Kiana's words left Shu stunned for a second, after which he just gave them a helpless smile.
"Me? Burn out?" Shu let out a quick breath. "I feel just fine."
With that, he smiled and stretched languidly in front of them, moving his body around. "See? Anything wrong with me?"
The girls exchanged glances but said nothing, their silent communication speaking volumes.
The next moment, Bronya's expression contorted in pain. She clutched her chest and suddenly dropped under the table.
A gale instantly whipped through the room and vanished just as quickly.
When the others came to their senses, Shu had already zipped from his side of the table to Bronya's. He was crouched down, staring face-to-face with an expressionless Bronya, who was lying on the floor.
I've been had.
Shu looked up at the three of them and saw identical "I knew it" expressions on their faces.
The corner of his eye twitched. As he looked at them, a spark of anger suddenly ignited within him.
"Do you think this is funny?" Shu frowned, his voice heavy. "Have you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf? If something really happens to you later, do you want me to think it's just another joke? If my delayed reaction causes something to happen to you..."
"That's the problem right now, Shu," Mei interrupted his outburst, her gaze fixed on his eyes. "Shu, you're too tense, all the time... I know you're doing it for our safety, to look out for us, but what about yourself?"
"What could possibly happen to me?" Shu's chest began to heave with greater intensity. He hadn't been angry when they tricked him, but now, he was genuinely furious. "I'm perfectly fine! I've made it through all those Herrschers, haven't I? Am I going to worry myself to death? Besides, when has a Herrscher ever given us a warning? If even I'm not on high alert, who's going to stop their first attack?!"
"Mmph-mmph-mmph!!"
Shu: "?"
Shu turned towards the source of the strange muffled noises and saw Kiana, her cheeks stuffed to bursting, frantically trying to say something to him.
His anger was suddenly choked off. An unnatural tremor ran through him. He quickly grabbed a glass of water for Kiana so she could wash down whatever was in her mouth.
At the same time, Shu glanced to the side. Sure enough, the two eggs on the plate were gone. Even the horribly peeled one he'd been working on had ended up in Kiana's stomach.
Kiana thumped her chest a few times before finally swallowing the eggs. She took a deep breath and shouted at Shu, "See! You didn't even react when I stole your breakfast!!"
Shu: "?"
Isn't this just your daily routine?
The meaning in Shu's eyes was so obvious that even Kiana could tell what he was thinking. Before he could say a word, she shook her head stubbornly. "I don't care! You don't get any breakfast today!"
"Idiot Kiana..." Bronya climbed up from the floor and sat back down. "What Kiana means is that you completely disregard your own safety and well-being for our sake."
Shu found this even more absurd.
"You want me to be more selfish?" The expression on his face was a sight to behold. But when the three of them exchanged a look and nodded at him, a sudden sense of unease washed over him.
It was different from before. This time, looking at them, Shu was struck by a profound sense of loneliness.
A ringing started in his ears, and his head began to feel light. He staggered, even while standing still.
"Shu!" The girls immediately noticed something was wrong and moved to steady him, their faces etched with concern.
But just as they were about to step forward, Shu raised a hand, his voice tinged with melancholy. "Fine... but I need to rest for a bit first."
With that, he sank back into a chair, tilting his head back to stare silently at the white ceiling.
The three of them looked at each other. Kiana started to say something, but Mei caught her hand.
"Shu, you should go see Overseer Otto," Mei said to him. "I'm sorry about what happened today, but you really need to rest..."
After leaving him with those words, the three of them quietly left his room.
As she walked out, Kiana looked back, her eyes filled with worry for the dejected figure of Shu. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she bit her lip and left.
Once again, he was alone in the room. It felt as empty as some unknown part of his heart, a void that could never be filled. The feeling was not a pleasant one.
Shu sat there in the room, motionless, for a very long time. It wasn't until evening was approaching that he finally left.
He decided that doing something was better than just sitting there. If he truly let his tightly wound nerves relax, he didn't think he could guarantee everyone's safety in the face of a sudden attack.
He decided to go find Otto first, to report on everything he had seen and heard on his trip and to get a physical check-up.
After these last two cycles, his physical condition had deteriorated more than he had anticipated.
At the very least, he hadn't expected such a significant decline from the proportionally weakening effects of nearly thirty chances.
For now, only Otto knows about this...
Shu's steps faltered.
He thought he finally understood Kiana's expression earlier... Did she know that his body would weaken with each cycle?
But from Mei and Bronya's reactions, they seemed completely unaware.
They just genuinely wanted him to rest... This was probably Kiana's idea.
When did Kiana find out? He hadn't even told them about the time loops, precisely because he didn't want them to worry about his condition and waste precious energy on him...
...
Shu's thoughts turned somber.
Worrying about me... is it a waste? Logically, Shu thought so. They could be doing something far more useful with that time and energy.
But when their concern was actually directed at him, Shu felt a pang of regret.
That regret, however, quickly morphed into self-reproach for his own weakness.
Was he really that fragile? Needing others' concern for something he could clearly handle on his own? He was facing Herrschers, the Honkai itself, yet he was getting caught up in this gentle, domestic comfort...
He sighed inwardly and resumed his pace.
Compared to the ninth underground level, which had almost completely become a residential zone, the tenth level was still deserted.
