My Honkai Star Rail: Reversing All Phenomena Chapter 13

"Are the dorm conditions arranged for you by the Department of Applied Materials not good enough? Is the bed too hard, the pillow not soft enough, or the walls poorly soundproofed?"

"No, I simply have too much energy to fall asleep."

"Come to my office right now. I want to see just how energetic you really are."

After sending the message, Asta rose to her feet and pulled a folding lounge chair from the storage cabinet. It had been bought at a high price from Interstellar Delicacies and was advertised as having received technical support from Penacony, the Moment of Festivity, capable of letting people peacefully drift into beautiful dreams and enjoy high-quality sleep. Ergonomic design and such were merely its most basic selling points.

The girl had even placed a brand-new pillow on it, the same model as the high-comfort sleep pillow she favored.

She had already thought of the lines—"Hua Yi, those dark circles under your eyes are so heavy, yet you still claim to be full of energy? Deceiving the Station Master must be severely punished. I order you to lie down on the chair and sleep immediately. No more arguing!"

Seriously, she had to let that guy properly witness the Station Master's authority.

Station Master Feeling Guilty

"Have you eaten breakfast?... No, don't eat breakfast right now. You should sleep instead."

The moment Hua Yi entered the Station Master's Office, he found himself facing Asta's barrage of questions.

"But if you're so hungry that you can't sleep properly, then it's still better to eat something."

Before he could answer, the conclusion she had just reached was overturned by the girl herself. Hua Yi let Miss Asta lean closer, her body tilting forward as her shoulder-length pink hair fell with the motion, gleaming differently beneath the lights.

Those large blue eyes were fixed on him, examining him closely.

"Huh? No dark circles? How is that possible? Did you use some method to hide them? No, you need to go sleep right this instant."

"Can I explain myself?"

"No!"

Asta had already taken action, pushing at someone's lower back and guiding him toward the lounge chair.

She did not use much strength, worried that a sleep-deprived Hua Yi might be knocked over by a single push. Fortunately, he was quite cooperative. A slight exertion from the fingertips touching his back was enough for the girl to guide him toward the destination.

Miss Station Master had deliberately chosen a spot away from the light, ensuring that Hua Yi would not be staring directly at the office lights after lying down, which might affect his sleep.

Even the air circulation system had been within Asta's considerations. Although the Space Station's temperature was always maintained within the range most comfortable for the human body, those who had fallen asleep were more susceptible to cold. She could not let him sleep in the path of the airflow.

Since the girl had prepared so thoroughly for him, Hua Yi could hardly refuse by force. He obediently lay down on the chair.

"Don't forget the two drafts Madam Herta asked for, Station Master."

"I remember. Stop thinking about those things and close your eyes."

"..."

There was a kind of sleepiness called other people thinking you were sleepy.

Hua Yi was certain that even if he went to the Medical Department for a physical examination and showed Asta a perfectly healthy report, she would still think he was sleep-deprived.

Fortunately, closing his eyes did not mean wasting time. After briefly coming into contact with the Aeon of Preservation, Qlipoth, in the Simulated Universe, another Path distinct from [Wisdom] had already revealed itself. Even if the Simulated Universe could not simply be equated with reality, it still provided an extraordinarily valuable reference template.

Asta had no idea that the researcher she had painstakingly cared for had seemingly closed his eyes while his mind continued racing at high speed. She silently clapped her hands, filled with the joy of having successfully completed a task.

After returning to her desk, Miss Station Master glanced at Hua Yi from the corner of her eye. Seeing that he had stopped talking and was lying there quietly, she assumed he had truly fallen asleep.

The girl smiled serenely and contentedly, speeding up her work on the documents in her hands.

The actual manager of the entire Space Station was still busy at work, while a researcher openly slept in her office—at the repeated insistence of the Station Master herself. The scene was rather subtle, yet Asta found it unusually peaceful.

Her mood improved, and even her work efficiency increased.

