Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

Chapter Fifty-One: Hmm?

Good morning, Miss Wilvi.

Having gotten up very early, Chitoru saw Wilvi cracking tea eggs as soon as she arrived at the cafeteria.

"Hmm? Oh, good morning."

Upon hearing this, Wilvi raised her head, nodded indifferently, and continued cracking the eggs.

"..."

He's an "expert."

Sento realized which personality was in front of him, so he said no more.

She was just about to leave when her gaze was suddenly drawn to a splash of pink in her field of vision.

"Hey, Vilvie, did you know? I heard Su doesn't even eat eggs anymore?"

Alicia, carrying a bowl of noodles, excitedly struck up a conversation with Velvi.

"……Oh."

Upon seeing her approach, Velvi displayed obvious hostility, but did nothing, merely offering a perfunctory reply.

"Don't be so cold, Vivi~ I can explain, I really, really, really just find it a little bit, a little bit awkward to use!"

Alicia, of course, knew the reason, and came over with a grin.

"Speaking of which, I've never seen you smile before, 'expert'! Come on, give me a smile!"

"Alicia".

Wilvi sighed heavily and stopped cracking the eggs.

"You can go find a 'conductor' or a 'great magician' for this kind of topic. I'm just one of the unfortunate areas of thought that they pushed me into giving lectures."

"That won't do~ Look, Vivi, you have so many thought processes. If you were to get to know each and every one of them well, wouldn't that mean you'd suddenly made a lot of friends? Cute girls, the more the better!"

Alicia had absolutely no idea how to write the phrase "know when to stop." Rather, her modus operandi was simply "taking an inch and wanting a mile."

“I’m already quite familiar with you, though it wasn’t my choice. Hey, teaching assistant, get this woman out of here, or at least beat her up.”

The look of annoyance on Vilvi's face deepened, and she suddenly looked at Chidori beside her and said.

"Huh? Me, me?"

Qian Du was dumbfounded.

"Hmm? Another cute girl..."

Alicia turned her gaze to Chitori and unconsciously smiled.

But for some reason, her smile suddenly faded a bit halfway through, and she paused for half a second while speaking.

"...A child, right? Velvi, is this your teaching assistant?"

"Yes, a doctoral student at this university."

The "expert" Wilvi wasn't good at reading people's expressions and didn't notice Alicia's unusual behavior at all.

"Is that so? Hello, I'm Alicia, from Velvi's..."

"colleague."

"Close friend?"

The two said in unison.

"Haha, Vilvie's a little shy, so what about you? What's your name?"

Alicia felt no embarrassment at all and looked at Chidori with the same tone, asking the question.

"Ah, hello, I'm Chitose, a student in the Department of Biology."

Qian Duliu quickly bowed and greeted him.

"Hmm?? Biology, the same major as Melutina~"

Alicia quietly took her hand.

"I am the captain of the second squad of the Fire Moth against Honkai. Are you interested in becoming a Fusion Warrior?"

A strange question.

"Expert" Velvi frowned slightly, looked up at Alicia, and found the question too abrupt for Alicia, unlike her usual style.

“She’s booked to join my Spiral Workshop; the ‘Conductor’ has already made the decision on his own.”

However, despite her doubts, Vilvi still offered an explanation.

"Hmm?...I see. So, the Spiral Workshop at Velvi? But you seem to have excellent coordination. Are you practicing something?"

Alicia smiled, asking the question seemingly casually, while simultaneously increasing the pressure on her hand.

"Ah, I'm from the kendo club, that's probably why."

Qian Duliu smiled, showing no change in expression.

"...Hmm? Oh, I see. University clubs are really interesting."

Alicia kept smiling and naturally let go of her hand.

"Yes, I feel I have learned a lot and made friends."

Chitose nodded and continued,

"Um, Miss Alicia, do you know Mr. Kevin?"

"Of course, Kevin and I used to be partners, back when he was just a shy young man."

Alicia nodded, then gave a sly smile.

"Hmm? You're interested in Kevin? Another one of Kevin's little fans?"

"Ah, no, but Mr. Kevin has told me a lot about the Firemoth these past few days. Although he seems cold, he is a good person."

Qian Duliu quickly shook his head and said.

"Kevin, I'm not surprised at all..."

Alicia glanced at Velvi and asked,

"Did Kevin say anything? Like that Chizuru is cute and he wants to recruit her into the First Squad or something?"

"I already said it's Spiral Workshop..."

Velvi pressed her forehead and said,

"Kevin didn't say much, but he thought highly of this girl and made her my teaching assistant."

"Hmm... Kevin didn't say anything either..."

Alicia muttered something under her breath, then looked up and smiled.

"Alright, alright, sorry for stopping you for so long. Remember to come find me if you need anything, okay? After all, I'm the one in charge of recruiting members for the Firemoth faction, right?"

"I see. Indeed, I've always wondered why Mr. Kevin would be in charge of admissions."

Chitoyu nodded understandingly; compared to Kevin, Alicia's affability was simply too high.

Young boys just beginning to experience romantic feelings would probably be easily swayed by Alicia's words and rush to fill out the application form.

"Okay, Vivi, I'll be attending your class later. Goodbye for now."

Alicia smiled and nodded, adding a few words before leaving.

"...It's okay if you don't come."

Vilvi rolled her eyes.

After Alicia left, Chizuru suddenly realized something, and after a moment's hesitation, she said:

“Um, Miss Wilvi…”

"kindness."

"Her noodles are still here."

Chitoyu awkwardly pointed to the pot lid noodles on the table.

"That's for Kevin, he'll be there soon."

Vilvi continued cracking the tea eggs, speaking without looking up.

…………

Gaia University

Moth Chasing Fire Volunteer Recruitment Station

"Alicia? When did you arrive?"

Hen lifted his head from the newspaper, his face showing deep dark circles under his eyes, looking very tired.

"I was here last night... Hen, what's wrong with you? Post-marital syndrome?"

Alicia was startled when she saw Hen's expression.

"Ha, Gretchen is so old, how could she... It's nothing, I just don't know why I was bombarded with phone calls from Su and the others yesterday..."

Hen waved his hand, looking exhausted.

God knows how long it took him to explain that he didn't let Gretchen wear shoes at home because she often stepped on the canvas and paint, not because he was a perverted little girl-obsessed father.

"Although I am very interested in this..."

Alicia shook her head fiercely, dispelling her curiosity.

"However, there's a problem with Hen."

Chapter Fifty-Two: Let's Escape

"That's really quite unusual."

"Conductor" Vervier put away the instruments and stroked her chin.