After all, only a handful of people lived here so far. Even Natasha had set up her Nest on the ninth level.
Otto's current plan was to develop the ninth level into a commercial and living area, while moving the primary residential zones to the tenth level and the two dormitory floors.
Fire Moth's currency had only just been issued, and it even used a conceptual name like "Contribution Points." This fragile economic system was still incomplete, and with the vast majority of people in Fire Moth hoarding their savings, the economy was teetering on the brink of collapse.
Real estate could be a good outlet for spending, but its value was disproportionate to the average income. Releasing property for purchase now would just feel like building castles in the sky.
That was why Otto had been supporting various construction projects on the ninth level.
Besides superficial projects like the school, which was for public image, Otto had been consistently promoting things like commercial streets to stimulate economic flow.
---||---
"So, what's the point of showing me all this?" Shu put down the thick stack of documents and rubbed his throbbing temples, looking at Otto helplessly. "Did you think I'd suddenly understand all this after one trip outside?"
Otto, dressed in a white lab coat, chuckled and took the documents back, setting them aside neatly. "People always need to grow. Even regression is closer to the future we desire than stagnation."
The corner of Shu's mouth twitched. It had been nearly two months since he'd heard Otto's cryptic pronouncements. Hearing them again, they were just as annoying as ever.
"I don't get it... You can just handle this stuff. I'll support you," Shu said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Otto was still in the middle of his examination. "Even if I'm wrong?" he asked.
"Kallen will correct you," Shu replied. Otto's hand paused for a moment, then he gave a helpless smile.
"You're not as clueless as you seem."
I just understand you people, Shu grumbled to himself. He followed Otto's instructions and lay down on the operating table.
Watching Otto, aided by robotic arms, put on gloves and a mask and approach him with surgical instruments, Shu found that he felt surprisingly little fear.
He had been through far more painful things. A small physical exam seemed like no big deal.
But even though Shu didn't mind, Otto still prepared a local anesthetic for him.
As Shu watched Otto take samples and even slices from his body, a chill still ran down his spine.
Without needing any medicine, Shu used a bit of [Hope] to heal his wounds, then cooperated with Otto to begin the most basic physical tests.
"Weight..." Both Shu and Otto fell silent as he stepped onto the scale. Looking at the number—54.8 kg—Otto turned to Shu. "Do you think this is a coincidence?"
Shu nodded hesitantly. "I think it might be..."
"You've been this exact weight since the first time I met you. Three months have passed. You've suffered, you've eaten Mei's cooking, but your weight hasn't changed at all. Not even the number after the decimal point has budged."
"Maybe it's just my body type?" Shu scratched his head. "I've always had trouble gaining weight..."
"What kind of healthy lifestyle could you have possibly had back then?" Otto retorted, then led Shu to stand in front of an eye chart.
Shu took off his glasses. He glanced up for a second before silently putting them back on.
"I can't see anything clearly except the top one..." Shu's face darkened. He hadn't been nearsighted before, so he never really cared about wearing glasses.
Over the past three months, wearing them had been a bit awkward, but it was fine as long as he could see clearly.
Besides, he often temporarily enhanced his body with [Hope].
It was only now, standing in front of an actual eye chart, that Shu understood just how frustrating nearsightedness was.
The moment he took off his glasses, the world dissolved into a collection of blurry, indistinct blobs of color.
Otto nodded, jotted down a note, and pointed to the side. "Shoes off."
"Are you even going to measure my height?" Shu asked with a sigh, but he still took off his shoes and walked over to where Otto was pointing.
"If we're doing a physical, we should do a comprehensive one." Otto recorded Shu's height. "180.0. Still no change whatsoever..."
Otto's hand paused. He stepped forward, placed a hand on Shu's head, and pressed down firmly. Then he stepped back and looked at Shu's height with a hint of surprise.
"It really is exactly 180. Not a bit more, not a bit less," he said with a click of his tongue. "That's pretty rare. You didn't use some power to boost your height by a couple of centimeters, did you?"
"Get lost," Shu said, his face dark. What did Otto take him for? The kind of guy who'd stand on his tiptoes just to hit 180 cm?
He had never done such a thing in his life!
Otto chuckled and smoothly changed the subject. "We already measured your blood pressure and heart rate. Your vitals are all within my expectations."
"Really?" Shu was surprised. "But I feel like my body has weakened significantly..."
"Shu, you should know that the human body is an incredibly precise instrument. If only one or two parts are malfunctioning, it's not a major issue. But if every single component is worn down, it's a miracle the machine can even function at all."
"Do you remember the difference between when you were fifteen and when you were eighteen?" Otto suddenly asked a question that left Shu a bit bewildered.
Shu frowned, thinking back.
Eighteen... he had just graduated from high school. Fifteen was when he'd just started...
The difference between those two ages?
He couldn't feel it day-to-day, but he supposed there was one.
Ordinarily, Shu wouldn't notice a difference. His three years of high school were a blur of opening his eyes in the classroom and closing them for an exam. Whether he was tired or not didn't seem to matter.
Even the floor his classroom was on got lower as his grade level increased, making the walk to class shorter. He hadn't really felt much of a physical change over those three years.
But if they were talking about those wretched physical fitness tests in PE class, especially the long-distance runs, then Shu definitely had something to say.