The orphanage Cocolia had built was quite large, like a small estate with flowerbeds, a fountain, several different buildings, and even a soccer field.
Bronya led them into the first building. It was the shortest of the buildings, only a few stories high, but it also seemed to have the largest footprint.
As they walked through the open main doors, two soft popping sounds came from either side.
Shu's hand twitched. Streamers and confetti slowly drifted down around him, gently landing on his head.
"Whoa!" Kiana, on the other hand, was startled... she practically shrank into Mei's arms. Mei smiled helplessly and indulgently, patting Kiana's head as she wished.
Seele was probably the only one who was genuinely scared. She froze for a moment before coming back to her senses.
"Ta-da!!"
"Clang-clang—"
An emotional voice and a robotic one mixed together. The group saw a pink figure quickly run past them, unfurling a large banner.
On it, written in large, neither-good-nor-bad characters, was a single sentence.
[Welcome Bronya back to the Foxphanage!!]
The smell of paint faintly lingered in the air. The large characters on the banner still reflected the unique sheen of liquid, looking as if it had just been rushed to completion.
"Welcome home, Bronya!" Rozaliya, on the left, held the banner and struck a pose, excitedly shouting at Bronya.
"Clang-clang—" Liliya repeated her previous line.
"Liliya, you were supposed to say 'The orphanage will always welcome you'!" Rozaliya's expression changed, and she quickly whispered a reminder to Liliya in front of everyone.
Bronya: "..."
She didn't know if she was welcome or not, but she did know that Rozaliya was probably about to get a beating.
"Ro—sa—li—ya—!"
After being stunned for a full three seconds, Sin went berserk.
After adding a large bump to each of the sisters' heads with lightning speed, Sin, with the rolled-up banner tucked under her arm, led the now-obedient Olenyeva sisters away.
"Goodbye, Bronya. Even though I miss you, Rozaliya is being taken away by the evil Sin~" Rozaliya said, holding two buckets of paint and bidding Bronya farewell with a sad face.
"Even though we haven't had a chance to say goodbye... so, this is definitely not a farewell," Liliya, holding a mop, said with a line that was full of emotion this time. But it sounded strange to Shu, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
"Shut up! Put these things back where they belong, then go wash the paint off your hands and eat breakfast!" Sin raised the rolled-up banner and tapped each of them on the head again, then said fiercely.
"Yes~" The two of them bowed to Sin at the same time, then obediently followed her away.
"Seele, you take them to the cafeteria first. I'll be right back," Sin instructed as she left, herding the two of them away like sheep.
"Breakfast?" Kiana's eyes immediately lit up. "Are we finally having breakfast?"
"Yes, if you all don't mind, you can eat with us..." Seele nodded, though she was still a bit shy when speaking to Shu and the others.
"Great! After walking all morning, I'm starving!" Kiana cheered, patting her stomach and drooling.
"The Bronya does not believe there is enough breakfast here to satisfy Kiana," Bronya sensed a hint of trouble.
"It's okay, Bronya-oneechan," Seele said, pulling on Bronya's arm. "Sin prepared a lot of food. We have leftovers every day. A few more people definitely won't be a problem..."
"Exactly!" Kiana immediately agreed.
Bronya opened her mouth but didn't know what to say first.
Was it just a few more people? Bronya highly doubted that the entire orphanage's ration for one meal could fill Kiana's stomach.
Right, who's still at the orphanage now? The question suddenly occurred to Bronya. She looked at Seele, hesitated for a moment, but didn't ask.
Who was still here, and who had disappeared from the orphanage—she would know as soon as she saw.
They left the bear on the soccer field, then followed Seele up to the second floor and into the cafeteria.
In the cafeteria were several very long tables, but only one had place settings.
Bronya's eyes immediately dimmed.
The plates were already set. A large basin of toast sat at the edge of the table, waiting to be distributed. Kiana's nose twitched. "I smell fried eggs and fried bacon..."
Seele was surprised. "That's amazing..."
"Please, everyone, have a seat and wait," Seele said to them, then quickly ran to the side and brought back a few more chairs, placing them by the table.
Then she set out a few more plates. Next, she struggled to lift the large basin of toast and began to distribute it.
The basin was so large that Seele couldn't see where she was going. She swayed as she walked, looking like she was about to fall at any moment.
The corner of Shu's eye twitched. He couldn't bear to watch anymore. He raised a hand, and the large basin of toast in Seele's hands floated up.
Feeling the sudden decrease in weight, Seele looked up, stunned, her mouth slightly agape as she watched the toast fly to each plate in measured portions, as if it had a mind of its own.
Her hands went limp, and the large basin of toast was about to fall to the floor. Shu's index finger twitched slightly, and the basin also floated up, drifting to the side and landing safely in a corner.
"Bronya-oneechan..." Seele looked around frantically, then turned back to Bronya with a panicked expression. She seemed completely at a loss, but she stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move.
Bronya waved a hand at Seele. "It's alright, Seele. This is Shu's ability."
She pointed to the silent Shu beside them. Shu greeted Seele, and at the same time, the last piece of toast landed on a plate. Shu lowered his hand.
"That's..." Seele subconsciously wanted to say "amazing" again, but she remembered she had just praised Kiana's sense of smell. So she changed her wording.
"That's so amazing..."
Shu tilted his head slightly. "?"
Seele looked at Shu's casual demeanor and suddenly recalled the words from the MOTH broadcast, and that live broadcast from three months ago...
The figure in her memory gradually overlapped with the person before her. Seele suddenly realized who he was.
The captain of the MOTH's First Squad, the warrior who was [Born for the Honkai, Fought for Civilization]...
Shu.
Hope.