Honkai Impact 3rd: My Days as a Captain in Schicksal

To his surprise, Francis led him to a house even bigger than the mayor's, pulling him along nonchalantly past those seemingly expensive carpets. Thomas practically tiptoed the whole way, afraid of soiling these things that he couldn't afford to pay for even if he sold himself.

Thomas still remembers the anxiety he felt waiting outside the study door, and he can almost clearly recall the sounds coming from inside the study at that time.

“Dad! I’m back!” It was Francis’s voice.

"How was your first mission?" It was a steady, deep male voice.

"Great! Better than you! I even saved someone! I remember you said you didn't save anyone on your first mission! That guy's whole village died, and his sheep were gone too. We have to find him a way to survive!"

"Okay! What skills does he have?"

"He can't do anything!"

Thomas, who was only twelve years old at the time, almost knelt down. He seemed to see the furious nobleman walking out of his study and ordering his men to throw him, this filthy thing who knew nothing, into the street.

By this time, he had regained his senses and realized that Francis had brought him back and arranged a job for him because he was the only heir and the only asset in the village—the flock of sheep had all died—and was worried that he wouldn't be able to survive on his own.

After Thomas figured this out, he almost knelt down before Francis on the spot.

What a wonderful gentleman!

He was nothing like those lords I'd seen before who had their men clear the way for them with sticks!

Thomas shook his head to clear his mind and began to think about what to do after the old man threw him out into the street.

"Then let him learn from Marcus!"

A deep male voice came from behind the door, startling Thomas. But when he heard that it wasn't an order to get rid of him, he froze, unsure of what to do.

Francis emerged from the study with a wide grin, slapped Thomas hard on the shoulder, making Thomas feel like his bones were about to fall apart.

In the following years, Thomas learned from Marcus, the old butler of the Kaslana family, how to become a servant good enough to serve his master in a noble family. Thomas was grateful to Francis for saving his life and for Francis for generously giving him, a worthless commoner, the opportunity to serve a nobleman. He worked diligently and, after the old butler Marcus retired, he was honored to take over the position of butler, transforming from an ordinary attendant into the butler of the Kaslana family, whom even some minor nobles had to curry favor with.

Over the years, Thomas had met other nobles, and they were no different from his impression of nobles when he was young. Although he had to admit that they were equally elegant and humble when facing other nobles, they showed the same arrogance, haughtiness and unreasonableness when facing commoners.

The Kaslana family, however, is unlike any other noble family, yet it is one of the oldest and most legitimate noble families in Europe.

Thomas knew a little about his master's job: a Knight of Destiny. Although he didn't understand the difference between a Knight of Destiny and an ordinary knight, it sounded really cool. Not to mention knights who weren't even nobles, even ordinary nobles had to curry favor with the Kaslana family.

Thomas knew the duties of these Knights of Destiny: to exterminate the monsters that had destroyed their village. But the Knights of Destiny of the Kaslana family were different from the others. While other Knights of Destiny vied for the final blow to the monsters to claim credit, the Kaslana Knights of Destiny's first priority was always saving the people. Even if the monster was just one kick away from being killed, as long as there were people in need of immediate rescue, these Kaslana people would drop everything to help those in need.

Thomas didn't feel anything was wrong about this. In his mind, the master was always right, so the only ones who were wrong were the other knights of destiny.

The Kaslana family never acted like nobles. They were humble and polite when talking to the people under their rule, and you could never feel any difference in status. They were always elegant and sincere. In years of poor harvest, the Kaslana family would reduce taxes and even take the initiative to distribute food to disaster victims. This made Thomas go crazy for the family's financial situation many times.

Fortunately, the church provides a special monthly subsidy to the Kaslana family, which prevents them from going bankrupt due to the series of major disasters.

Although Thomas didn't understand why the church would give the Kaslana family a special subsidy, he thought those were matters for important people and he didn't need to know.

Every time Thomas went out, he would see the respectful and loving gazes of the people under the Kaslana family's rule. Although Thomas knew that the gazes were for the master behind him, it did not stop him from standing tall and enjoying this honor with pride.

To be able to serve such a kind nobleman is truly a blessing bestowed by God himself.

Thomas couldn't help but smile as he recalled how carefully Karen had ladled the soup during the day, as if afraid of wasting any food.

In just two days, Thomas sensed the virtues of humility, sincerity, and frugality emanating from Karen, qualities that seemed to be innate to her.

"Truly worthy of being the master's child." This was Thomas's heartfelt praise.

"What are you talking about?" Francis, having finished his official business, walked out of the study and casually patted Thomas on the shoulder. "Didn't I tell you to go back and rest?"

"Yes, sir." Thomas bowed his head respectfully as he watched Francis leave, the image of the man before him gradually merging with that of the white-haired boy leading a horse from over a decade ago.

Thomas smiled with relief.

"This is probably a tradition of the Kaslana family."

Chapter Nineteen: Brother Otto

As the days passed, Karen's birthday drew ever closer. Francis had already sent invitations to some close nobles and relatives, as well as some prominent families, inviting them to his daughter's seventh birthday party.

