"...If I say this is a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"
Kiana spoke stiffly. If she stayed silent any longer, there would truly be no room left to turn things around.
Her physical condition was excellent.
But even that had its limits.
"Of course you can speak. I don't think I've deprived you of that right."
Though she said that, Herta grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the lounge.
"We can talk here too, right?"
Kiana hurriedly dug her heels in, stopping Herta from dragging her along. If they went back to the room, she really wouldn't be getting out again.
She tugged, but couldn't budge Kiana.
Herta stopped the futile effort, turned back with a faint, ambiguous smile, and simply asked, "You're sure you want to stay here, right?"
There was an unmistakable threat in her tone.
She wasn't beating around the bush. Kiana understood immediately, her face falling. She almost wished she hadn't understood what Herta meant.
Herta released her hand. "Fine. Then we'll stay here. As long as you can accept it, I have no objections."
Several thoughts collided in Kiana's mind. With an awkward smile, she stepped forward, placing her hands on Herta's back and gently pushing her toward the lounge.
"On second thought, let's talk inside."
My life is suffering...
Kiana lamented inwardly. She really should have been more restrained.
Herta didn't say anything more, going along with her push and entering the lounge. Only after Kiana withdrew her hands did she resume that scrutinizing gaze, as if reminding her of something.
"...Aren't you at all worried about Ruan raising insects in your containment sector?"
Kiana held it in for a moment, starting the conversation from there to prove she had a legitimate reason for going to see Ruan.
Of course, she could have just openly said she wanted to see her—that she missed her.
Herta probably wouldn't have minded that.
But she would mind 'her'.
Kiana still hadn't fully recovered from Ruan's earlier mention of "jealousy." Accepting it didn't mean she wouldn't feel something.
What happens if you're too straightforward and inflexible?
You get burned, of course.
If they were in a bad mood, would they let her feel good?
Obviously not.
"You're saying you were worried those insects she's raising might get out of control, so you went to check?"
"Mm-hmm!" Kiana nodded repeatedly. "Exactly!"
Herta laughed. "I'm not worried."
"The power of Propagation is dangerous..." Kiana muttered quietly. "And you know what kind of person Ruan is. She likes conducting risky experiments."
"You don't trust her?"
"I..."
Kiana choked on her words. Saying she trusted her would contradict what she'd just said. Saying she didn't...
"If you were doing dangerous experiments like that, I'd be just as concerned about you," she said seriously.
"That's unnecessary." Herta snorted lightly. "I'm Herta. There's nothing that can keep stumping me."
"Mm-hmm, I know. Our Madam Herta is the smartest, the greatest genius!" Kiana went along with her, smoothing things over.
Seeing Herta's mood visibly improve, the weight in Kiana's chest quietly lifted. She pressed on while she had the chance. "Didn't something already happen in the containment sector? Some True Stings escaped the lab and hid in the corridors. I took care of quite a few."
"Ruan will have someone clean it up," Herta said dismissively, as if it wasn't important.
The True Stings were certainly dangerous, but she trusted Ruan would have proper measures in place. After all, this was her territory.
Her experiments might be troublesome, but she wouldn't leave the mess for herself to deal with.
She wasn't that irresponsible.
If something like that really happened, Herta would definitely go have a proper talk with her.
"Also... I'm a bit concerned about Tingyun's situation. Oh, the fox girl Ruan brought back—the one you mentioned before."
The True Stings weren't enough, so Kiana brought Tingyun into it as well. A double shield should block at least some trouble.
"You know her?"
"...Not exactly, but I've heard of her."
Not exactly, but she knew of her?
Herta raised an eyebrow slightly. It was clear Kiana wasn't lying—she did know the foxian—but this trip to see her?
Probably not the real reason.
More likely a spur-of-the-moment excuse.
But did that matter?
"Anything else?"
Kiana froze. "Isn't that enough?"
"So you're done?"
Should she nod or shake her head?
