As expected, Hokuto had barely taken a few steps before Himeko's shadow loomed over Theresa.
Himeko stared coldly at Theresa, her voice low and grim, "First of all, I'm not interested in blind dates. Second, those failed dates had nothing to do with me. I was a victim too. And lastly..."She placed both hands firmly on Theresa's shoulders."I'm still young... unlike you."
Come on! Let's hurt each other! Who's afraid of who!
"?"
Theresa glared back, but when she noticed everyone else reading the script, their faces gradually turning serious, her curiosity won out.She decided to temporarily let Himeko off the hook.
Cupping the script in both hands, she flipped through it.
After the brief warmth of Chapters 5 and 6, the story took a sharp downward turn.
Kiana had actually been captured by Otto?!
Theresa couldn't stop reading. When she saw herself leading the Hyperion to occupy the third eastern port of Schicksal headquarters, she nodded in satisfaction.
Now this felt more like a real principal!
Unlike before...All those ridiculous...Definitely all Hokuto's fault!And now he was even voicing Otto and taking advantage of her!
Theresa was sure her becoming a glorified mascot in Honkai Impact 3rd was inseparable from Hokuto's evil influence.
She flipped further—
"..."
"Hokuto! Are you serious about this script!?"
Theresa finally understood why Himeko's mood had tanked.This story... was way too brutal!
The others had finished reading too.
All eyes immediately turned to Hokuto.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Hokuto quietly took a few steps back—only to be subtly blocked by Rita's smiling figure.
The others spread out, surrounding him.
However, Kiana simply stood there in a daze.
Seeing this, everyone immediately forgot about Hokuto and hurried over to her.
They all understood exactly how Kiana was feeling right now.After all, the characters in Honkai Impact 3rd resembled them too closely.
Reading the story made it far too easy to immerse themselves fully.
That's why Theresa was always so quick to roast the "other" Theresa in the script.
The immersion was just too strong to ignore.
"Kiana."
Himeko reached out, gently patting Kiana's shoulder to comfort her."It's just a story. Look, I'm standing right here, perfectly fine."
She cast a pointed glare at Hokuto."If it were really me, I would've come up with a way better plan. Hokuto knows nothing about Himeko. I am the real Himeko, got it?"
No one understood Himeko better than herself.
"Come on, cheer up. How about I take you out for drinks tonight?"
"Don't corrupt the child!"Theresa lightly kicked Himeko's shin.
"Kiana's already grown up! She's not a kid anymore," Himeko shot back.
"I'm fine."Kiana returned to her usual energetic self.
"I just realized something. Honkai Impact 3rd really is exactly what Hokuto said it would be: a positive, uplifting, heartwarming game."
Everyone: ???
"Mei, I think Kiana's broken."
"Kiana..."
While Bronya still looked puzzled, Mei had already rushed over, trying to hug Kiana.
Even Hokuto, who had shamelessly described the game as "healthy and positive," couldn't help but give Kiana a side-eye.
"I'm not broken, okay~~"Kiana dodged Mei's hug, laughing helplessly."This part of the story did touch me, though."
"I don't want to become strong only after going through pain like in the story."
She clenched her fists with renewed spirit."So, starting today, Kiana will work even harder!!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
But looking at Kiana's serious expression, their faces slowly relaxed into smiles.
"You really are something else, Kiana."Himeko ruffled Kiana's hair roughly.
"Hehe~~ Thanks, everyone, for caring about me just now."Kiana giggled, playfully goofing around with the others.
Meanwhile, Hokuto remained outside the circle, silently smiling at them.
A young woman's voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"Hokuto, aren't you going to take this opportunity to raise your favorability with everyone? It's a rare chance."
"Hm? Rita?"
Hokuto turned to see Rita's ever-elusive smile.He shook his head."Reality isn't a game. There's no such thing as a 'favorability stat.'"
"Tsk, how pragmatic.At this rate, girls won't like you very much."
Rita tapped her lips with one finger teasingly."Or are you just pretending to be indifferent because you're shy?"
"No." Hokuto's face remained completely expressionless.
"Hmph~~"
Rita gazed at him.In her wine-red eyes, his reflection shimmered like a ripple on still water.
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Even though they're all such lovely girls..."Rita took a few steps closer, subtly narrowing the distance between them.
Hokuto instinctively stepped back half a pace.After a brief moment of thought, he offered a guess:"Are you testing whether I have any bad intentions toward them?"
"No."
Rita's response was swift and firm.
"You've helped us—and miHoYo—a lot.I have no reason to doubt you."
"Even though this world is full of complicated people,"she continued softly,"I believe you're different. You're... special."
Her words...
Hokuto struggled to maintain his calm expression.
"I'm not trying to flirt with you. I'm just telling the truth.Don't misunderstand, okay? Hehe."
Hokuto: ...
He already knew Rita was a dangerous woman—but she was even "worse" than he'd imagined.
"You trust people that easily…"
"Honkai Impact 3rd's value is something you understand even better than I do."Rita smiled faintly.
The meaning was clear:Compared to their individual worth, Honkai Impact 3rd itself was more valuable.
Hokuto really had no way to refute that.Though technically, without them, there would be no true Honkai Impact 3rd.
Still, it was a hard thing to explain.
"Ahem."
Hokuto coughed lightly into his fist, trying to change the subject.
"As a secretary, it's not great to leave your boss speechless, is it?"
He tried to wrestle back control of the conversation.
Rita just smiled mischievously—but before she could respond—
Step, step, step—
Kiana broke free from the group and dashed toward Hokuto.
She clasped her hands together and beamed up at him.
"From now on, I'll be counting on you to teach me even more, Hokuto!"
"You're not holding back at all, huh?"
"Well, would you prefer me to be polite with you, Hokuto?"
Her pure blue eyes looked up at him, full of sincerity.
Hokuto spread his hands helplessly."Fine, fine.Helping you is helping myself.Once you get stronger, you can help share the workload too."
"So I'm becoming a labor tool?"
He wanted to chuckle, but on a whim, he deliberately changed his tone—speaking in Otto's distinctive, magnetic voice, full of scheming undertones:
"Hehe~ Kiana, this is your fortune."
Immediately, everyone's eyes turned toward him.