Back in her own home in Sapphire City, Kiana found herself gradually slipping back into a lazy rhythm.
Well… maybe lazy wasn't quite the right word.
It was more like she had settled into a slow, relaxed pace, completely devoid of any sense of urgency. Bit by bit, she fell back into the routine of a retired veteran—unshakably waking up at 9:30 every morning.
Her first order of business? Asking her system, "Any new developments on the horizon?"
Then she'd brush her teeth, wash her face… and have breakfast.
By the time all that was done, it was almost ten o'clock.
After returning home, Kiana's mother was living with her again.
This time, though, it wasn't just Mobius who had moved in. Vill-V, the Sakura-Rin sisters, and Aponia had all claimed rooms of their own.
Seeing so many daughters-in-law suddenly appear under her roof, Kiana's mother—though she'd braced herself for it—couldn't help but feel a slight headache coming on.
A couple of the girls were quite capable in the kitchen and more than willing to help, but she never insisted they take over. She still preferred to handle most of the household chores herself.
At most, whether they were skilled or not, the girls would pitch in with cleaning or cooking whenever they had free time.
And honestly, it made her feel pretty good.
Kiana's mother could tell—even if none of them said it outright, and even if their actions weren't overly obvious—that these girls truly cared about her daughter. On the surface, their relationships might have seemed casual, without excessive intimacy or contact.
But!
They still held Kiana close to their hearts.
And that was what mattered.
Her daughter had always been clever in that way.
Better to choose someone who loves you, than someone you love but who doesn't love you back.
Besides, it was clear they all genuinely liked each other.
As an observer, she could see that plainly—and that was enough.
"Kiana~"
"Hm? What is it, Mom?"
"Since you just had breakfast, I'll make you some noodles a bit later for lunch, alright?"
"Sounds good."
"You can't keep skipping proper meals at noon and just snacking on fruit like you used to. It's not healthy."
"I know, Mom~"
Whether it was because Kiana was easygoing or just naturally obedient, she really didn't fuss over the small things. She tended to go with the flow—or perhaps, as long as it wasn't something critically important, she was happy to indulge you.
Seeing her daughter like this, Kiana's mother could only smile wryly.
It seemed that after awakening as the Herrscher of Finality, Kiana had matured quite a bit.
She still had her playful, adorable side, but some things had clearly changed.
Kiana wandered into the living room.
There she saw Miss Elysia, sitting on the wooden floor with her legs tucked under her, completely absorbed in what was playing on the large-screen TV.
The immersive experience was hard to miss.
Kiana didn't even need to look—just from the audio, she could tell it was a news broadcast. A quick glance confirmed it: a live report from New Zealand, it seemed.
Ah…
So it was a live field interview from there.
"Good morning, Kiana." Elysia looked up with a playful grin, her perspective from the floor making her appear especially cheeky.
"Good morning, Ellie." Kiana smiled warmly and sat down beside her.
Even with a perfectly good sofa nearby, they sometimes preferred sitting like this—it just felt cozier.
Miss Eden had plans to reserve a room here too, but she hadn't moved in just yet.
Unlike Aponia, Vill-V, or the Sakura-Rin sisters, who could pack up and settle in without a second thought, Eden still had loose ends to tie up. She was gradually shifting her business operations to Sapphire City, but it would take time.
Clearly, even though Eden knew the truth about the Honkai and had joined Fire Moth, she hadn't abandoned her passions the way she had in the original storyline.
Then again, that made sense.
In the game's story, she was directly affected by the Seventh Honkai Eruption—an experience that left deep psychological scars almost impossible to heal.
That version of her no longer had the heart to pursue her career, burdened by the guilt that her concert had indirectly aided the Honkai and cost more lives.
But the Eden of this world had never gone through that.
With Kiana and the others standing strong on the front lines, she regarded the Honkai with caution, but not overwhelming fear.
She had volunteered to continue her performances, acting as the group's "little wallet" and providing solid logistical support.
Sure, various nations and organizations were already falling over themselves to curry favor with them.
But having a private stash of funds never hurt, right?
Kiana fully supported her.
She had never wanted to restrict the girls she loved.
They weren't trophies to be put on display.
Having something they were passionate about was what truly mattered.
Kiana and Elysia chatted idly about Eden's recent activities, all while keeping an eye on the live broadcast.
The report was streamed from an official Shenzhou channel—an on-the-ground coverage team in a city in northern New Zealand, aiming to get a close look at the current situation there.
After all!
Just like during the Third Honkai Eruption, even though no large-scale mandatory evacuations or exhaustive resource-intensive measures were taken this time, the prior warning issued by Shenzhou had set things in motion.
Various countries and organizations had also circulated the alert.
New Zealand's government had already begun advising evacuations, and many citizens were voluntarily relocating to neighboring countries.
Under these circumstances, it was only natural the whole world would be watching.
In fact, nations and groups everywhere were sending personnel to gather firsthand information.
Similar live news streams and real-time coverage were popping up on every major network.
Still, the primary sources remained government-sanctioned broadcasts. Even independent organizations largely relied on official channels—at best, they had some autonomy and resources, but they couldn't compete with state-level coordination.
Having Shenzhou's own live feed was a good thing.
At the very least, Elysia thought it was great not to have to use a VPN anymore.
Heavens, she'd been downright shocked when she first arrived in Shenzhou and found out she needed to bypass restrictions to access overseas sites.
Back when she was abroad, things like that didn't exist.
It took some getting used to at first.
But now… it wasn't so bad.
On screen, the camera showed a dockside area.
It looked like a coastal city.
Given that New Zealand was an island nation surrounded by ocean, with no land borders to speak of, evacuation to other countries would require either air travel or passenger ships.
Most people were likely opting for ships.
Though slower, sea travel was far more economical. With time still on their side, and given the limited capacity of flights, passenger ships made more sense.
In terms of cost and practicality, the New Zealand authorities were indeed recommending travel by sea.
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