Author Notes:
Aiya, didn't think I would be able to push this GSS chapter out tonight... Or is it today as it's 12:00 AM over here lol
A bit tire from all the visualization-to-text writing marathon I've just pulled, so I won't be holding you dear readers and supporters for long. Just keep in mind to take a look at the picture below and the fact that the Monthly Recruitment Drive is definitely still up!
And shoutout to Corporal Notaspy12! You're the man, you know that!
As always, peace and proseperity to you all, and many, many thanks for your support!
https://www.patr-eon.com/Heartbreak117
https://ko-fi.com/heartbreak117/goal?g=0
Actual Monthly Income Goal 719/880 USD (UmU)
Income Counting Yearly Supporters 790 USD (UmU)
Hua: https://postimg.cc/NLMpZ7sM
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"Sensei." I smile at the girl in front of me. Her misty lavender hair cascades over her shoulders as she chuckles. "The flowers you gave me are beautiful."
"But..." The girl, with a hazy figure as if basking in a film of mosaic, raises a hand, reaching over the table to gently lift my chin. "I think the prettiest blossom is right in front of me."
At that moment, her smile is imprinted on my memory, even though I have long forgotten what she looks like.
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"What a paradox..." I comment softly, opening my eyes from my early morning meditative state.
Having remembered something that shouldn't be there—a memory of someone I have never met in my current or previous lives—I find myself pondering the matter with mixed emotions. Emotions that, for the most part, aren't technically 'mine'. They belong to the Sensei from who knows how many lifetimes ago.
"Is this the consequence of using the Jatismar Ticket? A memory contamination?" I sigh, rubbing that spot on my chin where the girl in my memory placed her fingers. "Is it finally rearing its head?"
While I am sure that Debuff Immunity would prevent any negative fallout, anything that is not negative is still fair game. The details about the consequences still elude me, but knowing that memory contamination is a possible thing, I will have to be mighty careful lest I find me merging with 'me', thus resulting in some Emperor forsaken abomination like what all of those novels in my previous life love to do. Granted, I may be thinking too much into the matter, and the memory being shown may as well be a very realistic cinema experience, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.
A healthy mind is a suspicious mind, after all.
Shaking my head to clear my idle thoughts, the chanting of Blade Mantra in my head grows clearer as I stand up from the meditative mat beneath me. With a bit of a stretch, I move to open the window of my room, revealing to me the pristine skybox decorated by a waning moon.
"It's still a bit early, indeed..." I comment before stepping away from the window and getting into the bathroom to refresh myself.
While I am not at all sleepy, I still have to take care of my hygiene, mostly out of an ingrained orderly habit. Mama instilled in me a lot of good routines when she raised me back in the Order. I still uphold them even now, when I am taken under the wing of Hua and all of the practices that come with it. Old habits die hard, I guess. Once I am done making myself prim and proper, I vacate my room, which is right next to Hua's and Xuanyuan's rooms, and make my way to the kitchen. There, I start working on breakfast for the whole family.
Breakfast is a relatively simple affair: a pair of fluffy, white buns sandwiching a meat patty and some leafy vegetables, served with homemade sauce for dipping. In other words, it's a Shenzhou-styled hamburger, a recipe born out of the readily available ingredients and the need for a swift and filling breakfast. Because this is the first meal of the day, however, I make it so that the meat patties are drained of excess oil by cooking them on a slow, shimmering flame. The added benefits of doing this are that the patties are very tender and moist. To save time and to train myself, I use my Stigmata to aid in the food preparation and cooking process. Instead of using a traditional stove, the food is cooked over a floating fireball I conjured, with the pan being held aloft by a precise manipulation of telekinesis. Telekinesis is a trick I learn from Hua when she taught me the finer aspects of Honkai energy manipulation. The same trick is used by me now to hold up some cabbages so my wind blades can neatly slice them into easily chewable pieces. Coincidentally, the Shenzhou legends about an Immortal Jingwei with a flying sword come about because Nuwa sees Hua levitating some blades in her training.
Once the meat patties and vegetables are done, I bring out the steamed white buns we have and start plating them. The plating process is nothing serious, with each plate sporting a healthy amount of Shenzhou burger with the appropriate amount of green. To top it all off, my telekinesis brought me a saucepan that is filled with a shimmering light sauce. Without my fingers even touching anything, I slowly, and carefully, pour the sauce in the saucepan into the small bowls next to the breakfast plates. Confirming that I haven't spilled a single drop, I smile, nodding to myself as I send the saucepan into the cleaning station for it to cool down before washing. As the saucepan is lazily floating over, fair fingers intercept it by the handle. Feeling my telekinesis being interrupted, I turn around, only to see Hua standing by near the cleaning station with a curious look.
"Although I am grateful that you've made breakfast, Ein," Hua says gently as she puts the saucepan where it needs to be. "A floating, and still hot, saucepan is a surprising hazard, is it not?"
