Finally, she bowed gently to the three people at the door of the cafe, and then disappeared into the dark night.
After Rita left, the store manager suddenly stood up and kicked Kiana's heel.
"Hey."
"Ouch!" Kiana, who was kicked unexpectedly, almost fell down. She turned her head and glared at the store manager angrily, "What are you doing?!"
The manager glared back at Kiana and said, "Go take a shower! Are you really planning on repairing a few tables until tomorrow morning?"
“Ah?” Kiana’s eyes widened even more. She covered her chest with her hands, her whole face flushed red. “You, you, you, you—what do you want to do?! You said you would let me go after you fixed these things. Do you want to go back on your word now?!”
"What nonsense are you thinking?" The store manager's nose was crooked with anger. He kicked Kiana's heel again and said angrily, "I told you to take a shower and go to bed! There is a vacant room on the second floor! Why, do you want me to make your bed myself?"
"Ah?!" Kiana blinked, confused for a moment, "You, you want me to stay here?"
"Nonsense, otherwise do you still want to run away?"
"No, no, no, no!" Kiana quickly shook her head, "That's not what I meant!"
"Why don't you go? The bathroom is on the left side of the second floor. I'll bring you some clean clothes later. Do you have any other questions?"
"No, no, I'll be there right away." Kiana stood up swiftly and ran towards the stairs.
She suddenly turned her head and smiled brilliantly for the first time in a long time: "Thank you, manager! I knew you were a good person!"
The young store manager rolled his eyes. He looked at Kiana's back as she disappeared at the end of the stairs and muttered, "Do I need you to tell me that I'm a good person? You little brat is so talkative..."
"Haha, store manager, is that the type you like?" The long-haired dancer walked up to the store manager with a gentle smile on her face.
"You've known me for so long, don't you know my type?" The store manager turned his gaze from the stairs to the dancer's face, "Let's not talk about that unfortunate thing for now, how do you feel about this, Rita?"
"Thanks to the store manager's concern, this is completely tolerable. As long as I go back to the cafe and spend some time there, the feeling of being excluded will probably disappear soon."
"No matter how minor it is, it is still the world's rejection of you. Although your existence won't be wiped out like mine, you will still feel uncomfortable." The store manager shook his head, "Really... You should just let me handle it."
"Let you handle it, and then cut off all ties with this world as usual?" Rita said softly.
"I don't have much connection with this world, so let it be." The store manager shrugged, looking indifferent.
Chapter 46: The Store Manager’s Past
Before realizing that his true identity was the captain of the Hyperion, Yufan didn't even know which world he had traveled to for a long time.
He realized the true nature of this world when the world bubble he first traveled through was on the verge of collapse.
He is not a hyperthymesia patient like Fu Hua, so after the passage of time, Yu Fan today does not have many memories of that time.
But even so, he still remembered how confused he was at that time.
All around me were people I had never seen and places I had never heard of. Aside from the fact that the language was fortunately common, even the common sense of physics and chemistry that I had learned in school before traveling through time was completely invalid in that strange world.
At that time, he even thought that he had traveled to some strange magical or fantasy world.
He spent several years trying hard to adapt to everything in that world, build good relationships with people around him, and even gain a certain social status.
But just when he was about to completely integrate into that world, the end came unexpectedly.
Everything was collapsing. Monsters that seemed to have been seen more than once somewhere appeared one after another from the sky and the ground. People both known and unknown were constantly dying and disappearing around.
At the same time, facing a life-and-death crisis for the first time after traveling here, he finally awakened the power that he had never had the chance to use.
With that power, he summoned the unsinkable ship of eternal reincarnation, and used this power to restart the collapsing world.
It was at that time that he came to the "sea" for the first time and observed that world from an external perspective. He finally realized that the world was just a dream and who he really was.
The world bubble, the quantum sea, and the Hyperion that can travel freely in the sea——
——Captain of the Hyperion in the Collapse World.
To be honest, when Yufan first realized his identity, he actually had the urge to curse.
He was not unfamiliar with Honkai Impact 3rd. Before traveling to this place, he could even be considered a very loyal Honkai Impact 3rd player, and had a very deep impression of the sweet and sunny plot.
But no matter how familiar he is with the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd, it is impossible for him to know something that even the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd itself did not describe at all.
As we all know, the plot of Honkai Impact 3 is generally divided into two parts, the "activity line" in which a character named Captain participates, and the "main line" in which the Captain's true identity is Himeko Murata.
