"Today, I'm treating everyone to hotpot. Hotpot is a specialty of Chongqing, a must-try."
Around the living room table, a group of people sat in a circle around the round table. Takatsuki raised the juice in his hand and stood up.
And then...
"Kiana! That dish isn't cooked yet..."
"Hestia, want to have a drink together?"
"Okay, okay."
"Seele... my Seele..."
"Sister Bronya, it's mealtime now."
Seeing the already chaotic scene, Takatsuki silently sat back down.
"Teacher... here..."
Ais, beside him, pushed a basin of lettuce over.
Uh... Takatsuki hated lettuce the most...
But Takatsuki still said, "Thank you, Ais, but just put the dish on the table. For hotpot, just pick whatever you like."
Ais nodded, then put the dish back in the center of the table, picked up a piece of lettuce, and put it directly into her mouth.
Takatsuki: "..."
"Takatsuki, here, have some beef."
Mei, on the other side, picked up a piece of cooked beef with her chopsticks and placed it in Takatsuki's bowl.
"Mm, thank you, Mei."
Putting the beef in his mouth, chewing a few times, and then swallowing it, Takatsuki whispered in Mei's ear: "Mei, why has your way of addressing me changed again?"
Takatsuki's words made Mei's face flush slightly, and she also replied in a low voice.
"Um... Class Monitor talked to me earlier. Our relationship seems a bit too obvious."
"?"
Who made you think our relationship was well-hidden?
Takatsuki didn't know what to say.
Presumably, only Kiana, that airhead, might not have noticed yet, since Kiana only thinks about eating all day.
"Kiana! Put down that piece of beef! That's mine!"
Sometimes, when eating hotpot, it's not about speed, but about the stomach's tolerance.
After all, if you can't scoop up and eat the food before it's cooked, someone else might eat it.
Fortunately, Kiana was just such a big eater.
But thankfully, there was no shortage of food. Even for Kiana, a big eater has her limits.
The task of cleaning up the dishes was left to the Shadowkhan.
Takatsuki's mindset had also changed quite a bit. Some things didn't need to be hidden. He wasn't sure if it was due to the tempering by Shanks that changed his mindset, or simply becoming stronger and more confident.
Although they initially questioned the existence of the Shadowkhan, after seeing them diligently solve a series of troublesome matters, even Theresa accepted the Shadowkhan's existence.
"Seele, let's go see Old Yang."
After dinner, Takatsuki planned to do some serious business.
"Okay, Takatsuki-nii."
"Wait a minute... Takatsuki, where are you taking Seele?"
The person involved hadn't said anything yet, but Bronya was already getting anxious.
Seele had finally escaped from the Sea of Quanta, and the two had finally met again to fulfill their promise to go see the sea together.
Why did two happy things overlapping turn out like this?
"Seele and I promised someone something when we went to other places before, and now we have to fulfill it."
Takatsuki didn't plan to talk about the future. In the memories he extracted, there weren't even traces of Yang and the others. Everyone else just thought they had gone to another world under the Imaginary Tree that had no Honkai Energy.
"Yes, Sister Bronya, Takatsuki-nii said it will be done quickly, and we'll be back soon."
Watching Seele skip along with Takatsuki, Bronya didn't even want to play her favorite game anymore.
"How do you feel, Seele? Are you used to it?"
Walking along the road, Takatsuki asked Seele. Although he no longer needed to extract Honkai Energy from Seele's body, Seele still habitually moved closer to Takatsuki.
"Everyone is very nice, and Sister Bronya is here too. Seele really likes it here."
"That's good. You'll be living here for a long time now. Seele, do you want to go back to the orphanage?"
Regarding Takatsuki's question, Seele was silent for a moment: "Takatsuki, are you talking about Cocolia's mother?"
Seele was very smart, especially in social matters, much more capable than Bronya. Takatsuki only had to mention it, and she already guessed what Takatsuki meant.
"Actually, when Seele saw the Supreme Guardian in Belobog, she was already thinking, if Cocolia's mother also became obsessive like the Supreme Guardian, what should Seele do?"
Takatsuki looked at Seele with some surprise, and Seele returned a smile: "Seele has already seen that the Supreme Guardian was not controlled by the Stellaron; she just believed that her choice was correct."
"This is also like Cocolia's mother. When she wanted to experiment with Bronya, Seele was actually very disappointed in Cocolia's mother."
"And after the experiment failed, Bronya was also sent to the experimental table, so Seele gave Project Bunny to Bronya. With this, Bronya should have the capital not to be sent to the experimental table."
Takatsuki looked at this girl, who had always acted like a small animal, with some surprise, not expecting that she had thought so much.
And these were the words she had always buried in her heart; she hadn't even told Bronya, but she told him.
"So, if the two worlds are similar, then Cocolia's mother should also make an unforgivable mistake like the Supreme Guardian; if that time comes, Takatsuki, just go ahead and do it. As for Bronya, Seele will take responsibility."
Takatsuki: "Thank you, Seele."
"You're welcome, Takatsuki. You found Seele in the Sea of Quanta, showed Seele things ordinary people can't see in their lives, gave Seele the power to help everyone, and even helped Seele find Bronya. Seele is very content now. My other self is also very grateful to Takatsuki, but she's too shy to say it."
Mid-sentence, Seele's pupils suddenly turned red: "Idiot... idiot! Who would thank this guy! What nonsense are you talking about!"
"You're out, Veli, but don't you want to meet the others? You can clearly split off a body now."
"Hmph, I don't have time to play house with them, all lovey-dovey."
Leaving a sentence, Veliona disappeared, and Seele came back online.