"Relax, it's not like I'm asking for classified intel. I'm just curious… Cocolia is your adoptive mother, right? So what about your biological mother? What happened to her?"
Elias asked, feeling a bit tense.
He had a good impression of Bronya's mother, Alexandra—a slightly childish but kind-hearted pregnant woman. Even when she didn't have enough food for herself, she still shared her canned goods with him and Sirin.
He should have changed her originally doomed fate. And yet, here was Bronya, still under Cocolia's command.
Had all his efforts been for nothing?
"..."
Bronya was momentarily stunned.
She had expected Elias to ask about Anti-Entropy's secrets—but instead, he had asked about her past. After hesitating briefly, she decided to answer.
After all, her personal history wasn't classified information.
Bronya normally wouldn't reveal her past to strangers, but considering Elias had just told her so much, she felt it was only fair.
"Bronya doesn't know much about her biological mother. When she was very young, she was abducted and trained as a child soldier. Later, she was adopted by Cocolia-Mother. That's all there is to it."
"…So you were kidnapped as a child, huh?" Elias looked at her with pity—but at the same time, he felt relieved.
If that was the case, then Bronya's mother was still alive.
She had undoubtedly suffered greatly due to her daughter's abduction, but she was likely still out there somewhere.
Elias, who knew the original story, understood that Alexandra, despite her childish nature, was incredibly strong-willed. There was a good chance she was still searching for Bronya to this day.
Still, he couldn't help but sigh at how stubborn fate was.
Even though he wasn't bound by the world's corrective forces, others were.
Despite the vastly different circumstances, Bronya had still ended up walking almost the exact same path as in the original timeline.
"Are you pitying Bronya?"
"Of course. Is that not allowed?"
"Thank you, but Bronya does not need it."
"Alright then~"
Elias shrugged and shifted his mood. Just like he had said before—as long as you're alive, there's always hope. One day, they would surely reunite.
(…As expected, the intel doesn't match reality at all.)
Bronya stared intently at Elias, as if trying to see through him.
Cocolia's intelligence reports were completely unreliable. Not only was Elias far stronger than anticipated, but he also seemed to possess special knowledge.
(He asked about Bronya's mother… Does that mean he knew her? No… considering his age, that's unlikely. But… this is worth investigating further.)
Bronya decided to temporarily abandon the mission Cocolia had assigned her.
She needed to have a deeper discussion with Elias—there was a chance she could uncover something unexpected.
"Do you know Bronya's mother? Or… do you know other things? Bronya wants to learn more about herself."
After a few seconds of consideration, she chose to ask directly.
Elias blinked.
Something about the way she worded that sounded off. Even in Honkai Impact, that kind of thing was illegal, okay?
That aside, he did know a lot. One could even say he knew everything.
But being a walking self-destruct truck was neither interesting nor safe.
"Oh, I know. But I won't tell you. Eh-heh~"
"…What will it take for you to tell Bronya?"
If money could buy the answer, Bronya could offer an astronomical sum. But she doubted Elias was that shallow, so she didn't even bother mentioning it.
Elias had originally planned to flat-out refuse, but then—his eyes gleamed with mischief, like a cunning white-haired fox.
"Well… I could tell you… if you can beat me."
"Bronya thinks you are deliberately making this difficult. Bronya's chance of victory is less than five percent."
Bronya pouted slightly.
Even with Project Bunny 19C, she had been instantly defeated. She figured she would need a full upgrade to Project Bunny 36D to even stand a chance.
But Elias simply wagged his finger and pulled out his phone, launching Kallen Fantasy IV.
"Fighting is so uncivilized, and I hate pain. So let's settle this with a game instead. I firmly believe that esports can solve everything! The winner decides the fate of the loser!"
"…We're deciding this with a game? But… if it's a game, then Bronya accepts. In the name of Metal Gear Wolf, Bronya will not lose!"
Bronya stared in mild disbelief for a few seconds before immediately regaining her confidence. She raised her phone, eyes burning with determination.
She was an elite gamer.
Losing in real life was one thing.
But in a game? Unacceptable.
The corners of her lips curled up by a few pixels. For the first time, she felt a bit of admiration for Elias—his words just now were absolutely correct.
Why fight when you could settle everything with a game instead?
"Heh, let's see how this goes."
"Kallen Fantasy IV… Bronya has never played this before. But that's not a problem. It's time to show my true skill!"
Bronya was confident.
She had dominated leaderboards across countless games, owned 86 fully maxed-out accounts, and had never suffered a fair defeat.
However, Elias was no longer the same person he was yesterday.
After receiving Superior Gaming Talent from Cecilia, even Bronya was no longer a threat to him in this domain.
…A few minutes later…
[You lose!]
Bronya stared blankly at the defeat screen, completely stunned.
How long had it been since she had last lost fair and square in a game?
Even against cheaters, she could usually outmaneuver them with sheer skill. But this time… she had lost purely on technique.
"Damn, that was satisfying! I win!"
"…Bronya lost. Bronya acknowledges your skill. However, Bronya does not accept this result. If not for being unfamiliar with the controls at the start, you wouldn't have taken a third of Bronya's HP so easily. Bronya should not have lost so quickly."
"Fair enough. Then let's go again~ You pick the next game."
"You said it. Bronya strongly recommends Alahato: Remastered."
"No problem. Log in!"
Elias readily accepted the rematch.
And so, a rather strange yet harmonious scene unfolded.
Just minutes ago, the two had been enemies.
Now, they sat side by side on a park bench, completely absorbed in their gaming duel.
Cheering for victories.
Throwing taunts and banter.
Occasionally even laughing.
Passersby, seeing them like this, couldn't help but cast warm glances their way.
To any outsider, they looked nothing more than like a pair of very close siblings.
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