"Did it actually restart?"
It was the same familiar cafe, the same familiar companions. The wounds on their bodies had completely vanished, with only the mental exhaustion proving that the girls had just escaped a desperate battle.
Bronie and Veliona pinched their own thighs, exchanging glances with expressions of disbelief.
"Not only can we load saves, but we can do it manually... This advantage will definitely be mine!"
After confirming she wasn't missing any necessary parts, Bronie seemed to have a realization and hurried to rush outside.
"Bronya suggests Bronie calm down first. We can only load saves; we haven't found a way to break the deadlock yet. If things develop the same way as before, we will probably continue to be trapped here..."
Bronya grabbed Bronie, who was about to rush outside, and pulled her back.
"The power that white-haired guy with golden eyes possesses is on a completely different level from us... Is he really a Herrscher, or something else weird?"
Veliona held Little Seele in her arms and gave her a fierce squeeze, complaining with a bit of frustration.
"That is why Bronya requested a restart... If Bronya's conjecture is correct, we were missing certain conditions to face this final boss, which caused her to be in a state of health-locked."
"Of course, Bronya also has another conjecture: this is indeed one kind of ending, a Bad Ending where everyone or half of the party is wiped out... This might also be the true ending of the Previous Era civilization."
"And what we need to do is not just clear this existing Bad Ending, but create a new side-ending."
"You mean this World Bubble is a multi-ending trial?"
After Bronya's guidance, Bronie, also a hardcore gamer, suddenly came to a realization.
"Indeed, before this, we were more like bystanders watching the story's progression, only truly participating at the moment the Herrscher of Finality appeared."
"This wasn't our mistake... Since we knew almost nothing about this world at first, we naturally didn't dare to randomly interfere with the story's progression."
Bronya shook her head, indicating that this was not everyone's fault.
"So, now we know one thing: if we still follow the original story's path without interfering, it will lead to a Bad Ending."
"Sister Bronya, but Seele thinks that if we interfere randomly, it might also lead to a Bad Ending... The people here don't feel like pre-set programs to Seele, but like living human beings."
"If we do something wrong, we might be treated as enemies by the people here."
Short-haired Seele, who was being squeezed by Veliona, also offered her own opinion.
"Hmm... Seele is right. Since there is a Bad Ending inherent to the World Bubble itself, we naturally also have to consider the Bad Ending line for our own squad."
"Although we can theoretically load saves and respawn infinitely right now, no one wants to try it out, right?"
Bronya looked at everyone, and they all shook their heads at the same time.
"A confirmed Bad Ending route, and a potentially existing but unknown Bad Ending route of our own... What we need to figure out now are the variables..."
"What kind of variables would change the current outcome, and what kind of variables would send us down another path to a Bad Ending? Hmm... Does anyone have any thoughts?"
Bronya turned to her teammates, deciding to brainstorm together.
"..."
The scene fell silent, and then at the exact same moment, everyone looked up and spoke a name that had left a deep impression on them all.
"Elysia!"
"Hmm... It seems everyone is of the same mind. The target is clear then."
Bronya nodded, as if finalizing their goal.
"The center of the story, or rather the World Bubble, is Miss Elysia."
"Ah, that Miss Pink Elf... Back when something like this happened at her birthday party, we were completely caught off guard from the start."
Bronie and Veliona sighed in deep agreement.
"Sister Bronya, Seele thinks Miss Elysia is a good person..."
Short-haired Seele also offered her own perspective.
"Hmm, Bronya knows... Actually, I think everyone in Fire Moth knew back then..."
"So, the key variable for a successful run is Elysia's death... We need to make sure Miss Pink Elf survives, right?"
Bronie scratched her chin in frustration, seemingly stuck in a stalemate.
"But... if we directly stop Mr. Kevin and the others from killing Miss Elysia... we might clash with Fire Moth's own ideology. Almost everyone there is a victim of the Honkai, which means if we openly speak up for a Herrscher... we're the ones who'll be in deep trouble."
"No, Bronie, don't be so discouraged... Have you forgotten? Miss Elysia's party only invited the Flame-Chaser MANTIS and us, so we have plenty of room to maneuver. After all, looking at everyone back then, the feeling of reluctance was actually the dominant one."
"Are you saying... we should go persuade the remaining Flame-Chasers?"
"Exactly. Thinking back now, everyone's expressions were actually wavering... Perhaps some had already resigned themselves to fate, but that doesn't mean they were willing to accept it."
"Then, Big Sister Bronya, who should we start with?"
Seele posed a new question.
"Of course, we'll start with those two psychic MANTISes, Mr. Su and Miss Aponia. If we get their help, our operation will be more than just a little bit easier..."
"But, if Seele remembers correctly, Miss Aponia placed a suggestion on the entire Fire Moth, didn't she? Something about never giving up hope on defeating the Honkai... Killing a Herrscher perfectly fulfills that requirement. Those MANTISes might be able to resist the suggestion's influence, but the ordinary people..."
"Oh, little girl, why are you worrying so much? Once we persuade her, we can change that mental suggestion however we want!"
Veliona rubbed Little Seele's head vigorously, interrupting her somewhat worried speech.
"Kid, hesitating will only lead to failure. Remember, when it's time to act, you act!"
Short-haired Little Seele nodded thoughtfully at her Big Sis, though it was unclear what truth she had just realized...