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Chapter 1

"MOM! I found a stray cat. Can I keep her!?" Raynold exclaimed loudly as he landed at the back of his house garden.

"It sounds wonderful honey make sure you take care of her—" His mother stopped in her tracks as he saw her son was holding a girl dressed in rags.

"Darling it's a girl."

"Yep! Check out when I puff her cheeks; she looks like a cat." Reynold puffed the struggling girl's cheeks. She indeed looked like a stray cat.

"..."

"She…does look like one. But you can't just kidnap girls like that." His mother waved her finger at him. The girl who was struggling for a second nodded at her words!

Exactly! You can't just kidnap people like that!

"Even if it's to save her from those pesky bugs in Siberia? She was to die there, Alone. Dressed in rags like that."

Raynold started to guilt trip his mother. For a second his mother looked at the girl. The poor girl was dirty, her lush white hair was dark grey by this point, and she was looking cold. The only thing she has to defend herself with is that 9mm hand pistol…

Where she got the gun didn't matter. What mattered was that she was alone in Siberia.

*Sigh*

"I am not going to comment on your daily trips to the tundra since you do your thing. But yes… you saved her even if it means you theoretically kidnapped her. For future reference don't do that."

"Got it! I am only to do that to kittens like her." Once again he puffed one of her cheeks. Before finally letting her go.

The girl instantly took some distance from him.

"What are you going to do to me!?"

"Calm down. Sweetheart. I am going to keep you as my family member. I can't in my consciousness leave you like that in the middle of the tundra and hundreds of kilometres away from the closest town."

She frowned deeply at hearing that. She doesn't need pity.

But then he hugged her and pulled her towards his house. He just held her and floated into his house.

His mother just shook his head. This is maybe for the best. Maybe he will think less about his maddening training and focus on the girl.

Sure he might save this town a bunch of times because of his power. Which she knows is a power of Herrscher. Something everyone knows in this town. But no one mentions this to the outside world.

The simple reason is that they don't want anyone to come from outside and try to take him away.

It's a status quo that this town enjoys to the fullest.

Peace is being kept by a boy aged 9. Something which everyone hates to accept. This is why they are letting him do things as he pleases. Just to clench that guilt.

~~~

"Kitten, what's your name?" Raynold asked the girl who took a shower and changed into a set of Raynold's clothes.

The girl now was eating like there is no tomorrow.

"...*Gulp* Kiana…Kaslana." She said between bites.

"Adorable. I am Raynold Westwood. Anyway, finish your food and we will go to the shop to get some clothes for you." His words confused her quite a bit! Is he serious about keeping her!? It just… doesn't make sense…why is he doing all that.

And why her? She is just some random girl who was running away to save her own life. Hell, she was even abandoned by her father!

She nodded at him before deciding to mention something odd about him.

His eyes have changed.

They don't glow anymore and they are not black and greyish.

"What's with your eyes? They were glowing and stuff…you could make those Honkai beasts flow and then kill them. But now they are normal." She asked him curiously.

"Oh? I thought you could do similar stuff since your cultivation is similar to mine."

"...What?" Kiana asked with a confused look.

"You have a Honkai core inside of you. It's a sign of your cultivation level. Though it appears you have no clue that you have it. Perhaps it's a sign that you come from a family which is talented and might have been born with it."

'Is this one of those cliches tropes that she comes from a big family and talented family who has children already born with cultivation!?'

Raynold was slightly annoyed by this. But he can see that she has no idea. And besides, he can't be angry with his kitten; she is just too adorable for that.

"...what does this mean?" She was even more confused. Is this why he took her?

"It means that you consciously or unconsciously gathered enough energy to form a core. Or maybe you are born with one. It doesn't matter, what matters is that you should learn how to harness and control your strength." He said that quite seriously.

"...Why are you telling me all that?" She asked him cautiously.

"Because you are like me, I have been looking for people who are similar to me. Two years ago I created a core and after that, I have been trying to look for people like me who have such cultivation.

Honestly, I have been worried that such beings don't exist. That I am the only one who has achieved just power. I have been checking through the whole of Eastern Europe and Siberia. These areas have the most amount of wild rooming pests you call Honkai beasts."

Kiana silently listened to what he said. So he was looking for someone like her?

She was perplexed to trust someone like him. Someone who kidnapped her…

"Don't worry. You don't need to answer now or tomorrow. Just get used to living here. I have been keeping peace in this town for several years."

Her eyes widened for a second. He is the one who keeps the peace here!?

"T-There are no Valkyries here!?"

"Valkyries? Those cult warriors?" He asked with confusion. What about them?

"...Cult…Warriors?" Now she was confused!

"Yes. Religious warriors, brainwashed people, have all sorts of things going on for them. According to what I know, instead of trying to become strong in a regular way, they use technology to cheat power. Such things make their lifespan short which in turn makes them die young.

We don't have any of them here because they died off fighting a few pests here. I took over and no more Valkyries arrived here after." He explained the situation to her.

"Simply put, they abandoned this place."

His explanation has shattered the view she had of the Valkyries.

"I see…"

"Don't fret too much. If you want I can make you surpass those cult warrior females. While that tech makes them slightly stronger than average, they are no match for hard work and cultivation, my power speaks for itself."

She slowly nodded. What he said made sense to her. She still vividly remembers how he killed those beasts without even touching them.

"Great, finish your food and then we can explore the town."

She swiftly nodded at him once more. She can't say no to this food.

