Confession Under the Moon

"...I never thought the Mu Continent... would sink just like that..."

Someone sighed mournfully.

"That was the Mu Continent, a continent with humanity's most advanced technology. Even it couldn't withstand the advance of Honkai? If even the Mu Continent failed, then does our struggle really have any meaning?"

"There's no need to lose heart. What happened to the Mu Continent was merely an accident. None of us expected the Ninth Herrscher to choose self-destruction at the very end. We still have geniuses like Dr. Mei and Vill-V, warriors like Elysia and Kevin, and elite squads like the Fallen Angel Squad, don't we?"

"That's right. It's not time to despair yet!"

"Even if you say that..."

"Hey, look, that person... isn't that Lilith, the Fallen Angel Squad's deputy leader? Doesn't she rarely attend banquets?"

"So this is... what she looks like when she dresses up seriously? She's..."

The moment Lilith appeared in her black evening gown, she drew the attention of most of the people present. They lowered their voices and began whispering among themselves. Before establishing the Fallen Angel Squad, both Zhu Yufeng, the leader of Fallen Angel, and Lilith had always shown little interest in banquets. Yet now, one of the two had arrived at the venue in full formal attire?

"I suddenly feel like life has hope again..."

"Huh? You don't seriously think Lilith would be interested in you, do you? If you ask me, if Lilith has someone she likes, it has to be Feng."

"My life has gone dark again..."

"Hey..."

"Alright, alright, I was joking. Everyone in Fire Moth knows that Lilith returned from Europe with Feng, and Feng even saved Lilith from a Honkai incident. It wouldn't be strange at all if those two were together."

Elysia, who was carrying a tray and handing out juice, froze when she heard that. She then looked toward Lilith in the crowd. Wherever Lilith passed, people unconsciously made way for her.

"Those two being together... wouldn't... be strange?" Elysia lowered her gaze. "Yes... it really wouldn't be strange... But if they truly had that kind of relationship, Feng should have told me long ago, shouldn't he?"

It was merely not strange. Fire Moth had never lacked discussions about couples, so why was she still somewhat concerned?

"I want to ask her for a dance... It should be fine, right?"

Someone muttered. Nahamah, who was drinking beside him, glanced at him. "You? Forget it. The boss lady only came here because of the captain."

"Huh? Feng is coming too?"

"Isn't that obvious? I already said the boss lady came for the captain." Nahamah swirled his wineglass. "The moonlight is quite nice tonight too."

That person instantly chose self-preservation. Forget it, forget it. It looked like those two had made plans already, so he had better not interfere. After all... Feng was genuinely terrifying when he had that cold expression on his face...

The people around them began discussing it as well.

"So she came for Feng. Does that mean those two are finally going to..."

"Oh my god, I supported Xila and Feng..."

"What? The Mobius-Feng ship has sunk?!"

"What? Dr. Mobius really has no chance?"

"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of twisted ship is that?"

Kevin walked over and looked at Nahamah. "Is it today?"

"Yeah. The boss lady told you too?" Nahamah looked at Kevin. "But she said we didn't need to go over. She wanted to confess to the captain by herself. She also didn't want too many people watching, so she won't confess in the banquet hall. What we need to do is stop too many people from going over and disturbing them."

"Is that so?" Kevin looked at Lilith. "The two of them... hm, yes. It really wouldn't feel surprising."

"Right? I'm telling you, the boss lady is only especially nice to Captain Yu Feng." Nahamah pointed at himself. "I'm different. The boss lady has always kicked me as far away as she possibly could."

Kevin smiled, a rare sight. "Then you must have provoked her."

Nahamah spread his hands innocently. "I just wanted to take the captain somewhere men should go and do what men should do."

Kevin: "..."

Was that what he thought it meant? Given Nahamah's personality, it really did seem to mean exactly what he thought it meant. Then wasn't Lilith kicking him completely justified? The fact that she had not chopped him to death already showed how good-tempered Lilith was.

"I think..." Abaddon walked over and joined the conversation. "The captain might reject her. Or rather, reject her tactfully."

