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Chapter 30 - Chapter 28: I Think Someone’s Gossiping About Me Again. (Rewrite Version)

"Hello Asterisk!! It's Minamin time again!!!" A burst of upbeat music and a flashy chime played as Akatsuki Minami's livestream went live. Within seconds, the view count shot up into the thousands, the chat instantly flooding with waves of greetings and emoji explosions.

[Minamin's back!! LET'S GOOO!!!]

[We missed you Minami-chan!!]

[OMG it's really live! Is this the reunion episode?]

[Waiting to see Noah-senpai break physics again.]

[Someone prep the fire extinguisher in case the system melts again lol]

[WHERE'S MAHIRU ONEE-SAMA?!]

[Touya supremacy squad assembled!!]

[Manifesting Noah's return]

[Minamin energy level: OVER 9000!!!]

[LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]

[Did they fix the system?? Or are we gonna watch another explosion in 4K?]

"Whoa, whoa! Everyone calm down a little, we just started!" Minami laughed brightly as her eyes darted across the barrage of comments. "Jeez, you guys are faster than light today!"

"Well then! Picking up where we left off last time—y'know, the legendary broadcast meltdown where my dear friend, from billions of lightyears away, managed to nuke our simulation system trying to go supernova~" Minami gave the camera an exaggerated sigh, shaking her head as if still recovering from the chaos. The chat lit up in agreement:

[Literal sun guy fried your system]

[I still have burn marks on my screen from that episode]

[We love you Noah-senpai but maybe chill next time]

"Seriously, who does that during a reunion?" she huffed, half-laughing. "Talk about dramatic entrances."

She turned the camera and began walking, giving viewers a look at her surroundings. The familiar simulation room where the chaos happened had been mostly restored, humming with new machinery and reinforced hardware.

"So! It's been ten days since that incident," Minami continued, voice brightening, "and thanks to the amazing efforts of Clan-chan, Ruth-chan, Yuuya-kun, Touya-kun, and of course our favorite Kou-kun, they've been working like spark-blessed maniacs to bring this place back online!"

As the camera panned across the simulation room, it caught Satomi Koutari standing beside Touya Alden, Ruth, and Clan, their hands dancing across multiple consoles with impressive speed. Lines of glowing code streamed across several holographic screens, rapidly flickering in and out of existence. Behind them, Theia, Sanae Higashihongan, and Nijino Yurika watched with fascination, occasionally murmuring comments like "Their hands are a blur..." and "I think I saw that line twice—it looped back."

On the other side, Tenjou Yuuya was inspecting hardware alongside Ayasaki Hayate, Athena Tennousu and several of Touya and Mahiru's friends. Each of them worked meticulously, scanning the circuits and joints, occasionally pointing and nodding in silent coordination.

"Double-check the heat sinks," Yuuya reminded. "We're not letting another meltdown happen on our watch."

The door hissed open with a soft chime. In stepped Mahiru Alden, Maria (Masha) Kujou, Alya Kujou, Houjou Kaori, Sakuraba Harumi, Kurano Kiriha, Kasagi Shizuka, and Aika Maki, carrying trays of snacks and drinks.

Just behind them was an additional girl. She wore a soft pink, long-sleeved blouse tucked into slim black jeans, topped off with a matching pink beret adorned with a small decorative button. Her steps were graceful yet hesitant, but she clearly shared a close bond with both Masha and Mahiru. The moment her eyes landed on the console, she smiled wistfully, as though bracing for something long-awaited.

"Everyone please take a break and have some snacks and refreshments," Masha said warmly, setting the tray down with a graceful smile.

"Okay!!" the room responded in near unison, energy instantly lifting.

"Let's take a break, Touya, Clan, Ruth-san," Koutaro called, waving at them.

"Haa... but we're so close to finishing," Clan muttered, reluctant to peel her eyes away from the screen.

Touya stood immediately. "Better now than when it's too late. You wouldn't want to upset Masha-nee."

Clan blinked at him, confused. Ruth tilted her head as well, clearly not getting the implication. Both turned to Koutaro for clarification.