Unfortunately, although the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd depicts the story of the captain who travels through the quantum sea, the only thing that is not included in the known stories is "the captain's past and origins."
When he called out the Hyperion, he even wondered if there was a being called "Ferryman" behind him.
Fortunately, after confirming several times that there was no lady named Rosemary who had sneaked into Hyperion, and after not finding anything left behind by other people, Yufan finally confirmed that he was not a being separated from the ferryman, but a living human being.
But at the same time, he also realized that if he was the original captain, then according to the story of the collapse he had seen before traveling through time, he would most likely end up like the ferryman.
Unlike the intrinsic world depicted in the "main line" that occupies most of the text, he, who is active in the "activity line", only knows a very small part of what may happen in the future. But even so, no matter how small it is, the advantage of "knowing the future" objectively exists for Yufan.
In order to avoid becoming a ferryman very similar to a certain "partner of justice", he worked hard as Captain Hyperion.
He accepted the Dream Witch who was condemned by thousands of people; and gave a stable residence to the Sage King who was rejected by his hometown world.
He also became the most solid support for the magical girl; he broke the fate of eternal confrontation between vampire hunters and vampires and allowed the sisters to live happily.
There are many stories like this, including people he knew before traveling through time and also complete strangers... He kept saving people and breaking the inherent fate during this journey, and in the end, even the rules of the Quantum Sea were completely reshaped by him.
There is no doubt that although he is still the captain of Hyperion, as an outsider, he has already surpassed the ferryman who has become a life-calculating machine.
During this process, he had already been honest with the girls who had always been with him, and told them the fact that he was a time traveler.
Of course, they would not change their opinion of Yufan because of such a trivial matter.
But precisely because they know each other well, it is naturally easy for Rita to see through the store manager's duplicity.
Having said that, Rita did not show any mercy in exposing this dishonest store manager.
As for the reason, it is very simple -
"If you really think so, then Rita won't say anything more. For me, your own thoughts are the most important."
"But compared to this kind of thing..."
The soft and tender tongue gently licked her lips, and Rita's eyes showed a look of desire as if a gourmet saw the most delicious food.
"Mr. Store Manager, should you fulfill the promise you made to everyone?"
——Compared to exposing the store manager's duplicity, this matter is obviously more irresistible to Rita.
The store manager rolled his eyes and said speechlessly, "Didn't you just say that as long as you spend some time in the cafe, the feeling of being excluded by the world will soon disappear."
"Even if it disappears soon, that's a matter for the future." Rita gently squeezed her fair thighs, looking at the store manager with eyes full of tenderness and hope. "If we are rejected by the world after using our power, the store manager will help us relieve that distress. As the captain, you made such a promise to everyone long before this cafe was formed."
"Given your character of keeping your promises, you shouldn't go back on your promises, right?"
Chapter 47: The Witch's Punishment
"Uh..." The store manager looked at the mist in Rita's eyes, opened his mouth, and said in a self-deprecating tone, "Are you sure you want to stay here?"
"Of course we have to continue in the evening, but..." Rita walked in front of the store manager, raised her head slightly, and smiled seductively. "Before we start the main course, let Rita enjoy some appetizers first. I think the manager doesn't mind, right?"
"I think you need to have a clear understanding of your position..." The store manager took a breath and suddenly revealed a ferocious expression. "You should be prepared to beg for mercy after you seduce me so unscrupulously."
"How could that be?" Rita blinked pitifully, with a look of teasing or fear in her eyes that she couldn't tell. "I believe the store manager will treat me gently, right?"
The store manager clicked his tongue and said, "...One last question."
"Since you have decided to seduce me tonight, why did you go out of your way to establish a sensory sharing relationship with Rita in this world?"
"I just simply feel a little unhappy." Rita smiled.
"Unhappy? To whom?"
"You must have figured it out, so why bother asking?" Rita stretched out her slender fingers and gently circled the store manager's chest. "I punished someone because I was displeased with that person."
"Rita in this world? Has she offended you?" The store manager frowned. "No, you knew her before?"
"How is that possible? This is the first time I meet Rita Rossweisse in this world." Rita shook her head slightly.
"Then why do you have such a big problem with her?" the store manager asked with some confusion.
"Of course it's because she has the same face and the same name as me, but she is not in love with the store manager, but is obsessed with someone else." Rita smiled gracefully. That smile was beautiful, but it made people feel a chill down their spine. "I remember the store manager said that it seems that it is the subordinate of the Saint King, General Youlan, who is the equivalent of him in this world. His name is Youlan Dai'er, right?"
