Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

Eternity stretches time so long that every node in between is quite fragile. Therefore, every node needs to be well protected. Things that are meant to last should be made very solid and durable from the beginning, rather than deliberately leaving various hidden dangers and preparing for their eventual obsolescence.

Therefore, the boy would carefully check every part, leaving no nail behind, so that he wouldn't get pricked indefinitely.

A harem like this, where no one truly agrees from the bottom of their heart, needs to be thoroughly examined without delay, not even for a second or a moment longer.

Jiang Cheng didn't even give anyone a chance to interrupt, nor did he have any intention of stopping. Without hesitation, he recounted his true sins, which were things that everyone had been trying to avoid talking about from the beginning.

"Even though we've already been lovers, I couldn't keep myself pure. I fell in love with a third lovely girl besides you."

"I'm sorry, I don't expect you to forgive me now."

"Because what I did was really excessive."

……

Silence spread in the silence, and even the time deliberately preserved by their actions did not elicit any response from any of the girls.

Even Wilvi, unusually, did not offer comfort immediately. She simply bit her lip, her fingertips hovering in the air, unable to reach out.

—Because I can't lie to Jiang Cheng.

At least except for things that are particularly important.

For example, things that could put the teenager in danger or even lead to death, or things that the teenager must do to violate this rule.

No woman in the world can accept her lover's infidelity without feeling guilty. Even in feudal times, after being domesticated, jealousy still existed, let alone for people living in modern times.

Emotions are an inherent part of human nature; both positive and negative emotions are indispensable. As long as one is human, dissatisfaction and jealousy are inevitable.

Humans are not beings capable of maintaining pure rationality. If there is only rationality, it is not life at all, but a machine, a cold cog in a machine.

Reason is a luxury, so luxurious that if one were to casually glance at the world, one might mistakenly believe that reason does not exist at all.

As many people have joked, if an artificial intelligence (AI) were given the order to protect humanity, its first action after connecting to the network and scanning the internet would definitely be to destroy humanity.

Human life is such an incurable thing, existing almost in opposition to the rationality we aspire to, no matter when or where.

Even geniuses don't have that, and they certainly don't want to cross that line.

Incompetent or useless.

This is Velvet.

These are all from Vervier.

More talent is unnecessary, and higher wisdom is irrelevant. Although one could elevate one's life to a higher level if one so desired, it would still be far less valuable than spending a single second with a young person.

Therefore, the girl would not dehumanize herself, nor would she use the suppressed and concealed emotions that even the boy could see to comfort him.

……

265. I need a good beating.jpg

Looking around at the girls with their varied expressions, there was the hesitant and heartbroken Wilvi, the Raiden Mei with her guilt written all over her face, and Alicia, who hadn't seen anything except herself from the beginning, whose dreamy pink-blue eyes, meant for appreciating the world, reflected no color at all—the Fairy was the only girl who still seemed calm at this moment.

If the power from the origin does not cause any ripples, the massive Honkai energy pulsates with every breath, like the reflection of stars and the moon flowing across the sky, and the stream of silver stars does not flow down from the window.

Even the dawn was nowhere to be seen; the sky and clouds, flowing like a veil, were all covered, leaving only the starlight and the flawless moon.

Jiang Cheng acted as if he hadn't seen this scene at all, still pressing his hand on the table, his furrowed brows looking somewhat closed off, just like Mei in the past.

“I firmly chose you all, but not you. I didn’t choose Alicia/Vilvie/Raiden Mei without any hesitation. This is absolutely unfair to any of you. The earlier someone meets me, the more unfair it is.”

“But I can’t even show favoritism because of this, because I really like each and every one of you. I really can’t live without you. I can’t give up any of you.”

"I am such a cowardly person that I can't even make a decision. I can only feel guilty and sad because I know that even if I grit my teeth and make a decision, it won't make any difference if I really give in to my guilt."

"No matter which one I choose in the end, I will only regret not choosing the other person. Whether it is love or hate, I can never be pure."

……

"I... am indeed very dissatisfied with this."

Raiden Mei, the only one who can speak and is close to being a normal person, is incapable of deceiving her own conscience about such matters, let alone the boy. All she can do is lower her head and tell the truth.

Although this truth, this seemingly sincere expression of compliance with the boy's wishes, will displease Alicia and Velvi, and even sharpen their gazes.

This is tantamount to bringing the problems that everyone is avoiding into the open, and putting things that everyone pretends not to care about into the sunlight.

In that case, can Qi really still pretend not to care?

Is it really acceptable for love to be divided?

……

……

"That's good. If you can forgive me for something like this, then I'll start to wonder if you're being too kind."

After taking a deep breath, the boy opened his eyes again. The seriousness on his face vanished, and even the previous remoteness and antiquity in his eyes were gone. The deepness of the deep sea and the inexplicable sense of separation had disappeared completely.

The hands clapping gently, as if humming an unnamed tune, expresses the ultimate joy brought by the relief of inner pressure.

"Gentle and honest people are always the ones who get bullied in this world. Even if they have strength, they will be attacked in all sorts of ways on a spiritual level. It's actually a good thing that you're not so kind."