Once Hua Yi woke up, she would take him there for a look...

She also could not forget to arrange a meal. Had this guy eaten dinner yesterday? A single dinner was not even enough; she needed to add a late-night snack as well. After all, he had appeared in the Department of Boundary Seeds with Madam Herta in the middle of the night, and Madam Herta would never consider whether someone else was hungry.

At that thought, Asta quietly operated her Personal Terminal and asked Lamina in the Hua Yi Fan Club group chat.

"Did Hua Yi eat anything while working in the office yesterday?"

"Apparently not. When I cleaned up the desk at the end, I didn't see any plates, and there weren't any food wrappers in the trash can either."

Just as expected, that guy had not eaten properly at all.

"Huh? Could Brother Hua Yi have gone hungry for an entire afternoon?"

Clearly, the other members of the Chat Group had set special notifications. The moment new content appeared, they surfaced.

"Does anyone know what Lord Hua Yi likes to eat? I'll bring some food to his office. Does Lamina have an access card? Please secretly open the door for me, please."

"N-No, that wouldn't be allowed, right? Letting members of another department into an independent office without authorization is against the rules."

"Tch, as if people from the same department can just go in whenever they want. Then I want to go too. Besides, Hua Yi was originally from the Department of Secret Scrolls, yet Lamina from the Department of Boundary Seeds is serving as his assistant. That already goes against the usual logic of the Space Station."

The Chat Group was full of hidden talents, with members from every major department. Seeing that Emily from the Department of Secret Scrolls might start arguing with a researcher from the Department of Boundary Seeds, Asta immediately used an anonymous identity to ease the atmosphere.

"Since Hua Yi may indeed not have eaten properly, we can deliver some food and leave it in his office. That doesn't really count as breaking the rules. Lamina can bring it in."

"Right, right, right! [Name Redacted] is right!"

"It would be best to have Shiling inspect it with the Department of Applied Materials' equipment to ensure the food is safe. You can't send expired food."

"Of course. Where's Lamina? Let's agree on a meeting point."

"Um, I'm already in the office, but Lord Hua Yi hasn't come yet."

As the topic progressed and involved their idol's current whereabouts, the group chat became increasingly active, with many people joining the discussion.

"Could he be at the Department of Boundary Seeds?"

"Impossible. Otherwise, I would have received word already."

"Perhaps Madam Herta has handed Lord Hua Yi an important project to oversee. Level IV Researcher truly isn't his endpoint."

"Being able to conduct research beside a Genius, Brother Hua Yi will definitely become even more amazing!"

Messages began flooding the chat at high speed. Asta shrank back a little, suddenly feeling rather guilty.

The Lord Hua Yi you're all talking about is sleeping in my office right this moment.

She absolutely could not send that in the group chat. Otherwise, it would inevitably attract everyone's attention and might even provoke public outrage. Then a crowd would search department by department, determined to uncover who was spouting nonsense over the network. In the end, they would discover that [Name Redacted] was actually the Station Master of the Space Station—and that she had not even been lying. Who knew what kind of uproar that would cause?

Asta stuck out her tongue and immediately closed the chat interface, as though the group members would trace the network signal and catch her if she left it open any longer.

Remembering that Hua Yi had not eaten much yesterday, the girl cast another mildly reproachful glance toward the lounge chair. Then she gently slid her index finger across the touchscreen and sent instructions to the Space Station's Cooking Robots, ordering them to remain on standby at all times. They were to prepare the most delicious ingredients on the Space Station and, once Hua Yi woke up, finish the dishes as quickly as possible and deliver them to the Station Master's Office.

Hope to Share

Mortals might intentionally or unintentionally step onto the Paths governed by Aeons, becoming Pathstriders who practiced their ideals from that point on.

