"Crackle, crackle!~" A string of red firecrackers was tied to the balcony of Murata Himeko's home in the St. Freya High School dormitory building. The firecrackers, hanging in mid-air, produced a deafening sound, then, amidst the smell of gunpowder, turned into a floor of festive red debris.
"Class Rep Fu Hua... the firecrackers you play with in your hometown for the Spring Festival are pretty fun..." Because it was cold now, Kiana, wearing thick fluffy clothes, had woolen gloves knitted by Mei on her small hands. In her hand, she held a lit incense stick. Kiana had just used the incense to light the fuse of the firecrackers...
"Mmm... Kiana, do you know why we set off firecrackers for the New Year?" Fu Hua said with a rare smile.
"Ah... that... ahem, I don't really know..." Kiana turned her head and stared at the red paper scraps on the ground, as if a flower had bloomed there...
"It's because of 'Nian', right?" Li Xuan said, stopping beside the two with Yae Sakura's hand in his, along with his maid Liv and his sister Yaoye-hime.
"Yo~ Li Xuan, Happy New Year..." Kiana gave him a respectful greeting. "You're also here for Auntie Himeko's reunion dinner, right?"
"That's right~" Li Xuan nodded and said gently.
"Hey, hey, Kiana, who are you calling auntie?!" Murata Himeko suddenly appeared from behind Kiana, her fists kneading the certain white-haired furball's temples.
"Aaaah... it hurts!..." Kiana struggled desperately in Himeko's 'bountiful' embrace.
"Class Rep Fu Hua... shouldn't you be back home with your parents for the New Year?" Li Xuan asked, looking a little surprised at Fu Hua, who looked rather striking in a qipao.
"No... my parents have things to do this year, so I didn't go back to disturb them. I can go back next year..." Fu Hua shook her head and said.
"Hey, hey... what 'Nian' is that?" Kiana, having been kneaded by Himeko, still stood up resiliently and asked.
"It's a legend from the Divine Land..." Fu Hua replied with some enthusiasm. "According to legend, in ancient times on the Divine Land, there was a Honkai Beast called 'Nian'. It had long tentacles on its head and was extremely ferocious. 'Nian' lived deep in the sea all year round and would only come ashore on New Year's Eve to devour livestock and harm people. Therefore, on every New Year's Eve, people from all the villages, young and old, would flee to the deep mountains to escape the harm of the 'Nian' beast."
"But later, people discovered that... the 'Nian' Honkai Beast was particularly afraid of loud noises, red things, and firelight... so people used firecrackers to scare away the 'Nian' that came ashore..."
"Huh?!" Kiana's eyes widened in shock. "How could a Honkai Beast be afraid of loud noises and the color red!"
"So it's just a legend~"
"Ahem... everyone, let's go back inside. Dinner is about to start, Mei has already finished cooking~" Murata Himeko stood by the door and said loudly.
"Eh? Where's my Great-Auntie... no, I mean, my Aunt Theresa?" Kiana asked, puzzled.
"Her? She's probably talking business with the Archbishop~" Himeko said nonchalantly.
.............
"Theresa... remember to give me last year's data, understand?" A handsome young man in magnificent robes said gently, his image displayed above the communicator in Theresa's hand.
"Yes, Grandpa..." Theresa nodded obediently.
"Alright... is there anything else you want to ask?" the young man said with interest, propping up his chin.
"Er..." Theresa paused and hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "Grandpa Otto... I'm a little curious, what Holy Relic was 'Judah's Oath' designed and created based on?...."
"Judah, huh... hmm, you'll find out in the future." The young man didn't finish, he said with a half-smile, "Alright, don't worry about it so much... According to the customs of the Divine Land, today is also the Spring Festival. Happy New Year, my Theresa... I still have experiments to attend to, so that's all for now..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the figure vanished...
"..." Theresa silently looked at the communicator in her hand, which had already ended the call, without saying a word... He seemed to be avoiding something...
(End of this chapter)