Theia blinked, then asked innocently, "...Isn't Kujou Maria really kind?"

Sanae nodded in agreement. "Right? She has that healing aura. Just standing near her made me feel better."

"Exactly! When I accidentally broke that interface panel, she didn't even scold me. Just asked if I was hurt," Yurika added, looking genuinely admiring.

Koutaro exhaled deeply and stood. "Okay, let me make this clear… There are very few things Noah is genuinely afraid of. And Maria(Masha) Kujou—when actually upset—is one of them."

The effect was immediate: Clan, Ruth, Theia, Sanae, and Yurika stood up at once and followed Koutaro without another word. After all, if even the terrifyingly powerful Noah Alden respected Masha enough to tread carefully, who were they to argue?

"Hmm?" Masha blinked, tilting her head in confusion as the five girls glanced her way with silent reverence.

"Masha, is something wrong?" asked the girl in the pink beret, her voice soft with curiosity.

"Ah, no, it's nothing, Sylvie," Masha smiled gently. "Just… felt like someone sent me a very cautious compliment."

Clan whispered behind her hand to Ruth, "She doesn't even know her aura just made us surrender."

Ruth nodded, whispering back, "Truly terrifying."

Nearby, Mahiru had taken a seat on the floor beside Amane, placing two cups of tea and a plate of egg sandwiches between them. She passed one over with a small smile.

"How's it looking, Touya?" she asked, glancing at her twin as she took a sip. "Will the system hold this time?"

Minami, mid-way through chatting with her viewers, suddenly perked up and leaned toward the group. "Ah! That's right—Kou-kun, Touya-kun, is the system finally okay now? Will it work? Will we really be able to see Noah-kun again?!"

Kaori handed her a glass of juice with a small smile. "Easy, Minami. Deep breaths. You're gonna hyperventilate again."

Touya, still seated between Mahiru and Alya, munched on his sandwich before responding. "As far as we can tell, yeah. We fixed everything that burned out... Actually, scratch that... we ended up replacing and overhauling the entire system. Nothing survived from last time's meltdown."

"Yikes..." Minami muttered under her breath, sipping her juice. "Noah-kun really does things with flair."

Koutaro sighs. "Thankful—or maybe just lucky— whoever that Zelretch guy is, he has taken an interest in Noah. Kaleido Systems personally sent the replacement hardware we needed. So all we had to do was swap out every single fried circuit and add in the updated core program."

"We also added some tech from Forthorthe to reinforce the system," Clan said between bites of her sandwich. "At the very least, this version won't toast itself again."

"And we've implemented multiple hardware failsafes," Ruth chimed in. "There's no way we're letting a repeat of last time happen. If something starts to overheat, it'll cut power automatically."

Sylvie leaned forward, her fingers nervously interlocked. "So… does that mean we're good to go? The simulation system—will it actually connect to wherever Noah-kun is now?"

Mahiru and Touya exchanged a glance before smiling gently. Masha reached over and gently took Sylvie's hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"It'll be okay, Sylvie-nee," Touya said, his tone calm but full of certainty. "Even I don't fully understand why Mr. Zelretch is so invested in Nii-chan, but… he's making sure we can see and speak with him again. If he's behind this, then the chance of failure is pretty much zero."

"Besides," Mahiru added with a soft chuckle, "I think that old man wants to see us cry again. He looks like a fun loving person after all."

"Uhm!" Sylvie nodded quickly, holding Masha's hand a little tighter. "Then… we can really meet him again."

"After the break, we'll start the simulation again and try connecting to wherever Noah is," Koutaro announced.

"OHH!!!" a chorus erupted.

———

Hours later, all preparations were complete. Clan typed the final command into the system, then leaned back slightly, glancing at Koutaro.

"...With this, we're done," she said.

