Honkai: Strijder (Patreon)

Chapter 147: Vacation is Great

On a southern island, with sun and sand.

Sigurd lay on a fine redwood beach chair, eyes closed, leisurely enjoying a sunbath. He wore only a pair of gray beach shorts, exposing his well-proportioned and muscular physique with streamlined body lines, making the two small onlookers not far away gulp simultaneously.

"Sigurd muscle is amazing (?﹃?)!"

"Yeah! I could feel it when cuddling with him, but didn't expect him to look this great in daylight!"

Kiana and Sin Mal exchanged a glance, both huffing, then turned away from each other.

Had they not been overly clingy to him earlier, causing Sigurd to get angry and hang them upside down on a coconut tree, they would surely have gone another round of scuffling.

Below them, Rosalia and Lilia each held a popsicle, licking and gazing at the two offenders.

"Lilia, you need to behave today. Otherwise, Sigurd will punish us like those two idiots, getting hung on a tree will ruin our seaside trip."

"That's what I should say, stupid sister."

"Huh? There's no way I'll get hung up! The great Rosalia is definitely Sigurd's favorite, he wouldn't dare!"

"Stupid sister is so frustrating, no self-awareness at all. Without me, Sigurd would definitely hate you."

Lilia sighed, shaking her head in resignation.

Then, the sisters walked away hand in hand, still licking their popsicles, showing no sympathy to upside down girls.

"Ahhhh!"

Kiana struggled hard to break free, but Sigurd's restraints kept evolving, so no matter how strong she got, she still couldn't escape.

"Damn it! We finally came to the beach, do we have to stay tied up like this!?"

Sin Mal glanced at her without saying anything.

What’s so great about the beach? Being tied up didn’t matter as long as she could watch Sigurd; that was enough for her.

Sluuuurp!

"Hey! You're drooling, Simbalah!"

"What's it to you, you stupid fish?"

"The problem is you're so close to me that people might think I'm a pervert too."

"As if you aren't, hmph!"

And they started arguing.

Even when hung up, rivals are still rivals, their confrontation knows no bounds.

Bang! Bang!

Just as the argument got louder, two enhanced rubber bullets hit the two small fry, leaving them dazed and effectively silencing the quarrel.

Sigurd lowered his gun, revealing a pair of indifferent dead fish eyes, and sighed.

"Can't get peace anywhere."

"Pfft! Serves you right!"

Wendy, now healthy, lay on the beach chair next to Sigurd, drinking juice and making sarcastic remarks.

Sigurd glanced at her, raising his gun.

"Wait! Let’s talk!"

"How much combat strength have you regained?"

"About seventy to eighty percent, mainly due to being out of practice for a long time, I can't quite get back the battlefield awareness."

"Next time there’s a Honkai beast attack, go to the front lines and get your groove back. Don’t embarrass me."

Sigurd said expressionlessly and then fired a bullet.

Bang!

Wendy’s head snapped back, she lost her balance and fell onto the beach.

"Ouch!!!"

"You really shot me!"

Wendy clutched her forehead, jumping up and rolling up her sleeves, storming towards Sigurd.

...

Three minutes later, beside Kiana and Sin Mal, Wendy now hung too, with one cheek swollen, several lumps on her head, and a tearful expression on her face.

Sigurd put down the gun again, lay back in his chair, and revealed a contented smile.

"Damn tyrant! No sense of romance! Deadwood!"

Wendy grumbled, sniffled, and held back the tears from the pain.

(→)…(→→)…(｀Δ?)

Kiana and Sin Mal both shot her sideways glances.

Then Kiana kindly advised:

"Hey, I suggest you tone it down a bit. Sig is right there... he won't go easy on you just because you're tied up."

"Shut up... mind your own business..."

The last few words trailed off as Wendy, feeling guilty and anxious, averted her gaze from Sigurd.

Sigurd squinted, watching Wendy’s actions, and let out a soft humph.

Wendy is a former Valkyrie of Schicksal, after all, her initial stance and mindset were different, she’s still not quite obedient. To establish absolute authority, it seems she needed good training every now and then.

He then turned his attention to the sea, where a white wave danced across the water’s surface.

"Seele, how does it feel? Is it fast enough?"

"Bronya, the waves are huge, slow down a bit! Hahaha!"

"No way, the essence of speedboating is in the speed. It's not thrilling if it's not fast! Hold on tight Seele, Bronya is going to accelerate!"

