Honkai Diary: Start With Picking Up A White-Haired Treasure

"Zeke!"

During the barbecue party, Kiana's mouth glistened with grease as she suddenly approached Zeke, tilting her head back and staring at him with eager anticipation.

Having just sent a rejection message to Tesla, Zeke instinctively pulled out a tissue to wipe Kiana's lips before responding impatiently:

"What do you want?"

"You know, Heaven's Fire Judgment?"

Kiana pointed to the undercooked skewer of bell peppers and meat in her hand, clearly wanting to taste the flavor of food grilled by Judgment of Shamash.

Speaking of which, Judgment of Shamash is indeed a versatile weapon. It can fire immensely powerful Heavenly Fire bullets, with virtually limitless potential strength, inherently causing burning effects and penetration capabilities. With proper control, it can also enhance its impact force, achieving a knockback effect.

In summary, it offers high flexibility; if wielded effectively, it possesses multiple strategic advantages.

Additionally, it can function as an infinite-energy flamethrower, boasting similarly boundless power limits.

Kiana's favorite feature is precisely this flamethrower mode, finding it incredibly convenient for cooking—much like how Siegfred once used it in his culinary endeavors.

Zeke glanced at the dual pistols holstered on his waist, then gently tapped Kiana's fair forehead.

"No way! This isn't a grilling tool, and your control isn't sufficient yet."

"Well, could you grill it for me then?!" Kiana insisted, handing him the skewer.

Zeke's expression turned serious.

Kiana batted her eyelashes charmingly.

Zeke then drew one of his dual pistols, aimed at the target, and precisely calculated the force required.

"Bang!"

"Oh! That's it!"

The hot blast from the flames lifted Kiana's hair as she eagerly watched the fleeting spark. In no time, her skewered meat began emitting a tantalizing aroma.

"Thanks, Zeke!" Kiana grinned widely, devouring the skewer in an instant.

"Mmm..."

"Tastes so good~"

"Zeke, more please!" More skewers appeared in Kiana's hands.

Zeke's face darkened. "Can't you use the charcoal grill?"

"That's too slow! Besides, when I grill them myself, they either end up undercooked or burnt—neither tastes nice!" Pouting, Kiana looked at Zeke with a pleading expression.

With a resigned sigh, Zeke reached out, summoned a worker bee from mid-air, opened a virtual screen, and entered commands. Moments later, several worker bees snatched the skewers from Kiana's hands and automatically placed them on the grill to cook.

"Yes! Thanks, Zeke! Mwah!" Caught off guard, Kiana hugged him tightly and gave him a smooch, leaving an oily mark on his cheek before eagerly waiting near the grill.

Zeke wiped his face with a tissue, revealing a greasy stain. Realizing that this little rascal's hands were equally dirty and oily from hugging him, he felt instantly grossed out and wanted to go take a shower and change clothes right away.

"Haha, you two have such a close bond."

Cocolia approached Zeke with a wineglass in hand, her every step graceful and seductive. Her eyes were captivatingly bright, lips as luscious as dripping cherries, exuding a faintly sweet aroma.

"Are you blind? And don't try to flirt with me; I'm not falling for that act."

"...I wasn't flirting! Look, I've always been this attractive, okay?!"

Cocolia's elegant demeanor instantly shifted as she gritted her teeth, revealing her fierce and dominant nature.

Zeke nodded nonchalantly.

"That's more like it. So, what technology do you want now?"

"No, am I really that mercenary? Can't you give me the benefit of the doubt?" Cocolia sighed, placing her forehead in her hands, exasperated.

Zeke composed himself, regaining his usual cold indifference. "After just getting a taste of power, you disappear for months without visiting your children... While it's better than dragging them straight to the lab, it's still not much improvement."

"I stopped those experiments, didn't I? Besides, it was all to find treatments for their Honkai Energy corruption! If we don't seek a cure, would you rather watch them succumb to death passively?" Cocolia defended herself vehemently.

Cocolia vehemently defended herself.

Since Zeke had provided a treatment method, Cocolia halted those experiments. It sounded like she was finally a good mother, freed from her moral dilemma—but don't overlook her extreme tendencies.