Whether people followed their own hearts, practiced the ideals of Aeons, or joined Aeons in walking specific Paths—and whether it was merely that Aeons had walked unimaginably far and deep along those Paths... The answers to such philosophical and theological questions were not Hua Yi's focus. He only needed to know that under normal circumstances, Pathstriders followed only a single Path.

Even though humans possessed Seven Emotions and Six Desires and had exceptionally active minds, when facing the various Paths representing different ideals, they could only choose one.

Did Paths naturally reject practitioners of other Paths?

Take the scholars and experts on Herta Space Station. If they could embark on a Path, they would most likely follow [Wisdom]. Yet quite a few people here also revered [Preservation]. Even if there were differences in the intensity of those emotions, that should have manifested as walking farther along the Path of Wisdom while progressing somewhat more slowly along the Path of Preservation, rather than forcing them to choose only one out of the two.

Or perhaps the threshold for becoming a Pathstrider was simply too high, and an individual's energy was limited. Once most of one's thoughts had become emotions directed toward a certain Path, even if they could still produce a few other ideas, those thoughts would no longer be sufficient to make them practitioners of another Path.

No matter which possibility was correct, they both told Hua Yi that using Imaginary Energy to stir the River of Paths and draw upon its power in a manner distinct from Pathstriders was the more flexible and suitable choice.

He still needed to ensure that the Aeons did not notice him, lest this madman who walked an unconventional road be branded with some label, tied to a specific Path, or even cause more serious consequences.

After roughly estimating the time, Hua Yi stopped his attempts to simulate Paths within the depths of his consciousness and opened his eyes. Asta, who had specially hurried through her work, seemed as though she had been waiting for him to wake up. She immediately spoke softly.

"Are you hungry?"

"There's a kind of tiredness called other people thinking you're tired, and a kind of hunger called other people thinking you're hungry. If I say I'm not hungry, would you believe me?"

"Of course not. You haven't been eating properly at all!"

Before even asking him, Asta had already informed the Cooking Robots that had been standing by for so long to begin work at once. The ingredients prepared in advance were expected to become delicious dishes within ten minutes.

"Wait a little while. The food will be delivered soon."

Taking the Fruit Milk the girl handed him, Hua Yi could not help feeling that, in Asta's eyes, he had become a researcher in suboptimal health who required constant care, or else might shatter like a fragile crust at the slightest misstep.

In truth, even actual patients would not receive the Space Station Master's personal care. They should go to the Medical Department for treatment.

Watching Hua Yi drain a large cup of Fruit Milk in one gulp, Asta nodded in satisfaction.

"I've also finished the drafts Madam Herta asked for. You don't need to worry about what comes next—if you really are interested in those trivial details that hardly count as trouble, then after we eat, I'll take you somewhere."

"Is that so? But I feel that the more I get to know Asta, the more I hope a beautiful and kind girl like you can be happy every day."

"I'll gladly accept that praise, but where did you see that I wasn't happy?"

Tilting her head as she asked the question, Miss Station Master felt warmth bloom within her heart. Even the delicate face that had been putting on a stern expression while issuing orders could no longer maintain that pretense.

The girl curved her lips, becoming slightly lost in thought.

"Thinking about it carefully, I..."

"Your meal has arrived. Please enjoy."

This time, the food-delivery robot was no longer simply carrying a tray. It controlled an electronic cart, and as its sealed cover opened, the steaming aroma of food immediately filled Asta's office like drifting clouds.

"Eat more."

"Can the two of us even finish a table this full? It seems the Station Master has quite the appetite today."

"That's right, that's right. My appetite is excellent, so I can eat thirty percent of the food. The remaining seventy percent will be left to you~"

Asta beamed as she assigned their respective duties in just a few words. Beneath her pink bangs, her eyes clearly held a faint hint of mischief.

Still, she did not truly want to make things difficult for Hua Yi. What if he ate until his stomach hurt? She quickly changed her tune.

