Eight o'clock on a winter morning was a time of clear, bright sunlight.
The gardens of St. Freya High School were evergreen, and the verdant leaves were coated with dewdrops, refracting the morning light that slanted in from the east.
The footsteps of three young girls added a splash of color to the tranquil school path.
Mei asked her question in a soft whisper, while Kiana craned her neck, eavesdropping.
Bronya walked forward naturally, calmly.
She wore the thigh-high socks that Ye Feng liked, her slender, jade-like toes with their cardamom-red nails held taut within.
Using the Core of Reason, Bronya had already repaired her damaged legs and brain.
She was already very skilled—at walking, of course.
"Thank you for your concern, Sister Mei. I saw my husband."
Bronya answered naturally, a smile on her lips, without the slightest hesitation.
Mei glanced at Bronya out of the corner of her eye, as if trying to find something, but she failed.
Kiana waved her fist. "That dog bastard Ye Feng might be despicable, but his words are still quite credible, meow."
"Meow?" Bronya turned her head quizzically.
"Umm... don't worry about such a small thing." Kiana's face flushed red, and she shrank her neck back.
Seriously, it was a mandatory verbal tic over there, I can't believe I brought it back with me.
I'll have to be more careful in the future.
Suddenly letting out a "meow" was super embarrassing.
Kiana stomped her foot angrily. This is why I say that dog bastard Ye Feng is despicable!
Kiana resolved to watch what she said today.
Duckie had no intention of letting Little Bug off the hook and continued to press, "The Bronya is very curious."
She tilted her head, staring at Kitty-Kiana with eyes thirsty for knowledge.
"Don't be curious. Anyway, it's all that dog bastard Ye Feng's fault."
Shameful images once again surfaced in Kiana's mind. Not only did she have to meow, but she was also led around on a walk by Ye Feng.
Everything about Bronya seemed perfectly normal, but it still couldn't escape Mei's sixth sense.
She still felt that something was a bit off about the Big Duck Duck she had met at E.T. Studio.
"I saw the grown-up you there."
"Eh?"
The first to be stunned was Kiana. "A grown-up Bronya?"
Wasn't that bastard Ye Feng's favorite?
"Mei, you said she was an NPC?"
"No, she was a real person. I hear she's from... a parallel universe."
Mei stared at Bronya, and Little Duckie, in turn, showed just the right amount of surprise. "A parallel world? A grown-up Bronya? Interesting."
Her control over this micro-expression was so exquisite that even Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder, saw no flaw in it.
This time, Mei finally breathed a sigh of relief—though she wasn't sure why she needed to.
A cheerful smile appeared on her face. "That's right, she's probably Bronya in her twenties. The Bronya from that time has really blossomed into a slender and moving beauty."
"Tch, what's so great about that."
Kiana crossed her arms.
She was still the same as before; whenever she heard Mei praise Bronya, she couldn't help but feel jealous.
"I'm going to be the Herrscher of Finality in the future. I can kick all the Honkai Beasts away with one foot!"
Mei looked at Little Bug gently. "Yes, yes, Kiana is the strongest."
With a tacit understanding, the three of them stopped talking about the "other world" and turned the conversation to this year's Valkyrie assessment.
This was probably the telepathic connection shared between good sisters.
"In this year's annual assessment, I will definitely be promoted to an A-rank Valkyrie!" Kiana declared, raising her fist.
Among the students at St. Freya, there was currently only one who had achieved the rank of A-rank Valkyrie.
Fu Hua.
Kiana didn't like the feeling of being pressed down, and she also disliked the class monitor's constantly prim and preachy attitude.
As long as she became her equal, or even surpassed her to become an S-rank.
She wouldn't have to listen to the class monitor's nagging anymore, right?
At that time, Kiana could even turn the tables, put on an air of profound mystery, and give that upright and proper class monitor some guidance and education.
"You can't, Kiana. We have to remain B-rank Valkyries until we graduate."
Mei shattered Kiana's daydream.
"Eh? Why?"
Mei really wanted to say, "Because Feng-kun said so." As for the reason... Ye Feng hadn't said.
But Mei felt that Feng-kun must have his reasons for having them do this.
Like the Genin of Konoha Village in Naruto, Ye Feng simply felt that "the B-rank Valkyries of St. Freya Academy are, after all, the strongest."
When the time came, the Far East Branch would only need to dispatch three B-rank Valkyries to sweep away any great enemy and quell all Honkai turmoil.
