I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

Alicia sat up straight, stretched slightly to relax her body, and said softly.

"However, I am indeed very curious, you know? After all, you two are always together, even when you're on a mission you've never been apart... Everyone would be surprised if they suddenly received your and Wang's wedding invitation one day, just like Hen and Blanca."

Hen is the captain of the Anti-Honkai Squad and a colleague of Alicia, while Blanca was once an assistant to a doctor named Mebius in the Fire Moth Research Department. They are one of the rare couples in the Fire Moth.

"My relationship with Wang is a bit more complicated than you think. As for the kind of relationship you're thinking of..."

Sakura thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"It wasn't like that before, it's not like that now, and it probably won't be like that in the future either."

"Alicia, you knew Nozomi before, right?"

Before Alicia could ask further questions, Sakura took the initiative to ask.

"He values ​​you a lot because of something that happened in the past... right? So... can you tell me?"

"...Didn't he tell you?"

“He doesn’t say, and I won’t ask. He often says that his past is no longer important and he doesn’t seem to care much, but I know that he still values ​​a few things from the past… one of which is you, Alicia.”

"I see... Well, it's not something that can't be said."

Alicia sighed, gently placing her hand on her chest as if to soothe her surging emotions.

"After all... he's one of the few people I haven't been able to help..."

Alicia spoke softly, recounting her time with Xiwang to Sakura in a gentle voice.

Whether it was the wounds left by that detestable priest, or the process of helping Xiwang together with Father Henry later—although they ultimately failed.

She recounted all of these events one by one.

"That's it..."

After hearing this, Sakura remained silent for a while, then smiled with a sense of relief.

She could understand why Xi Wang would give up her original name, even if it was just by discarding a single character, the meaning behind it would be completely different.

Just like the somewhat funny pun-based name "Xi Wang" (曦望), although it does make people laugh and might even lead them to advise others to "choose a more normal name," that's because most people feel that the name "Xi Wang" (曦望, meaning hope) is too heavy, and most people can't bear the meaning it carries. But if the person is willing to accept the name, others will just laugh it off, and it's perfectly reasonable for them to change their name later—that's how it is for others.

But for the person who has this name, changing it has a different meaning, because it means abandoning hope in a sense, especially when they were initially willing to accept and acknowledge the name.

Although it sounds funny, it is true. After experiencing hope only to have it crushed several times, Xi Wang gave up on the name. After all, he had never had it, so how could he bear the name?

Sakura could also understand why Xiwang valued Alicia so much—she was his [anchor point], an anchor point to prevent himself from collapsing in such a desperate situation.

At that time, he had to infinitely magnify Alicia's position in his heart (and Alicia did indeed help him a lot) so that he could withstand the various pressures and events that followed and persevere to this day.

Sakura could understand, and even empathize with, her own similar experience.

Sure enough, they are the same...

“Well… Alicia, as a return gift, I’ll tell you something too.”

Sakura wore a calm smile and spoke in the same gentle voice.

"Actually, the feelings between me and Wang are not pure—neither he nor I are."

"……Eh?"

“When I first met him, I was still in my hometown in the Far East. At that time, my parents had passed away early, my family was poor, and I didn’t have any special skills. I could only struggle to make ends meet. Later, I was recruited by the local gang as a henchman by chance. I was basically doing work that could kill me at any time and earning only enough money to eat rice. If it weren’t for Wang’s arrival, I would probably still be worrying about making a living.”

Sakura spoke softly, reminiscing about her past with Xiwang.

"Although others may have thought that he was leading me into a worse environment, what happened at that time actually helped me. Not to mention that he helped me a lot later, which also improved my family's life a lot."

Because of this, she guessed that everything she and Xiwang experienced later was being guided by someone in secret, and she also guessed that she was chosen to be the sheath to store the sword, but she still let her feelings gradually change and spread.

"Although I was being led around after that, neither he nor I really cared—because we had no choice."

Because they both knew everything clearly, because they both guessed what those people wanted and what they were going to do, they had no choice but to continue and were willing to invest their emotions in it.

He was well aware that his feelings for himself had gradually evolved from his deep affection for Alicia.

She understood that her feelings for him had gradually evolved from wanting to protect Ling from danger and allow her to live a peaceful life.

"It's precisely because we've gotten to know each other quite a bit, and precisely because we've genuinely fallen for each other..."

Because their feelings for each other were not pure, he rejected her at that time, and she was not too heartbroken.

Because they had indeed developed feelings for each other, he invited her at the end, and she gladly accepted.

