"Mei! How are you?"
Looking at Mei who walked out from the living room, Takatsuki was surprised at first, then seeing the bath towel wrapped around her, he immediately lowered his voice.
Oh my, if Theresa saw this, she would definitely use Judah to bash his head in.
"Shh…"
Mei put a finger to her lips, then quietly walked to the edge of the hot spring and stepped into it. In the faint, cool light nearby, Mei's face was flushed, and he didn't know if it was from the heat of the hot spring or from shyness.
"Kiana and the others have all gone back to their rooms."
Mei added, then submerged half her face under the water.
What are you here for? Although Takatsuki really wanted to ask that, even though he was a straight man, he wasn't an unyielding straight man.
Although she was wrapped in a bath towel and her entire body was submerged under the hot spring, Takatsuki could still see Mei's skin through the spring water.
Because she needed to tie up her hair for the hot spring, her nape was also very alluring under the water.
"Ahem."
Looking at Mei's face, which was getting redder and redder because of his gaze, Takatsuki coughed twice and slightly turned his head away: "It feels like it's been a long time since it was just the two of us like this."
Takatsuki didn't know what prompted Mei to do this. It certainly wasn't for soaking in the hot spring. Although he didn't know why she didn't speak, Takatsuki had no choice but to open the topic himself.
"Mm…" Amidst Takatsuki's awkward small talk that seemed to kill the conversation, Mei still replied. She slightly revealed her face from the water, her body submerged: "Because Kiana is always clinging to me."
Although she said this, there was no hint of complaint in Mei's tone.
"That's just Kiana. Even though she's the most confused herself, she can always bring vitality to others."
"Yes."
Lowering her head to look at the surface of the hot spring water: "Actually, sometimes I think, how wonderful it would be if it could always be like this, just like our trip back then."
"There will be opportunities. If we travel again, where would you like to go?"
Thinking about the instance system that was currently charging, Takatsuki asked.
"There's still a chance…?"
Mei's tone was full of anticipation: "As long as everyone is together, anywhere is fine."
"However…"
She seemed to recall something: "Takatsuki, what do you think of Bronya?"
"Bronya?"
Hearing Mei's words, Takatsuki paused: "Which aspect are you referring to?"
Mei pursed her lips, seemingly contemplating how to express herself. Takatsuki didn't rush her. After a while, Mei finally spoke: "I heard Bronya, it seems she was contacting someone named Cocolia."
"And it seems she was reporting our situation to her…"
"Bronya was secretly contacting Cocolia and got discovered?"
Takatsuki chuckled twice. Yes, she originally contacted through a chip in her brain. After the chip was destroyed by them, she could only contact through external means, so the possibility of being discovered was very high.
"Don't worry, Mei, Bronya was also deceived. In fact, she's not a bad person at all."
Takatsuki felt like he was constantly spoiling things for Mei. He thought a lot and realized that instead of being perfunctory, it was better to tell the truth directly.
"Bronya was once a precarious mercenary called Silver Wolf of the Urals. During an assassination mission against Cocolia, she was captured by Cocolia and then adopted into her orphanage. There, there were many other orphans adopted by Cocolia, all victims of Honkai. They all called Cocolia 'Mom'."
"At the orphanage, Bronya met a girl named Seele and became friends with her. Their relationship, well…"
Takatsuki thought for a moment and said: "It's probably similar to you and Kiana."
"Cocolia is a very strange and contradictory person. She loves the children, but she is also full of ambition. She wants to defeat Honkai through experiments, and the subject of the experiment is Bronya."
"Seele, like you, was born with a Stigmata. After learning about Cocolia's experiment, she showed Cocolia her Stigmata and asked to replace Bronya in the experiment. The result was that the experiment failed, Seele's body turned into a quantum state, and she fell into the Quantum Sea, which is that place outside the world."
