The youth, having already contacted Schicksal's Far East Branch to pick up K423 and Anti-Entropy's North American headquarters to retrieve Raiden Ryoma, sat in the restaurant. He had casually ordered a set meal and was waiting, bored out of his mind.
Currently, neither Tesla, Einstein, nor Theresa had arrived. Thus, any plans to contact Welt and subsequently dig out Jizo Mitama would naturally have to be postponed.
Without Jizo Mitama, attempting to contact Otto would be an exceedingly dangerous affair, and the plan to reach Kevin through the "X-10" experiment would also become exceptionally arduous.
For the time being, he could only wait here.
After all, most of his experimental supplies had been left behind in Spirit Tomb Albion, a place where nine and a half out of ten people who entered would die. He couldn't pass the time by conducting research experiments.
So, what could he do to kill time?
Raiden Mei was definitely not an option.
That girl had long since been dragged away by Raiden Ryoma to be questioned about her relationship status.
Li Zihan looked across the table at a Sanwu girl clutching a Houmu doll—Anti-Entropy's biggest cash cow besides ME Corp.
"Boss, is there something on my face?"
The girl, who had come to seek refuge with Li Zihan because her own mother was unreliable, noticed his gaze and looked over with her rather beautiful, pale grey eyes.
"Just thinking you look quite cute, Banya."
The youth, an out-and-out face-con, said with considerable seriousness.
"Boss, your compliment, Bronya accepts it."
The Sanwu girl corrected his pronunciation error.
"Please do not casually alter Bronya's name, Boss."
"It's all pretty much the same, right?"
The youth said, accepting the set meal delivered by the waiter.
"Bronya - Bronya - Bonya - Banya."
Bronya, who clearly disliked the nickname "Banya," frowned slightly.
"It seems you don't like that nickname very much. Then I'll call you Little Rabbit instead."
Li Zihan, noticing this, thought for a moment and said.
To this, Bronya did not show the same resistance she had to the name "Banya."
After all, her name, Bunny, indeed meant little rabbit.
"If possible, Bronya still hopes Boss can call me Bronya."
"After all, this name is the only memento my parents left me."
The girl, who had lost her father in the Second Honkai Eruption before she was even born, and then her mother before she was old enough to understand, spoke.
Her tone was as flat as ever, merely tinged with an indescribable, elusive quality.
Miss Banya's childhood was the most miserable among all the Honkai Impact characters, bar none.
"If your father, Colonel Alexei, hadn't died so early in Siberia, your childhood probably would have been quite good."
The youth, who had noticed Bronya's parents while reading the manga, remarked.
"Boss, you know about my father?"
The girl, who herself wasn't clear on what kind of person her father was, seemed a little stunned.
"Colonel Alexei Zaychik of the Russian military, your adoptive mother Cocolia's superior when she was in the army."
"In that era of currency devaluation, your father, in order to support his wife and daughter, colluded with Major General Ivan to sell military supplies on the black market. And then, he was caught by Cocolia."
"Your father held an absolute advantage in terms of power and influence, and in turn, sent Cocolia to prison. However, he couldn't bear to see Cocolia face a military tribunal, so he went to persuade her to drop the investigation just before the Second Honkai Eruption broke out, and was then killed by a suddenly manifested Honkai Beast."
"Is that so?"
Bronya murmured softly.
She now had a vague impression of her father.
"Is that your only reaction?"
The youth asked, feeling that Miss Banya's reaction was a bit too placid.
"Perhaps it's because I have no memories of my parents, so it doesn't feel very real to me."
The girl, whose memories before the age of twelve consisted only of cold military barracks, felt a slight unrest in her heart but still spoke in a steady tone.
Her brain had been injured during the "X-10" experiment, turning her into a perpetually expressionless girl who wouldn't physically age. Trying to put on a look of deep-seated bitterness and resentment would be quite difficult for her.
"Well, that can't be helped then."
Li Zihan waved to the waitress, asking her to bring Bronya a slice of fruitcake.
"Boss, what are you—"
Miss Banya, having inexplicably received a slice of fruitcake, looked somewhat hesitant.
She had just come to collect her salary and, incidentally, hear a bit about her father. What was her boss doing, giving her a cake in return?
Honestly, Bronya was a little bewildered.
"If your childhood was too bitter, eating more sweets is better. It helps you taste some sweetness."
The youth, feeling that Miss Banya's childhood was indeed quite bitter, casually ordered himself a black coffee as well.
"Boss, happiness is not linked to the sweetness of food."
The girl said, though she quite liked sweets, she couldn't comprehend his statement.
"Don't worry about such things."
Li Zihan, who had just spoken casually, shrugged.
"I just suddenly felt like treating a girl to cake and randomly spouted something that sounded a bit interesting."
"Boss, has anyone ever told you that your actions lack any logic whatsoever?"
"Life isn't like writing a novel, why bother looking for logic?"
Li Zihan casually picked up a fork, cut a piece from Bronya's cake, and put it into his own mouth.
The sweet cream mixed with the fresh fragrance of fruit in his mouth, causing Li Zihan to squint his eyes in contentment.
Indeed, cakes from the Asian region are normal. Those overly sweet,腻 (nì - cloying/greasy) concoctions from Europe and America that are impossible to eat without coffee are simply heretical.
Looking at the cake, which was now missing a quarter, Bronya hesitated.
She felt that the mental leaps of the fellow before her were like those of a frog having an epileptic fit, jumping erratically on lotus leaves.
She had come to him because she believed Li Zihan's abilities surpassed Cocolia's.
However, judging from his current reactions, this guy seemed to be hardly more reliable than Cocolia, yazi.
Can this guy really save Seele?
Miss Banya, who could basically be described as "clutching at straws in a desperate situation," felt a wave of uncertainty.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's discuss that little girl who fell into a quantum state and ended up at the bottom of the sea."
As if sensing Miss Banya's mood, the youth, who had a penchant for sweets from outside the Euro-American sphere, mentioned a name that instantly uplifted Bronya's spirits.
That was the name of the most important person in her life.
To save her, she was willing to give everything.
"Making a person break free from a quantum state is a very simple matter."
Thus spoke the youth, who was next planning to find a way to obtain Jizo Mitama and the Gem of Serenity, and then enter the Sea of Quanta.