After cleaning up the dining table together, the two of them sat down side-by-side on the sofa for the first time.
Kiana turned her head to look at Shu, her expression finally turning a little serious.
"Shu."
"Hm?"
"Do you really... not remember me?"
Shu turned his head silently, looking at the girl before him.
Long white hair, azure blue eyes, a face so pretty it was ridiculous.
He knew who she was—or at least, he knew who she looked like.
But he didn't remember her.
In his twenty-seven years of memory, this person had never appeared.
He shook his head.
"I don't remember."
Kiana's mouth puckered, but she quickly perked up again.
"Alright then! I'll tell you!"
She lifted her legs, bare feet curling up on the sofa, rested her face on her knees, and tilted her head to stare at Shu.
"Then I'll tell you about what happened between us!"
Shu looked at her without speaking.
He also wanted to hear why this girl, who seemed to defy biology, had come looking for him.
Or rather... Shu wanted to hear what kind of story she could possibly tell.
"It all started in a place called ARC City..."
Kiana began, her voice light and cheerful, carrying that specific warmth one has when recounting "precious memories."
Shu listened.
At first, he listened intently, trying to find familiar traces in her story.
But as he listened, his attention began to drift.
Hiss... how should I put this...
Nagazora City, Sea of Quanta, ARC City... he recognized these terms.
Honkai, Herrschers, Honkai Beasts... he knew what these were too.
Kiana, Mei, Bronya, Otto, Kallen... well, although some seemingly misplaced characters had been mixed in, overall there weren't any huge surprises...
Wait, what do you mean the Herrscher of Evolution can adapt to any attack that doesn't kill it instantly? And what's this about the Herrscher of Memory making the whole world lose its memories?
And what does it mean that there's a Herrscher who can change the fundamental constants around them based on their own cognition? And what does it mean that there's a Herrscher who can pull down higher-dimensional gods just based on other people's imagination?
Is this Honkai Impact 3rd?
You call this difficulty level Honkai Impact 3rd?!
Wow, this story sucks. Shu felt a deep malice towards the characters from whoever created this story.
You can't write a story like this without being sick in the head. This guy must be a psycho who cranked the "hostility" setting to the max.
Although Kiana was narrating with enthusiasm, she didn't forget to observe Shu's expression, so naturally, she didn't miss his subtle reactions.
"Shu? What are you thinking?"
Shu snapped back to reality, paused for a moment, and chose to voice his thoughts.
"Nothing, just that this story is pretty bad."
Kiana froze.
"Bad?"
"Yeah." Shu nodded. "It's all tragedy, all struggle, all despair... I feel a deep malice from the person who made this up."
Kiana frowned, and her mouth puckered again.
"There's no malice!"
She turned her head away, burying almost her entire face in the crook of her arm, muttering sullenly, "These are all precious memories..."
Yeah, she didn't sound very confident... but it felt like it wasn't because she failed to trick him.
Shu stared at Kiana's slightly puffed cheeks, the result of her "memories being called bad," and was silent for two seconds.
Then he looked away.
"Mm."
A simple syllable, noncommittal.
Kiana turned her head back in surprise, looked at Shu who had turned his head away, and finally regained her confidence. With a giggle, she continued her story.
Shu continued to listen.
And continued to roast the story in his mind.
But he didn't interrupt her again.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three hours.
The night was shut out of this small apartment by the curtains as usual, but today, the light in the living room seemed exceptionally warm.
Kiana's voice had gradually shifted from lighthearted at the beginning to somewhat weary, but she tirelessly continued her tale.
She talked about how they completed their journey to the west, how they retrieved a lost Durandal from the City of Sighs, and how Durandal somehow became her and Shu's daughter in a sense...
The story seemed to get stranger and stranger... and was gradually speeding out of control in an unpredictable direction.
She spoke—
Shu sat opposite her, listening.
He didn't know how much he actually absorbed.
But he didn't walk away.
Until that emotion-filled voice came to an abrupt halt. Only then did Shu move his gaze to look at the other-worldly girl who had suddenly stopped speaking.
She had fallen asleep... and the story wasn't finished.
Kiana leaned back on the sofa, her head tilted slightly to one side, eyes closed, breathing evenly and deeply.
Shu watched her.
The living room was quiet, save for the sound of her soft breathing.
She had been tired all day, searched for him all day, starved all day, soaked in the bath for so long, and then talked for three and a half hours.
It was normal to fall asleep after being that exhausted... even if she was a Kaslana.
Shu sat there, looking at her peaceful sleeping face.
She looked much cleaner now than when he saw her in the stairwell... and much prettier too.
No dirt on her face, hair loose and fluffy, eyelashes casting small shadows under the light.
Her mouth was slightly open, still with that same slightly dorky expression.
The corner of Shu's mouth twitched slightly.
Then he started to ponder a problem... what now?
Let her sleep on the sofa like this? Or...
He solemnly scanned the sofa. It was long enough, but the width couldn't compare to a normal bed. Plus, Kiana was sleeping a bit crookedly; if she turned over in her dream, she might roll off.
Should he carry her to the bed?
The thought was rejected as soon as it popped up.
No.
That was crossing a line.
Even if she acted very familiar with him, ultimately, he had only known her for a few hours.
Wake her up then?
He looked at her peacefully sleeping face.
Wake her up and tell her to sleep in the bed?
But if she woke up, what if she wanted to continue telling the story?
Another three and a half hours?
Would she survive tomorrow?
If she was staying up late because she had energy, that was fine... but forcing herself to stay awake when exhausted... a growing girl shouldn't do that...
Shu felt a headache coming on, then remembered she could fall asleep even in a stairwell.
Right... if she could sleep on concrete, a sofa was already infinitely better...
He made a decision.
Just let her sleep on the sofa... tomorrow he could clean up his bedroom and then...
Hiss... wait, how was he going to clean it up?
Shu felt his headache intensify, but at least he had a direction for now.
He stood up, bent down, and carefully held her shoulders with both hands, his movements as gentle as if handling something fragile.
Holding her shoulders, Shu slowly shifted her towards the inner side of the sofa so she could lie flat.
After laying her down, Shu straightened up and looked at the overall situation.
Not bad.