"Bronya, in order to see Seele again, voluntarily participated in the experiment and entered the Quantum Sea to see Seele. Originally, she wanted to stay there and accompany Seele, but Seele was unwilling for Bronya to make such a sacrifice. She used her own power, combined with the power of the Quantum Sea, to construct Project Bunny 19C and gave it to Bronya."
"Bronya promised Seele that she would definitely rescue her, but after the experiment, Bronya's emotional circuits were damaged, and her legs lost the ability to move, which is how we first saw her."
"Cocolia caused the Third Honkai and concealed it from Bronya. She deceived Bronya, saying that if she could bring back the Gem of Conquest , she could save Seele."
Takatsuki finally shook his head: "Cocolia's lies were full of holes, but Bronya believed them deeply. Perhaps she just hoped that this only hope was real."
"So that's why you then…"
Mei thought of Takatsuki telling them about the Quantum Sea in front of Bronya. Takatsuki nodded: "That's right, I hoped she wouldn't rely on that woman. However, originally, the three of you would become good friends who could rely on each other. After Cocolia repeatedly used the chip to control her to do things that would harm you, Bronya herself burned the chip, completely breaking ties with her. She also rescued Seele with her own strength, and all I'm doing now is trying to accelerate this process."
"I misunderstood Bronya. I didn't expect her to be like that…"
Mei buried her face in the water again, seemingly blaming herself for having just doubted Bronya.
"It's not your fault, Mei. She is still trying to carry out Cocolia's mission. Bronya has no mother and never had a normal childhood. If you want to make it up to her, give her more care."
"Mm, I will."
Takatsuki watched Mei, still looking remorseful, and moved over from one end of the hot spring.
"I just gained an interesting power today. It's very suitable for running errands, doing chores, cleaning, and so on. Now that the villa is so big, I'll share some with you."
Looking at Takatsuki approaching, Mei didn't refuse: "What power?"
"Give me your hand."
Takatsuki took Mei's outstretched left hand. A pink bond appeared between them, and a black substance passed through this bond into Mei's body.
"This is called the Shadowkhan."
Before Mei could ask, Takatsuki proactively said, then summoned a Shadowkhan standing in the shadows in the distance, scaring Mei so much that she completely submerged herself in the water.
"Haha, don't worry, they themselves have no consciousness. The Shadowkhan are aggregates of shadow energy and can be summoned through shadows. What I just shared with you is the energy for ten Shadowkhan. Because they are shadows themselves and move agilely, they can even pass through gaps that ordinary people can't."
As Takatsuki spoke, that Shadowkhan instantly darted up a tree, then drilled into a gap beneath the villa's exterior.
"They are different from a Stand; they can only understand simple commands."
"So that's how the rooms were cleaned back then?"
Mei poked her head out, watching the performing Shadowkhan, and suddenly thought of something.
"That's right, but I don't want to expose these to Himeko and Theresa, so remember to keep it a secret for me, and be careful when using them. Others can't see a Stand, but anyone can see the Shadowkhan."
Mei nodded. Shared secrets always brought people closer.
"By the way, what is this?"
Looking at the faint pink bond, it still hadn't disappeared after the Shadowkhan's power had been transferred. This bond would not disappear unless Takatsuki actively withdrew it; at most, it would become invisible.
"Oh, that's a new ability of my Stand. It can connect people and share power. If you ever have too much Honkai Energy in your body, you can also transfer it to me, so I won't take it back."
Takatsuki kept this bond for this very reason. Although Miss Thunder Law was relatively friendly, if she had too much Honkai Energy, she might not be able to control her power.
"Oh, by the way, this ability has a very nice name."
"?"
Takatsuki looked at the confused Mei and said with a smile, "Love Train, connecting us through love."
As soon as the words fell, Mei's face instantly flushed. Takatsuki suddenly felt as if he had been electrocuted, no, he was indeed electrocuted.
Watching Mei, her face red, return to her room, Takatsuki waited a long time before he could move again.
"Is this a power leak due to excessive emotional fluctuations…?"