"Mei, let's go into the city tomorrow! There's a New Year's Eve party at the new Sky Tree."
Kiana came running over, bouncing with excitement.
Seeing Kiana's overjoyed expression, Mei decisively rejected her.
Because she had something very important to do in her life.
"Sorry, Kiana..."
"Eh?"
The smile on Kiana's face froze.
Little Bug had thought Mei would definitely agree.
This was their first New Year together since they met. Kiana had been fantasizing about greeting the new year with Mei under the Sky Tree on a winter's night, counting down together.
"I really can't tomorrow night. I have plans with Feng-kun..."
"..."
Feng-kun, Feng-kun, it's always Feng-kun!
He was a monster she couldn't defeat even if she gave it her all.
She couldn't even shake a single one of his hairs.
Even knowing that defeat lay ahead, a noble and loyal female knight would not yield.
That's how it should have been...
But, due to the demon king's despicable plan, the female knight was forced to join his camp.
On the surface, Kiana and Mei were both Ye Feng's girlfriends, a fact established through a "tripartite talk."
Kiana felt a pain in her stomach right now, but she still had to force a relaxed smile.
"I see... well, can't be helped then. Have fun, you two."
Beside them, Bronya remained motionless, not even lifting her head, her eyes fixed on her game console as if she hadn't heard the conversation between Mei and Kiana.
But her mechanical button presses caused her, who could have cleared the stage without taking any damage, to die at the hands of a small mob... though, no one noticed this little detail.
Kiana was dejected. The "bad news" had been coming one after another recently. Elysia had even moved into the room across from theirs.
What was Great Aunt thinking?
Elysia looks suspicious no matter how you look at her. How could she let her enroll without doing any kind of background check?
No wonder that guy Ye Feng called Great Aunt "Deli-silly."
Little Bug had actually forgotten that a long time ago, when Theresa was learning about "Ye Feng's world" through Kiana, Kiana herself had told her about the "Thirteen Flame-Chasers"...
Therefore, whether it was Mobius's "invasion" or Elysia's enrollment, Theresa held a positive attitude.
"After all, they are all powerhouses who can crush a Herrscher with one hand—if Kiana's intel is correct, that is."
In the Principal's office, Theresa and Teacher Himeko were discussing how to handle their relationship with the "Thirteen Flame-Chasers."
Himeko sat on the sofa. In the dead of winter, her sexy, fiery body was wrapped only in a tight leather suit.
She had her legs crossed, her firm, powerful thighs pressing against each other to form a ripe curve.
Himeko took a sip of coffee and smiled flirtatiously. "Simply put, it's 'don't initiate, don't refuse.' We just need to maintain a good relationship, right? Tsk, you're quite skilled at this, Principal."
"? That's a strange way to put it. Well, that's the general idea. They are the strongest group of people from the Previous Era, and we don't know what they're thinking. Since Kiana has had contact with them in 'Ye Feng's world,' it seems that arranging for them to be in the Valkyrie dorms is the best choice for now."
Theresa sat on her high chair, gently swinging her white-stockinged calves under her nun's habit.
Although her words were serious, it was clear that she was in a relaxed and cheerful mood.
"Right, this matter cannot be reported to HQ either."
Theresa's eyes lowered slightly, a glint of wisdom actually flashing within them. "I'm worried Grandpa might do something drastic. It would be troublesome if that causes unnecessary conflict."
Himeko spread her hands. "Although I don't think Overseer Otto's personality would lead him to do what you're worried about. But that guy... I always feel like he's brewing some kind of conspiracy. So... Lady Theresa, you could take his place. Isn't there an old saying in Shenzhou? What was it again? Oh, right, 'How can there be a crown prince for forty years?'"
In the "future" Kiana described, Theresa became the Overseer. The thought of it was quite interesting.
"Me?"
Theresa pointed to her own nose with her index finger and said with wide eyes, "No, no, I can't do it. Don't listen to Kiana's nonsense."
Himeko squinted and smiled. "Then, my dear Principal, why are you so actively expanding your military power?"
"Expanding my military power? I'm not."
Theresa thought it over. She hadn't developed any large-scale weapons of mass destruction, nor had she conducted any research experiments on the Honkai.
