Honkai Star Rail: Make Honkai Great Again

Chapter 246 246: Herta: ?

"You're not worried about her safety at all?"

Worried?

Of course she was worried. But she also understood clearly that if something truly unexpected had happened, the one in real danger would probably be the entirety of Penacony. Kiana's safety, on the contrary, would be guaranteed.

Her greatest concern regarding Kiana stemmed from her somewhat reckless way of doing things, as well as the incident after she returned to Izumo, when she had fallen into a deep slumber.

But the drifting Memoria here showed no signs of having been contaminated by Honkai energy. At the very least, that guaranteed one thing—Kiana had not fought here. She had not used Honkai power on a large scale.

Moreover, if Kiana had once again fallen into the same condition as she had in Izumo, her friend would have had no reason not to contact her or someone else.

She was indeed worried. She also wanted to see Kiana as soon as possible. But she rationally understood that the possibility of Kiana encountering real danger was nearly zero. Most likely, the situation in Penacony was simply too complicated, and some rather troublesome circumstances had arisen.

"Then do you know where she is now?"

"Why don't you guess?"

It seemed the earlier answer had been the truth. This Miss Fool truly did not know Kiana's current whereabouts.

"Thank you for the gift you brought me. I like it very much."

"That's it?"

Sparkle looked a little surprised. That shouldn't be all, right? She had delivered such a gift the moment she arrived in Penacony, and there was nothing else she wanted to say or ask?

Acheron fell silent for a moment before asking, "Then what exactly happened here?"

"Who knows?" Sparkle seemed in a good mood now that she had spoken. She replied casually, "But there's a bit of gossip saying that the featured singer of the Charmony Festival has also gone missing."

"Hey, Ranger, do you think your friend might have secretly abducted someone's little sister, so her brother got angry?"

Though Sparkle called it gossip, and she herself had only just arrived in Penacony with no way of verifying the information through other channels, if Robin had also disappeared, then that aligned perfectly with her own suspicions.

It was very likely true.

Even if the words had come from the mouth of a Masked Fool.

"Tell me, why would she go and abduct someone's little sister for no reason?" Sparkle continued with a grin when Acheron remained indifferent. "Don't tell me they eloped together?"

The corner of Acheron's mouth twitched. She discovered that this Fool and that Trailblazer both enjoyed making a fuss about this particular topic.

Are they so certain I won't draw my blade?

"So, what did you seek me out for?"

"Can't it just be that I'm kind-hearted and did a good deed?"

"In that case, thank you for your kindness." Acheron nodded. "I still need to look for someone. Let's part here."

She intended to end the conversation with this so-called kind-hearted Masked Fool.

She needed to verify the truth of these messages herself. She needed to personally investigate and confirm the situation here. Only then could she decide whether to continue interacting with this kind-hearted Miss Fool.

"Sure." Sparkle smiled brightly as she handed over a card. "Trust me, beautiful Ranger—we'll meet again. But whether the Sparkle you see next time will still be kind-hearted... that's hard to say."

After Acheron took what she offered, Sparkle transformed into a burning fox mask. Drawn downward by gravity, it fell—only to be reduced to nothing by the flames before it ever touched the ground.

But Acheron paid no attention to the mask or to Sparkle's disappearance. Her focus was drawn to the item Sparkle had given her.

It was a thin photograph. The background showed a lavish ballroom, distinctly in Penacony's style.

But what truly caught Acheron's attention was the content of the image.

In the photo, Kiana was dancing with a woman she did not recognize at all. Her memory might not be the best, but she could say with certainty that Robin did not look like that.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the photograph. She lowered her gaze and stared at it for a long time before finally letting out a soft sigh.

You really are fickle, Kiana.

She had come to help a friend, yet she ended up dancing with a stranger—and someone had even taken a photo and delivered it straight into her hands.

Acheron was familiar with every glance and every smile of Kiana's. She could tell what that slight curve at the corner of her lips meant.

That was the look she wore when she was about to play some sort of prank—the anticipation and excitement just before mischief unfolded.

There was no point guessing what she had been doing at the time.

After looking at the photo the Masked Fool had given her for a while, Acheron calmly split it into two copies and sent them to two different people.

[Ruan Mei: What is this?]

[Herta: ?]

She had no intention of offering an explanation. She simply sent the photo to Ruan Mei and Herta.

