Honkai: You're telling me this difficulty is from Honkai Impact 3?!

Once again, they jumped from the familiar windowsill. This time, with Shu's strong insistence, they set off on a completely different route.

Shu clenched his fists, and with his head down, he began walking rapidly, even surpassing Kiana's pace and leaving both her and Bronya behind.

"Bronya," Kiana slowed down, finding it impossible to keep up. She grabbed Bronya's hand, dropping behind even further. "What do you think's wrong with Shu? Why is he suddenly so determined, like a starving person desperate for food?"

That is a rather unique metaphor, Kiana…

Bronya gave Kiana, whose face was filled with confusion, a deadpan look. She then looked at Shu's back, whose very movements exuded urgency. After a moment of thought, she shook her head.

"Bronya does not know…" Bronya paused. "But, Bronya has a feeling… Shu will not hurt us."

"I feel the same way." Kiana nodded affirmatively. "I think he's a good person."

"Achoo!" Shu, who was ahead, suddenly sneezed twice. He froze, like a frightened mouse, looking around, frantically searching for danger.

Even if Kiana's grades were bad and her mind usually resisted knowledge, she couldn't help but think of an idiom looking at Shu's behavior: a bird startled by the twang of a bow.

He didn't seem this alert in the last few days.

Kiana decided to use her brilliant mind to find the reason.

When she was with him, Shu had, although not completely throwing himself into her care, been three parts alert, three parts relaxed, and four parts inexplicably silly.

But now, Shu was radiating a ten or maybe even nine-parts level of alert. It was so high, she wondered if Shu had developed some form of neurosis.

Was there a difference in circumstances?

Kiana fell into thought. She glanced to her side and saw the gray twintail drills. Then it struck her.

The sly fox has been touching my belly all along!

Shu had become like this because of Bronya!

No wonder Shu knew at a glance that Bronya liked Homu, no wonder Shu reminded Bronya alone to brush her teeth and wash up. It's all clear now, it all makes sense!!

Kiana narrowed her eyes, staring at Shu, who was now relaxed, but not completely, yet.

So this is the real Shu… He's actually pursuing a child like Bronya… Tsk, you can't judge a book by its cover…

"A-ACHOO!! Who is it?!" Shu jumped up, looking terrified.

Kiana: "…" I think there might be some minor errors in my reasoning…

The rest of the way was surprisingly uneventful. Although Shu was a bit jumpy, the group soon came together again.

The journey to Chiba Academy was rather long, and it wasn't until late afternoon that they reached the outer streets. Kiana, as if acting as a tour guide, grabbed their hands and began her enthusiastic introduction.

"Look! Look! That hot pot restaurant over there is my favorite! Their beef is so fresh! But for tripe, that other one is much better. They also have so many dipping sauces. I've always wanted to try combining the beef and broth of that restaurant with the tripe and dipping sauce of the other. Unfortunately, neither of them would allow me to take out…"

"Of course they wouldn't!" Shu rolled his eyes. "You just said those things are their pride and joy, part of their trade secrets. If they allowed everyone to take out, how would they make a living?"

"Why not?!" At this point, Kiana became animated and walked backward, facing Shu.

"Why can't they do that? They could also improve their own recipes!" Kiana said something shocking, but her expression was serious. "Wouldn't exchange and combination be the cornerstone of human progress?"

Shu/Bronya: "Huh?"

"Aren't humans growing and developing through communication and learning from each other?" Kiana explained, gesticulating animatedly while walking backward, and nimbly dodging a light pole.

"What is that saying again… uh… cool… right! Learn the barbarians' skills to subdue the barbarians! So why can't you learn from each other's strengths to make a perfect hotpot?"

"It's learn from the strengths of others to counter their weaknesses…" Bronya said quietly, interrupting Kiana's rapidly-forming "hot pot philosopher" persona.

Shu couldn't find a rebuttal, mostly because he didn't want to become embroiled in this conversation.

He had already seen the true reason why the two restaurants couldn't co-exist.

"Aromatic Broth Hotpot" - "Spicy Sichuan Hotpot"

Shu couldn't comprehend Kiana's dream of unifying the clear broth and spicy hotpot factions, nor could he imagine the fusion's appearance.

Yin Yang Pot? No way! That would be heresy to both of them!

Noticing the pity and disdain on Shu and Bronya's faces, Kiana knew that one of her many dreams was slipping away.

"It's really impossible?" Kiana asked, her eyes pleading. "But I want to try it…"

"No." The two were merciless, crushing a young girl's fragile dream.

Kiana walked through the darkening streets, a despondent shadow. Behind her were two other figures of drastically different sizes.

Finally, before the last rays of sunlight disappeared, Shu and his group reached the entrance of Chiba Academy.

"Huh? Where did this barbed wire come from?" Kiana was confused by the circle of barbed wire around the entrance.

Bronya and Shu exchanged a glance. They already understood what it represented.

Kiana also caught on, but she was missing the crucial part.

Until…

"Ki… Kiana?"

Kiana froze and looked up, her eyes lighting up. Before anyone could react, she jumped over the obstacles and threw herself into the arms of the figure she had been longing for.

"Mei! I missed you so much!!"

Kiana's tearful cry brought a relieved smile to Mei's face and a sharp alarm to the person monitoring the situation from the shadows.

Outside the protective barrier, Shu, watching the long-awaited reunion, shed a tear of relief along with Bronya.

This is so moving. I'm just not you, I can't understand the joy of being targeted by knives and lasers.

Damn it, you really couldn't wait even a second?!

"Hey! Who are you?!"

Shu turned his head, tears in his eyes. He obediently raised his hands. Bronya followed, her face impassive as she raised her hands.

"Well, we are siblings, and we just escaped here, as for that girl, you can say we don't know her, do you believe us?"