"So, Seele... you want me to keep my distance?"
Sensing the little tsundere act from her dear Dark Seele, Lunelle quickly adopted a pitiful, heart-wrenching expression, her voice tinged with a touch of feigned humility.
"Well... alright then..."
Though deeply reluctant to let go, Lunelle resisted the temptation to cling tighter and released her hug even before her Dark Seele could utter another word.
After all, understanding her Dark Seele's temperament so well, Lunelle knew that sometimes taking those proud, contrary words at face value was the easiest way to handle her beloved.
And just as Lunelle predicted, things unfolded exactly as she expected.
No sooner had Lunelle released her hold than she felt a warm, soft, and distinctly well-proportioned body press tightly against her from behind—a figure every bit as curvaceous as the "Seele" persona she currently wore.
"You idiot! When did I ever say I wanted you to stay away? Are you... trying to abandon me all over again!?"
But as Dark Seele spoke, her voice trembled uncontrollably, even cracking with the hint of a sob.
"Ah! I—I'm sorry, Seele! I... I accidentally took your angry words seriously..."
Lunelle, who had only meant to tease a little, instantly panicked.
She never expected her famously stubborn, say-one-thing-mean-another Dark Seele to be so fragile and sensitive when facing "Seele."
Yet, realizing this vulnerability was only ever revealed for Seele's sake, Lunelle felt a strange pang of bittersweet envy.
For the first time, a thought crossed Lunelle's mind:
If she hadn't met Dark Seele while wearing the guise of "Seele," would her beloved still be this inseparable from her?
"Dummy! Stupid Seele! You're not allowed to leave me alone ever again, you hear me!!?"
Seeing Lunelle's immediate submission, Dark Seele huffed indignantly, burrowing into Lunelle's embrace and pounding her chest with tiny, pink fists—punishing this foolish "Seele" for daring to take her words literally.
"Okay, okay, from now on I promise I won't ever leave you alone again. After all, I love Seele the most!"
"Hmph!!!"
'Maybe... it wouldn't be so bad if I really were Seele!'
The thought crossed her mind—if she truly were Seele, perhaps she could rightfully be with her most beloved Dark Seele.
Ever since transmigrating into this world, Lunelle had constantly insisted, "I'm really not Seele."
But for the first time, she felt that being her dear Seele might not be such a terrible fate.
'Sigh... in the end, this is just a role-playing simulation under the guise of my dear Seele. Have I gotten a little too immersed in the act?'
After a brief daze, Lunelle quickly snapped out of her rather impractical fantasies.
So far, she hadn't noticed anything from the simulation affecting the real world of Honkai Impact.
It might be because she hadn't been in this world for long, but at this stage, the plot in reality seemed to be progressing without any obvious changes.
Thus, Lunelle hadn't given much thought to the possibility of the simulation influencing reality.
Now, having reconciled with Dark Seele—a Herrscher consciousness—on a mental level, the ever-perceptive simulator chose this moment to pop up a special notification.
[By passively activating the authority of [Creation], you have unexpectedly rewritten the fate of a story character who was destined to die.]
[Will the Host proceed with Save & Settlement?]
"Save & Settlement? See-chan, what exactly does this function do? Will something special happen in the simulation if I save?"
Seeing the unprecedented "Save & Settlement" option on the simulator panel, Lunelle grew curious about what would occur if she chose to save.
["Save & Settlement" is a special function unlocked after the Host triggers a fate alteration for a story character for the first time.]
[Upon meeting specific conditions, the Host may choose to Save & Settle.]
[The simulator will anchor the Host's current simulation progress and issue corresponding talent rewards based on the successfully altered fate of the simulation character.]
[If the Host chooses not to save, the talent rewards will be temporarily frozen. However, if the Host dies unexpectedly in subsequent simulations, the next simulation will restart from the initial beginning.]
"See-chan? If I choose Save & Settlement, will my actions in the simulation become permanent and affect the real world?"
After reading the simulator's description, Lunelle's first instinct was to save here.
But as an avid reader of simulation-themed web novels, she wanted to confirm whether a saved simulation would indeed impact reality.
[The simulations the Host has experienced thus far are indeed virtual processes and will not directly affect reality.]
"Oh? Is that so...?"
Hearing this somewhat unreliable-sounding reply from See-chan, Lunelle suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
But then it struck her—in the simulation, she was wearing the persona of her dear "Seele"! Even if her actions in the simulation could somehow affect reality through the simulation...
As long as the simulator's existence remained hidden, any "creditors" who came knocking would surely be looking for her dear "Seele," not her, Lunelle!
What does that have to do with me, Lunelle?
Once she realized she could potentially pawn off all future troubles onto her dear Seele, most of Lunelle's concerns about aggressively wooing her other beloved, Dark Seele, while wearing Seele's guise, vanished.
However, what Lunelle never expected was that, in the simulation, Dark Seele had already begun to suspect that Lunelle might not be the same "Seele" she once knew.
Yet, because Lunelle currently exhibited so many traits unique to the original Seele, the clearly unsettled Dark Seele couldn't outright claim that Lunelle was a separate entity.
Thus, she tacitly accepted the idea that Lunelle was now Seele.
Moreover, it's worth noting that the simulator specifically emphasized that the "previously experienced" simulations were virtual processes!
Whether simulations from this point onward—or even the current simulation in progress—would remain the same as described for those "previous experiences" was clearly an uncertain variable...~?
"In that case, I'll confirm the save here!"
Believing she no longer needed to worry about trouble finding her, Lunelle promptly issued the Save & Settlement command.
Besides, having always been stuck with the Safety Net rewards, she was quite curious: now that she had finally altered a story character's fate, what kind of talent reward would she receive?
--+--
[Save successful!]
[Simulation Evaluation: Congratulations, Host, for successfully altering the inevitable death fate of the story character "Seele" within the simulation progression.]
[Save Settlement Rating: A]
--+--
[Simulation Settlement: Congratulations, Host, for binding the special permanent talent [Authority of Creation]!]
[Authority of Creation (Green ~ Unknown / Growth-type Permanent Talent): A special Authority developed from the depths of your core consciousness! Grants you the ability to control and even shape life to a certain extent, according to your will.]
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.