Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Bronya couldn't stand staying in the house anymore. She felt as though everyone was looking at her strangely.

Even Cocolia, who had stopped by on occasion, gave her a look that was off.

No wonder His Majesty the Emperor wasn't interested in the women of this era. He was actually a seasoned lolicon! It almost tempted Cocolia to consider transforming herself into a loli.

But seeing how ill-suited Bronya was for the role, Cocolia abandoned the idea. Cocolia was a woman of principles, and she would never commit the evil act of trying to win someone over with her looks like Bronya did.

This was what happened to women who lacked ability...

Thinking back to how this once-dedicated assassin had become like this, Cocolia couldn't help but feel a sense of regret and muse over the impermanence of things.

"Well done, Bronya! What good are all those well-endowed Valkyries to Otto? In the end, it's still my subordinate loli who easily won him over. Bronya, if you want to maintain this figure, just tell Mama Cocolia. Our research is very advanced. There's nothing wrong with staying as a loli forever. At least you won't have shoulders that get as tired as Mama Cocolia's."

When had Little Bronya ever been treated like this? Her hair was practically falling out from the stress.

But she couldn't explain herself. After all, how could she tell them she had someone transform into Seele to snuggle and kiss her? It sounded like a total pervert.

Little Bronya still didn't know that Noldrei had used biometrics to record all of her past habits of seeking a substitute.

"Mama Cocolia, you must have misunderstood..."

But no one believed Bronya's explanations. After all, no other woman had ever been able to get Noldrei to spend so much time alone with her. It was something even Tesla couldn't achieve!

"Mama Cocolia has indeed misunderstood. I misunderstood that your talent was in assassination. If I knew you were so skilled at controlling people's hearts, why would I have made you go out and do such backbreaking work?"

Cocolia was very worried, concerned that the way she had treated Bronya in the past had harmed her mind and body.

'This woman... she's not planning to use me as some kind of strange daughter, is she?'

Whether it was the "slim horses of Yangzhou," the "geishas of the Far East," or the "lolis of Europe and America," Bronya surfed the internet and knew what all those things were.

Cocolia, that beast, had no ethics or morals! She was too inhumane!

"Bronya would never do what you want her to do!"

Little Bronya looked at the woman warily, afraid she would say something weird. If Seele came back and got bewitched by this woman, it would be a real danger.

Cocolia blinked, then explained with a smile, "You've misunderstood me. If I did something wrong that made him not like you anymore, that would be a real problem. So I won't ask you to do anything. Look, you said you wanted to find Seele, and he's helping you find her, isn't he? That shows how much His Majesty likes you!"

Bronya was caught off guard. She hadn't actually thought about the problem that way. Besides Rita, who kept her on a leash with work, it seemed only Noldrei had personally helped her rescue people.

'Wait, does he actually have feelings for Bronya?!'

Bronya's head was spinning. She only now realized that Noldrei hadn't treated anyone else like this. Even Kiana hadn't received this kind of treatment, which just showed how important Bronya was.

Little Bronya's head swam, and she actually started to find some merit in what Cocolia said.

'What merit is there in it?!'

Raiden Mei, who had been watching from the side, was completely stunned. Bronya seemed to be actually considering it.

'Has she not had much contact with men before? Or has her life been so hard that the slightest act of kindness would make her think that person is someone she can be with? But isn't she an assassin? How can this be happening?'

Raiden Mei was utterly baffled.

Unlike Kiana, a girl who had been wandering the streets since she was a few years old, Raiden Mei had been raised as a lady of status. Whether it was genuine or not, the people around her had given her plenty of gifts and benefits.

Even when they were kind, they were thoughtful and maintained a distance, never making Raiden Mei feel any dislike.

If not for the corruption scandal involving her father that had ruined her personal relationships, and her sudden involvement in Noldrei's grand imperial plan, the current Raiden Mei would still be in that difficult situation.

It was because of this that Raiden Mei knew that true friendships were forged through shared hardship.

But Bronya's situation just didn't seem right.

Although Raiden Mei didn't know what Noldrei had done to her, she could tell from his behavior that he didn't strike her as someone who believed in human love.

Someone who could say that "marriage is just you controlling me, and me controlling you"... how could such a person from the future believe in the love of the primitive era?

So Noldrei had definitely never developed feelings for anyone. The only person he seemed to have a high degree of respect for was Dr. Tesla, and that was only due to her extremely high scientific aptitude.

But Bronya clearly didn't have any of those qualities. And yet, she was actually being led by Cocolia to believe that Noldrei might actually care about her? That was alarming.

'Has she been secretly gaslighted all this time?'

Raiden Mei began to suspect that Bronya had been subjected to some form of abuse.

"Bronya, think about it. How has he treated you?" Cocolia said earnestly.

Bronya seriously considered it for a moment, and realized that Noldrei had indeed been very good to her. He had given her a position managing the internet security of a city, given her a comfortable living environment, helped her eliminate her controlling threats, and even bestowed a great power upon her.

And now, he was even going to help her rescue her friend.

Damn it, was there really someone this nice in the world?

In a typical web novel, Bronya would have already knelt down and pledged her loyalty, and probably given birth to five or six children within three hundred chapters.

This unexpectedly filled Bronya with a considerable amount of guilt. He was so kind to her, yet she was slacking off at work and not managing the city properly.

Little Bronya was moved to tears, realizing how "not a human being" she was and that she had even taken these benefits for granted.

Raiden Mei watched with a bewildered expression.

'Wake up! He just doesn't have many people he can use!'

'What kind of life has she been living? Has she suffered so much hardship? How much more suffering can you possibly have than Kiana, the street urchin from Europe and America?'