Furina sat in her seat, trying hard to digest this information.
So, she wasn't actually some helpless, pitiful, lonely little blueberry cupcake at all.
And her grandmother wasn't an ordinary old woman either.
As Furina recalled the appearance of her grandmother, Egeria, the image in her mind suddenly showed Egeria giving her a sly smile,
As if she had successfully tricked her.
"Wah!"
"Liar, liars!"
"Big liars!"
"You're all big liars!"
Overwhelmed by emotion, Furina burst into tears on the spot.
Seeing her like this, the three people beside her felt a pang of guilt, yet for a moment, none of them knew how to comfort Furina.
Because in truth, they had all helped Egeria hide this from her.
"…Sorry." Neuvillette spoke in a low tone.
But through her crying, Furina sobbed out, brokenly, "If, if all of you are so amazing, then… then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I worried every time that Neuvillette would get fired."
"I worried that Egeria wouldn't live well."
"I worried that Lyney would get dragged away by the townsfolk for accidentally hurting small animals while healing them."
"That time when Clorinde said she was sick, I even ran to the river to catch crabs for her. My hand got pinched and was swollen for a whole day…"
"And I even used the money I saved from working part-time at the theater to buy snacks for all of you. I didn't even let myself eat macaroni… uwuwu… I'm so pitiful…"
By the end, Furina had already gone limp on the chair, her hands flailing as if she was about to dramatically roll onto the floor.
While Furina was scolding the three of them through tears, her words left Neuvillette and the other two both amused and distressed.
"Alright, alright, Furina."
"This was my fault."
Clorinde awkwardly patted Furina's shoulder.
"No, don't comfort me."
"Uuuh… Boss, I'm going to tell the boss! I'm going to make him punish you all!"
Wiping her tears, Furina stood up and headed toward the door.
Clorinde froze for a moment, while Neuvillette and Lyney exchanged a look and silently shook their heads.
Perhaps, at a time like this, letting Furina calm down alone might be the better choice.
However, when Furina reached the door and realized that no one was trying to stop her, she became even more aggrieved.
"Wah!"
"I, I'm going to find the boss now!"
"I really mean it!"
"I'll never talk to you again! Uuuh…"
Neuvillette and Lyney felt even more guilty and heartbroken, unable to look at Furina's retreating figure.
Clorinde slapped her own forehead as she finally came to her senses.
"You two are seriously just letting her walk away?"
After saying that, she rushed to the door and pulled Furina back inside.
Only then did the little blueberry cupcake finally let out the breath she'd been holding.
Honestly, her outburst was mostly because she'd been kept in the dark for so long, not out of any true resentment toward them.
Because even if their words had been lies, their time together, and the sincerity within it, had never been fake.
This little blueberry cupcake simply needed someone to coax and comfort her right now.
Fortunately, Clorinde had realized that.
Thus, if anyone entered this private room in the café, they would find three of the most famous figures in Paris all gathered around, trying their best to soothe a crying girl.
No matter what requests Furina made, they fulfilled them immediately.
Things like Neuvillette elbowing Lyney. Or Clorinde feeding her little cakes.
When she saw these three friends willing to lower themselves and act silly just to coax her, Furina finally broke into a smile through her tears.
The grievance in her heart from being deceived completely vanished.
And the three of them finally wiped the cold sweat from their brows and let out long breaths of relief.
"Hmph, d-don't think I'll forgive you that easily…" Furina's eyes were still shimmering with tears, but a mischievous glint had already begun to shine within them.
The three exchanged glances, this wasn't good. They thought Furina was about to start causing trouble again.
But instead, Furina suddenly said softly, "So… that means, in France, I… I'm actually kind of amazing, right?"
"Hiss…" Lyney carefully arranged his words and slowly said, "In a certain sense, in Paris, in France… we really can offer you some conveniences."
Furina suddenly sat up straight. The hurt in her eyes was replaced by pure happiness.
"Then does that mean, from now on, I can walk sideways in Paris and no one will dare to stop me?! If I don't like someone, I'll have Neuvillette investigate them! Isn't Neuvillette some, some godfather figure?!"
Several black lines appeared on Neuvillette's forehead.
But she wasn't done.
"And Lyney too, and also Clorinde! From now on, can I call a bunch of people to support me? Like those super cool black-clad bodyguards, can I have as many as I want?!"
The more Furina talked, the more excited she became. Her cheeks flushed red.
She completely threw aside the earlier grievance and looked exactly like a little Parisian tyrant.
"F-Furina, our authority doesn't work like tha-"
Neuvillette tried to pull the topic back toward reason.
But he immediately lost to Furina's ultimate move.
"I don't care! I don't care!"
"This is punishment for deceiving me for so many years!"
"From now on, all of you are my exclusive backing! I took such good care of you before, now you have to repay me!"
Furina declared childishly, then added, "O-of course, I won't make you do bad things. Just… just if I want to help someone, like my new friends, you have to help me, okay?"
Neuvillette covered his forehead. Any resistance he still had evaporated.
Furina was still the same Furina they had always known. Pure and exceedingly kind.
She had just learned the truth of their deception, and yet she was already thinking about using their resources to help others.
Perhaps the theater? Or maybe something related to MiHoYo.
But everything she showed warmed their hearts.
They couldn't say anything rational anymore.