But she was, after all, the supreme head of the Far East Branch, so she quickly understood. "Are you talking about Elysia? She's not under our control. She's just... hmm, a free-spirited student."
Himeko smiled.
Then, she raised her hand and reached into her towering chest, pulling out a test tube from the deep, profound cleavage.
"?"
Theresa's face turned slightly red, it was hard to tell if it was from shame or anger.
"Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing!"
"Look, Theresa."
"I don't want to look at something like... hmm? What's this?"
Theresa stared at the vial in Himeko's hand. It was the size of her little finger. Probably because it still held some body heat, a thin layer of mist immediately formed on it in the cold winter air after being taken out, but the liquid inside was still clearly visible.
The eerie green liquid gave off a faint fluorescent glow, like some kind of alien secretion, giving off a sinister and strange feeling.
"Mobius left it in my room."
Theresa's breath hitched. "Who?!"
"Mobius. One of the 'Thirteen Flame-Chasers' from the Previous Era. The Serpent who Devours the World who invaded the Central Dogma not long ago."
Himeko's eyelids drooped. "Our newly recruited history teacher... no, to be precise, the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, Welt Yang, also disappeared because of that and his whereabouts are still unknown."
Himeko couldn't help but feel a little worried. She had attended university in North America and had a brief acquaintance with Welt.
"Hmph, those guys from Anti-Entropy. To think they would sneak in so openly. They really don't take me seriously."
Theresa sat up straight. She didn't know about the relationship between Himeko and Welt, and just huffed with her arms crossed.
"From the looks of it now, Mobius really does lean more towards our side. She even went out of her way to help us root out a spy. We should thank her properly. By the way, Himeko, you still haven't said what this reagent is for."
"When I returned to my room just now, this vial suddenly appeared on my desk, along with a letter."
Himeko once again reached into her chest.
"..." Theresa's face darkened. "I say, do you have to put things there?"
"Because I don't have any pockets."
Himeko handed the letter, which still carried the faint scent of milk, to Theresa. She took it and quickly scanned it.
Theresa's eyes widened, and she exclaimed in shock, "This medicine can heal your body?"
Murata Himeko's body was severely eroded by Honkai energy because she had voluntarily participated in an immature artificial Stigma experiment. It was conservatively estimated that she would not live past the age of forty.
"Mhm. The letter mentions that Ye Feng asked Mobius to do this."
Ye Feng was a name that both Theresa and Himeko had heard many times.
At first, their impression of Ye Feng was that of a prophet-like figure. Later, he gradually gave them the feeling of being omnipotent.
Not only did he make Kiana diligent and hardworking, but he also gave them strength through various means.
And now, he had solved the problem that plagued Himeko's life.
He's such a good person.
Himeko asked, "Theresa, what do you think?"
Theresa pinched the letter, staring at the message on it. "Mobius says the medicine can indeed repair your body's organs, but the damage that has already been done cannot be reversed... What does that mean?"
"It probably refers to things like 'potential' and 'lifespan'."
Theresa read it again. "Mobius says this medicine carries risks, that it's for 'testing' to collect some data? What is this, is she treating people like lab rats!"
"Haha, the Mobius that Kiana and Mei described has exactly this kind of personality."
Himeko, on the other hand, was very open-minded and laughed. "If the 'test' is successful, I can undergo 'surgery' to completely solve the erosion problem. Sounds pretty good. Even if the test is unsuccessful, the medicine can still repair my body, so at the very least I can 'die of old age'?"
"Hmm... what's the surgery? I just feel like Mobius will add something scary into your body during the operation."
Theresa hunched her shoulders and looked again at the eerie green vial.
"Hm? Wait a minute. Does this mean Mobius has been at St. Freya High School all these days?"
"Ah, maybe she even took samples from me while I was sleeping," Himeko said with a self-deprecating laugh.
That possibility was very high.
"..."
Theresa was suddenly speechless, as uncomfortable as if she'd eaten shit.
She was confident that St. Freya's defense system was the best in the world, but Mobius was moving freely within the academy, and their monitoring system didn't react at all?
If she were an enemy... she didn't dare to think about it.
But then she thought that since Mobius listened to Ye Feng, there was nothing to be afraid of.
"So, are you going to drink it?"
Theresa looked at the eerie green vial, swallowed, and asked.
"Of course."