Kevin and Nahamah both looked at Abaddon strangely. Just as Abaddon was about to explain, Baal, who had been following behind him, started shouting. "Reject her? So what? Isn't it perfectly normal for a confession to fail once or twice? If the captain doesn't agree, I think it's just because he's too used to being single and rejects her on instinct. If she tries again, it'll definitely work."

But I think the captain only has one thing in his head: smashing Honkai to pieces? Abaddon complained inwardly.

In any case, he felt it would not be surprising if a certain someone married Honkai itself. Surely nobody could be so dense that even when Vice Captain Lilith's hints were this obvious, he still felt absolutely nothing? No way, right?

That had to be because the captain was entirely focused on smashing Honkai to pieces and had not thought about anything else at all.

But after looking at everyone else, Abaddon chose silence and pretended to agree with Baal.

"Indeed, it's not impossible..."

Lilith did not linger when she reached the banquet hall. She crossed through it and headed toward the garden outside. Even people who did not know what was going on could more or less guess the reason from that display. Some wanted to follow and gossip, only to be pulled back by others.

After hearing everyone's conversation, Elysia looked thoughtfully at Lilith's retreating figure. So Lilith really was going to confess to Feng? But... why so suddenly...? No, Lilith really had given Feng chocolate on Valentine's Day before. Feng had said it was merely a sample Lilith had made to demonstrate for Mei, but what if Lilith had simply not told Feng what she truly meant back then?

Then... should she go over and take a look? But wasn't sneaking a look at someone else's confession somewhat improper?

"Hey? Look, that's Feng, right? When did he go over to the garden?"

"Because the captain doesn't like crowds. If he and Boss Lady Lilith appeared in the banquet hall at the same time, a lot of people would pay attention to them, right? He doesn't like that feeling, so even if crossing the banquet hall is the fastest route, he would rather take a detour..." Nahamah complained speechlessly.

"For the captain, it's only a matter of spending a little more time." Abaddon said.

"So it really is a confession... Sob... The Mobius-Feng ship has suffered a crushing defeat..."

"Is anyone from the Xila-Feng ship coming with me to the rooftop to get some air?"

"Count me in..."

"Woohoo! The Feng-Lilith Faction wins big! Brothers, get hyped! We're not going home sober tonight! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Is it really okay to celebrate this early?" Abaddon tugged at the corner of his mouth as he watched Nahamah join the group and happily clink glasses with everyone else. Nothing had even been decided yet, so how had they all already assumed it would succeed? Well, the captain might indeed think that agreeing was no big deal. After all, the ultimate goal was still to smash Honkai to pieces. There was nothing wrong with dating during the process...

Outside the banquet hall, in the garden.

"You're quite punctual." Lilith smiled at Zhu Yufeng. Her gaze fell on his clothes. "Hm, not bad. I told you to prepare properly, and at least you didn't show up in some plaid shirt to brush me off."

"You said it was something very important, and you specifically told me to pay attention to what I wore. There's no way I would have worn a plaid shirt. Besides, I don't even have clothes like that in my wardrobe. Didn't you give me this outfit too, telling me to wear it directly for important occasions?" Zhu Yufeng spoke with some exasperation. "So... what is this very important thing you mentioned?"

"You guess." Lilith decided to keep him in suspense.

"Hm..." Zhu Yufeng examined Lilith's outfit. Lilith also "cooperatively" lifted the hem of her evening gown and spun around lightly.

"Very beautiful. It really suits you." Zhu Yufeng nodded.

"And then? You don't think I called you over just to let you see me dressed up, do you?" Lilith raised an eyebrow.

Zhu Yufeng fell silent for a moment. In this situation, he could only say it felt familiar. It was just the two of them in this garden, beneath the moon just like that time...

So... could Lilith really be...

Zhu Yufeng looked at Lilith with a complicated expression. Just as he was about to speak, Lilith pressed her index finger against his lips. After a soft laugh, she said, "It seems you've already guessed it. But I prepared for so long, so it wouldn't do for you to say it first."

As she spoke, Lilith stepped back, clasped her hands behind her back, and smiled with remarkable gentleness. Even her voice became soft. "Just as you imagined, and just as you can see, this girl standing before you—your assistant—has fallen in love with you~ Very, very much so~"

Her voice was gentle, yet under the quiet moonlight, it was clear enough for Zhu Yufeng standing opposite her, as well as a few people who had quietly followed along, to hear every word.

