Nagazora City is the third largest city in the Far East and its busiest trading port, with a population exceeding three million.
At the same time, the city preserves a wealth of Far Eastern–style historical architecture, giving the entire metropolis an air that is both prosperous and richly steeped in history.
This is where the story of the Honkai begins—the starting point and turning point of the narrative. The protagonists met here at Chiba Academy, came to know one another, and fell in love. Yet like a beautiful dream, it was destined to be pierced by the cold and cruel reality.
Of course, none of this was known to Su, the utterly ordinary male high school student of Chiba Academy. At this moment, he was in a convenience store buying instant noodles for his childhood friend and best friend, Kevin.
The moment Su stepped out of the store, a girl who had clearly been lying in wait blocked his path.
She was obviously not here to confess to him.
As for how Su knew that...
The beautiful girl wore a mysterious triangular witch's hat. The crystal ball in her hands emitted a faint glow, illuminating her delicate features. And on her cloak, a glaring tag reading "Halloween 50% Off" stood out conspicuously—clearly something she had just bought from this very convenience store.
Would any girl really dress like this to confess to her crush?
Su didn't need to guess. The girl answered in an enthusiastic tone:
"Lightning splits the sky of Nagazora, and the messenger of the gods is about to descend—kekeke~ O awakened one from afar, tell me, have you come here with resolve? Kekekeke~"
"Is this some new Far Eastern cult?" Su clicked his tongue, having no intention of listening further. "I'm not interested."
He had barely taken two steps when the girl blocked him again at close range. If it were Kevin, he probably would have charged straight through like a wild boar. Su, however, politely stopped—though his expression grew increasingly impatient.
"As everyone knows, encountering a special hidden event often marks the turning point toward an extraordinary journey."
"As for me, Vill-V, I am a hero from the future, a sage bearing the name of Helix—kekekeke~"
A hero from the future? With that bizarre outfit and that pyramid-scheme tone? She wouldn't even qualify as a witch from Cochise Island...
"Since fate has brought us together, I've got plenty of good things here." Vill-V raised her right hand from within her cloak, displaying a pile of props before Su. "Kekekeke~ See this crystal ball that records the future?"
"Since I'm in a good mood today, I'll be a generous soul. Just fifty yuan to cover costs."
So it's a scam.
Su casually picked up a teardrop-shaped leaf from Vill-V's palm.
The girl immediately leaned close to his ear.
"Oh-ho, young friend, you have good taste. From my observation, this is a Bodhi leaf that awakens wisdom. Simply cover your eyes with it, and it will reset your combo counter! Since we're destined to meet, eighty!"
I'm sure everything you're selling is destined for me. And that's clearly just a leaf you picked off the ground.
"Now take a look at this ultrasonic egg-peeling speaker..."
Just as Vill-V was enthusiastically peddling the junk she had prepared for Su, someone behind her interrupted.
"Senior Vill-V? What are you doing here?"
Su looked over Vill-V's head and saw a girl in Chiba Academy's uniform. He recognized her—Akane from Class Three next door.
The pointed witch's hat was no match for Su's height advantage of nearly two heads over Vill-V. Annoyed, Vill-V stood on tiptoe in an attempt to block his view.
"What, looking down on someone who's one meter sixty? I just didn't wear my height-boosting over-the-knee boots and magician's hat today!"
Hearing this, the Chiba Academy girl laughed and grabbed Vill-V's arm, tugging her back.
"Senior, you snuck the club room's fortune-telling crystal ball out again, didn't you? Come on, Mechanical Dynamics class is about to start. If you don't go now, you'll repeat a year again."
As Akane dragged her away, she stuck out her tongue playfully at the somewhat awkward Su.
Only then did Su recall why the name "Vill-V" sounded familiar.
She was the legendary repeat student of Chiba Academy. Rumor had it she had already repeated two years. The reason? She simply never attended class, as though she were merely registered in name.
"Damn it, is it because I don't have a fat bird named Ah-Ji that you don't believe me?"
Watching Vill-V shout as she was pulled away, Su paid it little mind. Kevin was probably getting impatient. Just as he was about to leave, he looked down and noticed the speaker Vill-V had dropped.
Bending down, he picked it up.
"Well... this speaker must be pretty expensive. I'd better return it to her."
Back in Kevin's dorm room, Kevin called out the moment he saw him.
"Hey, Su, you're finally back! Thanks, man. Took you so long—did some girl hit on you again?"
Su removed his windproof cotton cap and set the shopping bag containing the instant noodles on Kevin's desk.
"When have I ever been as popular as Your Highness the Prince? I just ran into a classmate. That so-called legendary truant king, Vill-V."
"Oh, her." Kevin showed little interest in Chiba Academy's infamous class skipper. Instead, he eagerly pulled the instant noodles from the bag.
"Huh? 'Pretty Girl Flavor' instant noodles? What kind of flavor is that? A new release?"
Holding up the boxed noodles printed with a chibi magician spraying water, Kevin looked confused.
"Wasn't it supposed to be chilled pork flavor?"
"Huh?"
Su leaned closer.
The chibi magician design splashing water looked nothing like the packaging he remembered buying.
"What the hell?"
Su snatched the noodles from Kevin's hands. His phoenix-shaped eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
Unlike Kevin, however, Su was not so carefree. He quickly realized what had happened.
"It was that Vill-V. She swapped the noodles when I wasn't looking!"
"Hahaha!" Kevin slapped his thigh and laughed. "Su, does that Vill-V have a crush on you or something? She even gave you Pretty Girl Flavor noodles."
Su wasn't focused on that at all. He muttered instead,
"When did she do it? I was holding the bag the entire time. And how did she know I was buying noodles? She even prepared them in advance?"
"Kevin," he asked, "do you know which club Vill-V belongs to?"