"Uh..." Seeing that beautiful yet dangerous smile, the store manager couldn't help but shudder, stunned, "I should have told you the story of this world a long time ago, right? You actually remember it until now?"
"Mr. Manager, don't you know that girls are very vengeful?" Rita smiled.
"...I think I need to explain for Rita in this world first." The store manager scratched his head awkwardly. "Although she and that Yulandel have a good relationship, they are not in love with each other. Well, probably."
"The fact that the store manager has such a misunderstanding already explains a lot." Rita narrowed her eyes. "It's better to nip misunderstandings in the bud."
The store manager was a little amused: "No, the Rita in this world doesn't know us. Your unprovoked hostility is too——"
"That's unreasonable, isn't it?" Rita slightly put away the smile on her face and winked playfully, "But Mr. Manager, don't forget that Rita is a rebellious witch."
"Of course a so-called witch can't be reasonable from the beginning, right?"
The store manager was helpless: "Your speech is really full of the demeanor of a big boss."
Rita smiled. "In the eyes of ordinary people, even in the eyes of the 'Rita' who just left, am I not just an evil boss with a bad heart?"
"A boss who begs me for mercy every night?" the store manager said dimly.
"Who told the store manager to be so rude to Rita every time?" Rita's face flushed slightly, and she glared at the store manager with a slightly angry look, her tone was both resentful and aggrieved, "I was crying and begging for mercy, but the store manager still held my shoulders tightly and kept bumping into me."
The store manager couldn't help but blush, and argued awkwardly: "I don't think this is my fault. You are too charming and I can't control myself."
"Since you can't control it, then don't control it." Rita's eyes were blurred. She stretched out her hands, put them around the manager's neck, and then slowly put her arms together.
"You witch..." The manager sighed and held Rita's slender waist with both hands. His palms slowly slid to her back as they approached each other.
Under the dim light, two blurry shadows, like liquid droplets touching each other, gradually merged into one.
On a moonlit night, a dark shadow passed over the sky above Tianqiong City.
In the main control room of the Eos, Rita, who had already removed her armor, sat in front of the console and gently rubbed her brows. In front of her was a dark screen.
Just a few seconds ago, she had just cut off the communication with Otto. Although she didn't want the mysterious cafe to stand against her, out of duty, she still truthfully reported to Otto the disastrous defeat she and the Immortal Blade suffered, as well as the known information about the cafe.
Fatigue surged over her like a rising tide, but Rita knew that now was not the time to rest. She was the vice-captain of the Undying Blade and had to fulfill her duties as a Valkyrie, which naturally included finding out the truth about the Honkai incident that broke out in Sky City.
Honkai is the common enemy of all mankind, and as an S-class Valkyrie, in the absence of Captain Yulandel, Rita has the most responsibilities to bear in this city.
Just at this moment, her communicator suddenly rang.
Someone accessed her communication channel.
"Rita, can you hear me?"
Rita breathed a sigh of relief. She turned on the visual communication and opened the control room's screen to the other party's communication channel.
"Lord Yulandel, please rest assured. The situation here is not as dangerous as you think."
"Really? That's good."
In the picture, the knight girl with golden curly hair nodded and immediately asked, "The headquarters just received your distress signal. I thought you were in danger and was about to rush over."
"Although we did encounter a slightly dangerous person, but—"
Halfway through her words, Rita's expression suddenly changed slightly.
Her breathing became a little faster without any warning.
"But what?"
The blonde girl on the other end of the line asked.
"Ah... no, but..."
"Why does your voice sound a little strange?"
"No... No, that's not the case, Master Yulandel, you heard it wrong."
Chapter 48: Empathy, Communication
To be honest, being rejected by the world is indeed a very uncomfortable feeling.
Everything around me is rejecting me. The specific manifestation of my feelings is that I begin to involuntarily want to leave everything.
It's like a person with acrophobia looking down at everything from tens of thousands of meters in the air, or a person with trypophobia seeing a swarm of thousands of insects.
The nausea that almost made her want to vomit, the dizziness that was enough to make an ordinary person lose consciousness immediately, plus the fever that was equivalent to a high fever... Several symptoms that could be classified as serious illnesses in medicine made Rita want to escape from this world as far as possible in a physiological sense uncontrollably.
- Of course, as a well-trained S-class Valkyrie, it is not that difficult to overcome these physiological reactions that are quite unbearable for ordinary people.