Just thinking about it was exciting.
"Mhm, the Bronya also feels that a Valkyrie's rank doesn't necessarily represent anything."
Hearing Bronya say this, Kiana, not to be outdone, quickly followed up, "Me too! Since Mei said so, I don't care about Valkyrie ranks at all."
Although she said this, Kiana's shoulders clearly slumped, her earlier drive and ambition gone.
Kiana looked up at the classroom ahead.
Speaking of which, why was I so obsessed with raising my Valkyrie rank before?
Hmm... well, whatever.
The main problem now was to guard against those lesbians from the Elysian Realm.
Little Bug knew that Ye Feng was going to help Mei "grow," and Kiana had to be part of that scenery of growth, not have it painted over with a thick stroke of pink.
But it was too slow! That dog bastard Ye Feng's progress was too slow!
A long night is fraught with dreams.
Kiana couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Hurry the hell up, Ye Feng!
---o---
The view outside the window was bright. The continuous gloom had finally dissipated, and warm sunlight streamed in, making her whole body feel warm and unspeakably comfortable.
Robin awoke from a light sleep and looked nervously at the sofa in the living room.
Only after confirming that no one was there did she let out a sigh of relief.
Two days had passed, yet Miss Robin still hadn't escaped the shadow cast by the "Nightmare of Lewd Corruption."
Robin would often find her heart racing in a daze, feeling as if Mr. Ye Feng was sitting on the living room sofa, watching her with a smile.
Robin was beginning to have trouble distinguishing between the virtual and the real.
"...Miss Robin, Miss Robin?"
The voice of her bodyguard by her ear pulled Robin back.
She looked at the female bodyguard, carefully selected from The Family, and her heart finally settled a little.
This was the proper procedure.
On this war-torn planet of Casblanca-VIII, she would never be out of her bodyguards' sight.
A situation like in Mr. Ye Feng's world, where she was left alone for a long time, was basically impossible.
"Miss Robin, are you still going to cancel this afternoon's concert?" the bodyguard asked respectfully.
She sincerely admired her young mistress. Despite being a high-ranking member of the Iris Family, she had personally gone to the front lines to spread [The Harmony] and save the lives on the planet.
Miss Robin hoped to soothe people's pain with her songs and was willing to use her own flesh and blood to provide cover for the transport of the Corporation's relief supplies.
But she hadn't looked well for the past two days. Was she sick?
The bodyguard didn't know much about the characteristics of the Halovian race and could only do her best to help.
Hearing the word "concert," Robin's arches subconsciously tensed, and she clamped her legs together.
The pure cosmic songstress lowered her head, her gloved, slender hands clenched loosely over her chest.
Robin would never forget it. She had tried so hard to endure on stage, but under the watchful eyes of thousands, her sweat had still soaked her dress and the floor.
For a songstress who truly loves her art, there was nothing more terrifying.
As an idol, she should feel proud to be the focus of everyone's fervent gazes, but now Robin could no longer face a cheering audience with a calm heart.
She would always hear the gurgling sound of a flowing stream in her ears.
Whenever this happened, Robin would break out in a nervous sweat, and her voice would be unable to channel the music of The Harmony.
"...I can't."
Robin clenched her fists tightly.
How can an idol shy away from the stage and fear the audience?
Even setting aside her identity as a cosmic songstress, Robin always remembered the promise she made with her family, to build an equal world free of disaster and suffering.
To that end, Robin had to return to Penacony this year to sing on the stage of the Charmony Festival.
If she couldn't sing, her past dreams and old promises would vanish like foam in the wind.
"I can't stay stuck in the same place. How can I let a difficulty like this stop me?"
Robin made up her mind to take a new step forward.
What Robin didn't expect, however, was that on this war-torn planet of Casblanca-VIII, the artillery shells would arrive before the concert.
Just as she stepped out for a tour, a missile powerful enough to destroy half a city exploded. A steel fragment, wrapped in terrifying energy, shot towards Robin's throat like a meteor.
The accident happened so quickly that her bodyguard couldn't react in time.
Robin, who was not skilled in combat, was even less able to dodge.
The bodyguard had such "dynamic vision"; how could she hold this position if her skills weren't outstanding?
But her body couldn't keep up.
In her dynamic vision, her body felt as if it were stuck in glue, sluggish.
She could only watch helplessly as the fragment shot towards Robin, threatening to pierce her throat.