After all, she couldn't be the only one feeling uncomfortable about this.

This could count as a small way of expressing her dissatisfaction.

She couldn't let Kiana think that her tolerance was a good thing. It was time for Kiana to have a headache of her own.

If she didn't give her a little warning, Acheron suspected she would only grow more and more flirtatious—approaching anyone she found attractive.

Just imagining a future where Kiana casually struck up conversations with strangers by the roadside made Acheron's vision darken and her chest feel tight.

That absolutely could not be allowed to happen.

"What is this?"

The brilliant Miss Herta seemed to have encountered a puzzle. She frowned at the photo that had appeared on her phone, then glanced at the sender.

Kiana?

She narrowed her eyes and recalled recent events.

"The Astral Express crew should have reached Penacony by now, right?"

Holding her phone, she lightly tapped the back of it with her fingers. The last time Kiana had contacted her, she had asked for study materials related to Memoria studies. Herta had told her to finish reading about Stelle first before getting back in touch.

[Herta: Have you seen that brat?]

—Message failed to send

—User is not within communication service range. Please try again later.

Not within communication range?

That meant Acheron was not with Kiana either, and most likely did not know where she was.

"Interesting."

No wonder she had suddenly sent her a message.

Penacony. Memoria...

She should still be in Penacony. There was no need to doubt that.

But why had she suddenly developed an interest in Memoria and come to her for study materials? Just because she felt like it on a whim?

"Stigmata?"

Herta connected the dots.

She had gone to help someone. She needed knowledge in that field. She had lost contact. Putting those together led to one conclusion.

So she was researching experiments related to stigmata and Memoria. In other words, she was most likely still within a stigmata world.

Having figured out her current state, Herta turned her attention back to the photo Acheron had suddenly sent.

There was no doubt it had been intentional.

She did not recognize the person in the photo.

She had never seen her before.

She looked decent enough.

With only a single photo and nothing else, Herta found it difficult to deduce any further useful information.

It was just that smile...

The more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

"When she said she was going to help someone last time, wasn't she wearing that exact expression?"

Her memory had always been quite good.

Penacony, hm?

...

Still within the stigmata world, Kiana had no idea what was happening outside. Right now, she was gazing with satisfaction at the masterpiece she had worked so hard to create over the past several days.

"Then let's begin the final step."

Kiana looked toward Araya. To fully stabilize this nearly perfected world, Araya needed to complete the last stage.

Araya gave a slight nod. No words were necessary. She knew exactly what she had to do.

The Araya who resembled a miniature version of Kiana reverted to her original form. Pure white wings unfurled behind her. Like a deity grasping fate itself, she effortlessly resonated with the entire world.

"Araya is going to inscribe this world," Kiana said, turning to the two who were not suited to remain here any longer. "This space is about to become extremely unstable. Why don't you wait outside for a while?"

Robin could not help but ask in concern, "Aren't you coming with us?"

Black Swan, who had come precisely to record all of this, chose to stay despite Kiana's warning. "I'd like to remain and witness the final moment."

She had personally taken part in constructing this space.

There was no reason for her not to witness its completion.

However...

Black Swan looked at Araya, who floated silently in the air, waiting for their discussion to end. After her gaze lingered on her for a moment, she turned to look at Kiana and Robin.

Her expression became somewhat strange.

The fact that Araya could change forms did not particularly surprise her.

Such things, though uncommon, were not rare among Pathstriders. Besides, they were currently within a stigmata world.

What truly gave her that odd expression was the two people standing beside her at this moment.

One bore a striking resemblance to Kiana, yet possessed a halo and wings. And by sheer coincidence, there happened to be a beautiful Halovian girl with a halo standing right next to Kiana.

"If you stay, it might be—wait, what's with that look?"

Kiana had been about to persuade Black Swan not to take the risk, but when she noticed that peculiar gaze, she instinctively followed it to Robin.

After a brief moment of thought, she immediately understood what was going through Black Swan's mind—and why her expression was so strange.

"Well, I didn't expect you to figure it out. That's right, it's exactly what you're thinking!" Kiana suddenly draped an arm over Robin's shoulder and leaned against her, looking at Black Swan with exaggerated seriousness. "Just like you think!"

Upon realizing that Black Swan had misunderstood something, Kiana's playful side flared up. Not only did she fail to clarify, she deliberately struck a pose to deepen the misunderstanding.

