Chapter 88: A Well-Intentioned Lie
[The Story of Murata Himeko
Young Himeko and her father gazed up at the twinkling stars, the little girl's face flushed with excitement:
"Wow! The stars are so beautiful!"
"Dad, look..."
Himeko happily shared her discovery with her father, but he kept walking further away.
No matter how hard she tried to catch up, she couldn't reach him. Flames suddenly engulfed her father's body before he vanished without a trace. "Dad!!"
Himeko woke up gasping for breath in an empty hospital room. On the bed, she found a letter...]
[Murata Himeko]:"This letter...it's not from Dad either, is it?"
[Honkai·Welt]:"I'm sorry, Himeko. I wrote that letter. I..."
[Murata Himeko]:"I know, Teacher Welt. You didn't want to ruin my image of Dad, right? Giving your student a beautiful dream—that's what this is, isn't it?"
[Murata Himeko]:"So many years have passed. Now I'm a teacher too. I understand."
[The Story of the Huguys
After Welt eliminated Murata Ryousuke, all members of the Huguy clan were rescued. "Are you leaving?"
Peppermint Candy hugged his small bag silently, clearly still shaken by Murata Ryousuke's betrayal.
Elder Konpeito leaned on his cane, sighing deeply: "Yes."
"This planet no longer has a place for us."
"We've lost too much already. But...thank you anyway."
Welt bowed his head in apology: "I couldn't save him, and I broke something important to you."
Elder Konpeito said it didn't matter—Welt had already helped them enough. Though they lost the core key, the Candy House could still function normally as a dimensional leap vehicle. The Huguys would continue their endless journey, searching for another civilization to coexist with. Welt mused that humanity would eventually venture into the stars too, fulfilling his long-cherished wish. After thanking Welt repeatedly, the Huguys returned to the Candy House through the Void Archives, while Welt went back to Earth.]
[Stelle]:"So in the end, Mr. Yang did kill Murata Himeko's father..."
[March 7th]:"It was a life-or-death battle at the time."
[Kiana]:"The Void Archives are that fragile? They just broke like that?"
[Vill-V]:"Not a big deal. Whether it's Divine Keys or the Huguys' Void Archives, the most important part is the Herrscher core inside. The outer shell can always be modified."
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"Exactly. Just like the Star of Eden—I've lost count of how many times it's broken."
[Kevin]:"The tip of the Abyss Flower has shattered before too."
[Eden]:"The Harmony of the Starry Sea is that fragile?"
[Durandal]:"When did Abyss Flower ever break?"
[Su]:"A long time ago."
[The Story of Murata Himeko
In the hospital, she opened the letter herself: "To Himeko:
By the time you read this letter, no matter how you receive it, I will already be gone from this world.
Whether my actions were right or wrong no longer matters to me. I can't turn back—this is the path I chose. But I won't force my beliefs onto you. You have a much broader future ahead. Hold fast to your dreams and shape this world into what you want it to be. I know you'll do far better than I ever could. From your less-than-adequate father."
After reading the letter, Himeko rushed out of the hospital room in distress, only to be stopped by Einstein, who had been waiting outside. Himeko demanded to know what was really going on, but Einstein just shook her head without answering. In the end, Himeko collapsed to her knees, covering her face as she wept.]
[March 7th]:"Big Sis Himeko from that other world is so pitiful..."
[Stelle]:"Why wasn't Mr. Yang there when Himeko came out?"
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"I...had just killed her father. I couldn't face her."
[Honkai Star Rail·Void Archives]:"Now Welt, that's not right. Sure, you killed Himeko's father, but she still has you! As her teacher, you could've been her guiding light in life~"
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"Void Archives...are you out of your damn mind??"
[Murata Himeko]:"Void Archives...it's a miracle no one's beaten you to death yet."
[Otto]:"The Void Archives can't cause much trouble while in my possession."
[Vill-V]:"...Should we bring them to the Elysian Realm? I could reboot their programming."
[Otto]:"That won't be necessary, but thank you for your concern~"
[Himeko quickly composed herself and went home. Only then did Welt emerge from hiding. "Thank you, Einstein. I didn't know how to face her."
"Is a well-intentioned lie really for the best?"
"She has a right to know the truth."
Einstein leaned against the windowsill as she spoke. "I know it's unfair to her, but I can't let my student get any more entangled in this."
"We know so little about the Sky People, and with the Honkai running rampant while Schicksal watches us like hawks...it's all too dangerous."
"And she admired her father so much.
The truth...would be too cruel."
"She's just an ordinary person. I want her to stay far away from all this danger and conflict from now on..."
.........
When Himeko returned home, she tearfully searched her father's study for any clues about the truth. It wasn't until she found a document mentioning Schicksal that she found her breakthrough.]
[Murata Himeko]:"Sigh...that's how I ended up joining Schicksal and becoming a Valkyrie."
[Murata Himeko]:"If not for all this, I might've stuck to my dreams and become a researcher instead."
At this thought, Murata Himeko couldn't help but sigh at how fate played with people's lives.
[Kiana]:"Teacher Himeko could've been a researcher?"
[Bronya Zaychik]:"Idiot Kiana, Teacher Himeko even has a Ph.D. from Caltech!"
[Bronya Zaychik]:"That's a degree Kiana will never earn in her lifetime."
[March 7th]:"Huh? Just like our navigator!"
[Stelle]:"So this was the first time the Sky People's schemes were thwarted?"
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"Correct. The next time would be in 2029—when I came here."
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"Damn you, Void Archives!!! You let the Sky People wreak havoc on Earth's St. Fountain!!!"
[Honkai Star Rail·Void Archives]:"Even now, I still believe storing all Honkai energy on the moon under the Herrscher of Finality's control is an extremely risky move!"