Koutaro looked around the room, taking in the faces of everyone gathered. The mix of excitement, nervous energy, and hope was practically humming in the air. Everyone who had participated in the mock battle was present—Touya, Mahiru, Masha, Sylvie, Alya—and their friends: Fujimiya Amane, Shirakawa Chitose, Akazawa Itsuki, Julis Riessfeld, Amagiri Ayato, Sasamiya Saya, Yabuki Eishirou, Claudia Enfield, and Toudou Kirin. Even the girls who'd hovered around Koutaro along with the rest of his and Noah's friends, forming a semi-circle around the grounds

He exhaled slowly, then announced, "Alright. We're about to start the program… Everyone ready?"

"YES!!!" came the unanimous cheer.

"C'mon, hit it, Kou!!"

"Do it, Kou! Let's finish what we started!"

"Atan, please calm down! We just got the system working again—we're not trying to toast it a second time!" 

Fuu... alright, Kou! Start it up already!"

"Let's meet our friend again! It's time!"

"You ready, Amane? You're about to see the guy who punched through your shields like they were paper."

"Do it, Senpai! Ahahaha! Amane's excited!! Ahaha—oww!! G-Gahh! Sorry, Mahiru-san!!"

"Hmph… fool,"

Koutaro stepped forward, resting his hand on the console. "This is it, everyone. The moment of truth. We're activating the system—wish us luck."

He took a deep breath and pressed the activation key. A low hum sounded through the room as the simulation program brought to life once more. Holographic screens danced across the panels. Everyone instinctively held their breath, silently begging the universe to let it work.

And then—it did. The same familiar screens came to life, blinking into view exactly as they had the last time Noah had appeared.

"Ah...!" Sylvie clutched her chest, trying to calm her racing heartbeat.

Masha stood beside her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She knew that feeling all too well—the feeling of waiting, the sting of a missed chance, the ache of unresolved emotions.

Mahiru and Touya wore composed expressions, but inside, their hearts were beating fast. Alya naturally slipped her hand into Touya's. He looked down at the gesture, smiled faintly, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Alya's cheeks colored softly, but she kept her eyes ahead on the very spot where Noah once appeared.

A few tense minutes passed. The soft whir of the simulation core filled the air. Then—

"Ah...!!!" Ruth's eyes widened as lines of code raced across her screen. "T-there's a connection request incoming! The address matches the one from when Noah-sama first appeared!"

Gasps rippled across the room. Everyone leaned forward.

"Accept it, Ruth-san! Now!" Koutaro barked.

Without hesitation, Ruth slammed the confirmation button. A pale green light pulsed across the monitors.

"C'mon… work," Koutaro whispered.

"Please... let us see him again," Sylvie murmured, voice barely audible over the buzzing hum of energy.

Everyone held their breath. The moment had returned.

Then, within seconds, streams of green pixels materialize into being at the center of the simulation chamber, slowly forming into a humanoid form. All eyes were locked on the emerging figure. Anticipation filled the room—but then came the collective blink of confusion.

It wasn't Noah.

Standing before them was a teenage Nahida, her soft silver-green hair swaying slightly as she blinked in surprise. She looked around the room—and beamed. 

"Ahh!! Everyone! It's so good to see you again!!" she said cheerfully, waving both hands as if they were long-lost friends.

Silence.

Koutaro's fists tightened at his sides. His jaw clenched. "...Damn. Did they really take this long just to fix our system... for this?"

Theia's expression fell. "This is normal... For us, it's been only ten days… but for them… it may have been tens of years."

Clan adjusted her glasses, her voice quieter. "We're separated by billions of lightyears… The delay is inevitable."

"No... way..." Sylvie whispered, voice shaking. Masha pulled her into a tight hug without hesitation, resting her chin on Sylvie's shoulder.

Mahiru wordlessly clung to Amane, while Alya leaned into Touya, tears building in her eyes.

Nahida blinked, visibly confused by the heavy air in the room.

"Hello, Nahida-chan... though I suppose I shouldn't call you that anymore," Masha said gently, a nostalgic smile playing on her lips. "You've grown so much."

"Eh??" Nahida squeaked, caught off guard. She scratched her head awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden tension.

She looked around hesitantly, biting her lip. "A-Ano... I think everyone might be having a... um, very big misunderstanding."

Everyone stared at her, collectively holding their breath.