Why?

Because it was interesting.

Robin had not yet recovered from Kiana's sudden closeness. Hearing her say that only confused her further. What was she talking about all of a sudden?

But when she saw the mixture of surprise, relief, and other complicated emotions in Black Swan's expression—eventually settling into understanding—she belatedly realized something.

She had misunderstood.

And Kiana had no intention of correcting her.

Is it...

When her gaze brushed against Araya, Robin recalled how she had once mistakenly assumed Araya was also Halovian like herself.

Her heart jolted.

Feeling Kiana's hand resting on her shoulder, countless thoughts raced through her mind.

She thought she had figured it out.

"No wonder," Black Swan murmured thoughtfully. Though curious, pressing into such private matters would be inappropriate. Their transaction was not yet complete, and she had yet to receive the memory Kiana had promised.

She had no intention of offending Kiana at this moment.

Not asking?

Not even curious?

When someone was up to mischief, they tended to feel more motivated. Seeing Black Swan's calm reaction, Kiana felt a hint of disappointment despite the speech she had prepared in her mind.

"Back to the main issue," Kiana said. "This place may become rather dangerous soon. For your safety, I strongly advise you to wait outside."

Before Black Swan could respond, Kiana added pointedly, "Especially you. You've abandoned your physical body and become a memetic lifeform. You're more susceptible to influence. If you get trapped here and assimilated into this world, I won't bother fishing you out."

Those who walked the path of Remembrance were always bold and confident in their abilities.

Black Swan was no exception.

But the moment Kiana mentioned assimilation, she recalled the previous time—within Kiana's memories—when she had undergone an experience that could only be described as terrifying.

The words she had been about to say were swallowed back down.

Although the rewards had been abundant, she had no desire to relive that horror.

The shadow of that experience still lingered too deeply. In the end, Black Swan chose to heed the advice and left temporarily with Robin.

After seeing the two of them out, Kiana took a deep breath as she looked at the stigmata world she had built with her own hands.

Truthfully, she was not entirely confident.

Whether it would succeed was merely a feeling.

But if it did, then Izumo afterward...

"I'll leave the rest to you," Kiana said expectantly to Araya, entrusting her with the final step. "Begin."

As she watched the transformation of the entire stigmata world unfold, Kiana nodded to herself while another thought surfaced.

How much time had passed outside?

She had not been deliberately keeping track.

The process was not long. Kiana did not wait very long at all.

[Dreamland of the Idealist]

A uniquely shaped stigmata descended before Kiana, its pattern emitting a faint glow.

[Dreamland of the Idealist (Stigmata · Incomplete): A top-tier artificial stigmata created by human hands. It contains limitless potential, yet seems to be missing something?]

It was not a complete stigmata, because that was not its true purpose.

After inspecting the semi-finished stigmata and confirming that everything was in order, she put it away.

"Mother, I will return to rest for a while."

Kiana had not expected Araya to say that. After thinking for a moment, she realized Araya likely intended to digest the gains from this process. She smiled.

"Then get some proper rest. If you run into any problems, come to me anytime."

"Mother as well," Araya replied softly. "I am always by your side. If you need help, call for me at any time."

Araya departed.

Only after she vanished did Kiana leave as well, preparing to find Robin and Black Swan.

But with Araya temporarily withdrawing to assimilate what she had obtained, what about Black Swan?

Their transaction was not yet finished.

Was handing over the memory just like that too simple?

Forget it. The agreed time was after everything concluded. She would think about it once the matters in Penacony were resolved.

Kiana returned to the Reverie.

Robin and the others had entered the stigmata world directly from the dream. They should still be dreaming now.

Back in reality, Kiana subconsciously glanced at the date—and froze.

Several days had already passed.

Then she noticed the unread messages.

Mei had sent her several messages. The most recent one was also from a day ago, mentioning that she had arrived in Penacony and asking where Kiana was.

And then there was nothing more.

[Kiana: Sorry, Mei! I've been inside the stigmata world these past few days. I didn't realize so much time had passed!]

[Kiana: I'm in the hotel lobby right now.]

There were also messages from others.

She skimmed past the usual chats, focusing instead on the brief messages from Ruan Mei and Herta.

[Ruan Mei: Did you run into another difficult problem?]

[Herta: Have you seen that brat?]

The dates on all of them were from one day earlier.