"With the contract signed," Wraith placed the signed paper in her suitcase. "I would like to order a Pizza Prosciutto and Swedish roast with Rissoto."

Fu Hua face palmed as Kiana gave her a concerned glance. Meanwhile, Bronya, impressed by the lawyer's taste, quickly placed the order for their esteemed guest cum saviour. As for Sussanah, she was still debating between ordering either fish crisps or Pizza Rucola.

"Sure," Sal replied as he received a thumbs-up from Bronya, who was sitting on the edge.

"Now then," Wraith removed her blazer, placed it on the gothic wood-carved chair and rolled up her sleeves. She then opened her suitcase and brought out a recorder and a journal, ready to begin her job. "Let us begin, shall we?"

"Sure."

"All right then," She started reciting lines from the indictment. "Sal Apocalypse, Current Age: 20, son of the ex-overseer, aka the man who brought death to billions Otto Apocalypse. And not to forget, you served under Alejandro Martinez in Velestflëge. And that too, not in just any squad but the most notorious of 'Lilith'. You were also responsible for carrying out the artificially designed Honkai outbreak at Heidelberg. Which makes you a participant in Operation 'Dusk'. Last but not least, you were also a spy sent to St. Freiya, ordered to kill K-423, aka Kiana Kaslana, aka Hersscher-level threat." She glanced at him, her head lowered towards the table, as her sky-blue eyes pierced his soul. "Anything that we are missing?"

"No," His lips quivered as he took a deep breath. "That sums up everything."

"Good," Wraith took her copy of the indictment and threw it in her suitcase. She then brought out a thick, olive-coloured binder. On the cover was the logo of a sword impaling a devil's head and the name Sal Apocalypse printed in blocks. "Now for the real story, tell me, Sal, and be honest, is everything written in this binder true?"

Sal, who was composed until now, felt a peculiar chill run down his spine. He blinked multiple times, trying to ensure that the binder before him was real and not some illusion. His fingers trembled as he quickly hid them under the table. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself.

It's no good; my body is reacting again. Need to calm down quickly. Do the mind exercise again. Who am I? Sal Apocalypse. Why am I here? To complete my mission. What is your mission? To purge Honkai and bring peace. Do I deserve to live? I don-

Before he could have completed his thought, he felt a warm sensation radiate from his trembling fingers. Kiana, who had seen all colour drain from Sal's face, had quickly interlocked her fingers with his. She was sending a message: I am right here. You are no longer alone.

Sal glanced at Kiana. Her eyes were filled with worry and concern, but she still smiled. She was being strong in his stead. Sal squeezed her hand in return; he didn't want Kiana to let go, and she obliged.

"How much-" Sal's voice broke as memories from the distant past tried to break through. But he somehow recovered. "How much of it have you read?"

"Everything," Wraith confessed. "From your time with Dr Bohdan to the day you witnessed the second eruption, as well as your involvement in Velestflëge and the truth behind Heidelberg."

"Do you believe whatever is written in that binder is true?"

"It doesn't matter what I believe," Wraith replied. "What we need is whether you are honest or not. So tell me, is everything written in that binder true."

"Yes," He replied. "There is not a single speck of falsehood in it. Even the ones pertaining to the experiments conducted in Lab St. 1503. And the treatment of prisoners past Operation 'Dawn'."

"This is no longer a crime against humanity," Wraith sighed. "If everything I have read is true, then this just elevates to a genocide of an unprecedented scale-"

"Vielen Dank fürs Warten," The waiter disrupted the conversation as he announced the arrival of their orders in Deutsch. "hier ist Ihre Bestellung Fräulein." (Thanks for waiting, here is your order)

"Bitte sehr!" Kiana replied enthusiastically, shocking everyone at the table. (You are very welcome)

The waiter, however, a young man in his late twenties, smiled. He wasn't expecting anyone at this table to know Deutsch, but it was a pleasant surprise. He then placed the margarita, along with Pizza Prosciutto and Swedish roast with Rissoto, over the table. He had kept the food on the unused side of the table, ensuring the documents stayed put. With the dishes majestically displayed, their aroma made Kiana squeal in joy.

Who could blame her? Because of this impromptu late lunch, she had skipped her routine time of twelve in the afternoon of eating. This had made her very hungry. It was a miracle how she had not gone crazy so far. Though she had an answer for that: It is because I am in love with this dork, however, she never verbalized this thought even when she was being teased.

"Meine Güte," Kiana exclaimed, her eyes fixated on the Pizza Prosciutto, which was cut into seven sliced wedges, garnished with fresh basil and layers of fresh mozzarella cheese mixed with sauce. And finally, the slices of prosciutto cotto (cooked ham) scattered over like fallen leaves. "Das sieht köstlich aus." (My God, this looks so delicious.)

"Mein Fräulein," The waiter replied joyfully. "Du hast ein Auge fürs Detail. Die Pizza Prosciutto ist unsere spezialität." (My lady, you have good eyes. This Pizza Prosciutto is our speciality.)

"Eigentlich?" Kiana chuckled. "Ich bin wirklich froh" (Really? I am glad.)

