Reincarnate in Honkai as Arthur Pendragon

As soon as Arthur opened his mouth to say something, Kiana was already moving.

He saw them. Two ladies were chatting next to a stall, as if nothing. Without wasting any time, he walked and crossed between the stalls with a quick and determined step.

"Excuse me," he said, fixing his gaze on the older of the two. "Did you see a man with white hair? Tall, he has two guns on his waist"

The two women stopped talking immediately and looked at Kiana in surprise. For a moment, neither of them responded. Then, one of them tilted her head and murmured, as if she were remembering something:

"Clotilde... isn't that the gentleman who saved you?"

The other one frowned slowly.

"Ah, yes... I saw the handsome gentleman you mentioned," she replied with a half-smile. "He left very quickly."

Then he looked her up and down with a certain curiosity.

"And who are you, girl?"

"I am his daughter," Kiana replied firmly.

Then, the lady who had spoken first tilted her head, amused.

"You can call me Nana, if you want," she added, with a kind smile. "And what do you need, dear?"

"Just to know if they saw him," Kiana replied seriously. Where did he go?

"He left quickly, he seemed in a hurry."

Then he raised a hand and pointed between two alleys.

"He went that way."

Arthur and Emilia arrived just as Kiana turned around, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Hey, don't run like that!" said Arthur, somewhat agitated.

"You left us behind," Emilia added, frowning, though without real annoyance.

Kiana smiled widely at them, barely containing her excitement.

"They saw him!" she exclaimed. "They say he went that way!" he pointed enthusiastically towards the alleys.

He took a step forward, already about to start moving again.

"Come on! If we hurry, we can still catch up to him."

And without waiting for a response, she started to trot lightly, as if the mere idea of seeing him again gave her wings.

Arthur and Emilia exchanged a glance for a moment and then hurried after her, but not before turning to the ladies.

"Thank you for the information," said Arthur, slightly bowing his head.

"Very kind of you," added Emilia with a smile.

The two ladies nodded, still focused on the silver-haired girl who was already speeding away between the stalls.

Arthur and Emilia quickly followed her, running at full speed to catch up with her before she disappeared into the crowd.

The livelier of the two ladies followed them with her eyes while fanning herself with an exaggerated gesture, and let out a amused giggle.

"Goodness! These young people really know how to run. Look at those spirits. As if the world were slipping through their fingers"

"Oh, youth!" sighed Ernestina, fanning herself once more. "How good this is! Not even the eight o'clock novel!"

And amidst laughter, they returned to their conversation, while the three young men disappeared among the market stalls.

XXX

For the next two hours, they walked non-stop through streets, alleys, and passages, following the direction they had been given. At first, they walked with enthusiasm... then, with doubts... and finally, with long faces and dragging feet.

"Are you sure he said that street?" Arthur asked for the fourth time.

"Yes! The lady pointed with her finger!" insisted Kiana, although she was starting to sound less convinced.

"Well, her finger was crooked," murmured Emilia, checking behind some empty fruit stalls for the umpteenth time.

They asked: bakers, butchers, a man who sold spoons, and even a stray dog.

"Nothing. No one has seen him. And the sun has already fried my ideas," said Arthur, leaning against a wall.

Kiana sighed. Nothing. Without clues, without traces, without a single miserable footprint. The lady's "he went that way" seemed to have dissolved into thin air.

But they still weren't thinking of giving up. If there was one thing they knew how to do... it was keep searching. Even if it was down the wrong street. Again.

Emilia stopped at the corner of a street she no longer knew if it was the third or the fifth time they had walked. She looked at the sky, then at her companions.

"Kiana, it's getting late," he said in a calm but firm tone. "What if we take a break for a while and continue later? Maybe when the sun goes down a bit... and when our legs stop hurting"

Kiana frowned, clearly not very convinced, but also aware that they were not making progress.

"But if we stop looking, it might slip away from us..."

"It's already slipped away from us, Kiana," Emilia reminded her with a half-smile. "Look, let's eat something, sit for five minutes, and then we'll continue."

Arthur raised a hand.

"I support the motion. I'm sure my feet are going on strike."

Kiana looked at both of them... and then dropped her shoulders with a sigh.

"Okay, but just for a while. We'll continue later, okay?"

