"Rin?" Fu Hua listened to Irene's voice beside her, feeling somewhat confused. But immediately after, a great sorrow welled up in her heart; she felt very sad facing this name and this young girl.
But aside from sadness, she could not churn up any images from the ashes of her memory, as if she had already forgotten many times over—unable to recall, unable to remember.
Yet, infinite sorrow still surged from those churning ashes of memory, making it impossible for her to feel at ease.
"Mn, sure enough, you've forgotten too," Irene nodded. She wasn't surprised by this. Pardo had forgotten everything completely, okay? At least she left a little something behind. Rin likely wouldn't be much better off.
"I... I don't know what I still remember." Fu Hua opened her mouth, not knowing what she should say or do. She could only walk over and caress the young girl lying on the bed.
"I..."
"It doesn't matter. I know your current situation." Irene nodded with a smile. "Perhaps there will be a chance to remember later. Anyway, this is what I have to do..."
Irene wanted to say more, but she raised an eyebrow. She sensed someone outside ringing the doorbell of her lounge.
"You two, master and disciple, continue chatting first." Irene waved her hand at the two. "Having not met for so long, even if separated by world lines, there must surely be something you want to say."
"Bye-bye, I'll go deal with someone outside first."
Just as Irene prepared to leave, I wanted to say something, but saw that Irene's spiritual entity had already left. Fu Hua looked at Lixue beside her and opened her mouth. Did she have a lot to say?
But Fu Hua really didn't know what she should say right now. Fu Hua looked at Lixue beside her, and Lixue didn't go to strike up a conversation with Fu Hua either. To her, Master was Master, and she was already used to getting along with Master like this.
She didn't have much special communication with Master before either. Master wasn't the type of person who liked to talk, so she was used to it.
"Lixue..." Fu Hua opened her mouth, trying to find a topic to chat with her disciple for a while, even if it was her disciple from another world line.
But Fu Hua being Fu Hua, she might be able to chat and respond, but expecting Fu Hua to actively start a conversation about something was truly... somewhat wishful thinking.
"It doesn't matter, Master." Lixue looked at the smile rising on Master's face. "Just like this is fine. Lixue can finally continue to accompany Master."
Lixue's memory returned to that snowy plain. At that time, when she was pierced by the Herrscher of the Void's spear, she really thought she was going to die, that she could never accompany Master again.
But relying on the clarity before death, she crossed the Destined Death and stepped into the realm of Sword God. No problems occurred afterward, and she successfully survived that Second Eruption.
She originally thought she could accompany Master forever, but the appearance of that Chiyou still prevented her from keeping her promise.
Thinking of this, Lixue suddenly understood one thing: why Irene had specifically called her out in the final battle. It wasn't just to use the Xuanyuan Sword and let Ji Lin inside witness the final battle.
It was also to help her settle a grudge. After all, in that world line, she was killed by Chiyou. Otherwise, Irene could have played with a sword or two using Kallen's body as well.
Even if she only used brute force to swing the sword like a saber, it wouldn't be impossible. Moreover, as the family inheriting the Judgment of Shamash, the Kaslana Family also had the ability to use swords.
As the Saint of the Kaslana Family at the time, wielding a sword for a bit wasn't a difficult task for Kallen.
After understanding Irene's hidden little thoughts, a trace of a smile rose on Lixue's originally calm face. Within this smile, Lixue suddenly remembered something and looked at Fu Hua.
"Master, if you have time, can you make Wonton Noodles for me one more time?"
Fu Hua listened to Lixue's words and was suddenly stunned, but then she nodded: "Mn... I will."
Irene opened her eyes and patted her head. There were more and more people in her head now. If she calculated carefully, after those three woke up, counting the three she had now...
They could form a table for 'Fight the Landlord' and a table for Mahjong. Moreover, it was foreseeable that her headcount might increase in the future, hopefully catching up to Teacher Vill-V who had a full eight personalities.
And she was a genuine soul, whereas Teacher Vill-V only had eight personalities, although this didn't seem like something particularly worth boasting about.