However, as long as someone above her maintained control while still offering opportunities for growth, Cocolia would likely remain compliant and not recklessly seek attention—as before, when she dared to show off in front of Otto himself. Just consider Siegried's fate; if there were anything valuable about her, who knows what lengths Otto might have gone to?

Seeing that Zeke ignored her, Cocolia felt both angry and frustrated, expressing her discontent: "Fine, forget it. No need to discuss this further with you. I did come here for something important—there's someone who wants to see you."

"Who?"

"Boron Albert. We'll talk more later. I'm going to catch up with the children now. You can enjoy the breeze on your own."

With a seductive sway, Cocolia departed without giving Zeke a chance to question further, seemingly hoping to regain some dignity through this gesture.

"Kids, I'm back! Did you miss your mom?"

"Yes!" Seele enthusiastically replied, receiving both a tender head pat and hug from Cocolia.

Bronya, clutching her Homu doll, rolled her eyes without responding.

Sin had somehow gotten into another spat with Kiana, their foreheads pressed together. Afraid to fight near Zeke, they glared fiercely at each other as if trying to kill one another with their eyes—either way, Sin was too preoccupied to acknowledge Cocolia.

Rozaliya and Liliya were busy squabbling over grilled meat, equally engrossed and uninterested in replying to Cocolia.

Cocolia's smile faltered momentarily before she helplessly announced,

"I brought gifts!"

"Mother Cocolia, we missed you so much!" Rozaliya and Liliya exclaimed simultaneously.

However, only these two sisters fell for it. The more mature Bronya, along with Sin, who cared little for material things, remained unaffected.

Cocolia sighed resignedly but then flashed a loving, gentle smile as she watched over her children, distributing presents one by one:

"For our most obedient child, Seele—a beautiful necklace. May you grow even cuter."

"Thank you, Mother Cocolia!"

"For Liliya, those building blocks you mentioned last time; and for Rozaliya, gourmet cookies. Remember to share nicely, no hogging them all!"

"Yes, Mother Cocolia." (x2)

"And for Bronya... Ta-da! The latest remote-controlled airplane model. Mom secretly modified it to mount a machine gun—don't tell anyone else about this."

"Thank you, Mother Cocolia."

Bronya accepted the large box.

Although she had already started playing with drone fighters, this gift wouldn't be of much use to her.

Still, the normally stoic girl couldn't help but reveal a gentle smile. Not for any other reason—just because it was a present from Mom.

"And here's one for Sin: a pretty little dress. When I saw it, I just knew you'd look cuter than anyone else on Earth wearing it."

"Thanks...Mom."

Sin no longer felt the need to sulk against Kiana and eagerly took the small dress, cradling it tenderly as she smiled adorably at Cocolia.

At their first meeting, through special lenses, Cocolia hadn't made a favorable impression on Sin. But having grown accustomed to such a world, Sin didn't hold that against her. After spending some time together... well, a child simply cannot resist pure maternal love.

As Kiana watched everyone happily enjoying themselves, a hint of sadness flickered across her eyes before being swiftly masked by her enthusiastic appetite.

Then, Cocolia approached Kiana, leaned down, and handed her a small box with a warm smile.

"For you, dear."

"Huh? Me too?" Kiana blinked her big eyes, surprised.

Cocolia ruffled her hair with a smile.

"Even if you don't want to call me 'Mom,' since you're living at the orphanage, I consider you my child. Always stay this happy and get along well with everyone, okay?"

For some reason, gazing into those gentle eyes made Kiana's heart skip a beat. She responded with an incredibly bright grin:

"...Thanks, Cocolia."

The word "mom" still wouldn't leave her lips, but Cocolia didn't mind. Instead, she gently touched foreheads with Kiana as a sign of affection.

Then, she approached the grill, smiling warmly as she took on the role of barbecue chef for everyone.

"What would you all like to eat?"

"I want meat!"

"Liliya wants vegetables."

"Mother, let me help you."

"Bronya will assist too..."

Initially, the atmosphere around the grill was lively, yet something seemed missing. With Cocolia joining, the children gathered around her, instantly finding their center, completing the picturesque scene.

Zeke observed this moment, noticing how not only Sin, who had recently joined, but even Kiana—who had never called anyone "Mom"—seamlessly integrated into it.

Though silent, he felt deeply moved.

My decision back then was indeed the right one, Zeke thought.