"Genießen Sie Ihre Mahlzeit, und danke für die uns wählen" The waiter thanked everyone, but his eyes were on Kiana. This made Sal's grip on her hand tighten. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the young waiter, who gave Kiana one last smile. (Please enjoy the meal, and thank you for choosing us)

Kiana gave Sal a concerned look, but it dissipated as soon as she connected the dots. Her lips curled into a sly smile.

"Did you not like that waiter?" Kiana whispered, only to receive a side glance from Sal, whose cheeks were turning red as he shifted his focus towards the food.

"You can hide it all you want, dork," She whispered slyly, a grin plastered over her face. "But I will be sure to remember this moment."

Meanwhile, Bronya, quietly munching on her margarita, glanced at Kiana with distaste and joy: Great job, idiotka, you just made everyone on this table unlock the achievement 'Third Wheel.'

"I didn't know you could speak Deutsch, Miss Kiana!" Sussanah said, her orange eyes sparkling with admiration and respect. "S-Rank Valkyries are something else after all."

"Oh," Kiana, caught off guard from this sudden compliment, scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. However, she didn't let go of Sal for once. "You think so."

"Yes," Sussanah replied earnestly. "You are an inspiration."

"I-" Kiana, filled with adoration for her junior, had comical tears in her eyes. "How long has it been since someone complimented me."

"Don't let it get to your head, dumbo," Sal smirked; this was his payback for the waiter incident.

"Hey!"

"Well, technically," Bronya chimed in. "Kiana is still not an S-Rank. We have yet to host the rank-up ceremony."

"Don't focus on the small stuff," Kiana reasoned. "Everyone still thinks of me as an S-Rank, right?"

"Jury is still out on that." Fu Hua grinned evilly.

"Right?" She said pleadingly, as her puppy dog eyes were directed towards Sal. He grinned triumphantly.

"I second that." He replied, earning a sharp squeeze in his hand.

"Well," Wraith, still smiling calmly, gazed at Kiana. "I don't know about others, but legally, you can't be an S-Rank until after the ceremony. So that makes you an A-Rank."

"Critical hit," Bronya laughed.

"Don't bully Miss Kiana," Sussanah tried to defend her senior. "Miss Kiana, you might be an A-Rank on paper, but you are an S-Rank for me."

"You are so precious, Sussanah," Kiana replied in tears. "You are better than these bullies; never change."

Sal only laughed harder.

"What is the plan for tomorrow then?" Kiana asked. An hour had passed. Everyone had had their fill and was ready to conclude this impromptu quick meeting with the lawyer. As for Sussanah, she had to report to Iustisia Palace in thirty minutes, but she still decided to stay as she wanted to see this through.

"Not get Sal killed," Wraith replied nonchalantly. "And while we are at it, also prove the jury and the judge wrong for convicting him."

"That is not really a plan..." Kiana grimaced.

"See, girl," Wraith sighed as he arranged all her documents in order. "I know my job, and yes, I have a plan, but you don't need to know that right now. All you need to know is that Sal has to say the truth with utter confidence. If he stutters even for a second, they will think he is being dishonest. "-She then placed all the documents in order inside her briefcase before passing the copy of the binder to Fu Hua.-"Honestly, in most cases, I would train the defendant how to act in front of the court but thanks to Schicksal's ultra short notice we don't have that luxury. So all I can do is put faith in him."

With everything packed, Wraith picked up her blazer and the black suitcase. As she was about to leave, she gave Sal one last glance. "I don't know how long you have been part of a Schicksal Valkyrie Knight squad," She said, her blue eyes plastered on Sal. "But from my time as an ex-Valkyrie, I can guarantee you this, you don't carry the weight of your past alone."

Sal averted his gaze and remained silent. Wraith sighed as she glanced at Kiana. No words were exchanged between the two women, but Kiana got the message. As Wraith walked out of the restaurant, the only thing that went through Kiana's head was that she had fallen for a troublesome man.

A/N All righty last chapter for the day, well night for me. And no, I did not pull an all-nighter today (Takes a breath of relief). In this chapter, I wanted to play around with Kiana, knowing how to speak Deutsch. As we all know, she knew the meaning behind Iche Lieb Dich, so I assumed she might know Deutsch after all. Also, I wasn't sure if I should add the translation of each dialogue written in Deutsch, but I decided to add them just for the sake of the reader's ease. Though honestly, I feel the brackets might break the immersion, I wanted to add footnotes for each dialogue in Deutsch. That would have allowed the readers to read the dialogues in Deutsch first and then read the translation in the footnotes below. But alas, I wasn't sure if that was the right move. But if you feel I should have gone with footnoting instead, then do let me know in the comments. I will edit this chapter and also ensure that I always add footnotes when using a different language in the future.

Also, if any native Deutsch speaker is reading this, I apologize if the dialogues are inaccurate. I tried my best to avoid using Google translate, thus went through many videos on YouTube to understand specific phrases and read many blogs with the commonly used Deutsch phrases. Once again, I apologize in advance for any mess up above. Anyway, this is it for tonight; I hope you all have a great time reading this chapter.

Happy Reading!