Honkai: Star Rail – Banner Character, Delivering Knives to the Player [54]

After hearing the Express crew’s explanations, Seele’s original stereotypes about the Silvermane Guards greatly changed.

It turned out that most of them were just following orders, unaware of the truth.

She had misunderstood Bronya.

"...Does Bronya know the real reason why the Underworld was sealed off? I haven't asked her," Seele questioned.

Lingzhou answered plainly, "Cocolia told her that only by defending the Surface could the Underworld remain protected."

Seele’s brows instantly knitted together. "And she believed that?"

March 7th sighed, resigned.

"Considering Bronya's relationship with Cocolia, how could she doubt her without concrete evidence?"

"What kind of relationship?" Seele asked, confused.

Lingzhou: "They're mother and daughter."

"Huh?!" Seele’s eyes widened, nearly dropping her scythe in shock.

Only now did she understand why Bronya had been trembling with anger when Seele cursed at Cocolia earlier.

Stelle murmured thoughtfully, "Actually, I think there's a slight problem… Forget it, it might be rude to say."

March 7th immediately objected, "Promise me, don’t leave us hanging."

"Bronya and Cocolia don’t look alike at all," Stelle finally admitted. "At least their facial features aren't similar."

March 7th pondered deeply, "Now that you mention it, it’s kinda strange. Lingzhou, you’re a doctor—can you somehow verify their—"

"No equipment for that," Lingzhou interrupted helplessly, cutting off March 7th's train of thought.

"Besides, even if tests confirmed they weren't biologically related, it wouldn't mean much."

"Cocolia’s cultivation of Bronya can't be faked."

Unless someone from the Garden of Recollection intervened.

But Lingzhou couldn't think of a plausible reason why historians would meddle with something like this.

Jarilo-VI’s civilization had undoubtedly regressed significantly.

The Express's archives clearly recorded that Jarilo-VI once flourished, interconnected with other planets.

But this didn't mean the Garden had manipulated Bronya's memories.

"March, I know what you're thinking."

"Even if they're merely an adoptive family, it won’t affect Bronya's feelings for Cocolia."

"To push Bronya toward rebellion against her mother, the key isn't blood relations."

"It's to let her witness personally that Cocolia isn't fulfilling her responsibilities as Supreme Guardian."

"In the end, Bronya was raised as her successor…"

After Lingzhou clarified thoroughly, March 7th nodded slowly, understanding dawning on her face.

"Ah, that makes sense."

Seele stood dazed, digesting all the information for a long moment. Eventually, she turned and stared at Lingzhou.

Her eyes brimmed with complicated emotions—chief among them, admiration.

"No wonder you forcibly brought Bronya down here. But there’s one thing I still don't understand."

"How did you know the Underworld was in such poor condition? Did you scout ahead beforehand?"

Lingzhou shook his head. "No need. Observing conditions on the Surface was sufficient."

"When a nest overturns, how can any eggs remain intact beneath it? The Surface is barely managing itself—how could the Underworld be any better?"

"We've traveled through many worlds, seen many examples, and understand clearly the dangers of the Stellaron and Fragmentum."

"If Cocolia wasn't hiding something, there’d be no need to conceal the true reason for sealing off the Underworld."

Seele silently nodded, "I hope Bronya can find her way back and realize she's been misled."

"Whether your motives were selfish or not, the result is real—you’ve helped us. Thank you."

"I'll keep your search for the Stellaron in mind and keep an ear out."

Naturally, the Express crew wouldn't refuse out of courtesy, nor offer empty pleasantries.

Whether she found clues or not was one thing—her sincerity was another.

Seele escorted the Trailblazers back to Boulder Town, bringing them to the entrance of Goethe Grand Hotel.

After saying goodbye, she hurried off to other tasks.

...

Goethe Grand Hotel.

Before resting, the Trailblazers usually summarized their day’s findings.

After about half an hour, March 7th returned to her room, yawning.

From the player's perspective, Lingzhou did the same.

Stelle’s room here was significantly shabbier than the Goethe hotel on the Surface.

But with the limited resources of the Underworld, it was understandable.

Maintaining cleanliness alone was already commendable.

Stelle lit the incense burner Lingzhou had given her, placing it on the nightstand.

He’d said the fragrance would deepen sleep.

"Let's sleep… Hopefully I'll dream of something nice this time."

---

The screen faded to black.

[The bed isn't particularly soft, which might explain why you're still awake after half an hour.]

[But you know that's not the real reason. This journey through the Underworld has left you with many unanswered questions.]

[As a rookie Trailblazer, your subconscious isn't content with being lazy.]

[But thinking too much is exhausting. Your brain keeps signaling not to scratch an itch unnecessarily.]

[An hour later, you're still awake.]

[What will you do?]

① "Goodnight, Makka Pakka. Keep trying to sleep."
② "Lingzhou said he's good at treating insomnia. Go find him for help."

Ah Xian immediately ignored the first choice.

Leaving her room and arriving in the hallway, she stopped at the marked objective location.

Stelle knocked on the door.

[…]

She knocked again.

"Asleep? Then I shouldn’t disturb him."

Gertie appeared, surprised. "Eh? Isn’t this the gray-haired girl Wildfire instructed us to take good care of?"

Stelle turned her head toward the voice, "Boss Gertie, you haven’t rested either?"

Gertie smiled, "Just finished work. Are you looking for that long-haired young man? He went out over an hour ago."

Stelle’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Lingzhou went out… Could something urgent have happened again?"

She suppressed her confusion and asked, "Boss, do you know where he went?"

Gertie replied, "Someone from Dr. Natasha’s clinic came to fetch him. Maybe you can check there?"

"Got it, thanks."

"Oh, no need to be so polite."

Seeing this scene, Ah Xian’s thoughts suddenly turned strange.

Within two seconds, she smacked her own head.

Drawing doujinshi had clearly fried her brain. Seeing a lone man and woman late at night, she'd actually imagined unspeakable scenarios.

Impossible.

Star Rail isn't an eroge.

—[Ah Xian, Ah Xian, if you picked 'keep trying to sleep,' you'd miss another storyline.]

"Huh?"

—[It's true! You're progressing slowly—I saw another streamer play through it.]

—[If you chose to sleep, you’d fail again, then run into Bronya instead, triggering a different scenario.]

—[But if you choose to find Lingzhou, you’ll really meet him, opening a new path.]

Ah Xian’s curiosity was piqued.

She had vague memories of the Bronya scene from closed beta.

That scene involved Bronya and Seele, but the other two Trailblazers wouldn't participate.

After briefly confirming with her chat, Ah Xian obtained the information she wanted.

The major plot points were essentially identical to Dan Heng’s route.

"Good thing I didn't pick that."

—[As if you ever would.]
—[Exactly. Seeing the option to find Lingzhou, you're like a starving fish spotting bait.]

"Thanks for the compliment! This shows I’m a loyal Lingzhou-only stan, loving him down to my bones~"

Ah Xian proudly curved her lips, opening the map and teleporting directly to Natasha’s clinic.

She sprinted, pressed "F" to enter, all in one smooth motion.

Natasha: "What's wrong? Feeling unwell?"

Stelle glanced around the room.

"Not exactly. I'm looking for Lingzhou. Boss Gertie mentioned you called for him about an hour ago."

---

This is a fan translation of 崩铁：卡池角色，给玩家发刀 by 三十度幻. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!