Honkai Star Rail: Make Honkai Great Again Chapter 139: I Don't Care

The arrangent between them was sothing Kiana had initiated—and Ruan i had agreed to.

For soone whose past had beco a complete blank, staying by Ruan i's side while waiting for her lost mories to return had seed like the best possible choice.

And indeed, it was.

Although Kiana had been sowhat reserved at first, it only took a few days for her to realize just how tolerant Ruan i was. Once that happened, her true nature began to shine through.

Bit by bit, she started to push boundaries.

And Ruan i never objected.

Kiana's fondness for her grew steadily, until their relationship naturally settled into what it was now.

"Co in."

Arriving right on ti, Kiana knocked on Ruan i's door. Hearing her voice from inside, she gathered her courage and stepped in.

Ruan i stood by the window, gazing at the night outside.

Her composure was unchanged, untouched by emotion. Seeing that, Kiana inexplicably felt a sense of relief.

But before she could speak, Ruan i turned around. Her beautiful eyes fixed on Kiana.

"Have you made your decision?"

Wait—wasn't she supposed to have ti to think about it?

Kiana's heart lurched. So by "ti," did Ruan i an just one afternoon?

"Can't we... just stay as we are?"

Even though it had only been an afternoon, Kiana had thought about it seriously.

Moving forward was sothing she didn't dare wish for.

But stepping back was sothing she could never accept.

That left only one option—to keep things as they were. To change nothing.

"Stay as you are?"

Ruan i frowned slightly. Everything in the universe moved forward. Surely this, too, was no exception.

She couldn't quite understand Kiana's reasoning. Did Kiana truly believe that maintaining the current state was better than moving ahead?

"So, you spent the whole afternoon talking with Raiden i... and your conclusion was to stay the sa?"

She had told Kiana to find i.

So that was really what she ant?

Kiana felt a strange twist in her chest. She'd thought Ruan i only wanted everyone to cool off for a while—that was why she'd sent her away.

"We didn't talk about it the whole ti," Kiana explained nervously. "We also talked about... the past. But what about you, Ruan? What do you think?"

Her voice trembled slightly.

Even though i had told her that Ruan i would never agree with her way of thinking, Kiana still wanted to try.

What if... just maybe?

A spark of hope flickered in her chest.

"..."

Ruan i didn't respond imdiately. She simply stared at Kiana—long and intently—until the younger woman's smile began to stiffen.

Being stared at like that was worse than being scolded.

The pressure was unbearable.

Kiana was the first to break, turning her head aside to escape that gaze.

"If you don't agree, we can... we can talk about it..." she murmured weakly.

Ruan i said nothing and began to walk toward her.

Kiana's eyelids twitched. She couldn't read Ruan i's intentions and dared not move, though after everything that had happened today, she instinctively wanted to take a step back.

But Ruan i didn't give her the chance.

Stopping in front of her, she raised a hand and gently brushed her fingers across Kiana's cheek, sliding down along her jaw and neck before wrapping around her wrist.

"Ruan...?"

The soft touch sent a shiver down Kiana's spine. She couldn't tell what Ruan i was thinking, her voice uncertain and uneasy.

Ruan i lowered her gaze in thought, her grip on Kiana's wrist tightening and loosening, as though weighing sothing silently.

What was she doing?

Kiana's heart pounded in confusion.

"So that's how it is."

After a mont, Ruan i seed to reach so kind of understanding. She lifted her eyes to et Kiana's puzzled gaze.

She didn't release her hand.

"Whether we stay as we are or not," Ruan i said quietly, "I can accept either."

"You can accept it?"

Kiana's eyes widened in surprise. Her heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected that answer.

If Ruan i could accept it, then...

"But Kiana, can you guarantee that you won't change?"

Ruan i's tone remained calm, her expression as composed as ever.

"I..."

"Think carefully about what I just said," Ruan i interrupted before Kiana could make a hasty promise. "I can accept staying as we are."

After all, she hadn't originally thought this far ahead. If Acheron hadn't appeared and sparked a series of unexpected thoughts, she never would've had this conversation with Kiana at all.

