Affinity

Although Feng Chen withdrew as Hiyori Maru had instructed, Yae Sakura still hadn't woken up. There was no need to think about it—she had definitely realized that Hiyori Maru was behind all this and was currently teaching her a lesson.

"Whoa! Feng Chen, save me!" Hiyori Maru floated out of the black box and hid behind Feng Chen.

Feng Chen didn't know how badly Yae Sakura had dealt with Hiyori Maru in the Sakura Cycle, but it seemed inevitable that she would be turned into Feiyu Wanzi.

"Dust-kun, could you move aside?" Yae Sakura asked with a smile as she approached, her right hand resting on her sword. Black mist billowed around her. It was obviously the prelude to her going dark!

With a girl in front of him and a cute creature behind him, Feng Chen was caught in a dilemma.

"Th-that, Sakura, calm down. Hiyori Maru didn't cause any major trouble, right? Besides, we need to find a way to leave first. It'll be troublesome if people from Schicksal arrive."

"Yeah, big sis, calm down first..." Hiyori Maru agreed, but after Yae Sakura stared at her for a while, she shrank back behind Feng Chen.

"Since Dust-kun is speaking up for you, I won't hold it against you anymore. Honestly, you..."

Hiyori Maru looked aggrieved and didn't dare say a word.

"Come here." Yae Sakura beckoned to Hiyori Maru, her terrifying smile from earlier completely gone.

Hiyori Maru still didn't dare approach, as though going over would really result in her being made into Yae Village's famous dish—Feiyu Wanzi.

"All right, go over." Feng Chen grabbed Hiyori Maru by the back of her collar and brought her over beside Sakura.

Meanwhile, at St. Freya Academy in the Far East Branch...

"Headmistress." The red-haired woman knocked on the door of the headmistress's office.

Inside sat a silver-haired little girl who looked only twelve or thirteen years old.

"Major Himeko, is something wrong?"

"The Science Department reported that a massive Honkai Energy fluctuation was detected in Changkong City just now."

"Is it a new Honkai Beast?"

"No. The fluctuation is stronger than a Honkai Beast's... The people in the Science Department suspect that it's—"

Stronger than a Honkai Beast's fluctuation. Then it could only be...

"A Herrscher's fluctuation!"

"Impossible!" The silver-haired girl slammed her hand on the desk and stood up. "Every time the Honkai occurs, only one Herrscher is born! Isn't the Third Herrscher already under our surveillance?"

"The Science Department said that the fluctuation observed this time is indeed weaker than the Third Herrscher's. They suspect that because Changkong City lost its Herrscher of dominance, the large amount of residual Honkai Energy gathered together—"

The woman paused before continuing, "The Honkai Energy is attempting to give birth to a new Herrscher. However, the Science Department believes that this Honkai Energy isn't enough to form a new Herrscher Core. The Herrscher is taking shape extremely slowly."

"But if this continues, it will threaten us sooner or later."

The woman's lips curved into a charming smile. "Then, should I go clean it up?"

"No. Stay here and keep an eye on Kiana and the others. I can handle it myself."

The little girl named Theresa Apocalypse looked twelve or thirteen on the outside but was actually already in her forties. (Compared with Yae Sakura and the class monitor, that was indeed the case. And the protagonist had the Will of Honkai, so even more so, right?) She looked toward a huge Golden Cross leaning against the wall.

If Feng Chen were here, he would definitely recognize it as the cross the system had given him when he first entered the Sakura Cycle! The only difference was that the one Feng Chen had left in the world inside the box was only half a palm in size, while this cross was already taller than the roughly one-and-a-half-meter-tall girl.

Back with Feng Chen, Yae Sakura was somewhat tired from having just awakened, so she sat in the corner and took a short nap.

Nearby, Feng Chen was asking the system about affinity levels.

"System, what's Sakura's affinity toward me now?"

"Yae Sakura's affinity is 90. Her level is Friend."

"Why is it still Friend?"

"Although the level is the same, the degree is different. At an affinity of 80, it was Friend (Trust). At an affinity of 90, it is Friend (Reliance)."

"What happens if it reaches 100?"

"When Yae Sakura's affinity reaches 100, she will become Confidant (Reliance). At 95, she will become Confidant (Trust)."

"Isn't my current degree Trust? Why is there also a degree of Trust at 95?"

"A confidant's trust is greater than a friend's reliance. Do you understand now?"

"Got it. What comes after Confidant?"

"After Confidant comes Perfect Romance, with the specific level determined by the current level. The first Perfect Romance level after Confidant is 'Infatuation,' followed by 'Adoration,' then 'Lover.' After Lover, the relationship develops freely, with no further levels."

"If it were someone else, would an affinity of 100 also make them a Confidant?"

"Not necessarily. It depends on the foundation. Take Raiden Mei, for example. If the host hadn't saved her, then even if you became acquainted and gained 15 affinity, she would still be at the lowest level, 'Acquaintance.' But since the host has saved Raiden Mei twice, gaining 15 affinity places her at 'Concerned.'"

"I see. So, which girls currently have affinity toward me?"

"Yae Sakura: affinity 90, level Friend (Reliance); Raiden Mei: affinity 15, level Concerned (no degree); Bronya Zaychik: affinity 30, level Friend (Trust); Kiana Kaslana: affinity 5, no level yet."

Looking at it this way, if he wanted to pursue someone, Yae Sakura should be his first choice, right? But Bronya seemed promising too. After all, she had already reached Friend at only 30 affinity.

"Wait, why is Bronya already at Friend? Isn't that level gap a little too large?"

"If 30 is Friend, wouldn't 40 be Confidant? Wouldn't 50 be Infatuation? Wouldn't 60 be Adoration? Wouldn't 70 be Lover?"

"Please stop daydreaming, host. Who told you that Confidant comes after Friend? Have you forgotten Yae Sakura's Good Person Card?"

Come to think of it, that did make sense. Yae Sakura had first given him a Good Person Card, and then gained a great deal of affinity before reaching the Friend level.

Meanwhile, aboard the Hyperion...

"Headmistress, Changkong City is right below us."

"Hmm... Himeko, I suddenly don't want to do this mission anymore. I feel a little unwell..."

"Theresa, look at this."

In the red-haired woman's—Himeko Murata's—hand was a manga.

The latest issue of Hohom Adventure.

"What's that? I don't know anything about it... Don't think you can make me go on a mission with that..."

"Really? I found this in your office, Headmistress~ Looks like it isn't yours, then. In that case, I can throw it away." She extended the hand holding the manga and slowly loosened her fingers.

"W-wait! I'll go! I'll go do the mission right now!"

"That's more like it... Anyway, let's go down." Himeko tossed Theresa off the bridge. The Hyperion had already landed on the ground in Changkong City, and Theresa possessed the strength of an S-rank Valkyrie, so nothing would happen to her from being dropped like that.

"My Judah!"

Dragging the Golden Cross, Himeko said as she tossed it down, "It's so heavy... I really don't know how she manages to carry it."

But the throw sent it wildly off course.