Chapter 91: The Weight of a Full House
Upon arriving at their residence, Rovel found the place had already been cleaned to a spotless shine. Bronya, still wearing a headscarf from her cleaning duties, was sprawled out on the sofa, looking so utterly exhausted she seemed to be questioning the very meaning of her existence.
Himeko, meanwhile, had changed into a simple white tee and a pair of snug black shorts that left her long, fair legs on full display. Her fiery red hair, still slightly damp, cascaded freely over her shoulders instead of being tied up. She held a can of iced beer, condensation tracing lines down its side; she must have just stepped out of the bathroom.
"Rovel, you're here," Himeko greeted him, sitting comfortably on the sofa with her legs crossed. "How was it? Did you meet your new roommate?"
"I did," Rovel replied with a nod. "She's a serious person, but... there's a gentleness to her as well."
"Oh?" Himeko raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "I was half-expecting you to call her stiff and overly formal."
"During our brief meeting, she noticed I had mastered the 'Dead Force'," Rovel explained. "She was concerned about my physical condition and suggested I go for a check-up."
"I wanted to talk to you about that, too," Himeko said, her expression turning more serious. "I've seen the combat logs from Project Bunny. Honestly, that fighting style of yours is exceedingly rare. Forget B-Rank Valkyries; you'd be hard-pressed to find even an A-Rank who fights like that."
She leaned forward, her voice dropping slightly. "If it weren't for the fact that a Descender's body is digitized, using a power that literally burns away your own flesh and blood... your chances of survival would have been zero. Even if you somehow lived, it's highly unlikely you'd ever be able to fight again. Yet here you are, acting like nothing happened."
Himeko trailed off, whispering the last part so quietly only she could hear it. "These Descender bodies are really something else..."
She took a deep gulp of beer, letting out a soft sigh of satisfaction.
"Indeed," Rovel confirmed. "The price I pay is compensated for in other ways, so there's almost no lasting impact on my body. Still, I should use that power as little as possible."
"Mm," Himeko hummed, a sly glint returning to her eyes as she abruptly changed the subject. "A word of advice, kid. Young people need to learn some restraint. Don't burn the candle at both ends, or you'll have nothing left when you're older."
"Why does that sound a bit strange?" Bronya remarked dryly from her position on the sofa, her voice flat.
Himeko simply smirked and didn't press the matter further, though her curiosity about Yae Sakura's subsequent disappearance and Rovel's special transformation lingered. If she wasn't mistaken, that power had to have come from the Stigmata that Yae Sakura had become.
'Modern research had shown that the power of natural Stigmata could repair the incomplete energy circuits in artificial ones, even saving the lives of Valkyries on the brink of death,'Himeko mused.'But over the long course of history, the number of natural Stigmata Schicksal has found is negligible. And we still haven't mastered the technology for Stigmata transplantation.'She glanced at Rovel.'So, this kid is just ridiculously lucky...'
And he wasn't the only one. Raiden Mei also possessed natural Stigmata, located at her waist, though its power had yet to awaken. But she also carried another, more dangerous identity: the Herrscher of Thunder.
Then there was Kiana, a scion of the Kaslana family, who naturally possessed an incredibly high resistance to Honkai Energy.
And Bronya had Project Bunny 19C, a piece of quantum armament. Neither Schicksal nor Anti-Entropy had fully mastered quantum technology yet.
'What kind of monstrous lineup is this?'Himeko thought, a headache beginning to form.'Four of them under one roof... The pressure on me as their future instructor suddenly feels immense.'
She scrubbed a hand through her hair, then decisively shoved the thought aside. Better to live in the moment than worry about tomorrow!
Just then, a cheerful voice called out from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready! Come and eat, everyone!" Mei announced, carrying over the final pot of soup.
"Yay!" Kiana cheered, rushing to the table with unbridled enthusiasm.
The facts confirmed Rovel's theory: the full-attribute bonuses from the food Mei cooked could indeed stack with those from Fu Hua's cooking. In other words, he could potentially gain two full attribute points every single day! Getting a meal from Mei was easy enough, but as for Fu Hua... he'd have to find a way to mooch off her.
After dinner, under Himeko's playfully resentful gaze, Rovel spent some time with Mei before returning to his own dormitory. Fu Hua seemed to have gone out for something, so Rovel decided to log off as well.
The moment he lay down on his bed in the real world, a deep sense of exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave, pulling him instantly into a deep sleep. The day's events had been a relentless torrent, and though he had rested briefly in the game, the fatigue had not fully dissipated.
And as he slept, a pattern of three tomoe began to glow faintly upon his back, a spectral sigil etched into his very being.
The conclusion of the World Instance sent shockwaves through the Descender community. It was a catastrophic failure, a Waterloo event where nearly every participant came away with nothing to show for their efforts but losses.
The one region that was relatively less affected was Shenzhou. After all, the instance had opened in the dead of night, during the early hours of the morning in their time zone.
"Damn, I was sound asleep at the time! Successfully dodged a massive bullet."
"+1 to the guy above. For the first time in my life, I truly appreciate the benefits of not staying up late."
"It's fine, I went in but only died once. Something felt off, so I just hid in a corner the whole time and managed to survive until the end."
While there was still an impact, the losses for Shenzhou players were minimal compared to the devastation faced by their Western counterparts.
And because Yuki Suou had placed her trust in Rovel, she had successfully prevented the Zhou Family from participating in the World Instance at all.
Not losing was, in its own way, a victory.
As a result, Yuki's prestige within the Zhou Family rose considerably.
Meanwhile, the head of the Zhou Family was grappling with a perplexing development. He was surprised to find that their businesses in the Far East, which had been under constant pressure from the Funahiki Family, were suddenly receiving support from those very same rivals.
This inexplicable gesture of goodwill left him completely baffled.
The Funahiki Family's strategic investments had been heavily concentrated around Nagazora City. Now that the city was a crater, all their initial capital had been wiped out. It could only be described as a devastating loss. Funahiki Gyō was being controlled by Jackal within the game and was under house arrest by Funahiki Shin in reality; their internal affairs were a total mess.
In such a dire situation, for them to have the mind to support the Zhou Family's businesses in the Far East... anyone would find it suspicious.
"Yuki, where are you going so late at night?" the family head asked, his brow furrowed as he saw his daughter heading for the door.
"To find my brother, of course!" she replied cheerfully. "You should get some rest, Family Head. Staying up so late is bad for your health. I have no intention of taking over the family business this early, you know."
The old man was so incensed he coughed twice. He opened his mouth to say more, but the only response he received was the soft click of the door closing.
He was utterly helpless against her. After all, Yuki had made a great contribution this time.
"Rovel Suou..." the family head murmured the name, a complex expression on his face.
If he were being honest, the credit belonged to that boy. He was the one who had warned Yuki not to participate; Yuki was merely the one who executed the order.
The family head pinched the bridge of his nose. He had no way of controlling his own daughter.
All the Zhou family had ever given that boy was the blood in his veins.
'No,'he corrected himself grimly.'That, and a legacy of pain.'
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