In a way, their thoughts overlapped more than either realized.

Think carefully about what she said? She's willing to stay as they are?

Kiana blinked in disbelief, her heart skipping a beat. The tone in Ruan i's words carried a aning she wasn't sure she could trust.

After a long pause, under Ruan i's steady gaze, Kiana finally asked, her voice trembling slightly, "Ruan... what do you really think?"

"I already told you," Ruan i said softly, lowering her gaze to where Kiana's hand still clutched her wrist. "I've grown used to having you by my side. I can't tolerate the idea of you leaving."

"I... I don't really understand."

Kiana's palms were sweating, her breath uneven. Fighting the turmoil in her chest, she whispered, "I'm not very smart, Ruan. Could you... say it more clearly?"

More clearly?

Ruan i could tell that Kiana already understood what she ant—yet she was still pretending not to.

Was it disbelief?

Or sothing else?

"I want you to stay by my side, just like before," Ruan i said plainly. "That's all I care about. I don't want you to leave because of soone else—or anything else. As long as you stay, that's enough for . Beyond that, nothing else matters. I don't care."

Kiana froze, her suspicions confird. Her thoughts went blank for a mont as her heart thudded wildly.

She suddenly rembered that ti Ruan i had asked if she wanted to marry her. Kiana had ntioned i then, saying she could never abandon her—and Ruan i's only response had been a puzzled 'So what?'

Now she understood.

'So what?' really ant 'I don't care.'

Even Acheron could never have imagined that Ruan i would approach love in such an unorthodox way.

She truly didn't care—nor would she waste her ti and energy worrying about sothing like that.

This, for Ruan i, was already the extent of what she could offer.

Because she wasn't... normal.

She wouldn't spend her life entangled in emotional struggles. If Kiana still couldn't make a choice—or if she chose to reject her—then...

"You... don't care? You really don't?"

Kiana stared at her, barely daring to breathe. "About... you and Raiden i?"

Ruan i t her eyes without flinching. "I care a little," she admitted calmly. "But as I said—I only care about the result I want."

"Even if I still like i?"

Ruan i gave her a light glance—calm as ever—but Kiana could sense a faint trace of displeasure behind that serenity.

Though slightly annoyed, Ruan i's voice remained level. "Your relationship with her has nothing to do with ."

She understood everything—she simply couldn't feel the sa way. Emotions were things she could analyze, even comprehend, but never truly experience.

Over the past two years, under Kiana's influence, she had been forced to learn what emotions ant—but only when it ca to Kiana.

"N-no problem?"

Kiana blinked. Sothing about this sounded off—like Ruan i was leading her astray.

"Your feelings for her are your own concern," Ruan i replied. "I only care about what I want."

That... didn't sound wrong, technically.

Wait—no, that was completely wrong!

Kiana stared at her in disbelief. Was that even logical?

Ruan i still had Kiana's wrist in her grasp, so she could clearly sense the storm of incredulous thoughts swirling in the girl's mind.

Inside, Kiana was practically screaming. Every half-ford thought that surfaced was tangled and breathless.

Who even thinks like this?!

But then again, Ruan i was never normal. Kiana had known that for a long ti.

It would be wonderful if it were just the two of them.

But Kiana had known Raiden i for so long—she understood that i was soone she could never let go of.

And since that was the truth, what more was there to say?

Facts were facts. Kiana's feelings were unchangeable. So why should Ruan i waste her ti struggling over sothing that had no solution?

There was a far simpler answer.

Why waste energy fighting a battle she couldn't win when she could simply choose to stop caring?

If she had nothing else to occupy her ti, she might have considered fighting for Kiana anyway—just to see where it led.

But she was busy.

"It seems you understand perfectly now," Ruan i said. "If there's ever sothing you don't understand, you can ask directly."

This thod of communication—reading her thoughts—was far more efficient. There was no need to interpret tone or guess hidden anings.

Kiana forced a shaky smile.

She still felt dazed.

This should have been good news—great news. She should've been ecstatic.

But Ruan i's words had stunned her so deeply that her mind refused to process anything else.

She had always known that Ruan i thought differently from most people—but she had never felt that difference quite so strongly until now.

