While Bronya and Fu Lin were chatting idly, several monsters of varying shapes and sizes were closing in, following their scent, their roars echoing through the air.
Bronya's eyes sharpened. A drone shot up instantly, blue scanning grids spreading out like a net. In an instant, her display filled with dense clusters of red dots.
"Looks like we'll have to pause our talk here. Let's find a safer spot first, then we can discuss your situation."
"No problem. I happened to find a place earlier that could serve as a temporary base."
Fu Lin shrugged, his gaze sweeping lazily toward the encroaching monsters. He took half a step to the side, subtly positioning himself behind Bronya and danger.
Bronya caught the small gesture and rolled her eyes.
"...You've got no sense of gentlemanly manners at all. I seriously don't get what Kiana☆ and Mei☆ see in you."
Her words came with a sigh, but her attention shifted toward the young man beside her, who looked tangled up in thought, as though trying to find the right words to ask something.
"By the way, special ops soldier, I don't think I caught your name."
The young man tightened his grip on his sword and replied,
"Adam."
"So it's you." Bronya's eyes flickered with recognition, and her tone lifted slightly with a note of amused surprise. "You're the only male student at St. Freya Academy."
Adam stared at her, his expression filled with quiet exasperation.
"So in everyone's eyes, I'm just 'the only male student at St. Freya'? I've got top marks and solid performance across the board, but no one ever seems to mention that."
Bronya nodded lightly, but her tone shifted to one of brisk authority.
"Now isn't the time to worry about labels. The monsters will reach us in thirty seconds. Fu Lin, you lead us to that base you mentioned. I'll handle the monsters. Adam, you stay behind me, and until we figure out why the Honkai corruption disappeared, don't use that sword again."
...
After Bronya cleared the last wave of pursuing monsters, the three finally reached an old, hidden garage.
Bronya surveyed the space, then gave a small nod of approval.
"This place... hmm, not bad. Could work. There's a hole in the second floor, though, might be a safety issue, but we don't have the luxury to be picky right now."
Then she turned to Adam, her tone calm as she said,
"Alright. Take off your clothes, Squad Member Adam."
Kiana☆: "Hiss!"
Adam's head snapped up, eyes wide in disbelief. He almost dropped his sword from his hands.
...What?
Bronya didn't notice his stiff reaction. Seeing that he wasn't moving, she urged him on.
"Hmm? What are you waiting for? Hurry up."
Faced with Bronya's firm tone, Adam instinctively took a step back.
Bronya frowned slightly, assuming he was nervous about pain from the inspection. She added,
"Relax, I just need to take a look. Or... do you need some time to mentally prepare yourself?"
Adam hesitated. "If possible..."
"I didn't quite catch that. Say it again?"
Bronya's sharp gaze locked onto him. She leaned in closer, narrowing the distance between them.
Just then, Fu Lin finished shutting the garage door and happened to overhear the suggestive-sounding exchange. He couldn't help but chuckle as he walked over.
"Ahem, Bronya, maybe you didn't phrase that too well. Anyone would misunderstand if you start by telling them to strip."
Only then did Bronya realize how her words might've sounded. Her face stiffened for a moment before she masked it with stern composure.
"I only meant to check if the markings on your body have completely faded. You don't need to undress, just pull your collar down a bit so I can see."
Adam let out a breath of relief and quickly tugged at his collar. The purple marks that had once crawled across his neck were gone, his skin smooth and unblemished.
"They're... really gone."
Bronya frowned faintly and took out her detector, scanning him from head to toe. The data reading, "Zero Residue", made her brows knit tighter.
"This doesn't make sense... What did you do to suppress the Honkai corrosion?"
Adam shook his head. He didn't remember much, everything had been a blur. Subconsciously, he turned his gaze toward Fu Lin, the only person he'd seen after waking up.
Bronya followed his glance, immediately understanding, and looked at Fu Lin.
"It was you?"
"When I woke up, he was the only one there," Adam added quietly.
Bronya nodded thoughtfully, then handed Adam a Ring of the Moon, helping him wear it as she briefly explained its function for stabilizing internal energy.
Once that was done, she turned to Fu Lin, her voice calm but carrying unmistakable authority.
"Can we talk in private?"
"No." Fu Lin's refusal was blunt and absolute.
Bronya went silent for a moment, her gaze growing colder. "...That's not a request."
Fu Lin let out a faint, wordless hum, but didn't argue further.
The heavy garage door lowered behind them, cutting off Adam's curious eyes and sealing in the stale air and dust.
In the distance, faint monster howls drifted through the wind like shards of glass scraping across stone.
Bronya was the first to stop walking. When she turned around, her eyes were already locked squarely on Fu Lin.
He leaned lazily against the peeling wall, tracing a finger over the cracks and watching the flakes crumble beneath his touch, his attitude casual, almost dismissive.
Bronya didn't speak right away. Her gaze lifted toward the darkening horizon, where the twilight had dyed the sky a heavy red, and a pale moon hung dimly above.
For a long moment, only silence lingered, until a familiar, faintly hesitant voice echoed within.
Kiana☆: "Bronya... did she find me out?"
At last, Bronya's eyes lowered from the sky and settled on Fu Lin's face.
"I know about your connection with them," she said quietly, "and I know you shared something precious with them. I envy that."
"Hm? And then?" Fu Lin's tone slipped back into its usual drawl, careless and teasing.
'So irritating! How could idiot Kiana☆ and Sister Mei☆ both like someone like this!'
Bronya's hands clenched white-knuckled at her sides.
Before he could react, she suddenly raised a leg and slammed her boot heel into the wall beside his shoulder, the impact echoing sharply as cracks spidered out from the dent.
"Show some damn respect, you jerk!"
The sharp command shattered the uneasy quiet.
Fu Lin blinked, startled by the sudden "leg slam," and after a brief cough, his tone softened for once.
"Ahem... alright, go ahead."
"Why didn't you appear in Bronya's childhood?"
Her voice lost its earlier edge, quiet and heavy with something more complicated, like a question buried deep for too long.
Fu Lin's pupils shrank. He instinctively tried to step back, but there was nowhere to go. His relaxed composure broke into bewilderment.
"What? What are you even talking about?" What kind of nonsensical script is this?
Bronya's tone suddenly sharpened, her nails digging into her palm as her eyes flashed with something fierce and unreadable.
"You appeared in Mei☆'s and Kiana☆'s worlds and brought them light. My world wasn't any better, so why not me? Do you just look down on Bronya?"
[Kiana☆: Oh, so that's why you kept asking me about Fu Lin! You wanted light too?!
Dio: Tch!
Kiana☆: Wrong universe, dude!]
Fu Lin threw up his hands, exasperated and helpless.
"Hey, you'll have to take that up with the author. If they don't write me in, what can I do?"
The words froze Bronya in place. Her fingers paused mid-clench. She blinked once, confusion flickering across her face.
"What nonsense are you blabbering about?"