The nobles who received the invitation were filled with doubt, and some even began to secretly suspect that Francis might have lost his mind. After all, it was no secret in noble circles that Francis had lost his wife and newborn child in a disaster six years ago. Now, Francis's sudden announcement that he would be hosting a birthday banquet for his daughter and inviting many nobles made people suspicious.

Some nobles have even secretly activated their intelligence networks to try and find out about the Kaslana family's recent situation, but to no avail. All they know is that a knight named Misha brought a little girl with white hair to the Kaslana family a month ago, and the little girl has not been seen leaving the house since.

Perhaps Francis saw the little girl with white hair similar to that of the Kaslana family, and, thinking of his own daughter who would be about the same age if she were alive, took pity on her and adopted her. After all, in everyone's mind, finding their lost daughter after six years is simply a pipe dream.

Amidst this surging conspiracy theories, Karen's birthday finally arrived.

Thomas, looking exhausted after finishing a final check of the invitations, directed his servants to decorate the banquet hall. It was a case of the servants running themselves ragged; Thomas had gone to great lengths for this birthday banquet. Aside from the various delicacies gathered from all over, he had spent a tremendous amount of time rearranging the banquet hall and guest rooms, meticulously arranging tableware and accommodations according to noble ranks. Fortunately, they were now in the final stages, and all that remained was to wait for the guests to arrive.

Meanwhile, Karen, the protagonist, was leisurely sitting at the entrance of the Kaslana family mansion, staring blankly at the crowds coming and going on the street. When the nobles who arrived at the Kaslana family saw this cute little girl, they guessed that she was Francis's daughter and greeted her, but Karen only gave a polite response.

She waited for Maria to come home, and she did so every spare day of the month, something the servants of the Kaslana household had grown accustomed to.

Francis, however, was very worried about this.

"Hello, lovely little angel, is this the Kaslana family mansion?" A gentle voice interrupted Karen's reverie.

Karen instinctively stood up and replied, "Yes, are you a guest attending the banquet?"

“Yes, we came from afar, and it took us quite a bit of effort to find this place.” The newcomer was a man about the same age as Francis, with dazzling blond hair and a smiling face that gave people a feeling of spring breeze. He was wearing a priest’s robe, holding a large book with gold embossed patterns in one hand and holding the hand of a little boy about the same age as Karen in the other.

The little boy and the man had a very similar face and the same dazzling blond hair, but unlike the man, his expression was somewhat evasive, and he always subconsciously wanted to hide behind the man.

The man crouched down to be at eye level with Karen, and said with a smile, "I'm from Apocalypse's house. Are your parents home?"

Just then, a hearty laugh rang out: "So, you came empty-handed?"

The blond man smiled at the voice: "I'm with my child, aren't I?"

"What, you want to give your child to my daughter for adoption?" Francis walked over laughing and punched the blond man.

Karen happily hugged Francis's leg: "Daddy, will Mommy come back today?"

Francis's expression changed almost imperceptibly. He bent down and patted Karen's head. "That's hard to say. If Karen is good and studies hard, maybe Mom will speed things up a bit?"

"Karen has always been such a good girl." Karen shook Francis's leg in dissatisfaction.

"Alright, alright, Daddy and Uncle have something to talk about. Karen, why don't you go play by yourself first? When the banquet starts, Daddy will take you to meet Daddy's friends and our relatives." Francis half-coaxed and half-shoved little Karen towards Thomas the Butler.

Bishop Apocalypse smiled as he looked at Karen, who was holding Thomas's hand, and gently nudged the little boy he had brought with him: "Otto, go play with your little sister Karen."

The little boy, Otto, seemed reluctant to leave, lingering beside Bishop Apocalypse. Seeing this, the bishop smiled, knelt down, and whispered in Otto's ear, "Look at this huge mansion, with only little Karen as a child. No one plays with her usually. Mr. Kaslana is also very busy with his daily duties and doesn't have much time for her. She must be very lonely, spending her time alone in her room talking to her dolls, then going to the dining room alone to eat, with the maids and butler watching from afar out of awe, no one willing to come and play with her. And then, in the lonely, desolate, and terrifying darkness of the night, she cries secretly in her bed, with no one there..."

"Alright, alright, I got it." Otto turned his face away, seemingly sighing. The bishop couldn't see his expression, but it was clear from his tone that his plan had succeeded. "I'll play along with her."

A smile appeared on Apocalypse's face as he gently nudged Otto forward. "Mr. Francis, let Otto play with her. Otto doesn't have any peers, so I think they should get along well."

“Compared to that, I think I have something more important to discuss with you, Mr. Francis.”

Karen hugged the ugly teddy bear Maria had sewn for her, looking at Otto with curiosity, while Otto stared blankly into Karen's eyes, motionless.

This situation had been going on for ten minutes. Thomas put Otto and Karen on a bench in the garden and told them not to wander off and to shout if they got lost. Then he went back to entertaining the nobles.