She laughed nervously and held her hands up. "Okay, okay, this might sound weird, but—yes, I'm technically Nahida. Or rather... Nahida is me. Sort of. It's complicated. Let's just skip the technical lore dump for now, alright?"

Taking a calming breath, she straightened up slightly and smiled. "My name is Buer. I'm the former Dendro Archon. The past self of Nahida. I became the consciousness of Irminsul, administrator of the Inteyvat network... and, um... Captain—Noah-san—is our Sage. Mine and hers."

There was a long pause.

"...Eh?!"

------

"Apologies, Miss Buer, for the terrible misunderstanding!!" With Koutaro at the lead, everyone bowed and apologized earnestly.

"N-no! It's really okay! I completely understand how it must've looked. Time flows differently across worlds, after all!" Buer flusteredly waved her hands, cheeks puffed slightly with nervous laughter.

"Thank you, Miss Buer," Masha said with a warm smile.

Buer simply nodded in return, her gentle smile returning.

Sylvie took a step closer, her voice trembling just slightly. "Miss Buer... is Noah-kun there? Is it possible to see him?"

There was no hiding the hopeful lilt in her tone.

The smile on Buer's face faltered just a bit, her gaze lowering.

"I'm sorry... but at the moment, Captain—Noah-san—is not in Sumeru," she said softly.

"Waa..." Sylvie exhaled, disappointment heavy in her voice.

Masha gently rubbed her back, her gaze went to Buer. "Would it be possible to tell us where he is now? And when he might return?"

"Well… you see… after the last battle was disrupted, Noah-san was quite upset," Buer said with a sheepish smile, scratching her cheek. "He actually sulked for hours. It was… surreal. I never thought I'd see him like that."

Koutaro blinked. "Wait, are we talking about our Noah? That idiot who caused the melt down in our simulation system??"

Masha covered her mouth, giggling. "I… I can picture it. Barely."

Athena let out a full laugh. "Pouting Noah. That image alone is going to live rent-free in my mind."

"And then," Buer continued, straightening up dramatically, "'What am I supposed to do with these… inexplicable feelings?! That's it! I'll go hunt the Abyss then~!!'" she added, imitating Noah's tone with comical flair.

The entire room burst into laughter. Even Masha and Sylvie couldn't help themselves, chuckling along with the rest.

"So right now, Noah-san is in Natlan—one of the seven nations in our world," Buer explained, a conflicted expression crossing her features. "He joined the war against the Abyss... and from the reports we've been receiving… it sounds like he traumatized the poor creatures of entropy into an existential crisis."

She hesitated, biting her lip. "I honestly don't know whether to pity them or respect their effort. They came bringing destruction… and ended up shattered by meeting Noah-san."

Those who had fought Noah before visibly flinched.

"Just remembering how he dismantled us… with a smile no less," Yabuki Eishiro muttered, eyes twitching.

"Yeah," Saya added with a dry laugh. "And that was before he even pulled out that sword....."

"…How should I say this… yeah, that's very much like Noah," Koutaro sighed, rubbing his temples with an exhausted smile.

He turned toward Buer. "So… any idea when he's expected to return to your side?"

"Hmm…" Buer placed a finger to her chin. "If their schedule's on track, they should be raiding the Night Kingdom today. They're aiming to sever all Abyss influence from Natlan's Leylines… so if all goes well, Noah-san and the others should be returning in four days."

"Four days, huh..." Koutaro murmured thoughtfully, arms crossed as his gaze drifted toward the ceiling.

Sylvie let out a sigh, soft but laced with disappointment. "...Looks like I'll miss him again."

"Sylvie..." Masha's voice was tender, full of sympathy.

"Can't you stay a little longer, or maybe come back again later, Sylvie-nee?" Mahiru asked, her tone hopeful.

Sylvie looked at her with a gentle smile, tinged with regret. "Today's my only day off... I need to leave for the world tour in two days. There's no getting around it."

"Then—then how about this, Sylvie-nee?" Touya said quickly, a spark of urgency in his voice. "Once Nii-chan comes back and the connection stabilizes again, I'll teleport to bring you over, no matter where you are. We'll make it happen."

