Chapter 79: Aha: Let me see what's going on?

Sirin was in a good mood today. She sat quietly in the Stigmata Space, enjoying the snacks made by her brother Chase. She savored them with delight.

During these days in the Stigmata Space, Sirin ate the snacks her brother brought in and watched what was happening outside. Although she felt a bit uneasy being alone, everything else was fine.

Chase would come in and accompany her when he had nothing else to do. They would chat and continue telling stories that they hadn't finished before.

Of course, Sirin was not just a cute neet. During this time, she also explored some new things.

For example, how to decorate this pure white Stigmata Space!

Sirin didn't really like the color white, except for her brother's hair. Sirin, the little angel, loved everything about her brother equally.

Mainly, looking at the pure white surroundings always made her feel a straightforward discomfort. It reminded her of the large walls and corridors that used to be pure white, bringing back some uncomfortable memories.

The flowers on the bedside table were changed again and again. Chase on the sickbed became weaker and paler over time. His pale face seemed to blend with the walls of the ward, and his silver hair seemed to lose its luster due to the illness. Only his bright azure eyes remained, as clear as a calm lake.

By chance, feeling bored in this pure white space, Sirin imagined the small house she used to live in in Berlin. Surprisingly, the small house actually appeared in this space.

Sirin's eyes sparkled with surprise. Thus, a magnificent decoration project began in this Stigmata Space.

Since there was an opportunity to decorate this pure white space, why not?

Sirin was determined to finish it before her brother's next visit, giving him a big surprise.

First, she painted the sky in this space blue with white clouds. Then, she added the Berlin street scene to the ground—tall and straight plane trees, bright street lamps at night, and familiar black-gray asphalt roads. Of course, the most important part was the arrangement of the small house.

Her own little house and her brother's little house...

Then came her brother's small courtyard. First, she laid down a lawn and carefully planted flowers according to her memory. Finally, she didn't forget to put a key under the flowerpot in the courtyard.

With great success, Sirin placed a sun on one side of the sky. The sunlight gently spilled onto the well-decorated land, warm and comfortable.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Ah, what a warm and familiar feeling of home.

Usually, by this time, she should have been standing in front of her brother's door with her hands behind her back, waiting for her brother's morning smile and delicious snacks. Then, she would happily taste the breakfast while chatting with her brother about various things.

It was a very pleasant time, but everything changed just before her fourteenth birthday...

"Ah." Sirin sighed while eating the caramel pudding her brother made. She couldn't help but feel puzzled. Although her brother bragged about his improved cooking skills, why did these snacks not taste as delicious as before?

Sirin was puzzled, looking around at everything. Her eyes were full of satisfaction.

Blue sky, street scenes, and a small courtyard—everything was exactly the same as the home in her memory. However, it seemed like something was missing, making this home lack the warmth of a real home.

What was missing... Sirin might already know the answer.

Now she felt a bit lonely and wanted to find her brother to get close, but her brother was outside cooperating with a lady named Herta for research. At this moment, she decided not to disturb her brother.

Even though she really wanted her brother to see her masterpiece now, she thought it would be better to wait.

Sirin looked a bit lonely, teleporting to the roof of her brother's house, sitting there and looking at the distant scenery.

The Berlin street scene, the farther away it was, the blurrier it became. It was like her memories, always remembering only important things. The familiar things from everyday life had been overlooked and turned into puzzles when she tried to find them again. Youthful appearance unchanged, carved railings and jade carvings were gone, isn't that a kind of regret?

After all, fakes were always fakes and could never become real.

No matter how she decorated and perfected this home, it was no longer the same as the old one.

Thinking of this, Sirin no longer wanted to eat the snacks. She just silently watched the scenery, and even the sunny day couldn't dispel the gloominess in the girl's heart, except for a familiar call—

"Sirin, why are you on the roof?"

The voice came from behind Sirin. The girl was stunned upon hearing it. Then she turned her head and found Chase standing on the roof, just like her.

Their golden and Azure eyes met. Sirin was lost in thought for a while before bursting into laughter:

"Brother aren't you above the roof like Sirin?"

With that, Sirin even pouted, put her hands on her waist, and struck a proud rooster-like pose.

Sirin: ≧ε ≦

"It seems that Brother is not setting a good role model for Sirin, so I won't mention it again."

Chase smiled and sat next to Sirin, glanced at the uneaten caramel pudding on the side, and asked, "Does the caramel pudding not suit Sirin's taste? I'll make something new next time."

But Sirin shook her head, picked up a spoon, took a bite, and said with a smile, "It's delicious, Sirin likes it a lot!"

After saying that, she scooped up another piece and handed it to Chase's mouth, her eyes shining with excitement: "Brother, you try it too."

"..." Without hesitation, Chase opened his mouth and tasted it. The flavor was not much different from what he usually made. He felt relieved.

He was really afraid that the salt and sugar in the train were placed in the wrong jars since he hadn't tasted it before using it.

As for the indirect kiss with Sirin?

They were siblings, and Chase didn't mind as long as it wasn't a real kiss. He still saw Sirin as his little sister, even in the ending of the second simulation when Sirin had grown up. Although she had grown into a young lady with all the necessary features, she still behaved like a child, as if she hadn't grown up in these years.

The reunion after several years felt as if they had just separated, without any sense of unfamiliarity.

Perhaps that's what an angel was, innocent, romantic, and cute. Even when she grew up, she was still a big angel.

...

"Well, your skills have improved a bit!" Chase smiled, making Sirin's mood better.