A generation's songstress was about to perish. Even if she survived, her ethereal singing voice would be damaged.
Just as the shrapnel was about to touch Robin, a scarlet glow like a Stigma appeared on her smooth, fair back. An incomprehensible power activated, and the shrapnel instantly vanished.
"?"
The shrapnel disappeared?
How?
Was it transferred using spatial power, or was it directly vaporized?
With the bodyguard's eyesight, she couldn't comprehend it at all.
But that wasn't important right now. She shielded Robin behind her and scanned the surroundings vigilantly.
"Miss Robin, we need to get out of here quickly."
At this moment, Robin's thoughts were in turmoil.
It was the [Contract]!
She had truly felt the power of the contract.
Can the power of the contract actually be brought into the real world?
There was no joy in Robin's heart, only more confusion, and even worry.
Because according to the terms of the [Contract], her lower body belonged to Mr. Ye Feng.
Since the power of the contract could manifest here, could Mr. Ye Feng... influence her lower body as well?
---o---
Arc City was a famous city that never slept.
A world of debauchery, with thousands of lights.
The brilliant glow illuminated the city as if it were daytime.
However, the E.T. Studio building seemed out of place, immersed in a lonely silence.
The lights inside were off, the building empty, and a tide of silence covered the entire structure, with only the quiet tapping of a keyboard and the fluorescent glow of a computer screen flickering in the glass.
The coffee on the desk had long gone cold, and the potted plant on the table was a bit withered from being forgotten for too long. Like a ruthless corporate drone, Bronya saved her files and prepared to wrap up her work for the day.
With the last character typed, she glanced at the time in the bottom right corner. Big Duck Duck turned off the computer, finished her coffee, and headed down the emergency exit staircase under the moonlight.
Stepping outside, the world before her was a hazy blur. The world at eleven at night was still bustling. Men and women, lost in wine and pleasure, walked arm in arm, talking and laughing as they entered some shop or hotel, their faces filled with either fake or genuine joy. Watching them, Big Duck Duck felt a touch of melancholy, because she and her husband hadn't been intimate for some time.
"Honestly, what am I even doing?"
Work?
The work was fake!
If Bronya wanted, she could [Customize] a game that would take the world by storm at any moment.
She knew very well that the reason she was typing and programming by hand was simply to use it as an excuse to numb herself.
Her husband, at this very moment, was with her best friend at the kendo dojo, passionately communicating and copulating.
And she, his wife, didn't even dare to show up.
On the contrary, she was afraid of being discovered!
Bronya walked the streets of Arc City. She felt a little regretful. Her ardent heart was pounding, causing the "void" in her chest to grow larger and larger.
For the past few days, she had put on a good act.
Sister Mei hadn't noticed anything unusual, and as for stupid Kiana, that went without saying.
But if things went on like this... would it really be okay?
And her husband! Did that guy just accept Bronya's suggestion like that?
You could have at least argued a little!
Bronya began to feel anxious, just like Kiana at this moment.
A week had passed, and she finally no longer had to be Kitty-Kiana.
But she found that Ye Feng seemed to have stopped playing with her again.
Of course, Kiana wasn't thirsty for Ye Feng, she was just genuinely afraid that Elysia would take advantage of an opening when she wasn't looking.
Because not only could she not find Ye Feng and Mei now, but she couldn't find Miss Pink Elf either, and that was very fuckable!
But Kiana had truly misunderstood Ye Feng, at least for the past few days.
Old Ye was "cultivating his moral character."
After the intimacy, he focused more on heartfelt communication and warm aftercare.
Just like now.
After Ye Feng and Mei woke up together, he was drawn by the sounds from the kitchen and followed the aroma. In the twilight of dawn, what greeted his eyes was a gentle, voluptuous beauty. Her red lips, delicate nose, exquisite features, and slender, well-proportioned figure.
This woman, who seemed illusory and captivating in the twilight, was also exceedingly real, and it brought a sense of peace to Ye Feng's heart.
Mei was wearing an apron—with clothes underneath—a sight he hadn't seen in a long time.
And Mei, whose perception had always been sharp, seemed not to have noticed the man leaning against the doorframe. She simply turned off the stove, and in the twilight, used a round ladle to scoop up the thick, clear congee and taste it carefully. Deciding that the taste was just right, she poured the nourishing dish, whose aroma alone was enough to whet one's appetite, into a bowl.
In the faint, fragrant twilight, even if neither of them spoke, the moment was perfectly beautiful.