MGSFV?! Chapter 403. Mei's Horns Are Gone.
Of course, the curious part here is—
What Kevin was really thinking… had already been told to the players right at the start…
Why do birds fly?
It's just that, perhaps due to the sheer amount of information in this interlude chapter, everyone didn't have the time to ponder the question Kevin posed at the beginning—
Shhh.
"No more?"
Elysia repeatedly confirmed on the chapter selection screen.
The content of this Honkai Impact 3rd main story interlude ends here.
"Hmm, 'Otto'-san really left us a pile of puzzles."
Elysia raised a hand to rub her temples, exhaling gently.
"After all, this was just an interlude connecting past and future… and it's standard for him to act like a riddler in the plot."
Mei, beside her, shared her opinion.
"Mm…"
Elysia nodded, then changed the subject:
"But at least 'Otto'-san revealed one piece of information—Mei is about to reunite with Kiana."
"Their reunion… everyone's been waiting so long for it."
Upon hearing this, Mei, for some reason, recalled something Hokuto had once jokingly said to them—
See, they should be grateful to me.
"..."
"Elysia, I have to remind you. If you want to see the story you're hoping for… with our studio's current production schedule…"
"I estimate it'll still take a few more months."
Elysia: "..."
"Wait, it'll still take that long!?"
Even after watching such a thrilling short, and having so many exciting storylines to look forward to—
Two joyous things overlapping should've brought dreamlike happiness…
But why… why has it become like this…
"No helping it. The workload ahead is probably no small matter. It definitely won't be finished in a short time."
Mei laid out a very practical issue.
"Ugh, yeah…"
Elysia quickly gave up on dwelling. She knew very well how hard Mei and the others worked, so of course, she'd be understanding.
Naturally, she changed the topic.
"For the time being, to bring everyone a better gaming experience, Mei will have to work hard again."
"Just now, I loved every CG in the interlude~~"
"Especially those few CGs that flashed when the Stigmata Plan officially launched—they were just too stunning."
"As long as you all like them…"
Mei's voice rose slightly—clearly, Elysia's praise was very well received. She then revealed something:
"Back then, to adjust those few CGs, Griseo and I went out to a lot of places with Hokuto for reference gathering."
"Hmm? Reference gathering."
Elysia caught that term from Mei's sentence, immediately reacting:
"Wow~! You all secretly went out to play!"
"?"
"That's how you're interpreting it???"
Mei was speechless. Elysia's logic was beyond evaluation.
"Mmhm~♪"
Elysia simply let out a very her-style hum.
"It wasn't as relaxing as you think. If you don't believe me, we can bring you along next time."
Mei added a bit of explanation.
"Ah—no need. It'd be bad if I disrupted your work."
"It's fine. You're not an outsider, after all."
"Ah~?"
Mei's words left Elysia slightly flustered. So direct?
Though Mei's reason for saying this… probably wasn't quite what Elysia imagined.
Mei explained:
"Elysia, you don't know? Right now, online, lots of people already treat you as MiHoYo's mascot."
"Hmm… now that you mention it, I think I've heard something like that? But… I haven't really paid much attention to it."
Elysia blinked, thinking as she replied.
Seeing this, Mei hadn't said much yet, but the livestream chat suddenly lit up.
[What? Is Miss Fairy not already MiHoYo's official mascot?]
[Clearly so close to MiHoYo, and you mean to say she's not been absorbed by them yet?]
[You over there—"absorbed by MiHoYo"? Don't underestimate Miss Fairy! (dog head) She looks more like someone who'll end up buying out MiHoYo herself! (serious)]
[Exactly, exactly! I'm investing in a small TV right now.]
["MiHoYo and the Former Virtual Streamer Who Became Its Executive Director"]
Elysia: "..."
"All right, I guess I should log off and read up on this news now."
She paused briefly and glanced at the time.
She'd been streaming for quite a while.
"And it's about time to wrap up the stream."
"Thanks for watching today's stream."
"Mei, thank you. And thank you, everyone."
[Bye-bye Miss Fairy!]
"Mm, everyone, see you next time."
Miss Fairy's avatar raised a hand and waved to the stream.
...
Elysia's stream ended as usual.
Meanwhile, discussions about the interlude plot were just beginning in the forums.
After all, the interlude chapter [Stigmata Plan] had far too much worth discussing.
"So there's a Big Ai now!?"
"The Demon Kevin… honestly looks more badass than the Valkyries. Damn, I think my tastes just got warped by MiHoYo again."
"You're scaring me more by the post. Be careful of high ketone levels."
"Kiana x Mei reunion soon!? As a plot loyalist and Kiana stan, I declare the next main chapter the real anniversary celebration (excited)"
Aside from these massive theory threads, the fastest growing thread was—
"Humanity Will Surely Triumph Over the Honkai!!!"
MiHoYo is inhuman (OP): As the title says, believe it or not, I believe it.
Focused Elbow Strike (2F): Didn't expect you, the infamous waterposter with that ID, to be a die-hard Honkai fan?
Theresa's Exclusive Captain (3F): Putting aside whether humanity wins, shouldn't we first check on Theresa…
Got a Ship (4F): Reply to 3F: Personally, I don't think anything bad will happen to Theresa. So… maybe we should be wondering whether she'll fight Kevin again for several months?
