Reincarnate in Honkai as Arthur Pendragon

Arthur leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms with a slight sigh.

There were no clear signs about the whereabouts of Kiana's father. She also didn't know if those organizations, Schicksal or Anti-Entropy, had anything to do with his disappearance. But at least she had discovered that this world had strange things that didn't exist in hers.

He closed the browser. Outside, the day was slowly progressing between the cold air and the clear sky. The sun barely managed to warm the sidewalks, but it was bright enough to make the snow crystals accumulated on the roofs sparkle.

He hadn't found much, but what he had read was enough to leave him with a strange feeling. Those organizations Schicksal, Anti-Entropy weren't in her world. And although there was still no trace of Kiana's father, at least she knew they weren't walking blindly. Not entirely.

He left the cybercafé, which was near a small market where stalls were already opening and vendors were arranging fresh bread, fruits, and hot tea. He thought about bringing something. It wouldn't be a bad gesture.

While walking, still mulling over the little he had discovered, he noticed something curious: in several old articles about explosions or building collapses, there was always the same repeated explanation. Gas leaks.

Arthur let out a slight snort, barely a sideways smile.

The wind tousled his hair. Time to go back. Maybe the girls were already awake. Maybe not. But he had to make sure their stomachs were full.

XXX

Arthur flipped through a couple of oranges with the same attention he would give to a rusty sword. In reality, he wasn't interested in the oranges; he was just trying to prevent the vendor from slipping him another bag of "fresh" grapes that looked like they had been pulled from the basement of an abandoned castle.

While she waited her turn, a shrill and theatrical voice rose above the murmur of the market.

"And I tell you, Ernestina, that man was a fallen angel from heaven! But one of those angels that scare you, you know? Like the ones who carry a flaming sword and have a face that says stay away."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, half distracted. He turned slightly, pretending to check the apples, but clearly more attentive to the conversation of the two elderly women sitting on a bench next to the spice stall.

"Oh, Clotilde, you and your novels!" huffed the other, a plump lady with a flowered beret and a cane decorated with ribbons. "Surely it was just a badly shaven tourist."

"Tourist my knees! That man saved my life, I tell you. Do you remember that cheeky young man who started following us when we left the fabric stall?"

"The lack of respect from today's youth... in my day, if a man looked at you like that, he did it to ask for a blessing."

"Well, not this one. This one came with a look of 'come here, I'm going to show you the world,' and I'm not here to be shown even the block. And just when I was about to pull out my pepper spray"

"The one who defeated the cat, right?"

"That one! Well, right then HE appeared. Tall, with white hair, a long coat that looked like it was straight out of a futuristic cowboy movie, and two guns hanging as if he were carrying spoons. Zap! He grabbed him by the arm and said: "Do you have a problem?" with that deep voice that makes the ribs vibrate."

Arthur held back a smile.

"And what did the boy do?" asked Ernestina, widening her eyes as if she hadn't already heard the story three times.

"He ran out! He almost tripped over the mango boxes! And the other man didn't even flinch. He just looked at me, raised an eyebrow, and said: "Be careful, ma'am." Ma'am! Not 'grandma', not 'ma'am'! Ma'am! With respect, as it should be"

"And what did you do?"

"I offered him an anise candy, but he ignored me. Men like that no longer exist, I tell you! He was probably a foreigner... one of those who come to fix things"

Arthur looked away, suppressing a silent laugh.

White hair. Two pistols. Attitude of a former soldier who never smiles. It couldn't be a coincidence. Even though the grandmothers embellished everything as if it were a soap opera episode, what they described matched too closely with someone he and Kiana were looking for.

He paid for the fruits, still hearing Clotilde declare that "if she were thirty years younger, she would keep up with him with or without a cane," and walked away from the stand with a quicker pace, almost tripping over a kid selling empanadas.

Maybe, at last, they had a lead. A clue taken from the morning market comedy, but a clue, after all.

XXX

Arthur pushed the door of the room with his shoulder, still adjusting the bag with fruits, eggs, milk, flour, and a small jar of honey. As soon as he entered, he heard a loud sigh followed by a sharp whine.

"Where is it!?" Kiana complained, hugging a pillow as she rolled around in the blankets like an annoyed cat. "I'm going to faint! Literally! I'm seeing stars!"

Emilia, sitting by the window with a book on her lap, didn't even look up. "You're not seeing anything, you're just hungry."

"It's the same! And you don't help..."

Arthur raised his hand with two fingers as if he were returning from a secret mission. "I've returned. With provisions."

"I got just enough," said Arthur as he set the bag on the table and stretched his back. " bullet points

David: "But enough to save the Queons low AS shoe."

Kiana sat up so quickly that she almost fell out of bed. "Did you take a thousand years or is it just me?!"

Kiana looked at him from the bed, half-wrapped in the blanket like a cocoon. "Did you bring something round, flat, and that can be bathed in honey?"

