Alcohol...
While drinking too much can easily harm the body, it does tend to make people open up at the dinner table.
Haru and Bronya chatted casually, watching as the girl occasionally picked up food with her chopsticks, then took a sip of oolong tea, her pretty face carrying a slightly tipsy charm.
She really did learn this from Himeko - even her drinking demeanor was similar.
It's just that Bronya's drinking behavior seemed better than Himeko's. When drinking, she was more like an elegant and dignified lady, unlike Himeko who became like a drunk when she had too much.
Haru sighed inwardly, then raised his eyebrows.
He had wanted to know how Himeko was doing in this timeline, whether she had escaped the tragic fate of past loops and broken free from the destiny of being an older single woman.
Now that Bronya happened to mention Himeko, he could naturally inquire about Himeko's situation.
"Speaking of which, what does your Teacher Himeko teach?"
Haru gnawed on duck feet in abalone sauce while drinking, asking casually.
In the past, Himeko was a Valkyrie training instructor, but now that Honkai was gone, he wondered if she might have become a physical education teacher.
"Teacher Himeko? She mainly researches interstellar navigation dynamics, so what she teaches is also related to that - things like astrophysics, aerospace engineering..."
Bronya just assumed Haru was curious about St. Freya, this world-famous academy, so she explained casually.
Haru nodded while listening, comparing the St. Freya from the loops with the current one.
The former St. Freya Academy was a Valkyrie training base. However, because Kiana and the others all became Herrschers, some jokingly called this academy the Far East Devil's Den.
But in a world without Honkai...
St. Freya Academy was still built on a large artificial island in the Far East, but its nature had changed to become a world-renowned top school - an integrated academy encompassing middle school, high school, and university, with teaching and research levels at the global forefront.
According to Bronya, even among the talented individuals at St. Freya Academy, Murata Himeko was one of the most outstanding professors.
That made sense. Thinking Himeko would become a PE teacher was him being foolish.
He almost forgot that Himeko was a genius girl who obtained her PhD from Caltech at age 19, unlike him and Kevin who didn't even have university diplomas.
Oh wait, that's not right.
Kevin in this world finished university. Only he, the transmigrator, lacked academic credentials.
Fortunately, the artist profession mainly looked at works, so academic credentials weren't important. Otherwise, Haru would have to go move bricks at construction sites.
Speaking of which, Elysia traveled around the world when she was young and didn't attend university either. In some sense, she and Haru were well-matched.
It's just that their future children couldn't have such low education levels. At the very least, the family should produce a university graduate...
Haru's thoughts flashed by, then his attention returned to the whole duck banquet as he chatted with Bronya while demolishing the food.
...
An hour later.
The plates had become empty.
Haru downed the last sip of flammable oolong tea and walked out of the restaurant with Bronya.
It was now late, and the shops on both sides of the street lit up with various colored lights. Dazzling neon signs decorated Nagazora City in brilliant splendor.
But facing this bustling and noisy nightscape, Haru instead saw a kind of hollow loneliness.
In the economically developed Nagazora City, skyscrapers could be seen everywhere. The streets were filled with flowing traffic, and the bustling scenes were overwhelming...
But most people in this city were always in a hurry, running around for their livelihood, never having time to stop.
Despite being in crowded masses, the distance between individuals grew ever greater. Loneliness in prosperous cities was just so real and inescapable.
"Haru, your expression looks like you're contemplating some philosophy of life?"
The light gray-haired girl tilted her head, her beautiful eyes reflecting the young man standing under the neon lights.
"Nothing much. I'm just grateful for the dinner you treated me to. Today was really a day worth commemorating."
Haru looked at the girl who had stood alongside him countless times in the loops, smiled silently, and the melancholic thoughts in his mind immediately lightened considerably.
"No need to thank me. Having eaten Bronya's food, you must work hard from now on~!"
Bronya had a shallow smile on her face as she tiptoed slightly, moving close to Haru's shoulder and whispering softly.
"Don't worry. From now on, I'll definitely prioritize my boss's orders. If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west. I'll work hard to make Principle Studio bigger and stronger."
Haru patted his solid chest, guaranteeing.
"Is that so? Then let me wait and see."
Bronya didn't say much more, just contemplated the possibility of ordering the captain to strip naked and lie obediently on the bed.
Although the captain would definitely refuse now, as long as she persisted in her conquest, the girl believed she could eventually train the captain back to how he was in the previous life.
However, her body had changed dramatically compared to the previous life, so some activities probably wouldn't be possible anymore...
Bronya frowned slightly, then relaxed with understanding.
A blessing in disguise - her current body might have even greater appeal to the captain. At least when giving the captain chest massages, he wouldn't look like he was being scraped by a file.
Haru had no idea the girl was plotting how to use his body.
He took out his phone to check the time, then turned to look at Bronya, whose cheeks were slightly red and who wasn't saying anything, asking with concern: "It's getting late. You're not drunk, are you? Should I see you home?"
"Just one cup of oolong tea - how could Bronya possibly be drunk?"
The girl shook her head, but a gleam flashed in her light gray eyes as she seemed to lose her footing and fell toward Haru.
"Careful!"
Haru instinctively reached out his arms and caught Bronya in his embrace.
The girl very naturally buried her face in Haru's chest, feeling Haru's hot hands supporting her waist, her red lips unable to suppress a slight upward curve.
Although she really wanted to continue coveting the captain's embrace...
But to avoid making the captain suspicious, Bronya still controlled her inner desire. After taking a few breaths, she got up from Haru's embrace.
"Sorry, I accidentally lost my footing just now."
"As long as you're okay, but just to be safe, let me see you back to your hotel!"
Haru looked at Bronya with concern, not having any romantic feelings from the girl's embrace.
After all, in Haru's view, what just happened was purely accidental, and he had hugged countless Valkyries in the past. Such a brief embrace couldn't move his heart that had been through so much.
"No need to go through such trouble. Bronya really isn't drunk."
The girl's eyes flickered as she emphasized seriously.
"I can see your consciousness is clear, but alcohol can also numb the body. What if you lose your footing like just now and fall?"
Haru's gaze looked toward the girl's slender beautiful legs wrapped in black stockings. The high heels under her jade feet were obviously the reason for the girl's unsteady center of gravity.
Drunk people could fall even wearing flat shoes, let alone high heels.
Whether out of a sense of responsibility from having dated the girl before, or out of a gentleman's proper etiquette, Haru couldn't possibly watch Bronya go back alone like this!
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