A Temporary Partnership, Taken Further (Part 2)

"Didn't we agree to buy something?" Kane looked at the girl eating grilled tofu skewers with a embarrassed expression. "Why are you eating like this?"

"If you're not going to eat it, give me your skewer." Xing glared at him. Hmm, this fried tofu smells pretty good. No wonder Hiyokomaru likes it.

"Well, I don't really want anything in particular, but the things I do want are things money can't buy." Xing casually tossed the leftover bamboo skewers into a roadside trash can. "Besides, I'm a girl, so even if she's unreasonable, it's understandable, right?"

"That's true, but being unreasonable is wrong, so Luming, could you please change your habit of beating me up in the future..." Kane was hit again before he could finish speaking.

"This grilled fish smells really good, boss, sprinkle on more chili powder!"

"Luming, eating too much will make you fat! Aren't idols supposed to be most concerned about their figure?"

"Oh, thank you for your concern, but I'm the type who doesn't gain weight easily."

After finishing the grilled fish at this stall, the girl turned and walked towards the next stall. Kane followed behind, wondering if she was planning to eat her way through the entire food street. It would be better to eat less of these greasy foods. Hmm, I should probably advise Luming to eat at a more formal place.

Half an hour later, in the coffee shop—

The waiter glared resentfully at Kane, who was sitting face to face with Yuki. Damn it, he got a boyfriend in such a short time! I really want to punch this kid to the ground!

"Mmm, mmm (eating), this combination is really good. Do you know anything about this?" Xing finished the dessert in front of her with satisfaction.

"Ah, I used to see them mix it like this at parties, and I gradually remembered it."

"Party?"

Kane stirred his coffee with a spoon, blew on it gently, and looked out the window with his blue eyes. "Back in Schicksal, the Valkyrie would often hold parties in private, and we, the few Schicksal Knight, would naturally be invited. Hehe, quite a few brothers even found their true love here."

"Did you find it?" Xing asked casually.

"..." Kane lowered his head and remained silent.

"I'm sorry, I think I asked a question I shouldn't have." Noticing her partner's low spirits, Sachi quickly apologized.

"No, no, Luming, you're overthinking it." Kane looked up to explain when he realized she had misunderstood.

Xing took a sip of her milk tea and asked, "So you found a boyfriend there?"

"Uh, I already had it."

"Huh? Are Valkyrie and Schicksal Knight all so precocious these days?"

(You have no right to say that!)

"Well, her name is Julia. I wouldn't call her my girlfriend. Our relationship is more like that of good friends." Kane glanced at the girl and noticed that her eyes were practically brimming with gossip.

Just like Susanna and the others... Luming is just a normal girl.

(No, boys like gossip too.)

"Luming, as I mentioned before, the Kaslana Family has changed. So, would you like to hear my story?"

"It's an honor, but I need to prepare first." The girl touched her feather hair ornament, and ethereal feathers appeared around the two of them. "Alright, I'm all ears."

—In the process of telling a story—

Kane and Julia's meeting was due to an accident.

At that time, they were still quite young children, even younger than Xing.

At that time, Kane was not the Kane he is now, Julia was not the Julia is now.

After a day of training, the still-young Kane once again finished his training ahead of schedule and left amidst the praise of the crowd.

"As expected of a natural Stigmata holder, this talent is truly exceptional."

"I heard that the elders are planning to include him in the list of candidates for the next clan chief."

"Really? The former clan leader was just put on the wanted list, and he's already finished?"

"Shh, keep your voice down! What former clan leader? He's a traitor!"

"What are you talking about?!" The displeased white-haired boy kicked them to the ground, grabbed one of them by the collar, and roared viciously, "Remember this, even if the former clan leader betrayed Schicksal, he was still a glorious Kaslana warrior, and no one can deny that!"

"Yes, I understand, Master Kane..."

Kane casually tossed the man aside, glanced at him disdainfully, and left the training room.

"Hmm, where should I go today?" Kane wandered aimlessly around the Kaslana Family's compound. "Tch, they say I can't leave the family without permission, but I'm going anyway. The Schicksal Headquarters is so big, and the former patriarch said there are lots of cute girls outside~"

After using a bit of brainpower to create some chaos and distract the guards, Kane seized the opportunity to slip out. "Yo-ho! Freedom!"

