Mei smiled softly as she recalled those beautiful memories with Kiana.
In the past few months, she had smiled so rarely.
But in this moment, her smile was pure and full of joy—like that of a girl untouched by sorrow...
"She used to be the one protecting me. Now... it's my turn to protect her."
The more she remembered, the more Mei wanted to find Kiana quickly.
But... until night fell, she hadn't found a single trace of her.
For the safety of the Herrscher of the Void, she could only bring her back temporarily to the Helios.
One hour later, aboard the Helios—
Mei made dinner for the Sora.
"This... this... this is so good...!"
The Sora was thoroughly enjoying the curry Mei had cooked.
"Even though there are so many peppers in here, it's not spicy at all. It's actually super refreshing."
Dr. Tesla explained from the side: "That's because those are sweet peppers..."
Hearing that, the Sora suddenly remembered her teacher:
"Sigh, if only Teacher could cook like Mei. She's great in every way, except for her cooking—it's just... not lovable."
Outside the game, Elysia, who had been watching Mobius's stream the whole time, blinked.
She was curious how Sora had managed to voice those mouthwatering eating sounds so perfectly.
Could it be that Mei had actually made her some real-life sweet pepper curry?
And after eating to her heart's content, those sounds of bliss just came out naturally?
If that were true, Elysia felt a little envious.
She wanted to try Mei's sweet pepper curry too.
"Sweet pepper curry, sweet pepper curry..."
Click—
At that moment, Hokuto, who had already informed Kiana and Mei, walked in through the door and saw Elysia mumbling about "sweet pepper curry."
"Elysia? Why are you suddenly chanting sweet pepper curry?"
"Because of the story! I really want to eat Mei's curry too!"
Elysia looked up at Hokuto and pointed at her phone.
"Look, there are still tons of viewers debating whether they should order curry right now."
Some viewers, thanks to their odd biological clocks, were just about to have lunch at this hour.
"Hmm..."
Hokuto thought for a moment and softly reminded her:
"Elysia, I don't think today's a good day for sweet pepper curry."
Once you finish this part of the story...
Who's still going to have the appetite for sweet pepper curry?
You'll be eating pain, not curry!
"Eh?"
Elysia blinked in confusion. "Why not?"
She had just recommended a delicious instant sweet pepper curry to her livestream viewers.
"Well..." Hokuto really didn't want to spoil it.
He averted his gaze from Elysia's face and happened to glance at her phone, catching the barrage of bullet comments:
[Eating sweet pepper curry really is a joy.]
[I trust Miss Elf's taste—ordered a whole box!]
[Order placed! Gonna enjoy sweet pepper curry while watching Miss Snake's stream. This is the life!]
Hokuto fell silent.
Given how beloved Miss Elf was, probably nothing would go wrong... right?
While Hokuto looked on with concern and viewers chattered away,
In the story, Tesla asked the Sora about this "Teacher" of hers.
Tesla was curious why the Teacher never took the children out of Arc City.
So the Sora began to tell Mei and Tesla about her "Teacher."
Turns out, the Teacher had an unfortunate childhood, started from nothing, and after more than a decade of hard work finally built up her own fortune.
She bought a private island in a faraway land, planning to build a large house and live a peaceful life with the children she had rescued.
But just as the house neared completion, tragedy struck.
Four months ago, a massive Honkai Eruption occurred.
"At the time, Teacher was in Arc City. Honkai Beasts appeared one after another. She fought them off alone, protecting the Nest from destruction."
"The turmoil lasted several hours before things finally settled down. We all breathed a sigh of relief—only to receive devastating news from afar—Teacher's island had sunk forever in the Honkai."
"...?"
Mei was silent.
Her heart sank.
She knew exactly what had caused all this.
But...
At that moment, she couldn't bring herself to tell the Sora the truth.
She just couldn't say it.
The Sora continued:
"I still remember what Teacher looked like then. Her face was blank, she didn't speak, but she kept pacing around the room—running, rolling around..."
"She kept mumbling 'It's fine, it's fine,' but her tears just kept falling."
"In the end, she couldn't take it anymore and ran outside, crying her heart out to the edge of the sea, like a child... heartbroken."
"She cried and cried until her tears dried, her voice turned hoarse. Then she finally stood up."
"I'll never forget that moment. Facing the sunset, she swore: 'No matter the cost, humanity will defeat the Honkai...!!'"
After hearing all that—
Even though the story was heartbreaking, the way the Sora delivered it somehow made people want to laugh.