Himeko had only come here to inform Theresa of this news, not to ask for her judgment.
As a woman who "sees things through to the end once she takes her clothes off," Himeko was very proactive.
---o---
On the night of the year's end, a faint mist shrouded the hill.
This was a hill next to the city. Looking down from here, one could see the brightly lit city, immersed in a joyous atmosphere, a stark contrast to the tranquility here, as if it were another world.
Ye Feng held Mei's soft little hand as they stepped onto the stone stairs, the tips of his fingers feeling a cool, smooth touch.
Due to the rain a few days ago, the forest was filled with a cool, damp air, and the night sky was exceptionally clear.
The forest path was particularly damp and cold after a winter rain. The dark trees and grass swayed, and the sides of the stone steps were covered with traces of moss.
It was so quiet it felt as if they were the only two people left in the world.
Following "Mei's wishes," Ye Feng constructed this shrine.
"When I was little, I vaguely remember that after praying at the main hall, my mother would take me to the back mountain, where there was another shrine."
Mei, dressed in a kimono, looked very elegant and quiet, exuding the gentleness of a Yamato Nadeshiko.
"A shrine within a shrine? That must have been a very important place for you and your mother."
"Mhm." Mei nodded lightly. "My mother seems to have been a shrine maiden from Izumo. She would bring me here every year for 'purification'."
A hidden shrine? Purification? Shrine maiden?
And even long purple hair...
Ye Feng couldn't help but think of No-Face Moon.
As Mei recounted her vague memories, the content was of course a world away from No-Face Moon.
For her and her mother, this shrine was more of a place to "store beautiful memories."
The two rounded a corner in the woods. Under the clear moonlight, a not-so-tall torii gate stood quietly at the end of the stone steps.
Under the torii, Higokumaru, dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit, was sweeping fallen leaves with a broom.
Upon seeing Ye Feng and Mei arrive, Higokumaru obediently retreated to the side of the sandō, bowed her head, and said respectfully, "Lord Ye Feng, Lady Mei."
Everything was just as it was in Mei's childhood memories.
Ye Feng looked at the shrine maiden whose belly he had made big, and beckoned for Higokumaru to come over.
Higokumaru's heart pounded. What is this guy up to now?
Then, she felt a lightness in her stomach, and her entire body felt more refreshed than ever before.
"?"
This demon Ye Feng had lifted the "pregnancy buff" without any warning.
How could he be so kind?
"You may leave," Ye Feng said faintly.
Leave? Does that mean I can go? For real?
Higokumaru had thought this was another case of "give a sweet date, then hit with a stick."
It was hard to believe, and she couldn't stop a feeling of gratitude from welling up.
"Yes, Lord Ye Feng!"
The little fox scurried away, heading down the mountain steps.
Initially, when Higokumaru was called to the shrine to carry out a "special mission," she had thought she would be toyed with by this demon again. She never expected that he would give her such a surprise after just a little sweeping.
Ye Feng now looked at Mei. A cool breeze blew by, pressing the kimono against her delicate body, her curves looking slender and sexy at this moment.
Especially her hips and waist. Even the loose kimono couldn't hide her perfect, child-bearing figure.
"Mei, are you the traditional type?"
"Hm?"
Ye Feng smiled. "Are you wearing anything underneath?"
"..."
Mei's face instantly turned red.
She gently pressed down on the strands of hair flying by her ear, her shy, lowered head as delicate as a lotus flower unable to withstand the cool breeze.
The sight made Ye Feng's heart flutter. He had always been a man of action. Leaning close to the girl's ear, he said, "Mei, I'm very confident I can help you with your kimono, you know."
"...Don't."
Mei's cheeks flushed crimson like the afterglow of a sunset, her thoughts a mess along with her fiercely pounding heart. Her breath was now faint, almost non-existent, and her hoarse voice stammered out a few broken syllables.
"...Feng-kun, wait a moment."
"Mei is so cute, I can't possibly resist."
"I still have something to tell Feng-kun."
"Mhm, you can lean over that shrine there and tell me slowly. I'll listen carefully. And I'll check if Mei is wearing her kimono the traditional way while I'm at it."
"Mmph..."
Mei's pinned-up hair fell loose, cascading down.
The moon in the sky also hid behind the clouds.