Chapter 4: …

∴“I don’t think this will work.”

Wuliangta Himeko said this while looking at Kiana, who had turned pale.

To be precise, she had noticed Kiana’s condition during her speech on the bridge earlier today, then again after boarding the plane, and now, almost five hours later, she finally could no longer hold back.

“Mei, can you explain? What’s wrong with Kiana?”

“Well, um, Major Himeko, you have to believe me, it’s very complicated, not something I can explain in just a sentence or two.”

Rarely, Mei began to evade the question.

This only piqued Himeko’s suspicion further. The so-called answer could be figured out with just a little thought. The formula for the answer was simply Kiana × Mei plus a Bronya in the middle, or Bronya + Mei – Kiana.

The possible equations were only these few, and the answer was that Kiana again felt isolated by Mei and was now living in an island of loneliness within her own heart.

“Hey~ I’m telling you, Mei, can’t you be a little aware that you tend to attract weird girls around you?”

“N-no, that’s not true, and besides, Kiana and Bronya are not weird girls at all.”

“So, you know it all along!”

“…Major Himeko, please forget what you just said.”

“Sorry, but my memory isn’t as bad as that idiot next to you. You really have a hard time with your talent for attracting strange girls.”

“Ahhh! I already told you, that’s not true! And when I was in school, I was popular with boys too!”

“Ohhh, so Mei-senpai is about to start talking about her past love life~”

Himeko leaned forward slightly, and from this angle, because she deliberately left a few buttons undone near her collar, one could easily see the tempting ** exposed beneath her fair neck and collarbone.

Her left foot rested on her right knee, showing off the mature, long curve of her legs wrapped in black stockings. One hand gently supported her tilted face. Her eyes, squinted with a smile, looked like a pair of translucent rubies, and her pinky lightly touched the edge of her lips.

Her alluring red lips, along with the small motion of biting half a fingernail, made her mouth look like a cup of fine wine, already poured and fragrant, inviting people to taste its aroma.

“Hmm!!”

Himeko’s intentionally flirtatious state was clearly too much for Mei, who suddenly turned her head away with closed eyes, speaking with almost the determination and tone she used in battles against the Honkai beasts: “I—I don’t have a love life! And I don’t only like girls!”

“Wow! Surprise! Mei, you actually like boys too? Are they from our fleet? Who is it, who?!”

“Pfft!” Kiana, who had been lying in her seat pale and gray, suddenly spat out blood.

“I already said it’s not like that! I just said I like Kiana (the idiot suddenly revived), Bronya (suddenly depressed), but I also like boys. And when I was little, my biggest wish was for a prince to take me away from my dad, then marry me and I’d be a good wife (deadly attack!).”

“Wooah~ What a pure little girl’s wish~” Himeko smiled mischievously, then looked at Kiana sitting in the front seat and said, “Hey hey, Kiana, did you hear that? Your senior Mei’s wish is to find a good man to marry and be a good wife~”

“Waaaah! Don’t say that!”

“Hey hey hey hey, Kiana, what’s wrong? Wah! Why is your eye bleeding?!”

“It’s okay, that’s just tears.”

“…That’s not tears, that’s bloody tears! That’s worse than bleeding!”

Watching these two girls awkwardly caring for each other in panic, Himeko laughed again. Though she had laughed many times today, this time she was genuinely happy, because in their relationship she saw her past self and her classmates from the same generation.

Maybe not everyone in the class liked each other, and some couldn’t get along, but there were always one or two friends they could feel close to. Mei and Kiana — Himeko once had close friends, comrades, and besties just like them.

Only… time is a cruel killer, and no one can escape its poison.

“Young… it’s so good~”

Yes, it’s really good. To hold onto the best of everything.

“Hello, sir, do you know this person?”

The plane carrying them landed about five kilometers from their destination. To avoid unnecessary attention and considering the poor roads here, the Tianming branch left an off-road vehicle for them.

After about ten minutes of driving, they arrived at the place with Theresa’s file information for Himeko.

Located in a small town called Xinwang in southern Sichuan, China.

Himeko immediately headed to the elderly locals to inquire, because compared to young people who rarely come back from working outside, only these old folks who stayed in town would notice strangers or returning family.

“Oh? Oh? Ohhh! Young lady, are you looking for Teacher Yao?”

The old man first reluctantly shifted his gaze from Himeko to the photo, examined it carefully for a long time, then confirmed. But his thick Sichuan-accented Chinese made Himeko feel like her Chinese was fake.

Meanwhile, Mei and Kiana looked utterly confused. Mei didn’t understand the heavily accented Chinese, and Kiana, who always scored 10/100 on foreign language tests, was just lost.

After a lot of effort to understand the old man’s meaning, Himeko asked, “Teacher Yao? Is he a teacher here?”

