"Lin... Lin... I'm so hungry..."
Early in the morning, a pink-haired "zombie" with disheveled hair stumbled out of her bedroom "coffin." She drifted slowly into the kitchen and let out a raspy groan at the man wearing an apron, who was quietly making breakfast.
A cool breeze blew in through the open window, swaying the man's unique silver hair. Light spilled onto his clean fingers. Hearing the movement behind him, he turned his head quietly.
Seeing Elysia state—looking like she had just been dug out of the dirt, with one hand unhesitatingly reaching under her thin pajamas to scratch her armpit—Lin sighed inwardly.
Whatever girls say about being polite is a lie. Two months ago, she was still putting on an act, getting up early every day to tidy herself. Now, she had completely turned into a person without a shred of shame.
Lin almost missed the Elysia of his world. At least there, Elysia would maintain her basic image in front of others.
Elysia sniffed her nose, and her blurry eyes instantly widened. "Smells so good! What's for breakfast today?"
"Mashed potato rice."
"...Mashed potato rice first thing in the morning?"
Expressionless, Lin picked up his phone and played a recording.
"Lin! I want to eat mashed potato rice tomorrow morning!"
"...Eating that in the morning is bad for your stomach."
"Please~ I really want to eat it~ Please~ My good Lin-Lin~"
"..."
After playing it, Lin stared with a face as calm as water at Elysia, who was pretending not to hear while whistling.
...
What is a leisurely life?
Every morning after breakfast, go out to buy groceries and snacks, as well as daily necessities. After haggling with a death-glare that was absolutely impossible to refuse, return home, rest for an hour, and start making lunch.
After lunch, search for information related to the Honkai, then spend the afternoon playing games with Elysia and crushing her utterly, before starting dinner.
After dinner, the schedule varied every day. Sometimes he would go out alone to look for clues about the Honkai; sometimes, if Elysia wasn't streaming, he'd continue playing games with her or watch a movie together; sometimes he would simply sit at the door and daze off.
Overall, it was very similar to his life between the Eighth and Ninth Honkai, yet different. No matter how leisurely Lin days were back then, the events of Svyatogorsk-51 and the lunar remains always weighed on his heart. Beneath the surface of a calm life were the undercurrents of the Fire Moth, like blunt steel needles piercing his throat bit by bit.
It wasn't fatal, but it made pain accompany suffocation, quietly occupying his entire heart.
But now... hmm... was he living a retired life?
Lin inadvertently increased his manual speed, and a ten-hit combo finished off Elysia, who had been at full health.
Elysia, who had just brought Lin down to low health and was about to win, turned her head and looked at Lin seriously.
"Don't you have anything to say?"
Lin thought for a moment, then nodded with a certain tone: "I'm too good."
"I wasn't asking you to praise yourself."
"But I feel I should praise myself. Although beating you isn't much to brag about—it's as simple and natural as flushing the toilet after using it."
Just like Lin, Elysia also felt this guy was completely different from when they first met. Once they had spent enough time together, his unconscious "belly-black" nature and venomous tongue began to show. Furthermore, his impeccably handsome face and innocent aura made these traits, which were opposite to his image, stand out even more.
Elysia puffed out her cheeks indignantly and waved the controller. "Again!"
"Aren't you streaming tonight?"
Lin question reminded Elysia. She realized with a start that it was already her daily streaming time, and she should turn on her camera to say good evening to her audience.
But seeing Lin calmly put away the controller and walk out, she didn't quite know what to say.
"How about... we stream together?"
"What are you saying?"
Lin quirked an eyebrow and recited without emotion: "Your persona is a 'youthful, beautiful gamer girl.' At least half of the people who watch your stream every day are there to see you, not to see you play games. Gaming is a bonus that makes your stream more attractive, but your main advantage is yourself."
"So, do you know what kind of reaction there would be if your audience discovered there's a male in your apartment playing games with you?"
Elysia tapped her lips, staring at Lin face. "But, that's the truth, isn't it?"
"The truth doesn't always have to be shown to peo—"
Lin froze.
Wasn't this approach just like the Fire Moth?
Letting others see only what he wanted them to see, using them in this way.
Even if this was just a stream—a job that relied on gimmicks, information gaps, and creating a good persona to survive.
"Lin?"
"...It's nothing. Go ahead and stream. I'm going out for a walk."
Lin pushed open the door and left.
...
Lin could see many things in Yama. He originally thought he and Yama were completely different people, but he was wrong.
Yama was someone with a strong sense of self-loathing and self-destructive tendencies. The things she had done and the wishes she subconsciously made were all true reflections of her inner self.
After knowing Yama past, Lin felt as though he were looking into a shattered mirror.
The tiny glass shards reflected distortion, yet when the pieces were put together, what he saw was himself.
Lin hated this process of self-recognition. He shouldn't have feelings of loathing toward anyone, but as said before, the one he would loathe was himself.
Rustle, rustle...
He walked along a path in the woods, his mind filled with boring thoughts.
If the Honkai in this world didn't break out before his life ended, would he spend the rest of his days here?
...However, whether he could leave or not seemingly had nothing to do with whether the Honkai broke out. Only Yama could send him back to his original world, but looking at her attitude, she would likely be happy to see him suffer for it.
Then, should he just stop thinking about things from his old world forever?
Isn't this the kind of life that many people hoped he and they could have?
"Delivery. Please sign for it."
A cold voice came from ahead. Lin looked up and saw Yama standing not far away in her cloak. Beside her was...
An arcade machine?
"This is the thing that fell into the Sea of Quanta with you. It's not very damaged."
Leaving those words behind, Yama left. Lin didn't understand her motive, but she didn't seem to care about him either.
Lin turned his gaze toward the familiar arcade machine.