"Now that everything's been explained, there's just one final question left—"
The golden-haired girl turned to face the White-Haired Knight.
"What question?" Kiana blinked in surprise.
"How do you intend to deal with your other self—the one who refused coexistence in the Trial, choosing instead to be defeated and perish...?"
"And now, knowing both the past and the future, what is your choice?"
"Once you return, you'll undoubtedly gain full control of your body..."
Snow sat on her throne, silently awaiting Kiana's answer.
"I still want to save her... She's entangled by her obsession with revenge, her past identity, and her memories—the 'me' she once was. She's so proud, refusing to lower her head even as she approaches her end. That's precisely why she breaks my heart."
"But I don't know how to change her. Or rather, I lack the key to transforming her."
Kiana shook her head, a hint of helplessness in her expression.
"The key to transforming her? Hmm..."
Snow's brow twitched as she recalled a certain clueless, obsessive girl.
"Hey, Snow, do you have a way?"
Unlike the golden-haired girl's troubled expression, Kiana's tone brightened with hope as she observed Snow's hesitation.
"Emmmmm... Are you... absolutely sure you want to know?"
Snow stared at Kiana, her voice dripping with implications that this "means" wouldn't be easy.
"Of course! Since I've chosen to save her, I can't waver now."
Kiana nodded earnestly, looking at Snow with anticipation.
"...Fine. You're the one who'll suffer, not me. Come here!"
The blonde girl scrutinized the Knight Princess before her for a long moment, as if she had finally grasped something. She reached out and grabbed at the air.
Benares, who had just been kicked out of the group chat, was instantly pulled back by the girl.
"Queen... Hehehehe, such a cool Queen..."
The Dragon Girl, seemingly unaware of where she had been captured, lowered her head and let out a bizarre giggle. The unsettling sound sent shivers down the spines of both Snow and Kiana.
"Ugh... I swear, I didn't hit her head when I revived her... How did she become such a freak?" Snow rubbed her temples, turning her face away to ignore Kiana's questioning stare.
"This is Benares? Snow, what have you done to her?" The white-haired girl's voice was incredulous.
"...Don't ask me! I have no idea! Go ask the Honkai!" Snow rolled her eyes at the Dragon Girl's embarrassing antics and promptly shifted the blame onto the Faceless Man.
"Huh? Why would I ask the Honkai?" Kiana was taken aback by Snow's deflection.
"Benares is a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, right?" Snow turned to Kiana.
"Yeah."
"Honkai Beasts are creatures of the Honkai, right?" Snow began subtly guiding Kiana's train of thought.
"Right?"
"And Judgment-class Honkai Beasts are typically the companions of Herrschers, like Benares?" Snow decided to shift all blame onto Kiana.
"Logically speaking, yes?"
"So, why are you asking me? Ask the Honkai or yourself! This dragon follows you, not me!" Snow neatly deflected all suspicion.
"You mean this dragon takes after its master...?"
Kiana paused, her mind racing. How exactly do this dragon, Sirin, and I resemble each other?
"Doesn't her behavior remind you of when you used to cling to Mei all the time?" Snow continued her "friendly" probing.
"Well, kind of... Wait a minute?!"
The Knight Princess suddenly realized something was amiss.
"...You mean this dragon might climb into my bed one night?"
"You mean you used to sneak into Raiden Mei's bed too...?"
The golden-haired girl stared at the white humanoid self-propelled bomb before her with a strange expression.
"Ahem! Forget it! Forget it!"
Kiana grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her violently, as if trying to shake the memory out of her brain.
"Alright, alright, forget it, forget it! Benares! If you go into heat again, I'll throw you out again!"
Snow, being shaken relentlessly by the white-haired monster, shouted back at Kiana while turning to vent her frustration on the nearby Silly Dragon, who was hopelessly infatuated with the queen.
Startled by Snow's outburst, the Dragon Girl seemed to finally realize where she was. The gray-blue Dragon Girl lifted her head and was overjoyed to spot a certain white-haired girl shaking Snow.
"Queen—!"
Benares pounced without hesitation, relieving Snow from her predicament. The Dragon Girl pinned Kiana to the ground and began rubbing against her vigorously.
"Eee—! Get off, Bella!"
Knocked to the ground and panting, Kiana instinctively called out the affectionate nickname "Bella" that her past "self" had given the dragon. Hearing her queen's command, the Dragon Girl obediently stilled her scrambling limbs, though she remained reluctantly "glued" to the girl's body.
"This is the factor that changed 'her'... If you want to reclaim your other self, this problematic Dragon Girl is an essential piece of the puzzle..."
Snow watched Kiana struggle to pry off Bella, who was clinging to her like an octopus. She shook her head with a wry smile.
"I'm suddenly regretting this... Bella! Get off me, now! Do as you're told!"
"No!"
Bella, now openly defying her superior, clung even tighter to the girl. Finally, Kiana, realizing she couldn't pry Bella off no matter how hard she tried, abandoned her futile efforts and turned to watch the spectator who was entering full "spectator mode" with popcorn.
"Snow, you wouldn't actually let me take this troublesome dragon back to St. Freya Academy, would you...?"
Kiana rolled her eyes at Snow.
"Of course not directly like this... Schicksal has records of this dragon's humanoid form too."
Snow shook her head, grabbed a few strands of the Dragon Girl's blue hair, and yanked them out with a sharp tug.
"Ow—!" The Dragon Girl yelped in pain, staring dejectedly at the strands in Snow's hand.
The strands of hair twisted and reformed in Snow's palm, transforming into a tiny humanoid puppet.
"Armed Puppet: Benares. This silly dragon can use this little figurine to move around St. Freya alongside you," Snow explained to the girl and the dragon, both staring curiously at the puppet in her hand.
"Hmm, this little thing actually looks quite unique..."
Kiana rubbed the dragon horns on the puppet.