Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

but……

The subtle details of her makeup revealed that she wasn't someone who was good at dressing up; she probably only did so carefully because she was meeting her teammates and was in charge of her captaincy.

Thinking about this made Li Xue's impression of the new captain improve a bit.

"...I'm sorry, Captain, Salome was very close to the previous captain, um, well..."

Susana started to say something but then didn't know what to say next.

Logically speaking, since the former captain was purged, this topic should be avoided. However, if Salome doesn't say it, she will leave a bad impression on the new captain.

"Yes, I understand. She's not a bad person. You two can talk, there's no need to deliberately avoid me."

Melutina's indifferent expression did not waver, but what she said surprised them greatly.

"You think... the captain did nothing wrong?"

Salome looked at Melutina and asked incredulously.

Since the former captain got into trouble, no one has dared to say a good word about her in order to avoid suspicion. However, the new captain, who should be the one to avoid suspicion the most, doesn't care at all.

“You are not children anymore. This world is neither beautiful nor right. It has never been clearly divided into good and evil.”

Melutina glanced at her.

"People are always inclined to seek advantage and avoid harm. Once a conclusion is reached about something, they will avoid it and condemn it. This is not reasonable, but it happens from time to time."

The only way to change things is to climb higher, but those at the top often go against their own hearts, because that's just how the world is.

"..."

So he's a weirdo.

The members of the third squad exchanged glances and came to the same conclusion.

However, an oddball is much better than a hypocrite, which actually increased their goodwill towards the new captain.

"Oh, right."

Melutina finished her noodles, looked up,

"Since you doubt my abilities, let's conduct a live-fire exercise later. I'll take this opportunity to see what you're good at."

"Real combat? How do we do real combat?"

Adam paused for a moment.

"All five of you, come at me together."

Melutina said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of all five people changed.

"is this okay?"

Salome raised an eyebrow.

"What if you lose and then cry?"

"You can give it a try."

Young people these days are so energetic.

Melutina thought to herself.

…………

after an hour

training ground

"Can't you even stand up anymore?"

Melutina looked at her teammates lying sprawled on the ground and kicked Salome's backside, who had just been spouting nonsense.

However, all that could be heard was a weak groan from the ground.

"Putting aside strength, my stamina is also insufficient. It seems I need to put physical training on the agenda as well."

Melutina put her hands in her pockets; she wasn't even covered in dirt, let alone wounds.

"...You're acting too strangely."

Li Xue, whose situation was relatively good, gritted her teeth and said.

Incidentally, although Adam was the most outstanding among them, he was the one who suffered the most damage because he was always at the forefront.

"You're an elite force, don't you have any self-awareness?"

Melutina shook her head.

"You'd better work hard. Adam and Lewis barely passed, but I'll take good care of the rest of you."

"..."

"Speaking of which, Lixue."

"Melutina suddenly said."

"What's wrong?"

Standing in the snow, I looked up.

"We need to drag them back."

"That's no problem, but the captain needs to help too!"

"Eh……"

…………

"Looks like there's no problem~"

Alicia peeked out from the shadows.

"Kevin, Kevin, do you think Melutina can be a good captain?"

"...She is a person with leadership qualities, although she is not aware of it herself."

Kevin, standing behind her, crossed his arms.

"It is no easy feat to get the Third Squad, which had just lost its captain, to accept her so quickly."

"Then I will officially hand over the third Divine Key to her, okay? I have already obtained Sakura's consent."

“Since its former owner has already agreed, there is no need to confirm with me that she is the most suitable candidate.”

Chapter Seventeen: The Girl Who Atones

Mu Continent

The city where the Fire Moth headquarters is located

Melutina was carrying two huge bags filled with food and some emergency supplies, and a mop and broom were tucked into her waistband.

The sight of this girl carrying a large amount of stuff that seemed disproportionate to her size, along with the strange horn-like decorations on her head, drew the attention of passersby.

"Such a young girl has to work so hard."

"It's obvious that her husband is a good-for-nothing. Girls these days have to be careful when they get married."

"She's such a strong and independent girl, but that corner decoration looks really strange."

……

Ignoring the surrounding chatter, Melutina silently walked to an apartment building, went up to the third floor, and went straight to the innermost room.

Upon opening the door, a pungent odor wafted out, so terrifying that even a beggar would probably flee in terror.

But Melutina's expression didn't change. She placed the bag by the door, opened the doors and windows, bent down, and carefully put all the trash into the bag and tied it up.

Then, she took out a rag and began cleaning the dust from the sink and the table.

"...I told you not to come."

A deep, hoarse voice came from the room. A man who looked like a homeless person on the street sat on the edge of the bed, his messy hair and full beard enough to make anyone want to stay away.

"The money that mysteriously appeared in my account was also transferred by you, wasn't it? I don't need your help, get out of here."

"That won't do."

Melutina kept her head down, wiping the pool, her expression unchanged despite the man's rude attitude.

“You’ll die if this continues, François.”

"Ha, I should have died long ago, on the day Vanessa died."

François tilted his head back and gave a cold laugh.

"Or is it that the guilt you feel towards your best friend is crushing you, and this is some kind of psychological comfort? Melutina, don't make a fool of yourself. A woman like you can feel guilt?"

François.

One of the miraculous survivors of the Australian bushfires, he was supposed to walk down the aisle with the woman he loved most on that day.

But in the end, all that remains of her memory is flames and rubble falling from the sky. When she regains consciousness, her fiancée's cold body will be kneeling blankly beside her, like Melutina.

"..."

Melutina pursed her lips, silently enduring the sarcasm without uttering a sound.

She attended the same university as François and his fiancée Vanessa, but their relationship wasn't exactly good.

François used to be very popular with girls because of his handsome appearance and charming manners, but Melutina often complained to Vanessa that his forehead was too big.

"Hmph, you're still the same as ever... I really don't understand you. I didn't understand you back in our student days, and now that I understand you a little better, I think you're hopeless."

François stared blankly at the ceiling.

He was a survivor of the Honkai, someone Vanessa had mentioned before, but at first he knew about it but didn't understand it. But now it was different.

He understood that this woman felt guilty towards him because of Vanessa, and that her act of atonement seemed reasonable...

But it was strange precisely because he was Vanessa's fiancé, because such a thing shouldn't exist in this woman's life.

"Go ahead and curse if you want."