"W-Well..."
Ye Ming scratched the back of his head, unsure how to explain it.
But after repeatedly turning Ye Ming's words over in her mind, Himeko found the answer.
"C-Could it be?!"
She threw herself into Ye Ming's arms, clutching his collar as heartache and sorrow surged up in an instant.
"The person Kiana lost was..."
"Shh!!"
Ye Ming pressed a finger to Himeko's lips, cutting off her correct answer.
"I hope you can keep this from Kiana."
"Are you planning to hide it from her forever?"
"Of course~~ I hold grudges, you know. Do you know how long Kiana's final slash hurt me for?"
Ye Ming said with a smile,
"I've got to tease her a few more times for that."
·····················
"Kiana~~!"
"Yo! Kiana!"
"Isn't that Kiana!"
Meanwhile, after returning to university, Kiana had already become the center of attention among the students.
"We all saw how active you were."
"Hehe, I'm not that amazing~~"
Kiana put on a modest smile.
"You looked so cool when you destroyed the world!"
"N-No... that wasn't me..."
Kiana had not expected everyone's talk of her big performance to refer to the Herrscher of the Void inside her. She had wanted to enjoy the praise a little longer, but could only slink off to the academic affairs office.
"Say, Kiana..."
The dean of academic affairs looked at Kiana with a face full of emotion.
"You should know that throughout history, those accused of betraying their masters and destroying their forebears usually only managed the first part. They basically never managed the second."
"After all, forebears and disciples aren't from the same era, so betraying one's master and destroying one's forebears is usually just an expression."
After listening to the dean ramble on and on, Kiana tilted her head curiously.
"What does that have to do with my graduation certificate?"
"Nothing."
The dean frankly admitted it, then continued,
"I just think you're impressive. You didn't just take down your teacher—you even took down your teacher's teacher. You truly betrayed your master and destroyed your forebears."
"That wasn't me!"
As Kiana defended herself, she suddenly realized that was not what she should be complaining about and hurriedly changed her tune.
"And don't use game plotlines as evidence!"
Kiana snatched the certificate away and stormed off in a huff.
"Kiana~~!"
"The Herrscher personality did it, don't ask me!"
Hearing someone call her name, Kiana assumed someone else was making fun of her and immediately snapped back.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Kiana, it's me!"
"Huh? That voice..."
Kiana had not intended to pay anyone any attention, but then she suddenly heard a voice that sounded very much like her own.
"Hu Tao?! Long time no see!"
The sight of the twin-tailed girl dressed entirely in black, with only her two long pale legs especially eye-catching, instantly wiped away Kiana's irritation.
After all, Hu Tao had been both her partner in ditching class and her friend during university. Their time together held nothing but happy memories.
"What have you been up to lately?"
"Me? Singing, dancing, rapping!"
Himeko: Did I Used to Play This Wild?
"I'm serious, I'm not making a meme."
"Neither am I."
Hu Tao's large plum blossom eyes widened as she said excitedly,
"There's going to be a Lantern Rite Festival back home. A few friends and I formed a band, and we'll be performing live—singing, dancing, and rapping!"
As she spoke, Hu Tao even launched into an improvised rap.
"Um... what about interning at a company?"
"Oh, come on~~ I've been inheriting Wangshēng Funeral Parlor since middle school. What would be the point of an internship?"
"Is this the ease of someone who owns a family business?"
Kiana said with envy,
"Send me 50 and show me what you've got."
"You made such an amazing game. The bonuses must have been pretty good too, right?"
"They did give us a lot of money last time, but after I paid back everything I owed people, there wasn't much left."
As she spoke, Kiana scratched her head sheepishly. She had always spent money recklessly, and she had no idea how many people she had borrowed from.
"Even though I could still borrow more money from everyone, I've decided to turn over a new leaf. From now on, I need to work hard."
"Oh? Is that because of what happened with Himeko?"
"Come on~~ Stop making fun of me."
Before long, the two former partners who had used each other as stepping stones to climb over walls and skip class were fooling around again.
"Oh, right. I was thinking of representing Wangshēng Funeral Parlor in a collaboration with your company."
"Huh? Isn't yours... that... kind of business? How would we collaborate?"
"What do you mean, that kind of business? What's so unspeakable about the funeral industry?"
"The problem is, how would we advertise that?"
"Isn't it obvious? I've looked at the tone of your game. There'll definitely be a lot more deaths later on."
Hu Tao said with an expression that suggested she had seen through everything.
"Then there'll be lots of funerals to hold, right? At that time..."
"No, no, no! The boss said this game is wholesome, sunny, and positive. There won't be that many deaths~~!"
For some reason, the very mention of funerals made Kiana suddenly lose her composure, and she already felt like slipping away.
"Then remember to give my contact information to your boss. I can meet anytime~!"
··················
"On the way here, you looked like you wanted to eat me alive. Why are you so quiet now that we're home?"
Meanwhile, after bringing Himeko back to his place, Ye Ming could not help worrying as he looked at the silent Himeko.
"After learning about you and Kiana, how could I possibly still be in the mood for that..."
"Aren't I still alive and well?"
Ye Ming smiled calmly.
"In this world, there will no longer be tears that cannot be wiped away, nor wounds that cannot be healed. This is the result of everyone who sacrificed themselves and left hope for the future working together."
Ye Ming gently cupped Himeko's face and wiped away the tears already seeping from the corners of her eyes.
"Of course, that includes you too."
"Then what was the price?"
Himeko took Ye Ming's hand in turn and brought her face closer.
"You, who bear every price... are you really okay?"
"..."
The question made Ye Ming feel a little guilty.
Everything happening now was different from what he had imagined.
Not only had he reunited with his former lovers, but under certain circumstances, they could even remember their feelings for him.
Could something this good really exist?
Just as Himeko said... what was the price?
--I have reversed tragedies more painful than despair, and shattered destinies and causalities that could not be rewritten.
--What I was meant to accomplish, witness, and redeem... has already taken root in a new world.
--And this world is the reward that everyone and I rightfully deserve.
"System?"
--Read the lines I gave you!
"Uh..."
Ye Ming had not expected the system to so bluntly hand him the answer to copy—and for it to be this good...
Was she more anxious than I was?
"A reward... hehe..."
Himeko was finally convinced and no longer had any worries.
Perhaps it was not because Ye Ming's explanation was particularly logical, but because the mere presence of the person before her gave her peace of mind.
"Then now... shouldn't I give my hero some rewards?"
Himeko rose again and gently kissed Ye Ming, tacitly allowing his hands to tenderly explore her body.
"Wait!"
All of a sudden, Himeko seemed to remember something. Her eyes flew wide open as she grabbed Ye Ming by the collar.
"I get it now. No wonder my body became so sensitive... so strange... whenever you were doing motion capture with me..."
Himeko said, her face flushed red.
"In that former world, we must have done it many times already, right? My body probably even took your shape."
"You're exaggerating..."
"Even if the world was reconstructed, my body still remembers what it felt like to be cherished by you. Just being touched by you makes me feel strange..."
"What you did to me was only more outrageous than what I said."
As she said this, Himeko could not help letting her imagination run wild. Just how exciting had things been between her former self and Ye Ming?
Himeko, whose long single life could bring tears to anyone who heard of it, had actually begun envying her self from that world.
"What do you mean, what I did to you?! Most of it was you doing things to me, okay?!"
Before you continue