"Alright, alright. From now on, Meropide Fortress will be your backyard," Lyney said with a bitter smile.
"The Security Company as well," Clorinde said indulgently and helplessly.
And even the strictest and most conservative Neuvillette, seeing Furina's expectant eyes, could only sigh and nod with a hint of indulgence.
"…Within legal boundaries, I'll do my best."
"That's more like it!"
Furina finally calmed down. Then she remembered her consultant.
"I need to hurry and tell Boss about this! Hmph, he's definitely going to be shocked."
"Not necessarily."
Lyney hesitated a moment, then spoke.
"That boss of yours… he's not simple either."
"Eh?" Furina froze.
What did Lyney mean?
Was it possible that not only her three childhood friends had been hiding things, Xia Wen, whom she spent every day with, had been hiding things too?!
"The three of us came into contact with your boss's sister a long time ago. She is… an even more terrifying figure."
Clorinde said.
"Miss Ningguang left a deep impression on me, whether it was her vision or her methods," Neuvillette commented seriously.
"Wait, wait!"
Furina waved her hands rapidly, shaking her head.
"Are you talking about that gentle, always-smiling, super polite big sister? That Ningguang?"
"I, I've met her so many times! She doesn't match what you're describing at all!"
After saying that, the three exchanged subtle looks. Furina's pure, relieved expression only confirmed it further.
"Ugh! Damn it!"
"I need to squeeze Boss for more compensation!"
And so, at this moment, Furina had deeply understood one thing:
Five were people involved.
Four were hiding things.
Furina, she was not one of them.
...
Late at night.
This long-overdue reunion among old friends finally reached its end.
Although Furina had received an overwhelming flood of information today, her heart was still full of warmth.
The thoughts of the little cupcake were simple, since the misunderstanding is cleared, knowing the truth is enough.
The most important thing is still their friendship.
After the three sent Furina back to her hotel and watched her disappear into the lobby, the smiles on their faces slowly faded.
"Sigh… finally said it." Lyney let out a relieved breath.
"But it's surprising that none of you mentioned the matter we need to ask Furina's boss for help with today," Clorinde said.
"Come on, with today's mood? No way," Lyney shook his head.
Silence fell among the three.
In truth, ever since Furina joined MiHoYo, They had been deeply shocked.
In Furina's eyes, the three of them were people who could stir the winds and clouds of France.
But in some matters… They truly needed the help of Ningguang.
"Regarding the dilemma Egeria is facing, perhaps only that Xia Wen has the ability to help."
"If Furina hadn't joined MiHoYo, we might've had to contact that terrifying Miss Ningguang instead."
"And at that point… the price we'd have to pay would be very high." Neuvillette murmured.
"So really, our little blueberry cupcake always manages to surprise us in unexpected ways."
Clorinde sighed.
"Who would've thought the one who could help us the most… would be Furina herself."
...
In the next few days, Furina took the Okhema members around Paris for sightseeing.
Now that she knew Neuvillette and the others' identities, Furina's tyrant image only grew more realistic. It didn't even look like acting anymore.
Meanwhile, in Thessaloniki City, Xia Wen had a friendly and smooth meeting with the three people whose names Ningguang had suggested.
For both sides, this was a win-win encounter.
Especially the old man named Aris, he was humorous and absolutely behaved like a hardcore Honkai: Star Rail fan.
When it came to plot design, he spoke fluently and insightfully.
Even Xia Wen was stunned. Aris called this collaboration with MiHoYo something that would change the Greek literary world.
Once he learned about MiHoYo and Okhema's situation, he became extremely interested, and even the two who originally weren't planning to participate decided to join in to help.
Anything that could strike at those "bastards" in the Arts Committee, they were happy to assist.
Everything was progressing in an orderly manner.
And time quietly arrived, to the broadcast of the Star Rail episode.
The final part would finally meet the audience.
Due to the earlier extension of the airing schedule, Honkai: Star Rail fans all over the world had long been waiting anxiously.
On the official website, countless hungry viewers flooded in.
...
: Two weeks! Do you know how I survived these damn two weeks?!
: MiHiYo, your crimes are unforgivable! I need the new episode NOW!
: I thought they were going to delay again this week, thank goodness! We finally get the new story!
: According to the official site, this episode is short. It's the transition between the end of Penacony's main story and the next main arc. Wonder what it'll be about.
: I'm really looking forward to it. After the Xianzhou and Penacony arcs, what will the third main story be?!
: Hope it reaches new heights. And please, KILL fewer characters this time!
: We've watched enough space tragedies, how about an Aha-themed story next? Something fun! Let everyone relax!
: Support! Light-hearted and sunny is the best!
: Whenever a new main story comes out, I feel like I've become a Nameless, about to explore an unknown world. That feeling is addicting!
...
Amid all the anticipation, the time finally arrived.
The episode titled [A New Venture on the Eighth Dawn] officially launched.
As the MiHoYo logo appeared, after a moment of black screen, a familiar scene appeared before the viewers' eyes.
In Penacony, The Nameless were gathered, discussing their final destination.
And the setting surprised the audience.
It was a train car they had never seen before.
Luxurious carpet, a warm bar counter, and more importantly, behind the bar stood a robot no one had ever seen before!
Who is this?? A new member?! They look amazing!
Excitement surged in the audiences' hearts.