"Let's go. She's confessing... Don't disturb them."

Someone spoke softly and smacked the head of a companion who was still trying to listen for what would happen next. The person who had been smacked seemed to wake from a dream, nodded rapidly like a pecking chick, and left with the others.

Elysia leaned against the garden wall. After a long while, she too chose to leave quickly.

Although she had mentally prepared herself for the possibility that Lilith would confess, when it became reality—when she heard Lilith's confession leave her lips—her mind went blank.

She really... confessed...

Even after returning to the banquet hall, Elysia still had not fully recovered. She had tried to tell herself that the two had fought side by side for years, that Lilith had even given Feng chocolate, and that it was perfectly normal for them to be together... Yet she kept thinking that even so, Feng might not necessarily agree, right? When Feng spoke to her, there had been nothing unusual whenever he mentioned Lilith...

While Elysia was still in a state of confusion, Kevin walked over and asked, "How did it go?"

Elysia glanced at Kevin and forced a smile. "Oh my, I never expected Lilith to really confess to Feng~ A confession beneath the moon, and their outfits matched so well too. It was rather romantic..."

"Did Feng agree?" Kevin asked next.

Elysia suddenly became very unhappy. "Kevin, eavesdropping on someone's confession is very rude! Isn't it enough just to know that it happened?"

Kevin did not think much of it and merely nodded. He felt it should be settled. Elysia had called it romantic! How could it not be settled?! Although he did not drink, it was still fine to go clink glasses with Nahamah and the others!

Back at the scene.

Zhu Yufeng looked at Lilith, completely dumbfounded. Why had things turned out like this? Lilith liked him? When had that started? How had he not known? No, no, no, no, no... That Valentine's Day incident, right! That Valentine's Day incident—Lilith had been serious then, hadn't she?

But... why him? He had always considered himself Lilith's friend at most... Dating and all that, wasn't this a little too early? No, that was not right either. Hadn't he confessed to Elysia when he was even younger than he was now? But... Lilith...

He carefully recalled his experiences with Lilith, yet he still could not understand why Lilith liked him.

But right now, he had to give her an answer.

Should he reject her? But Lilith was the first girl to confess to him, and he truly needed Lilith's help. Getting along with Lilith had been quite pleasant, at least so far.

But that could not be a reason to agree, could it? More importantly, the only thing he wanted to do now was smash Honkai to pieces, and... the portrait Griseo had painted of him, which Astaroth had told him about a few days ago... Knight of Dawn Yet Unseen... He was clearly destined not to see the future of the next era, but Lilith might not be...

How could he possibly agree?

No, no, no. Before that, The Tragedy of Binding would happen...

And most importantly, if the two of them were together, were his feelings truly enough to respond to Lilith's feelings?

What he wanted most right now was to defeat Honkai and overturn the predetermined fate. As for everything else, he... he felt that someone like him, who no longer had the right to possess a future, was incapable of thinking about such things.

He should... reject her.

At last, he made up his mind.

She was suited for someone better, not someone like him, who was destined to perish.

He looked into Lilith's eyes. Only after a long time did he finally speak. "I'm sorry. I don't think I can return your feelings... I'm sorry..."

He watched the anticipation in the girl's eyes gradually turn into loneliness. It was the first time he had seen that Lilith could feel this way too. She sighed softly, but she was still smiling. "Because... in the end, I'm not Elysia?"

"No, absolutely not!" he said firmly. "You don't need to become anyone else. Just be yourself. You are you, not anyone else... I just feel that I..."

"I know. You only want to defeat Honkai, right?" Lilith smiled bitterly in helplessness.

Zhu Yufeng lowered his gaze and remained silent.

"Forget it. If you won't agree, then you won't agree." Lilith looked at Zhu Yufeng. "But after disappointing a maiden's feelings, shouldn't you make some compensation?"

"...Please, tell me."

A smile curled at Lilith's lips. She extended her hand toward the young man. "Then dance with me here, beneath the moon."

"...Alright."