As for what Fu Hua and Lixue were preparing to talk about in her mind, Irene didn't plan to eavesdrop. Pardo and Kallen also consciously stayed far away. Master and disciple were reuniting to whisper private words; why listen to them?
Irene turned her head to look at Fu Hua's body, which was lying on the table. She supported it up, threw it onto the bed, and after covering it with the quilt in advance, she drew the curtains.
Maybe Fu Hua and Lixue would chat for a while. Letting Fu Hua lie on the table like that wasn't good, although Fu Hua lying on the table wouldn't oppress her chest anyway.
Thinking like this, Irene suddenly touched the top of her head. Mn, it was fine; no pain came from her head.
Thinking while walking to the door, Irene opened it and looked at Bronya standing quietly outside: "Sorry to keep you waiting, Bronya."
It had to be said that Bronya was truly very polite. After ringing the doorbell once, she didn't ring it again.
"It doesn't matter, Teacher Irene." Bronya, standing outside the door, shook her head. "Did Bronya disturb Teacher Irene's rest?"
"It hasn't reached resting time yet." Irene shook her head. "So Bronya didn't disturb my rest. So, what did Bronya want to talk to me about?"
Bronya looked at Irene and nodded.
"Mn, then come in." Irene nodded, inviting Bronya in. "Sit wherever you like. Don't be restrained. I think it will take a long time to tell, right?"
Bronya walked into the room and glanced at the stool that had been pulled out beside the table, then glanced again at the bed with the drawn curtains: "Did someone come to visit Teacher Irene?"
"Mn-hm." Irene nodded. "Squad Leader Fu Hua just came to visit me for a bit. But compared to this, shouldn't Bronya talk first about what exactly you want to say?"
"Okay." Bronya nodded and sat casually on the stool. Feeling the residual warmth coming from the stool, Bronya frowned. Someone had sat on this stool not long ago.
But she had been standing in the corridor for a while and hadn't seen Squad Leader Fu Hua come out of Teacher Irene's room. Thinking like this, Bronya's gaze glanced at the bed with the drawn curtains.
Just as Bronya was zoning out, Irene's hand suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, waving.
"What's wrong? Bronya, weren't you going to talk about something? Why did you suddenly zone out?"
"No, it's nothing." Bronya shook her head. Where Squad Leader Fu Hua was had nothing to do with her. The most important thing right now was still Seele.
"Mn." Bronya nodded. "Is Elder Sister Irene willing to listen to Bronya tell a story? This story might take a long time to tell."
"It will take a long time? Let me see~" Irene pretended to take out her phone and look at the time, nodding. "It's still very early before sleeping time. I have time, speak."
Bronya looked at Irene, who was pretending to tell her she could speak slowly and didn't need to be nervous. She quietly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart and put on a relaxed smile; her heart didn't seem so nervous anymore.
"Teacher Irene's way of comforting people is really somewhat special."
"After all, nervousness won't be beneficial to your matter." Irene smiled, reaching out to pat Bronya's head. "How is it now? Not nervous anymore, right?"
"Mn..." Bronya nodded. "The story has to start from a long time ago. At that time, Bronya was an orphan and also a trained child assassin."
"Ural Silver Wolf—that was Bronya's initial identity." Bronya looked at Irene, revealing her identity completely in front of someone else for the first time.
She still remembered Irene saying inside Chiyou's body that if she had the chance, she would go look for Seele. But Bronya believed that if she could drag out her entire story, perhaps it would make Irene take this matter more to heart.
She couldn't save Seele herself; she could only beg and hope. So she had to do the best she could, even if it meant revealing everything about herself to gain Irene's pity.
She only hoped her wish could leave a weight in Irene's heart, making Irene care about this matter.
"And after that, the origin of the story begins in a snowy plain..."
Irene nodded and listened quietly to Bronya's narration. Although she already knew the cause and effect, she could still listen to how the person involved said it.
There wasn't much difference between the story Bronya told and what she understood from the manga. However, listening to it from a first-person perspective was quite interesting.
