Honkai Double Traverse, Taking Cyrene to Honkai Impact 3rd: Chapter 44

Exquisite porcelain dishes were arranged across the low table, giving off an enticing aroma. Japanese breakfasts were light and fairly simple, but every ingredient was of the highest quality, one in a million. The savory scent of grilled fish, the richness of miso soup, and the gentle warmth of rice came together in a morning symphony that made your mouth water.

Raiden Mei picked up her chopsticks and naturally reached for a perfectly grilled piece of fish belly—and the chopsticks were headed for Jiang Cheng's bowl.

However—

As if by mutual understanding, another pair of chopsticks reached for that same piece of fish at the exact same time.

"Tap."

The faint clack of chopsticks colliding rang through the quiet dining room, as clear as a declaration of war.

Raiden Mei looked up.

Cyrene looked up too.

Her keen, purplish-red eyes met those clear, deep-blue eyes in a clash at close quarters.

...!

...!

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A Note on Going Premium; Bonus Chapters for First-Day Subscriptions

It's that time again.

I know my last two books were subpar. I really was too obsessed with them back then, and I slacked off too much.

The sponge I was squeezing dry was already soaked through.

I said I'd make changes with this book, but there are still a few lingering issues in the earlier chapters. All I can promise is that I'll do my best to fix things going forward, avoid padding, and keep the plot moving at a normal pace.

I've already revised the chapters from the very first one onward, cutting at least twenty thousand words of fluff overall.

As for the plot, there won't be any absurdly toxic developments.

Even when I was padding things out before, I never deliberately added anything toxic.

There won't be NTR, the protagonist pointlessly getting trounced, harem members turning against each other, or the protagonist acting like a lovesick puppy. He won't be so softhearted that he lets his enemies come back again and again, either. If anyone thinks something is toxic, say so right away. I'll verify it, and if it is, I'll definitely change it.

Those things aren't just disgusting to readers; I'd find them disgusting myself. I couldn't even write them.

Jiang Cheng getting beaten down by Cocolia earlier was a brief part of his growth arc.

Rather than taking the easy, risk-free World Serpent route and missing out on the Yae Dungeon, he chose to act like a greedy gambler—and later went completely off the rails and set foot on a Path.

And the results were remarkable. With the strength of a double Pathstrider and a Herrscher as his teammate, all he'd need to do later was get the Key of Corruption in Nagazora and smuggle out a few sets of armor, and his combat strength would skyrocket.

Before returning to the Rail World, that was Jiang Cheng's one and only setback in the Honkai Impact 3rd world. When he takes on Otto later, Otto absolutely won't get an unjustified power-up. The protagonist won't show filial piety to Otto, and he won't be softhearted at any point. There won't be any scenes that make him seem stupid. Unless it's absolutely necessary, he won't take risks or act recklessly. He'll play it safe in everything.

I can promise that a long stretch of what comes next will be pure, satisfying domination, with Jiang Cheng as the main point-of-view character.

There really will be a story arc where he defeats the whole world single-handedly. It just won't involve a great flood wiping out humanity. Jiang Cheng isn't someone who kills innocent people indiscriminately. It'll be more like—

School bullying? He'll beat them up.

Human experimentation? He'll beat them up.

Even the high-ranking officials and powerful elites? He'll beat them up too.

That twisted little island? He'll sink the whole thing.

While still caring for his friends and family, this will be the most uncompromising protagonist I've ever written.

Killing Otto won't just be about taking down an enemy. It'll also be revenge for Kiana.

The protagonist will also become their mouthpiece. As he beats those people through sheer force, he'll also shatter their resolve and leave them utterly broken with his words.

Maybe it's because Honkai Impact 3rd has had several different writers, and the story has had to retcon so much. Some things have been patched up, but the fixes are obviously strained. For example, the Authority of Origin as written by the "Roast Chicken" and "Sailboat" writers. Maybe they'd do anything to advance the plot. In any case, a lot of Honkai Impact 3rd's characters have plenty of problems, like the last thing Jiang Cheng said when he chewed out Cocolia earlier—which was also a shot at Otto and Kevin.

Jiang Cheng will reject the malice of the Honkai Impact 3rd world, and he'll loathe the twisted worldview of the Honkai: Star Rail world, too.

What he'll do about it will depend on what comes next.

In any case, he'll never dismiss other people's plans without having any alternatives of his own. He won't be a headless fly. He'll trample others underfoot while offering a better solution, one that's superior to what they've done.

The plot will be a mix of harem romance and the main storyline. It won't be too tense, but I'll also try not to let it drag.

Now, about the book going premium.

I won't open a bounty. I probably wouldn't get many contributions anyway. Whether I post a bunch of bonus chapters will depend on the first-day subscription count.

If we get 500, I'll post 20,000 extra words—ten chapters.

For every additional 100 subscriptions, I'll add another chapter.

It's probably impossible, but if some big spender really does give a large tip, I'll immediately post a lot more bonus chapters. I won't put it off.

