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

"...Mei, does your Far East country have such a major?" Kiana turned to Mei and asked with a look of disbelief.

Mei, who was trying very hard to attract Yae Sakura's attention, thought for a moment and said in a somewhat uncertain tone, "The Far East does have a theological academy... but does it have an Onmyoji department?"

"Ahem...that's all a misunderstanding by laymen. Professionals like us usually don't easily reveal the secrets of our profession..."

“We’re here because we have important business to attend to.” Bronya suddenly said, as if she had finally come to her senses, and pushed the rickety wheelchair over. “The headmaster wants us to take you to the medical pod for treatment.”

"Huh? That thing that looks really ominous?"

"Correct."

"Wait! I don't want to! I refuse!"

"Refusal is invalid."

……

Keng Huo sat listlessly in his wheelchair, sighing as if he had accepted his tragic fate. Not far in front of him, Kiana and Mei were holding Yae Sakura, pointing around and explaining things about modern society to her.

“Teacher Keng,” Bronya said softly, pushing the wheelchair, her voice so low that only Keng could hear her.

"Ok?"

"...Don't treat me like an idiot like Kiana."

"..."

"Although the headmaster's explanation does seem reasonable, Bronya remains skeptical of this claim that puts all the blame on mysterious Honkai energy."

"..."

"The entire medical center was severely damaged. Although the headmistress said that she did it all while she was possessed, Bronya still felt that the traces of the battle did not seem like a one-sided pursuit."

"..."

"But if Teacher Keng is unwilling to say it, I believe he has his reasons for not saying it. When you feel you can say it, we will listen carefully to your explanation."

"..."

"Okay, don't worry, I won't tell Mei-neechan and the others. After all, they trust Teacher Keng."

"..."

———————————————————————————————————

When Keng Huo woke up in the medical pod, a full day and night had passed. He sat up groggily and was greeted by countless eager little faces. They were holding Yae Sakura and staring at Keng Huo with very expectant eyes.

"Teacher Keng is awake! That's wonderful!"

"Teacher Keng, these are your clothes!"

"Teacher Keng, this is your wheelchair!"

"Teacher Keng, these are your medical examination results!"

"Teacher Keng, this is your bill!"

"Teacher Keng, is this your child?"

Goodbye, Teacher Keng!

"Teacher Keng, please... take care!"

"Teacher Keng, hurry and go find the headmistress! She said to go see her when you wake up!"

Keng Huo, in a daze, placed Yae Sakura in a wheelchair and pushed her out, followed by a medical team who watched his departing figure with eager eyes, as if sending away a plague god.

Keng Huo's mind was a complete mess. Before he could say anything, he was shoved out with something in his arms, and the door behind him slammed shut as if to shut out some kind of virus.

Keng Huo read the bill they gave him with a completely bewildered expression:

Two power outlets were damaged.

One respirator was damaged.

One electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor was broken.

……

A ventilation duct with a fan and a five-meter-long ventilation duct?

Keng Huo stared in disbelief: "Why are you giving me this bill? And what does it have to do with me that their ventilation ducts are broken?"

Yae Sakura, who had been sitting in her wheelchair without saying a word, let out a small, mournful cry and curled up tightly in the wheelchair, as if trying to avoid something.

Keng Huo keenly noticed Yae Sakura's unusual behavior and, with a look of surprise and uncertainty, shoved the bill in front of her: "Yae Sakura, what's going on?"

"I...I don't know..." Yae Sakura's tone was weak, but her large head made her expression impossible to hide. It was very obvious that her neck was red, not to mention her face.

"...I can understand your curiosity and energy that have been dormant for five hundred years, but can you explain the fan and ventilation duct of this ventilation system to me?"

"I..." Yae Sakura's voice was barely audible, slowly shrinking into a Yae Sakura ball, and a muffled little voice came from inside the ball, "I...￥%&……@#$*&……I'm stuck..."

"..."

———————————————————————————————————

After reporting to Theresa, Keng Huo, feeling utterly hopeless, pushed his wheelchair back to his dormitory.

The result of the discussion was that Keng Huo would be responsible for all the bills. Keng Huo subconsciously wanted to argue his case and try to save his salary and bonuses for the next few years, but Yae Sakura's pale face and flustered expression stopped him in his tracks.

"I'm sorry..." Yae Sakura clung pitifully to the back of the wheelchair, staring at Keng Huo with her big, watery eyes. But the moment Keng Huo looked down at her, she lowered her head as well, seemingly unable to meet his gaze. "Those things, were they very expensive...?"

“It is indeed quite expensive,” Keng Huo knew that although Yae Sakura’s curiosity was at the stage of a seven or eight-year-old child’s interest in her aunt, her intelligence was not that of a child, so he did not intend to tell the idiotic lie that the equipment was not expensive. “However, my salary is also very high, and I have savings, so I will be able to pay it off soon. Anyway, I often do things like compensating for public property... I am a skilled worker!”

