They Call Me Daddy (Honkai Star Rail)

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" 

March 7th looked at Wende, who was squatting on the ground, making snowballs, with some confusion. 

"I think this is just right. It’s one way to solve the problem," Dan Heng said, nodding silently from the side.

Stelle looked at Dan Heng in surprise, not expecting the seemingly cold and aloof Dan Heng to be so scheming!

"I don't think it's good!! Dear friends! We really didn’t mean it! There’s no need for this, right!"

From the snow pile at Wende's feet, a deep blue-haired "creature" emerged, its head sticking out of the snow, and it screamed with a heart-wrenching cry at the three who were watching the joke.

"Shh, don’t attract the Rift creatures," Wende said with a smile, pressing the "creature" back into the snow with a very "kind" expression.

"Uh... I think Wende is a bit more scheming," Stelle said awkwardly, tugging at the corner of his mouth, and instinctively moved to the side of March 7th, looking a bit scared.

So, what happened to make Wende so angry?

Let's rewind to half an hour earlier.

Since it was the first time the four-member team arrived at Jarilo IV and knew nothing about the place, they proceeded with caution.

However, as Dan Heng said, being cautious is good.

Sure enough, before long, they encountered a "Rift creature" swaying in the wind and snow.

Although there was no fragmentum visible in the vicinity, the fact that these creatures could separate from the Rift indicated that the situation on Jarilo 6 might not be very optimistic. The plan to recover the stellaron had to be accelerated!

After easily dealing with those fragmentum creatures, the team encountered the first human they saw on this planet— the one buried in the snow pile under Wende.

Originally, the four just wanted to ask for directions, but unexpectedly, this guy ran away at the sight of them.

Wende, recognizing this "creature" at a glance, did not immediately chase him but told everyone to ignore him.

After all, this joker was someone they would have to make connections with later; if he wanted to run, let him run!

But Wende didn’t expect that this guy had planted a trap on their path!

Although it was just a smoke bomb, it made the team members look quite disheveled and eventually attracted a few creatures.

After dealing with the fragmentum creatures, Wende found that this joker hadn’t run away yet!? And was actually hiding in the snow pile, waiting for them!

So, for the sake of the team's reputation, Wende decisively threw four lightning needles into the snow, which quickly pierced the snow pile and accurately struck the "creature's" four limbs.

"You like staying in the snow pile, right? In that case, don’t come out."

Wende said with a smile.

"No, no, no! I don’t like staying in the snow pile! My friend! I really made a mistake! I, Sampo, was too blind to recognize greatness and offended you all. Please just let me go!"

The blue-haired "creature" emerged from the snow pile again, with a mournful expression, begging the explorers.

"Oh? Now you realize you messed with the wrong people? Not going to struggle anymore?"

Wende, smiling, stood on the snow pile, with the lightning needles in his hands glowing.

"Yes! And you dirtied my newly cleaned clothes with that crappy smoke bomb!"

March 7th initially felt a bit sorry for Sampo, who was buried in the snow with only his head showing. However, upon looking at her own dust-covered clothes, her sympathy vanished instantly.

They just wanted to ask for directions. Even if you ignored them, setting up an ambush on their path was too much!

"Indeed, if you don’t give a reasonable explanation, you might not leave here so easily today."

Wende looked down at Sampo, who looked like a radish being unearthed, with a flat expression, while discreetly giving Stelle a wink.

Understanding Wende's intention from his look, Stelle glanced at the angry March and the embarrassed Sampo, immediately grasping what Wende meant.

"March... don’t be angry."

Stelle kindly walked to March 7’s side, patted the dust off her clothes, and gently comforted her.

"Getting angry is bad for your health. How about letting Wende take care of him directly!"

With golden eyes narrowed, Stelle smiled at the embarrassed Sanbo and said something quite extreme in a seemingly kind manner.

Wende, hidden from Sampo’s sight, gave her a thumbs-up.

As expected of the main character, just one look was enough to understand his thoughts!

"No, no, no, don’t kill me! Come on! I really didn’t mean it! I thought you were the Silvermane Guard who came to catch me! I never expected this. We’re all in the same line of work, how could this happen!"

"Silvermane Guard..."

Dan Heng silently noted this name. It should be the name of the army in the fortress standing in the wind and snow.

From the landing vehicle, only a vague outline of the fortress could be seen through the snowstorm. As for the interior...

"Oh? So according to you, this is indeed a misunderstanding?"

Wende raised an eyebrow, letting the lightning needles in his hands dissipate casually, crossing his arms in front of him with a look of skepticism.

"Really! It’s a misunderstanding! I, Sampo, swear on my reputation!"

Sampo, who had somehow managed to free one of his arms from the snow pile, immediately raised three fingers to his forehead, looking as if he was swearing to the heavens.

"Oh~ So it seems it was indeed a misunderstanding."

Wende’s face displayed a "sincere" smile.

"Yes! I would never lie to a friend! Please let me go! I can barely feel my lower body anymore!"

Sampo, with a mournful expression, pleaded. If Wende hadn’t known that this joker was a man of destiny, he would have believed him!

"Come on now, we’re buddies aren’t we, why are you still hesitating? Hurry and get your good friend Sampo out of this cold snow!"