I let out two coughs before I, very gingerly, release my telekinesis on the objects I have been levitating after I place them where they belong. With a comedic poofing sound, the fireball that I used to cook also disappeared. "Sorry, sister Hua, I will be more careful in the future."
Hua shakes her head, smiling wryly as she steps closer to the prepared dining table.
"I know you want to train your newfound ability, but something isn't supposed to be bundled together. Breakfast and meal times should be something that are cooked and enjoyed with relaxation in mind, not as an opportunity to further your training when there's already so much time spent on it." Hua looks at me with a kind gaze. "A hardworking spirit is good, but only in moderation."
I nod, accepting her advice before pulling out the chair for Hua. "I understand, Hua. Please, have a seat while I go get us some tea."
"My thanks, Ein."
Although Hua can do it herself and tries to stop me at first, she's slowly getting used to me voluntarily taking care of small matters like cooking, serving tea, and whatnot around the house. Such gestures are what I use to repay everyone's kindness, and because I feel strangely happy in doing these workaday things. Training, mixed with daily interactions with everyone, and sometimes exploring the lands around Mount Taixuan,... Such proasicalness holds an undeniable allure to me after all the time spent in the 40K whirlpool.
[Emperor of Man: Mundane? Really? A girl of your talents?]
Near immediately, I deadpan while bringing out the hot tea set.
[Ein: It's a peaceful life, and you did not quote Star Wars to me.]
[Emperor of Man: What, someone gonna sue me? I don't think I even correctly quoted what's called again, the meme, yeah.]
The vision of the Emperor of Man, somehow scrolling through an ocean of memes and shitposts on the Golden Throne, is so contaminating that I don't even know how to react. And here I thought the text-to-speech device was the worst of a prospect.
[Emperor of Man: By the way, may I interest you in your Lord and Savior, the God Emperor of Mankind? A God that asserts faith alone cannot save, but resistance can. A God that teaches your hands shall not pray, but rather grip weapons. A God that never asked you to kneel, only wants your actions, your beliefs. Faith in the God Emperor is not blind prayer, but the pursuit of truth! The God Emperor never died; She has always guided you, not through vague Miracles, but through firearms, warships, and science in your hands. To believe in Her is not to bow before Her statues, but to practice Her Imperial Truth! The God Emperor does not need prayers; She needs unity, reason, and courage! You will use the reason and strength She has bestowed upon you to personally defend the future of mankind!]
I nearly fumble when I come to pour Hua her cup of tea. Hua raises an eyebrow at my distraction; however, her minor bout of confusion at my strange state is made clear when she checks the new messages in the Belkan Imperialis Chatroom.
[Jingwei: This is a bit... Sudden.]
As I lay the liquid refreshment on the table in front of her, I see the sheer befuddlement twinkle in her ruby red eyes. Her eyes convey to me this:
Were you dealing with this all this time?
I smile wryly as I sit down on the chair next to her, mouthing:
Not always.
[Ein: Are you drunk, Emperor?]
[Emperor of Man: For the record, I only took one drink after a recent workout, albeit it's a strong one.]
[Jingwei: So, is that another way of saying that you're drunk?]
I nearly sputter out laughing at the way Hua just deadpanned it with a cute tilt of her head, with a teacup in hand. Even the Emperor seemingly finds Herself at a sudden loss for words at the twist.
[Emperor of Man: ... I was only discussing a possible revamp of the religion centered around me. I reckoned some bit of joviality would elevate an otherwise disdainful aspect of my regime.]
[Jingwei: Admittedly, it was... Interesting. I can't say that I truly understand your circumstances, Emperor, but I think it's good that you seek to abolish the blind faith that is in circulation across your Imperium. What Ein showed me before... It wasn't pretty.]
[Emperor of Man: Thank you, it's heartening to see another soul that can understand what needs to be done.]
I think I will go on to say this a lot in the future, but seeing both the Emperor and Hua finding common ground is a weirdly wonderful feeling indeed. I wonder why that is the case, though?
[Ein: Anyway, if you don't admit that you're drunk, Emperor, then what prompted you to suddenly give me a rundown of Imperial Truth 2.0?]
[Emperor of Man: That's because, just before your arrival in Hua's world, I managed to pinpoint a possible new and progressive leader for the Adeptus Ministorum. She's young, but of sound mind and stalwart in belief. Quite charming too, so she has managed to build quite a progressive faction in an otherwise bloated and decadent Imperial Cult. Most important of all, she preaches not the blind doctrine of the Cult, but the more pragmatic, adapted version of it. Her teaching aligned more heavily with the Imperial Truth, a fact that, more often than not, made her butted heads with the Cult's dogma. Yet, she will fit perfectly in the reborn Imperium, and perhaps, her own brand of faith will make her a true Saint.]
[Ein: ... Wow, that's high praise coming from you. May I know the name of this illustrious figure?]
Hua, as well, pays attention to the coming words.
[Emperor of Man: Mayhaps you will find the name familiar, but I assure you, it's all a coincidence. The name of the up-and-coming Popepess is Joan of Arconia, although she is best known by the people as...]
Jeanne d'Arc.