Although the surroundings were still the familiar steel buildings, Kane felt very excited. Just because he had Stigmata, the elders paid him a lot of attention. They regularly increased his training and restricted his movements. Every now and then, they would give him a lesson in ideology. Ugh, they were always promoting the glorious deeds of the Kaslana Family. I could practically recite them by heart!

And so, Kane wandered around, looking at the sights, until he unknowingly arrived at an unfamiliar area. Looking at the unfamiliar faces and the Valkyrie staring at him curiously, Kane felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. If he were discovered, he would get a beating from his parents.

Should I go back? Kane thought to himself, but then he realized something embarrassing—he was lost.

Damn it, I went out without a map and now I can't find my way back. What should I do?

The boy panicked and wanted to ask the people around him for help, but they were all taller than him, so he was a little embarrassed to ask. Just as he was in a dilemma, he saw a white-haired girl with glasses carrying a book running anxiously past him.

"Okay, it's you I choose!" Kane's eyes lit up, and he immediately followed.

The little girl was in a hurry. Her name was Julia Saniat, and she was about to return the books she had borrowed from the Schicksal Library. Hurry up, it's closing time, and she would be punished if she didn't return the books today!

She's not in good health; she has to stop and catch her breath after running just a few steps. But she can't worry about that now; she can just rest more later.

But rushing always leads to accidents. She slipped and lost her balance, watching helplessly as she got closer and closer to the ground.

Her glasses slipped off her face and fell onto the hard ground, the lenses shattering. But a small hand caught Julia's petite body just in time, and Kane used the momentum to pull her into his arms, a handsome princess carry perfectly saving the day. "Hey, are you alright, lovely lady?"

The former clan chief taught me that I must always be gentle with girls!

"Th-thank you." Julia's mind was a little dazed. Her delicate little face was so beautiful without the seal of her glasses that it made young Kane's heart pound. Was this the legendary love at first sight?

"Oh no, I'm going to be late! My glasses, where are my glasses?" Julia pushed aside the absent-minded Kane and frantically searched the floor, accidentally cutting her finger on a shard of glass. "Ouch!"

"Where are you hurt? Let me see!" The boy squatted down, picked up the girl's injured finger, sucked on it a few times, and then took out a bandage he carried with him to bandage it. Luckily, he had just taken a first aid class, otherwise it would have been embarrassing.

The little girl blushed; this was her first time having such close contact with a boy, and she was so shy!

"Um, could you please help me take these books to the library? I'm slow..."

"No problem, leave it to me!" Kane agreed without hesitation.

The former clan chief taught me that I must never refuse a girl's request!

After helping Julia return the book to the library, he then took Julia, who had lost her glasses and could no longer see clearly, back to the Saniate Family's stronghold. After doing Kane this, Kane suddenly realized that he seemed to have forgotten something.

"Oh no, I forgot to ask for directions!"

How do you feel?

"This is how I first met Julia." Kane put down his empty glass, a look of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.

"And then you two got together?" Xing asked tentatively.

"Yes, it was like love at first sight. After I got back, I would always think of that girl I had helped a lot but forgot to ask for directions or her name. Later, I found an opportunity to sneak out again and luckily met her again and learned her name— Julia." When Kane mentioned her, there was always a smile on his lips and his eyes were full of tenderness.

Kane told Sachi that Julia's health wasn't very good, but her adaptability to Honkai Energy was up to standard, and Julia loved reading. Therefore, she hoped to become a researcher and contribute her wisdom to the fight against Honkai in the future.

Perhaps it really was love at first sight between us, and we quickly became good friends, often meeting secretly without our families' knowledge. However, we were eventually discovered. Fortunately, our parents were quite open-minded and approved of our relationship, even almost arranging our marriage... Although I had considered marrying Julia at that time, wasn't that too early? And they didn't even ask Julia's or my opinion; it was reckless.

"Is it possible that this wasn't their idea?" For some reason, Sachi suddenly thought of Otto.

Kane chuckled and shook his head. "Impossible. Who's so free to worry about my marriage?"

PS: When Kane is in a good or bad mood, he reverts to his childhood habit of referring to himself as "this young master".

What upset me was that Julia, like everyone else, called me "Young Master Kane" back then, and no matter what I said to her, it was no use. It really made me furious!

She also opposed our marriage because she felt she wasn't good enough for me. I am the most promising warrior of this generation in the Kaslana Family, and naturally, the most promising person in the Saniate Family should be my equal, Julia thought.

