Chapter 191 – Mature Children Always Make One's Heart Ache; The Great Onmyoji Otto
The audience was actively discussing the story.
After glancing at a few analytical comments on the livestream, Elysia continued progressing the plot.
After conversing with the giant Homu, Bianca decided to team up with it to investigate the space further and search for the key to breaking out.Within nearby devices, the two saw many memories that didn't belong to them.
Mei and Su's conversation after the battle of Finality.A dialogue between Kallen and her father....
These memories all seemed to share some common thread.
Bianca's activity also drew the attention of a mysterious figure, who spoke words filled with implication.
[Durandal, your Overseer shoved you in here—could it be he's hoping to use you to reverse and collapse the long-standing spatial distortion in this area, opening the final path for his own ends?]
At this, players couldn't help mentally grumbling—yes, riddlers were truly one of Honkai Impact 3rd's specialties, an experience not to be missed.
But before they could send in their comments—
A memory appeared of Durandal and Rita's first meeting at Schicksal HQ.
Even as young girls, their first encounter already had a faint sweetness.
"May I help you with something?""I need to report to Sector A15, do you know how to get there?""Mm, just go straight ahead and turn left…"
Rita was guiding Bianca, who had just arrived at HQ. But… little Bianca was a tsundere and a bit scatterbrained.
"Thanks."
No sooner had she thanked her than she stepped off in the wrong direction.
"Wait," Rita quickly called out, "that way is left… the other way is right, you've mixed them up."
[High EQ: You've mixed up your directions; Low EQ: You can't tell left from right.][Feels like they were sweeter as kids—grown-up Durandal's just a dork.][That's why she's called Silly Goose.]
"Little Bianca~~ So cute~~""So sweet~~ If the main story starts out this sweet, I don't dare imagine what's coming next."
Elysia kept her composure and clicked on the screen.
After this memory, the scene shifted from the sanatorium to Schicksal HQ—and three new Homus appeared.
Homu (Bug), Homla (Little Goose), and Hommei (Cecilia).
By observing Durandal's interactions with memory fragments, they gradually pieced together the origin and workings of this space, helping her find a way out.
Realizing this, Durandal prepared to act together with the three Homus.
Homu even sweetly reminded her, "Be careful, big sister!"
Seeing this, Elysia's expression started to waver.
If one didn't know the truth, there would be nothing unusual here.But she knew.
Rounded up, that was Bug calling Silly Goose "big sister."
Her change in expression didn't go unnoticed by the viewers.
[Why did the fairy lady's expression suddenly… I can't quite describe it.][Don't tell me the fairy lady even ships the Homus? That's a kink beyond my imagination.][I think… I might understand why she looks like that now.][Stop being riddlers, you lot!]
One player typed a few words to post their guess, then stopped, deleted it, and wrote something else instead.
[Let's just keep watching, maybe something big's coming.][Oh, here we go again. "Something big"? What big thing? You think just because they gave us sweetness, there's bound to be a knife? Durandal didn't get knifed when she fought Otto, so there's no way here. Don't let them fool you!]
Those who had a hunch, however, shared an unspoken agreement.
[Ah yes, yes, of course.] *N
Durandal and the three Homus began searching the simulated HQ for scattered memory fragments.
The first they found was a memory of Theresa founding St. Freya Academy.
As Durandal wondered why she would encounter a memory of her senior Theresa—
Homla suggested that to recover more memories quickly, they needed a stronger stimulus, like the final moments of a key figure.
Homu quickly objected: "You don't necessarily need sad memories to remember more, right?"
Homla insisted, "But stimulus is necessary."
Homu puffed up, "Hmph, nonsense! I want a warm happy ending, a happy ending!"
The two plushies bickered like children.
If anything, it made one feel their bond was truly close.
"Pfft~~"
Durandal couldn't help laughing.
"Children are always like this," Hommei said fondly.
"How should I put it… just a few years ago, I was like the red one, always quick to argue with others."
"But now, you've become so capable and mature. You must have experienced and shouldered a lot as you grew taller and older, haven't you?"
Hommei spoke like a mother, with both pride and tenderness toward Durandal.
Indeed—mature children are always the ones who make you ache the most.
The more one knows, the more complicated it feels.
Elysia's smile was gradually fading.
Because this family could have lived like that—Durandal and Bug bickering joyfully, Siegfried and Cecilia watching fondly from the side, a family enjoying their happiness.
But too many accidents had happened…Now, Siegfried's whereabouts are unknown, Cecilia is gone forever, and Durandal…
A pang of bitterness welled up inside her.
And—Durandal had lost her memories, so she couldn't truly feel the weight of those words.
"…Such a pity."
Elysia couldn't help but sigh softly.
[This knife was aimed right at people like me, huh? miHoYo's knife skills are getting nastier.][Got me good.][Silly Goose, wahhh.][Why are you all suddenly emotional?][You'll understand when you replay the story in a few days.]
...
After some time, Elysia recovered from the long, lingering emotion.
She let out a light breath."Phew~~"
The story continued.
Durandal's mother-daughter-like talk with Hommei soon ended.She returned to searching for memory fragments in the air harbor.
Before long, she found another one—
A memory of Otto meeting Siegfried after the Second Eruption, hoping to ensure K423's growth.
Otto: "You seem to have a good handle on that power inside you lately. Should I say you have an impressive will… or is it just because you're living with your daughter now?"
"You want to kill me because of that power," Siegfried accused, referring to Otto dropping the nuke during the Second Eruption.
"Hmm…"
Otto pretended to ponder for a moment: "You could put it that way. After all, I wouldn't want you to accidentally kill your own daughter."
He paused, then stood, smiling, and patted Siegfried's shoulder—still in that exaggerated tone.
"You know, that wouldn't just be a family tragedy—it'd be a loss for all of Schicksal, even humanity as a whole."
By now, players' blood pressure was spiking.
That pretentious, rhetorical tone—Damn Otto, still as infuriating as ever!
Siegfried slammed the table: "That's none of your damn business!"
"Oh dear, sorry, sorry, my apologies."
Otto hurried to "apologize," but then poked Siegfried's sore spot: "I was just stating facts, without considering your feelings."
"..."
Viewers, after seeing this, were ready to hammer their keyboards in outrage—
But before they could send their comments, a voice spoke in the livestream:
"Those 'sorry's from Otto were dripping with sarcasm.""Now you all must be thinking you went too easy on Otto when you had Durandal fight him.""After Kallen's story, we had a bit of a change in opinion about Otto—but now, what a mistake that was.""How could we ever feel even a shred of pity for Otto?!"
[???][???][???]
The furious viewers froze.
They hadn't even started complaining yet—And somehow Hokuto had already said all the things they wanted to say.
And that would have been fine—he was right, after all.
But why the hell did he say it in Otto's voice?
It was… hard to describe.
[Something feels off.][Don't know why, but I'm even angrier at Otto now (slams table).][Well said, but please never do it again.]
...
Elysia was also left speechless by Hokuto's remarks.
Why did it feel like he was deliberately racking up hate for Otto?But… was that even necessary?
Perhaps she was overthinking it.
"'Otto,' I'm actually curious what the recording studio was like at the time."
Elysia partly wanted to lighten the mood, and partly was just curious herself.
"Could you tell us?"
"Well…" Hokuto thought for a moment. "Of course."
"Actually, nothing special happened at the time," he said casually. "Siegfried just broke a table, that's all."
That's all?
Elysia felt there was something off about that phrasing.Breaking a table, and you call it "that's all"?