chsdbacks Page 127
Page 127
……
Now, Theresa finally came to her senses. The smug pride that had been with her head held high, hands on her hips, as if waiting for praise, had completely vanished. In her identical pupils, all that remained was the reflection of the silver-white fur ball that had been crying and biting its lower lip.
I can't understand why it turned out this way.
I can't imagine what he went through to be so sad.
It seems that even when I heard the news of Cecilia's death, the grief that left me frozen in place could only be compared to her expression.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with Jiangcheng?"
"Stop crying, stop crying, your face will be all messed up... Kiana! Niece! Tell me what's wrong, I'll help you. If he did something wrong, even if he really is the Archbishop, I will get revenge for you. I will absolutely, absolutely not let him continue to get away with it and act recklessly."
Ahhh...
Questions?
Is there a problem with Jiangcheng?
The only problem seems to be that she is too gentle and understanding, yet she doesn't act distant enough when it's time to leave. This gives people the illusion that they can get close, become friends, and live with her forever, only to cruelly shatter that illusion one day.
But even though he was about to leave, even though he was about to disappear, even though he was about to vanish from life like his stinky old man, he still... took Mei with him.
Am I inadequate?
Is there something I haven't done?
An optimistic young woman shouldn't have such thoughts. A girl who is called a paramecium should be incredibly cheerful and lively, and should live happily, always sunny and full of energy.
How can it be?
How could a human being be like this?
Only an idiot could do something like that.
If the soul residing in this body were not delicate enough, how could it be so grief-stricken at the time of losing that teacher?
If the emotions beating in that heart are not rich enough, how can one so clearly feel the goodness of others?
The girl who once yearned for her father's love, for a warm family life, for seeing her father on her birthday, and for bravely fighting against Honkai Beasts to protect her injured father, was simply too cruelly and miserably beaten by the world, to the point that she would rely on any love she received without any defenses.
The essence comes from Sirin, from the girl who lost her mother and was kidnapped into the Tower of Babel, enduring endless cruel torture, with all her friends dying one by one, and all she could do was bury their remains with a small shovel. The only time she received love, and the only time she received it after that, was on the battlefield. Even so, she was haunted by the words "I love you" and longed to be reborn as a new self, a new life.
How could a branch of Sirin, born out of a thirst for love, not have a heart delicate enough to feel love?
That's precisely why I can't reprimand Jiang Cheng; all I need to do is go along with what my aunt said and curse him a couple of times.
"He did nothing wrong."
An overly sensible girl would not wrongly accuse others.
"I just find it hard to accept his departure."
Overly obedient girls will only blame themselves.
……
Theresa still couldn't understand these subtle emotions. Strictly speaking, even the truth about Cecilia, the most important person, was covered up layer by layer. This headmaster, who had been part of someone else's plan from beginning to end, had no chance to understand or feel what she should have understood.
On the contrary, Himeko, who was being irreverent, was actually researching Kiana's past every time she saw her silent sorrow, trying to find a solution. Himeko had already gleaned some details from these few words.
Is this a repetition of Siegfried's departure?
No wonder……
Himeko cleared her throat, walked up to the girl, bent over slightly, put her hands on her shoulders, and almost forcefully stuffed her face into those eyes.
"Kiana, don't be sad anymore. Didn't Bronya say that Jiang Cheng has heavy responsibilities? I think he doesn't want to leave his friends so easily."
That's precisely why...
talent……
Those sky-like eyes trembled uncontrollably, a glistening moisture flashing within them. Even though she tried to suppress it, even though her eyes were wide open, even though her lips were bitten, and her expression was tense, tears seemed about to flow from the corners of her eyes and slide down her cheeks in the blink of an eye.
Why could Mei leave with them?
Why does even Bronya know more?
……
……
……
……
It's obvious; even a young girl can tell.
It's clear that Bronya is very familiar with things in Jiangcheng.
