"You!" Bronya's pale gray eyes suddenly sharpened, as if a tidal wave had erupted inside her heart.
"Who exactly are you?"
"How do you know about Seele?!"
Her usually calm voice now trembled, quivering with suppressed emotion.
For someone who was supposed to be a girl with a "damaged emotional center," Bronya was stepping all over that persona the moment anything concerning Seele came up.
"Don't get so worked up," Nagami replied with a laid-back smile. "It's not like I know everything. I just know what I know."
But as he spoke, his head tilted slightly to the side, as if sensing something to his right—an empty space.
He narrowed his eyes and stared off into the distance.
Unfortunately, even after pouring an ocean of Honkai energy into his detection skill, it didn't show any qualitative change.
In this world of Honkai, where there was no all-powerful "system" magic behind the scenes, the data that his skill returned wasn't processed or neatly presented.
For ordinary skill users, they would only receive vague impressions—intuition, at best.
But Nagami wasn't ordinary. He had the Alpha Stigma.
Even if the system didn't parse the data, he could.
"Cocolia's plan... all her scheming to trigger a Honkai outbreak," Nagami said slowly, now staring straight into Bronya's eyes, "was all just to test if turning Seele into a Herrscher could let her escape the quantum state… right?"
Bronya's eyes widened.
On the other side of a monitor, Cocolia stiffened, feeling as though that boy's deep gaze was staring directly into her soul.
'How... How does he know that much about our plan?!'
'How the hell did he find out?!'
Meanwhile, C.C. had already started walking in the direction Nagami had briefly glanced at.
The heiress Kiana and the "Tuna" Kiana exchanged a glance, both silently nodding to themselves.
Nagami was clearly fine.
Then they called after C.C.'s slowly retreating figure.
"C.C~! Where are you going~? Wait for me!"
At that moment, two voices echoed together.
Their sources turned their heads, and ice-blue eyes, perfectly identical in shape and color, locked together.
A silent spark flew between them.
The brief glance was enough—both understood what the other was thinking.
The heiress Kiana and the tuna Kiana exchanged a long look… and both fell into silence.
'Damn that K423!'
'Damn that Sirin!'
'Why did they have to ruin my moment?!' ×2
And so, two girls—identical in appearance—began running toward the green-haired girl in the distance.
But their perfectly synchronized movements made them glance sideways at each other again.
It was like staring into a mirror, and the weirdness of it made them instinctively slow down.
Back with Bronya, she had gone completely silent after hearing Nagami's words.
She had personally reviewed all the intel on him—and had even collected some herself.
As an elite assassin, Bronya could tell that the data wasn't fabricated.
No one had the resources or skill to forge an entire person's life history from birth to present day, with zero inconsistencies.
And yet, the things this boy was saying defied all logic.
How did someone—who was always under her surveillance and played games with her every night—acquire such sensitive intel?
"I'll be straight with you," Nagami said, now wearing a serious expression. "That method won't work."
"It's not the idea of Herrscher transformation that's the problem—it's interference from a third party."
His warning tone made Bronya stiffen.
Seele wasn't the only one trying to amass enough energy to escape the Sea of Quanta.
Kevin Kaslana was also working on the same plan.
"What?!" The words slipped out before Bronya could stop them.
She stared hard at the boy's face, her mind rapidly analyzing the credibility of his claim.
"Seele is a kind, innocent girl who's terrified of violence. The other kids used to call her a crybaby."
"But that's only because she's so emotionally sensitive—so good at empathizing with others. She can sense things most people miss."
"She might seem weak on the outside, but she's incredibly stubborn on the inside. Even if it hurts her, she'd never hurt you."
Nagami's calm and gentle tone, painting Seele's personality so vividly and precisely, finally shattered the last of Bronya's emotional defenses.
'This... This can't be.'
'How does he know all that?!'
This wasn't just surface-level intel.
These were details that even Bronya, Seele's sister who had lived with her day in and day out, had only come to understand over time.
There was no way anyone could describe Seele like this… unless they had truly spent deep, meaningful time with her.
"This is impossible…!"
"I'm telling you all this for one reason only—because I understand Seele's situation inside and out. And more importantly, I know how to rescue her from the Sea of Quanta."
Nagami's voice was filled with unwavering confidence.
A calm, resolute smile played across his lips as he met Bronya's eyes with a relaxed, knowing gaze.
"So, how about it? Want to help me? I'm sure Seele would love to see her big sister the moment she escapes the Quantum Sea."
His tone shifted, becoming light and casual, but there was a firm undertone behind it.
Looking at Bronya's impassive expression, Nagami felt sure he had her hooked.
He'd just elevated his level of mystery in Bronya's mind to the max—and after his earlier jaw-dropping performance, how could she not be tempted?
"Who… are you, really?"
Bronya's voice trembled slightly.
For all her composure, Nagami's words had clearly shaken her.
His actions defied logic time and time again—perhaps he really did have a way to save Seele… but…
Just as she seemed ready to ask more, Nagami chuckled softly and cut her off.
"As for why I want to save Seele—that's classified information for now. Unless, of course, you decide to help me. Then maybe I'll tell you."
"…With your abilities, you don't need Bronya's help. Please state the reason why you've chosen her."
The question Bronya had been hesitating to ask finally came out.
Her pale gray eyes betrayed her inner conflict. She was wavering.
"Ah, that's a good one~" Nagami's teasing tone was already on the tip of his tongue—but he glanced over at Mei, standing quietly nearby, and decided to skip the joke.
"…Bronya understands."
Her expression as stoic as ever, the silent girl stared at Nagami for a few moments… then gave the tiniest nod.
Recalling their time spent gaming together, combining it with Nagami's recent actions, it didn't take a genius to piece together his "motive."
And as the infamous Ural Silver Wolf of the assassin world, Bronya had seen far stranger things.
She might be young, but when it came to "driving skills," even with a baby stroller she could still drift down Mt. Akina in first place.
"...?"
Nagami stared at her, puzzled.
Then a flicker of suspicion crossed his face.
'What exactly do you think you understand?'
"You like me?"
The feather-light word hit Nagami like a punch to the gut.
His eyes widened as he stared at the girl in front of him like she'd just said something utterly absurd.
He stole a glance at Mei, who was still standing obediently in the distance.
Bronya had spoken so softly, there was no way Mei had heard.
Nagami shrugged, helplessly.
As if to say, Whatever, believe what you want.
Him? Like you? Absolutely not!
You in the future, Yes!
His love for beautiful girls was far too expansive to be confined to a single label.
Bronya's lips parted in disbelief.
She stared at the boy in front of her, feeling—uncharacteristically—both baffled and weirdly defeated.
'So that really is the reason…? Seriously?'
But if it didn't involve anyone else—if she was the only target—and if it meant there was even a chance to save Seele…
Then Bronya would not hesitate.
"…Alright. Bronya will—"
"You will not."
The sudden voice of Cocolia burst through the earpiece nestled in Bronya's right ear.
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