Nagazora City, as a vital part of the Tokyo tropolitan area, was a considerably bustling tropolis.
Throngs of pedestrians walked along the sidewalks, and all sorts of vehicles moved along the wide, smooth roads. As far as the eye could see, it was a picture of prosperity.
A youth with vividly red eyes crossed the road, followed closely by a charming girl with long, purplish-black hair and a white-haired dango.
"These people owe a comndation banner."
After reaching a spot not far from the prearranged eting point with Theresa, Li Zihan turned his head, looked at the passing pedestrians and cars, and sighed with emotion.
Tempted by the Stigmata, he had accepted the mission to save Nagazora City and had successfully completed it.
"A comndation banner?"
Raiden i, who had caught up from behind and was now walking alongside the youth, was taken aback by his words, but then her expression shifted to one of understanding.
If Li Zihan hadn't intervened, Nagazora City would have beco an experintal site, and everyone without Honkai energy resistance would have ascended to heaven.
Viewed this way, the people of Nagazora City didn't just owe Li Zihan a comndation banner; each of them owed him their life!
"Every single one of them owes their life, yet there's absolutely no reaction."
The youth, who had rely made a casual remark, stood with his red eyes on a bridge large enough to be one of Nagazora City's landmarks.
This was the eting place with Theresa that he had chosen on Raiden Ryoma's behalf, and it was also a crucial location he intended to search thoroughly later.
Tachikawa City, the model for Nagazora City, is a city in the Tama area of Tokyo. It is located in the center of Tokyo, on the Musashino Plateau on the left bank of the middle reaches of the Tama River.
It's connected to Tokyo Bay and situated within Nagazora City. Disregarding factors like river diversions, the river that Yae Village depended on for survival, as ntioned in Honkai Impact 3rd, should be a tributary of the Tama River.
Theoretically, as long as one followed the tributaries of the Tama River, it shouldn't be difficult to find the ruins of Yae Village.
To be honest, Li Zihan felt that miHoYo might have so misconceptions about remote mountainous areas.
Nagazora City, located in the central region of Tokyo, was close to Edo Castle even in ancient tis. Although Edo around the 1500s wasn't exceptionally prosperous, it was still an important city under the Hōjō clan.
Yae Village, built not far from Edo Castle and even having its own castle keep, didn't seem to fit the description of a "poor, remote place" by any stretch of the imagination.
However, this was also good, as it would make his archaeological efforts easier.
Since it was a village built reliant on a river, it naturally wouldn't be too far from this river here.
There weren't many areas that fit both conditions: "not far from a tributary of the Tama River" and "within Nagazora City."
Later, he would check the Tokyo tropolitan Gazetteer for descriptions of a Yae Village that could even afford to build a castle keep, and the search range could be narrowed down further.
Finding the sleeping place of the donkey-eared fox wouldn't be difficult then.
"To work so hard and in the end only be an unsung hero to the world, such a developnt truly feels sad."
He said "sad" verbally, but his face wore an expression of indifference, showing no sign of unhappiness whatsoever.
Raiden i looked at the profile of the youth beside her, who was gazing at the river below the bridge. Although she felt his expression was a bit off, she still offered friendly comfort.
"I think if they knew everything you've done for them, they would definitely be very grateful to you."
"Perhaps."
The youth, who didn't care at all about others' opinions, stood by the edge of the Tama River, then turned back to smile at the girl beside him, his smile as warm and gentle as the sun.
Miss i's lips also curved upwards, forming a bright smile.
Wanting to correct Li Zihan's overly awkward personality, Miss i had naturally chosen to follow him during her free ti, supervising his words and actions.
She had been watching Li Zihan for the better part of the day and found that he wasn't ssing around as usual. Instead, he was behaving very properly, even giving off a sowhat乖巧 (guāiqiǎo - well-behaved/docile) feeling.
The results were remarkable.
What was this?
Correcting Zihan's personality was actually quite simple.
This guy's bad behavior was just due to being habitually undisciplined; a little reminder about his conduct would lead to significant improvent.
A sense of pride, similar to that of a man rescuing a fallen woman, welled up in Miss i's heart.
To be honest, if Raiden Ryoma were to see such a scene, his mindset would probably explode.
After all, his own daughter was constantly with a boy with whom she had once shared a room, practically inseparable.
This situation, no matter how one looked at it, didn't seem like pure friendship.
Whether Raiden Ryoma's mindset would explode or not, Kiana wasn't very clear.
However, she could be certain that her own mindset was about to explode.
Kiana, feeling completely left out, looked at the two standing together, strode forward, and squeezed herself right between them.
Under Miss i's slightly astonished gaze, she suddenly hugged Miss i's arm, then bared a set of pretty, healthy, small white teeth at Li Zihan, as if making a show of defiance.
"Ah Li, don't you know that n and won should maintain a proper distance?"
The girl, acting just like a Husky or Samoyed guarding its food, extended her own hand and restlessly wrapped it around Miss i's slender waist, all while verbally attacking the other person.
"Kiana, what are you doing?"
Miss i, whose waist was suddenly embraced, looked slightly flustered and, under Kiana's rather regretful gaze, patted her hand away.
She wanted to cling on shalessly as usual, but found that a hand had already appeared before her, blocking her advance.
"Stop fooling around."
It was the hand of a youth, so fair it appeared morbid, involuntarily making one think of so kind of dark creature.
Miss Kiana's face fell instantly.
There were other people here; it seed inappropriate for her to be all clingy with i.
"By the way, Zihan, did you specifically bring Kiana here to et her great aunt?"
Miss i, having escaped Miss Paracium's lecherous hands, breathed a sigh of relief and looked towards Li Zihan.
"Mm."
The youth, who had considered whether to let Theresa co into contact with Jizo Mitama and reform Higokumaru, nodded, then pointed towards two figures walking towards them in the distance.
"Looks like they've arrived too."
Upon hearing these words, Kiana's gaze abruptly turned in the direction Li Zihan was pointing.
There, a woman with beautiful long red hair and an impressive figure was holding a small child's hand, smiling gently towards them.
Kiana's heart suddenly trembled.
This... is this my family?
After all these years, they had finally co to see her.
Like a bursting dam, the longing for kinship flooded Kiana's heart, causing her to tremble slightly.
"Pleased to et you, Ms. Theresa Apocalypse. I've brought your niece."
The youth, who was the welcor for this trip, gave an apologetic smile to Miss i—who was actually an unrelated party here—then took Kiana's arm and walked towards the lady leading the short, white-haired girl.
That's right, she is my family.
Kiana, seeing a relative other than Siegfried for the first ti, couldn't help but break free from Li Zihan's hand and run towards the lady in front of her.
At the sa ti, the Academy Principal, whose hand was being held by the red-haired woman, also broke free from Aunt Captain's hand and ran forward.
Then, under the red-haired woman's slightly bewildered expression, a pair of slender arms embraced her.
"Great Aunt, is that you?"
Kiana hugged Aunt Captain, her tone warm and affectionate.
Beside her, the short, white-haired figure with arms outstretched stood frozen as if caught in a sudden cold snap, utterly dumbstruck.
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