If things continue to evolve this way, they will probably end up together, letting themselves be overwhelmed by this awkward feeling, letting themselves like, or even fall in love with, the other.

However, their reunion with Alicia interrupted this process, bringing the two back to reality and forcing them to confront the possibility of being torn apart by the poisonous cocoon or even abandoned.

They had no choice.

"That's precisely why...we're not lovers, and we'll never become lovers."

She gently placed her hand on her chest and caressed the cherry blossom pendant hidden under her clothes.

"It wasn't like that before, and it won't be like that now."

He was smiling, a gentle and calm smile, even a happy smile.

"And in the future... there probably won't be another chance."

But she looked so sad.

Chapter Fourteen: So the sky is something you can't touch after all...

Time always flies. Alicia and Sakura's conversation was just a small interlude. Although Sakura didn't tell Alicia about the stories they shared, such as the changes in their feelings or the moments when they fell in love, as Alicia herself said, she wanted to cherish these memories with Alicia... However, after that, Sakura and Alicia's relationship improved considerably.

[But none of that matters now, since the Honkai... to be precise, the Third Great Honkai has arrived, and it happened to be in Sakura's hometown—the Far East.]

[You led your respective teams to the rescue... although in the area where the Great Collapse occurred, calling it a "rescue" meant that very few people could actually be saved.]

Most people are either directly corrupted by Honkai energy and turned into monsters, or they are harmed by humans who have become monsters, and then turn into monsters of the same or similar nature. Very few people survive.

Not to mention the troublesome Honkai Beasts; even you "soldiers" have to handle those things with extreme caution.

Fortunately, the missions you and Sakura received mainly involve "cleaning up the Honkai," which you happen to be good at. As for rescue missions and the more dangerous missions of "killing the Third Herrscher," those will be handled by other teams.

[This wasn't difficult for you, especially for you and Sakura. On the battlefield, your speed in slaying Honkai creatures was absurd. Your team members couldn't keep up with your speed at all, and even started to wonder if they were a burden to you two. In the end, they all turned to helping the rescue team save people.]

As for you and Sakura, you strolled along these somewhat familiar streets, dealing with the wandering Honkai creatures while looking at the destroyed, familiar surroundings... Of course, if you found any survivors, you would report their location directly to the rescue team so they could take over, while the two of you would continue advancing, trying to clear the nearby streets.

Although Sakura left this place early on because of you and moved to Mu Continent with Rin, she couldn't help but feel sad when she saw her hometown destroyed.

Countless people died, streets were reduced to ruins, and cherry blossoms that should have been in full bloom were pushed down and trampled by wandering Honkai Beasts. Everything familiar and unfamiliar was destroyed.

At this moment, Sakura deeply realized what they were about to face and resolved never to let Rin encounter such danger.

[In contrast to Sakura, you didn't feel much. You only showed a slight sadness upon seeing Sakura, Alicia, and many other colleagues grieving over the scene, but that was all; it was quite perfunctory.]

After all, this is not your hometown, nor your home—besides, you don't even have a place you can call "home." You've seen too much of life withering away over the years, and you've long since become accustomed to the thick smell of blood.

For you, only Alicia and Sakura are worth your attention here; the others... don't matter, they're not important.

The Third Great Collapse lasted approximately three days. The campaign to subdue the Third Herrscher was completed on the afternoon of the first day. Although the casualties were heavy, victory was ultimately achieved. The remaining two days were spent dealing with the aftermath. After all, the scope of this Great Collapse was simply too vast, not only covering the entire Far East but also affecting several coastal cities in East Asia, which forced you to expend even more energy to deal with it.

This cataclysmic event also made the leadership of the Firemoth realize that they must start recruiting and expanding the organization, since, based on current predictions, such disasters will continue to occur.

[But after that, who will lead the increasingly powerful Firemoth, and who will have more say... that's another matter for discussion.]

Of course, those things don't concern you for now. After all, you've just achieved a major victory, and as frontline soldiers, you should celebrate. Plus, with new recruits joining, it's only natural to hold a grand welcome party.

Well... although those new recruits still have necessary training before officially joining, they just happened to run into your celebration party, so naturally we brought them in to get to know them!

You spotted a familiar figure among the new recruits—the boy who sat next to you at the Eden concert. He seemed to vaguely remember you, but couldn't recall who you were—which is understandable, given that quite some time had passed since that concert.

