Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

Will Dr. Mei agree to your request?

Melutina asked, somewhat incredulously.

"There's always a way to convince her... If all else fails, I'll just make it for myself."

Mebius had an indifferent expression on his face.

"So... my dear Melutina, could you give me a sample of your genes? I'd like to study it a little more."

"...Isn't that your real purpose?"

Melutina gave a wry smile and bit her finger. Seeing this, Möbius skillfully took out a test tube from his pocket, caught it, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Melutina is definitely the best!"

Mebius hugged Melutina's left shoulder and nuzzled her.

"...Doctor, are you trying to imitate Captain Alicia? Or forget it, I don't want to get twice the goosebumps."

Melutina shivered violently, withdrew her finger, and by then the wound had healed.

"No way, I'm completely devoted to Melutina~"

Alicia, who was standing next to her, chimed in with a smile and hugged Melutina from the right.

If Melutina were a man, she would feel like she was in heaven, but the problem is she isn't.

Feeling the strength of her breasts on both sides, veins bulged on her forehead, and she said with a forced smile:

"Gentlemen, I am writing a self-criticism."

Translation: Get out of my way!

"Hmm... I feel that Melutina has become much more cheerful."

Möbius stood up, seemingly deep in thought.

“When she was in my lab, her reactions weren’t nearly as varied.”

"Right, right? That's why I've always suspected that Melutina secretly likes other girls behind my back~"

Alicia poked her lips with her finger.

"Why a girl...?"

Mebius's eye twitched.

"My sexual orientation is normal, and I am not in a relationship."

Melutina instinctively strained, almost breaking the pen in her hand. She took a deep breath and put the pen down.

"That's hard to say. You were born at the best age; no girl your age is uninterested in romance."

"Doctor, when you were my age, were you interested in romance?"

Melutina didn't believe a word Alicia said and turned to look at Mebius.

"Of course I'm not interested, unless that man is my experimental subject."

Mebius shrugged.

“Möbius is an exception, everyone else…”

"Senior Sister Wilvi."

“…Okay, that’s an exception, but Melutina, you have to believe me…”

"That legendary Aponia?"

"...This world is always full of surprises, isn't it?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Profound Sound

A week later, the third squad received a new mission once again, as their captain was finally released from confinement.

however……

"This is a grand magical ceremony, a magnificent scientific miracle! This is..."

"Senior Vilvie, where is our equipment?"

Melutina impatiently pointed to her arm, interrupting someone's opening remarks.

"Oh, what's the rush? Didn't I tell you long ago that you can't rush things, junior Merutina?"

Vilvi completely ignored Melutina's expression, her excitement undiminished.

"Vice-Captain, is this... the 'legendary' Velvi?"

Li Xue asked with a strange expression.

"It feels a little different from what I expected..."

Salome was also taken aback.

"It's completely different from the last time I saw it. Perhaps this is a common problem among scientists? Don't you see, Dr. Möbius is also quite strange?"

Adam shrugged.

"Perhaps people with outstanding abilities all have some quirks. Look at our captain, isn't he a weirdo too?"

Lewis crossed his arms.

“I can hear you.”

Melutina, who was arguing with Velvi, turned around and glanced at them with annoyance.

"Senior Vilvie, I'm not interested in your magic tricks. I just want to get on a plane and get to my mission."

"Oh dear, don't say that, my lovely junior Melutina. If it's really impossible, you can just fly over!"

"Vellvi said with great enthusiasm,"

"Compared to that kind of thing, this time I've prepared something extraordinary... Hey, expert, don't cut me off..."

"...Alright, it seems you're one step closer to schizophrenia. How about we just eliminate all thought processes except yours, 'expert' Senior Sister Wilvi?"

Melutina raised an eyebrow.

"...You really do like to say scary things, junior."

With her expressive face completely gone, Vervi calmly retorted.

"I'm sorry for the trouble you caused with the Soul Steel last time. Let's keep things simple this time."

"Please do this."

"Before that, I need to confirm one thing."

Velvi took out the tablet from the table and swiped it a few times.

"How is the use of the Third Divine Key progressing?"

"Although there were some problems at first, it's quite convenient to use now."

Melutina thought for a moment and then said.

"Oh, so you didn't listen to me at first, but now you've succumbed to my tyranny?"

Velvi nodded and took notes on the tablet.

"...Your interpretation is truly dark."

Melutina was speechless, although... it was actually right on target.

"There's no way around it, I have to keep strict records... And recently there was the incident of the God Key being returned."

Vervi sighed.

"Returning the Divine Key? That's quite rare. Is it because it's not easy to use? Or is it impossible to use smoothly?"

Melutina was slightly taken aback.

"...because the design wasn't cute enough."

"what?"

Melutina made a sound instinctively.

"Not enough... No, could it be... Uh, okay. I think I understand now, as expected of her."

"It's so great that you understand, junior. Next time we meet, remember to pass on a greeting for me, 'XXXXXXX' (Good kids, please don't imitate this)."

"No matter what, that's impossible..."

Melutina was exasperated, but she could understand Vervie's feelings.

"Even if we take a step back, the Divine Key has already been returned, and there's nothing we can do about it."

However, things like Divine Keys require extreme caution when reverting or reactivating them, which is why I added unnecessary work.

"Well, you should teach her a lesson yourself next time you meet her. Um, what about our equipment?"

Melutina awkwardly changed the subject.

"There are lightweight Honkai energy weapons there, mixed with a little soul steel, all made by my own hands."

Vilvi raised her chin in acknowledgment.

"I trust your work, senior, so I'll accept it."

"Well... there's one more thing, please keep an eye on it."

"Something came to mind," Wilvi suddenly said.

"kindness?"

"Recently, the smell inside the Fire Moth has been a bit off."

Velvi frowned slightly.

"Protect you and your teammates... I wonder what the higher-ups at Firemoth are thinking."

"……okay, I get it."

Even Velvet noticed something amiss. It seems that there must be another disagreement among the higher-ups at Moth Chaser, which has even interfered with cutting-edge scientists like Velvet.