The weather at St. Freya Academy was beautiful.
The clouds overhead were arranged in orderly patterns. The sky resembled a great fish, its body adorned with rows of white clouds for scales, set against a backdrop of brilliant blue. It was a truly lovely sight.
Weather like this was perfect for making some refreshments, whether as little desserts for a tea party or as everyday snacks.
Perhaps the most virtuous and capable girl in the entire Honkai series donned an apron and gloves and began to prepare the ingredients.
Strawberries and sugar were simmered until they reached the consistency of ketchup. Fresh cream was whipped with powdered sugar and a splash of rum to about eighty percent stiffness, then the strawberry sauce and diced strawberries were folded in.
Whole eggs were placed in a bowl with water and flour, then whisked. Vegetable oil was added and beaten until uniform, then poured into a baking pan and placed in the oven. Afterward, it was inverted to cool.
All that was left was to frost the layers and shape them into cute designs.
Seele and the others should like these, right?
After being tormented by Rita and Bronya in the kitchen for so long, the girl whose diligent practice had finally borne fruit couldn't help but smile as she looked at the freshly baked strawberry cakes.
However, her delicate brows furrowed slightly a moment later.
Normally, these little cakes would be more than enough for several girls, but if she factored in that glutton, Sirin, this might not be enough.
Right, I'll make some cookies next.
But speaking of which, is it just my imagination? I feel like Sirin has been craving spicy food these past two days.
Sirin's German and grew up in Northern Europe, so why would she suddenly take an interest in spicy flavors? Germans and Russians both tend to prefer sour tastes and aren't particularly fond of spiciness.
How strange.
Oh well. I'll go learn some Shenzhou cuisine another day.
The girl, who felt that learning to cook a wider variety of dishes wouldn't be a bad thing, prepared the eggs, sugar, and flour for the cookies as she mused to herself.
As the oldest girl in the dormitory, Mei naturally shouldered the responsibility of pots and pans, taking care of the girls who, despite being her classmates, were a fair bit younger.
And as it turned out, Miss Mei seemed to have a real talent for looking after people.
The girls living in the dorm, as well as the older duo who were always mooching food and drinks, were all well cared for.
Still, looking after so many freeloaders at once put a fair amount of pressure on her.
If only Zihan were here.
The girl, who had often relied on her lover for help in the past, thought to herself as she kneaded the dough.
If he were here, she could save herself a lot of trouble.
At this thought, Miss Mei couldn't help but sigh.
Unfortunately, that guy had gone and vanished again, and again, and again.
The reason for his disappearance this time was to travel to another world, to save a Human Order threatened by the Beast of Pity and a Foreign God.
Her lover was always fighting for the sake of the world, which should have been something to be proud of.
But when the disappearances became this frequent...
It was a little lonely.
I wonder when he'll be back, Miss Mei sighed inwardly.
And then—
The phone in her pocket suddenly began to vibrate.
Who's calling?
Miss Mei was a little puzzled. She took off her gloves and pulled out her phone.
---o---
Listening to its host's words, the System seemed to understand and spoke up.
"Since you're choosing a table-flipping ability, it should naturally be me—the one who can wield the Strongest Sword through the laws of Honkai—"
"It's the Vow from the era of the First Heaven."
Before the System's voice could even fade, the young man's answer came out.
"Huh?"
The System was stunned.
"Is it that hard to understand?"
Sensing the System's confusion, the young man shrugged.
"Ware-Ryoku, a power that attacks by destroying the laws of a small-scale universe... if I use that poorly, it's basically a tool for mutual annihilation, isn't it?"
"Eternal Destruction? Let's not even mention that I don't have a matching holy relic that can absorb the souls of the defeated."
"And for those who use Eternal Destruction but haven't reached the stage of explosive power—Emanation—they're all still crawling at a sub-national level, aside from those few who might as well have 'I'm a blatant cheater' written on their faces."
The young man, who could easily scour the face of the planet with either Herrscher Authorities or a Beast's Noble Phantasm, shrugged again.
"For the current me, the Vow of the First Heaven is clearly more useful, don't you think?"
Still remembering the side effects and blessings of the more famous Vows in the Shinza Series, the young man smiled faintly.
"Besides, don't you think there's something wonderful about swearing your love to your partner in the form of a Vow?"
That statement sent a chill down the System's spine.
"Hey, hey, hey, take it easy!"
"A Vow isn't something like a geas that you can just throw around for fun! Even if you're the Herrscher of Time, you can't rewind something like a Vow that's been carved into your very soul and the laws of existence!!"
"I'm not about to make some overly absolute Vow for a bit of power I could get my hands on sooner or later with a little effort."
Li Zihan shrugged, then casually took out his phone and made a call in the direction of Chaldeas.
The name on the screen was Raiden Mei.
Soon, a girl's voice came from the other end of the line.
"Zihan, is that you?"
The girl, who had been separated from Li Zihan ever since slaying the Heretical God Hera, had a voice tinged with a slight resentment.
A certain someone had dragged them back to the Honkai world without a word and then promptly disappeared.
His habit of suddenly vanishing all the time was really worrying.
"Sorry about that."
The certain scum of humanity, who had to apologize to Mei every morning he woke up during his absence, reached up and scratched his cheek.
"Right, I'm contacting you this time because it's urgent."
"What's so urgent?"
On the other end of the line, Miss Mei was taken aback by his words.
Then, the young man's voice flowed into her ears.
"These past days, I've wandered through different worlds for a long time and done many things that, as a lover, were quite unworthy."
The young man's voice, which carried the weight of truth, was tinged with a sense of bewilderment, causing a flicker of worry to rise in Miss Mei's heart.
"Sometimes, after making a mistake, I truly feel sorry and want to apologize to you."
What has he done now?
Upon hearing the word "apologize," Miss Mei became fully alert.
"But, more important than an apology, there's something else I have to say to you."
What is it? If he's asking me to forgive his playboy behavior, that's impossible.
Miss Mei narrowed her eyes, her thoughts racing.
And then—
Words like something out of a dream reached her ears.
"I love you. Let's get married."