Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

"Hmph, I've come to bring you food."

Qianjie snorted coldly and put the lunchbox aside.

"Haojiubujie (Long time no see), Nihaihaomei (How are you)?"

"I'm fine...no, the problem isn't with me, is it?!"

Vilvi answered instinctively, then immediately shook her head repeatedly.

"He was hit by Mei."

Qianjie curled his lip.

"...Um, what did he do?"

"Vilvie asked curiously."

"...He slept with all the women in the Golden Courtyard."

"Qian Jie said."

"...Eh?!"

……

"Pfft, hahaha... I say, Mei, you should probably believe Kevin's innocence by now, right?"

Alicia laughed so hard she almost fell over on the sofa.

“I pretty much knew when I hit him. After all, I had contacted Professor Möbius beforehand. Kevin doesn’t have the guts to mess with Professor Möbius’s daughter.”

Mei took a sip of black tea and looked at Eden with some surprise.

"I thought Miss Eden would definitely choose a more noble and rarer breed."

"Hehe, how could that be?"

Eden shook his head.

“Every batch of tea is grown with great effort, and there is no distinction between expensive and cheap. It is boring to measure it with money. Besides, this box of tea comes from China and is a variety that is very popular in China. For me, that is enough to be valued in gold.”

"So it was Miss Fu who brought it. That is indeed genuine tea from China. Rarity makes it valuable, but the sentiment behind it is even more precious. I was being presumptuous."

Mei smiled and said.

"It's alright, it's not anything valuable anyway."

Fu Hua shook her head.

"Is Miss Wilvi injured? Is she alright?"

Mei then asked.

"……Forehead."

Alicia looked embarrassed for some reason.

"Vilvie, cough cough, it's nothing serious, she's fine."

"……Yeah?"

May sensed that Alicia's words had a hidden meaning, but she didn't pursue the matter further.

“I didn’t come here specifically for Kevin. I want to invite Melutina to study at my school. As long as you agree, they can start the process right away.”

"Really? Mei's school isn't that one..."

Alicia said in surprise.

"I refuse."

Melutina answered without hesitation.

"It's all because of my mother, right? I'm not interested."

"That's not the case. Although you're a high school student, the research you wrote for Professor Möbius was absolutely brilliant, and many professors would be willing to take you on as a student."

Mei advised.

"That was the right choice, Melutina."

Greta couldn't help but turn her head and say...

"With such high recognition, considering the future, wouldn't it be better to pursue research?"

“My mother doesn’t think so.”

Melutina shook her head.

"Didn't Professor Möbius suggest that you do research work? Why? She should be very interested in you."

Mei said, puzzled.

“Talent in research and talent as a researcher are two different things. You excel in the former but are terrible at the latter.”

Melutina repeated Mebius's words, and then said,

"Although I can't fully understand what my mother is saying, I always feel that I understand what she means."

"...Is that what you mean? Since the professor says so, I won't insist."

Mei seemed to understand and nodded.

"There's one more thing. I'm here to investigate a strange phenomenon that's been occurring in the area, called 'puberty syndrome'."

"You believe in that too?"

Greta couldn't help but ask.

"Does Gretchen know anything? Ah, Miss Blanca and I are old acquaintances, so I'll just call you by your name."

Mei looked at her and asked.

"...A junior of mine is obsessed with this. And unfortunately, I now believe him too."

"This is really interesting. Could you introduce me? Of course, I just want to do research and won't do anything to harm him. I'm also willing to pay the corresponding compensation."

Mei said earnestly,

"Of course, Kevin can ask for anything he has."

"Does Mr. Kevin have a lot of savings?"

Gretchen asked curiously.

“His salary is high, although he spends it on many meaningless things, but as I require, he has achieved the minimum monthly savings.”

Mei pushed up her glasses.

"...If it's just for research, I'll ask."

Greta nodded.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and Aponia walked in leading two bags of cabbage.

Are there...guests?

"Hello, I'm Kevin's girlfriend, May Lydia."

Mei stood up and nodded.

“I am… Aponia… Aponia Ashford…”

Aponia began in her usual calm tone.

"Master Qian, haven't you come back yet?... I brought cabbage..."

"He went to deliver food to Vervi."

Eden answered.

"Vilvie... I heard... she was being hunted by the FBI... and jumped from the third floor... is that true?"

Aponia thought to herself, clearly unaware of the look Alicia was giving her.

"FBI?!"

Mei was startled.

"Actually, it was a misunderstanding. Although there was a little... conflict in the street, the misunderstanding was cleared up afterwards."

Alicia awkwardly looked away.

"A little... conflict?"

Mei, who already knew what kind of person Alicia was, squinted her eyes, clearly not believing it.

"It was a street brawl. Sister Velvi took down seven of the opponents, and was cornered by the remaining three. She was planning to use her [magic prop] to land, but just before landing, the equipment was hit by a bullet, breaking her right leg. However, she immediately fired three shots and killed the opponents."

Greta shrugged.

"...You're calling it 'just a little bit'?"

Mei turned to look at Alicia.

"Haha...Vilvie still knows her limits. At least she didn't kill anyone and didn't hit any vital organs."

"So...why is she being hunted by the FBI?"

Mei pressed her forehead and asked with a wry smile.

"Actually, it's because she was doing a rather disreputable job."

"Work? Where do you work?"

Mei said, puzzled.

"A mysterious organization, whose members are said to all wear black. She said the salaries there are very high, and all you need to do is hack a computer and set up a bomb to earn a six-figure monthly salary in US dollars."

Alicia recalled what Velvi's job entailed.

"This is completely abnormal!"

Mei was dumbfounded.

"Hmm, really?"

Alicia stroked her chin.