Himeko: Keep Living on

At the very first moment of meeting the nun, Fu Hua's sword heart, already in the Clear Mirror Realm, was about to sense something. However, amidst the illusory ripples that kept undulating, the strangeness that should have been cleared from her Mind Lake ceased to exist, preventing her from noticing anything unusual.

This is the power of "bewitching," an extremely terrifying and difficult-to-defend ability.

As long as the missionary's words and actions don't cross the line into something undeniably incongruous, and don't directly threaten Fu Hua's life, she currently doesn't perceive anything strange about him.

The girl thus implicitly accepted that the nun before her was a staff member of the facility, and without much hesitation, she softly replied:

"Then I'll have to trouble you."

The nun smiled gently, and naturally approached the trunk to help, saying softly:

"You must be Ms. Fu Hua's friend? I heard from her that a friend would be helping to transport some supplies."

Fu Hua held the rather exquisite gift to her chest and smiled faintly:

"Well, I guess so."

The nun's smile possessed an alluring charm. This strong sense of approachability made those seemingly incomplete and strange scars and terrifying eyes appear as unique symbols, highlighting her previously easily overlooked features as exceptionally beautiful, like an angel with clipped wings who had fallen to earth.

The young girl quietly suppressed her regret at not bringing Su Qing'an along. Even though she knew he probably wouldn't react, this subtle awkwardness was still a quirk she couldn't shake off at her age.

The missionary glanced at Fu Hua's face bathed in the setting sun; her blue eyes were like clear lakes, serene and timeless. She smiled and said:

"Welcome to Chibbinorton Church. The children inside are always happy to have guests."

The girl nodded politely, efficiently moved the remaining supplies to another cart, and with her back to the nun, closed the trunk door, saying softly:

"Hmm, is anyone having a birthday party today?"

The gentle nun looked troubled and said:

"Yes, everyone likes a lively atmosphere."

Are there any other guests besides you? Everyone will welcome you warmly.

Fu Hua replied politely:

"I was the last one to arrive; my friends must all be inside by now."

The missionary's response was gentle and soft-spoken:

"If you're referring to Miss Shigure and Miss Carole, then they have indeed arrived."

"I see, then let's go in."

Fu Hua's mood brightened considerably upon hearing this. It had been a while since she had seen Qiluo and Pepper since that meeting.

She gazed at the facilities bathed in the glow of the setting sun, then pushed her cart toward them.

The girl failed to notice... as the pink lips of the person behind her parted, dozens of dark cracks appeared on the inner wall of their mouth, from which white eyeballs and viscous flesh blinked and disappeared. Combined with the teeth revealed by the nun's smile, the scene was truly chilling.

The missionary's seemingly slender and alluring body was concealed beneath her loose clerical robes. The freely opening and closing of her skin, the small, writhing and swelling of her flesh and organs all testified to the fact that her inner emotional fluctuations were different from usual. As for how much pleasure and joy existed within, that was another mystery that no one knew.

Meanwhile, the consciousness in my mind stated the following:

It's dangerous to stay near her.

The missionary silently pushed the cart towards the church door. Watching the man's retreating figure, she smiled and said:

"This was an accident, but it doesn't affect our plans."

The Honkai Consciousness stated:

His strength wasn't affected by that incident, meaning your chances of escaping if you encounter him are very low.

The nun responded softly:

"The prerequisite is that he has to become aware of my presence."

The Honkai Consciousness understood the meaning behind the missionary's words. Even if Su Qing'an's soul was special and possessed unknown power, as long as no one deliberately used their powers on her, among the clergy who were corrupted into various forms by Honkai Energy, who would deliberately doubt a nun who was perfectly integrated with her surroundings?

The Chibbinorton Lake District once experienced a small Honkai Energy vortex backflow, and people in the vicinity generally suffer from the aftereffects and various traces of Honkai Energy erosion.

This incident might not have been a big deal in other countries, but it was considered sensitive and unusual in the extremely safe country of Australia. That's why the church was successfully converted into a facility to shelter orphans. After all, in generally safe Australia, it's rare for residents to deliberately choose to come to a church where Honkai Energy had flowed back.

The reason why all the clergy chose to stay behind and assist with the work was also for this reason.

Having been eroded by Honkai Energy and left with certain traces, the criticism, attention, and treatment they might encounter from the outside world will likely be completely different from before.

The missionary, harboring unknown goals, used her power of [bewitchment] to implant non-existent memories and emotions into all the children and staff of the facility. As a result, people who came to the facility afterward naturally did not suspect that this kind and amiable nun had any ulterior motives.

Under such circumstances, even if Su Qing'an came in person, he would not be able to find a single flaw in the missionaries' actions.

