Himeko was at a loss for words. She got the distinct feeling this kid wasn't talking to her.
Elysia didn't really know what to say either. She could only respond half-heartedly, "Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. The world can't function without you."
Shiraha lifted his head, his expression dead serious. "Time will prove I'm right."
With that, he picked up the cup of warm milk Himeko had poured at some point and sipped it in small, quiet mouthfuls. The warm liquid slid down his throat, spreading a cozy heat through his stomach.
Then he went over to the window and sat down side by side with Elysia. He didn't speak just reached out and drew a crooked, lopsided smiley face on the glass.
Elysia glanced at it. She couldn't help herself. She reached out a finger and drew a rounder one right beside it.
The two smiley faces huddled together, one crooked, one perfectly round and cute.
Himeko: ?
Witnessing this bizarre scene, Himeko's mind instinctively jumped to Honkai. Honkai really is something else.
"Alright, little guy. What do you want for breakfast?"
She clapped her hands, pulling Shiraha's attention back from the glass.
"Anything's fine with me. But Mei-nee likes sweet things."
Elysia-nee does too.
Having casually earned a few morning affection points, Shiraha decided not to continue goofing around with Nee-chan. He sidled up to Himeko, who was preparing to cook, his expression genuinely curious. "Himeko-nee, what kind of work have you been doing at ME Corp lately?"
Elysia's lips pursed. She reached out, ready to wipe both smiley faces off the glass but she couldn't touch it.
She huffed indignantly and withdrew her hand.
"Work, huh?" Himeko pondered for a moment, looking a little tangled.
Shiraha helpfully offered, "Is it still work related to Honkai energy?"
Himeko's face lit up with sudden realization. Right, what was I even tangled about? Shiraha's a born-and-bred Anti-Entropy kid.
"Mostly research related to Stigmata and mechs. As it happens, my major was stellar navigation dynamics, so it's actually right up my alley."
Himeko was a genuine academic prodigy, a nineteen-year-old UC Berkeley PhD graduate in stellar navigation dynamics. Under normal circumstances, Anti-Entropy's mech division was exactly where her career path should lead.
"Stigmata?"
Shiraha naturally glossed right over mechs. Sure, there'd be that one glorious scene of a Titan one-shotting the Fourth Herrscher in the future, but if the plot proceeded normally, someone like Wendy wouldn't even make it past the qualifiers.
It was hard to say how many Wendys someone like Rita, who coasted all the way to the late game, could take out. And Rita herself was a peripheral late-game character, the kind you could reasonably leave out of the discussion entirely.
"Yeah. Anti-Entropy might be more focused on the mech side, but they've always done research into Stigmata too. ME Corp especially."
Himeko paused. "ME Corp even has a fully equipped research institute for it. And no small amount of data on natural Stigmata. That honestly surprised me."
She'd heard Ryoma Raiden had prepared it for Mei. But plans rarely keep pace with change, when Mei's Stigmata had erupted, the institute had only just been finished. There'd been no time.
Later, Mei's Stigmata had been stabilized without ever needing the Gem of Conquest. So the institute had ended up becoming one of the rare high-end facilities in Anti-Entropy dedicated to Stigmata research.
She exhaled, continued preparing breakfast, and freed up a hand to ruffle Shiraha's hair.
"Sometimes I really envy you natural Stigmata wielders."
But that was fine. Himeko was ready to switch fields. Sure, going from aerospace dynamics to biology meant starting from zero but she'd sleep six hours a day and quit smoking, drinking, and... other distractions!
With all that sacrifice, she believed she'd succeed!
Who said artificial Stigmata couldn't match natural ones? It was all just encoded genetic data in the end. She refused to believe otherwise!
Shiraha glanced at Elysia, who was staring at the two smiley faces on the window with a plaintive look, lost in who-knew-what thoughts and the smile on his face grew all the more genuine. "Himeko-nee will definitely succeed!"
With that, he ran out of the kitchen and settled back beside Elysia-nee.
"What's this? The little puppy isn't going to keep chatting up the pretty lady?"
Elysia gave a light huff. Her voice sounded calm on the surface, but the end of her sentence lifted just slightly.
Shiraha blinked. "I was just digging for a little intel. I barely know Himeko-nee anyway."
"Just digging for a little intel~"
Elysia drew the words out long and slow, her starry eyes slanting sidelong at him, as if to say: Do you really think I'm that easy to fool?
Shiraha smiled and leaned against Nee-chan, lowering his voice. "Truth is... I think Himeko-nee looks a lot like Senior Himeko. Got a little curious."
Elysia couldn't exactly parrot that one back. She glanced over her shoulder at Himeko too. Way too similar. Even their names written on paper were same.
"Do you think people reincarnate after they die?"
Shiraha shook his head. "Probably not."
Elysia immediately puffed out one cheek. Shiraha, this is when you're supposed to be romantic and play along! You should've said: "Definitely. Everyone will definitely get the chance to meet again in the new era."
Shiraha looked at the two smiley faces on the window and suddenly spoke. "Nee-chan... if I met a reincarnated version of you here, what would you want me to do?"
Elysia: ....
If this were two months ago, and Elysia had discovered she'd genuinely been reincarnated, turned into a little girl with no memories, she probably would've encouraged Shiraha to go after her.
But now, her eyes were hollow. Her gaze was blank.
Oh no. Didn't I originally just want to tease a kid?
"Nee-chan?"
Shiraha tugged at her arm.
Elysia woodenly lowered her gaze. "Shiraha... I think I've gotten a little greedy for everything in this reality. So being alive is this wonderful. Children are this adorable. A companion who understands you is this incredible."
Shiraha pressed his lips together and didn't push the question further. Nee-chan's answer was already satisfying enough.
"Nee-chan, forget about reincarnation for now. I'm more curious about something else right now, when you channel the powers of the past through me, does it affect you at all?"
Elysia paused again. She wasn't entirely sure either, but their previous, smaller-scale uses clearly hadn't had any impact on her condition.
"Probably... no effect?"
Probably?
"Really?"
Shiraha's eyes instantly lit up. Are you saying... I've got my very own Origin-level combat power at my personal disposal?
Elysia was somewhat uncertain. Her expression was a little uneasy, but she still nodded. Probably... yes.
"Are you planning something big?"
Shiraha shook his head. "I was just asking. If Nee-chan unleashing that kind of power consumes something... then I'll be more restrained from now on."
As for Himeko-nee, Shiraha wished her success in her research.
Elysia blinked, then let out a soft laugh. "And here I thought you were going to ask me to help Himeko form a Stigmata prototype too."
"Can't do that." Shiraha vetoed it decisively. "Nothing is clear yet. What if every time Nee-chan uses her power, it damages the very foundation of her existence?"
Shiraha wasn't too concerned about revealing his own selfish motives. even though Elysia herself wasn't sure whether there'd be any cost.
He continued, "In a few more years... in a few more years, I'm planning to go to Shenzhou. Maybe I'll even run into an old acquaintance of Nee-chan's there."
In a few more years, go find Kiana. And while he was at it, head to Mount Taixu. Touch the barrier there. See if Fu Hua could still sense it.
By then: himself, Mei, Yuna, Raven, Grey Serpent, Kiana, and Fu Hua. The last two weren't mandatory. However he assembled it, he'd build a new-era galactic battleship.