Kiana felt at a loss.
"Well said," Herta remarked. "But what does any of that have to do with me?"
She didn't even care how far they were from the bed—she reached out and started tugging at Kiana's clothes.
"Wait, wait, wait—Isn't that enough?"
Kiana hurriedly covered her chest and retreated, pulling away from Herta as if escaping.
Herta rested one hand on her hip. "What you just said—what does it have to do with what I said earlier?"
"I—I went to see Ruan not because..." Kiana flushed red, too embarrassed to repeat Herta's earlier implication.
"Not because?"
Kiana nodded seriously. "I didn't go to do those things with her. I really just wanted to ask about the progress of the Starcrusher Swarm King."
"And did you?"
With a single sentence, Herta ended the argument.
Kiana couldn't refute it. The fact was, it had already happened—no matter what her original reason had been.
Her silence was as good as admission.
Herta let out an annoyed snort, stepped forward, grabbed her, and pulled the unresisting Kiana toward the bed.
"Ruan's probably not in a great mood, is she?"
That was only natural.
Kiana had been rather carefree before, but now she deeply understood—even Ruan could get jealous.
She had even been thinking, after not seeing Acheron for days, about finding time to visit her.
But now...
Thinking of Ruan—normally so calm and rational—of the things she had said and done today, Kiana felt a trace of fear at the idea of going to see Acheron.
Better wait a couple more days.
"That's obvious," Kiana admitted.
"Because my mood isn't very good either."
Pressing her down onto the bed, Herta said flatly, "You're covered in Ruan's scent."
Kiana froze. She had clearly bathed—so how could Herta still smell Ruan on her?
"When she saw you, she probably felt the same as I do now," Herta said, gently stroking Kiana's face. "The her you saw today... was a little different from the one you knew before, wasn't it?"
Kiana stared at her in shock, as if asking how she knew.
"Why would I know? Is that so hard to guess?" Herta said. "You didn't seriously think Ruan was the same inside and out, did you? She's far more dangerous than I am."
Kiana instinctively raised her hand to cover Herta's mouth. "Don't speak badly about her."
"How is that speaking badly?" Herta frowned, pulling her hand away. "Do you think I'm that kind of person? I'm just stating facts."
Kiana covered her ears, looking like she didn't want to hear anything—whether it was criticism or truth didn't matter.
"I'm reminding you!"
"...Forget it. If you want to bury your head in the sand, go ahead. That's between you and her. It has nothing to do with me."
Gripping Kiana's shoulders, Herta's gaze turned dangerous. "Let's go back to the original topic."
"Don't worry. This time, I'll definitely 'satisfy' you properly."
"Oh, right." As if recalling something, Herta gave her a mesmerizing smile. "While you're lying on my bed, don't think about anyone else, alright?~"
"Otherwise..."
"You won't want to know the consequences."
...
"You're still awake?"
Aboard the ark docked at the Xianzhou, Sirin was somewhat surprised to find Acheron in the ship's observatory.
Several days had already passed since the turmoil on the Xianzhou.
Originally, Acheron had only intended to escort Sirin here, confirm everything was fine, and then leave. But at Jing Yuan's invitation, she had stayed a few more days.
The general had treated her as a trump card, much like the Astral Express. Not long ago, she, along with the Xianzhou general and the Trailblazers of the Astral Express, had fought in a Delve Construction known as Scalegorge Waterscape against the Destruction's Lord Ravager, Phantylia.
At Jing Yuan's signal, she had drawn her blade.
And struck down at the Lord Ravager.
A slash of Nihility.
With that, the mastermind stirring chaos behind the Luofu was eliminated. Without the Lord Ravager, the remaining matters became far easier to handle.
"...Kiana hasn't come to see me these past few days."
Seated beneath the starry sky, gazing at the countless projected stars above, Acheron voiced her confusion.
"I haven't seen her for quite a while either, have I?" Sirin said, not thinking it was a big deal. "You've confirmed your relationship, sure, but you don't have to stick together all the time."
