Cultivating in Honkai!

As an assassin, Bronya is honed with combat skills. Her combat intuition and application are full marks. Her intellectual quotient is high, too. She can learn a lot of things easily. Her cultivation journey was smooth even without Shi Tian's guidance.

The only thing she lacked is emotional quotient.

Bronya is inexperienced as opposed to the girls of her age. Hence, when Seele started obsessing over Shi Tian, she studied its probable causes.

That was when she learned:

Love is irrational.

No matter how much logic is put into it, it won't make sense sometimes. It is easy to get lost.

For Seele whose entire world revolved around the orphanage, Shi Tian became something far beyond it. She focused on cultivating to hear his praises. Not a day would pass without Seele mentioning his name at least thrice.

Bronya was gradually infected by that fever. She could not understand its underlying mechanisms fully, but she knows its impact.

It is akin to Bronya not knowing a gun's component, yet she knows it exists to kill.

Unfortunately, she did not learn the art of subtlety. Her most logical way to resolve a problem is to approach it face-to-face.

That was what she saw during the past week.

Kiana's attachment to him is obvious; it cannot be explained further. Seele's obsession will inevitably clash with Kiana. The worst that could happen is them falling out.

Bronya sought to prevent this from happening.

As such, she went straight to the source of the problem. She hoped Shi Tian could come up with something…

"I… care for them both."

…except he did not.

"I don't know what to do for now. I never expected you to notice it, too."

"..."

Bronya could not speak.

Shi Tian does not have a sure-fire solution.

Throughout this time, his figure is very reliable. There is no problem he could not solve. His background and knowledge aside, just the "Shi Tian" Bronya knew is nothing short of an impeccable person.

Yet, he fell short to this one predicament.

"...The Bronya understands."

He was about to nod when her words came.

"The Bronya will talk with the two of them."

"No."

His refusal came swiftly.

"Bronya… Think of it. Without a viable solution, how will they face each other? It will make things worse." He stated. "I know things will deteriorate as time passes… but I will come up with something before it happens."

The two of them ended up staring at each other wordlessly.

'He is… like me.'

Her impression towards him changed.

At first, it was pure admiration for someone similar to Bronya's ideal self. She wanted to learn what Shi Tian did so she could become a better person. She is aware of her shortcomings. Shi Tian is her exact opposite.

He started up as an ordinary person, worked his way up while fighting, and turned into the person he is now.

She started up as an experienced fighter, worked her way up to be an "ordinary" person, and turned into what she is now.

Their friendship stemmed from it.

Seeing Shi Tian's flaws did not diminish Bronya's respect; it became stronger.

"The Bronya will help you find an answer. I will wait for your orders."

"...Thanks."

Shi Tian struggled internally before the urge won. His right hand patted her head. Due to their height difference, it was absolutely irresistible.

'It feels… good.'

The sensation of being treated as a cat lasted for three seconds. Shi Tian retracted his arm as he saw the door being opened. The Tuna dashed out as she looked at him.

"Aw, crap! We need to head back. My old man and aunt are done talking."

"You don't want to eat?" He asked.

"No. That's for later! My old man won't stop teasing me!"

Kiana's shortness of breath and signs of embarrassment are telltale signs.

"Let me do it."

Moments later, their figure disappeared from the orphanage.

*****

Sometimes, things are unbelievable.

Yesterday, we are doing our peaceful daily routines.

Today, we fought off a secret organization across the globe.

It took less than half an hour to return to the orphanage. We spent two hours resting and preparing for Raven to wake up. I also checked up on the children and did an impromptu enlightenment session.

I looked at a clock.

10:34 AM.

"Fifty floors… I didn't know my old man worked here."

Kiana did not change her earlier outfit. It is still her beloved orange jacket paired with shorts. I don't know if she picked it up from me, but she started wearing longer shorts.

Wait a minute.

"Kiana."

"Um?"

"Those shorts look similar to the ones you gave me."

Her head paused bobbing. She mechanically turned to look at me.

"Of course it's similar. I bought one design thirty times! Isn't it awesome?"

"..."

"We are wearing matching outfits."

As if on cue, Kiana's smile turned smug. I deliberated whether to suppress my emotions or not… and chose not to. My eyes moved away from her.

This Tuna…

She became like this after I returned.

Was this my fault?

Click.

I heard the doorknob opening. As expected, Siegfried and Theresa came. Kiana gave me another smug look, as if saying I escaped this time.

When the two of them sat down, Kiana closed the distance between us. Her shoulder touched mine.

"You can explain it now, right? Why haven't you introduced him yet?"

Kiana suddenly froze.

"I am responsible for it." I said. "You might have heard of the Second Herrscher's descent. We fought it off but… I got stuck inside the Imaginary Space for an entire year."

""...""

The two Kaslanas went silent. Siegfried, in particular, looked guilty.

"Kiana looked for me during this year. I only came out a week ago."

I explained more details to the two. It's basically the story of how Kiana and I met, our stay with Cocolia's orphanage, and our brief stay in Shenzhou. I also included the things Kiana told me.

It took twenty minutes to tell both Siegfriend and Theresa everything. The surroundings felt more solemn.

Kiana…

I could see she hid a lot of things from her father. I don't know if it is to prevent him from worrying or whatnot. This only made the burden inside her grow.

"So, how are things between you two?"

Siegfried's question broke the silence.