"You must finish the staple foods. Boys should have sufficient appetites. Then, these snacks can be kept for the evening, so it's fine if they're left over. Don't tell me you don't need late-night snacks and will go to bed on time. As far as I know, ever since you arrived at the Space Station, not a single day has seen you return to your dorm early. You're always busy with one thing or another."

In fact, given Hua Yi's abilities, even if he ate food beyond a normal person's limits, he could use Imaginary Energy to break it down and ensure it placed no burden whatsoever on his stomach.

But he had good reason to suspect that if he ate an excessive amount today, Asta would only escalate matters tomorrow.

He looked at the staple foods the girl had mentioned, then at the snacks she had brought up. Hua Yi was relieved to find that, at least regarding how much food a normal person could eat, Miss Station Master had the right idea. She was not as numb to it as she was toward Credits.

"Fortunately, you didn't wave your hand and order the Cooking Robots to prepare two hundred million Credits' worth of food. Otherwise, no matter how hard everyone on the Space Station worked, they wouldn't be able to finish even a fraction of it before the dishes lost their best flavor."

"Wrong guess. Cooking Robots can't produce two hundred million Credits' worth of food in such a short time, unless we use famously expensive ingredients from across the universe. If you want to try them, I can purchase some next time."

"Respected Miss Asta, please don't corrupt the heart of a motivated researcher with Credits, or I might stop wanting to work hard."

"Pfft."

The girl could tell Hua Yi was joking, because if he had truly been so easily corrupted by Credits, he could have made requests long ago. Every major department would have done its utmost to fulfill them, whether they were goods purchasable with Credits, special Curios, or rare treasures such as science and technology that money could not buy.

The two hundred million Credits she had casually mentioned had not been a test from Asta. If Hua Yi had shown even the slightest desire for it, the little rich girl had genuinely intended to spend the money.

The person before her had done so much for her, and Miss Station Master dearly wished to offer some measure of repayment. Unfortunately, Hua Yi had never displayed any strong material desires from beginning to end.

Unable to share pocket money with this new researcher who had gradually come to occupy a special place in her heart, Asta found it difficult to express those complicated emotions. Lacking experience in handling them, she could only share her little secret with him instead.

Asta's Secret

"We're here."

Asta led Hua Yi to the Base Zone, where a long-sealed hatch stood in the corridor leading to the Monitoring Room.

Ordinary researchers had long grown accustomed to the various encrypted doors and Sealed Areas they could not open. On a Space Station where access permissions were required everywhere, even researchers with years of work experience still knew surprisingly little about the Starry Sky Museum they called home.

Yet this hatch before them was special even among the many unopened areas. Forget ordinary researchers—even Department Heads from the major departments, even the founder herself, would be denied entry.

This was Asta's secret base. In the vast Space Station, aside from the girl herself, only Herta could enter.

Of course, that Genius would not come here to investigate the little rich girl's secret. If Asta wanted to confide in her, she could naturally receive simple and direct solutions to her problems. But what had been left here had long ceased to be a difficult problem troubling the girl.

"Welcome to my old studio. Now, the enormous secret concerning this young lady's background is about to be revealed. The puzzle-solving portion begins now~ You can try searching this room for clues."

After unlocking the hatch that had been sealed for so long, Asta first looked inside. Once she confirmed that the place was clean and had not gathered dust due to being neglected, she blinked mischievously at Hua Yi, looking every bit like the host of a puzzle game.

"A little hint: all the information is on paper. You're allowed to look through everything here."

Hmm... Would looking for clues be too tiring?

Although Hua Yi had already caught up on some sleep, the girl still hesitated at the thought of making him expend physical effort for no reason.

The things he needed to find were on the surfaces of several tables and bookshelves in the room. He only needed to walk over and observe a little to discover them. Still, Asta silently set a time limit in her heart. If someone remained unable to find the information, this game host would have to personally step in and help.

"Reporting to the referee: I found a piece of paper on the shelf in the corner. I request permission to examine the clue."

This really did seem to have become a game they were playing together.