It was clear that among the four, only he seemed like a passerby who had suddenly cut in.
Like a wild puppy, she sees a family taking pictures together every day, so she always joins in and leaves her own image in the group photo. Looking at the photo that includes everyone, she subconsciously thinks that she also has a family. It's not until that family leaves that she realizes that she never belonged to that family.
It's wild.
I just happened to be passing by.
However, if a dog happens to be passing by, no matter how much it can't accept this fact, it's best to leave quietly and not bark and ruin the family's good mood.
Ultimately, who can be blamed for this? Wasn't it because Jiang Cheng showed concern for her a couple of times that she couldn't help but approach him and subconsciously assumed that she was a friend as well?
She was even so arrogant as to criticize Mei's domineering nature as a friend... until almost everyone left at the end, when she realized her foolishness.
So in the end, Kiana still managed to maintain her past self, the way she resolutely embarked on a journey to find Siegfried after waking up and discovering he was gone—a journey whose purpose no one knows what she must have been made to decide at such a young age to cross the world and search the entire world to find Siegfried and her family.
"Alright, I'm fine. It's just Jiangcheng. You're making it sound like I'm desperate for family."
"I've never lacked relationships like this. If he hadn't suddenly left, deliberately trying to stir up trouble..."
"Anyway, that's all. Auntie, Himeko, and Auntie, you don't need to worry." She patted her chest as if nothing was wrong, deliberately continuing to mispronounce the names. "This young lady won't be defeated by such a small thing. Before this, I also had a stinky old man, and... and... anyway, don't worry."
……
……
It seems things have returned to normal.
An inappropriate thought is confirmed in one's mind.
So I subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, and thus presumptuously assumed that everything was over.
"Bronya said that an idiot like you could never be defeated by something like this, and the headmistress is also concerned about you."
"Moreover, compared to this matter, the most important thing for Kiana should be the exam. At this rate, Kiana will never become an S-class Valkyrie in her lifetime."
Bronya may never have realized how complex and sensitive the guy who was seen as a paramecium and a fool was inside—perhaps even Jiang Cheng himself didn't realize this.
Subconsciously deceived by that strong and optimistic demeanor, I only remembered the dashing figure of the Flame Herrscher and the dashing style of the Sky Ranger, while ignoring the painful girl pointing a gun at herself.
The struggles in Sky City, the inner turmoil, and the grief of Himeko's death... countless times he was so desperate that he even wanted to shoot himself.
Because Himeko saved her life by trading one life for another, she couldn't die, and because she caused Himeko's death, she loathed herself immensely—the final result was that she disregarded her own life, whether it was willingly being experimented on by the jackals to obtain the first information, or creating that meteor shower in the sky... In essence, just how much did Sirin/Herrscher hate herself to be so tragically corrupted by the core?
When faced with Mei's desire to leave, how did she fight to the very end, even using the power of the Herrscher once again, until she was knocked unconscious and finally calmed down... If she hadn't already carried too much weight at that time, the weight of Himeko's death, and the companionship of others, what kind of tragic state would the girl named Kiana have become?
What are the thoughts in the mind of this girl who wants to find someone who cares about her, someone who used to care about her, but can't recall any other names besides Jiang Cheng and Siegfried?
Theresa, who wants to help but always messes things up, is completely oblivious to the real problem; Bronya is clueless; and Himeko is the only one who might see a little more, but is powerless to help.
Countless dry words combined probably can't compare to—hamburger patties, fried chicken, and a slightly charred pizza. Kiana should feel much better after eating that.
Don't be surprised, this is actually what I like too.
When you're feeling sad, eating delicious food is always a good idea, right?
I noticed you usually enjoy eating, so I thought I'd let you eat more to make you happier. Don't worry, I wasn't spying on you or anything. I just... I'll help with the dishes after dinner, really...
Someone who would even leave all the hamburger patties for one person at every meal, someone who cares without saying a word...
