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Chapter 247 — Escaping the Battlefield of Jealousy
🕑 Added 2025-08-13 15:00:16 +0000 UTCAboard the Hyperion.
The Herrschers had already dispersed, heading to the coastal cities of Shenzhou to hunt down the remaining Honkai beasts.
The only ones left at Nagami and C.C.’s side were Kiana completely drained after Kanami’s appearance—and the two newcomers.
“Uh… let me introduce you. These are my friends—Tokisaki Kurumi and Yuzuriha Inori…”
Nagami’s gentle smile grew a bit stiff as Inori naturally slipped her hand into his, while Kurumi took things even further, looping her arm through his and looking up at him with wine-red eyes full of playful interest.
‘She’s doing this on purpose!’
“Pleasure to meet you, Kiana-san. I’ve heard so much about you from Nagami-kun~”
Kurumi’s voice was refined yet edged with mischief as she gracefully introduced herself.
Inori gave a polite nod in greeting before quietly returning to Nagami’s side.
Kiana stared blankly at the two gorgeous girls clinging to her boyfriend, utterly dumbfounded.
“Nagami… you’re saying they’re just… friends?”
She glared at Nagami, whose awkward smile wasn’t fooling anyone, her tone carrying the sound of teeth grinding.
‘Still… they are both insanely pretty. ‘
‘Even I… Wait—what the hell am I thinking?!’
“They’re… special friends. But now’s not the time to get hung up on that. Why don’t we go check in on Siegfried—oh, or maybe I should say ‘Father-in-law~’”
C.C. drew out the last word with a silky lilt, gently taking Kiana’s delicate hand and whispering warmly in her ear with just a hint of temptation.
“F-Father-in-law…?”
Kiana instinctively turned her head away, fingers fiddling with a loose strand of hair, eyes darting evasively.
She wanted to protest… but when she looked at C.C.’s flawless, almost unreal beauty, the words caught in her throat.
After all, this wasn’t the same C.C. as before—now she was a top-tier beauty and had the personality of the very Nagami she liked.
Combined, they were an absolute critical hit against Kiana’s defenses.
It was a perfect lock plus true damage.
If it were the real Kiana or Kallen, they might not be so easily swayed, but the “Herringbone” was far too easy for C.C. to handle now—she probably had a hundred ways to win her over without breaking a sweat.
Still… it made Nagami realize something.
Right now, everyone was busy mopping up Honkai beasts outside, so things looked stable.
But once the cleanup was done, everyone would regroup… and when they saw Inori and Kurumi—plus remembering the little things he’d picked up while reading Himeko’s thoughts in Kanami form, and the Bronya photo Kanami had left him in the soul space…
He was so dead.
At that point, the St. Freya dorms would be a literal Hell dungeon for him—a battlefield of overlapping love rivalries where even two bodies wouldn’t be enough to survive!
‘No… I need to get out of here.’
Nagami narrowed his eyes slightly, turning to glance at the time spirit at his side.
Kurumi was still holding his arm with intimate familiarity, her soft touch pressing through the fabric, carrying the faintest virgin fragrance.
Meanwhile, Kiana completely distracted by C.C.’s coaxing—wasn’t paying them any attention.
“My, my… does my dear husband have something he wishes to tell me?”
Kurumi leaned in close, her sultry voice brushing against his ear, warm breath tickling him.
Her long lashes trembled, golden-red heterochromatic eyes gleaming through the fringe the breeze had lifted.
Of course, as a self-proclaimed connoisseur of chaos, the joy sparkling in her gaze didn’t escape Nagami’s notice.
“Here. This is for you.”
He tossed her the Herrscher Core of Domination and patted her shoulder with a show of solemnity, like a comrade thinking only of her best interests.
“This is the core from the Herrscher we fought earlier. You can think of it as a spirit crystal—it should boost your strength several times over.”
The power of Domination paired with Kurumi’s control over time… the synergy was way beyond a simple 1+1.
He’d originally considered giving the core to Inori, but now it was clear Kurumi was the better match.
Inori and Mana Ouma, by nature, aligned far more with powers like Erosion—abilities connected to the soul, much like the Void’s domain.
Combined, they could produce something truly terrifying.
As for the Erosion Herrscher Core inside the Jizo Mitama, it was too deeply bound to Higokumaru and Yae Sakura to remove.
Without Kanami’s ability to modify cores, a Herrscher Core embedded in a God Key couldn’t normally be used to turn someone into a Herrscher.
They’d simply have to wait for this era’s Erosion Herrscher to emerge naturally.
“…Such a precious gift… are you sure I can accept it?”
Kurumi, caught off guard by his generosity, tilted her head and gazed up at the lightly smiling boy, surprise flickering in her eyes.
She might not have seen the whole battle, but the sheer energy that had made the entire Pacific ripple spoke volumes of the enemy’s power.
