Chapter 71: Honkai Impact 3rd New Version! Queen's Descent!
The following day.
Bronya made a point of waking up extra early. She bought breakfast for two at a stall downstairs; through her observations over the past few weeks, she knew Su Mu favored a combination of char siu buns and soy milk. He usually arrived at the office thirty minutes before start time, bought breakfast, and often purchased extra portions. He would typically give some to the cleaning staff in the business tower and then chat with the front desk receptionists while finishing his meal. According to him, this was to understand the local business environment.
Because he was well-spoken and genuinely handsome, he was quite popular. Gradually, his reputation spread throughout the business district. Combined with the massive success of Honkai Impact 3rd, he had become a local celebrity. The receptionists often remarked that a successful person like Su Mu being so approachable was a rare find. Consequently, Su Mu's network began to permeate the entire building.
Bronya did not look down on professions like cleaning; she believed society was built on individuals and that everyone played a vital role. However, she didn't typically go out of her way to cultivate relationships with them—not for any specific reason, but simply because she reacted like a normal, busy person. In contrast, Su Mu was unique.
When she once asked him why he put so much effort into these interactions, Su Mu smiled and said that for one, he enjoyed it, and for another, a network of contacts was better the larger it was—you never knew when it might come in handy. Going to such lengths for a future possibility... Bronya felt a sense of admiration for him. Furthermore, one should judge a person by their actions, not their hidden motives. As the saying goes, if a person can act as a philanthropist for their entire life, then they are a philanthropist. Besides, Su Mu never demanded anything in return.
Bronya took a deep breath. The miHoYo office doors were open—needless to say, Su Mu must have arrived first. He should be in his office now. Sharing breakfast with him shouldn't be that difficult.
"...Elysia was right."
After returning home last night, Bronya had carefully considered Elysia's words. She undeniably had feelings for Su Mu. Just thinking about the scene of Kiana taking Su Mu away made her feel restless—a sensation she had never experienced before. While she felt Su Mu didn't dislike her, this was her first time harborring romantic feelings. Nervousness and a lack of confidence were inevitable.
Bronya walked into the company and headed down the corridor toward Su Mu's office. Despite the internal struggle, she had decided to take the initiative.
"Hmm? A scent? Why does it smell so good??"
Before she even reached the door, Bronya caught a waft of a delicious aroma. She stopped, confirming the scent was coming from Su Mu's office.
Bronya knocked. Su Mu's voice came from within: "Come in."
When Bronya pushed the door open, the scene inside caused her to freeze on the spot. An elegant, dignified beauty in a maid outfit was pouring black tea for Su Mu. On the desk sat a plate of freshly baked honey pancakes—the obvious source of the scent.
The maid had short, ash-blonde hair covering her left eye and beautiful wine-red pupils. Most striking of all was the beauty mark under her right eye, which added a touch of mature charm. She didn't speak; after pouring the tea, she crossed her hands in front of her and stood to the side with a faint smile, the picture of a perfectly trained maid.
Bronya: "..."
Visibly, Bronya's expression shifted from shock to cold indifference, and then to disdain.
"My apologies. It seems I've come at an inconvenient time." With that, she turned to leave.
Wait? Why does this scene feel so familiar? Bronya realized this wasn't the first time such a misunderstanding had occurred. Did she really just make the same mistake twice? Laughable.
Bronya turned back around and looked at Su Mu. "What is the meaning of this?"
Su Mu looked somewhat helpless. "You'll have to ask Kiana..."
Sensing Su Mu's predicament, Rita spoke up proactively: "Hello. You must be Ms. Bronya. My name is Rita Rossweisse. As you can see, I am a maid. Starting today, I will be joining miHoYo as Mr. Su Mu's secretary. I look forward to your guidance."
Her polite speech was flawless, and her bow was perfect.
"Secretary...?" Bronya's gaze became incredibly strange. Even she, a Vice President, didn't have a secretary, yet Su Mu had one already?
"It was arranged by Lady Kiana. She felt that Mr. Su Mu was overextending himself and feared his health would collapse if this continued. Thus, she sent me to share his burdens."
Su Mu looked at the woman beside him, feeling a headache coming on. Rather than Kiana's idea, this was clearly Theresa's arrangement. On the surface, she was here to help; in reality, she was almost certainly here to monitor him. It was understandable—given how unreliable Kiana could be, it wasn't impossible for the company to be run into the ground. (Of course, Su Mu didn't know Theresa hadn't thought that far ahead; but Rita did come with the intent to observe.)
"Ms. Bronya, I presume you haven't had breakfast? I've just finished baking these pancakes; please join us."
Faced with Rita's invitation, Bronya's first instinct was to refuse. She felt this woman was dangerous. "No... I've already eaten."
Rita smiled faintly. "Is that so? Then the breakfast in your hand..."
Bronya explained quickly, "This... I bought it for Carole! Right! That girl always arrives at the last second and forgets to eat breakfast!"
Rita sighed. "I see. How unfortunate." Though, looking at her, she didn't seem particularly disappointed.
