Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

[You didn't become complacent after gaining Virvi's favor, nor did you become a complete burden. From the very beginning, you helped the girl overcome her inferiority complex.]

[At least for now, the girl has been able to have some academic conversations with Dr. Möbius.]

[This often gave Möbius a sudden sense of clarity, and problems that were previously limited to a single perspective were easily overcome with the help of a team.]

Both are scholars of exceptional talent, capable of keeping pace with each other and equally understanding seemingly large leaps in their understanding.

If we were to judge based on your intelligence...

[It's roughly...]

"I want to tile the Great Wall."

"This material can be used for the lid of the Pacific Ocean."

"I feel this brand-new law can continue to be called Jiangcheng-15."

Not only are every sentence absurd, but the range is also extremely wide; one second you're in one subject, the next you might be swayed to another.

[However, given enough time, you can find commonalities and deduce what Virvie and the others were talking about.]

Geniuses and ordinary people are indeed not the same species.

After their first ten-hour chat, she was so excited that she even shared her instant noodles with Vervière.

[Listen to Ms. Blanca, Möbius's assistant, who is quite different from you, a person of excellent character and learning.]

Those instant noodles were treasured possessions of the professor.

[These are mostly rare, discontinued models; even the Doctor himself only uses them in very critical situations.]

Although you didn't taste anything particularly special, and Virvi didn't feel any burst of inspiration—it was just ordinary instant noodles.

[Also, during these past few months, there haven't been any troublesome issues. You and Wilvi have stopped being so lazy, spending all day cooped up in your room, and have started doing things that are appropriate for your positions.]

[—You have come into contact with energy scientifically known as Honkai.]

[No longer just a superficial understanding like before, but a genuine awareness of some of the essential characteristics of this energy.]

[It can replace all known forms of energy, and can be described as virtually omnipotent, like divine power that exists only in myths and legends.]

[At the very beginning, with only a few scholars conducting exploratory research, technologies that previously existed only in fantasy and were severely limited by actual materials and energy were gradually unlocked.]

The founding of the Firemoth was also due to the decision made by a few people, including Möbius, who recognized the importance of this energy.

But this doesn't mean it's a gift from heaven.

[Because the energy called Honkai possesses a corrosive and destructive power that is unmatched by any other energy, and is directly proportional to its omnipotence.]

Each occurrence of this phenomenon results in at least hundreds to millions of deaths.

This could even lead to more horrific disasters.

[An unimaginable existence, like a doomsday banner, brings forth monsters of various shapes and sizes, moving in a completely incomprehensible silicon-based manner, possessing immense destructive power, capable of easily tearing apart even the strongest steel.]

[In fact, while you and Velvet were slacking off, a catastrophe had already struck, spanning several cities and forcing the national machinery, which hadn't been fully operational since the war, to start running for the first time.]

[The so-called Lawgiver—an individual god—caused the demise of tens of millions of lives.]

That's an astonishing eight-digit unit.

Even the most horrific and despicable wars in human history, the cruelest and most gruesome meat grinders, can only barely compare to it.

There is no distinction between high and low; even the most outstanding geniuses and politicians, who are born superior to others, are as insignificant as ants in the face of disaster.

[Perhaps this is why the Moth Chaser Society was formed and its status has risen.]

Of course, this means nothing to you.

[As the head of the Moth Chaser headquarters, despite the dubious nature of your identity, your status as an expert is enough to ensure that your every move is under scrutiny. Moreover, with the girl around, even if you wanted to die, no one would allow it.]

[The only question that arises in your mind, the only thing that can fill a gap in your time.]

Only the other girl is safe now.

【—Alicia.】

No matter what happened in between, no matter how incompatible your personalities are, she is still your sister, one of the very few family members in your life.

If you have the ability, you still hope to protect the other person.

[Honkai energy doesn't seem to appear in many places, but you have a feeling that this is just the beginning, and more will follow.]

The current disaster is insignificant; the individuals known as Herrschers are merely the beginning.

