Collapse, Kaslana's Way of Survival

"Secondly, I made these dishes specifically for your appetite, Kenuo. They're just the right amount, not too much, not too little. If I ate them all, you wouldn't be full, right? So, don't be polite."

"…Fine."

Sighing secretly, Kainuo obediently picked up the chopsticks and completely gave up struggling.

With a dead heart, Kainuo picked up the noodles and put them into his mouth stiffly.

Well, the taste is not unexpectedly good, at least it tastes much better than the noodles that Anka originally made.

With a determined heart, Kainuo picked up the bowl and began to eat with relish.

Since the final result is the same, it is better to make the process more comfortable.

……

"Phew, I'm so full."

After rubbing his bloated belly, Kainuo turned his head and gave Yaesakura a thumbs up.

“I have to say, it tastes amazing!”

The ramen Yaesakura proudly served to her guests was truly exceptional, on par with Bella and Mei's deliciousness. Even more crucially, the generous portions were filling; eight generous bowls filled Kaino's plate to a hearty satisfaction.

And it seemed that he was overthinking the heavy metal poisoning. At least so far he didn't feel any discomfort.

"You're welcome, just enjoy your meal." Yaezakura smiled subtly.

"what."

With his mind slightly deceived, Kainuo looked at the still empty seat of Yaesakura's father with a slight distraction, frowned and looked at the sky outside which had completely darkened.

He had originally wanted to take advantage of the opportunity after dinner to chat with the other party and see if he could get any more information out of him, but he didn't know if the other party was a prophet, as he was not there this time and hadn't come back even at this late hour.

Could it be that the Honkai beasts ate them? But when he left, he clearly used his power to secretly kill those Honkai beasts, right?

After hesitating for a moment, Kaino tilted his head towards Yae Sakura and asked, "Speaking of which, Yae... Sakura, where is your father?"

"Him?" Yaesakura sounded a little surprised.

She really didn't care too much about her father's whereabouts.

"It seems... he went to the village chief?" After thinking for a moment, Yae Sakura said uncertainly, "When I went to sort the herbs earlier, I saw many people in the village heading in the direction of the village chief. As the shrine's chief priest, father should go there too, right?"

Kaino stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

Although it seems that the village chief just called a meeting, but at this time, it feels like a major event that affects the entire village?

Maybe it is related to the breaking point of this spiritual world.

"No need to worry about him." Seeing that Kaino had been silent for a long time, Yae Sakura thought he was worried again: "Although Yae Village is small, it's not without restaurants and the like. And since the village chief called them to a meeting at this time, he must have prepared dinner and the like."

"And considering the time, they should have just returned from the meeting by now. In short, there's no need to worry."

"Ying, did you go to the meeting too?" Kainuo asked doubtfully.

"No, it's just my guess." After a light cough, Yae Sakura casually passed over the topic and began to clean up the dishes.

Seeing that Yaesakura was unwilling to say more, Kainuo did not dwell on it too much.

"I'll help you?"

"That's not necessary." Yaezakura refused. "As the host, how can I let my guests do this? Kainuo, you should go back and rest. After all, it's getting late."

"By the way, I'll bring the medicine soup along when I call you tomorrow morning. The medicine I made works quickly, and you should be able to recover soon, Keno."

"Well... okay." Kaino thought for a moment and then replied, "Then I'll be leaving first."

Chapter 167 Their Sacrifice

"Kaino, it's time to get up." Yaesakura's voice was extremely gentle, as if she was coaxing a child.

But perhaps it was because her voice was too soft that Kayno, who was sleeping soundly, did not get up because of these words. He even turned sideways and covered his ears with both hands.

Seeing this scene, Yaezakura could only sigh helplessly.

“…Really? Kaino, it’s time to get up and take your medicine. If you don’t, it will get cold.” Yaesakura continued to shout with her voice raised a little.

However, the previous action of blocking his ears seemed to be extremely effective. Although the sound was louder, Kayno lay there motionless without giving any reaction.

The corners of Yaezakura's mouth twitched, and she used too much force with the hand holding the medicine soup, almost dropping it.

Taking a deep breath, she untied the scabbard containing Sakura Fubuki from her waist with one hand, and then aimed at Kaino's head.

After a slight hesitation, the soft-hearted Yaezakura set her target again on Kainuo's thigh, then raised the scabbard high and smashed it hard!