Her tone was full of sorrow. Her teacher's experience was undeniably tragic.
But still... somehow...
[This script... I feel like miHoYo is deliberately bullying us. They have to be. That said—Sora's voice acting here is amazing.]
Of course it was. She was totally in character when recording that part.
Players might think this scene was just made up by the writers.
But everyone at miHoYo knew—
This story wasn't 100% real.
It was 99%.
Based on true events.
[Even though it's sad, the rolling part made me laugh, sorry sorry.]
[How can you laugh at something so sad—ahahahahahaha]
[I suggest miHoYo release a stigmata set: Pacing, Running, Rolling. I'd whale for that! (troll face)]
[Didn't Kevin say that final line? Don't tell me Teacher is Kevin in drag (what am I thinking?)]
As that final comment scrolled past, viewers shouted:
"You genius, what the heck!"
And also became increasingly curious:
Who exactly is the Sora's teacher?
After all this build-up from miHoYo, it had to be someone important.
A new character—or a familiar one?
While the players were still guessing—
Mobius had already figured it out.
She paused the story and said with interest:
"Who is the Teacher? It's almost plainly obvious. Honestly, miHoYo probably didn't even try to hide it."
[Miss Snake, what's your take?]
"First, 'No matter the cost, humanity will defeat the Honkai'—that's Kevin's iconic line. So this Teacher is very likely a woman related to World Serpent."
"Among all the World Serpent characters who've appeared so far, only one fits all the criteria—Raven."
Mobius laid out the conclusion directly.
[Raven? Maybe it's Jackal... yeah no, even less likely.]
[Honestly, Kevin in drag would be spicier (troll face)]
[Kevin: You clearly haven't tasted Judgment of Shamash.]
Mobius glanced at the chat and, for once, patiently explained:
"Raven is the most likely candidate because she perfectly aligns with everything mentioned in the story and what the Sora revealed."
"She's a refugee from the Second Eruption, so the 'tragic childhood' fits.
The Nest's motto, 'Live well,' was her brother's final words before parting."
"And the Sora also said Teacher was supposed to return yesterday—
Yesterday was the day of the negotiation between Schicksal and World Serpent.
As a key World Serpent operative, Raven had to attend, so she naturally couldn't come back."
"And in Chapter 15, when Raven intercepted Kiana—why did she fight like she had nothing to lose?
Now we have the reason. From Raven's perspective, the Herrscher of the Void destroyed her entire life and dreams."
[Miss Snake's analysis makes sense. Raven really does fit the role of Teacher.]
[If Teacher is Raven, then... she's been through so much. No wonder she hates the paramecium.]
[So this is what it's like to watch a streamer who actually analyzes the plot? It's kinda addicting. Elysia should take notes.jpg]
[Take notes +1]
[Take notes +2]
...
["My dear Elysia": ???]
Mobius, seeing the audience's comments, smiled faintly and cheerfully continued the story.
On screen—
After listening to the Sora's story, Mei prepared to send her back.
She packed the twenty servings of food she'd prepared earlier, then used Anti-Entropy's tactical mecha to deliver the Sora and the food back to the Nest.
The children there shared in the delicious meal.
Afterward, Mei and the Sora talked more about Teacher and themselves.
Having grown closer, the two agreed to meet again the next day.
That night, Mei had a dream.
It was so vivid—
So real it felt like she had traveled through time, back to that afternoon three years ago.
Kiana's lively voice rang out:
"Ahh... I'm beat, I'm beat—we finally shook them off."
She was hiding in a corner with Mei.
She looked full of energy, while Mei beside her was still anxious.
"What... what do we do next?
The whole city is destroyed, Honkai Beasts and Deadwalkers are everywhere. There's no sign of rescue...
Even if we wanted to run, where would we even go?"
"Aiya, don't worry! There's always a way. Isn't there an old saying—'when the bridge arrives, the boat will straighten itself out!'"
Kiana was still as bubbly as ever back then.
Still reckless and silly, but adorably so.
Hearing her words,
Mei—who had been so uneasy—couldn't help but smile.
"It's 'when the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten itself out'...
It's a miracle you even got into Chiba Academy."
"Ugh... don't sweat the details!"
Kiana laughed awkwardly.
The players watching couldn't help but chuckle.
They were reminded of that very first version of her—
The one who misused idioms like "half the effort, twice the result,"
And joyfully hugged Mei saying, "If Mei's here, that's like having the power of a hundred people!"