While the thrill of "appearing like a saint before men" was quite intoxicating, Durandal had no intention of losing herself in the feeling.
She began to explain things to Elysia—about the country she once called home and the education she had received since childhood.
This part of her story, of course, belonged to that ordinary college girl she had once been. Elysia could tell that many of the details were different from the past Durandal had described before.
However, Elysia didn't harbor any suspicion. Putting aside the fact that Durandal had no reason to lie to her, the sheer depth of the systematic ideology and the glimpses of cultural heritage within her words weren't things someone could just make up on the fly.
"Even so, I still think you're amazing, Durandal! ♪"
As Durandal finished her story, the sparkling light in Elysia's eyes didn't fade in the slightest. She rested her small hand against Durandal's chest, feeling the steady, powerful thrum of her heartbeat.
"I'm guessing that in the country where you grew up, even if everyone received a similar education, not everyone actually believed in it, right?" Elysia smiled. "Maybe your country was even considered an outlier in that world."
Feeling Durandal's heart skip a beat, Elysia knew her intuition had hit the mark.
The smile on her face widened as she continued, "Then let me guess further. Even those who believed in those teachings... if they were thrust into another world—like ours—and witnessed a force like the Honkai, which can topple civilizations or grant god-like power to a single person... well, would they still be able to hold onto their original worldview? Would they still firmly believe in the power of the common, ordinary people?"
This time, Durandal reached out and took Elysia's hand in hers. "You really have a way of seeing right through people, don't you?" she sighed.
"You're right. It reminds me of those 'transmigration' web novels back home. When those protagonists cross over into worlds filled with supernatural power, how many of them actually stay true to themselves?"
She wasn't even talking about the ones who just start a harem—that was just a matter of personal morals.
There were plenty of stories where the protagonist, after arriving in a world of immortals and cultivation, would start slaughtering entire clans over the slightest disagreement.
Even if those were just works of fiction, the fact that they were created and had an audience proved one thing: if people actually did cross over into a world of power, some would definitely act that way.
Of course, the rules of a cultivation world were different from those of the Honkai, so it wasn't a perfect comparison.
Elysia didn't fully grasp the specific references, but she caught the general drift. She squeezed Durandal's hand back, her smile deepening as she looked down at their interlaced fingers.
"That's exactly why only a stubborn blockhead like you would keep your heart unchanged, isn't it? In this world, how many people can truly claim to do that?"
"In my eyes, you do, Elysia," Durandal said, her voice laced with certainty. "And I believe the majority of the members in Fire Moth are the same. Even people like Mobius or Vill-V—their methods might be extreme at times, but I think their core desire to defeat the Honkai will never change."
"You really trust me—trust us—that much?" Elysia straightened up, looking her directly in the eye.
Durandal met her gaze without flinching.
"Naturally. At least until the moment any of you actually do something to betray that trust, I won't doubt a single one of you. I'd even maintain that attitude toward a Herrscher."
"Well then... we have another whole week ahead of us. Durandal, you'll have to take good care of me, okay? ~♪"
With that one sentence, Durandal's serious facade instantly crumbled, her face flushing a deep crimson.
The words couldn't help but remind her of the wild, reckless moments they had shared back on that little island.
That afternoon, Dystopia, Kevyn, and Sakura finally returned from their training stint in Sapphire City. As for the city's safety, it had been temporarily handed over to the local military and security bots.
Su was also among the group, having been dragged along by Kevyn. Though Su wasn't officially a member of Fire Moth yet, Kevyn had long since regarded her as a colleague.
Since Fire Moth was having a group outing, she naturally had to bring him along.
Meanwhile, Mei arrived at the Fire Moth base early to wait for her lover's return. Her presence wasn't out of place; she had been a frequent guest at Mobius's lab lately, and everyone tacitly accepted her as an unofficial member of the organization.
Little Rin showed up as well, even though she wasn't part of Fire Moth. Speaking of Rin, Durandal felt a pang of guilt.
She had promised Sakura that she would look after the girl while she was away, but things had gotten so busy—and Durandal herself had been so weak and in need of recovery—that the task of babysitting Rin had fallen almost entirely on Connie, Vill-V, and Eden, who shared the villa.
The poor women—none of them married, and two of them having never even been in a relationship—ended up getting a premature taste of motherhood.
Fortunately, Rin was a sweet, well-behaved child, so the three had no complaints. In fact, it even sparked the idea that they might want a daughter like Rin in the future.
Of course, the idea of getting married was out of the question.
Given her past, Connie was strictly "no thanks" when it came to men. Vill-V and Eden, on the other hand, were purely devoted to their careers.
Perhaps the only way they would ever fall in love is if they found someone like Klein was to Mobius. Who knew where their "Kleins" were hiding?
Now that Sakura was back, Rin naturally had to move out of the villa. Connie, Vill-V, and Eden were all equally reluctant to see her go. But they couldn't exactly kidnap the kid and stop her own sister from taking her home, could they?
So, after a quick huddle, the three of them set their sights on Griseo, who lived next door.
Compared to Rin, who was already in elementary school, the infant Griseo was a much better outlet for their maternal instincts over the long term.
This had led to Blanca having frequent nightmares lately. In her dreams, three pairs of glowing green eyes were always staring at little Griseo.
It left Blanca exhausted during the day; she barely visited Mobius's lab anymore, spending her time watching the baby and catching up on sleep.
In any case, with the Third Honkai Eruption over, the strained nerves of everyone in Fire Moth—from the top brass to the recruits—finally had a chance to relax through the upcoming group activities.
If you keep a string pulled too tight for too long, it's bound to snap.
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[A/N: Although Vill-V outed herself as a 'traitor' in the recent Honkai Impact 3rd plot, I feel like there's definitely a twist coming.]
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL