143 Go to the Ancient Temples

The next day, on the spacious runway, Kouro and the others were seen wearing their Schicksal uniforms.

Ana and Lin wore tight black T-shirts with dark blue blazers with the Schicksal emblem on the back and short black hotpants.

Ragna wore her own clothes that were slightly customized.

Kouro changed his Battlesuit into a plain black shirt with a black striped white coat, and long black pants, he was also wearing a black fedora hat and sunglasses.

Honestly, his outfit looked more like he was going on a business trip than a mission, but since Ragna and the others didn't mind, he wore it anyway.

They were seen getting into one of the helios-like aircraft, Ana and Lin then sat in the back seat while Ragna sat in the driver's seat with Kouro beside her.

Kouro saw Ragna power up the plane and do some configurations before taking off slowly.

Once the airship was in the air and flying steadily over the Schicksal base, she then looked back and said, "Okay, we'll be there in an hour. "

Hearing that, Lin and Ana were then seen chatting with each other, leaving Kouro alone beside Ragna.

Kouro was looking out the window just to see the blue sky and white clouds.

Before leaving he had done a little research on the country of Indonesia which was the destination of their mission.

This country was still the same as in his previous life, an archipelago, and was surrounded by two continents and two oceans, but there was a slight historical difference compared to the Indonesia he knew.

This country was originally a neutral country just like Singapore, but then around 2000 A.D, due to the Second Eruption, Indonesia suffered so much damage that 40% of the population died due to Honkai corruption.

The country then asked Anti-Entropy and Schicksal for help, but due to the severe losses caused by the Second Eruption, those organizations could only provide minimal help.

Although it was only minimal assistance because there were two organizations that provided assistance, it was enough to overcome the losses caused by the Second Eruption.

And finally, this country became the first country to join the two organizations, so if you see Anti-Entropy and Valkyrie mechas roaming the country you shouldn't be surprised.

Kouro was then seen taking off his glasses and taking an eye patch with HOMU's eyes from his shirt pocket before putting it on and going to sleep.

Seeing him fall asleep quickly, Ana and Lin looked at each other before putting their index fingers in front of their respective lips and smiling slightly.

It didn't seem like they hated Kouro, instead, it seemed like they respected him somewhat.

"Hmm... He has a high adaptation." Ragna murmured with a small smile.

...

And just like that without realizing it, an hour had passed.

Their plane was seen landing on the runway of one of Schicksal's branches in Indonesia.

Schicksal branches themselves in this country existed in several provinces considering Indonesia was an archipelago, if Kouro didn't miscalculate there were around 20 Schicksal branches in all Indonesian provinces.

And this time they landed at the Schicksal branch in Bali.

After landing their plane, Ragna looked at Kouro who was still fast asleep before looking back at the two of them.

As if knowing what Ragna was about to say, Lin immediately pointed at Ana beside her.

"Let Ana-chan wake up the captain."

"Eh?! Me!?" Ana wore a surprised expression and stood still in place.

"Let's hurry up." Lin pushed Ana forward with a smug smile.

Ana who was pushed then walked slowly towards Kouro's chair. She stood next to Kouro who was fast asleep with an embarrassed expression.

She took a deep breath before bringing her head close to Kouro's ear and whispering, "...Kouro-kun... Wake up..."

"..." Kouro didn't seem to respond.

Ragna raised her eyebrows at this before smiling herself, she seemed to realize something.

Ana breathed in Kouro's ear for a moment before raising her voice slightly, "Kouro-kun. Wake up."

"..." Kouro did not respond, his body rigid like a dead man.

Seeing this, Ana then wore a worried expression, she was worried that Kouro might have a certain chronic illness, so she then quickly lifted Kouro's eye patch up.

"...."

Kouro's eyes were wide open looking at Ana's face, he seemed to be awake from the start.

"... "

"... "

Ana and Kouro stared at each other very closely before Ana's hand lowered his eye patch back to its original state, she then straightened her body and turned around stiffly before her face turned red and even released steam before running out with all her might.

"KYAA!"

"Ana-chan!" Lin tried to chase after Ana who was running very fast.

Ragna who saw that then turned to Kouro who still looked 'fast asleep', she looked at him with a smile.

"Kouro-kun, I know you're awake, hurry up and apologize to her, if... You don't apologize to Ana immediately, I will..."

Kouro suddenly felt the aura of death from Ragna and like a disciplined soldier, he quickly stood upright before chasing after Ana with his eye patch still on.

Seeing him chasing after Ana, Ragna sighed and muttered, "Youth..."

And just like that a rumor of a strange man wearing a HOMU eye patch chasing after a girl spread in that place.

...

A few minutes later.

"I'm sorry, Ana-san." Kouro apologized to her while scratching his hair.

"Uhm... It's okay, captain..." Ana said while avoiding his gaze. It seemed like she was still embarrassed by the previous incident.

"You two, let's go quickly, our guide is waiting." Ragna said from afar with Lin.

"Ah? Yes! Let's go." Kouro quickly ran and followed them, followed by Ana who smiled a little.

They entered the Schicksal branch office to report and collect their identity papers before meeting their guide.

Their guides turned out to be 3 local B-Rank Valkyries who were the same age as Ana and they also turned out to be triplets.

The three Valkyries introduced themselves to each other starting from the far left, Maya, Nana, and Nina.

They had black eyes, and fair skin with straight black hair, and each of them had a different colored hair band, Maya had purple, Nana had red, and Nina had green.

Maya then came forward to Kouro and the others, she stared at Kouro for a long time before being nudged by Nana, she quickly regained consciousness and cleared her throat, "Hello everyone, first of all, I would like to welcome you to Bali, we are your guides on this mission, please cooperate."

Maya seemed to be the leader of their team, considering she looked confident.

Nana looked calm and graceful, it seemed she was the one who often advised Maya kinda like Mei, and Nina looked shy and aloof.

"Hello, nice to meet you guys." Kouro greeted politely.

"Then let's go, I will also explain in detail the mission you will carry out."

On their way, Kouro didn't forget to buy some snacks with sparkling eyes, honestly, it was the first time in this world that he could eat these snacks that contained memories.

"Woah! Isn't this 'Papeda'? Woah! What is this? 'Jaje Regina'? Buy it! Isn't this 'gorengan'? Buy! Buy! Buy!" Kouro looked like an excited child, he bought whatever snacks were in front of him.

"Is he always like that?" Maya asked, seeing Kouro buying all the snacks he saw.

Seeing Kouro's happy, childlike expression, Ana and Lin remembered his cold expression when they sparred in the past.

'Totally different!' they both thought simultaneously.

"...Well. Maybe because he's a foodie?" said Ragna uncertainly.

Kouro was then seen walking back towards them with a lot of snacks.

"Ana-san take this 'Papeda' as my apology." Kouro gave it to her before Ana could say anything.

He then distributed some snacks to all of them.

After that, he then stuffed the remaining snacks into his shirt pocket inconspicuously, no one noticed it, except Ana, Nina, and Ragna.

"By the way, Maya-san, do you know what ruins we're going to investigate?" Lin asked.

"An ancient temple, or rather a basement that was discovered just a few days ago, we didn't enter it right away because our detectors detected a very high concentration of Honkai energy inside."

"The archaeologists who examined the temple are of the opinion that it is over two thousand years old. This made the higher-ups think that there was treasure so they made this investigation mission."

"Is the temple far away?" Ana asked.

"It's not too far, it only takes four hours by car." Maya replied.

'4 hours you say is not far?' Kouro thought looking at Maya with a dumb folded expression.

They then walked past the vendors before finally reaching the parking lot.

Nina walked towards a large black car that could fit eight people.

The car drove slowly towards them, Ragna and the others quickly got in and sat in their seats, Kouro was still outside with a thoughtful expression before looking at Nina from the car window.

"Nina-san, can I drive?"

"Do you have a driver's license?"

"...No... But please... Can I drive?" Kouro looked at Nina with puppy eyes.

Nina seemed to think with a serious expression before finally letting Kouro drive.

After all, the road they were traveling on wasn't steep and congested anyway, so there was no problem letting him drive, right?

Too bad some wise man said 'Regret always comes at the end.'

...

Two hours later.

Kouro got out of the car with a relaxed expression as if he was in a good mood, unfortunately, the situation of the others said otherwise.

They were seen getting out of the car with trembling bodies and pale skin, and Lin was even seen vomiting right after getting out of the car.

Nina regretted letting Kouro drive.

"Kouro... Next time don't drive the car the same way you drive the mecha..." Ragna said with a pale face.

Previously Kouro drove at such a high speed, he even did a 'Kansei Dorifto' on a sharp corner without slowing down, let alone when he did a zigzag drift through a 'shortcut' made by himself.

"...I swear to not let the captain drive the car even at the cost of my life..." Lin said in a tone like a dying woman.

Ana and the others looked at each other and nodded seriously, "... Agreed."

Seeing them like that, Kouro just sighed and said while turning his back on them, "Huh?... You guys don't understand male romance..."

*BAM!*

It was as if the world went, "Logic go brrr!". 6 women were seen beating up a single man.

...

After a few minutes of rest, they finally got a little better and left Kouro holding his swollen head.

"Ouch, ouch... That hurts, eh? You guys wait for me!"

Seeing them leave, Kouro quickly caught up with them.

The streets around them had been cordoned off, and there were even some Valkyries patrolling seriously.

After a while, they finally reached the ancient temple.

"Okay, I can only guide you up till here. " Maya said before turning to face them.

"Aren't you coming in with us?" asked Kouro.

Maya shook her head, "Our Honkai's resistance is not very high. Going in there would be suicide for us."

"I see... Then we'll leave first."

"Good luck!" said Maya and Nina.

The shy Nana hesitated before biting her lip and approaching Kouro.

She handed him a small charm before quickly turning around and hiding behind Maya.

"Sorry, Nana's a bit shy, but she's a nice person." Nina explained.

"Yes. I know. "

Kouro stared at the amulet for a moment before smiling gently at Nana and putting it away.

"Thank you, Nana-san."

Hearing his thanks, Nana blushed and hid deeper behind Maya.

Kouro didn't know that when a girl gave an amulet to a boy, it meant that the girl was confessing to the boy.

Maya and Nina just smiled helplessly at this, they knew that Nana was in love at first sight with Kouro, it was just...

They both looked at Ana and Lin whose beauty was not inferior to Nana's and maybe even higher, moreover they both seemed to be close to Kouro.

Nana might not have a chance...

Ragna looked at the talisman in Kouro's hand before smiling mysteriously, she seemed to know the meaning of the talisman.

"Prepare your belongings and weapons, remember! Since we're investigating, we have to watch out for traps." Ragna said.

"Ready! Leader!"

"Good! Then let's go in."

The three of them then entered the ancient temple.

(E/D: I am editing this while listening to "Give me some Sunshine." and somehow, the song lined up prefectly when Nana gave Kouro the amulet.)