeke had barely slept.

Once aboard the plane, he planned to catch some much-needed rest.

However, seeing Kiana fidgeting restlessly despite being wrapped in bandages of various sizes—she even bumped her head at one point... Without hesitation, Zeke picked her up and cradled her close as they sit now.

His intention was to keep the injured girl still, prepared for the possibility that she might disrupt his sleep anyway. Unexpectedly, shortly after takeoff, holding her warm, soft body against him while faintly smelling antiseptic brought about a rare sense of calm. His agitated mood from the previous night suddenly eased, giving way to a wave of drowsiness.

Noticing Zeke's change, Kiana completely quietened down, nestling in his embrace and silently sticking out her tongue.

As she turned, she found Cocolia watching them with a full smile.

Cocolia saw Kiana looking back and placed her index finger on her plump, rosy lips:

"Shh!"

Kiana mimed covering her mouth and nodded repeatedly.

Soon after, amidst the roar of the engines, she could also hear Zeke's steady heartbeat. Kiana yawned, feeling her eyelids grow heavy.

Both fell asleep.

Sin wore a complicated expression.

She undoubtedly wanted to kick Kiana aside and take her place, but she couldn't bear waking Zeke up either. So, reluctantly biting down on her handkerchief with audible grinding of teeth, she held herself back.

Bronya had just finished assembling a pistol nearby. Witnessing this scene, she shook her head helplessly.

After hesitating for a moment, Bronya reached out.

"Here."

"Bronya!" Sin dropped the handkerchief instantly, embracing Bronya's slender white arm as if it were a precious treasure.

Seeing Sin's resentment dissipate significantly, Bronya sighed resignedly, tacitly accepting the situation.

On the other side, Seele suddenly perked up, her antenna-like hair standing straight like an exclamation mark atop her head. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around Bronya's other arm.

Bronya blinked, puzzled.

As she turned to look, Bronya saw Seele pouting—her usually adorable and innocent little face, framed by those dewy eyes, now displaying a rare hint of discontentment.

Bronya stared, even more bewildered.

Though unsure what was happening, since it was Seele, Bronya allowed her to hold onto her without protest. She could always maintain her firearm skills later.

To her left, Bronya spotted Sin, looking utterly content. To her right, Seele also smiled with satisfaction.

Bronya accepted this situation without protest, closing her eyes impassively while nestled between them. She didn't notice Cocolia's shocked gaze from just ahead and to the left.

...Is there something wrong with my orphanage?

Cocolia looked dazed for a moment before her communicator buzzed—a message from Dr. Einstein.

Einstein: "Did you really eliminate Bolon?"

Cocolia: "Zeke did it. But he replaced Bolon with a robot. Considering that old man always used proxies anyway, no one will notice as long as those two tan maids continue assisting him."

Einstein: "How am I supposed to explain this to the Alliance Leader? Back then, only considering Anti-Entropy's survival and Bolon's staunch anti-Otto stance allowed me to persuade the leader reluctantly. Now that Bolon is officially an Enforcer of Anti-Entropy, handling this becomes quite tricky."

Cocolia: "Recently, we procured a batch of high-quality black tea along with an exquisite set of teaware, both en route to Headquarters now."

Einstein: "If there's nothing else, I'll sign off. Drop by for some tea when you have time."

Cocolia: "Of course, Dr. Einstein."

After concluding their secretive transaction, Cocolia put down her communicator and glanced sidelong at Zeke's sleeping face.

Hmm, well, it wasn't costing her anything since it came from Bolon's assets. Cocolia felt absolutely no remorse.

"Commander Cocolia, we deeply regret what happened with Miss Kiana. We will refund your entire payment this time; please accept our apologies."

"No need. Those were meticulously trained Zombies, and you had a traitor within your ranks. It's understandable that they could evade your surveillance—it's not solely your fault. Since the consequences weren't too severe, I'll let it slide for now. However, going forward... don't disappoint me completely, given the esteemed reputation of the Snow Fox Squad."

"Yes, ma'am! Thank you for your understanding. I assure you, I will intensify discipline and training to prevent such mistakes from happening again!"

"Hm, good luck. By the way, would you be interested in joining the Spark Faction? Unlike the Radicals, we value unity and respect. You won't find any spies planted among your squad members by us."

"Oh, um..."

As the plane touched down, Zeke finally woke up reluctantly amidst the vibrations, only to hear Cocolia attempting to recruit the Snow Fox Squad.

Captain Brank appeared visibly swayed.

Cocolia's offered compensation was generous, and her demeanor was exceptionally friendly. Considering that the Snow Fox Squad had already made mistakes, coupled with the disheartening espionage by the Radicals... In short, Brank truly wavered.

Cocolia produced a pure white card—completely devoid of any text or patterns save for a string of black numbers engraved on one side.

"My contact information. Take your time to consider it; let me know once you've decided."

"Yes, we... will think carefully about it," Brank replied solemnly as he accepted the card.

Meanwhile, Cocolia, with her hidden camera discreetly recording everything through the button at her collar, wore a sly, fox-like smile.

From the moment Brank took the card, his only choice was to join. The only variable could be whether it would happen purely voluntarily or due to being ostracized by the Radicals, forcing him into a reluctant acceptance.

"Ha~"

Zeke yawned, seemingly unconcerned about Cocolia's subtle machinations.

Building power and influence was Cocolia's passion, not Zeke's.

If he had to name his own hobby...

"Zeke!"

A white-haired whirlwind slammed into him like a cannonball, catching Zeke off guard before he'd fully woken up.

"I just remembered—you said if I performed better during training, you'd give me gourmet snacks for a whole month! Tell me the results already; did this young lady win?"

Kiana grabbed Zeke's hand, bouncing excitedly as she spoke.

She didn't realize...ever since they met, aside from their initial financially tight phase, had Zeke ever given her any cheap treats?

Rubbing his sore back where Kiana had collided with him, Zeke cast her a mild glance.

Despite being bandaged, the Kaslana physique wasn't something to be taken lightly. And her energetic demeanor certainly didn't match that of an injured person.

With lightning reflexes, Zeke locked his arm around her neck, forced her down, kicked out, and delivered a merciless knee strike to Kiana's abdomen.

"Pff—"

"No snacks for today," he declared.

With those words, Zeke gazed at Kiana writhing on the floor, and the corners of his mouth curved upward with satisfaction.

This interest is... Wait! How could this be considered an interest?!

Zeke covered his face and took a step back, feeling like something had gone terribly wrong.