Emilia was the first to turn around.

Kiana followed her immediately, although she turned around from time to time just in case, in a miraculous twist of fate, her father appeared among the stalls.

Arthur, on the other hand, lagged behind, hands resting on his knees, panting as if he had climbed a mountain.

"I have to start training seriously," he muttered under his breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "This body is a disaster. Even Emilia, who is a child, has more stamina. And Kiana seems like a whirlwind with legs"

She got up with difficulty, rubbing her neck. He took a step, then another, and just as he was about to resume his march, he felt a hand gently but firmly resting on his shoulder.

"Young man," said a feminine voice, with a sweetness that already seemed professional. "Are you tired? Would you like to have a good time?"

"Huh...?" he stammered, as his brain tried to process the situation. "No, thank you, ma'am. I'm already having... too many moments for today"

The woman did not flinch. Her smile only widened a little more.

"Oh, but you look exhausted, young man. I have something that would make him forget that fatigue"

Arthur raised his hands again, taking a step back.

"Really, ma'am, I appreciate your kindness, but today is not my day for... good times."

The woman stared at him, with an arched eyebrow. Then she let out a dramatic sigh and murmured.

"This day is going from bad to worse... First, the morning client doesn't pay, then that handsome gentleman with white hair rejects me... And now a child!"

"Could it be that I'm already getting wrinkles?"

Arthur, who heard her complaint, asked, "Excuse me, did a gentleman with white hair say something?"

"Look at you, now you're actually interested in what I'm saying?" she replied, with an offended air, though clearly amused.

Arthur leaned a little forward, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"Did you really see it? Do you remember which way he went?" he asked, almost unable to contain himself. "Where was she going?"

The woman looked at him with an arched eyebrow, smiling as if she were enjoying every second.

"Wow, so much enthusiasm... and why would I tell you, huh?"

Arthur was left blank for a second.

"Then keep me company for a while, handsome. You spend some good time with me... and I'll tell you"

Arthur stared at her for another second, unsure whether to laugh or run away. Then, he lowered his head slightly and sighed internally.

Does this young lady not know that I'm not even legal yet? Ugh... Surely it's because of this face. Or maybe... Does he like shotas? God... it seems I'll have to sacrifice myself for the team...

He let out another sigh, resigned, but with an ironic smile on his lips.

Just when Arthur was about to open his mouth, a familiar voice echoed behind him:

"Why are you taking so long, Arthur?!" shouted Kiana, appearing suddenly like a white and blue lightning bolt.

Without losing momentum, she jumped and landed right between him and the woman, as if she were a human barrier. He bared his teeth at the lady, more instinctive than friendly, as if he were... marking territory.

"Pervert" said Emilia, who appeared from behind.

The teacher, visibly upset, fanned herself vigorously once more and clicked her tongue.

"I don't intend to argue with kids," she said, turning to leave.

But Arthur quickly raised a hand and stopped her.

"Wait!" he said, pointing at Kiana. "She is her daughter. The man you saw earlier... is her father"

That made Kiana turn her head immediately towards the woman, her eyes wide open.

"Did you really see it? Where did he go!?"

The young lady stared at her for a second, as if evaluating whether it was worth continuing the conversation... then she sighed dramatically.

The young lady clicked her tongue with slight annoyance, crossing her arms.

"We don't talk much, to be honest. He left in a hurry, as if he had something very urgent to attend to. He only managed to say something about being in a hurry... that he had to travel to... Italy?" Something like that.

Kiana frowned.

"Italy?"

"That's what he said, or at least something that sounded similar," the woman replied, turning halfway around. "And then he got lost in the crowd, didn't even give me time to strike up a conversation."

"That's it, I'm leaving."

Arthur watched as the woman walked away with a firm step, shaking her head as if she still didn't understand how she had ended up talking to three children.

"Well... at least she gave us a clue," Emilia commented.

"Italy?" repeated Arthur, frowning. "That's quite far away..."

"Then let's go now, before it gets any further away!" Kiana exclaimed without wasting a second, already turning on her heels to start running.

"Wait, Kiana!"

Arthur let out a resigned sigh.

"This girl doesn't understand what 'planning' means"... and he went after them, quickening his pace.