The end of the Eighth Honkai didn't mean the members of Fire Moth could rest.
After all, only the Eighth Herrscher had perished.
The Honkai still erupted from time to time, and Honkai Beasts continued to roam the world, demanding to be slain.
If anyone could be called truly leisurely right now, it was Griseo.
She was currently at the supermarket, buying carrots.
Earlier, while chatting with Tokai Teio, the topic of Horse Girls' favorite foods had come up. Teio seemed to prefer apples.
Griseo wasn't buying these to send across worlds carrots were probably the same in both. She simply wanted to stock her studio with snacks for visitors.
Teio might return. Maybe other Horse Girls would come too. Who knows?
"Let's see… after fruit the next item is…"
Griseo pulled out her shopping list. There were no words only pictures.
The colorful fruit icon was crossed out. Next was a square shape.
She arrived at a signboard shop the best craftsman she could find nearby.
According to Teio, people from other worlds would instinctively recognize her place as a studio. But this was still the Honkai World. Without a sign, locals wouldn't know what she did here.
"Is anyone here?"
Griseo stepped closer, a sense of unease creeping in.
Through the glass door, the shop looked abandoned, messy, half-demolished.
She knocked politely.
The door opened, but instead of the elderly master she expected, a young man with a sorrowful expression stood before her.
"Who are you?"
"I'm looking for Master Zhang. I need a signboard."
"My father died in the last disaster," he said calmly. "The shop's closing. We're preparing to leave. I'm sorry—please find someone else."
"…I'm sorry for disturbing you."
Griseo was surprised, but this was normal in their era.
Her own family had perished in the Eighth Honkai.
She had survived only thanks to the MANTIS experiment.
"Meow~!"
A small cat crossed the street and approached her.
Griseo recognized it-Can.
If Can was here, the big cat couldn't be far.
"Pardo Sister." Griseo greeted the cat-eared girl lounging in the sun nearby.
"Ah, Griseo!" Pardofelis leapt off her chair like a kitten, landing softly.
"Good afternoon, Pardofelis Sister."
Griseo offered her a red apple she'd just bought.
To Griseo, Pardofelis was a good person.
They knew each other from the Street, where Pardofelis regularly delivered dry food to a nursing home-Aponia's place, home to many children suffering from Honkai disease. Kalpas had worked there too, before becoming a Fusion Warrior...a porter, to be exact.
Pardofelis didn't know any of that. She simply pitied the children.
Once, while delivering food, she'd napped in the warehouse and was mistaken for a thief by Kalpas. If not for a child who recognized her, she might've been gone then and there.
As someone cared for by Aponia, Griseo saw Pardofelis often.
"Griseo is so well-behaved~"
Pardofelis took the apple and pinched Griseo's cheek, smiling.
They chatted for a while, and Griseo shared her dilemma.
"A signboard? Leave it to me!" Pardofelis said, patting her chest.
As the self-proclaimed 'Scrap King' of Twilight Street, making a sign was no trouble.
"Just give me the address. I'll deliver it tomorrow. What should it say?"
"Just 'Griseo's Studio' is fine."
Simple. Clear. That was enough.
Back at the studio, Griseo unpacked her fruits and snacks. The space felt warmer now.
And then, her second customer arrived.
A girl with long, straight pink hair, dressed in casual pink sportswear.
She carried a guitar on her back.
But her demeanor was… odd.
She sat stiffly, zombie-like, staring ahead.
"Hmm, are you alright?" Griseo asked, handing her a bottle of Mizone.
"I'm fine!"
The girl snapped out of it like a switch had been flipped.
"So you're the owner of this studio? You scared me! I thought you were one of those intense painting masters like Van Gogh or Picasso! I didn't understand anything and was terrified I'd say something wrong…"
She relaxed, suddenly chatty.
Or rather Griseo like a blank canvas didn't trigger her social anxiety.
"Hello... I'm Gotou Hitori. As you can see, I'm a guitarist."
"Then you must play beautifully." Griseo said.
She could hear the quiet pride in Hitori's voice when she spoke of her guitar.
Not arrogance just someone who found meaning in their talent.
"It's alright. I'm the Guitar Hero online… cough cough."
Hitori broke into a coughing fit.
Griseo jumped in surprise.
"I'm fine I'm fine." Hitori said quickly sipping Mizone(Sport drink).
That nickname was just too embarrassing to say aloud.
"Let me play something for you…"
She picked up her guitar, fingers gliding across the strings.
The melody flowed like a stream smooth and effortless.
Hitori felt more at ease than ever.
Facing Griseo, there was no anxiety.
She even felt like she was playing for herself.
When the song ended, she exhaled deeply.
Maybe performing wasn't so scary after all?
"Hitori Sister, that was beautiful." Griseo praised.
"A guitarist usually has a band right?"
"Yes… I think I just got roped into one."
"When's your next performance?"
"Tonight, I think…"
"Good luck!" Griseo said, lifting her paintbrush.
"I'll paint Sister's heroic figure!"
"?!"