Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Rita, of course, had no idea what was on the Herrscher of the Void's mind.

Even if she did, it wouldn't matter. She might even tease her a bit with some backhanded compliments. After all, when Sirin wasn't talking, she was a very cute little girl.

Intellectually, she didn't seem like a thirty-year-old woman at all, more like one of those ditzy, pampered princesses.

Noldrei wasn't worried that Rita was lying about the desalination technology. Schicksal's tech was indeed quite advanced, though most of it was used for researching weapons to kill Honkai Beasts and Herrschers.

Of course, killing people from Anti-Entropy was also within their scope of research.

Sirin really disliked cunning women like Rita who seemed to have a lot going on in their heads. She stayed close to Noldrei's side, giving Rita no opportunity to approach her.

---||---

Tianjin had quite a few waterways, and consequently, quite a few elderly men diving into them.

Wait, why were people diving here?

"Rita, are you going to take a dive, too?" Noldrei was already getting restless. He'd taken off his shirt and was ready to go for a swim with the old men.

"Lord Director, what are you doing?! Put your clothes back on! You don't even have swimming trunks, what are you going over there for?"

"Oh, you're worried about my clothes getting dirty in the water? Then I'll just take everything off."

Noldrei figured that since the old men over there were stripping down to swim, it wouldn't be a big deal for him to follow the local custom.

Rita was shocked by his behavior and rushed forward to help him pull his pants back on.

"It doesn't matter for the old men, they're of a certain age. But you represent the dignity of Academy City's upper echelon!"

"Then can't I just change my face?" Noldrei looked at Rita expectantly. He had originally planned to take Sirin for a swim too, but given that she was wearing a lot and was thin-skinned, he'd given up on the idea.

"It's not a matter of changing your face, it's..." Rita didn't know what to say. She couldn't hold Noldrei back. With a couple of quick movements, he stripped naked and, with a plop, dove into the water.

He shed his clothes with a speed that could rival Crayon Shin-chan.

"This..."

Rita stood on the bridge, watching Noldrei splash around in the water. On either side, there were even police officers watching over the swimmers, like lifeguards at a swimming pool.

"Rita! I'm leaving Sirin in your care! I'm going to have some fun down here for a bit. If you have something to do, just go ahead!"

"Sirin?" Rita suddenly remembered something. She turned around, only to find that Sirin was long gone.

She was stunned. When she turned back to ask Noldrei, she found he had already dived under the water and disappeared.

When had Rita, the S-rank Valkyrie Vice-Captain, ever encountered such an unreliable leader?

"Sirin... right, the phone. Her cell phone."

As if suddenly remembering something, Rita quickly dialed Sirin's number.

After a couple of rings, she got the feedback that Sirin had hung up.

[The user you are dialing is busy and cannot answer at this time.]

Sirin hung up the phone, eating an ice cream cone while watching an old man by the street performing with kuaiban (clapper talk). She'd never seen this kind of art before and couldn't really tell if it was good or bad, but she watched along with the others.

The children in the park were chattering noisily, but the old man was unfazed, continuing his performance under the shade of a tree. Not far away, another old man was even playing the saxophone.

Why aren't there any people my age?

Sirin instinctively wanted to find some peers, but she couldn't find any teenagers her age.

As she was lost in thought, an old lady suddenly approached her and asked, "Young lady, why aren't you in school?"

School?

It was only then that Sirin remembered that someone who looked like her should be in school. She thought about her current situation and explained, "My teacher brought me out for a class. It's an extracurricular activity."

If learning how to dig river channels counted as a lesson, then Sirin was indeed in class. It was just that her teacher had suddenly jumped into the river to swim with the old men.

"Oh? Then where is your teacher, young lady?"

Sirin's expression turned odd. She pointed to the bridge not far away and said, "My teacher went over there to dive and play with the old grandpas."

The old lady's expression changed instantly. She said disapprovingly, "How can there be such an irresponsible teacher? You should have your parents find you a new one!"

"I... I don't have parents..." Sirin's expression suddenly turned cold. She was, in fact, a child without parents.

If Kiana never had them to begin with but received a father's love and care, then Sirin had them, but it was as if she didn't, and the mother she did get died almost immediately.

"You're just talking nonsense, child. How can a child not have parents?"

Kiana is a child without parents, Sirin thought. She, at least, had been carried for ten months. Kiana was simply created in a test tube, a clone. Compared to her, Kiana's birth was much more "simple." There was no union of love involved at all.

She wanted to storm off in a huff, but then she remembered Noldrei's constant "education," a mix of coercion and cajoling, which made her a little hesitant to show her displeasure to these ordinary people.

"They're the ones who didn't want me. Besides, Benares is the one who earns money to raise me. It has nothing to do with my parents."

Although the old lady didn't understand who "Benares" was, she assumed it was some kind of relative of the girl.

Their conversation quickly attracted a crowd of other aunties.

"What's going on here?"

"This child has been wronged at home."

"What happened?"

A group of people chattered away, questioning Sirin about her situation. The aunties quickly concluded that the girl must have been wronged in some way and came forward one by one to comfort her.

Soon, Sirin's hands were filled with food and drinks from the aunties. She held the things in her arms, at a loss, not even noticing when her ice cream accidentally fell.

"I... you all... I'm fine..."

The young girl had never received such enthusiastic treatment before. At this time, the local customs were still relatively simple and hadn't been completely corrupted. The aunties hadn't been fully fooled by the fake sentimentality of short videos.

Right now, they believed Sirin was being persecuted and, filled with righteous indignation, were ready to call the police.

"No, I..."

Sirin looked down at the things in her arms and suddenly realized that not having parents had its advantages.

She figured that since Noldrei said everyone in the future would be parentless anyway, it was uncertain whether the Honkai would even leave any humans behind by then.

Sirin immediately changed her mindset and quickly accepted the kindness of the aunties.

"Sirin! Sirin! Where are you!"

At that moment, a late-coming Rita arrived, only to see Sirin surrounded by a group of old ladies.

Her eyes widened in shock at the scene, completely unable to believe that this Herrscher could actually use the sympathy of the elderly to scam free food and drinks...