The only weakness lies in the ability of Black Abyss White Flower to heal Honkai Sickness in conjunction with [Stigmata]. If he were to come here to heal the clergy infected by Honkai Energy, the missionary might be discovered, and could even change the future landscape.

However, the teenagers are currently busy training to fight alongside Kevin, and the Black Abyss White Flower is only useful to the members of the Moth to Fire for the time being.

The decision was simple: the principle of not worrying about scarcity but about inequality applies to the current situation as well. It is not a good thing for the public to know that the government has the resources to completely cure the Honkai Sickness.

Even information from within the Moth to Fire is only fragmented and unsubstantiated, which shows just how cautious they are about using the Black Abyss White Flower.

The nun stepped into the facility. Looking at the children with their little hands raised and faces beaming, she smiled gently as always and said softly:

"Please rest assured, the plan will not be affected, Your Majesty."

A blonde, blue-eyed little girl ran over, gently tugged at the missionary's sleeve with her tiny hand, and tilted her head up to ask:

"Sister Flora, what are you saying?"

The nun patiently stroked the heads of the children around her, explaining with a smile. Her expression was incredibly gentle, like a spring breeze. Fu Hua, who was also surrounded by children, was somewhat helpless compared to the other nun's skill in handling the little ones who were staring longingly at the gifts in her hands.

The girl's originally calm expression was shattered by this, until Carole, dressed in a mascot costume, arrived and attracted the children's attention, which finally relieved her tension.

Immediately, under Himeko's smiling gaze, she straightened her face, dragged Shiyu Qiluo to the backyard, and fled in panic.

Unbeknownst to anyone, beneath the clothes of this woman, who exuded an air of friendliness, her skin was creased and wrinkled with a chilling emptiness, through which viscous, black grease swam and spread, like digestive juices slowly dripping from a giant stomach—a scene straight out of a hellish ukiyo-e, radiating a strange, eerie, and terrifying aura.

Human food tastes bland to the missionary; only the power field formed by the entanglement of Honkai Energy and radiation is the true delicacy that can arouse her appetite.

Even though swallowing food into the mouth and stomach doesn't bring any pleasure or enjoyment, missionaries still find themselves endlessly fascinated by food produced by civilization.

All of this stems from the most basic desire—curiosity.

She seems... to have never eaten a human before.

The party went very well. The supplies and gifts that Himeko had Fu Hua bring seemed to give the orphanage a fresh vitality that it had never had before.

Whether it was a gray-haired Priest, a solemn and dignified nun, or a mischievous or withdrawn child, everyone received their own gift and a sense of happiness created by the atmosphere in the brightly lit night.

Carole removed the cartoon headgear from her head with one hand, looked at the sleeping little girl in her arms, smiled, pinched the freckled, fair cheek, and handed her to the middle-aged nun, thanking her politely.

After watching the other person walk the troublemaker back to their room, she turned to the person next to her and said:

"Hua really isn't good at dealing with kids."

Fu Hua silently wiped the cream smeared on her face with a wet wipe, and replied softly with a helpless expression:

Perhaps.

She glanced at Shiyu Qiluo, who was laughing uncontrollably to the side, and said softly:

"Pepper is quite good at it, but Qiluo, you have absolutely no right to laugh."

Shiyu Qiluo silently wiped the cream from the tip of her nose, her smile gradually fading.

Himeko glanced at the three of them, took a sip of the fruit wine in her glass, her Amber eyes watching the clear liquid sway in the glass, and her lips slightly parted.

The alcohol content wasn't high, and in fact, I didn't drink much today. It seems that in this atmosphere, even letting my mind wander would be a waste.

Women enjoy immersing themselves in such vibrant and lively scenes, which always unconsciously reminds them of trivial matters from the past.

The rosy glow of youth gradually faded away in the wind, and those past days became increasingly indistinct with the tempering of war and bloodshed, as if veiled by a hazy gray mist, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

Only in such a relaxing atmosphere could she dispel some of the fog and recall the vivid and lively feelings that had once filled her heart.

Seele Fulei.

That girl possessed human consciousness and the power of Herrscher.

If we combine these two approaches, could we find another way to restore peace without a prolonged war?

Himeko thought this way at the time: even if the process was full of thorns and pain, with endless difficulties and obstacles, the girl still had that possibility.

This is the only point that is beyond doubt.

The woman could see the confusion lingering in Seele Fulei's heart, and she understood the fear and sorrow Seele felt about possessing this power, having been born as a tool.

So take it slow. Humans aren't so hopeless that they can't even find an answer to the dilemma of waiting for a girl.

But the result... was a hopeless yet unsurprising scene.

Those around her must be suffering because of this.

Shiyu Qiluo and Carole were practically back to the state they were in when they first arrived at the Australian base. Even though Fu Hua appeared calm on the surface, no one knew how many turbulent thoughts were hidden beneath the surface.