Bronya practically fled from Su Mu's office. Standing in the hallway, she looked at the char siu buns in her hand and then recalled the golden, fragrant pancakes Rita had made. Suddenly, she felt like a certain clown from Gotham City.
"A declaration of war! This is a total declaration of war, Sister Bronya!" "Complete declaration! Ellie smells danger in the air!"
Two voices from behind made Bronya jump. Standing behind her were Pardo and Elysia!
"When did you two get here?" "Right as you stepped into the office! We've been here the whole time!" "..."
Bronya glared at them. She was truly exasperated. Do you two really have nothing to do? Running to Su Mu's office every single day!
"Forget that, Sister Bronya! This is an emergency! That woman named Rita is clearly declaring war!" "Coming in and immediately making pancakes... that aroma... her skills could rival Kalpas!" "To catch a man's heart, you must first catch his stomach. If this keeps up, Sister Bronya, you're in trouble!" "Fresh, sweet pancakes made by a girl's own hands, in a closed-off office for just the two of them... the atmosphere is off the charts! Even I, Ellie, would be moved!"
"Sister Ellie, is there ever a time when you aren't moved?"
Watching them play off each other, Bronya felt like spitting blood.
"There's no other way. For the sake of Bronya's love life, as a love expert and your dear friend, I, Elysia, cannot stand by and watch!!"
With righteous indignation, Elysia pushed open the door to Su Mu's office. "Leave it to us, Sister Bronya! We will definitely break up this 'world for two'!"
Pardo gave a thumbs-up. At this moment, she and Elysia looked as if they were bathed in golden light!
"Will we win, Sister Ellie?" "We will win, Pardo!" "You are the challenger here, Rita Rossweisse!"
The two of them walked into the office. Ten minutes later...
Bronya looked at the two of them. Miss Pink Elf had pancake crumbs on the corner of her mouth. Pardo had the scent of black tea on her. Both of them looked blissfully happy.
"Rita is quite the rare beauty too, heehee..." "Can't eat another bite... I really can't... hehe..."
It was obvious. Elysia and Pardo had been utterly defeated.
"I'm so sorry for not letting Rita enjoy herself more, but I really can't eat anymore..."
Without a moment to mourn for Pardo and Elysia, the next to enter the battlefield was...?!
"Bronya! What are you guys doing in the hallway?" The "Post-Honkai" trio, led by Carole, looked at the three of them curiously.
Bronya stuffed the char siu buns and soy milk into Carole's hands and returned to her office without a word.
"Eh? Ehhh?" Carole was both surprised and overjoyed. "Bronya bought me breakfast! She's praising me! She's definitely praising me for my hard work lately! Hahahaha!" Being "fed" by Bronya made Carole incredibly happy.
Rita's arrival was just a small interlude for miHoYo. With her skills, she quickly became acquainted with everyone in the company. As she put it, a perfect secretary must maintain good relationships with everyone so as not to hinder the boss's affairs with personal grudges.
Su Mu also found that with Rita's help, his workload had decreased significantly. He finally understood why big bosses always hired secretaries. With Rita handling the various small tasks of the project team, everything became much less tedious.
Rita also had a background in the gaming industry, so she could directly handle many technical questions from employees. After her screening, Su Mu had very little to do. In fact, Su Mu had been considering finding an assistant, perhaps appointing a Vice Director. Now that the Honkai 3rd project had stabilized, he was considering the next phase: developing new games. That would inevitably mean more work, and he couldn't manage the team twenty-four hours a day forever.
Rita's presence also signified the importance Theresa and Schicksal placed on miHoYo. It was better to let Rita get familiar with things for a while, then find an excuse to promote her to Vice Director before considering the new game... Su Mu began to plan for the future.
However, the most urgent matter was the new Honkai 3rd version: [Queen's Descent]. To produce the "Befall" animated short, Su Mu had spent a lot of time running between the animation company and the studio. While he was satisfied with the final product, he realized that outsourcing was simply too troublesome. Perhaps it was time to establish a dedicated animation department...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the Honkai Impact 3rd version update arrived!
Pardo went live early to start her stream! And this time, she had invited two special guests for a joint broadcast! As the stream started, viewers flooded in!
[Pardo is finally live!]
[Honkai 3rd update today! Of course Pardo would stream!]
[Pardo, hurry, give us a leak! What exciting content is in today's update?]
"I don't know anything! I'm just a streamer who collaborates with miHoYo; I'm not privy to such important info~"
Pardo started playing dumb. She wasn't entirely lying; while she knew some inside info, it wasn't everything. For the sake of the gaming experience, Pardo had specifically asked to be kept in the dark about certain details. Only then could she get the best experience on day one!
Soon, the chat noticed two people behind Pardo!
[Look! Isn't that President Kiana?]
[Holy crap, the Lucky Goddess herself! I bow to thee!]
[And the other girl... isn't that Raiden Mei!]
"Hehe! You guessed right!" Pardo smirked at the camera. "Today, to experience the new main story chapters, I've specially invited your President Kiana and her best friend—Raiden Mei!"
END OF CHAPTER
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