[His reason for coming to Moth Chaser was honestly a bit funny—he came after his girlfriend. When they heard this answer, several people in the room burst out laughing, and some even thought he was joking. Of course, when everyone found out who his girlfriend was, they expressed their admiration.]

After all, she was a super "genius" praised and favored by numerous experts and doctors—Mei.

Meanwhile, among the new recruits was a slightly younger girl with a striking silver-gray ponytail. Although her eyes held a hint of confusion, they remained resolute. Even knowing it was a welcome ceremony, she subconsciously maintained a serious expression and upright posture, making you glance at her a couple more times and think that she would likely be a good soldier in the future.

[She's just too nervous. She seems to have no experience with these kinds of gatherings. She's trying her best to act "properly," but there's a noticeable stiffness to it... This kid probably doesn't have many friends.]

[Hmm... I heard she's a survivor brought back by Himiko, the captain of the fifth squad? If it's Himiko, that's not bad. With such an "enthusiastic" captain leading her, I'm sure she'll make a lot of friends in the future... probably?]

Ah, I have to mention this celebration party, which was also an interesting anecdote from the welcome party—because of most people's habits, this celebration party was still held in the form of a "ball party," and since it was a "ball party," there was naturally dancing involved.

[And then... many people saw your unusually conflicted and embarrassed expression when you were invited by both Sakura and Alicia, which amused and amused everyone.]

[After that, rumors spread that you were two-timing... If you find out who's spreading these rumors, you should tie their tongue in a knot and stuff it down their throat.]

However, as the saying goes, happy times are always short-lived. After a day of revelry, everyone must return to their posts and undergo ample training for the battle to come. After all, what you are about to face is no ordinary disaster.

The training for new recruits is being intensive, with almost everyone who passes being assigned to a unit, demonstrating the urgency of the situation.

The white-haired boy also displayed astonishing talent. His monstrous physique made many instructors exclaim, "Is this person really just a student?" In the final assessment, he broke all the records held by Alicia and achieved the legendary feat of becoming a full-fledged member from a recruit in the fastest way. Many in the Fire Moth remembered his name—Kevin.

As for you and Sakura, not much has changed. You're still going back and forth between the three events: the Poisonous Chrysalis mission, the Fire Moth mission, and the walk in the base. Only once in between did Sakura take a break to go back and see Rin. Otherwise, there's basically nothing different.

[Alice introduced you to quite a few people, such as Dr. Mebius, who has various rumors surrounding her in the Firemoth, and her assistant Klein. Along the way, you also met Scar and Blanca, who already have children.]

[This couple, a rare sight among the Flame Chasers... are now husband and wife. They were somewhat surprised when they came to the Mebius Laboratory and saw you and Alicia, after all, this is not a place that ordinary people like to come to. But thinking about it, it doesn't seem so strange that Alicia brought them here.]

Hen and Blanca greeted you warmly and introduced you to their daughter, Gretchen, a lovely girl nestled in her mother's arms, her beautiful purple eyes gazing curiously at everything around her.

You really like this child, or rather, you like children.

After all, it represents the future, it represents hope—although you have given up that "name," it doesn't mean you hate it. On the contrary, you like it very much, and therefore you are quite tolerant and gentle towards children... This is something that others haven't noticed.

Surprisingly, this child also likes you. Even though it's your first meeting, he reached out his hand to you and even wanted you to hold him. This surprised everyone else. Alicia seemed to know something and smiled happily.

[However... I don't know if it's just your imagination, but as you spend more and more time with Gretchen, Möbius has developed some subtle "dissatisfaction" with you, and in the end, even some... um... "hostility"?]

What's this? Are you jealous?

Of course, you don't mind or care about this.

[Perhaps because of Gretchen, Hen and Blanca have also become your friends and have been quite considerate of you. It's just that I don't know why Dr. Möbius's attitude towards you is getting worse and worse. Her sharp words are a bit hard for you to handle, but she hasn't really targeted you, at least not in her actions.]

Life has suddenly become peaceful and easy, which makes you feel a little uneasy.

But... you don't dislike me either.

----------

At night, Xi Wang casually opened the notebook she kept in her room, took out a pen, and habitually wrote down what had happened that day.

[■■Month 14th, 39 stars. Alicia isn't here today. It seems the Fire Moth has given her a mission to catch someone who secretly slipped out of the Fire Moth... The person seems particularly willful. I heard that they caused a lot of trouble for the Fire Moth before, and even publicly declared war on the Fire Moth. It is said that they once sent a challenge letter to the projector in the conference room, which scared everyone at the time.]