"Ah!!!"

Listening to Seele's screams, whether of fear or joy, and watching the two of them hugging tightly, after making sure that there is no real danger to them, Sigurd nodded his head in satisfaction.

Then Sigurd closed his eyes again, his consciousness gradually drifting away.

With such warm sunshine bathed his body, even the Honkai beast genes inside him seemed to grow lazy; this beach is truly a perfect place for a nap.

Vacation is such a wonderful thing!

What? You ask how the girls’ swimsuits look?

Ha! While they are developing, they’re still just kids, so they are all still flat. 

But admittedly, they are pretty cute.

Zzz～～

...

At night, after a lively beach barbecue, Sigurd lay on his big bed, glancing at the moon outside the floor-to-ceiling window, feeling immensely at ease.

This is the life, after all. Working overtime every day is no way to live.

I’ve brought Anti-Entropy this far, not to turn myself into a workaholic.

When I get back, I'll officially promote Cocolia so that she can handle more paperwork, Bronya should also be trained in administrative management, and Icarus needs additional functional modules for this...

As Sigurd was devising a hundred strategies to have more time to laze off, the quilt beneath him suddenly moved.

Soon, two cute little heads, one white and one pink, popped up from either side.

Sigurd glanced at the room’s door, there was no sign of it being opened. However, the window on the other side was slightly ajar.

"You two, your stealth skills have improved?"

"Of course! This lady's stealth skills are so good even that smug Bronya has to praise me!"

"Sin Mal too, got praised by Bronya!"

"...I wasn't praising you."

Sigurd, with dead fish eyes, retorted helplessly.

Then the two girls each grabbed one of his arms.

"I don't care, you haven't spent time with me for so long! Tonight, we’re sleeping together!"

"This time this stupid girl is right. Sigurd, Sin Mal really missed you!"

They spoke half-jokingly, half-complaining, likely having had a dispute before sneaking in and reaching some agreement; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so harmonious.

Kiana and Sin Mal’s bodies were soft, and a sweet fragrance wafted from them—honestly, they didn't smell unpleasant.

But Sigurd's face soon darkened.

"Get your hands off my stomach!"

"Hehe! You noticed!"

Kiana stuck out her tongue, grinning cheekily as she nuzzled Sigurd’s neck, seemingly sniffing his scent.

Sin Mal blushed, not as brazen as Kiana, but still snuggled closer to Sigurd.

"Mua!"

Kiana kissed Sigurd on the cheek, then said confidently:

"Alright, let’s sleep. It's late."

"...Aren't you hot?"

Sigurd, slightly disgusted, wanted to wipe his face, but both hands were tightly held, leaving him unable to move.

Sin Mal, sweetly, replied:

"It's fine, Sigurd’s body is cool, it’s very comfortable."

"I'm hot. I'm uncomfortable. Let go."

Sigurd said woodenly.

Kiana: "No way!"

Sin Mal: "Sigurd... just tonight, please!"

Sigurd wanted to get rough, but under their bright, expectant eyes, he ultimately held back.

"…I’ve been in the headquarters the whole time, I haven’t left."

"That’s different, you’ve been so busy,  you spent no time with me!"

Kiana complained loudly, hugging Sigurd's arm tighter, expressing her dissatisfaction.

Sigurd weakly scolded:

"Kiana, Sin Mal, you’re growing up, be more independent."

“Absolutely not! Never! Bleh~~”

“Sin Mal... Sin Mal doesn’t want to either!”

Sigurd felt utterly helpless. If they were just a bit older, he could rightfully kick them out and enjoy some peaceful sleep. But as they were now, not quite children yet not quite adults, their clinginess left even a tough guy like him with no choice.

“Behave and go to sleep.”

“Okay (＾ワ＾)～” ×2

As the night deepened, Bronya gently pushed the door open and saw the three already asleep. She paused by the bed and leaned over to tuck them in. Her delicate, white fingers brushed a few strands of hair from Sigurd's forehead.

A soft smile slowly spread across Bronya's usually emotionless, exquisite face, making her appear particularly gentle and lively.

Then, she turned her head from left to side, making sure no one saw what she’s about to do.

After being sure that she’s the only one who is still awake, Bronya, with a red tint on her cheek, lightly kissed Sigurd's forehead.

“Good night,” she whispered softly, leaving the room as quietly as she had entered.