"Oh, heavens… she's absolutely the one I love the most."
"Did you see her eyes? Trust me, every girl has a moment when her guard is down, showing that look in front of the one she loves, like… tender as water."
In a love hotel in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, the lights were off, and Eri was fast asleep. The sound of rain pattered outside, but Lu Mingfei couldn't sleep, chatting sporadically with Finger through his phone.
From Kafka to Himeko, then to March 7th, Asta, Tingyun… and circling back to Kafka. In Finger's words, every one of them was his Venus. If he could cross time and space to fall in love with them, he'd be willing to delay his graduation by a few more years.
"Why are you saying all this? Just proving you're a scumbag?" Lu Mingfei typed.
"Not at all, not at all," Finger's reply came swiftly. Lu Mingfei could imagine his slacker senior grinning and gesticulating animatedly at his phone.
"The ancient philosopher Heraclitus said, 'You cannot step into the same river twice.' This profoundly illustrates the ever-changing nature of things. The me who loved March 7th yesterday is dead. The me who loves Kafka today is alive. Tomorrow's me is still forming, and who knows, I might fall for another beautiful girl… like that Asta, for example. Her figure and looks are impeccable."
"Asta reminds me of a junior from my first year, especially that glimpse of her fair calf above her high heels… Oh, heavens, I feel like my whole life was lived for that moment. I swear, I love each of them wholeheartedly, but I can't stop myself from constantly 'dying.'"
"…Scumbag," Lu Mingfei typed again.
"How can you say that? How many girls have you liked? Anyone in the celestial screen catch your eye?" Finger pressed, "March 7th? Himeko? Asta? Qingque? Sushang…"
The slacker senior rattled off nearly every female character who appeared in the screen like he was reciting a menu. His memory was impressive.
Lu Mingfei turned off his phone screen and slipped it under his pillow, ignoring the buzzing vibrations as Finger's messages kept coming.
Girls he liked…
The faces of Chen Wenwen and Nono flashed through his mind, followed by a blank void… leaving only the silhouette of a girl with dark red hair.
Lu Mingfei turned his head to the other side of the sofa.
On another bed not far away, Eri slept peacefully. The curtains weren't drawn, and moonlight illuminated her soft bangs. Her sleeping posture was perfect, the blanket covering her chest, revealing only her delicate, petite face. Her long eyelashes cast two faint shadows on her cheeks.
——
["You're a wanted criminal skilled in manipulating hearts with your words. This Master Diviner has no interest in your speech," Fu Xuan said coolly. "Say what you want, but I will only trust the divinations of the Matrix of Prescience Ultima."]
["The Divination Commission has its ways of extracting the truth from you—far more than your words could ever reveal."]
[Kafka merely gave a soft smile. "Then let the Master Diviner witness my fate."]
[Fu Xuan nodded to Stelle and the others, then began operating the Matrix of Prescience Ultima. Her hands formed seals in front of her chest, and a burst of purple light erupted from her. "Begin!"]
[The three foundational nodes lit up, and Kafka slowly floated into the air.]
[As the Matrix operated, a torrent of information converged and calculated… Blue light gleamed in Kafka's eyes, and as the divination deepened, a faint smile curled her lips.]
[On the other side, Fu Xuan's ritual implement let out a soft "ding" and dissipated. The light in the eye on her forehead faded completely.]
[The Matrix's divination concluded, but the girl who learned the truth looked utterly horrified. "You… all for this?! For something like that?"]
[Kafka maintained her smile. "So? Do you like this truth?"]
["Unbelievable… but the Matrix of Prescience Ultima cannot be wrong." Fu Xuan stared at her as if she were looking at a madwoman.]
["So, what did you see? You're not trying to trick us again, are you?" Stelle asked.]
["Kafka has no direct connection to the Stellaron," Fu Xuan said, her gaze shifting to the three members of the Astral Express, her expression complex. "But you all… It's you… Ha, absurd! How could this be…"]
In the world of Akame ga Kill!.
"This Master Diviner is playing riddles with the Express crew. Why not just speak plainly?" Mine said, puzzled.
"It's probably quite complicated to explain… But from Fu Xuan's vague words, it seems the so-called 'Stellaron crisis' is merely a backdrop to the Express crew's heroics," Najenda replied, shaking her head.
More than Fu Xuan's cryptic behavior, Najenda was most intrigued by the Matrix of Prescience Ultima beneath the Master Diviner's feet.
"Using vast amounts of data to perform calculations and obtain an absolutely accurate future…"
"It's somewhat similar to the 'Five Visions Omni,'" Akame said from the side. She had once killed an Imperial Arms user in the capital known as Zank the Beheader, whose Imperial Arms could see the future.
"Completely different. Five Visions Omni can only see a brief glimpse of the future, useful at best for split-second decisions in battle."
"The Matrix of Prescience Ultima can foresee a far more distant future. If Zank had access to such predictive power, he would've known the outcome of his fight with you and hidden himself. That's what they call 'seeking fortune and avoiding calamity'—exactly the kind of effect the Revolutionary Army values."
Najenda lit a cigarette, taking a heavy drag. "I'm also curious about their so-called 'divination' technology. It seems like a skill ordinary people can master. If learned, anyone could predict future trends and outcomes."
"Though we don't have the Erudition's personal guidance, if we could learn even a fraction of the Xianzhou's techniques, it would greatly aid our revolution."
["You're not a riddle-master, are you?" Stelle said, exasperated. "You've said so much, but it's like you've said nothing at all."]
["Ask her yourselves. Take as long as you want. I must report to the General immediately, so I'll take my leave!" With that, Fu Xuan turned and left in a hurry, clearly shaken by the weight of the information she'd just uncovered.]
["…" Welt turned to Stelle. "Stelle, you go ask. I know you have plenty of questions you want to clear up with Kafka."]
["But be careful!" March 7th interjected quickly. "Don't let that mature big sister trick you again~"]