"Uh, is that so? Sirin will have to taste more next time you bring them in, for reference."

Then Sirin's forehead was poked by Chase: "If you want to eat, just say it. I won't refuse to make it for you."

"Ah~ Sirin thinks it's interesting to speak like this..." Sirin touched her forehead with both hands, even showing a hint of grievance in her words, making Chase laugh helplessly.

"Well... Sirin, has anyone told you that you're cute?" Chase's inexplicable comment made Sirin blush and feel a bit embarrassed. She punched Chase's chest with her pink fist.

After calming down, it seemed like she had vented her anger. She said, "Brother, Sirin has slightly modified this place..."

While speaking, Sirin's eyes were wandering, looking left and right, her hands interlaced, her voice timid and uneasy, sitting there like a primary school student waiting to hand in her homework after the summer vacation.

Chase exaggeratedly looked around, surprised: "It's exactly the same as before, Sirin is thoughtful."

Sirin grinned, as if eating honey. Suddenly, she remembered something and asked, "Brother, aren't you doing research with that lady from the Herta? How did you come here?"

"Oh, right~" Chase realized, touched Sirin's head, and said, "Sirin, I'll be back in a while."

"Oh, okay." Sirin nodded, waved to Chase, and smiled, "Goodbye, Brother."

Sirin didn't stop her brother because he said he would come. So, she would wait.

......

Disconnecting from the Stigmata Space, Chase opened his eyes and happened to meet the purple eyes of Herta, creating a somewhat awkward scene.

"Yo, you finally woke up." Herta greeted and casually put away the small and large items in her hand. Although Chase couldn't understand what these items were for, they were definitely not something good.

"What are those?" Chase asked.

"Checking your body data," Herta didn't hide the fact when she saw she was noticed, "Chase, you know me. As a researcher, I'm curious about curious things. It's normal."

"?" Chase was confused, wondering if this was a literary nonsense.

"Alright, that's enough. Your Stigmata data is almost collected. I need some time to understand its operating principles," Herta continued, "But rest assured, I will seal the research data on the Stigmata. I won't spread it without your consent."

"Thank you, Miss Herta." Chase expressed his gratitude.

"Yeah, I'll take your thanks. So, can you satisfy my curiosity?" Herta nodded, emitting a confident glow. 

"Wait, what?"

"What's the deal with your direct connection to the imaginary space ability? I didn't sense the breath of fate on you at all." Herta's eyes were filled with curiosity and confusion. It was evident that she hadn't yet connected Chase's abilities with the Stigmata information she had just seen.

Or perhaps she already had a guess but needed Chase's answer to confirm.

"Beg me~" Chase looked smug.

"Please, pretty please~" Herta made a timely expression of pleading, which, when displayed on her somewhat childish figure, had a cute flavor. However, it still couldn't match his two younger sisters at home.

"Eh, even if you beg, I won't say!" Chase remained firm, refusing resolutely and confidently.

The Stigmata was his lifeline now, and exposing the true nature of his abilities was a significant risk, especially since he was already handing it over to Herta for data collection. He couldn't easily reveal the truth of his strength.

Of course, if Herta had guessed it herself, he didn't mind. However, he couldn't say it directly.

Who knew if there were evil "Uchiha clan members" in this world who could easily manipulate such things? Even though it was an assumption that wasn't very realistic, and the Stigmata was a reward from the simulator, it shouldn't be easily stolen or duplicated. Still, caution was always good.

(TN: Finally, I now know that MC has knowledge of his past life, but only not knowing any Honkai lore.)

"Tsk, whether you say it or not, forget it." Herta sneered, showing disdain.

Damn it, this grudge was noted.

But instead of holding grudges, Herta preferred settling scores right away.

"Come and test my simulated universe!" Herta said directly.

Cursing without holding back, hitting without holding back, and taking advantage when someone was down, that was Herta's style.

"Can it be another day? I'm tired." Chase, not unaware of Herta's intention to increase the intensity a bit, chose a tactful refusal.

But, of course, Herta couldn't agree; how could she let Chase escape so easily? "Come, test it!"

"..."

Life wasn't easy; Chase sighed.

........

"You're quite interesting. I won't give you a disguise. Just show yourself. Maybe some Aeon will be interested in you."

Entering the simulated universe, Chase heard Herta's voice seemingly ringing in his ears. He couldn't help recalling the interested expression of that guy he saw just before entering the simulated universe. He felt a bit helpless.

This guy must be given some eye drops.

"Okay, okay, why are you standing there? Go and fight monsters for me to see your level." Herta urged, observing the situation inside while recording the data. Occasionally, she clicked her tongue in amazement.

This strange method was indeed more aesthetically pleasing than Stella beating things with baseball bats. Moreover, the aura emanating from the void summoned by Chase was surprisingly similar in data to the Tree of Existence she had observed.

This was why Herta didn't give Chase a disguise for Aeons. Even without it, the scattering aura was likely to attract Aeons. If Aeons weren't curious, it would be impossible, especially since Herta had secretly increased the probability of encountering an Aeon...

As expected, as Herta anticipated, Chase attracted an Aeon.

"Ah, let me see what's going on!" An Aeon with no head, holding a mask and laughing maniacally, appeared. This made Herta excited.

Sure enough, she hit the jackpot!

(TN: That's enough for now.. My upload schedule is a bit fucked up since I might be doing schoolwork or going on vacation, so expect less)

(TN 2: Thanks for the new readers to help me correct the mistranslations lol! I guess it was bound to happen, but I was reading along as well... NGL that is a shocker. Anyway, happy holidays!)