That idiot, I don't care about this at all, okay? You've read so many books, yet you're still so stupid, really...

"Did you tell Julia when you ran away from home?" Xing asked.

Regarding this point, my desire to leave the Kaslana Family originated because of Julia.

It was winter, and I was granted the brief right to leave the floating island of the Schicksal Headquarters and go out to play in the outside world for a few days. Excited, I took Julia with me and set off.

As it turned out, that was the decision I regretted the most.

In a small town, we were suddenly attacked by Honkai Beast. It was so sudden and unexpected that they barged in while we were enjoying a winter party with the town's residents.

I had Julia lead everyone to evacuate, while I stayed behind to hold off the Honkai Beast, buying everyone time to leave safely.

The incident happened suddenly, and I didn't have any weapons on me. I could only use wooden planks, tables, and chairs to defend against the Honkai Beast, but it was almost like throwing an egg against a rock. There were just too many Honkai Beasts, and I couldn't possibly handle them all by myself.

At that time, I knew very little about the abilities of the Stigmata. If I could have done what I did with the simulated Heavenly Fire, things might have been different. But unfortunately, there are no "ifs".

When I was cornered by the Honkai Beast and awaiting death, a petite figure stood in front of me—

Julia!

Incredibly, she unleashed unprecedented power, defeating her enemies with almost overwhelming force. But just as I was about to cheer for Julia's victory, I discovered that her body was covered in marks from Honkai Energy.

Fortunately, I managed to get Julia back to the Schicksal Headquarters for treatment in time, and she managed to survive, but she was transferred to a special ward, so I couldn't visit her even if I wanted to.

Luming, are you wondering what this has to do with the Kaslana Family? Don't worry, the important part is coming up.

As I trained hard and waited for Julia to be discharged from the hospital, I happened to see Schicksal report in the newspaper about the incident. What angered me was that the article was all about my achievements, giving all the credit to me, while not mentioning Julia at all.

I found the elder and asked him to vouch for Julia, but he just glared at me coldly and scolded me with exasperation, "Useless trash! As a warrior of the Kaslana Family, you actually need a woman's help? And you want this to get out? Do you want to bring shame to the honor of the Kaslana family?!"

How do you feel?

The girl took a bite of her cookie with displeasure. "If I were you, I would have given that old man a good beating right then and there. Honor, my foot! Do you even know what the Kaslana Family's honor is? We are warriors who fight for the people, not useless cowards who scheme and fight for fame."

"He is an elder after all, I can't lay a hand on him." Kane sighed helplessly. He was furious at the time, but there was nothing he could do.

"So what if they're elders? Just a bunch of old fogies. Even if they die, no one will suspect anything." The girl sneered, her words filled with chilling killing intent.

Kane almost thought he'd misheard. "Luming, what did you just say?"

"I've said it before, I'm not a good person. Good people follow the rules, bad people don't, that's why justice can never prevail over evil." Xing glanced at him. "Hey, Kane, do you know why there are so many wicked people during famines throughout history?"

"Um, because many people are forced to do evil?" Kane guessed.

The girl smiled and shook her head. "That's one answer, but the main reason is that all the kind people starved to death."

Kane was stunned. Once again, he sensed a maturity far beyond her years from the girl in front of him. What had she been through?

Xing took out the Rabbit Tan Double Bottle and looked at them, saying to himself, "If a tree wants to grow stronger, it must extend its roots into the darker underground. If you want to fight against those evil people, you must first be more ruthless than them. Therefore, even if our hands are stained with blood, we cannot back down."

Kane wanted to refute her, but found himself unable to find a reason. Fortunately, she was right: only magic can defeat magic, and only evil can defeat evil. The idea that justice triumphs over evil, with an unsuspecting protagonist starting from scratch, believing in love and courage, and defeating a meticulously plotted villain, is nothing more than a beautiful fantasy in a novel.

In this Honkai world, fantasy is worthless.

However, it is precisely because many people firmly believe in that beautiful fantasy that humanity has been able to continue and the story has been able to be passed down.

"Hey, partner, I'll ask you one more time." Sachi opened his shoulder bag, took out a dragon bottle, and placed it in his hand. "Do you have the courage to walk with demons?"

"...certainly."

Author's Note—

Well, when I learned about the specific abilities of the Saniate Stigmata in the new main storyline, I was pleasantly surprised because it perfectly matched my expectations for the Saniate Stigmata!

Young Julia