"I'm sorry... I got too excited..." Yae Sakura was still reflecting on her actions, showing no sign of forgiving herself. "It's all my fault..."

Keng Huo chuckled softly. The sight of Yae Sakura in front of him reminded him of Elisa when she made a mistake and was making a self-criticism. Elisa had been just like that back then, with her head down, pitifully admitting her mistake, and occasionally glancing up at Keng Huo's reaction: "Hmm... but since you're so cute, I'll forgive you."

Yae Sakura didn't feel much comforted by Keng Huo's verbal forgiveness, but she calmed down and turned around from time to time to look at Keng Huo's expression, as if she was convinced that Keng Huo was still angry.

Keng Huo just smiled and ruffled her hair. This time, perhaps because of her guilt, Yae Sakura didn't complain to him for messing up her hair.

Who should be responsible for those broken instruments? The medical center? Obviously not.

Theresa? Even less so.

Is it confusing? Actually, it has nothing to do with him.

But... should Yae Sakura bear all of this?

Although it was all her fault, but...

Keng Huo couldn't help but apply more force when he was rubbing Yae Sakura's head.

Can she afford it? Right now, she can be said to have truly nothing. The only person she can rely on is herself, the one with whom she has a mysterious soul connection.

That's why she was so terrified and turned pale when she heard Theresa announce the amount of compensation.

Are you afraid of being blamed? Or are you afraid of being abandoned?

Those devices... are indeed a bit expensive, but not so expensive that they're impossible to repay, besides...

Keng Huo pushed open the door to his dormitory: "We're home."

In this world, there are always responsibilities that need to be shouldered by certain people.

"This is the living room. We usually entertain friends who come to our home here."

Some people are like a three-wheeled motorcycle that accidentally scratches a Lamborghini; even if they give their all, they cannot bear the consequences of their sins.

"This is the kitchen, but you probably don't recognize all the equipment here yet. I'll only allow you to play in the kitchen once you can recognize and use them all."

Those who cannot bear responsibility, no matter how hard they try, will never be able to repay it, because they are simply too weak.

"This is my study. I usually work here. If you get hungry, come find me here... because I'm often too lazy to cook, so you'll have to remind me."

But there is kindness in this world. The owner of the Lamborghini whose car was scratched will angrily pick up the wrench hanging on the tricycle, smash it on the back of the tricycle, scrape off a small piece of paint, shout "We're even!" and drive away.

"This is my bedroom, and this is the storage room next to it, but it's already piled up with a lot of stuff, so I want to clean it up in a bit, but it's a bit slow to do it alone, so could you help me, Yae Sakura?"

To gain something, you must give something. If you simply forgive the other party, the owner of the tricycle will probably be terrified and at a loss. The powerful and influential other party might vent their anger in ways they have never heard of before, just like the lowly civil servant in Chekhov's story who was scared to death by himself. Even if the other party is not concerned about the loss, the weaker party will still be surrounded by their own fear and anxiety.

"...Yeah! It's about moving all the stuff out, right? I can manage that..." Yae Sakura muttered softly.

Doing good is not a simple or easy task. If you want to do good, please choose the right way to do it. Giving alms from a superior position is not a sign of kindness, but merely a one-sided display of wealth. If you want to do good for others, please start by healing them.

———————————————————————————————————

"Mission accomplished!" Wearing a mask and rubber gloves, Keng Huo held a cleaning agent and a rag in his hand, nodding with satisfaction as he looked at the newly renovated room.

"Mission accomplished!" Yae Sakura was smug. Having helped tidy up a room, she was incredibly proud of herself. She wore the same white mask as Keng Huo, but unlike him, she wasn't wearing gloves. Instead, she was holding a feather duster, which made it look like she was holding a giant spiked club.

After all, there weren't any gloves that were that small for her; the gloves on Keng Huo's hands were big enough for her to wear as clothes.

"This will be your room from now on! The bed I ordered for you hasn't arrived yet, so you can make do with whatever you have on the floor for now... I know people back then were used to sleeping on tatami mats, but there aren't any tatami mats here, so please make do for now..."

Yae Sakura's expression dimmed briefly, but she quickly masked it.

Keng Huo stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, realizing he had said the wrong thing.

If Yae Sakura tidied the room to tempt herself, she would feel a sense of solace, at least atoning for her sins and able to be forgiven to some extent; but if the room was tidied for her sake, then everything would feel different.

She still hasn't made amends for the mistakes she made, and has even incurred more debts.

……

"Come on, Yae Sakura, sit down, let's talk." Keng Huo sat down sprawled out, pointing to the floor next to him.

Yae Sakura ran nervously to the opposite side of him and knelt down.

Keng Huo sighed, stood up, and picked up Yae Sakura as if he were holding a small child.

He walked through the corridor to the attic, opened the window, carefully climbed out, sat on the roof, and put Yae Sakura aside.

He had noticed it long ago, or rather, although he had been aware of it for a while, he had only just now fully confirmed the problem.