Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

She looked like Seele, but also not quite.

So was she Seele or not?

Bronya couldn't explain the feeling. Her instincts told her this person was Seele, but the look on her face, as if everyone owed her money, didn't seem like Seele at all.

"Is that your 'little wife'?"

Noldrei didn't know if Bronya had a second little wife. He only knew that the red-clad girl who had suddenly appeared didn't look like the girl from Bronya's memories.

After all, he'd been playing the part for so long, even a simpleton could tell that girl was most likely the weak, submissive type.

This wild, red-clad girl clearly wasn't Seele.

"Why don't you just try calling out to her?"

Durandal urged Bronya. They had enough firepower here; there was no need to put on a show about friendship and bonds. Just get it over with.

Durandal had only started to understand the messy business of emotional bonds after meeting her sister.

"Oh, right!" Bronya finally realized. She quickly took two steps forward and called out, "Seele! Are you Seele?!"

The figure in the black mist seemed to be silent for two seconds before saying, "Of course, Bronya... oneechan..."

The figure looked up, revealing a pair of crimson eyes. The strange sight made Bronya's heart waver.

Kevin watched the scene calmly with his arms crossed. He did know this little girl. At the beginning, she had been immersed in the Sea of Quanta.

He had helped awaken her, and after that, nothing much happened. They just wandered around the Sea of Quanta, her on her way, him on his.

"She doesn't look like her... I don't remember the person you asked me to help save looking like this."

Noldrei was confused. He suspected Bronya might have remembered the wrong person.

Bronya cautiously took a step back, no longer sure if this person was the familiar Seele from her memories.

After all, this was the Sea of Quanta. It wasn't impossible to observe one or two fake Seeles.

"Bronya isn't sure... but, I feel like... there's a familiar aura."

"Oh?! I feel it! I told you something was strange. So it was her who summoned the things I ate earlier. No wonder the aura felt so similar."

Kiana had finally figured out what was wrong with the "food." Her jelly-like body wiggled as she said, "That's right, that's right! It has the same taste as those shadows. This isn't a person at all!"

Durandal gave a dry laugh and asked, "Among those of us present... am I the only normal one left? Sister, you must not judge people based on their physical form!"

Kevin hadn't expected the Kaslanas of later generations to have such progressive ideas. It seemed that in the future, body modification had developed to a certain extent. He just wondered how many MANTISes had been born.

"Bronya... oneechan... why are you backing away? Have you... forgotten about Seele too?"

The figure seemed a bit dazed, which made Bronya even more unsure if she was a normal person.

Since Welt hadn't met Kevin, there was no Bubble Universe created by Welt. Without it, the original Seele was just wandering in the dark Sea of Quanta.

Unfortunately...

Seele wasn't a very brave girl. The one doing the work for her was this second personality she had created herself.

You see, this was where the big misunderstanding started.

Noldrei had cast his spell, openly "blast fishing" in the Sea of Quanta.

Seele had descended to Noldrei's side following this perception and had sent a few Quantum Shadows to probe him.

In the end, they were Devoured by Kiana, and a subtle, non-friendly stance was confirmed.

Bronya's step back had deeply hurt the young girl.

Noldrei, not understanding the situation, felt there was a problem, a trend towards a Naruto-Sasuke dynamic.

This wouldn't do. In a shonen manga, such mindless misunderstandings were the biggest taboo.

The black shadow had a strange, circular Stigma symbol flashing on its chest. This made Noldrei curiously ask Bronya.

"Bronya, do you remember what her Stigma looked like? A Stigma created from a person's own memories and genetic information should be unique. See if the Stigma on her is the one from your memories."

"Well, I'm not sure. Should I get a closer look?"

Bronya wasn't very certain either. After all, it wasn't impossible for a Stigma to be changed.

The shadow wrapped in black mist took two more steps forward, seeming to be focused only on Bronya.

"What's wrong? Bronya-oneechan, aren't we going back to the real world together?"

"Um... I..."

Bronya felt in her heart that there was a high probability this was Seele, but at the moment...

"Bronya still has work to do."

In the end, she gave a reason that left everyone speechless.

'Isn't your work to come in here and find someone?'

Although Noldrei wasn't sure if the Seele before them was real, if they'd found her, they should just go back. It wasn't like they couldn't enter the Eye of the Deep again.

Noldrei had never expected to find her in one go, but now Bronya was suddenly concerned about the importance of her work.

The other party also didn't seem to expect Bronya to give such an absurd reason.

She hesitated, then stared at Bronya from afar and asked, "Are you... really Bronya-oneechan?"

Both sides felt the other had changed too much, not quite like the person from their memories.

Bronya wanted to take Seele and leave, but she also felt that since she had come to the Sea of Quanta with a Herrscher Core, she couldn't just run back without helping at all.

Wouldn't that make her look like a clown?

"Bronya-oneechan, you came to the Sea of Quanta, so you must know what this place is, right? You've suffered so much outside, and now you have to stay here. What for?"

'Suffer... suffered...?'

Bronya's mind recalled the super-useful gaming console in Academy City, the fat on her thighs, and her bureaucratic career where she was an official who did nothing.

'Hss...'

'There's a feeling that I can't quite put into words. If Bronya told them what she's been doing this past year, she'd definitely be beaten to death, right?'

"Ah, well... isn't she having a great time every day with good food, good drinks, and good fun? All she has to do is shake Noldrei's arm and act cute, and he sends her on a team-building trip to the Sea of Quanta with a Herrscher Core. What hardship has she endured? How can she have suffered more than I have? I bet she hasn't even read as many books this year as I have!"

Kiana subconsciously taunted her. In fact, what Kiana said was true; Noldrei had indeed made Kiana read a lot of books.

"..."

The black mist around Seele suddenly disappeared. Her bangs covered her eyes.

Only then did Bronya see that this person was indeed Seele, at least her clothes were the same as a few years ago.

'She hasn't changed her clothes for several years in the Sea of Quanta, and they haven't torn?!'

A very strange thought popped into Bronya's mind.