Honkai: Oh No, I’ve Become the Herrscher of Corruption?! - Chapter 130

A few days later, the exam results were publicly displayed on a bulletin board. As expected, Enoxia took first place.

Meanwhile, Sirin’s name was conspicuously near the bottom—second to last, to be precise. The very last spot, naturally, belonged to Kiana Kaslana, who had never attended a single day of school.

But grades meant nothing to Sirin. Others in school fought tooth and nail in the academic rat race to improve their chances of landing a good job and earning more money.

For Enoxia, however, money was no object. The numbers in her bank account depended solely on how much she wanted there to be. She didn’t need to work, nor did she need to exploit others to work for her, yet she could effortlessly provide her entire family with a life of abundance.

That evening, when Sirin returned home, she was holding a promotional flyer.

“Grand opening of the newest amusement park in Nagazora City! Special gifts for visitors on opening day…”

Sirin kept glancing at Cecilia, her thoughts written plainly on her face.

“Eno, I was thinking…”

Enoxia nodded.

“One day, you will be able to step back into the world openly—but not yet.”

Sirin’s eyes immediately dimmed as she slumped onto the sofa, deflated.

“Don’t be so quick to give up, Sirin,” Enoxia said. “It’s true that Cecilia can’t appear in public as herself right now, but what if no one knows it’s her? We still have a few days to prepare some disguises.”

At that, the light returned to Sirin’s eyes.

April 8, 2012, Sunday.

When Ivan saw Cecilia in her disguise, he couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Now Aunt Cecilia and Big Sis Sirin look even more like mother and daughter!”

The best disguises often required the simplest tools. Instead of high-tech gadgets, Enoxia had merely given Cecilia colored contacts matching Sirin’s eyes and a wig matching her hair. As long as Cecilia’s most recognizable features were hidden, no one would connect her to “the” Cecilia.

“Mom’s still getting used to her new body, so I’ll stay home with her,” Ivan said. “Big Sis Sirin, Big Sis Bella, have fun!”

Sirin glanced around, relieved to find no sign of Enoxia, and opened a portal.

With Ivan and Sirin each occupied with their own mothers, Enoxia immediately slipped into Elysia’s room. Just as she’d expected, Elysia was sitting on the bed, waiting for her.

Without hesitation, Enoxia sat beside her, wrapping her arms around Elysia’s waist and resting her head on her shoulder.

“I know you really wish I could go to the amusement park with you, just like Cecilia is doing with Sirin,” Elysia said softly. “But if I went, I’d probably steal the spotlight the moment I stepped in, don’t you think?”

Enoxia played with Elysia’s hair and whispered,

“You don’t need to explain, sis. Today, the amusement park belongs to Sirin and Cecilia… so the Elysian Realm belongs to just the two of us. Okay?”

Back at Enoxia’s home, Ivan poured a glass of water and handed it to Alexandra.

“Mom, since you’re not feeling well, just leave everything to me.”

Alexandra accepted the glass with an apologetic smile.

“Ivan, if you want to go to the amusement park too, don’t worry about me.”

Ivan looked at his foster mother and smiled gently.

“Sirin didn’t just want to go to the amusement park—she wanted to go with Aunt Cecilia. Since you’re here, I’ll stay and keep you company.”

“Besides, you’ve taken care of me for over a decade. With everyone else gone today, it’s my turn to take care of you. And when you’re finally reunited with Bronya—ah, no, I’m so used to calling her ‘Big Sis Bronya’—well, when you meet your real daughter, she’d want to know her mother was happy all these years.”

Recently, after confirming the news, Enoxia had told Alexandra that Bronya—after enduring twelve harsh years in Siberia—had been taken in by Cocolia’s orphanage. There, she would meet the love of her life.

“I understand. Then I won’t refuse your kindness, Ivan. Do whatever you’d like.”

Ivan happily moved behind Alexandra and began carefully combing her silver drill-shaped hair.

Outside Nagazora Amusement Park, Kiana eyed the massive crowd at the entrance, then the meager amount of money left in her pocket. A mischievous idea struck her.

She walked along the outer wall for a few minutes until she found a secluded spot. Taking a few steps back, she sprinted forward and effortlessly scaled the wall.

Brushing off her hands, Kiana smirked at the bustling crowd inside.

“No payment, no lines—what a genius move! Truly worthy of this lady!”

She immediately made a beeline for the roller coaster. After a long wait, it was finally her turn.

The roller coaster had over a dozen cars, each seating two people. Coincidentally, everyone in her group was paired up—mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, friends, couples—leaving Kiana as the only solo rider in her car.

With a beep, the ride began moving. Even before it picked up speed, someone screamed—whether genuine or not, the atmosphere was set.

As the roller coaster accelerated, the screams multiplied. But Kiana found herself fighting back a yawn. Compared to surviving alone in the Siberian wilderness, a roller coaster was child’s play. Even at top speed, it couldn’t compare to the rush of outrunning a Charger-class Honkai beast.

A few minutes later, the ride ended. Disappointed, Kiana headed for the bumper cars.

Thanks to her years in Siberia—and her natural superhuman reflexes—Kiana easily dominated the bumper cars, taking on ten opponents at once.

Yet while the others were the ones being sent flying, they were the ones laughing joyfully. Meanwhile, despite being praised for her skills, Kiana felt no happiness at all.

Leaving the area, she spotted a familiar figure passing by.

A girl in a Chiba Academy uniform darted out of a nearby sweets shop, holding two melting ice cream cones. In the blink of an eye, she crossed from one side of the path to the other.

