"Li Xuan-kun, are you alright?!" Raiden Mei burst through Li Xuan's door, asking anxiously.
"Ah… I'm fine." Li Xuan, who had been about to turn his hand over to look at his Stigmata, was interrupted by Raiden Mei's sudden appearance. He quickly stood up and answered.
"I see, as long as you're okay… Bronya hasn't been eating or drinking at all. If something happened to you too, Li Xuan-kun… sob~" Raiden Mei seemed particularly fragile today, crying softly. Ever since they had all woken up, Bronya Zaychik had shut herself in her room, refusing to eat, drink, or come out, while Li Xuan had been unconscious. All of this had her extremely worried.
"I'm sorry, Li Xuan-kun, that was very rude of me…" Raiden Mei gently wiped away her tears, becoming strong once more.
"It's okay, Mei…" Li Xuan waved his hand to show he didn't mind. Raiden Mei had been under a lot of stress lately, having to take care of Kiana and try to coax Bronya Zaychik, and he had unfortunately been unconscious because of that strange dream…
"What's wrong with Bronya?…" Li Xuan looked up and asked.
"…Sigh~ It seems the incident with Seele hit her really hard," Raiden Mei said, biting her lip, unable to bear the thought. After all, to be reunited with her sister, someone she considered family, after so many years, only for her to try and kill her—it was simply too cruel for a child to endure.
'Li Xuan-kun, you have to protect Onee-sama Bronya for me~' 'I hope you can use this Seed of Hope to protect everyone…'
Li Xuan stared blankly at the floor. Everything from the dream—Seele's memories and their conversation, the seed she had given him, and her faint parting words—began to surface from the depths of his mind, becoming clearer and clearer.
"Mei, I want to try talking to Bronya. Is that okay?" Li Xuan came back to his senses and stood up.
"Mm… You can, but… Bronya might not see you," Raiden Mei said after some thought. Bronya Zaychik had her door locked, and even she couldn't get in.
"Mm, it's fine." Li Xuan smiled warmly. He was confident he could get Bronya Zaychik to open the door.
Li Xuan straightened his clothes. His Divine Garb, the 'Xuanyuan Festive Garb', was still spotless, just a little wrinkled.
He walked towards the door, pausing as he passed Raiden Mei.
"Thank you, Mei. I'm sorry for worrying you… I'll talk to Bronya." Li Xuan smiled and held out his hand to Raiden Mei. "Here." Raiden Mei felt him place two small, round objects in her palm.
Li Xuan let go, gave a wave, and walked towards Bronya Zaychik's room.
Raiden Mei opened her hand. In it were two milk candies, a rare treat in Nagazora City now.
She gently unwrapped one and popped the white candy into her mouth. An explosion of sweet, milky flavor made her instinctively close her eyes.
"
Sugoku amai (So sweet)," she couldn't help but say in her native language.
"Mei-senpai! You're snacking without me!" Kiana Kaslana appeared out of nowhere behind Raiden Mei, snatched the remaining candy from her hand with lightning speed, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into her own mouth.
"Don't mind if I do~~"
"Mmph!~"
And so began another round of chaotic antics…
...............
Knock, knock!~ Li Xuan knocked on Bronya Zaychik's door, but the room remained silent, as if no one was inside.
"Bronya… I have something to tell you," Li Xuan said to the door, confident that she could hear him.
"..." Still silence from within.
"I saw Seele," Li Xuan said bluntly.
"..." The room remained quiet.
"Sigh~" Li Xuan ruffled his hair and continued, "Seele told me that she became like that because of an experiment called X-10. Right, Bronya?"
Click!~ The door, which had been shut for two days, was opened by the slender girl.
"Is that true?!" Bronya Zaychik asked, lifting her haggard face, her eyes red and swollen.
"Mm. Are you sad because of what Seele did?" Although Li Xuan didn't specify what 'did' meant, Bronya Zaychik understood he was referring to the fact that Seele had tried to kill her.
"…No… It's what Bronya owes Seele…" Bronya Zaychik lowered her head again, her voice still emotionless but laced with despair.
"Seele never wanted to kill you, Bronya," Li Xuan's words were like a ray of sunlight piercing through the thick, dark clouds that shrouded Bronya Zaychik's heart.
Bronya Zaychik's head snapped up, her glass-like eyes shining with a light—a light called 'hope'.
"You're amazing, Li Xuan-kun," Raiden Mei said admiringly during their break after dinner. She and Li Xuan were in the kitchen washing the dishes.
"You actually managed to talk Bronya around. Sigh~ I really had no idea what to do with her," Raiden Mei lamented as she put the dishes away in the cabinet.
"I just got lucky…" Li Xuan said with a smile. It was true. If he hadn't had that strange but seemingly real dream, he would have been just as helpless.
All it really took was telling Bronya Zaychik that Seele never wanted to kill her, and that Seele was waiting for her big sister to save her and didn't want her to give up hope… That was enough. He believed that Bronya Zaychik, who was already strong and resilient, would regain her confidence.
After all, as long as humans have even a sliver of hope, they won't give up…
'My world…' Li Xuan paused his work and gazed at the brilliant, star-filled night sky.
'Among all these stars, where is my home…'
"Li Xuan-kun, what are your plans for the next few days?" Raiden Mei, standing beside him, interrupted his melancholy thoughts. She wiped her hands on her apron and asked.
"Me?… Of course, I'll keep fighting Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies," Li Xuan said with a slight smile, handing her the bowl he was holding.
Defeat Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies, collect Honkai energy crystals, and make a wish.
Only by getting stronger can I find a way back home, right?! Li Xuan walked towards the door, the small pouch at his waist jingling like the wind chimes that used to hang from the eaves of his childhood home.
Meanwhile, aboard the battleship Hyperion…
"Principal, here are the recent bills for the schools run by the various organizations~" Battleship Captain Murata Himeko, sprawled out on a soft, comfortable sofa like a lazy potato, tossed a thick file towards the small figure sitting at the main desk.
"Eh?! More bills… The battleship's expenses have been huge lately…" Principal Theresa said, her face a mask of agony.
"Don't tell me, it's not my problem…" Himeko immediately distanced herself from the matter.
"Sigh~" The adorable loli principal picked up the thick file with a frown on her delicate features and began to look through it.
"The expenses for St. Freya High School are still normal…" Theresa scribbled on the pages with a pen held in her slender hand.
"Oh~" Himeko responded lethargically from the sofa. She was exhausted from her recent participation in the 'Nexus Project'…
Smack! The principal suddenly slammed her pen on the table in anger. "Damn it! I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking, spending so much money to build some school called… Babylon School!?"
"And…"
"Why does the Hyperion have to foot the bill!!" The white-haired nun's wretched cry echoed through the battleship.
(End of Chapter)