Sylvie chuckled, touched. "Aha... Thank you, Touya-kun. But teleporting halfway across the world is no small task. Don't push yourself too hard for me."

The exchange left Mahiru, Masha, Alya, and Touya sighing softly, especially Touya—his frustration visible in the way he clenched his fists.

Seeing his expression, Sylvie's smile softened. "Hey, don't look like that. I may have missed this chance, but I know—when the time comes, when Noah-kun and I meet again... it'll be dramatic enough to make headlines."

She turned to Masha with a teasing glint in her eye. "You might even get jealous, Masha-chan. Maybe Noah-kun will personally sweep me away."

"Oh?" Masha raised an eyebrow, lips curving into a playful smile. "Is that a challenge, Sylvie? Because I don't plan on losing."

The two women laughed, their shoulders brushing as the atmosphere lightened for a moment.

-----

Back in Teyvat, deep within the blazing heart of Natlan's Night Kingdom—

"Achoo!" Noah sneezed, rubbing his nose. "Huh? Is someone gossiping about me again?"

"Focus, you doofus! That Abyss monster's charging right at you!" shouted a girl with long lavender-pink hair, her voice sharp as she hurled a flurry of Cryo shards. She leapt in, twirling mid-air and smacking the Riftwolf with her oversized blue plushie like it owed her money.

Without even glancing, Noah stepped sideways, the Mitachurl's ax barely grazing his cloak. His Lightsaber Lux lit up in a clean arc, cutting down the beast like it was paper.

"Thanks for the warning, Itztli," he said with a calm smile, strolling toward her side and gently patting her head.

The girl flushed pink and swatted his hand. "D-Don't call me that!! It's Citlali! CIT-LA-LI! How many times do I need to drill that into your thick skull?!"

"Okay, Itztli. Got it, Itztli," Noah said without missing a beat, patting her head again as if confirming it.

"Y-You menace!!" Citlali stomped her foot, clearly forgetting they were still in the middle of a battlefield.

From nearby, Lumine dropped a meteor that flattened a small horde of Abyss creatures. "You should really learn when to give up, Citlali."

Elysia loosed a shining arrow that burst into a rain of crystal shards mid-air. "Noah only teases like that when he enjoys someone's reactions. Be proud."

"I'M NOT JEALOUS! I'M NOT JEALOUS AT ALL! IT'S ALL AN ILLUSION MADE BY A-CHAN!!" Kiana screamed as she whacked a Geo Lawachurl with her baseball bat.

"???" Miss A gave her a blank stare. "Why am I being blamed for your emotional chaos again, Kii-chan?!"

A cluster of Dodobombs exploded overhead, sending Abyss monsters tumbling.

"Still... this trip's turned out way more fun than a Spiral Abyss run," Miss A added with a hum.

Meanwhile, Mavuika—the current Pyro Archon—and the six heroes of Natlan stared from the distance, watching the five strange visitors and their antics, joined by their own high priestess Citlali.

"...They know we're at war, right?"

"Kuh, I'm actually jealous. How's he managing to flirt in the middle of this chaos?!"

"Haa… they're so lively, it's exhausting just watching."

"Ahahaha! Isn't it great? They're bonding."

"Ughh, when will this madness end?!" Citlali growled, glaring daggers at Noah, who simply responded with a smug little smirk.

Then, a low growl echoed across the field. On the ridgeline, more Abyssal creatures appeared—hundreds, maybe even thousands. But they kept their distance, hesitant, watching the battlefield where their allies had fallen.

Noah chuckled and gave Citlali's cheek a pinch, then walked forward to stand beside Mavuika. Before them stretched an army.

And yet, not one of them faltered.

"Guess it's time to finish what we started," Noah muttered, activating his blade again.

"Well, on that, I wholeheartedly agree," Mavuika said with a playful grin, stepping up beside him. Her long hair flared with crimson fire dancing around her . "Let's make it a finale they'll never forget."

Behind them, the rest followed without hesitation. Whatever waited at the core of this kingdom, they would face it together.

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