The room fell silent.
"Everyone who rejected Miyuki's confession disappeared."
Chongchong seemed frightened by the chill radiating from Kiana. With a meow, it jumped off her knees and burrowed into the darkness under the sofa.
"Miyuki... likes girls."
Kiana's voice was very light.
"She would confess to the girls she liked. If they accepted, she would be happy. If they rejected..."
She didn't continue.
But Su Yu had already guessed the ending.
"Those missing girls... all rejected her."
Kiana's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Several victims had already appeared."
"I didn't know if they were dead or alive, but I knew that if I didn't stop Miyuki, more people would be harmed."
"So you went looking for her?"
"No."
Kiana shook her head.
"She came looking for me."
"That day was my birthday."
Kiana recalled the scene from that day, a bitter smile hooking the corner of her mouth.
"It was supposed to be just an ordinary day. Mei-senpai only treated me as a stray kitten that barged in randomly, and I hadn't made any friends at Senba Academy either."
"I even got scolded by that strict Dean, who said 'Senba Academy is a place for rich young ladies,' told me to watch my words and actions, and not to be late again."
"I had planned to just find a random place to spend the day."
"—But that day, Miyuki asked to meet me at night, saying she had a gift for me."
Kiana's voice grew distant, as if recalling a dream from long ago.
"She said she had something important to tell me. I knew it might be a trap, but I went anyway."
"Why?"
"Because..."
Kiana paused.
"Because I wanted to hear her say it with my own ears."
The corners of her lips turned up slightly, carrying a trace of bitterness.
"I wanted to know if that girl I had once saved had really turned into a murderer."
"That night, I waited for Miyuki at the school. She was holding a sachet in her hand."
"That was the 'Three-Year Sakura' she had spent three years making."
Su Yu looked at Kiana and suddenly asked, "Does this count as a confession?"
"Stop interrupting." Kiana glared at him. "You're even worse at reading the atmosphere than I am."
"I just saw that your expression was a bit bitter." Su Yu smiled. "After all, we are chatting; you have to let me have some sense of participation, right?"
Kiana glanced at him. For some reason, the depression from narrating the heavy part dissipated significantly.
"I guess it counts as a confession."
"Then how did you feel at the time?"
"How else could I feel? Speaking about one's feelings for someone else as if showing off—that's not something I would do."
"As expected of the upright Miss Kaslana."
"Hmph."
Kiana's lips quirked up.
She continued, "But I rejected her. I asked her if she was responsible for those missing girls."
"She went berserk."
"Honkai energy erupted within her body, turning her into a... monster."
"She screamed and rushed at me, shouting 'Why won't you accept me? Why do you have to reject me too?'"
"She charged forward and hugged me tightly. Her strength was immense; it wasn't the strength a normal girl could have."
"I realized she had already been corrupted by the Honkai. There was no cure."
"That embrace..."
Kiana took a deep breath.
"It was very forceful, very heavy."
"Like she was afraid of being abandoned by me."
"In the end, I fired."
Kiana's voice was as light as a wisp of smoke, seemingly ready to disperse with a single breath.
"When she fell, she was still clutching that sachet."
The room was so quiet one could hear a heartbeat.
"She looked at me, tears in her eyes, and whispered to me—"
"'Kiana, Happy Birthday.'"
"I... picked up that sachet."
"It was covered in blood, the petals dyed red, but I still kept it."
"I felt... someone should at least accept her final gift."
"If only someone had been willing to look at her more back then, if I hadn't just treated her as an ordinary victim of bullying, if I had noticed something was wrong sooner..."
"But—"
"I accomplished nothing. I even ended her personally."
Kiana trembled all over, lifting her head like a prisoner awaiting sentencing. A trace of sorrow flashed through those heterochromatic eyes.
During those days in Arc City.
She always wondered.
If she could have been a little faster, just a little faster, would everything have been different?
"Am I... terrible?"
"I should have saved her... but I killed her with my own hands..."
Su Yu did not speak.
He simply reached out, his palm gently covering the top of her head.
There was an ahoge there that usually stood up stubbornly, but right now, it was drooping listlessly.
"You saved her."
Su Yu's voice was steady, carrying a sense of certainty.
"In that alley, you were the only one who reached out a hand to her."
"You ended her pain."
Kiana froze.
At this distance, Su Yu could clearly see the long-accumulated haze deep in her eyes.
"What turns a person into a monster is this fucked up world, those indifferent bystanders, and those abusers."
"And you, in that ending destined for tragedy, gave her final dignity."
"Keeping that sachet was the greatest salvation you could give her."
He took a pack of tissues from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to Kiana.
"Is that sachet still around?"
Kiana sniffled and shook her head, her voice thick with nasal tones.
"It's gone. That was... something from a past life."
"Mn."
Su Yu nodded, a smile reappearing on his face as if the heaviness of that moment had never existed.
"Then let that story rot inside the script named Honkai Impact 3rd."
"As for right now—"
He pointed to the wall clock.
"Miss Kaslana, as your feeder, I have to remind you that it is almost dinner time."
"If you don't want to continue wallowing in sadness and cause excessive stomach acid secretion, I suggest you go wash your face, then think about whether we're having Red Braised Beef or Cola Chicken Wings tonight."
Kiana stared at him blankly.
That heavy past which weighed so much she couldn't breathe was turned over by him in such a light, understated way—rude, yet gentle.
"Bug, let's move."
"?"
"You don't want to use your precious Experience Card on being sad alone, do you? Or do you want to come to the kitchen with me and witness Chef Su Yu's skills?"
Seeing that she was still dazing out, Su Yu turned and started walking toward the kitchen.
Kiana quickly followed, like a little tail. Thirty minutes of absolute freedom in this world was precious to her.
Moreover, she really did need something else to divert her attention right now.
Like using the Kaslana God's Tongue to taste this so-called culinary art of Su Yu's.
"Su Yu."
She spoke, her voice still a bit hoarse.
Su Yu, who was taking eggs out of the refrigerator, paused and turned his head sideways. "Mn?"
"...Thank you."
The girl lowered her head and wiped her eyes forcefully with the back of her hand.
"Thank you... for willing to listen to these messy things."
"Cut the mushy stuff."
Su Yu waved his hand and casually cracked the egg on the edge of the bowl.
"If you really want to thank me, just don't break the plates when you wash the dishes later."
The kitchen was soon filled with the roar of the range hood and the sizzling sound of hot oil.
This noise, full of the fireworks of the human world, gradually filled the void named "Three-Year Sakura."
Su Yu watched the egg liquid gradually solidifying in the pan, and a new window popped up on the System panel before his eyes.
[Main Mission Progress: 5% → 6%]
[Material Collection: Asakura Miyuki Character File, The Full Story of the "Three-Year Sakura" Event]
[System Comment: Oh my, the Host's head-pat technique is so skilled it's heartbreaking~ Detected high-quality tragic core, Material Score UP! Reward: Full Set of High-Grade Kitchen Knives]
"This broken System is only generous at times like this."
Su Yu cursed silently in his heart.
This was clearly hinting that he would have to make a living by selling blades in the future.
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