[Attempting to locate the Cocoon of Finality: Search failed.] [Activating Emergency Protocol No. 114514. Calibration complete: positional markers expanded. Portal to Earth can now be opened.] [--Host, please enter the portal.]
2. As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens.
"Is there a beginner's gift pack?"
[It can be claimed upon arrival in Nagazora. Note: After the portal is opened, the system will be out of energy, so it cannot be claimed.]
"Then let's go--"
--Wait!
His thoughts screeched to a halt at the last second. Jiang Cheng suddenly realized there was a key problem.
Nagazora looked peaceful on the surface, but even women with relatively strong Honkai Energy resistance had been turned into Honkai zombies there. The reason so many people were still alive in the city was that even the most ordinary men of this era carried chromosomes edited by Dr. Mei of the Previous Era shortly before her death, chromosomes that granted resistance to Honkai Energy.
"Do I have resistance to Honkai Energy?"
[No.]
--A death sentence.
He had no resistance to Honkai Energy at all, and was about to appear in Nagazora, where even women could turn into Honkai zombies, without a beginner's gift pack.
How was that not a guaranteed death the moment he landed?
He'd be walking straight to his death.
And resistance to Honkai Energy wasn't even the main problem. Nagazora was a place where there were plenty of big fish in a small pond.
Because Kiana was there, Schicksal was keeping a close eye on the city. The Third Honkai was going to happen there in the first place because of the actions of certain members of Anti-Entropy. Cocolia, one of the masterminds behind it, had even made a deal with the World Serpent, which meant the World Serpent's attention would also be focused on Nagazora.
This seemingly manageable beginner's village was, in truth, where the eyes of the entire world converged.
With his combat ability and completely unknown background, he'd probably die the moment he got there. There'd be no way to get through it, and his knowledge of the future would be worthless.
--No.
He couldn't say that information was worthless. His memories were incredibly valuable, full of precious information.
The problem was that the one without value...
Was him.
He wasn't strong enough. If others found out where his information came from, then all of his value--Jiang Cheng's value--would amount to nothing more than a collection of memories they could copy. And because he wasn't strong enough, there were many places he wouldn't be able to enter without a certain level of strength. Even with a walkthrough he could copy, he still wouldn't be able to get through them.
"How many Valkyries can I raise at once? And what does raising them mean? Just making them stronger, or helping them overcome the regrets in their lives?"
[There is no limit, as long as they are Valkyries. You can train their strength or help them make up for the regrets in their lives.]
In that case, maybe he could speedrun Mei using his intel.
[Opening the portal will consume all of the system's energy. The host will have to figure out how long it takes to replenish it.]
"..."
"Can I change Cyrene's name and have her play the role of Elysia for Valkyrie training?"
[Portal opened.]
--!
This had to be made by Cat Guest.
There was nothing at all. Sending him into Honkai with nothing was just a death sentence.
--His gritted teeth were plainly visible to those clear spring-like eyes.
"Ah-Cheng~?"
For the third time, Jiang Cheng heard her gentle voice beside his ear. This time, though, it held a note of seriousness.
"If something's bothering you, you have to tell me, okay~? Keeping secrets all by yourself is absolutely not allowed!"
It was hard to imagine the usually cheerful, gentle, beautiful Cyrene ever looking serious.
Yet now, the girl leaning over him, swaying like a spring willow in the breeze, had a small, fair, rounded face filled with an earnestness that was the complete opposite of her usual expression.
She was so close that he could almost feel her long, curled eyelashes brushing his face.
Jiang Cheng gazed at the girl before him.
Her manner was as imposing as a teacher's, leaving no room for argument. It was like standing in the face of an oppressive low-pressure system.
If there hadn't been a trace of malice in it, that pressure alone might have suffocated an ordinary person.
Power...
If only he had Cyrene's abilities. He could secure Grey Snake's backing just by changing his appearance, and rely on his own strength to take a gamble on Raiden Mei.
--Wait!
"Can only I go through the portal?"
[You can bring objects with a total weight of up to three tons.]
"Once I go through, will I be unable to come back?"
[Once activated, the associated functions will remain available.]
