This must be the legendary Hare. She stayed completely hidden right up until the final chapter. Before transmigrating, Shun never had any chance to learn what kind of person she was.
"Excuse me, you should be Hare, right?" Shun asked tentatively.
"That's right. Actually, I've been waiting for you for a very long time, Shun." Hare turned around and looked at the stunned Shun as she spoke, gazing at him as though regarding an old acquaintance from long ago. Yet in reality, this was their first meeting.
Shun stared in disbelief at Hare as she turned fully toward him. It was a face that would be unforgettable to any veteran Captain an absolute embodiment of the "thief" spirit among Honkai Impact 3rd Captains...
"Cecilia..." Shun murmured unconsciously. Yes, that's right the Hare standing before him had the exact same face as Cecilia. For Shun, this was undoubtedly a massive shock.
Ask any old Captain with the bearing of a hero who hadn't fantasized about Cecilia boarding their ship? They waited and waited, even until the true Kiana appeared, until the story reached its final chapter. Countless Captains who dreamed of playing the "thief" had already quit the game, and Cecilia still hadn't shown up.
And now you're suddenly telling me that World Serpent's executive Hare has an identical face to Cecilia...
Seeing Shun's reaction, Hare didn't seem surprised at all, as if she had anticipated it. She looked at him and said, "It seems you do recognize me or rather, you recognize this face that is identical to Cecilia Schariac's, without the slightest difference. What a coincidence. As it happens, I recognize you too, Mr. Shun."
"Holy shit, what the fuck!" How does it feel like everyone knows me? Am I really a transmigrator? Shun felt a deep malice from the world itself. Gray Serpent knowing him was one thing, but now even you a character who never appeared in the plot at all are acting like we're old friends. Isn't this going a bit too far?
At this rate, forget scheming against Otto under this information asymmetry, not getting played to death by that bastard would already count as him having high game sense.
"Relax. I believe you have a lot of questions in your mind right now, but please don't rush. I'll explain everything to you properly." Hare's gentle words seemed to carry a kind of magic. Shun, whose heart had been jumping with anxiety, instantly calmed down after hearing her.
But he quickly snapped back. "Mental-type ability... She can't read minds too, can she...?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Shun. You may have some misunderstandings about me, but I don't read minds." Hare spoke as if she had read his thoughts, comforting him but she didn't realize this only made it seem worse.
"Fine, I believe you." Though it was rash to trust someone so casually, Shun had no other choice. If there had to be a reason, it was that trust requires no reason.
Okay, just like how in Penacony the old Yang easily trusted Acheron from the start but never fully trusted Luocha, Shun had the same kind of reasoning.
How could someone with a face like this possibly be a bad person (good person)? Though judging by appearances is impolite, in the Honkai world there's still some logic to it.
Just like how Kokonoi in every world can't possibly be a good person someone who looks exactly like Cecilia, how could she possibly be a bad person? In other words, even if he got tricked, he'd be happy about it.
After figuring this out, the knot in Shun's heart finally unraveled. He realized his worries had been completely unnecessary. A sense of relief washed over him, and his mood lightened.
Seeing the relieved smile appear on Shun's face, Hare couldn't help but smile faintly as well. She gently waved the banner in her hand, as though casting some mysterious magic. In an instant, the two of them appeared in a beautiful garden.
The garden was filled with blooming lilies pure white as snow, releasing an enchanting fragrance. Sunlight filtered through the clouds, shining on the flowers and making them even more dazzling. A gentle breeze brushed past, causing the lily petals to sway lightly like dancing fairies.
Shun was captivated by the beautiful scene, his eyes sparkling with surprise. He couldn't resist reaching out to touch a lily, feeling its soft texture and fresh scent. In this moment, he seemed to forget all his troubles, immersing himself in this peaceful and wonderful sea of flowers.
"This is also one of your abilities, right..." Shun knew that just regulating his own mood wouldn't achieve something like this so quickly. The one responsible for his current state was obvious.
Hare didn't reply. She walked over to a rattan chair in the garden, beckoned to Shun, and gestured for him to come sit beside her. Shun didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down right next to her.
Looking at this somewhat familiar scene, Shun muttered casually, "Are you going to say 'Hey, how does it feel?' next?"
Having finally relaxed after his memories recovered, Shun was in the mood to crack a joke. Unfortunately, the person beside him wasn't that sly Miss Pink Elf.
"If that's what you want me to say... Hey! How does it feel?" Hare played along and imitated perfectly.
Hm, the mother-in-law version is pretty nice too, but if he really had to choose, he'd still prefer Miss Pink Elf saying it.
"I feel... really good right now..." Sensing the breath of life in the garden, Shun sighed even though he knew this garden was most likely fake.
"Is that so... That's good then. Now, allow me to give a simple self-introduction. After all, I promised Gray Serpent I would train you properly. Let's start by getting to know each other."
"My name is Misteln. Misteln Schariac." Misteln held the banner emblazoned with the same lily as the Schariac family crest, speaking in a tone full of reminiscence.
"Of course, you can also call me by my World Serpent codename Hare."
Shun thought for a moment. Indeed, before transmigrating, he had never heard this name. And Hare having the surname Schariac was within his expectations or rather, if she looked exactly like Cecilia but didn't have the Schariac surname, that would be the strange part.
"Then I'll just call you Misteln from now on."
"Oh? I recall that in World Serpent, everyone usually calls each other by their codenames." Although over these years Misteln had only met one "person" Gray Serpent and Gray Serpent almost never called her by her original name, she was still curious why this Shun, who felt so familiar in her memories, chose to do so.
"Hm. If there's a reason... I'm not actually a World Serpent member yet. Although I told Gray Serpent I want to join, he keeps saying he doesn't have the authority to let me in, so right now I'm still an outsider. Secondly... didn't you introduce Misteln as your name first? A name is the first gift a person receives in their life. I think this name must be very important to you."
Shun noticed that Misteln, whose emotions had remained very stable, showed some fluctuation only when she introduced herself and mentioned her name. So to her, perhaps Misteln wasn't just a name there must be an important past event carried behind this name.
"That's correct." Misteln readily admitted it. At this moment, she couldn't help but recall how she had received the name Misteln.