This time, thanks to Hokuto's foresight—
He had fine-tuned the storyline to help players better understand Mei's emotional journey, optimized the game, and ensured the operations team didn't do anything to damage player sentiment.
He even went out of his way to have Elysia record a special interview between Kiana and Mei.
On top of that, Elysia's impromptu face reveal greatly diverted the players' attention.
The pacing of Lament of the Fallen didn't spiral out of control like it did in the previous timeline. Everything stayed within manageable limits.
Unknowingly, he seemed to have grown quite a bit.
Back during Final Lesson, he never thought this far ahead or made so many preparations.
At the time, had it not been for good luck—and the fact that Honkai Impact 3rd was genuinely a great game—things could have gone very badly.
"Times have changed," Hokuto sighed, checked the time, turned off the computer, and left his office.
Just outside, Elysia had finally finished playing around with Kiana and the others.
"Sigh~~ I'm so reluctant to leave~~"
Okay—maybe not completely finished.
Still, Elysia was someone who knew how to respect boundaries. She simply extended an invitation:
"Kiana, everyone—you're all welcome to visit my place sometime~~"
"Miss Mobius and the others would definitely love to get to know you all too."
Elysia pressed a finger to her cheek, looking thoughtful.
"Miss Mobius?" Kiana picked up on the name.
"Mhm~"
Elysia let out a playful hum. "Miss Mobius is a girl who's a little tsundere, but just as adorable and interesting as I am~~"
Tap—tap—
Just then, Hokuto happened to approach.
"Elysia, if Mobius hears you describe her like that, she'll definitely get mad."
"Hokuto?"
Elysia laughed lightly, "If she were around, I wouldn't have said it like that~♪"
She paused, thinking for a moment. "Hmm... maybe I'd just drop the 'tsundere' part and say the rest? Who knows~♪"
Hokuto: "..."
"All right then, Hokuto. I know you're all clocking out, so let's head home together—we're going the same way after all."
Elysia extended the invitation like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Kiana gave them a curious look, eyes flitting between Hokuto and Elysia.
But considering Elysia's personality, she quickly shook her head and let it go.
"Wait a moment, there's one last thing I want to say to everyone."
Hokuto turned to face the group. He didn't avoid Elysia either—aside from not being an employee at miHoYo, was she really any different from Kiana and the others?
He cleared his throat.
"As for the main story—I don't need to say much. Like always, it stirred up a huge reaction."
"More like massive~~"*N
Everyone couldn't help but chime in.
At this point, if Hokuto were ambushed walking outside, none of them would be surprised.
"Ahem, that's not important. Everything's under control."
Hokuto didn't want to dig deeper into that topic.
"What I wanted to say is—we can start preparing for the next side story. And given how successful the previous one led by Kiana and Theresa was…"
"This time, I'd like to gather everyone's ideas. If you have any good ones, feel free to write a proposal and hand it to me."
"Okay~~"*N
The girls responded in unison—Elysia included.
"Elysia, why are you answering?"
"Well, everyone else did~~" Elysia offered a perfectly simple reason.
Hokuto's brow twitched. "I thought you were volunteering to help make the new Honkai Impact 3rd side story."
"Sigh~~ I don't have plans for that right now." Elysia shook her head.
She did have a fun little story in mind, but it involved everyone—and wouldn't really fit into Honkai Impact 3rd.
Unless Hokuto decided to write all of them into the game.
If that ever happened, there'd still be time to bring it up~♪
With business concluded, the miHoYo staff started packing up and getting ready to leave.
Hokuto and Elysia were the first to go.
...
Since their place wasn't far from the studio, the two of them returned quickly.
"Elysia, has Eden ever considered renaming this place 'Golden Courtyard'?" Hokuto looked up at the apartment building.
"Golden Courtyard?"
Elysia mirrored Hokuto's pose, gazing up at the building. "Why call it that?"
"I just think it suits Eden."
"Ha~~ You mean because Eden's rich?"
"Forget it... it was just a random thought."
Hokuto looked away and walked inside.
Naturally, Elysia followed close behind.
"Now that I think about it, your idea's actually not bad, Hokuto. I'll tell Eden about it."
"I figured you'd say my way of talking was like Kosma's." Hokuto teased.
"Kosma just has a very rich inner world~~"
Elysia flashed a bright smile. "Though sometimes, watching him blush and struggle to phrase things is a strange kind of joy."