~~~

Kiana was quite shocked to see how this town's people treat her. They all waved at her when she passed with Raynold. Instead of taking a car or a bus, they were walking toward a shopping centre.

"Resources were quite difficult to get by from time to time. This is why I am keeping the routes and things clean of those pests."

"...You keep a lot of people safe… I am impressed." She genuinely said that with awe. The more she hears the more she believes he is like a hero or something like that!

"You are quite interested in fighting these pests."

To his words, she puffed her chest.

"I am a Kaslana! We protect people against Honkai!"

Thinking for a bit he decided to enlighten her.

"Hmm… your understanding about energy is quite basic." He said while shaking his head.

This made her frown when she heard that.

"Listen, Honkai is energy. While it's toxic to clueless people, it's a source of power. Like fire. Fire burns but it can be tamed and used for the greater good."

His words made some sense…once he mentioned fire…

"Just imagine a world without fire. You would be eating raw meat and most likely you would be dead by this point if not for the fire since Siberia is freezing in the specific area you have been in."

He said with a shrug. As they finally arrived at the shopping mall.

Kiana for a second forgot about the whole Honkai debate as her eyes were glued to all the lights, advertisements, and things like that!

"Let's explore. We have the privilege."

"Privilege?"

He pointed at the posters. Her eyes went to these things.

She saw an image of Raynold and a middle -aged man who looked like his older version.

There was something written on the poster.

"...Help us protect our peaceful lives. Support the 3rd Herrscher, help keep the peace." Kiana read what was written and she was confused…as she read.

"...Why are they calling you a Herrscher? Aren't they super evil?"

"Beats me. Apparently, that's the title given for reaching the golden core stage in cultivation. Kinda beats the purpose. It was an easy task to achieve. We shouldn't get a title for such simple work. And I still ask why they took such a weird name for a title." He didn't say anything about the name as it was in German and there is no German language here. Only THE language which was around since previous civilizations.

Yep, apparently, the last civilization was so bad at cultivating that the energy saturated too much and killed almost all humans.

It just shows how bad they are with this stuff. These guys need heavy spiritual guidance.

"For a second she nodded. She didn't understand what this meant. Not that she thinks too much. He is powerful, and he is not insane with power nor does he kill people.

Does this mean there are good Herrschers as well? Is he even one?

'This is so confusing…'

"Anyway my father was elected the Mayor of the town. People voted for him even if he was not running for that position. They did it because of my power. Because of this, I have the privilege to buy stuff extremely cheaply.

Now let's go and shop."

As he said that he effortlessly pulled the white-haired girl toward the clothing section.

~~~

After buying a bunch of clothes. Raynold made sure he took a couple of hoodies with cat ears for the girl because it just adds to that adorable level.

Of course, they took stuff that she wanted as well. It made her extra happy as well.

Eventually, they ended up staring at a yellow rabbit-like thing that was as big as her.

"What is that!?" She asked with wide eyes.

"Homu rabbit. It's a popular video game figure. Though I prefer the red one. But yellow is the classic."

"Oh…c-can I get it?"

"Sure if my kitten wants it." He said with a shrug.

At first, it was annoying that he kept calling her kitten. But now it makes her flutter. Is he going to drop this title or not!?

"G-Great! Then I want it! It's the price you have to pay to keep calling me by that nickname!"

He snorted in amusement.

"Then grab it. Let's go see the cashier." He said with a smirk. If this is what he has to pay then it's fine with him.

With over 50% discount the body size plushie was bought.

Raynold was thinking of opening a wormhole to his house to deliver the thing since it was that big but Kiana insisted that he send the clothes home and she will carry the Homu back home herself.

After all the shopping was done they proceeded to walk back. The boy martial artist used this moment to show her around. Since that was the reason for walking on foot instead of floating or using wormholes.

Regardless, Kiana loved this small idyllic town.

Maybe it's not that bad being kidnapped by a…Herrscher of all things.