For Nagami to hand over the spoils so casually…
Even if their relationship had an element of transactional cooperation, Kurumi still felt a flicker of warmth at the gesture.
“No problem. Take it.”
A smile brighter than sunlight lit up Nagami’s face. People like her were easy to please—just play it straight.
You had to think big.
If you can increase a allies for the future, what was a mere Herrscher Core in comparison?
And so, under the guidance of a young Valkyrie crew member aboard the Hyperion, they arrived at Siegfried’s treatment room.
Nagami and C.C exchanged puzzled looks with Kiana, their eyes then falling on the man lying in bed.
With his face so bruised and swollen that it was nearly unrecognizable—and with only one arm left—the scene was… awkward, to say the least.
“Well… looks like you guys really didn’t hold back at all.”
“Not bad, not bad.” Nagami strolled to the bedside, scanning Siegfried’s condition with a casual sweep.
The corners of his lips curled upward. “Next time, you can hit him even harder. As long as he’s still breathing, I can bring him back.”
Kiana’s face flushed red at those words, her expression suddenly awkward.
She had tried to hold back—at least a little but the same couldn’t be said for the real Kiana.
That devilish whisper must have reached Siegfried’s ears, because his battered features twitched before his eyes fluttered open.
It looked like it took every ounce of strength he had just to crack them open—and the first thing he saw was the face of a stranger.
At that moment, Siegfried probably felt the same level of mental collapse as if Otto himself had just walked into the room.
“Dad! Hey—Dad, you’re finally awake!”
A flash of white hair swept into his vision, accompanied by the sound of rushing air as Kiana darted to his side.
Unfortunately…
Nagami watched as Siegfried’s pale face turned a sickly shade under her enthusiastic shaking, a thin trail of blood slipping from the corner of his mouth.
He honestly couldn’t tell if Kiana was doing this on purpose… or if she was just that clueless.
Even Kurumi, standing to the side, shot Nagami a subtle glance as if to ask:
‘Are you sure these two are father and daughter? Not… mortal enemies?’
Nagami could only shrug.
He roughly yanked Siegfried out of the white-haired girl’s arms by the collar.
If this had been his future mother-in-law, his tone and actions would’ve been far more respectful. But Siegfried?
Well, the fact that Nagami didn’t hit him again was already an act of mercy.
A six-pointed star spun slowly in his pupils as pale-blue particles gathered from the void and seeped into Siegfried’s battered body.
Torn flesh knitted itself back together, bones aligned, and even the missing arm began to regenerate.
At the same time, Nagami slipped something… special… into Siegfried’s body.
A droplet, so small it was almost undetectable, formed at the back of his throat before sliding down into his system.
The Spring of Drowned Girl.
Don’t get him wrong—Nagami was doing this for the sake of his “future father-in-law.” Reducing the number of beatings the man would take was a noble cause.
Think about it—
For a Kaslana, if their father suddenly became a gentle, beautiful woman, would Kiana be upset?
More likely, she’d be trying really hard to contain her excitement.
Even Cecilia wouldn’t be immune.
That “other side” hidden in Kaslana genes wasn’t something that could be erased so easily.
Turning Siegfried into a seemingly delicate woman meant at least both the real Kiana and Cecilia would hit him… a little less hard.
Just as Siegfried fully recovered and opened his mouth to speak, Nagami flashed him a dazzling smile.
“Kiana, why don’t you catch up with your father for a bit? I won’t get in the way.”
‘Leave before the water takes an effect—hurry!’
With a wave, Nagami took Kurumi by the hand while C.C guided Inori out of the medical room.
But suddenly, Nagami’s expression froze for the briefest moment.
That was… fast.
The Herrschers had almost completely cleared out the Honkai beasts.
The others were already heading back to the Hyperion.
“Kurumi, let’s do it now. Twelfth Bullet—target January 2000. Give me… two extra months’ leeway.”
“Huh? So urgent? Don’t you want to rest first?” Kurumi raised a brow, clearly puzzled. “Ah, never mind. If that’s what my dear husband wants…”
The Zafkiel materialized behind her, the clock’s twelve markers glowing as energy gathered at the tip of her short musket.
“Bon voyage~”
With a crisp gunshot, Nagami’s figure vanished from sight.
“…So, what’s with that girl?” Kurumi muttered, frowning as she stared at where C.C had vanished along with him.
She turned to Inori for answers.
Since C.C wasn’t part of the chat group and Nagami hadn’t had time to explain—Kurumi naturally didn’t know about the “one soul, two bodies” thing.
“That’s Nagami,” Inori replied in her soft, airy voice, placing a slender finger to her lips.
Her crimson eyes held a faint trace of confusion, as though wondering why Kurumi didn’t already know.
“…Huh?”