For example, Bronya's extensive additional descriptions carrying a certain personal perspective and emotion, attaching extra labels and views to everyone—it sounded very interesting.
Listening to the cold yet happy times Bronya spent in the orphanage, Irene raised her hand and patted Bronya's head.
"It was hard on you, Bronya. You must have lived very happily at that time, right?"
"Mn." Bronya nodded, but then her eyes became somewhat dim. Those happy times in the orphanage were indeed blissful, but for her, happiness was like bubbles in the sea, bursting at a touch.
Just when she thought everything would continue like this, that she wouldn't have to face the sorrowful snowy plain again, thinking she could always listen to Cocolia Mama's words...
As long as she completed every mission Cocolia Mama gave, she could... she could stay in this warm and happy orphanage forever. But accidents often came faster than they imagined.
"Cocolia Mama conducted an experiment, the X-10 Experiment. The purpose was to find a way for the body to completely adapt to Honkai energy."
"And the subjects could manipulate matter at the subatomic level through Honkai energy."
"Provided the experiment was successful, right?" Irene pretended to understand and nodded. "So that Seele became the best subject? The experiment had an error?"
"No, the initial subject was Bronya, but Bronya was injured because of Sin at the time... The experiment should have been postponed, but..."
"Seele took your place in the experiment?" Irene looked at Bronya, who had lowered her head with sadness flashing in her eyes, and raised her hand to pat her head soothingly. "Did she request it herself?"
"Mn." Bronya felt the hand soothing her on her head and nodded. "Seele is a Stigmata Awakened. She used her own Stigmata to prove to Cocolia Mama that she was more suitable for the experiment."
"...I roughly understand." Irene put her hand down. "No need to tell the rest. Anyway, the experiment failed, so that Seele fell into the Sea of Quanta, right?"
"So your Cocolia Mama and that Sin, including you, wanted me to go find that Seele after knowing I have the ability of Quantization, right?"
"Mn." Bronya nodded. "Please, Elder Sister Irene. Seele is very important to Bronya. I hope she can return."
"About this." Irene pretended to think for a moment. "I'll tentatively ask Bronya first: do you know the situation of the Sea of Quanta?"
"I am clear about it." Bronya nodded. That was about her sister; how could she not have gone to understand the situations she might encounter in the Sea of Quanta?
"Then you should understand that place is very dangerous." Irene crossed her arms. "And it's very big. Finding a person isn't easy."
"Bronya knows Seele is still alive. Project Bunny was given to Bronya by Seele. Project Bunny can confirm that Seele is still alive."
Hearing Irene's words, Bronya immediately became somewhat anxious. After all, she did know that it was very dangerous inside the Sea of Quanta.
She had long known these things from Cocolia Mama. Cocolia Mama also wanted to rescue Seele very much and conducted many kinds of research.
For example, the research on Project Bunny; the quantization and rematerialization of Titans were also researched during this process.
Bronya looked at Irene as if risking everything: "As long as Elder Sister Irene helps Bronya, Bronya is willing to do anything."
"Alright, alright. I said it in there, didn't I?" Irene looked at Bronya. The student held Bronya, who was sitting on the stool, in her arms and stroked her to soothe her for a while.
"Don't say 'for a lifetime', and don't say things like 'I can do anything'. Such things are too heavy."
"Rest assured and leave it to me." Irene released Bronya. "As long as I have the chance, I will definitely rescue that Seele from the Sea of Quanta."
"You don't need to state any additional conditions. Can you be at ease like this?"
Looking at Irene's eyes, Bronya's eyes—trained as the Silver Wolf—could judge anyone's emotions through details. And at this moment, what she could read in Irene's eyes were only sincerity and hope. She could believe.
After reading this, Bronya nodded silently. Her originally tense body relaxed in an instant. Like this, she could relax.
But just at this moment, the curtains of the bed to the side were pulled open. Fu Hua got off the bed. Just as she was about to speak, Fu Hua immediately locked eyes with Bronya.
"Oh, awake?"
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 10 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