Honkai Impact 3rd: My Days as a Captain in Schicksal

"...Why do I feel like what you said makes so much sense, and I don't know how to refute it... But anyway, it's like a waterwheel, something man-made. Although it's not alive, it stops working on its own once the water is boiled..." Keng Huo collapsed onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, devoid of any will to live. "Didn't I already communicate with them... When is that idiot Theresa coming... I can't take it anymore..."

"Oh!" Yae Sakura picked up the kettle that was on the ground with great effort and poured water into the water cup that had been placed on the ground beforehand.

"Drink some water!" Yae Sakura touched the thick teacup and, finding it wasn't too hot to handle, happily picked it up and ran to Keng Huo's bedside. She placed it on Keng Huo's bedside table as if to show off her achievement, staring at Keng Huo with her bright, sparkling eyes.

Keng Huo was momentarily moved and couldn't help but laugh, but then he felt that he was being a bit childish and turned his face away.

Yae Sakura pouted slightly in dissatisfaction, but her eyes remained fixed on Keng Huo.

Keng Huo didn't turn around until he finished laughing, and reached out to pick up the water cup that had been warmed by hot water: "Thank you, Yae Sakura."

"Hmm!" Yae Sakura's eyes narrowed, as if she was very happy to receive thanks.

Seeing this, Keng Huo couldn't help but smile and praised Yae Sakura again: "You're really capable, Yae Sakura."

"Hmm!!" Yae Sakura's smile deepened, and she gently shook her large head, her fox ears twitching as they bounced.

You seem very happy?

Keng Huo tentatively reached out and stroked Yae Sakura's head... It feels so good!

However, Yae Sakura became unhappy. She shook her head and raised her short arms to try to shake off Keng Huo's hand, but she couldn't reach the top of her head at all. She hurriedly retreated, escaped Keng Huo's clutches, and ran to the full-length mirror to look at her hair.

"You've messed up my hair!!" Yae Sakura tried her best to fix her hair, but to no avail.

"Come here, I'll help you tidy up," Keng Huo said, barely suppressing a smile.

Yae Sakura muttered something like, "If you dare mess up my hair again, you're dead," as she obediently came to Keng Huo's side and let him comb her hair.

A sense of warmth and security welled up in Keng Huo's heart. Long ago, Elisa had also pestered him to comb her hair like this...

but……

"Wow, what's this!" Theresa's voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Yae Sakura looked in the direction of the sound and saw the girl she had saved in Changkong City, who had also saved her in her dream.

"Theresa!" Yae Sakura happily rushed towards Theresa and clung to her. "Mmm... Kallen's scent..."

Theresa hugged Yae Sakura with a look of surprise and delight: "Ya...Yae Sakura? How did you end up here? Weren't you in the Stigmata Space?"

"Don't you ever think about why she turned into a chibi doll?" Keng Huo complained listlessly about the other person's focus.

"Anyway, nothing related to you is normal, right?" Theresa waved her hand dismissively.

"Why do I feel like I've been subtly criticized..."

Theresa is still unaware of the other half of Yae Sakura's soul that Keng Huo has carried since his time in Changkong City.

"Well..." Keng Huo had already prepared his explanation before Theresa arrived, "Actually, back in Changkong City, when Yae Sakura transformed into a Stigmata, all her energy was indeed poured into you, but half of her soul is in my body..."

Seeing Keng Huo's smug face, Theresa couldn't help but recall the scene of herself lying on top of him when she woke up, and a sudden surge of anger ignited within her for no reason.

"Yae Sakura, let's go! A girl shouldn't stay with hooligans like this!" Theresa skillfully hoisted the chibi-style Yae Sakura onto her shoulder, then walked out of the ward with her chest out and head held high.

"Composite reconnaissance array type III?" Keng Huo couldn't help but complain. "Optimized center of gravity, increased chassis grip, reduced load, and improved mobility?"

Keng Huo stared intently at Yae Sakura's back. When her scalp barely grazed the door frame, and only her ears were bent like noodles by the door frame, she let out a heavy sigh.

……

Just as Theresa took Yae Sakura away for a medical check-up, and Keng Huo thought he could finally have some peace and quiet, he suddenly felt something moving under his blanket.

It seems quite large.

Keng Huo stared in horror at the pair of fox ears peeking out from under the covers, thinking he was hallucinating.

Just then, Theresa suddenly burst into Keng Huo's ward from the corridor, creating a whirlwind: "You idiot, it's terrible! Yae Sakura is missing..."

"What?" Theresa and Yae Sakura, who had just emerged from under the covers, stared at each other.

"Keng Huo!! You pervert!!" Theresa was furious. She practically snatched Yae Sakura from the bed and held her tightly in her arms, staring at Keng Huo with the same look she had for her father's killer.

Keng Huo shivered as the cold wind rushed into the bed from when the blankets were suddenly pulled back.

"What does this have to do with me! Don't try to pin everything on me when something goes wrong!" Keng Huo felt as if it were snowing in June outside the window; if the background music were "Keng E's Tragedy," it would be perfect...