"Get so rest. Don't forget, we're leaving for that planet you ntioned—Jarilo—tomorrow."

"Oh..."

Kiana snapped out of her daze, forcing herself to focus. Rembering tomorrow's departure helped her pull her thoughts back together.

Stop overthinking.

If Ruan i didn't mind, then why should she?

Shaking off the last of her shock, she smiled faintly. "Then I won't bother you anymore, Ruan. You should rest too."

Ruan i's words had reminded her—if her mind was this jumbled, maybe a good night's sleep would clear it all up.

So much had happened today.

She needed rest.

But when she turned to leave, she realized Ruan i still hadn't released her hand.

Thinking the older woman still had sothing to say, Kiana obediently waited.

Two whole minutes passed.

"Ruan? Did you want to tell sothing?" she asked hesitantly.

"You don't have to leave," Ruan i said at last.

"Eh?"

Kiana's eyes widened. The shock that had just faded returned full force.

That... didn't sound right.

"Just like before," Ruan i clarified.

Not leave? Like before?

"We've been apart for so long," Ruan i said evenly. "Don't you want to sleep beside again?"

The words were normal—simple, even.

But now, with everything that had changed between them, those sa words carried a weight, a tone, that hadn't existed before.

Even though Kiana knew exactly what Ruan i ant, her thoughts still went astray, and a flush of embarrassnt crept up her cheeks.

Indeed.

Because i was nearby, Kiana had been careful to keep her distance—on the way back, she hadn't dared act too familiar with Ruan i.

They hadn't been physically close for quite so ti—not since they parted ways at the Herta Space Station.

Sensing the thoughts in Kiana's mind, Ruan i blinked once in mild surprise, but her face remained calm and unreadable.

Would she refuse?

After all, i was waiting for her.

Kiana was the one who had brought i here, and this place was unfamiliar to her. It was only right for Kiana to keep her company.

But still... Ruan had invited her herself.

And Ruan had even compromised—she didn't care about her and i's relationship at all...

Ruan i didn't press her. She simply observed Kiana's indecision, making no effort to act like one of the involved parties in this situation.

"Could you wait a little for ?" Kiana said after a mont of thought. "i's still waiting. I'll go tell her first."

"Go ahead," Ruan i replied, releasing her hand and giving a small nod. "I'll wait for you."

Kiana exhaled in relief. "Then wait for —I'll be right back."

Ruan i watched her hurry out of the room. Gently rubbing the hand that had held Kiana's wrist, she could still feel the warmth lingering in her palm.

"So indecisive," she murmured to herself.

She had been perfectly clear. In the future, perhaps it would be best to keep Kiana away from situations that required her to make choices.

Then, another thought crossed her mind.

Ruan i's eyes lifted toward one of the walls. Her gaze seed to pierce through the layers of barriers until it reached Raiden i, who was in Kiana's room.

"Raiden i, huh?"

She had to admit—ever since Kiana had said 'Even if I like i?', her perception of that woman had changed.

It was a new kind of emotion—sothing unfamiliar and oddly fascinating.

Perhaps this feeling would beco more frequent in the future.

Ruan i shook her head slightly, dismissing the thought. There was no need to dwell on it. She would deal with such things when the ti ca.

As for Kiana, she practically floated back to her room—her mind anxious and hazy all at once.

It wasn't until the door automatically opened at her presence that she finally ca back to her senses.

Acheron was still awake.

She was seated quietly, reading through Kiana's journal—the one Kiana had shared when talking about her blank period.

Back when she hadn't regained her mories, she had developed the habit of writing in a journal, as her mory loss had been gradual.

"I'm back," Kiana said softly.

Acheron looked up, her lips curving slightly. She set the book aside and said gently, "Welco back."

"How did your talk with Ruan i go?"

She had guessed that Ruan i had called Kiana over to discuss that particular topic.

"Ruan said she doesn't mind," Kiana replied.

That answer hadn't been anywhere in Acheron's expectations—but it ca out of Kiana's mouth all the sa.

The smile slowly faded from her face.

"She doesn't mind?"