Even the straightforward Hua could sense something was off now. Why had Elysia been staring straight at Silas while talking about her wish? Could it be… she liked him?
Hua thought hard about it. From what she remembered of the previous life, Silas and Elysia barely had much interaction at all. And wasn't Silas supposed to be with Lilith?
Honestly, Hua felt even Eden was a likelier match for Elysia than Silas.
So… she must have been imagining things.
Breaking the silence, Hua finally spoke:
"My dream… I don't think I have one. I don't have any wishes either. All this time, I've only been doing what needed to be done."
She had once allowed herself to dream about a life after the end of the Honkai. But reality had crushed that hope again and again. She had watched her closest friends, her own squad leaders, fall one by one before her eyes—while she was powerless to stop it.
That was why she chose to numb her heart.
Maybe death isn't such a bad destination after all… Hua thought quietly.
"Everyone has their own dreams," Silas said. "It's not that you don't have one—it's just that you've forgotten it, standing in front of the monster called 'reality.' But it's still there, buried in your heart, waiting for the day you remember it again."
"…I hope that day really comes." Hua gave a helpless smile.
"There's still a long road ahead of us," Dystopia added. "I'm sure you'll remember—or maybe discover—a wish or an ideal that's truly yours."
A long road ahead…?
Everyone turned their eyes toward Dystopia.
"Eh? Why are you all looking at me? Oh—because it's my turn?" Dystopia thought for a moment, then spoke:
"My old dream was similar to Kosma's. I just wanted the children to live better lives, and for the world to have a little less evil. Ah, don't look at me like that, I know that's impossible… That's why my wish now is simply to do whatever I can to save as many people as possible."
Compared to hers, Silas thought, his own wish really seemed selfish. He had always been selfish. He could never be like Dystopia. He would never try to save everyone.
"Uh… why are you all staring at me again?" Dystopia grew a little embarrassed. "Didn't Kosma say something similar? Though I guess mine might sound even more idealistic now… Anyway—Dr. Mobius, what about you? What's your ideal?"
"My dream?" Mobius pulled her gaze back and replied coolly, "To exhaust infinity itself, and reach the end that is called 'truth.'"
Though honestly, she had already achieved that in the previous life. Her real wish in this one… was simply that Silas could live a good, long life.
But there was no way she'd say that out loud!
What, did they think everyone was like Elysia?
"Dr. Mobius is as consistent as ever," Elysia chuckled. "And Dystopia—your dream will definitely come true. I'm sure of it!"
"Then… Flavorful, what's your dream?" Silas turned his eyes to her.
Flavorful calmly cut herself a piece of steak, then looked up.
"Silas… are you sure you want me to say it?"
"…Go ahead. It's fine," Silas replied.
Though honestly, he wanted to add 'If it's too much, you don't have to.' But he was even more afraid that if he said that, Flavorful would once again retreat into herself—yet again, and again, and again.
Silas had long since witnessed just how little confidence Flavorful usually carried.
"I want to make a dish you truly love," Flavorful said seriously. "And maybe even take charge of your meals from now on." She paused, her tone steady. "As for what the other personalities think… that's none of my concern."
So what if it meant charging forward? Who's afraid of who?
Silas forced a smile. "That… that's honestly a little overwhelming. You really think too highly of me, Flavorful…" He immediately buried his head in his food after that, avoiding everyone's eyes.
Elysia narrowed her gaze at Flavorful. Who would've thought—the least confident of the Vill-Vs had the courage to just come out and attack head-on.
Flavorful, for her part, gave Elysia a rare, relaxed smile. If Elysia could openly declare her feelings for Silas, then why couldn't she?
Besides, the eight of them had nearly dragged Silas into bed together before, and he hadn't really made a fuss about it in the end. So what was there to be afraid of? What would it change?
And after all, she was just the cook. Unlike the other Vill-Vs, she didn't have a knack for stirring up chaos. If something went wrong, she could always dump the blame on them.
So Flavorful likes Silas… Hua gave Silas a thoughtful glance. But… there were eight Vill-Vs in total. Wouldn't that make things incredibly messy?
Meanwhile, Dystopia looked over at Pardofelis, starting an eye-to-eye conversation. "Maybe you should be brave too, Little Pardo?"
Pardofelis shot back a wide-eyed look: "Don't do this to me, Sister Dystopia! What Flavorful said wasn't that big of a deal anyway. If I jump in now, won't that just blow things up even more? She said she only wants to handle Silas's meals, right? Of course she means more than that—but if I join in right here and now, how chaotic do you think things will get?"
And more importantly—will I even be able to eat in peace if this keeps escalating?
Kosma, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention to any of that. His eyes were fixed on Dystopia, his expression serious.
Long road… ahead? Maybe that's true for you. But for me—the time I have left to be with you isn't long at all. The Eighth Herrscher Incident… with your personality, you'll definitely throw yourself into that mission without hesitation. I would do the same, in your place. But… how can I possibly be sure that this time… you'll survive?
The others, when they looked at Dystopia, often had similar thoughts lingering in the back of their minds. They couldn't help worrying about her, or about the stalemate between her and Kosma that never seemed to move forward.
—Elsewhere.
Kevin placed a bento box on Mei's lab bench. Mei frowned immediately.
"Kevin, that's a workbench. Don't just put things down there."
"It's only for a moment. It won't affect anything," Kevin replied with a smile. "Try it? I made it myself."
"I still have unfinished experiments. You—"
"I can help," Kevin shrugged. "I'm not totally useless, you know. And the bento box keeps the food warm, so it'll be fine if you eat it later."
Mei paused, then smiled softly. "Forget it. With how clumsy you are, if you help me, the experiment might end up taking even longer than I planned."
"Don't say that, Mei. I am your boyfriend, after all."
"Oh? Then, my dear boyfriend, do you remember how many test tubes you've broken already?"
"Uh… I swear, it won't happen again this time!"
Mei looked at him, laughing lightly. And deep down, she thought to herself: For someone like me to have met Kevin… I really am lucky.