Acheron glanced at her calmly and refuted, "It's different."
She was Kiana's lover.
What was Sirin?
A friend.
But that last sentence...
Veins popped on Sirin's forehead. "Do you even know how to talk? Always 'Kiana this, Kiana that.' Don't you have anything of your own to do?"
"Aren't you supposed to uphold Nihility?"
"If you really don't know what to do, I can arrange some work for you—let you contribute properly to the ark."
Acheron fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said a name: "Galaxy Ranger."
"What does that have to do with Rangers?"
"I'm looking for a Galaxy Ranger."
Before she had received news of Kiana—before learning that Kiana had escaped her predicament—Acheron had been searching for the Galaxy Ranger.
After finding Kiana again...
Kiana had suggested that during the Charmony Festival, they might release some information to attract the Ranger.
So she had stopped wandering aimlessly.
Now, the festival was drawing near, yet there was still no new information from Jing Yuan's investigation.
Perhaps... it was time for her to go to Penacony.
But as a Self-Annihilator—one who wielded power on the level of an Emanator—entering Penacony through normal means would likely be impossible.
Go together with Kiana?
Acheron didn't want to burden her.
A thought suddenly formed in her mind.
Sirin waved it off casually. "If you want to find a Ranger, then just go look."
She didn't even ask why.
Acheron nodded. "I'll leave tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Sirin straightened, startled by how suddenly she decided to go. "So urgent? The Stellaron crisis on the Luofu has just settled. General Jing Yuan probably still has things to discuss with you."
"You can talk with him. It makes no difference," Acheron replied.
She understood her own situation well.
Matters like that were troublesome. Even if she stayed until the Xianzhou resolved its internal strife, those discussions would likely be handled by Sirin, Bronya, and the others.
That made sense.
Sirin thought for a moment, then asked, "What about Kiana? Don't tell me you're going to find her?"
There was indeed such an impulse.
Ever since the day Izumo was destroyed—when she lost both her homeland and Kiana—a hollow had formed within her, one that could never be filled.
Later, when she reunited with Kiana...
Her presence filled that emptiness, easing her condition.
But the moment she left Kiana's side, that hollow reappeared.
Along with it came a deeper unease, driving her to want to remain by Kiana's side at all times, to keep her within sight.
Since reuniting with her, Acheron had rarely been apart from Kiana.
"...She'll come find me," Acheron lowered her head in thought before saying, "You're right. I can't keep her by my side all the time."
Kiana didn't belong to her alone.
At that thought, a faint bitterness surfaced in Acheron's numb heart—an emotion so vivid.
It churned together with the dark sludge buried within her, urging her to keep Kiana forever, to never let her leave her sight.
Her reason suppressed it all.
Seeing that she had actually listened, Sirin felt both surprised and a little awkward, scratching her cheek. "It's good you can take advice. But I think Kiana wouldn't mind staying close to you. After all, you've always been the one she likes most."
She hadn't meant to stir trouble.
"...I know," Acheron replied calmly. "Although our purposes differ, our next destination is the same—Penacony."
"Penacony?"
Sirin looked up in surprise.
She was very familiar with that place. Not only because she had heard Kiana talk about the outside world back in Izumo...
But because she had been to that Planet of Festivities.
Twice.
The last time, she had gone together with Kiana—along with another of Kiana's friends.
"Yes. Penacony."
She planned to act alone first—just like when she had searched for the Ranger before—using the Ranger's identity to see if she could draw them out.
Kiana hadn't gone to Penacony yet.
Acheron knew this. Kiana had told her earlier that she would remain at the space station for a while longer, cooperating with Herta on a project related to Honkai.
"Do you need—"
"No." Acheron shook her head, refusing Sirin's unspoken offer. "Stay here. After Penacony is resolved, we need to return to Izumo."
"No matter whether the outcome is good or bad..."
"It will be the final ending."
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