Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

"Hmm? Hmm, oh... it's Adam."

Melutina took about three seconds to respond, which surprised Adam somewhat.

"Does the captain really like fountains? Could it be some fond childhood memory?"

Adam thought it best to find a topic to avoid awkwardness.

"...More or less."

Melutina remained noncommittal.

"When my brother died, his blood stained a fountain red, which I remember very clearly."

"..."

How can you call that "almost"?

That's way too much of a difference!

Adam wanted to slap himself for what he had just done. Wasn't he just asking for trouble?

In the crowd—

"Hey, is that the kid?"

"Tsk, he made the pretty girl wait so long, and he's not even that handsome..."

"He doesn't even care about his outfit, how did this beautiful woman fall for him?"

"Could it be that a poor guy hooked up with a rich and beautiful girl? Why don't I have such good fortune?"

……

Adam, a fusion warrior who heard every word of these complaints, now felt like crying.

"...Let's go."

Melutina stood up and waved.

"Hey? Aren't we going to wait for Salome and the others?"

Adam paused for a moment.

"The two of us can handle this mission; we didn't notify them."

Melutina shook her head, and after a moment, a smile appeared on her face.

"If they come, wouldn't you become a lucky pervert who builds a harem in the real world?"

"...Captain, you're joking."

Adam, who could almost foresee that situation, broke out in a cold sweat, but he said rather unexpectedly,

"It seems... the captain has become much more cheerful lately."

"Is there?"

Melutina said without turning her head.

Yes, she pays more attention to her appearance than before, occasionally jokes with people, and her attitude towards us has become much gentler.

Adam thought to himself, but he knew some things were best left unsaid, so he changed the subject:

"Our mission today is..."

"Calling it a mission is a bit of an exaggeration; it's just going to meet someone."

Melutina said,

"Take some equipment we need... If you don't think you need it, just return it to her."

"Is this...is this alright..."

Adam was somewhat surprised to hear that a refund was possible.

"After all, a grenade that can play music... is something we don't really need."

Melutina shook her head and said.

"...Why would you make something like this?"

Adam broke out in a cold sweat.

"Because the head of the engineering department is a... well, I'm sorry, a rather rare genius."

Melutina's eyes flickered, and she changed her words.

"...Do you have some kind of conflict with that person?"

Adam said with a wry smile, and from his tone, he could tell that Melutina and that minister were quite familiar with each other.

"She was my senior in college; she graduated with a doctorate in mechanical engineering, while I was a doctoral student in biology."

Melutina frowned.

"Her thought process was quite peculiar even back then. I only found out later from Dr. Mebius that she had actually joined the Firemoth."

"Wait, Captain, you're a PhD in biology? How old are you?"

Adam looked horrified.

"...What kind of expression is that?"

Melutina gave him a cold look.

"I graduated with my doctorate when I was sixteen, and I'm not even twenty yet. Is there a problem?"

"No, no..."

Adam swallowed hard.

"Then why didn't you pursue research? Instead, you came to the front lines and even became a fusion warrior... A sixteen-year-old doctoral student should be able to easily obtain good treatment in the Firemoth, right?"

Even Adam knew what a sixteen-year-old biology PhD meant; if Melutina wanted, she could enjoy a life of luxury that others wouldn't even dare to dream of.

"I originally came from Dr. Möbius's laboratory, as for why I didn't stay there..."

Melutina paused.

"Because of the seventh Honkai, I was in Australia... and the one who triggered that Honkai was my benefactor."

"..."

Adam had heard a rumor from his former teammates that the Seventh Herrscher was once a warrior of the Flame Chaser, but he never expected that she had such a deep relationship with Meltina.

"This hell always forces people to go to the battlefield."

Melutina said with a sneer.

"Aren't those who want a peaceful life always the first to die in disasters? Because peace will wear down their fangs, making it impossible for them to survive in this hell."

"But the beauty of the past will never be defeated by this."

Adam suddenly said.

"...Beautiful? After spending so long with the Fire Moth, you still believe in that kind of thing?"

Melutina frowned slightly.

"Of course I believe it."

Adam spoke quietly.

"Because that's what keeps me alive, and what gives me the hope to keep going. Doesn't the captain have that too?"

"...I don't have that kind of thing."

"What has the captain been fighting for all this time?"

Adam asked the obvious question.

"A moth that chases after a flame only realizes where it has entered when it is itself burned."

Melutina said softly.

"I am like a moth chasing a flame, living towards death."

"..."

Adam stopped in his tracks. He understood the wonderful metaphor; he didn't know why, but he just understood it.

So he stared blankly as the captain walked further and further away...

No, actually she hadn't gone very far, it's just that he suddenly felt this girl was actually very far away from him—

That's the distance between hell and the human world.

………………

The reason I didn't write about Kosmo is because a world doesn't need two JoJo-level creatures (∩???∩) (doge)

Chapter Nineteen: Someone Gradually Changing

"..."

"..."

When Adam followed Melutina to the Faculty of Engineering, he saw her staring at the Dean in silence.

Are they really that bad off?

Adam couldn't help but think to himself.

"...Are you an 'expert'?"

A moment later, Melutina suddenly said something inexplicable.

"Yes, it's me."

The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering nodded, looking very serious, completely unlike what Melutina had described.

"Okay, Senior Vivi, it seems we can finish this quickly today."

Melutina raised an eyebrow, which Adam figured could probably be interpreted as her being quite happy.

"...I'm sorry, but I can't, junior Melutina."