Kaino's eyes suddenly opened.

"ah*!"

……

"Well, I didn't mean to say that." Kainuo pulled the quilt, holding the medicine bowl in one hand, and looked at Yaesakura with an embarrassed expression.

"Sakura, could you please knock on the door before coming in next time?"

Fortunately, he wears pajamas when he sleeps and doesn't like kicking the quilt like Kiana, otherwise Yaesakura would have ruined his reputation.

"I knocked, but you didn't respond, so I came in." Yae Sakura said confidently, not thinking it was a big deal. "And after I came in, I called you twice, but you didn't respond, so I finally hit you with my scabbard."

She was kneeling not far from Kainuo, watching Kainuo drink the medicine with a calm expression, just like a mother supervising her child who doesn't like taking medicine to make sure he drinks it.

…No, isn’t this analogy a bit inappropriate?

Blowing the medicine soup in his hand, Kainuo thought boredly.

"Stop playing around and drink it quickly," Yae Sakura urged, "If the medicine gets cold, its effectiveness will be greatly reduced."

Well, that's very fitting and there's nothing wrong with that.

After complaining viciously about Yae Sakura in his heart, Kainuo closed his eyes, pinched his nose and drank the medicine in one gulp. Then he handed the rest of the bowl to Yae Sakura while coughing.

"I'm not saying this, but this medicine is too bitter."

"Good medicine tastes bitter. And this medicine has a very light bitterness. I think that's why you, Kaino, don't like taking medicine." Yae Sakura said indifferently.

Kaino glanced to the side.

Having grown up in Tianming, he never needed medicine when he was sick. After all, Tianming's technology was the most advanced. No matter what disease he had, a shot would cure it immediately.

Not to mention when they arrived at the orphanage later, the priest with the Black Abyss and White Flower was able to make them immune to all diseases.

Unexpectedly, I ended up falling into this spiritual world today.

But this medicine is indeed very useful. After drinking it, he now feels that his physical condition has almost recovered... Is this something that is set up in this world?

"Let's not talk about this. Why did we get up so early today?" Looking at the sky outside the window which was darker than yesterday morning, Kainuo scratched his hair and looked a little depressed.

Even when he was practicing martial arts with Fu Hua, he never got up so early every day.

"...Too many monsters appeared yesterday. If this continues, it will inevitably endanger the safety of the villagers." Yaezakura's voice seemed a little stiff for some reason. "That's why we set out early today."

"That's it."

"Speaking of which, I have something I want to ask for your help, Kaino." Yae Sakura suddenly looked at Kaino seriously.

Feeling a little uncomfortable under Yae Sakura's gaze, Kaino shrank his neck and leaned back slightly: "Don't be like this, I'm not used to it... If you have anything to say, just tell me. You've helped me so many times, so what's wrong with me helping you back?"

"It's still about the monsters. If possible, I hope you can help me eliminate them, Kaino." Yae Sakura lowered her head slightly. "You saw what happened yesterday. I can't face the increasing number of monsters alone. The way you held the sword that day, Kaino, I think you must be a martial artist. When you saved me yesterday, your movements were also very quick and decisive, so I hope you can help me."

"Of course, this is life-threatening, and I can't offer any compensation. So if you don't want to, Keno..."

"Don't worry, just leave it to me." Kaino shrugged, interrupting Yae Sakura. "Besides, why wouldn't I be reluctant? Saving my life is a great favor. I can never repay you enough for saving me once—er, as long as it doesn't violate my personal principles."

Yaezakura was stunned when she heard this, and after a moment of silence, she nodded seriously.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome to return that remark. It's just a simple favor, don't take it to heart."

Waving his hand, Kaino shifted his gaze to the door of the room and asked Yaezakura casually, "Speaking of which, Sakura, can I ask you something?"

"Ask me something?" Yaezakura was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Of course no problem."

"Look, I heard your relationship with most of the villagers isn't great, even strained. So why are you still helping them?" Turning back to carefully observe Yaesakura's expression, Kaino asked cautiously after confirming that his favorability had been maxed out. "And your relationship with everyone in the village is strained. Did something happen between you two?"

Yaezakura was distracted when she heard this and fell into silence.

After two or three seconds, seeing the increasingly tense atmosphere, Kainuo couldn't help but feel annoyed at his own impatience. He smiled apologetically and waved his hand to make amends: "Well, I was just asking casually. If you don't want to say it, it's completely..."