Karen and Otto, two children who had never played with peers before, sat there awkwardly staring at each other.

Finally, Otto couldn't hold back any longer and looked away from Karen's face: "Are we just going to sit like this?"

Unexpectedly, Karen suddenly clapped her hands and laughed, "Hahahaha, I won!"

"???" Otto turned around in astonishment, looking at Kallen who was laughing happily, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Are you a child?"

“Karen is still a child,” Karen replied cheerfully. “Although Dad says Karen has grown up a bit… Karen hasn’t become an adult yet, so she should still be a child. By the way, how old are you?”

“Me? I should be a little older than you,” Otto replied listlessly, feeling utterly bored that his father had assigned him to play with a child.

"Oh, then I should call you brother." Karen fluttered her long eyelashes and said happily, "Brother Otto?"

"Hmm..." Otto felt he had to say something, because he felt his intelligence was being devoured by Kallen. "Do you even know how to play?"

"Play?" Karen tilted her head in confusion, looking exceptionally cute. "Yes, Karen can fly kites and play with teddy bears, but the kites are at our old house now, so we only have teddy bears to play with."

Otto rubbed his forehead, trying desperately to salvage his intelligence, which was being assimilated by Kallen: "Uh... I mean, do you know any games that two people can play together?"

"Huh?" Karen was stumped. She'd always played alone, rarely having the chance to play with others. Firstly, because she was the only child in her village; the rest were all homeless young adults. After all, children and the elderly rarely survived disasters. "Kalen can't..."

"What a coincidence, I don't know either," Otto replied honestly.

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere returned to its initial awkwardness, with the two sitting on the bench like two statues.

"Hey, how about I tell you a story?" Otto felt that as the older brother, he should take on the responsibility of starting a conversation, so after racking his brains, he remembered that his mother often told him stories before going to bed.

Storytelling only requires two people, one to tell the story and the other to listen, which is quite nice. Besides, I've read a lot of stories in books, so I should be able to tell some stories, right? Otto wondered to himself.

"Tell me a story? Sure, sure!" Karen answered absentmindedly, her thoughts drifting back to her mother.

Otto let out a long sigh: "Then let me tell you a story about the origin of the world. This story is a version passed down among the southern peoples, and it's a bit different from the one we have here."

Otto struggled to organize his thoughts, trying to make his story more engaging. Although Karen initially seemed uninterested, she was gradually drawn in by Otto's focused expression, and given the extent of his knowledge for a child, she soon became captivated by the story.

"...In the end, Horus finally defeated his uncle Set and reclaimed his throne, while the defeated Set became the god of thunder." Otto's throat was dry from speaking. He looked at Kallen's attentive expression and couldn't help but feel a little proud.

"Wow, Horus is amazing!" Karen exclaimed, her face full of admiration as she happily hugged her teddy bear and swung her legs. "Otto is amazing too! He knows so much."

Otto's face showed obvious embarrassment, and a hint of sadness, which he couldn't quite describe, appeared on his face. He said with a touch of self-deprecation, "What's the use of knowing a lot if it's useless?"

“But…” Karen struggled to find the words to explain why she thought Otto was so amazing, and she didn’t know why Otto thought her knowledge was useless, so she couldn’t say anything for a moment. “But Brother Otto is really amazing… Karen didn’t know any of these things…”

Otto felt somewhat irritated. The three great families of Schicksal, who took it upon themselves to fight against Honkai Beasts, took pride in bravery. Those without combat power could not earn respect. This was common knowledge within Schicksal, and Otto did not believe that Kallen, as a direct descendant of the Kaslana family, would not understand this. Even so, Kallen still insisted that he was very powerful. Apart from being sarcastic, she could only be trying to comfort him.

Otto of the Apocalypse family was frail and sickly from a young age, deemed unfit to be an excellent warrior, and secretly looked down upon by his own people, even by people from other families. His father shook his head at him countless times in secret, which made Otto always feel very inferior.

Thinking of this, Otto felt a surge of anger and sadness, but neither his good upbringing nor Kallen's sincere gaze could make him lash out at her; he could only sulk in silence.

"Ah, right, no one pointed their finger at us and said, 'What's the use of all this stuff you've learned? You can't even hold a sword properly, you're a disgrace to the family...'"

Noticing the change in Otto's expression, Kallen thought she had said something wrong and stammered, "I'm sorry... Kallen, did I say something wrong...?"

Before Otto could react, Kallen continued, head bowed, "But Kallen really thinks Otto is amazing... Kallen didn't know any of this... Daddy never told Kallen..."

“Karen is so clumsy…she can’t do anything…her dad has to teach her everything…I heard from Uncle Thomas that her dad is usually very, very busy, but he still manages to squeeze out time to play with Karen and teach her so many things…”

“So… I think… if Karen knew as much as Otto… then Dad wouldn’t have to teach her everything… then Dad wouldn’t have to work so hard…” Karen said, her head down, her voice filled with an indescribable sense of grievance.