“Of course, Teacher Yao knows a lot. Us old men, and even the kids, if we don’t understand something, we go to him. Whether it’s fixing TVs, refrigerators, water and electricity, or teaching and answering questions, he knows it all. Oh, he even treats people. That’s why we call him teacher.”

Himeko’s head felt like it was about to explode from the flood of Sichuan dialect. She even felt like calling the plane back to get a translator.

Mei and Kiana’s eyes spun like spirals.

It was tough for them three—despite their efforts learning the language, as two Japanese and one European, learning Mandarin itself was hard, let alone the torture of listening to Sichuan dialect… pure hell.

“I’ve told you many times, Grandpa, to learn some Mandarin. Look at these three ladies all confused.”

Finally, a voice they could understand came from a young boy carrying a bamboo basket.

He was quite young, maybe 13 or 14, younger than Kiana. His exposed skin was a healthy wheat color, and the muscles on his forearms were impressive for a kid his age—likely from doing farm work.

Because of this, he had a sunshine-like smile full of energy.

“Hey, kid, how do you talk like that? This is our local dialect, get it?”

“Yes, yes, local dialect, local dialect.” The boy skillfully took a thermos out of his basket and handed it to the old man.

“Grandma told you to hurry up and help harvest the wheat.”

“What? You’re not here?”

“Teacher~ You know it’s June now, the teacher is out in the mountains clearing his mind.”

“Oh, that’s right, that’s right. Well, take it slow, I’m off. Oh, young lady, if you’re looking for Teacher Yao, just follow this brat. Okay, bye.”

“Bye, Grandpa, watch your back.”

“Stupid kid! Your grandpa is tough!”

The old man deliberately showed off his spine, took two strides, and moved with the speed of a sprinter.

“Wow, Grandpa’s awesome!”

The boy expressionlessly waved goodbye to the old man, then turned to look at the slightly dazed Himeko and the others.

His eyes scanned all three of them, but politely avoided their chests and legs, instead focusing on their hands, legs, and eyes—as if judging their danger.

“Uh, that old man sure is full of energy.”

Though the boy’s eyes avoided awkward spots, his unhidden hostility and military-like alertness made Mei feel uncomfortable.

“Ah, don’t mind him. If I don’t say something, Grandpa would just stroll back slow and get beaten by Grandma again.”

“Ohhh, your grandma’s really something!” Kiana asked.

It’s worth noting that despite this boy’s terrible test scores, miraculously, he wasn’t bad at conversation… as long as it wasn’t tongue twisters or idioms.

“Ah, after all, the deadliest weapon for men in this world has always been their wives.”

The boy, younger than Kiana, said the timeless truth men have known for millennia.

Then he said, “You’re military.”

Not as a question, but as a statement. The boy’s whole demeanor changed as he said it.

Himeko frowned slightly, stopped Kiana from doing something, bent down, and said to the boy, “Little brother, why do you say that? I look like a pretty big sister to you.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

The boy was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly turned his face away, his bronzed skin slightly flushed as he answered.

But in the next moment, he took several steps back and shouted, “Don’t shake your shameless huge breasts in front of me! I won’t be tempted!”

[You don’t look like that at all.]

The boy patted his chest hard, stomped his foot, and said seriously.

“You brought the teacher’s old photos and you’re not from here, plus a foreigner. It’s obvious you know about the teacher’s past. But give up, the teacher won’t go with you!”

After saying this, the boy ran into town as if trying to escape them.

“What! What’s this brat saying?!” Kiana was agitated but not impulsive, looking at Himeko crouching with veins bulging on her forehead, sensing trouble.

“Shameless… that brat!!! To call a mature woman’s weapon shameless!”

“Major Himeko, calm down, calm down, don’t forget the mission. Mission!”

The red intense aura and resentment solidified around her, making her look like a demon about to explode. Passersby were scared and avoided her to not provoke the furious woman.

Mei was anxious because the dean of Theresa Academy had specifically told them not to cause trouble here, and Himeko’s current state looked like the prelude to a rampage with a chainsaw.

“Playing this snake-skin mission, that brat, I’ll show him what respect for elders means!”

“You’ll get in trouble if your instructor sees this~”

Mei was surprised to hear that, and Kiana cleverly made a V sign toward her.

“…Alright, I’ll calm down… and go ask around more.”

Himeko stood, her wine-red eyes sweeping the surroundings. Anyone who met her gaze trembled and quickly ran away.

Within seconds, an empty no-man zone appeared around Himeko…

“Why do I suddenly want to kill someone?”

“Colonel, calm down. Mei and Kiana will handle gathering intel. You rest here for now.”

“…Okay, you two have half an hour free, then gather here.”

That’s about it for today! Also, since I’m writing two books, this one updates every other day. The other book, called “The Gods of Uhehsim”, is an original work.

If you’re interested, feel free to check it out!