Jiang Cheng straightened up. The passive position he'd been in, lying flat while the girl leaned over him, became a face-to-face encounter--
He looked straight at Cyrene, who was right in front of him.
"If I have to leave for something?"
"Eh? Something like that--"
For a moment, the adorable, fairy-like girl looked confused, as if she'd just heard something impossible. Then her expression turned instantly and emphatically opposed, like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on. She even crossed her arms dramatically over her chest, forming a big X.
"No! Absolutely not! I refuse! You absolutely cannot think that way, Ah-Cheng. Not even a little!"
At that moment, considerate Cyrene spoke with ironclad resolve. There was no room for compromise.
"Eh? Wh-why?" Jiang Cheng was startled by her intense reaction and hurried to ask. All he could see were her eyes, earnest to an almost unbelievable degree--
Cyrene's soft, lovely face was set in a rigid line. She raised a slender finger, as delicate as a green onion, like a teacher brandishing a pointer. Her pink bangs cast an almost solemn shadow over her cheeks. She looked as serious as a homeroom teacher in the throes of a midlife crisis, lecturing earnestly at the front of the class--and liable to lose her temper at any moment.
"Ah--Cheng! Do you really need to ask why?!"
"If you waste precious time on other people and don't take care of you, then... then..."
Cyrene took a deep breath and looked at him seriously, speaking slowly and distinctly. Every word landed with force.
"--Ah-Cheng, you'll definitely die!"
...Was he some rare tropical fish that'd flip over and die if he were out of water for a minute?!
Jiang Cheng really wanted to blurt that out.
But reason--or rather, the cruel reality--immediately reminded him that without Cyrene feeding him and looking after him, a modern-day man who couldn't take care of himself would have to survive in ancient Greece...
She was probably right.
Well, then.
He silently swallowed the retort that had reached his lips and obediently kept quiet.
In the end, Jiang Cheng could only listen as Cyrene straightened her slender waist, just right for one hand to encircle, and patted her petite chest as she declared a promise that no one was allowed to question.
"So I absolutely won't spend the time I use to take care of you on anyone else! And you absolutely, absolutely mustn't think that way either."
"If you really want to make it up to me, then spend more time playing with me."
Cyrene's face moved so close that each of her eyelashes was clearly visible. Her sweet voice floated softly like the breeze, as if it might shatter in the next moment and drift away on the wind.
And yet it seemed to have already melted away, luring him into a sweet fantasyland.
"Our little world, just for the two of us, is perfect for us to play in together."
It was too heavy.
She was supposed to be a girl as light and radiant as a flower.
Yet at that moment, what Jiang Cheng felt from her was an irresistible gravity and weight that could crush him outright.
But that was exactly why he had the confidence and courage to say what came next.
"--Cyrene."
He suddenly became far too serious. The girl, who had just been so stern he could barely face her, looked confused, then immediately sat up straight.
"Ah-Cheng, I'm listening!"
"I'm going to tell you the truth about the world."
3. Cyrene, I've got a plan
"So..."
"A crisis is about to descend, and even though you know about it, Ah-Cheng, you're powerless to change anything."
Cyrene's tender, pale hands fidgeted restlessly before her soft little chest. She bit her rosy lower lip so hard that its tip reddened.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know any of this, and yet I kept asking you to cheer up every day, Ah-Cheng. Someone like me... I really am awful, aren't I?"
"--Of course not! And that's not the point."
Jiang Cheng reached out and cupped Cyrene's soft face, carefully smoothing the furrow in her brow with his fingertips.
The tears hadn't even had a chance to gather before the warmth he offered without reservation melted them away.
"The point is, I can take you somewhere else now. In that place, we can gain strength at an extremely fast pace. Do you... want to come with me?"
"You don't even need to ask something like that, do you~?"
Cyrene raised her face, her long, swanlike neck displayed before him without the slightest defense. The line of her jaw was so elegant it seemed fragile.
Her radiant, lovely face filled his vision.
Then, in Jiang Cheng's eyes, she winked playfully, her long, curled eyelashes dipping slightly. She gave him a friendly, electric wink.
"...Let's go."
He said it aloud, and also spoke softly in his heart.
"Open the portal."
"--Take Cyrene with me."
Before you continue