Under the clear sky, Leo gazed at the name ranking first on the school bulletin board and fell into deep thought.
MEI, one of the top scientists of the Previous Era.
She was the driving force behind technologies such as Fusion Warriors, Divine Keys, Stigmata, and Super AI. Some were even directly pioneered by her.
Moreover, she possessed the critical technology capable of sealing Honkai energy.
It could be said that in the Previous Era's fight against the Honkai, her contributions were absolutely monumental.
Even before her death, she completed the research on Herrscher Stigmata. Unfortunately, humanity was already past the point of no return by then; otherwise, perhaps a miracle could have been created.
Looking further down, Leo did not find the names of Kevin or Su.
In other words—
"This really is a romance game..."
Pursing his lips, he had a rough idea of the situation.
However, looking again at the mission description mentioning Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya... where am I supposed to find the Main Trio I'm missing?
But he quickly realized—
"In the instance!"
Having figured this out, he couldn't help but feel a phantom ache in his teeth.
After all, if even the trashiest Guard Zombie was that powerful, he dared not imagine what kind of bullshit monsters Kiana and the others would become after being buffed by Souls-like mechanics.
Not to mention... am I supposed to fight the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?!
Tongzi, aren't you overestimating me a bit too much?
But regardless... let's go find MEI first!
Only now did he notice that the mission description simply required him to establish a bond with a girl, but it didn't specify it had to be one of the Main Trio.
However, in his memory, although MEI possessed superior intellect, her physical constitution was average.
Of course, "average" here was in comparison to Fusion Warriors. Since MEI could become the only qualified user of the Blank Key, her physique definitely had unique aspects, even if it wasn't considered powerful.
But something is better than nothing. At the very least, Leo needed to solve the issue of Honkai energy resistance.
So... I choose you!
According to the identity Tongzi arranged for him, he was a transfer student who had just arrived at Chiba Academy today.
Arriving at his classroom, he looked inside and saw MEI sitting in the second-to-last row by the window.
A gentle breeze blew, stirring her purple hair. MEI subconsciously tucked a strand behind her ear, her gaze remaining firmly locked onto her book.
Gentle, intelligent, and intellectual—this was the first impression she gave.
Although she possessed an exquisite face identical to Raiden Mei's, the refined aura she radiated made her distinct.
The latter was more like a warrior, while she was a scholar.
Leo didn't let his gaze linger on MEI's face for too long. He quickly introduced himself under the homeroom teacher's arrangement and was assigned the seat directly behind MEI, just as he had hoped.
Only... what should I do next? Tongzi, can't you pop up a few dialogue options for me?
Staring at the slender and graceful back in front of him, for a moment, he really didn't know how to start a conversation.
What was more fatal was that while he was indeed a veteran Captain, the plot of the Previous Era had always been vague, let alone in this "custom-made" world.
If he said the wrong thing and bricked his save file, he wouldn't get a do-over in the real world... No, even my resurrection in the dungeon isn't a time regression; it's more like everything refreshes and resets together.
Therefore—
"Student Leo... right?"
Feeling the gaze on her back like pins and needles, MEI, unable to endure it any longer, finally turned around during the break.
"Is there something you need from me?"
Placing rationality above all, she always valued efficiency. She never chose to escape but instead confronted and solved difficulties as they arose.
"Um—"
Seeing MEI actually initiate the conversation, Leo naturally went with the flow and asked softly, "Do you know about the Honkai?"
"Hm?"
Tilting her head slightly, a trace of surprise surfaced in MEI's calm eyes.
After all, in her view, Leo's staring was likely due to the pent-up hormones of an adolescent, and she just needed to decisively reject him.
But... Honkai?
Even she had only recently learned of the Honkai's existence from Dr. Mobius, who belonged to a mysterious organization.
Yet this transfer student before her, who looked ordinary aside from being handsome and had nothing special about him... where did he learn this secret?
"There are too many people here..."
Gesturing with his eyes for MEI to look at the classmates gathering around, Leo whispered, "I'll wait for you at the school gate after school."
Immediately after, he began dealing with the classmates crowding around to ask all sorts of questions.
After all, having rarely gotten the chance to return to high school, he didn't want to waste this precious youth.
"..."
Silently glancing at the socially adept Leo, MEI turned back around, her gaze subconsciously falling onto her book.
Only this time, she couldn't absorb a single word.
Being observant, she could detect a hint of anxiety in Leo's eyes.
Combined with the specific term "Honkai," it was hard for her not to think in a negative direction.
For the rest of the day, she wanted to turn back and ask Leo for clarification, but every time she looked back, she saw that guy who made her uneasy... sound asleep!
—You'd better actually have something important!
...
It wasn't until school let out in the afternoon that Leo woke up from his slumber; he had even spent lunch break sleeping.
Stretching without caring about the setting, he finally recovered from the exhaustion of the previous night.
He could only say that being young again was great. If he had pulled an all-nighter like this at his age before transmigration, he didn't know how much sleep he'd need to make up for it.
However, before he could stand up, he was met with a quiet, beautiful face that was cold as ice, with eyes holding a trace of resentment.
"Are you that impatient?"
The corners of his mouth curled into a pleasant smile. He really hadn't expected his single sentence to have such a huge impact on MEI.
It seemed MEI's understanding of the Honkai went far deeper than he had imagined.
But this was good; it saved him from excessive explaining.
It was just the "instance" part that he needed to carefully consider how to explain.
However—
"You mean..."
Sitting in the corner of a cafe with Leo, MEI frowned, her delicate brows knitting together as she asked in a serious whisper, "Our school... no, the entire Nagazora City is covered by a 'Honkai Domain'?"
"And if it descends into reality, the Third Eruption will break out?"
"Uh... that's right."
Although he hesitated briefly at the new terminology, Leo quickly nodded in confirmation.
—It seems in this world, instances are called Honkai Domains... Tongzi, where on earth have you sent me?
In the Honkai world he knew, there was no such thing as a "Honkai Domain," let alone people in this world being aware of it!
But considering Kevin and Su didn't exist in this world—along with many others—and remembering that before he transmigrated, this seemed to be a Honkai Impact 3rd fan-made romance game, he could accept slight deviations in the setting... mostly because he had no choice but to accept them.
Anyway, let's just treat this as some Bubble Universe for now!
Having figured this out, he calmly asked MEI, "So, can you contact Mobius?"
After failing the instance challenge, he had recognized his current level of strength.
The sky was falling, so naturally, he wanted to find someone tall to hold it up.
After all, if a certain Miss Pink Elf could be present, the destruction caused by the Third Eruption would be suppressed to a minimum.
—At this moment, whether it was Elysia or Mobius, they had both already joined the Fire Moth!
However—
"No."
Shaking her head, MEI didn't waste time and spoke directly, "Dr. Mobius is always the one who contacts me. I don't have her contact information."
"Do you... have any other way?"
Saying this, she looked sharply at Leo.
She could tell that Leo was keeping many things from her.
But being intelligent, she wouldn't let her curiosity run wild right now. Rather than exploring the reasons, getting results would give her more peace of mind.
"Then do you think..."
Shaking his head with a slightly helpless expression, Leo suddenly changed the subject and asked with a light chuckle, "Would you consider this a date right now?"
Since Plan A didn't work, he could only execute Plan B... establishing a [Bond] with MEI.
—Romance game, start!
Making himself stronger—that was his solution.
However, MEI didn't know he had a System—
"?"
When MEI typed out a question mark in her mind, it wasn't that she had a problem; it was that she thought Leo had a problem.
—You'd better actually have something important!
________________________________________
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