Unfortunately, you couldn't find any news about her.

Even after explaining the situation to Velvi and receiving her help, you never found any trace of the girl anywhere in the world.

Perhaps the girl is still traveling.

[Encountering an adventure without a destination, a journey undertaken at will.]

[Now that I've gotten rid of myself, who's holding me back, I can go to some dangerous places on my own.]

[A girl once gave you a certain feeling.]

[Though they wander through this world, they seem to belong to a different one.]

[Perhaps it was the flawless aura that the young girl possessed.]

You sense that she seems distant from the crowd, possessing an aura that naturally clashes with the lively atmosphere. Although her captivating charm draws people into the bustling banquet, they are merely captivated by her alluring presence.

Flawless perfection, even sacred, is the mark drawn by everything, like a player, like a god, pitying yet indifferent to the world.

The girl was like a beautiful dream that was too real, so real that you almost believed it to be real.

But once the initial shock subsides, you'll still find it.

No matter how beautiful the dream.

【That……】

It's still just a dream.

It's like a breeze, truly traveling to every corner of the world; you seem to have touched it, touched that fragrant wind.

But no matter how hard you try, you can't grasp it or keep it.

Despite this, and despite that sense of separation, which felt like it didn't belong to this world, becoming a thin film of isolation in your memory upon further reflection, [it may persist].

Even if you try to recall or imagine, you can't truly imprint the girl's appearance in your mind.

You always believed that young girls could find their ideals.

The wind may indeed leave no trace, impossible to grasp or hold, but it leaves ripples on the water's surface, rustles on the leaves it rustles, and carries the fragrance of distant flowers, announcing the arrival of new life to everyone.

Even if a girl is like a gust of wind, she will always leave her mark in some corner of the world, leaving behind memories that belong only to Alicia.

These traces, accumulated little by little, will eventually etch the footprints of a young girl in this world.

All you need to do is remember it.

There's no need to chase the wind; it will come on its own.

Perhaps when the girl has finished her journey, she will naturally come to see you and chat with you about the scenery she has seen along the way.

Your life is no longer tied to Alicia. Now, what truly matters to you, what you should personally plan for your birthday party, is...

[—Vilvie.]

……

The small room, spanning several hundred square meters, was decorated with extraordinary luxury. Orange crystal chandeliers tinkled in the wind, casting a warm, dim glow along with countless candles. Furry foot massagers, worn through shoes, were laid out on the floor.

Only in the center, in a spiral workshop style, is a plaque bearing the four large characters for "Birthday Banquet".

Given Vivi's talent and status, this birthday banquet seemed rather petty.

But does a banquet really need so many people and so much noise?

No need.

It doesn't need to be luxurious or extravagant.

For a girl, celebrating her birthday with a boy is enough to satisfy her completely.

Only sincerity is truly precious; otherwise, no matter how many people there are, it's essentially just a difference in scale, and it only makes things more chaotic.

Normally, every birthday is the happiest time for Wilvi, because Jiang Cheng always presents her with wonderful and thoughtful gifts.

But at this very moment, standing on the carpet, facing the same boy as always, Wilvi wasn't so happy.

Her silver-gray eyes held an incomprehensible blankness, her cherry lips unconsciously parted slightly, even revealing half of her white teeth and stiff pink tongue.

"Jiangcheng..."

"you say……"

"You've always known."

"Yes, I know you are actually capable of dealing with those people, you just haven't done it yet."

Jiang Cheng remained calm, nodding slightly, his mithril-trimmed night-black dress giving him an exceptionally composed air.

The eyes of the night were empty, just ordinary, so plain, even containing birthday wishes.

The girl trembled, imagining herself questioning him, as if she could hear the boy's voice in her ear.

……

'The reason I'm bothered by them.'

'Yes or no……'

"Are you just going to stand by and do nothing?"

no……

I can not do it.

I wouldn't do that.

The girl really wanted to give a different answer, to utter a completely opposite response from her cherry-colored lips, an answer she loved and longed for.

--Yes.