In the ideal scenario...
The First Legion should have been the one to go after the Word Bearers, because Lion was ruthless. And the Dark Angels had no shortage of dirty tricks—they were absolutely the kind of people who would go all-in on killing Lorgar.
As for Horus, although he was out of mortal danger and there was no longer any chance of further Chaos contamination, who could guarantee that the Four weren't still hiding a backup plan somewhere?
Of course, more importantly, Bruce needed to find some time to be alone with Lion so he could stuff her back into that device, switch her personality back, and erase the memories the two of them had shared.
But now the situation had turned into this: Lion was heading to Holy Terra to meet the Emperor, while he had somehow ended up alone with Horus...
And the worst part was, the mission assignment was actually completely reasonable, so there was nothing he could do about it.
Damn it, this is giving me a headache.
"What am I supposed to do?!" Bruce clutched his head in anguish, so frazzled he almost wanted to smash it against the wall.
Things were developing in a direction he had never anticipated.
His original purpose in altering Lion's personality and memories had been to make saving Horus easier. But now Horus had been saved, while Lion might not be able to change back.
How the hell was he supposed to deal with that?!
Bruce finally understood what "saving your head only to lose your ass" felt like, and it made him want to die.
"Wait... maybe I should ask Blue Fatty if he has a solution?!"
A sudden flash of inspiration hit him.
At this point, the only thing left was to ask a teammate for help. Maybe Doraemon had some mysterious gadget that could turn Lion back with a snap. Wouldn't that be perfect?
The moment the thought occurred to him, Bruce immediately pulled out his visual phone, preparing to contact Doraemon in secret—carefully bypassing everyone else.
But just then, there was a knock at the door.
Already jumpy, Bruce nearly leaped out of his skin. He hurriedly hid the device and stared warily at the cabin door like he was facing a mortal enemy.
Who... who is it at this hour?!
As an honored guest of the Sixteenth Legion staying aboard the Vengeful Spirit, Bruce had been given an absurdly luxurious room. Supposedly, it had been specially prepared for visiting Primarchs.
Calling it a room was actually underselling it—it was closer to a full suite. Every convenience he could think of was there. For a warship, this kind of comfort was practically extravagant.
And because the room was so high-status, under normal circumstances, ordinary people weren't allowed to disturb whoever stayed there.
In other words, anyone knocking on this door had to be either another Primarch or one of the Legion's high-ranking officers—Abaddon, Torgaddon, Little Horus, Loken, and the like.
But what would they want with me?!
Just as Bruce was trying to figure out who might be outside, a voice came through the door and made him even more alert.
"Bruce Wayne, are you in there?"
Though softened by the door, Horus's already gentle voice sounded even softer. But to Bruce's superhuman hearing, it was still crystal clear.
"I'm here! I'm here!"
The moment he realized it was Horus, Bruce could only grit his teeth and go open the door.
Even though he had no idea why Horus was looking for him, one thing was certain—
He had been eating, drinking, living, and sleeping on the Warmaster's hospitality these past several days. Pretending not to hear was out of the question.
Besides, with a Primarch's senses, even if he kept silent, she'd be able to locate him anyway.
And besides, he, Bruce Wayne, stood upright and feared no crooked shadow. If Warmaster Horus had come looking for him, it had to be for something important.
Like, perhaps, following up on something from that morning's strategic meeting—something Horus hadn't felt comfortable saying in front of Lion and needed him to mediate.
That was entirely possible.
"Good evening, Warmaster," Bruce said after opening the door. "What brings you here?"
"Sorry to disturb you so late."
Horus apologized politely, then explained why she had come.
"I came because... there's something I wanted to ask."
"And that would be?"
Bruce looked at Horus's slightly flushed cheeks and felt an alarming sense of déjà vu.
Whenever Lion came sneaking around to find him, she looked exactly like this—easy to blush, radiating the furtive air of someone up to something.
So the two of you really were stamped from the same mold, huh?
"I heard that you know a great deal about Amiya," Horus said awkwardly, "and about another Terra... a continent called Terra. I have some questions, and I thought perhaps you could help me."
As Emperor's Warmaster, yet taking the initiative to ask about another civilization and another person's life story...
