"Hehehehe…"
[Darn it, host, what are you laughing at!]
"I remembered something funny."
Lynelle gestured animatedly: "I saw a little white cat who severely underestimated her own cuteness, and then got hugged and smothered with kisses by a white-haired big sister with so much maternal love it was practically overflowing, until she was mewling."
"Tell me, Customer Service Rep Kiana-chan, have you seen where that cat went?"
[I haven't seen her at all!]
Just like a kitten whose tail got stepped on, Customer Service Rep Kiana-chan instantly 'bristled'.
[A-and besides, if it weren't for you, host, suddenly rushing in and calling out to me back then, that kind of misunderstanding wouldn't have happened! My disguise was absolutely perfect!]
"Ohhh—so it was a misunderstanding. Then Senior Cecilia was really being too careless, wasn't she, to get the wrong idea like that~"
Lynelle drew out her words in a teasing manner.
[I-It was a misunderstanding! I'm just an ordinary system spirit, that's all! I only called Cecilia 'Mom' because I felt too sorry for her! It doesn't mean anything else!]
"Alright, alright, alright."
Looking at Customer Service Rep Kiana-chan, whose shyness had reached a critical point and was bordering on total meltdown, Lynelle struggled to suppress the smile tugging at her lips.
After all, a heartwarming mother-daughter reunion scene like that was just too much to keep a straight face.
She held it in! But, how could anyone resist something so hilarious? Tch...
With a sweet (?) smile on her face, Lynelle peacefully drifted off to sleep.
Then, perhaps because 'the system' was afraid she might cause some other major incident in the Honkai world, or maybe it was just plain bad luck—in that hazy state between sleep and wakefulness, Lynelle became aware of a familiar sensation.
Hmm, it pretty much felt like the sensation of world-crossing.
So, did I trigger the world-switching mechanism by falling asleep? Am I in Honkai: Star Rail now?
Lynelle didn't open her eyes. Instead, taking advantage of her senses not having fully returned to her body yet, she quickly recalled the circumstances under which she had left this Star Rail side.
Kafka and Silver Wolf were both there at the time.
After I lost consciousness, they might have dumped me in a monitoring room, or maybe they just placed me with Stelle.
Considering I left a countermeasure against Silver Wolf in the body, the latter is more likely. After all, they never really tried to kill me.
Can't rule out the possibility that I've already been written into Elio's script...
But generally speaking, time flows slower in the Star Rail world. It's possible hardly any time has passed since Kafka and the others awakened Stelle.
I'll most likely have to go through the space station storyline...
Huh?
A strange tactile sensation forced Lynelle to cut her thoughts short.
By now, all her senses had returned to her body. A little effort was all it took to open her eyes. However, it seemed there was a slight... unexpected situation with her body.
To be precise, if she wasn't mistaken, it felt like someone had laid her flat on the ground, and then... a very pleasant scent was continuously wafting against her cheeks.
This is...
Is someone giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?!
Lynelle's eyes snapped open.
Sure enough, a few strands of faintly fragrant gray hair were hanging down before her eyes.
Then, as if noticing Lynelle had woken up, the figure in front of her immediately pulled back. A face all too familiar appeared in her field of vision.
"Ah, she's awake."
A calm male voice sounded from one side. "See, March? I told you mouth-to-mouth is a normal first aid procedure. You shouldn't feel strangely embarrassed about it."
"B-but, it's impossible not to be embarrassed about this!"
A lively female voice came from the other side. "I've never done anything like this before!"
"Sigh... Look at Stelle. Even though it's her first time too, she's acting perfectly normal. And even if her technique wasn't textbook, she still successfully revived the patient."
"Then, do you think it's possible..."
March asked helplessly, "...that she woke up on her own before Stelle even got to do mouth-to-mouth?"
Looking at Dan Heng and March 7th on either side, and then at Stelle, who was sitting beside her in a 'seiza'–like pose with a slightly flushed face, Lynelle finally understood the situation.
So, she had...
...stumbled right into the main storyline?
--+--
Time rewinds to a few minutes earlier.
"This person's coordinates weren't transmitted by the space station..."
"At a time like this, why split hairs? A living person like this can't be fake, right? And besides, isn't there another girl with her who can be identified as being from the space station?"
"This person... her heartbeat and pulse are very weak. March, prepare to perform mouth-to-mouth."
"Ah?! I don't really have any experience... Wait, I think she's waking up!"
March hurriedly supported Stelle, who was struggling to sit up on her own, her body still unsteady.
"Are you okay? Can you hear me? Do you remember your name?"
"I... I can't really remember..."
"Ah, that's troublesome. Can you try hard to remember? Your name is..."
Just as March 7th was checking Stelle's condition, Dan Heng finished cross-referencing Lynelle's information with the space station's records.
"March, how is she?"
"Not great. She only remembers her name is Stelle, seems like she's forgotten everything else..."
March sighed. "Weren't you checking the identity of that pink-haired girl? Any luck?"
"She seems to be fine for now. However, I can't find her space station ID, and her entry records were only logged within the last 24 system hours."
Dan Heng shook his head slightly. "Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't be an issue, but right now the space station has just been mysteriously invaded..."
"U-um, I think I know her!"
Stelle, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
"Huh?"
March 7th looked at Stelle in confusion. "But you said you didn't remember..."
"Her name is Lynelle. I don't know much else... but I'm absolutely certain she's a very important companion of mine!"
Stelle explained with some difficulty. For a 'newly-formed' Stellaron being, this situation was a bit too complex for her.
"Hmm... Maybe we should wait until she wakes up before we decide."
March 7th suggested. "After all, according to this beautiful girl's intuition, both of them are probably good people!"
"Fine. But..."
Dan Heng looked over at Lynelle. "Her heart rate seems to have weakened again, and her breathing has become unstable..."
Actually, this was just Lynelle's normal reaction while switching control between bodies. Of course, the three people present had no way of knowing that.
"Ah, then what should we do?"
"According to standard first aid knowledge, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation should be administered now."
"W-well, then let's do it..."
March glanced at Stelle, then had a sudden brainstorm.
"I choose you, Stelle! Go and personally save your important companion!"
"Sigh..."
Dan Heng looked at the unhinged March, and then at Stelle, who looked bewildered but for some reason was also strangely eager, and let out a heavy sigh.
"I'll talk you through the steps. Just follow my instructions. First, position her body lying flat on her back..."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.