Sampo, seeing Wende only smiling but remaining unmoved, said anxiously.

"Oh, yes, it’s indeed a misunderstanding. But you’ve made my companions look like this. Can a mere misunderstanding resolve it?"

Wende pointed at the dust-covered exploration team beside him, crouched down, and lightly patted Sampo’s face, making his meaning clear.

"Ah... Ah! Certainly, we cannot let such valuable clients suffer in vain. It was my fault for being dull!"

As a "shrewd businessman," Sampo quickly understood Wende’s intentions and hurriedly apologized to the three standing beside him.

"Everyone! I truly apologize! It was my mistake that made you suffer. I, Sampo, will make sure you won’t be at a loss... But..."

Sanbo turned back to Wende, his body curled up, and said with a flattering smile.

"Well, friend, I didn’t bring any funds with me this time. How about you come with me to Belobog? I guarantee one we get to Belobog, I won’t run away, and I will make sure the compensation is satisfactory! What do you think?"

He figured out that the person in front of him was the real leader among the four! He needed to get this person on his good side first; other matters would be easier to handle after that.

"Well, let’s do it that way."

Seeing that it was almost settled, Wende nodded in satisfaction and snapped his fingers.

The lightning needles that were stuck in Sampo’s limbs instantly disappeared. Sampo, with tears in his eyes, crawled out of the snow pile. Although his movements were a bit stiff, he really thought his limbs might be frozen!

Little did he know, this was all due to the effects of Wende’s lightning needles. The physical numbness caused by the lightning needles had led Sampo to misjudge the situation.

To be honest, if Wende hadn’t kept him here like this, he wouldn’t have been able to put on such a performance in front of him!

Now that they had a guide, the next step was to enter the city!

That’s right, Wende put in so much effort just to have Sampo lead them through his "secret path" into Beloberg.

As those who knew the plot would understand, the protagonist group was wanted as soon as they entered Beloberg, and this was all because they used the main entrance. By using the secret entrance this time, they should be able to avoid being hunted down by Gepard, right?

Indeed, Wende's elaborate performance was entirely to avoid leaving himself with an abstract dark history.

After Sampo took a moment to recover, Wende had him lead the group through the "secret path" into the depths of Belobog.

During this, March 7th seemed to want to ask something but was stopped by Dan Heng and Stelle.

What she wanted to ask was merely why they didn’t use the main entrance. For Dan Heng, avoiding visible conflicts with the forces of this world was more prudent.

After all... they had been wanted on other planets quite a few times.

Moreover, how would a city that hadn’t had contact with the outside world for nearly a thousand years react to the news of "foreign visitors"? This was all unknown.

It was better to quietly infiltrate the city and slowly understand the attitude of those in power.

March 7th, looking at Dan Heng who had blocked her and shaking his head, was a bit dissatisfied and pouted, but she didn’t speak up.

Actually, she just wanted to ask Wende why he had left needles in that person. And whether that person could even feel them?

If Wende knew March 7th’s true thoughts, he would certainly chuckle.

Sampo, of course, couldn’t feel the lightning rods in his back. Additionally, they were left as a precaution to prevent this "jovial joker" from suddenly running away.

Sampo’s secret path was not exactly a "small path." On the contrary, it was quite a practical route. In other words, Wende preferred to call it... a "dog hole."

Looking at the prominent little hole beneath the thick wall, Wende shook his head with a sigh.

"Everyone, this is Old Sampo’s secret passage. It took me a long time to dig it out. Not only to keep it hidden from the Silvermane Guard but also to guard against those fragmentum creatures."

With that, Sampo led the way and crawled into the "secret path."

"Uh... I’m thinking, why don’t we find the main entrance?"

March 7th, after staring at the "secret path" for a while, looked up and suggested it to Wende.

This thing doesn’t seem reliable at all!

"…………"

Wende pondered, touching his chin.

"Clack"

"Ah!!!"

After a sharp snapping sound, a desperate scream came from the other side of the wall.

"It seems it should be okay. Let’s just make do with it."

Wende shrugged, speaking with some resignation, but there was no other choice.

Wende took the lead, swiftly climbing through the "secret path." The others had no choice but to follow and climb out as well.

Brushing off the snow on his clothes, Wende looked at the empty space behind the wall.

"…………"

Picking up the lightning needles from the ground and turning them into electric arcs to dissipate, Wende looked at the marks on the snow, silent.

Sanbo truly was something else; even after being shocked, he managed to escape so quickly. Indeed, fools might be the most annoying entities in the universe!

"Hey? Where did that person go? Did he run away!?"

March 7th, emerging from the "secret path" looking somewhat disheveled, was surprised to see only Wende standing in the empty space. Covered in dust and snow from the "secret path," March 7th looked like a pitiful little beggar.

"Uh..."

Wende shook his head. Just now, he had suddenly linked March 7th’s appearance with another person who always said "we." Adding the beggar look…..

Forget it, don’t think about it! If he kept going, he’d be assimilated too!

"It seems you can’t judge a person by their appearance."

Brushing off the snow on her clothes, Stelle sighed.

TL note: If you guys see mistakes or anything while you’re reading please point it out, I’ll probably miss a lot of those things so having people call out my mistakes makes it better experience for everyone.