"Do we really need a reason to help others?" Yaezakura suddenly asked back.

"Ah?" Kainuo was stunned and couldn't react for a moment.

"Even if we're not on good terms, helping others probably doesn't require a reason." Staring intently at Kaino, Yae Sakura said slowly, "Every life deserves respect. Just like when I saved you, Kaino, from falling into the stream, and just like when you bled to save me, do we really need a reason?"

"Besides, they are still people from the village. No matter how big the conflict is, I will not stand idly by."

Kaino fell silent.

It's not that the question touched his heart. Having been baptized by Kaslana's family tradition and the priest's education, his values ​​are very firm and not much different from Yaesakura's. How could he be shaken by this?

Even though what he did was a bit chaotic sometimes, because it was for the people he cared about and he firmly believed that it was right, he didn't shudder or feel ashamed.

But he had not expected that Yaesakura, the shrine maiden, would have such a high level of ideological awareness... No matter how big the conflict was, he would not stand by and watch someone die. Most Kaslanas might not be at this level.

"Besides," Yae Sakura suddenly clenched her hands, her face darkened, and her voice was filled with uncontrollable anger and uncontrollable sorrow.

"Besides, they have sacrificed so much to have the right to live now, and they have no gratitude towards those who sacrificed. Why should they lose it like this?"

"If they die like this, then wouldn't the sacrifices of those people be completely in vain?!"

Yae Sakura could no longer suppress her emotions, unleashing the grief and indignation she had harbored for years on this friend she had only known for a few days. Her faint sobs echoed through the room, and Kaino could only stare blankly, unsure of what to do.

He really didn't know how to coax girls of his age - except Xier and his sister.

Although Xier probably never cried.

Fortunately, Yae Sakura quickly stopped venting her emotions. After stopping her emotions, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Kaino embarrassedly.

"Sorry, I lost my temper."

"Uh, it's okay, you..." Kaino hesitated for a moment and then continued, "Ying, do you want to rest for a while?"

He also realized that the other party was not a great saint who cared about the people, but an ordinary girl who was constantly wavering between salvation and revenge and leaning more and more towards revenge as time went by.

If he hadn't let out his emotions today, if it weren't for the fact that large-scale collapses were rare in this era, then with just a little help, he would have been like Xilin back then, instantly transforming into a law seeking revenge against the world...

The Herr?!

Kaino stared at Yaezakura, his heart suddenly tense.

Chapter 168 Conflict

Yaezakura, whose emotions were constantly on the verge of collapse, Yaezakura, who had ears of unknown origin in the Seaside World, Yaezakura, who was ruined in the 21st century, and the fox statue that no longer exists but finally stood tall in the shrine...

In an instant, all the clues obtained so far were connected into a line in Kainuo's mind, and the truth was undoubtedly clear -

No, I must have overthought it.

After knocking his head, Keno let out a long sigh.

Although the logical inference is correct, the causal relationship is seriously flawed.

Even if everything that happened in this spiritual world was true, there was still one issue that could not be ignored - leaving aside the Herrscher who had reawakened from his dormant state, it was not the birth of the Herrscher that caused the Honkai Impact, but the outbreak of Honkai Impact that gave rise to the Herrscher.

After all, there are countless people who are desperate and full of revenge against the world. If they can become Herrschers in this way, then humans might as well just run away.

However, the current Yae Village is just a remote village that is separated from the 21st century by who knows how many years. There are no conditions for the birth of Honkai, so the possibility of the birth of Herrscher should be close to zero.

But recently, more and more Honkai beasts have begun to gather around Yae Village...

Kainuo bared his teeth and scratched his head in annoyance.

There are too many problems in this spiritual space.

"Kaino?" Yae Sakura, noticing the movement from Kaino's side, asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"Ah, I'm fine." Kainuo shook his head.

What on earth am I worrying about?

The clues haven't been fully gathered yet, and even if they were, there's no guarantee they'd find a way out. After all, this world isn't a place Seer has created to find his other self, but a prison his enemies have built to keep him trapped.

In this case, it is better to take it one step at a time.

Thinking of this, Kainuo raised his head again to observe Yaesakura's condition. After confirming that her expression was fine and her mood had been completely sorted out, he cleared his throat and continued speaking.

"Well, Sakura, shall we continue with the topic we were discussing?"