"Ah~ Chew chew~" It was another clear morning. Kiana was taking huge bites out of a sandwich made by Raiden Mei from their dwindling supply of flour, luncheon meat, and other ingredients. For the group still trapped in Nagazora City, it was a rare and lavish breakfast.
Normally, Kiana would be wolfing down her food with single-minded focus, but today was different. Her attention clearly wasn't on her meal.
Stare~, stare~ While eating her breakfast, Kiana kept glancing over at Li Xuan, who was staring blankly out the window, a complicated look on her face.
"Ahem… Kiana, stop fidgeting and eat your food properly," Mei chided Kiana sternly.
"But, is Li Xuan really okay?" Kiana whispered, her gaze flickering towards Li Xuan by the window. She felt a bit embarrassed. She hadn't realized Li Xuan had wanted to adopt that girl as his sister, and she had been about to kill her. What made her feel even more guilty was finding out that the girl's life had already been running out, her body even disintegrating into dust under the corrosion of Honkai energy.
"Sigh~~" Mei sighed, putting down her food. She propped her head on her hand, looking worried. "This is a setback Li Xuan has to overcome himself. We can only do our best to console him," Mei said, raising her head to look at the blue sky in the distance, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes, just like the things she had once experienced.
"Bronya Zaychik, where are we going to gather resources today?" Mei suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Bronya Zaychik, who was nibbling on her sandwich like a little hamster.
"According to system calculations, there's a location one thousand meters from here," Bronya Zaychik replied after putting down her food and activating the miniature supercomputer inside her body to check the map.
"Okay, let's go after we finish eating," Mei said while eating her breakfast. "Oh, right. Kiana, you don't have to go today. Just stay home and keep Li Xuan company," Mei added.
"Ehh!!~~ Why?!" Kiana shot up in surprise, leaning over the table to ask Mei.
"…I think you need to seriously reflect on your mistake of carelessly attracting Honkai Zombies last time. Hmm… and the time before that, and the time before that," Mei said, her eyes narrowed and her expression blank. Kiana always managed to attract Honkai Zombies at the most critical moments; perhaps she possessed some incredible hidden talent.
"..." Kiana was clearly aware of her own screw-ups. With a look of utter despair, she slumped back onto her stool, wisely choosing to back down.
Mei finished the food on her plate in a few bites, then stood up with her plate. As she passed Kiana, she leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Kiana~ I'm leaving the task of cheering up Li Xuan to you~" She patted the white-haired furball's shoulder, gave a wink, and walked away without another word.
"EHHHH!!!~~~~" Kiana stared blankly for a moment, her mouth agape and eyes wide. She turned her head to look at Mei, but only caught a fleeting glimpse of her beautiful figure.
"The Bronya calculates a ninety percent probability of Kiana's failure," Bronya Zaychik stated unexpectedly.
"Huh!? Shorty, are you looking down on me?" Kiana immediately glared at Bronya Zaychik with angry eyes. "No, the Bronya is merely stating a fact, nothing more," Bronya Zaychik said flatly, picking up her plate and quickly scurrying away.
Hmph, how could I possibly fail! Kiana stuffed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth, her cheeks puffing up instantly. "Jus' 'ou wa'ch!" she mumbled, her speech muffled by the food. Kiana began to fantasize about Bronya Zaychik's shocked expression and Mei's praise. She stood up and laughed, almost neurotically. "Ha, ha—cough cough HACK!" The white-haired furball started choking on her food from laughing too hard, which was followed by a frantic search for a cup of water to save her life.
Kiana, you can do it! You've got this! It's just cheering someone up, what's so hard about that?!
Kiana thought, secretly giving herself a pep talk as she looked at Li Xuan's back.
Kiana slowly shuffled over and sat down gently beside Li Xuan. When she looked at his profile, she was stunned. She almost didn't recognize him. His face was utterly haggard, his eyes were empty and lifeless, and he stared fixedly at the two amber-gold, glass-like hair ornaments in his somewhat dry right hand.
Uh (⊙o⊙)… what do I do? What should I say?
Kiana's mind went blank.
Aaaah!! How do you even comfort someone?? Kiana was going crazy. After all, the great Miss Kiana had never had to comfort anyone in her entire life.
Ugh, my head hurts from thinking… Forget it, I'll just say whatever. The worst that can happen is Bronya Zaychik laughing at me.
"Um, hey, L-Li Xuan… I actually have this jerk of a dad. He loves hitting on pretty older sisters with great figures. Um, what I mean is, I haven't seen him in a long time either," Kiana started, unable to find a better topic and beginning to reveal her own history.
"That bastard abandoned me a few years ago, saying something about finding the source of the Honkai, and then he just disappeared without a trace," Kiana continued. "But… I believe I'll see him again. I'm sure of it." As she spoke, Kiana seemed to be cheering herself on more than anything.
"So, I, uh, I think we can't give up. Maybe one day we'll meet them again, like, a miracle will happen or something," Kiana said, getting more and more lost as she spoke. She just wasn't naturally good at consoling people.
"What's the difference between a person without a dream and a salted fish?" Li Xuan, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, interrupting Kiana's clumsy attempt at a conversation.
"Yeah, that's it! That's… uh… that's what I wanted to say… yeah, that's it." Kiana finished her sentence awkwardly, then stood up and fled, covering her face. Aah!! I'm sorry, Mei, I've failed to live up to your expectations, was what Kiana was thinking at that moment. She really was terrible at this comforting thing.
"…" Li Xuan silently looked at the memento of his 'sister' in his hand.
A miracle? Perseverance? How can that bring the dead back to life?! I'm just an ordinary person. The only reason I've survived this long is because of the 'Gate of Vows' that appeared out of nowhere and the ring on my hand, Li Xuan thought, his mood sinking.
And the Gate of Vows always gives out strange things that make no sense.
Strange things!? A thought that Li Xuan had never dared to imagine before suddenly occurred to him.
Could the Gate of Vows wish for an item that can resurrect people?!
All sorts of bizarre ideas flooded Li Xuan's mind. If it can wish for 'Xuanyuan Festive Garb,' a garment worn by a god, then could it also wish for something that brings people back from the dead?! Mythology is full of things like that!
Then, if it's possible… Li Xuan thought, a warmth spreading through his heart. It was like a person walking in darkness who suddenly sees a glimmer of hope on a path completely shrouded in black.
Maybe in the future, an item that can bring back the dead really could appear?! If so…
Li Xuan tightly clenched the hair ornaments in his hand, like a drowning person grabbing onto a life-saving straw, and made a vow in his heart… 'I will bring Yaoye-hime back to life.'
Unbeknownst to him, the hair ornaments in Li Xuan's hand flashed with a faint light.
Around four or five in the afternoon…
"Kiana, Kiana~" Kiana Kaslana, who had fallen asleep, was gently shaken awake by Mei. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up, saw Mei helping her, and was immediately reminded of the troubling consolation incident.
"Uh… um, Mei, I…" Kiana suddenly felt guilty. She was too embarrassed to admit that she hadn't managed to cheer Li Xuan up.
"Hm? Kiana, you did great today. Li Xuan told me he's going to join us tomorrow," Mei said with a smile.
"Huh?? Oh… is that so." Kiana forced a smile. Did I really manage to cheer him up? she thought.
Well, whatever, if it counts, it counts. Kiana placed her hands on her hips and laughed smugly.
Li Xuan walked down the hallway, a small cloth pouch tied to his waist. With each step, it made a crisp, tinkling sound. Inside the pouch were two amber-gold, glass-like hair ornaments.