No matter how you sliced it, this was not especially fitting behavior for a Primarch.
And yet the curiosity was real. Horus desperately wanted to know these things.
She wanted to know what kind of person Amiya was, and what the world she came from was like. That brief encounter, and the voices still lingering in her mind, refused to fade.
"Ah? Who told you I knew all that?" Bruce stuck his head out and looked left and right, making absolutely sure no one else had followed Horus.
He still remembered what had happened with Meiling last time. Granted, in one sense Meiling had saved him, but if it weren't for her, he probably would've gotten eaten alive.
Though, on second thought... if it was Lion with a beautifying mod applied, maybe that wasn't completely unacceptable. A double victory, really.
He'd get to enjoy both Saber, a childhood goddess, and a Primarch. Opportunities like that only showed up in dreams.
"Lion told me," Horus answered. "She said you knew about Amiya, and about Rhodes Island, so I came to ask you."
"Lion told you... I see."
Once he understood, Bruce stepped aside.
"All right. Come in first."
"Mm. Thank you!"
Seeing that Bruce didn't reject her request, Horus visibly relaxed and stepped inside.
Once she entered, Bruce served her a portion of his late-night snack.
It was a sweet soup made from some kind of beans, tasting roughly like mung bean dessert from Bruce's old world.
Alongside it, he brought out a tin of cream-filled biscuits he had taken from the Scarlet Devil Mansion. This was the last tin he had. Unless absolutely necessary, he would never willingly share it.
"Is this your nutrition meal?" Horus asked, looking at the two items on the table and swallowing reflexively.
Ordinarily, a Primarch could keep her appetite under excellent control. But for some reason, Horus found these two dishes impossible to resist.
Especially once the fragrant steam from the sweet bean soup hit her nose, and the warmth rising from the biscuits curled into the air. The combined assault of smell and sight made her want nothing more than to dig in.
"Not really," Bruce said. "More like a midnight snack. I've always liked tinkering with food, so I make little late-night things like this. Doesn't matter anyway—I don't gain weight."
He sat down across from her and continued, "Lion's been sneaking over these past few days to mooch food off me too. If you like it, you can come by sometime. If I don't finish it, I usually dump the leftovers on Warfarin."
"Of course, these are just very simple ingredients. I only did a bit of extra processing."
He wasn't being modest—he meant it.
Normally, the beans Space Marines ate were turned into a paste with some meat sauce and metal powder mixed in. You stirred it, added some flavoring, and called it food.
Bruce, however, couldn't stomach that kind of grimdark cuisine.
So he'd personally gone to the quartermaster for ingredients, cooked the beans properly with sugar, and then fried or roasted meat with eggs and brushed on sauce.
And yet it was exactly this kind of simple cooking that had made Lion decide to start hanging around him like a stray cat. Warfarin and Alfred had done the same. They had all said that ever since tasting Bruce's cooking, they realized they'd been eating garbage their whole lives.
"I see..." Horus nodded. Now she finally understood why her brother had been following Bruce around like a little tail. So this was the real reason.
"In any case, try it first. There's plenty more if you like it."
Bruce waved off any need for politeness.
"Yes!"
Naturally, Horus accepted the offer.
When she scooped up the reddish sweet soup with the spoon, she discovered there was more than just beans inside. Hidden within were bits of shaved ice.
The moment she took a bite—
Her entire body froze.
Three different layers of sweetness exploded across her taste buds in succession.
These were just ordinary beans, weren't they? How could they taste this good?!
There was the natural sweetness of the beans themselves, the milky sweetness of the shaved ice, and most importantly, the cool, refreshing sweetness of the syrup.
For Horus, it felt like an entirely new world had opened up.
"Good, right?"
"Yes! I really like this!"
Horus immediately took another bite, then another.
Lion! You bastard—hoarding something this good and not telling me sooner?!
Compared to what she usually ate, this was what food for actual people was supposed to taste like.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 132)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter140)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter95)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter165)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 145
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 135
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 95
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 155
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 125
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 105
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 62
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 80
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 80
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 62
Uma Musume: I Want All 65
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
Summoning an Evil God, but the 41
Supernatural Multiverse 45
My Harem Is Indescribable 35
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 46
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 26
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 36
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