For Himeko, regret and sadness were inevitable, but that was all.

She's used to it.

We've grown accustomed to loss and incompleteness, to grief and regret, to helplessness and despair.

Even if the hope she secretly harbored in her heart were to be dashed, Himeko, who dared to give birth to that hope, was already prepared to lose it at any time.

Adults are always stronger than children, otherwise the world would be in chaos, wouldn't it?

Take the three people in front of him, for example. Even though they had gone through several life-or-death situations together and risked their lives for each other on the battlefield, Himeko still treated them like children.

Himeko, who was bound by this belief yet still had to watch them risk their lives, was destined to suffer unnecessary torment.

But this is not a bad thing.

Having her own principles and persistence is the best way to minimize the wear and tear on her heart and keep her will and goals clear. She has no reason to and is unwilling to give them up.

Having witnessed countless deaths and losses, this is perhaps the only thing Himeko can guarantee she will hold onto forever.

At least, she can guarantee she won't lose it.

What is the meaning of life?

The longer she lived, the more she witnessed the countless deaths happening around her, the harder it became for her to find an answer.

Because the answer can shift constantly depending on one's state of mind.

Even if such an answer yields a result that satisfies oneself, it only represents a stage of perfection.

Herrscher and Humanity.

Honkai and Civilization.

The Armed Puppet in the Haiyuan City Experiment Project, Prometheus, a super artificial intelligence created by Dr. Mei.

Himeko's mind was filled with conflicting thoughts. She wondered if, assuming the Honkai was merely a natural phenomenon, a spontaneous mechanism of the world, then could civilizations and humans living in this world truly harbor hatred towards each other?

The grief of losing loved ones to the Honkai is not wrong, the anger of being destroyed by the Honkai is not wrong, the humanity that rises up to fight back against the Honkai's oppression of its living space is not wrong, and the Honkai Phenomenon simply exists in the world is not wrong.

Everything simply exists here naturally.

Countless lives imbued it with their own emotions and meanings, weaving it into a colorful ball of yarn, from which it could never be separated from the original thread.

What is the meaning of life?

Himeko thought that she might never get a definite answer, but that in itself didn't matter.

Fu Hua glanced at the gradually emptying hall, then looked at Himeko's profile, wondering why the captain had come to the orphanage alone.

If you just want help now, it's okay if you don't come in person.

The captain of the Moth to Fire doesn't have a real vacation, so it's strange that she would waste her time on this kind of thing, even though it doesn't contradict our previous impression of her.

But then, the girl remembered the way the woman looked at the children.

Those eyes, which were always filled with indifference and fighting spirit, were now so gentle, as if all the iron will and solemnity of a warrior had been shed.

Perhaps... for Captain Himeko, coming here is the best way to relax.

Just like how being around Master Su makes me feel relaxed and happy without even realizing it.

Seeing the children so happy, the captain would probably feel a sense of relaxation himself.

Indeed, this is the case. Young children represent hope, symbolize inheritance, and prove that the future of humanity is continuing from here.

Such an existence is special to Himeko, allowing her to clearly perceive the forms of life, understand the vitality they contain, and experience joy and pleasure from them.

Fu Hua glanced at the two people beside her, who were gazing at the starry sky and the lake in silence, her heart filled with complex emotions.

She couldn't resolve Su Qing'an's inner turmoil, nor could she help her friend completely escape from her prison. She herself was also curled up in a dark corner, burdened with her own personal hell.

In a daze, the girl murmured:

"Captain, have you witnessed many people leave so far?"

"But you are still so strong, as if you can fight alone forever. How can you carry such sorrow and continue to move forward for so long? I don't understand."

Fu Hua's question was like a pebble dropped into a lake, creating ripples.

Himeko noticed the gazes fixed on her from the group, took a sip of her fruit wine, her expression calm, and said softly:

"Everyone will die somewhere unknown. Life is so fragile. No one knows if they will become one of them soon."

"So there's nothing to be sad about, nothing to be grieving about, but even saying that doesn't make any sense, right?"

The woman smiled:

"Feeling negative emotions is perfectly normal and human nature. It's not surprising that some people find it unacceptable, become depressed for a long time, or even break down."

"But no matter what, we can only choose to hold on to what remains and continue living."

Fu Hua lowered her eyes and asked softly:

"No matter what the future holds?"

Himeko downed the fruit wine in her glass in one gulp. Gazing at the lake reflecting the moonlight, she whispered:

Who knows what the future holds? It's a picture that only the living have the right to see.

"Perhaps whether it's me then, me now, or me in the future, I will always strive to live with the thought of witnessing the future for those people."

"Hua, Qiluo, Peipo."

Even if it's just to witness that future for those who can't see it, let's try to live on.