She paused and offered, full of enthusiasm:
"Hokuto, want to explore the inner heart of a silent boy? I wrote a book—One Hundred Questions for the Silent Boy. It's quite popular~~"
"'Popular' meaning...?" Hokuto asked.
"That a lot of people have read it."
"...Poor Kosma."
The two chatted as they walked upstairs—
Only to find the door to Elysia's place was wide open, and a rich smell of curry was wafting out.
"Don't tell me Mobius took the chance while I was gone to throw a curry instant noodles party with Kevin?"
Elysia covered her mouth dramatically and crept closer.
Hokuto, overhearing, was filled with nothing but tsukkomi energy—but didn't know where to even start.
They reached the doorway and took in the scene before them.
Mobius sat at the dining table, face grave.
"Mobius?" Elysia stepped inside.
"Elysia!?"
Mobius shot up, grabbing her by the arm.
"You're just in time. Klein made a lot of delicious curry—come eat with us."
"Curry?"
"Yeah, sweet pepper curry."
"Sweet pepper curry?" Elysia's expression shifted.
Shaa—
At that moment, the kitchen door opened.
Klein emerged, struggling to carry a massive pot.
"I made a lot. Doctor, please eat as much as you like. There's more if that's not enough."
Bang!
She set the brimming pot of sweet pepper curry down on the table.
Mobius: "..."
Sure, she had been the one to say she wanted sweet pepper curry—but that was before finishing the main story.
Afterwards... she really didn't have much of an appetite for it anymore.
Of course, she could force herself to eat some.
But...
Mobius eyed the mountain of curry Klein had made—it was just way too much.
So she resorted to a fallback plan:
Invite others to help share the burden.
After all, there's that saying—
"Shared joy is double the joy, shared sorrow is only half the sorrow."
With that in mind, she turned her gaze to Hokuto, still standing at the doorway.
You with the surname Hokuto! Don't even think about running!
There's no way Mobius would forget the real culprit here.
And Elysia had more or less figured out why Mobius looked so off.
"This..."
"Hmm..."
Klein looked at the visibly hesitant Elysia, then at the motionless Mobius:
"Doctor, weren't you the one who said you wanted sweet pepper curry? You look like... you think my curry isn't good?"
"Of course not," Mobius shook her head.
"Then..."
"Klein put in so much effort—let's all eat together, don't hold back."
Just as Klein was about to speak again, Mobius cut her off and unusually took the lead in welcoming everyone.
She pushed Elysia toward the table, then went to the door and shoved Hokuto inside.
"You're already here—might as well stay for dinner."
"..."
Standing at the entrance, Hokuto paused a moment, then smiled:
"Sure. With curry smelling this good, I'm actually a bit hungry."
"Heh~~ If you like it, then eat as much as you want," Mobius replied coldly.
"Then I won't hold back."
Hokuto remained unaffected by Mobius's tone and sat down ready to dig in.
Mobius, seeing how pleased he looked, couldn't help but sneer:
"No wonder you can write such cold-hearted scripts. You really don't seem fazed by anything."
"I just feel happy seeing Klein act so normal. That alone puts me in a good mood—and when I'm in a good mood, my appetite's good." Hokuto replied earnestly.
"Hmm?" Mobius caught a strange nuance. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Did I say anything?" Hokuto blinked innocently.
Mobius stepped closer, stared him down, and pressed:
"Don't think you can brush this off so easily."
"..."
"You'll know what I mean in Honkai Impact 3rd, Mobius."
Hokuto seemed like he was trying to reassure her, but Mobius picked up a second meaning in his words.
Her brow furrowed slightly.
"So you're saying, if I don't agree to appear in Honkai Impact 3rd, I won't get to find out?"
"Well, that part of the story just wouldn't get written. I'd be pretty stuck."
Hokuto showed a troubled expression, but quickly returned to normal.
"But, Mobius, you really don't need to overthink it. In the end, it's just a game."
There's no Herrscher of a Thousand People in this world.
Klein wouldn't be controlled and forced to kill Mobius.
And Mobius wouldn't devour Klein posthumously to restore herself.
"I know that. I don't need you to remind me."
Despite her words, Mobius narrowed her eyes, her cold gaze flickering over Hokuto.
Hokuto stood calmly under her scrutiny, letting her examine him as much as she liked.
A moment passed. Mobius averted her eyes.
She didn't say anything—just...
"...Hmph."
Snorted lightly.