"More or less," he said, taking out the ingredients one by one. "Fresh fruit, eggs, oats... and yes, something that can be round and flat. If they cooperate."

Emilia approached with curiosity, flipping through the contents of the bag. "Can I help you?"

"Sure, you handle the oats better than I do," replied Arthur.

Kiana approached with a broad smile and her sleeves rolled up. "Let me help! I can flip the pancakes"

Arthur stopped dead in his tracks with the spatula in his hand, and looked at her with a serious expression for a second too long.

"...No."

"What? Come on! I've learned, I swear"

"I don't doubt it, but I still have nightmares about the day you tried to boil water... and somehow managed to burn it."

"That was just once! And it wasn't my fault that the pot exploded"

Arthur patted him on the shoulder with a sympathetic gesture. "Your help is valuable, yes. But today, you can help by being our official food critic"

Kiana puffed up her cheeks. "That sounds like an excuse to keep me away from the fire."

"Because it is," said Arthur, returning to the pan. "And for the sake of this roof, it will continue to be so."

"I'll make them miss me when I'm a famous chef," she murmured.

Arthur mixed the dough while Emilia prepared the oats. Kiana, after being removed from the stove for safety reasons, took care of setting the table... although at times she nibbled on pieces of apple.

Soon, the aroma of hot pancakes filled the room. Arthur served the first one, and without waiting for permission, Kiana caught it with her plate.

"This is mine! Hunger priority."

Emilia sat down with a cup of tea, watching as Arthur continued cooking without pause. "They're not bad," she admitted after the first bite.

"See?" he said. "Healthy pancakes, a resounding success."

Kiana was already on her second one. "I say we repeat this tomorrow. And the day after. And every day until I find Dad."

Arthur let out a small laugh as he served himself. "With that enthusiasm, you're going to make me open a café."

Kiana looked up with her mouth full, barely hiding her excitement. "Can we call it Kiana's Pancakes? It has an instant success name"

Emilia raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit egocentric?"

"Personal branding!" she replied without hesitation, pointing to herself with her thumb. "Besides, if I don't say it, who will?"

Arthur let out a brief laugh as he sat down with his plate. "Only if you don't cook."

"Hey!"

"Non-negotiable condition," Emilia added with a solemn gesture, as if signing a contract. "The audience deserves to live."

Kiana crossed her arms, puffing out her cheeks. "One day, I'm going to perfect my culinary skills and they'll beg me to cook."

"That day, I'll make sure to have fire insurance," said Arthur, taking a bite.

The conversation continued amidst soft laughter and the sounds of dishes. 

Only they remained, a stack of pancakes, and the warm coziness of a kitchen that was already starting to feel like home.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to the bathroom for a bit."

As Emilia disappeared, Arthur turned to Kiana, who was focused on smashing the last piece of pancake with her fork, as if it were a personal battle.

"Hey," he said softly, just enough to not completely break the tranquil atmosphere of the morning. "I was at the market earlier, before I found the ingredients."

Kiana looked up, curious. "And?"

"I heard a couple of ladies talking about someone who could be your father. They said they saw a guy with white hair, a rough look, with two guns... and that he saved them from a guy who was following them"

Kiana blinked, surprised. "Really? Are you sure?"

Arthur shook his head. "Not entirely. But from how they described it... it could be"

She left the fork on the plate, thoughtful. "Where was that?"

"At some point in the market. They said he disappeared before they could thank him properly"

Kiana pressed her lips together. "And now what?"

Arthur shrugged, with a calm smile. "Now, we've finished breakfast. We're not going to look for anyone on an empty stomach. And then we'll see if those grandmothers are still around"

Kiana nodded, more serious now. "Thank you for telling me."

Arthur winked at him. "Don't worry, I told you I would help you, didn't I?"

Breakfast continued between bites and an unexpected calm. Outside, the sun had already begun to warm the cobblestone streets, and the bustle of the market could be heard from afar. A little while later, Emilia came out of the bathroom drying her hands, just as Arthur and Kiana were putting away the dishes.

"And what are you planning now?" she asked while tying her hair into a ponytail.

"Go out," replied Arthur. "We found a clue about Kiana's dad."

Arthur adjusted his jacket and replied calmly:

"I heard something in the market this morning. A couple of ladies were talking about a man who fits the description of Kiana's father. I was thinking of passing by there again and asking a bit more"

Emilia looked at him attentively, then nodded slowly.

"Do you think he's close?"

"I don't know. But it's something," said Arthur, and Kiana was already putting on her shoes before he finished the sentence"

The midday sun beat down on the cobblestones as the three of them crossed the bustling market. The air smelled of freshly baked bread, spices, and ripe fruit. Kiana walked ahead, as if she could sniff out the trail among the stalls. Emilia, with her hands in her pockets, walked in silence, attentive to the voices and faces.

Arthur, in the middle, greeted the merchants he remembered from the morning, feeling his way discreetly.

"Ah, those are the ladies!"