53. Is Otto Going to Force Himself on Kiana? (8,800 words; please subscribe!)

It was as if silent sparks crackled between them. Their chopstick tips parted, then tentatively reached out again—this time toward a piece of tamagoyaki.

"Tap."

Once again, they collided with perfect precision.

"Oh my."

"My, my?"

Both girls let out casual little exclamations, their smiles never wavering. Yet it was as though a crackling electrical current could be heard in the air.

"Wow, this is so good!"

An energetic voice suddenly rang out amid their silent duel. Kiana's chopsticks slipped precisely through the gap between them and picked up a piece of food. She took a good bite, her rosy tongue gently brushing her white teeth, then immediately picked up another piece and casually shared it with Jiang Cheng.

"Jiang Cheng, have some! This is suuuuper delicious!"

"It really is delicious."

A genuine, blissful smile appeared on Jiang Cheng's face. After eating Greek bread for so long, he could finally have something a modern person ought to eat.

"This is good too. You should try some."

...They'd failed.

Raiden Mei and Cyrene realized it at the same time. Their pupils contracted sharply, and both sets of eyes turned toward the oblivious culprit.

Kiana merely blinked, looking completely innocent.

"W-what's wrong? You should eat too. Don't be shy—it's Mei-senpai's house, after all!"

They didn't know why the girl who had seemed so calm, aloof, smart, and perceptive yesterday had turned into this, but the one thing they could be sure of was—

—there was no way she was faking it.

The two girls looked at each other.

That meaningful glance held a tangled mix of emotions—caution, scrutiny, and a subtle sense of shared suffering.

You really have no shame, do you?

"Jiang Cheng" and "Cheng-kun" were eating food served by girls other than me.

They made their decision at almost exactly the same time.

"Cheng-kun, try this."

"A-Cheng, come on, open up~ Say ah—"

Two pairs of chopsticks reached for the bowl in front of Jiang Cheng.

Tamagoyaki, grilled fish, simmered vegetables, pickles... one exquisite dish after another was placed with precision into his bowl, which was already piled nearly as high as a small hill.

"Wait—"

Jiang Cheng hadn't even managed to raise his hand before the food in his bowl rose by another half a centimeter. "That's really enough—"

Two more bites of food landed in his bowl.

"I haven't even finished—"

"Then eat more."

"Yeah, A-Cheng needs to build up his strength~"

The two girls looked at each other, their smiles growing brighter than ever.

Jiang Cheng looked at the food layered in his bowl, piled nearly to the rim, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

He looked up, only to meet those two pairs of eyes, each so different from the other.

He could ask someone for help, but deciding who to ask first was a problem in itself—

Forget it.

He looked at the expectant expressions on both girls' faces, lowered his head, and began battling the food in his bowl.

—Eat!

Halfway through, Jiang Cheng even wondered if he was about to set foot on the Path of Voracity.

Besides lunatics, capitalists, and the hedonistic, that Path also had all sorts of foodies.

To keep them from piling more food into his bowl, Jiang Cheng had to break the rule of not talking while eating—even though he'd never followed it in the first place.

"The biggest organization in the world is Schicksal. The next biggest is Anti-Entropy, which has unified all of the Americas. But beyond Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, there's another organization operating behind the scenes."

"Hm?"

"Who?"

Raiden Mei and Cyrene immediately looked at him in confusion. Only Kiana was still busy eating.

"The World Serpent." Jiang Cheng even used the power of Destruction to burn the food in his mouth to ash. When he opened his mouth, a wisp of smoke came out. "It's the black-robed, masked man Cyrene ran into before. He's one of the World Serpent's cadres. They have the deepest foundations, and they've existed since humanity first appeared in this era."

"Wow, there's a lot going on beneath the surface."

Cyrene couldn't help wiggling her toes as she remarked.

"Don't tell me this world's one of those grim stories that gets delayed and padded out, with the main cast constantly getting beaten down?"

Raiden Mei narrowed her eyes.

Jiang Cheng waved his chopsticks carelessly. "Don't worry. At this point, everyone's in a slump. I'm the strongest person around."

"As expected of A-Cheng!"

The morning passed in a flash. Just as he swallowed the last bite of food, an elderly man with short silver-gray hair and a ramrod-straight posture silently approached Raiden Mei and leaned down to whisper something to her.

After he finished speaking, Raiden Mei immediately put down her chopsticks and resumed the bearing of a young lady.

"Cheng-kun, Father is ready."

"That quickly?" Jiang Cheng was genuinely surprised.

"Chang Kong City has always been Father's personal domain. Once the villain was dealt with, it wasn't difficult for him to take back control."

Raiden Mei explained softly.

Raiden Mei knew how much control the Raiden Family had over Nagazora, even back when she knew nothing about the Inner World.

More precisely, it was because she knew her family ruled this city with the authority of a feudal lord that she'd believed she possessed extraordinary powers when Jiang Cheng had revealed the truth to her.

"Father holds absolute power throughout the Far East. His influence isn't limited to Nagazora."

"If we tried to explain Father's power using the development of a normal modern society, it simply wouldn't make sense."