"Moreover, human emotions are very strange. If you keep suppressing them, they will eventually erupt one day, and then there will be no cure."

"Only by expressing your own demands, speaking out about any dissatisfaction or unhappiness, and properly venting, can you restore your inner health."

……

……

The boy, as if he had never been beaten or taught a harsh lesson by the world, made promises without any limits or boundaries, as if he were giving someone a check that he could fill in any number of.

The gaze in the girl's dark eyes was not as deep and cold as its color suggested; rather, it was a gentle look that shouldn't have appeared, as if she would agree to any action or request.

Even though no one spoke up and no one chose to be the first, the boy had no intention of letting the matter drop and moving on to the next topic.

Their gazes never wavered, never lingered, and even reached a somewhat coercive stage that was not typical of lovers, yet they showed no intention of withdrawing.

—They must be punished.

—There must be a price to pay.

Even if you can't be as twisted as Wilvie and the others, you should at least be as principled and persistent as a girl in terms of your own behavior.

Making mistakes requires punishment, which doesn't necessarily have to be physical. Making promises about the future is also a form of giving.

This is not about making the relationship distant, or why lovers need to be so calculating. It's precisely because they cherish this relationship so much that they cannot accept anything that might cause problems or damage it.

Whether it's symbolic or not, a girl's love might make the so-called punishment so mild that it's practically nonexistent, just a few trivial promises given lightly. This step is still necessary; fairness between lovers is a bottom line that must be maintained at all times.

"So……"

"Jiang Cheng, can you not find a fourth one?"

……

I'm facing a teenager who acts like a child, insisting that he'll stay here and waste time with you unless you impose a punishment.

After a brief hesitation, Raiden Mei finally decided to reveal all her thoughts, speaking without pause about her true desires hidden in her heart—without any pretense, even showing some negative emotions, just as honest as the boy she had been before.

Even before she could finish speaking, her eyelids drooped shyly and embarrassedly, and her flawless, delicate face turned as red as a fiery sunset. She couldn't even lift her head to meet the boy's gaze.

"It's not that I'm trying to stop them or that I'm jealous, it's just that I feel like the three of us are already too crowded, and if we add another one... actually, I am just jealous."

"Joining someone else's harem and becoming a member of it—I never even thought about that, let alone before, four days ago."

The boy could only offer one answer to the girl who was so humble that even making such a reasonable request would make her pupils flicker.

"--certainly."

Without hesitation, he patted his chest with all his might, making a sound that had only ever been heard when he slapped Wilvi's buttocks.

The sound was as joyful as a bird soaring into the sky, or like an eagle finally breaking through the clouds and seeing the bright sunshine in the endless shadows.

"Even if I encounter any force majeure, I will never look for a new one. What is happening now is itself a force majeure."

"Vilvie's departure, Alicia's changes, and my mistaken belief that everything had disappeared... this journey has been far too chaotic."

“I will never allow myself to let you down again. This is something I must uphold no matter what, and it shouldn’t be considered a punishment, but… it seems you won’t make any other demands.”

He still remembers every aspect of his life with the girls, every little memory. Apart from that trip in the middle, everything was about him. The outstanding girls were all so focused on themselves, as if they had no life of their own.

If it were them, making a request would already be a huge step forward. They are such good people that even their bad deeds seem adorable.

"Jiangcheng...I..."

Her voice became rapid, and her deep purple eyes clenched and trembled as if a mouse in the shadows had suddenly encountered a cat.

The previous audio interruptions were so severe that each word seemed to be separated by a world, especially the part before the last sentence, which for a moment made people mistakenly think that the boy was too dissatisfied with the request.

Just as her lips, which were about to open, were suddenly stopped by something, her clear pupils were suddenly reflected with a clear sky that seemed to connect with the sea and the sky. Only a corner of her eye, tinged with the crimson of a Herrscher, guided her gaze downwards, where she saw a gentle smile and a fingertip that was supporting her body and pointing towards her.

—It was Jiangcheng's hand.

—It was Jiang Cheng who stopped him from speaking.

……

"Sorry, sorry, I was breathing too hard when I spoke."

"She's overly strict with herself, yet always lenient with me... What reason is there to deny such a lovely person?"

Watching Raiden Mei, who was looking up anxiously, trying to explain that she hadn't meant to make such an unreasonable request, Jiang Cheng simply tilted his head and smiled lightly like a flawless fairy.

"My answer is, of course, an unquestionable acceptance."

"You've already done a great job by being able to make a request."

……

yes……

The person who can say something like that is the best.

The fairy lady, who had been observing everything, silently continued the second half of the sentence. Her slightly shimmering eyes made even the primordial space that had descended from the outside world rejoice. Even the dazzling moonlight seemed to reflect this happiness.

He says he's just an ordinary person, neither completely good nor evil, unable to do good like a saint, covered in wounds but not caring, and unable to be utterly evil, neither extreme in love nor hate, so he can neither completely hate someone nor completely love someone.

However, in reality, the boy, who is clearly favored and treated unfairly in the harem, is obsessed with the kind of fairness that even a normal one-on-one partner cannot have, and he has extremely high requirements for both parties in the relationship.