Honkai Impact 3rd: Don't Die For Me/ Book 3 Paradise

Chapter 44 Narratives

<Paris Grand Cathedral>

To say that Kallen was stumped would have been an understatement. The tip of her quill was drenched in ink and clipboard parchment was curling from the excess of notes written. She wandered through the second floor of the cathedral with her mind steaming. Sakura followed behind, hand resting firmly on the pommel of her sword. Beside her stood the Amber-haired Ava who took a few of her own notes. There were no bodily remains. There were no residues of Honkai energy. No hidden desires lurked behind the curtains. Needless to say, Sakura was feeling useless. She was unfamiliar with the setting, the names of peculiar objects, and the weight behind each holy artifact. Though their language was the same, the dialects differed enough to make Europe feel exotic to Sakura.

"What's left has been taken away and all priests wear the same robes. Who exactly are we searching for?"

Kallen grumbled in frustration and she couldn't help but gnaw on the ends of her quill. Ava eyed Kallen nervously while Sakura took action. With one swift action, Sakura snatched up the quill. Kallen gnashed her teeth but Sakura stared her down. Her indigo eyes gave Kallen a stern glare that matched Sabrina's. It wasn't something that could be taught, it was natural. Bewilderment widened Ava's eyes and she recollected the incident a few days prior. She concluded that Captain Kallen's overbearing presence had hidden her true nature. At heart Captain Kallen was almost as naive as a child.

'Should a child be made a captain?' Ava questioned. Never before had she dared to question Kallen's competence. Vice Captain Schariac was younger when she filled Captain Kallen's duties. What qualifies maturity?'

Ava looked over the rails of the second floor. Peering into the first floor she could see the Vice Captain seated on a pew. In her hands was a stack of papers, thicker than Captain Kallen's. She flipped through them with a controlled expression. From an outsider's perspective, Vice Captain Schariac was hard at work. The only discrepancy with that vision was the small smile that danced on Vice Captain Scharaic's lips. Who could be so happy reading reports? How could she access such volumes of information within a day? There wasn't enough evidence or substance pertaining to the heretics' intrusion into the sacred ceremony.

'Father, why are the living harder to deal with than the dead? Corpses are silent. They let you dig into them and tell you secrets. I hate this job. I'm surrounded by enigmatic kids. Our Vice Captain is reading novels like how I read them.' Ava's forehead stung with recognition. 'I'm studying! I'm not the guilty one she is!'

While Ava noticed what Eleanor was doing from her vantage point another Valkyrie took note of Eleanor's indulgence from the first floor. The green-haired beauty navigated past the church pews and plopped herself next to her friend. She peered over in an attempt to pry but Eleanor quickly flipped the pages. Those lemon green eyes emitted a guilty look of admission and Cohline rocked the pew to stifle a laugh.

"What's it going to cost me? Sweets?" Eleanor hissed.

"Only Alice would take advantage of you." Cohline giggled.

"OK then just leave me be. I'm fantasizing at the moment."

"Then I should call Alice over."

Cohline expression turned worried. She was always one to keep a secret and the only person she felt truly older than was Eleanor. Investigating a case that involved Otto could be too much for her delicate heart.

"I'm fine. Don't read past the lines."

"Help us." Cohline pouted. She kept her adorable appearance but internally she only wanted what was best for Eleanor. With Eleanor's help, they could conclude the investigation faster. She didn't know enough about Otto to make any judgments but she knew that dwelling on his distant memory would only cause pain for Eleanor. "I bought some hard candy. Have one."