"Tsk tsk tsk, I really want to clear out all of Herta's collections. Hmm? This thing is actually here? That shouldn't be..."
After browsing through most of the curios collected by Herta, Yun Fan stopped in front of a weapon fragment, slightly furrowing his brows as he began pondering.
"Fragments of the Divine Key [Star of Eden]... Could it be that the Yin Spirit failed to save Murata Himeko? That shouldn't be... Or perhaps altering the causality of that world doesn't affect the Star Rail universe? Then how do we explain Welt..."
Finding no answers, Yun Fan shook his head. Forget it, no point overthinking—it'll just make his brain hurt. At worst, he'd just make a trip to the Honkai Impact 3rd world himself later.
With that thought, he turned his attention back to the fragments of [Star of Eden]. Since he'd come across this thing, it now belonged to him, Yun Fan—no objections accepted!
A faint smirk curled on his lips as his hand moved to take it. However, just as he was about to touch the fragments, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Touching other people's belongings without permission—isn't that a bit rude, mysterious Emanator?"
Hearing this, Yun Fan turned around to see a petite girl wearing a black beret and a black-and-white frilly dress standing before him. She was delicate and cute, her every movement capable of stirring a certain kind of 'protective instinct' in some people.
'Joints have imperfections... So this is one of Herta's puppets.' Yun Fan glanced at Herta's knees and muttered under his breath.
"Ah, you're right. Touching things without permission is indeed impolite," Yun Fan nodded at Herta, acknowledging his mistake.
"Since you understand, then— Hey! What are you doing?!" Herta's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Yun Fan—or more accurately, at his hands.
From her perspective, after speaking to her, Yun Fan had turned back around and casually pocketed one of her prized curios.
"Hmm?" Yun Fan feigned confusion. "I'm not doing anything. I just saw some scrap here and thought I'd clean it up. Look, it's broken into pieces—clearly junk, right?"
"Tch! What a shameless guy." Seeing Yun Fan play dumb, Herta snorted coldly, her eyes faintly revealing disdain.
Thump— At that moment, Yun Fan felt as if his heart skipped half a beat, an indescribable sensation surging within him... Could it be that he had awakened some strange new fetish?
"Fine. Since you took my thing, as compensation, you'll answer three questions for me." Seeing that Yun Fan was determined to take the curio, Herta didn't stop him. After all, her real body was still on Planet Blue, and with just a puppet, there was no way she could stop another Emanator. Besides, the Path of Erudition wasn't exactly combat-oriented.
"Oh? Let's hear them." Yun Fan was intrigued. He wanted to see what kind of questions this so-called genius, ranked 83rd in the Genius Society, could come up with.
"First, who are you?"
"I am Yun Fan, just a passing Kamen—er, a passing Emanator of Causality."
"Emanator of Causality?" Herta paused. Though she had sensed that this person possessed Emanator-level power, she hadn't expected him to be an Emanator of Causality. And the name Yun Fan...
"Correct. What's your second question?" Since Dan Heng had earlier detected traces of his aura, Yun Fan had concealed the imaginary energy of the Path of Causality. It was no surprise Herta hadn't noticed.
"Second, what's your purpose here?"
"Just passing by. I sensed something interesting happening here and came to have some fun."
"Is that so... Third, rumor has it that the Aeon of Causality is kind-hearted and fond of beautiful girls. Is that true?" Herta stared intently at Yun Fan, eager to hear his answer.
Yun Fan: ???
Seeing Herta's dead-serious expression, Yun Fan silently conjured three question marks in his mind. At this moment, it felt like ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart.
Had this rumor already spread to Herta Space Station? Truly, lies spread like wildfire while the truth lags behind.
"Well, actually..." Yun Fan was about to dismiss it as a baseless rumor, but then it occurred to him—this rumor wasn't so bad, was it?
————————
"Little March, what's wrong?" The crimson-haired navigator of the Express, Himeko, asked March 7th with concern. She could tell that something heavy weighed on the girl's mind.
After overcoming numerous obstacles, Stelle, Dan Heng, and the others finally broke through the Voidrangers' blockade and returned to the Master Control Zone of the command center.
"Himeko, I..." March 7th opened her mouth but didn't know where to begin.
"Let me explain." Dan Heng shook his head slightly and stepped forward, recounting everything that had happened during their journey without omitting a single detail.
After listening, Himeko fell silent for a moment before patting March 7th's shoulder. "Don't be sad, March. I'm sure that young man Yun Fan will be fine. After all, he's a Pathstrider too—one who walks the most mysterious Path of Causality, no less."
"R-Really?" March 7th still couldn't quite believe it. After all, she had watched him get kicked off by a Doomsday Beast right in front of her.
"Really. Trust me." Himeko gently stroked March's pink hair, her demeanor so tender it could move one to tears.
However, right at that moment—
Clang!
A metallic crash shattered the warm atmosphere between them. Startled, March 7th took a step back and awkwardly laughed.
The two then turned their attention to the source of the noise.
There, a gray-haired girl was rummaging through a pile of garbage, having just knocked over a trash can.
Stunned by the sight, Himeko's lips twitched as she forced a smile. "And this is...?"