Fu-Kiana-Mei (5F): My aunt's probably going to fight Kevin for months. Isn't she the world's top Valkyrie? (dog head)
Theresa's Exclusive Captain (6F): What? Theresa's getting a new meme again? Can I start preparing to congratulate Judah on claiming the World's Strongest Valkyrie title? Excited…
Ahem ahem ahem… how sad. Theresa, why do you always get stuck at weird cliffhangers? (悲)
Really Wanna Eat Tomatoes (7F): This plot made me realize… I used to know nothing about Honkai, and now I know nothing except Honkai. (shrug)
I'm a Valkyrie's * (8F): I know nothing about World Serpent → I know nothing about the Will of Honkai → I know nothing about the Previous Era → I know nothing about Honkai → I know nothing about HI3.
Maybe… this is the process every Honkai player must go through (dog head).
Dumb Goose of the Abyss (9F): While the interlude does leave you confused, that's just an illusion caused by too much information. It actually reveals a lot of key details…
Like the Stigmata Plan, the potential scapegoating of Otto again, and…
Gray Serpent: You can't do this! I prepped that speech for months, and now it's just scrapped?!
Forever Love – Pink Snake Lady (10F): Hey hey hey, isn't this thread going off-track? Still, isn't Gray Serpent really resonating with his creator Mobius? These two are the same type—soulless clients.jpg
Name Ideas Are Annoying (11F): By the way, is no one curious… why was it canceled?
...
Players each shared their views on the [Stigmata Plan] interlude, posting theories and discussions, making the forums livelier than ever.
Clearly, the heat of discussion around [Stigmata Plan] wasn't going to cool down anytime soon.
And just like that, time passed—
Over a week later.
At the MiHoYo Studio—
"Griseo, if we adjust this line here, it might look better…"
Wearing a very "city office worker" look, Mei leaned over beside Griseo and pointed to the monitor.
"Mm. For this CG—Mei-nee, it's your call."
Griseo nodded, still holding her pen.
"Hmm…"
Mei suddenly paused mid-sentence.
Griseo, after a few more strokes, looked toward the hallway and blinked.
Elysia-oneechan… came again today, as expected.
She remembered hearing Elysia say something last night while they were having dinner made by Klein at Mobius Grandma's place…
So curious… so curious…
Mobius Grandma: ???
...
If you followed Griseo's gaze, you'd see a certain adorable pink-haired girl walking down the hall with light steps, pushing open Hokuto's office door.
"Hi~♪ A new day starts with a wonderful encounter…"
Naturally entering Hokuto's office, Elysia greeted as naturally as only the Pink Fairy Miss could.
"Elysia."
Hokuto happened to be sitting with his hands crossed under his chin (the classic commander pose), looking straight at the Pink Fairy Miss.
And asked:
"What do you think—why do birds fly?"
"?"
Elysia blinked, momentarily stunned.
Then, seeing Hokuto's unusually "serious" expression, she seriously considered it—
And answered with all sincerity.
"I think… birds fly because they want to fly?"
"See, the sky is so beautiful, right?"
"Mm…"
Hokuto dropped the pose and replied, somewhat noncommittally:
"That… does sound like something you would say, Elysia."
"Ugh, well… it's just my opinion. I'm not sure how others think."
Elysia added.
"No problem." Hokuto waved it off. "Knowing your opinion is enough."
"Actually, I came today to…"
Recovering quickly from Hokuto's out-of-nowhere deep question, Elysia got ready to say the "real reason" she'd come to MiHoYo today.
Well, what she considered the real reason.
But—
Today, Hokuto clearly had something else in mind.
He waved her over.
"Actually, I also have a request for you today."
"Mm? What is it?"
Elysia stopped and looked curious.
"Nothing major, just…"
Hokuto said in a very casual tone—
"…Mei's new battlesuit. I'd like your opinion as a reference. Or rather, if you're willing, it'd be even better if you were the lead designer."
What he said was… quite incredible.
At least, to Elysia, Hokuto's words were a huge deal.
Hokuto was actually asking her to design Mei's new battlesuit???
And judging by his tone, this wasn't just providing ideas like before—but leading the design???
Honestly…
From a die-hard Honkai Impact 3rd fan's perspective—
Being able to personally design a battlesuit for the game…
"'Otto'-san, are you serious???"
Elysia's first reaction was disbelief. She even changed her usual address to "Otto"-san—
Normally, she just called Hokuto by name in private, never using that term.
Which showed just how shocked she was.
"Of course."
Hokuto nodded firmly.
"There's no reason I'd lie about this… and besides, this still counts as part of Honkai Impact 3rd's development. I never joke about those things."
"Hmm…"
Elysia believed him—after all, Hokuto had never once slacked off in Honkai's production.
But she hesitated again:
"But I don't have any design experience… Is it really okay for me to do this?"
"First of all, we'd never just leave everything to you alone. Second, take a look at this as reference…"
Hokuto said while handing her a piece of paper from the desk.
It was one of the concept sketches for Mei's new battlesuit.
Elysia, more serious than usual, took it with both hands—
And looked down, carefully examining it.
But only a few minutes in, she suddenly let out a surprised gasp.
"This new Mei battlesuit… is it…"
"N-no, wait—why… why doesn't Mei's new battlesuit have…"
"Those mysteriously textured horns???"
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium