The moment Valerius answered, countless people were stunned.
Most people in the Honkai: Star Rail universe already believed Valerius stood above the Aeons…
But wasn't this taking it a little too far?
He could withstand all of the Aeons at once?
[Herta: Heh. That question wasn't rigorous enough.]
[Ruan Mei: Valerius's answer was rather clever.]
What exactly did "withstand" mean?
There were countless interpretations.
Did it mean barely holding them off?
Or effortlessly crushing them?
The answer wasn't clear at all.
[Jing Yuan: What a pity Mr. Valerius isn't from the Xianzhou Alliance.]
Jing Yuan sighed with envy.
If Valerius belonged to the Xianzhou…
Wouldn't he finally be able to retire in peace?
He still remembered that, as a child, his dream had been to become a wandering swordsman.
Instead, he'd become a Xianzhou General, burdened with endless responsibilities.
If Valerius were one of them…
He could resign without a single worry.
[Cocolia: Heh… Valerius belongs to Belobog.]
Cocolia felt immensely pleased.
Having such an incredible son-in-law filled her with pride.
She had to admit…
Bronya really did have excellent judgment.
[Cloud Retainer: Ahem… cough… cough…]
[Shenhe: Master, are you feeling unwell?]
[Cloud Retainer: This One has merely caught a slight chill.]
[Ganyu: ...]
[Ningguang: ...]
You're an Adeptus.
Catching a cold? Really?
After answering the first question, Valerius picked up the second card.
[Question 2: Big Brother Valerius, will you take Klee fishing with explosives? Pleeease? Pretty please?]
"…Uh…"
This one genuinely caught him off guard.
It was obviously from little Klee.
And this was supposed to be anonymous.
Yet she'd signed her own name.
Jean was probably already on her way to arrest her.
[Ruan Mei: ...]
[Herta: Such a waste. What a waste.]
[Dr. Ratio: The people of Mondstadt should seriously improve their preschool education.]
[Jean: Um… Klee… you can't go fish-blasting.]
Valerius couldn't help laughing.
Since it was Klee's request…
He decided to agree.
After all…
Little Klee was just too adorable.
"Of course."
"I can take Klee fish-blasting."
"But we won't do it in Mondstadt."
"I'll take Klee to an uninhabited planet instead."
[Klee: Yay! Fish-blasting! Hook, Hook! Are you coming?]
[Hook: Yes! Hook wants to go too!]
[Jean: Sigh…]
[Natasha: …Sigh…]
Two resigned sighs echoed almost simultaneously.
Since Valerius had already agreed…
There wasn't much either of them could say.
Fortunately…
It would be on an uninhabited planet.
At least nobody would get hurt.
That much was acceptable.
Valerius picked up the third card.
"This…"
This question left him even more speechless.
Klee exposing herself was understandable…
She's a child.
But you're an adult.
How did you expose yourself too?
[Question 3: Do you like me— (crossed out)… Do you like Seele?]
[Natasha: ...]
[Cocolia: ...]
[Bronya: ...]
Good grief.
Before, they had only suspected Seele had feelings for Valerius.
Now…
She wasn't even trying to hide it anymore.
[Seele: Who asked something like that?! That's awful!]
[Lynx: Sigh… Yeah. I have absolutely no idea who it could've been.]
[Yae Miko: Oh? I wonder who could possibly have written that. Such a mystery.]
[Dehya: Looking at everyone else's questions… I suddenly feel intellectually superior.]
[Candace: Pfft… Hold it in… Pfft…]
[Silver Wolf: I'm going to die laughing.]
Inside Qlipoth Fort…
Seele awkwardly glanced toward Bronya.
"Who wrote that?"
"They're terrible."
"How could they ask something like that?"
Bronya quietly looked at her.
"Seele…"
"You like Valerius?"
"What?!"
"No way!"
"I could never like him!"
Like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on, Seele reacted instantly.
Bronya could only sigh.
You've already exposed yourself.
What's the point of denying it now?
"It's a shame."
"I was actually hoping to set the two of you up."
"…What?"
Seele froze.
Was Bronya being sarcastic?
Bronya rolled her eyes.
This girl really is hopelessly dense.
Right now…
Mirror Flow lived with Valerius.
Although nothing had happened between them yet…
Who knew when friendship might evolve into something more?
And now…
Tingyun had moved in as well.
Officially she claimed to be keeping an eye on Phantylia…
But who knew what she was actually thinking?
Bronya had already accepted Shenhe.
Accepting Seele wouldn't be difficult.
Besides…
Seele belonged to Belobog.
The more ties Valerius had to Belobog…
The less likely he was to leave one day and never return.
Inside the arena…
Valerius reread the question several times.
Only after confirming it really was Seele's question did he smile.
This girl…
She's honestly adorable.
"I do."
Since the mission required honest answers…
He answered truthfully.
The instant those two words left his mouth…
Seele's heart blossomed with joy.
Outwardly, however, she forced herself to remain composed.
"This Valerius…"
"How could he possibly like me?"
"What do you think?"
She even shot Bronya a smug look that practically screamed:
See? Not my fault.
Your Valerius likes me first.
[Yae Miko: Now that's some juicy gossip.]
[Seele: Valerius is terrible… He already has Bronya. How can he like me too? Anyway, I'm not interested in him at all.]
[Robin: Miss Seele… please stop talking…]
Everyone was dying to laugh.
Not interested?
Then why did you ask that question?
[Sampo: Oh my~ Oh my~ This is getting interesting, isn't it, Miss Seeeelle?]
[Seele: Shut up.]
[Sampo: Last time I met Valerius, he told me he doesn't like girls who are too temperamental.]
[Seele: Mr. Sampo… I'd appreciate it if you'd stop talking now.]
[Keqing: Pfft… That attitude changed pretty quickly.]
[Ruan Mei: Sigh… That question still wasn't precise enough.]
[Dr. Ratio: Love and liking are two entirely different concepts. Negative points.]
[Yanagi: Didn't Valerius say before that he had a favorable impression of all of us?]
[Nicole: That's right… He even said we had special privileges and didn't have to go to that Demon Realm.]
[Miyabi: So… the "like" Valerius meant isn't the same "like" we're thinking of?]
[Dr. Ratio: Correct. One point awarded.]
[Seele: What do you mean?]
[Jing Yuan: In other words… if the question had asked whether Mr. Valerius liked me, he'd probably answer yes as well.]
[Seele: But you're a man!]
[Dr. Ratio: Exactly. Therefore… this 'like' is not that kind of like.]
"…I-I knew that."
"Hmph."
"I didn't need all of you explaining it."
Seele's mood instantly plummeted.
So…
It wasn't the kind of "like" she'd hoped for.
Thinking about it…
That made sense.
She and Valerius hadn't actually spent much time together.
Most of their interactions had been playful banter during the games.
She didn't even know when her feelings had started changing.
Perhaps…
It was from the moment Valerius had appeared and shown her worlds she'd never imagined before.
"Seele…"
Seeing her obvious disappointment, Bronya gently patted her back.
"Don't listen to them."
"I know Valerius better than they do."
Although she said that…
Bronya couldn't help feeling conflicted.
My best friend likes the man I love…
And I'm the one comforting her.
"…You really mean that?"
"Ahem…"
"W-What are you talking about?"
"I don't have feelings for Valerius."
"Right."
"Of course you don't."
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