How could someone possibly like hamburger patties that much?
A burnt pizza tastes terrible.
Every single sentence has countless flaws, but when put together, they create an irresistible feeling of warmth.
He says he doesn't know how to comfort others, but he knows better than anyone else how to comfort them.
To be honest, I'm really bad at comforting people. I guess it's because I'm acutely aware that to comfort someone, you first need to empathize, and empathy without experiencing the same thing firsthand is mostly illusory. Those comforting words will only become more like stones thrown at you.
The suffering of one person cannot be compared with that of another, because each instance of suffering is a completely different blow to the heart of an individual. The same thing will have different effects on different people. Just because someone else can endure it does not mean that you must endure it, or that you can definitely endure it. If you can't endure it, it means you are not good enough... This is of course disgusting nonsense.
So knowledgeable, so well-informed, yet why...?
If you didn't want to get involved, you should have just ignored me in the first place.
He let himself cry, let himself be jealous, let himself shed tears alone when he saw Mei and the others' happy expressions... He could have just done that.
……
The true thoughts in her heart at this moment, the real fluctuations hidden beneath the optimistic and proud demeanor of a young girl.
In short, nobody knows.
So everything remains the same.
Only Theresa was still offline, not knowing where the sadness came from or why it disappeared. It seemed that the sadness had been temporarily put to rest, but one could still vaguely feel the lingering dampness on Kiana's body—like the light rain that had been added to countless dark nights.
It should be fine...
……Bar?
Having had so many memories erased that she could barely make sense of her own logic, the girl subconsciously followed along, putting aside Jiang Cheng's question for the time being and continuing to talk about other things.
Himeko sensed there was still a problem, but she couldn't bring herself to speak up directly. As the only one in the group, she was the only one who could easily integrate into their community.
Therefore, they could only follow Theresa's ideas.
They chatted about other things.
Try to change the subject to cheer Kiana up and stop her from thinking about sad things.
In the past, whenever the girl was touched on something that made her sad—such as when she was carrying the weight of a hamburger patty that had been separated from her and a burnt pizza—she resolved it in this way. Although, in reality, the obedient and well-behaved girl sensed the other person's unease and took the initiative to follow the topic to suppress her emotions.
This seemed to have returned to normal, and the conversation continued for over ten minutes, constantly bringing up topics opposite to what had happened before, until finally, Theresa cautiously tentatively asked—
"So... are you going to attend the coronation ceremony?"
"Don't worry, your period will support you."
"Absolutely not, I will never let anyone bully you, even if that Jiang Cheng is the new archbishop."
……
……
……
"--want!"
……
……
……
PS: Please refer to the Sky Ranger's side for details... Kiana was actually very fragile at the beginning, especially unable to accept the loss after gaining it.
Chapter 109 Harem Life with Beloved Women
"so tired……"
"so annoying……"
Looking at the huge pile of complicated documents, procedures, and etiquette rules laid out on the hospital bed, Jiang Cheng was at the point where he didn't even want to open his eyes.
This is the first time I've regretted becoming a bishop.
This will definitely not be the last time.
Even though their bodies were still exhausted and overdrawn, they had to think about and learn those incredibly complicated rituals, many of which they had never seen in the story, or rather, the vast majority of them were things they had never seen in the story. It was as if they had dug out an ancient relic from a 500-year-old ritual that had been stored away in a warehouse.
Even with the help of Mei and Yae Sakura—if it weren't for the two girls, one sitting by the bed massaging his shoulders and the other quickly sorting and organizing things, Jiang Cheng felt he would have been exhausted to death in three days. Even if he hadn't, he would have thought about running away, escaping the floating island, and starting his inescapable fate plan.
"Alright, alright, there's not much left to do. Mistelin said she guarantees this is the last batch."
Raiden Mei, gently massaging his shoulder, could only offer some words of comfort—even she found these tasks too difficult.