“That uniform… right, she’s Bella, that Sirin girl’s follower. How is she even faster than me? Did she undergo some secret training? Does she have some hidden past too?”

Suddenly intrigued, Kiana decided to tail her.

Meanwhile, Sirin and Cecilia had just gotten off the pirate ship. While many passengers had turned pale from the intense swinging—some even vomiting afterward—the two of them were utterly unfazed.

A bloodcurdling scream drew the crowd’s attention. Sirin and Cecilia looked toward the source: a bungee jumping platform about a hundred meters high, where someone had just been pushed off, secured only by an elastic cord.

“Bungee jumping… How is this any different from jumping off a building to kill yourself?”

“God, just looking at it scares me. What if the cord snaps?”

Listening to the murmurs around them, mother and daughter exchanged a glance, both wearing identical expressions of disappointment.

Sirin had once ridden Bella in a dive from ten thousand meters. Cecilia, in her battle against the Herrscher of the Void, had free-fallen from over twenty thousand meters with only the Black Abyss and White Flower for support. A mere hundred-meter drop with a safety cord? To them, it was laughably dull.

Just then, Bella returned with two ice cream cones, offering them to Sirin and Cecilia. After a moment’s thought, Sirin took the one on the right.

“Bella, you have the other one. You’ve been running around all morning—you deserve it.”

Bella glanced at Sirin, who then looked at Cecilia and nodded.

As the two finished their cones, Bella peeked behind them. A small head with a white braid quickly ducked behind a lamppost.

“Your Majesty, should I—”

“Don’t bother. If she wants to follow us, let her.”

After a brief pause, the three continued to their next ride. Just as Bella had predicted, Kiana—thinking she hadn’t been noticed—resumed her stalking.

“Perfect! My stealth skills are top-notch—oh no.”

Earlier, seeing Bella’s ice cream had made Kiana crave one too. But after buying it, she’d been so focused on tailing Bella that she hadn’t taken a single bite. Now, the melting ice cream dripped down the cone, onto her hand, then down her arm toward her sleeve.

Panicking, Kiana frantically licked her arm clean.

Several minutes later, after a mix of licking and wiping, she finally rid herself of the sticky mess.

Realizing how ridiculous she must have looked, Kiana angrily stuffed the entire cone into her mouth.

“Huh? That didn’t hurt.”

She’d braced for brain freeze, but felt nothing. Before she could ponder why, she noticed Sirin’s group had vanished.

“Since they’re here to have fun, maybe if I just…”

Annoyed, Kiana wandered forward, eventually spotting them at another attraction.

“That purple-haired lady next to Sirin… must be her mom. But why… do I feel so weird when I look at her?”

Though she knew it was Kiana, the constant staring made Sirin instinctively turn around.

This time, with no tall structures to hide behind, their eyes met—awkwardly.

Kiana was the first to react. Following someone without permission was no different from being a stalker, wasn’t it?

Flustered, she lowered her head and hurried away.

But Cecilia had noticed something strange in Kiana’s gaze.

“Sirin… I want to follow her.”

Kiana, fleeing in embarrassment, stumbled upon a peculiar building. Unlike the crowded attractions, this one had no line.

Curious, she approached the entrance and read the sign:

Dreamland
Using cutting-edge technology, step into a special space and meet anyone you desire!
Note: …
*Price: 10,000 JPY (~500 RMB) per 10 minutes. Billed in 10-minute increments.*

“That’s why no one’s here… Ten thousand yen for ten minutes? That’s practically robbery!”

Like countless others before her, Kiana turned away. But after a few steps, she hesitated, pacing back and forth—just as Cecilia’s group arrived.

After reading the description and watching Kiana, Cecilia sighed sadly.

“Sirin, do you know what this ‘Dreamland’ is?”

“Oh, I asked Enoxia when I was planning our trip. She said it’s basically a data space that generates digital versions of people based on the user’s desires. But unlike you, the company running this doesn’t have tech as advanced as World Serpent’s. So it’s full of bugs, and the ‘people’ it creates are just glorified chatbots. You’d get a better experience in the Elysian Realm.”

Cecilia thought for a moment.

“Sirin, I need a favor from you and Enoxia.”

After lingering indecisively, Kiana—still too broke—finally turned to leave. Just then, a staff member approached her.

“Miss Kiana, right? You’ve been selected for a complimentary one-hour Dreamland experience. Please don’t waste this opportunity. Don’t worry—it’s completely free. We’re offering trial sessions to promote the attraction.”

Bewildered, Kiana let herself be led inside.

The moment the door closed, the scenery shifted. Kiana found herself in a cozy living room. On the sofa, a white-haired woman sat with her back to her.

That familiar silhouette sent an inexplicable pang through Kiana’s heart.

The woman turned.

Kiana froze.

Siegfried had shown her family photos. The face before her now was identical to the one in those pictures—her mother, Cecilia Schariac.

“…Mom?”

Without a word, Cecilia pulled her into a hug.

Kiana went limp in her arms, tears streaming uncontrollably.

From 2008 to 2012, she had spent four long years alone. No matter how strong she told herself to be, no matter how much she pushed forward… she had always wished, just once, to visit an amusement park with her parents on a sunny weekend, like any other child.

As Cecilia gently soothed her, the tension in Kiana’s body slowly melted away. Drowsiness crept over her.

“No… I want to stay with Mom longer… don’t… wanna… sleep…”

But her heavy eyelids refused to obey. Her consciousness blurred, and her eyes slowly closed.