Chapter 69: A Chance Encounter

“Disappear among the butterflies! Illusions of the past.”

Chen hadn’t gotten far before she once again activated Seele’s Ultimate, dissolving into a phantom stream of motion. The world blurred into streaks of light and shadow as she moved, the ghostly blue butterflies of the ability fluttering in her wake. She skillfully wove through the complex network of alleys in the Underworld, rapidly closing the distance to the Goethe Hotel.

In a relatively open clearing, about two alleys away from her destination, a familiar figure caught her eye.

The person was pacing slowly back and forth, his steps measured and heavy. Every so often, he would stop and lift his gaze toward the distant hotel, a silhouette against the cavern’s artificial sky. Then, with a slight shake of his head, he would resume his restless wandering.

It was Lord Bronya.

‘What’s he doing out here?’Chen wondered, her curiosity piqued.’Shouldn’t he be resting in the hotel? From the looks of it, he’s been stewing out here for a while.’

A spark of mischief ignited in Chen’s mind. She immediately canceled the Ultimate, the spectral butterflies dissolving into nothingness. She landed without a sound in the deep shadow of an abandoned mine cart, her new vantage point giving her a clear view of Bronya’s back. Even from a distance, she could practically feel the waves of conflict and turmoil rolling off him.

“Interesting…” Chen mused, rubbing her chin. “Not sleeping in the middle of the night, but out here contemplating the meaning of life?”

Her eyes darted around, and a wicked idea began to form. Since she’d run into him, why not… have a little fun? And this time, she decided, she wouldn’t play by the rules. She would meet him just as she was, in the guise of Seele.

No sooner was the thought born than she acted on it. She slipped from the shadow of the mine cart, her footsteps as silent as a moth’s wing. She walked right up behind the troubled young man.

Then, she reached out a slender finger and tapped him on the right shoulder.

“Hi there, Mr. Melancholy~” she chirped. “What are you doing wandering around here all by yourself in the dead of night? There isn’t much of a view to speak of in this place.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Could it be… you got kicked out by your wife?”

Bronya flinched, startled. He reflexively took a step forward and spun around, his body instantly coiled with tension.

However, when his eyes focused on the person who had addressed him, the guarded hostility in his gaze was replaced by a flicker of deep confusion. Standing before him was a tall, striking young woman with long, lavender-blue hair. She was beautiful, and achingly familiar, as if he’d seen her in a dream he couldn’t quite recall.

But Bronya was certain he had never met such a girl anywhere in Belobog.

“Who are you?” His voice was low and cautious, his eyes quickly scanning her from head to toe, assessing her as a potential threat.

“Oh, don’t be so nervous. Relax a little,” Chen said with a dismissive wave of her hand, her tone light and breezy. “Me? My name is Furina. Just a passing Valkyrie.”

She shrugged, her gaze sweeping over the derelict mine carts and scattered machine parts littering the clearing. “As for why I’m here… doesn’t the night in the Underworld have its own unique charm? It’s quiet, empty… perfect for contemplating life. Or,” she added, her eyes twinkling, “for looking like you’re burdened by some great trouble, just like you?”

At her casual posture and harmless, teasing words, the rigid tension in Bronya’s frame eased slightly.

“Valkyrie?” he repeated, the unfamiliar word sounding strange on his tongue. He followed up with a question, his analytical mind taking over. “What is that? The title of some… organization? Or a type of profession?”

“Oh, well…” Chen blinked, putting on a theatrical ‘it’s-so-hard-to-explain’ expression before deftly changing the subject. “It’s just a title. Not important. What is important is that you look far more troubled than I, a simple Valkyrie, do.”

She took another small step forward, closing the distance between them just a little.

“I’m telling you, young man, keeping worries bottled up inside will only cause them to ferment and go bad. There’s no one else around, and the moonlight… oh, wait, no moon down here. Anyway, with just these crappy streetlights for company, why don’t you tell me about it?” she offered. “I’m just passing through, after all. I’ll be gone after I listen. Who knows, maybe I can even give you some advice from an outsider’s perspective?”

Bronya stared at her in silence.

Reason dictated that he should never pour his heart out to a complete stranger of unknown origin who had appeared out of thin air. But… perhaps it was the accumulated confusion and doubt from the night’s events. Perhaps it was the complex, unspeakable feelings he harbored toward the other Bronya, a weight that was simply becoming too heavy to bear alone. He desperately needed an outlet, a place to vent…

Or perhaps, it was simply that the girl before him felt so inexplicably familiar that his instincts were screaming at him to lower his guard.

The hard line of his jaw softened. A trace of obvious fatigue and conflict surfaced in his guarded gray eyes.

“…Are you… really just passing through?” Bronya asked again, his voice deeper and more hesitant than before.

“Genuine and true,” Chen replied, holding up three fingers in a mock-serious swearing gesture. Her expression was solemn for a fleeting moment before she immediately reverted to her playful, cynical manner. “And I promise, it’ll go in one ear and out the other. I won’t cause you any trouble. How about it? Isn’t that a fair trade? You trade a few worries for a free listener who might actually be of some use.”

Bronya’s gaze lingered on her face for several long seconds, as if trying to divine the truth of her words from her cheerful expression.

Finally, he let out a soft, weary breath, and his tense shoulders slumped a little further. He looked away, his eyes fixed on the blurred silhouette of the hotel in the distant darkness.

He spoke slowly, his voice barely above a murmur. “…Indeed. There are some things that… make it hard for me to decide.”

“I… I met someone.”

He paused, searching for the right words. “A… very special person.”

“Her appearance has disrupted many things. She… she has some kind of… inexplicable connection with me. It might even… concern parts of my past that I was on the verge of forgetting.”

Chen listened quietly, not interrupting. She simply tilted her head, a silent invitation for him to continue.

“I don’t know how to treat her,” Bronya confessed, his brow furrowing in distress.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]