"How did Yae Sakura suddenly end up here! You must be a pervert with ulterior motives!" Theresa, who was small in stature, was holding the even smaller Yae Sakura, which was inexplicably comical.

"How should I know? She just suddenly crawled out of my bed, and then you suddenly appeared. I even suspected that you two were working together to mess with me..." Keng Huo weakly tucked the blanket around himself. "I'm a patient, can't you let me rest a bit?"

Theresa puffed out her cheeks, stared at Keng Huo warily, and backed out of the ward.

Not long after, feeling that familiar foreign object in the blankets again, Keng Huo burst into tears: "Damn it, can't a person get a good night's sleep?! If I ever die from overwork, it'll be your fault!!"

Theresa barged into the hospital room again.

……

"So, it's probably some kind of soul-bonded state?" Theresa said thoughtfully. "Because she's currently in a symbiotic relationship with you, she can't stray too far from you, otherwise she'll immediately disappear and automatically return to your side?"

"That's the only possible conclusion. We don't have any evidence to prove it right now. I'll get another check-up when I feel better... I think our focus right now should be on how to explain the sudden appearance of Yae Sakura to everyone..." Keng Huo sighed, feeling that he had even more to do.

“That’s easy. Yae Sakura is a mysterious creature born from the stigmata on my back. Under your coercion and enticement, she signed a contract with you and became your familiar, so she can’t go too far away from you… Anyway, when it comes to Honkai energy, no matter what you say, people will believe you,” Theresa said without hesitation.

Chapter 105

Keng Huo examined the small card in his hand carefully for a long time, finally nodded in satisfaction, carefully glued it to a small string, and called Yae Sakura over with a smile.

"Yae Sakura, come and hang this around your neck."

Yae Sakura took the small card from Keng Huo with a blank expression, a thoughtful look appearing in her eyes.

Then, with a slap, he threw the small playing card in his hand at Keng Huo's face.

The small playing card slowly slid off Keng Huo's face and landed on his blanket.

"What are you doing!" Keng Huo roared angrily.

Yae Sakura seemed a little scared and lowered her head with a hint of grievance, saying, "I'm sorry... but Theresa said that if you give me something in a particularly kind way, I should throw it in your face without hesitation. That's how you two usually greet each other..."

Keng Huo lay on the bed, his face ashen. The small piece of paper was gently turned over by the breeze blowing in through the window, revealing the words Keng Huo had written on it:

Race: Familiar.

Quality: Legendary (Orange).

Name: Yae Sakura.

Rank: Mascot No. 2

Skills: Boiling water, opening windows, and acting cute.

Weakness: Can't reach the top of his head.

Soul-bound items cannot be traded or dropped.

Please do not pat, lift, or touch the ears while feeding.

If you find her wandering off alone, pick her up and run 200 meters in any direction. She will automatically return to her owner.

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"Yae Sakura, come here, come here!"

"What are you doing?" Yae Sakura looked at Keng Huo with great vigilance, a thoughtful look appearing in her eyes.

A large vein bulged on Keng Huo's forehead: "Stop thinking about those weird common sense things Theresa taught you, okay!"

“But Theresa said that if you call me over with particular eagerness and excitement…”

"...I promise this is not a prank."

"But you just tricked me into eating wasabi!"

"Isn't that what you wanted to eat with wasabi?!"

"But...but that's what I said when I was eating sushi for lunch! You lied to me about eating wasabi almost at dinner time just now!!"

"Don't these two things just mix together in the end once they're in your stomach?"

"Ugh... what you said is disgusting..." Yae Sakura took two steps back in disgust.

"Come here, come here, this is important business." Keng Huo waved his hand weakly. "Didn't you say that the headboard of the bed next door is too tight for your ears and makes it uncomfortable to sleep in...? I'll buy you a smaller bed, you can pick one you like..."

With a puzzled look on her face, Yae Sakura jumped onto Keng Huo's hospital bed, sat down beside him, and stared at the screen in front of him. It displayed many pictures of cribs, and they all had one thing in common: the cribs had railings around their sides. Keng Huo thought that Yae Sakura could stick her ears out through the railings when she slept...

"Wow, what is this...?"

"Wait! Don't ask yet! I know you have a lot of questions, but you'll understand when you grow up... First, pick a bed you like..." Keng Huo rolled his eyes, "And remember to take your shoes off next time you get into bed..."

"Oh, I'm sorry... I like this!" Yae Sakura forcibly suppressed her confusion about the screen and casually selected a crib.

"Okay..."

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"..."

"..."

"..."

Kiana and Keng Huo stared at each other, while Yae Sakura watched them with a bored expression, and Mei and Bronya stared at Yae Sakura with eager eyes.

"Actually, she's my shikigami now. I'm an onmyoji..."

"Aren't you from China? How come you're an Onmyoji?"

"I...I'm an international student! I'm pursuing my master's degree in the Far East!"

"...Huh? Didn't you graduate from that...Wudaokou something-or-other university in China?"

"That's right! But after graduating from university, I came to the Far East to pursue a master's degree. I studied Onmyoji!"