"Familiar Core?!" Li Xuan repeated the phrase, completely baffled…
"Li Xuan-kun, why are you asking about a Familiar Egg?…" Raiden Mei asked, perplexed, after swallowing her food. Familiar Eggs were quite rare; back then, Emerald and Mercury…
"Well…" Li Xuan scratched his cheek. He had wanted to keep it a secret… but it seemed impossible now, especially since Bronya Zaychik had already seen it… Oh well, might as well take it out.
"Sigh~ Actually, I got this," Li Xuan said with an embarrassed smile, producing a golden egg the size of an ostrich's from his hand.
"Whoa! That's a huge egg!" Kiana, with a spoon still in her mouth, leaned in closer. To get a better look at the golden egg, the girl pressed her body tightly against Li Xuan's right arm. The faint scent of her hair made Li Xuan a little uncomfortable… a restless feeling…
"It must be delicious…" Kiana poked the Familiar Egg with her spoon.
"…" Foodie! The same word popped into everyone's mind.
"…Bronya believes Kiana cannot eat it," Bronya Zaychik stated, completely unfazed.
"Hah?! Like that famous person said: 'Give me a fulcrum, and I can eat the world!'" Kiana declared with her arms crossed, full of confidence, even quoting a famous saying.
"…Ahem, Kiana, that was Archimedes…" Li Xuan's obsessive need to correct things kicked in again. "And you got it wrong. It's 'Give me a fulcrum, and I shall move the Earth…'"
"Uh… haha, aren't they more or less the same?!" Kiana froze for a second, a little embarrassed. Then, as if giving up, she laughed heartily.
They're completely different…
"According to Bronya's scan, there's nothing inside this Familiar Egg…" Bronya Zaychik said in her unchanging monotone voice. "This is an empty Familiar Egg…"
"…" Hearing Bronya's words, Li Xuan felt a pang of disappointment. He had really wanted a Familiar, as they were rare creatures that might even help him get back home. Plus, Familiars were usually adorable, which was a huge draw for an otaku like Li Xuan, who lived by the motto 'Moe is justice.'
"However…" Bronya suddenly changed her tune. "An empty Familiar Egg can still hatch a Familiar…"
"Hmm?!" Li Xuan, who had been hanging his head, looked up again, his face full of expectation as he stared at the expressionless Bronya Zaychik.
"It just needs a Familiar Core to hatch…" But Bronya's next sentence sent Li Xuan's spirits plummeting back to the depths. Where was he supposed to get a Familiar Core? He had never gotten one from the Gate of Vows.
"…I don't have one…" Li Xuan slumped onto the table, looking like a dead fish.
"You do, Big Brother Li Xuan…" Bronya Zaychik stated calmly, shocking Li Xuan. His mood today was like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs.
"Where?!" Li Xuan asked, instantly reviving on the spot.
"…" Bronya Zaychik silently pointed to Li Xuan's waist, at a small, fiery-red cloth pouch.
........
"This is the so-called Familiar Core?!" Li Xuan said in disbelief. The opened pouch lay on the table, and taken from it were the two hair ornaments of Yaoye-hime, the 'little sister' he had impulsively accepted…
Li Xuan still remembered that night under the bright moon, when the girl in his arms vanished into the world like a firefly… The burning flames, the green glow, the girl under the moonlight, the tears at the corner of her eyes… Everything was etched into his mind like a brand. How could he ever forget that girl whose life was as fleeting as a firefly's, yet so strong?
"A so-called Familiar Core is an item that houses a soul and longing…" Bronya Zaychik said, revealing the truth about Familiar Cores.
"A soul…" Li Xuan tightly gripped the two 'relics' in his hand, the Luminous Cincindela. Emotions surged within him like a tsunami… So you've been by my side all along? Yaoye… For some reason, he always became so emotional whenever it came to matters concerning Yaoye…
As if in response, the Luminous Cincindela flashed with a faint glimmer of light.
"So, Big Brother Li Xuan, you can use those two items to initiate the hatching. The Familiar Egg will hatch a Familiar for you," Bronya Zaychik explained.
"A Familiar, huh…" Li Xuan fell silent. After all, no one knew what kind of Familiar would hatch from the egg.
"Brother…" It was as if someone had whispered softly in his ear, a voice both familiar and strange…
Sister… Li Xuan couldn't help but think of his own little sister… When the explosion happened in his room, he was fortunately the only one home. His parents were at work, and his sister happened to be out with friends…
It's a good thing I'm the only one who came to this Honkai world…
"Let's give it a try then…" Li Xuan said, his resolve strengthened. The single eye that was visible seemed to burn with fire.
"Then place them on the Familiar Egg," Bronya Zaychik said, her eyes also filled with anticipation. They had all met that summer-firefly-like girl, and Bronya, from the bottom of her heart, hoped she could live again.
"…" Li Xuan pursed his lips and opened his hand. The two glass-like Luminous Cincindela fell with a crisp clatter, landing on the golden Familiar Egg…
An image of the girl's long hair flowing in the moonlight appeared before his eyes… Yaoye-hime's face slowly merged with his sister's in his memory…
"At least give me something to remember you by…" Li Xuan thought with a sigh, closing his eyes…
(End of Chapter)