Honkai Impact: Become Their Hero

Chapter 506: Chancellor, I Understand Now

Inside Ravens Bar—Raven’s bar.

Elias sat on a tall stool in front of the counter.

He held a glass of whiskey in his hand, gently swirling it. The amber-gold liquor shimmered like a massive piece of jewel-like amber in the white-haired boy’s grasp. Floating in the glass was a diamond-like sphere of ice, condensed using the authority of the Herrscher of Ice.

Elias took a light sip of vodka. His noble, transcendent bearing and flawless appearance made every movement look like a painting. If he were in an ordinary bar, countless women would surely push and shove just to strike up a conversation with him.

But the only one who could see him now was Alexandra, and this duck mom was currently too absorbed in devouring her food to care about anything else.

"Slow down. If it’s not enough, I can make more."

"Th-thank you!"

Elias had cooked a simple plate of egg fried rice for Alexandra, who had not eaten all day. After all, no matter what needed to be discussed, one had to fill their stomach first.

Though it was only egg fried rice, and though in the dorm Elias was usually the one enjoying food rather than making it—

His culinary skills had long since reached perfection. He was on par with Raiden Mei and Rita, and in some aspects, even surpassed them.

(Delicious... this is way too delicious!)

Alexandra felt as if her clothes might burst from sheer bliss. She had already been starving, and after tasting such delicacy, it felt as though not only her stomach but even her soul had been nourished.

Though she wanted to mind her manners, she simply could not control her hands.

Elias indicated that she need not worry. Her table manners were at least several times better than the little paramecium and the cat anchor back home.

(But this physical condition... it’s really terrible. Not only has the power of creation I left behind been completely exhausted, but most of her bodily functions have been severely overdrawn and deteriorated.)

After checking Alexandra’s condition, Elias’ expression turned extremely grave.

Severe malnutrition was the least of her problems. This woman’s body had already reached its limit.

Alexandra had endured until now purely through the will to "find her daughter," but her body had long since been unable to sustain it.

If Elias had found her even a year later, she would almost certainly have died.

"Excuse me, madam."

"Eh?"

"Give me your hand for a moment."

Suddenly, Elias took Alexandra’s right hand.

Though she was no longer in the bloom of youth, Alexandra was still astonishingly beautiful. Elias could not help but sigh at those genes—truly worthy of being Bronya’s mother.

This was several orders of magnitude better than that wicked woman Cocolia.

Of course, he was not holding her hand to take advantage.

Elias immediately activated the authority of the Herrscher of Rebirth and began regulating the body of this "terminally ill" duck mom.

"Mm~ th-this feeling..."

Alexandra’s cheeks flushed faintly. The power of creation from the Herrscher of Rebirth was like spring rain falling upon parched soil, healing and restoring her long-exhausted body.

"Mm~"

The sensation was simply too comfortable. Alexandra failed to hold back and let out an embarrassing sound.

She immediately lowered her head in embarrassment.

Elias remained expressionless, pretending not to have heard anything.

"Initial treatment complete. For safety’s sake, I’ll check your body regularly from now on. But for now... let’s get to the main topic, Mrs. Alexandra."

Elias sat across from the duck mom, raising the crystal glass in his hand. His stunning heterochromatic eyes observed the widow through the amber liquor.

Compared to Bronya in her Silverwing form, Alexandra was an even more mature beauty.

And despite her age, there was still a trace of "innocence" in her grayish-violet eyes.

Though no matter how grown she was, she still couldn’t compare to Theresa. Thinking of that B-rank launcher named Judah and her innocent paramecium personality, Elias’ gaze softened slightly.

In any case, if Alexandra had existed in Elias’ previous life, countless people would have cried out, "Chancellor, I understand now!"

But Elias was not that desperate.

After all, he was already "well-fed" every day. At most, Alexandra’s overly similar appearance to Bronya simply made him find her interesting and somewhat likable.

Still, he warned himself internally—

(This time I’d better be careful. I can’t make the same mistake I did when I confused Misteln and Cecilia.)

"Mrs. Alexandra, could you tell me why you didn’t go meet Bronya today? Ah... though I’ve already more or less guessed the reason."

Elias sighed helplessly and continued.

"But by doing that, you completely disrupted my plan. I was originally looking forward to you and Bronya reuniting today. If I’d known, I would’ve just brought her directly to you."

"Y-you noticed me?!"

Alexandra looked shocked. She had thought she had hidden herself well today.

Elias smiled wryly.

"Of course. Your tracking skills are too poor. Not to mention your presence and line of sight—even when Bronya and I were walking ahead of you, I could still see you through reflections."

In truth, if Elias had not concealed her, Bronya would definitely have noticed Alexandra.

After all, the once-famous "Silver Wolf of the Urals" possessed extremely high counter-surveillance ability.

"Uh... fine. Wait... you just said plan. Does that mean the reason I was able to find Bronya—"

"You’re only noticing now? That’s right. I had someone deliver the information to you. Originally, I planned to bring you here directly and let you and Bronya recognize each other face-to-face."

Elias shrugged. Though that approach was somewhat simple and crude, it was undoubtedly the fastest and most convenient.

At the time, however, he had thought—

Alexandra had endured for so many years. It hadn’t been easy. Perhaps rather than him directly bringing Bronya before her, allowing her to find Bronya herself would be the better choice.

So he had Gray Serpent guide Alexandra to the Far East region without her knowledge, then create a "fated reunion" for her to recognize Bronya.

And yet, the result was what it was now.

Although Alexandra had seen Bronya, she had not acknowledged her. Instead, she chose to leave silently.

"So it was you who helped me... thank you."

Bronya’s mother thanked Elias with complete sincerity. She now understood that without this white-haired boy, she might have needed many more years to find her daughter.

"If it had been a year later—no, even half a year—with the condition your body was in just now, I would likely have had to bring Bronya to reunite with you at your funeral."

Using the authority of the Herrscher of Sentience, Elias had already heard Alexandra’s thoughts. He had no choice. Lately, if he did not activate a few "cheats," he felt he truly could not understand the hearts of women at all.

"My... funeral?"

Alexandra’s eyes widened in shock.

Unlike Elysia, who bore the inscription of [Ego], Elias was likewise an unblemished and pure individual. Coupled with the fact that Alexandra already regarded him as her benefactor, she naturally did not doubt his words.

"Don’t worry. That scenario is no longer possible. And... even if it had happened, I would only have told Bronya it was the funeral of an acquaintance. I wouldn’t have let her know the one being buried was her biological mother."

"Uh... thank you..."

Alexandra’s lips twitched. Should she praise him for being considerate? And at this moment, she also felt a lingering fear.

If this white-haired boy had not found her, she might truly have never seen Bronya again in this lifetime. And as for death... just thinking about it was frightening.

"Oh? I didn’t expect you to still fear death."

Elias sounded somewhat surprised. Earlier, when Alexandra had prepared to risk her life against those gangsters, and considering all the hardships she had endured over the years searching for Bronya, he had subconsciously assumed that this great mother had already cast aside life and death.

"H-how did you know?"

"Don’t mind it. Just a bit of mind-reading. Lately I’ve found women’s hearts increasingly incomprehensible."

"I... see."

"Then let’s continue. I had thought you were the sort of person who no longer cared about her own life."

Alexandra gave a bitter smile and shook her head.

"How could that be? I’m not an elderly person who has already lived out her life with no remaining wishes. I still have many things I want to do but haven’t done, many things I want to have but haven’t obtained."

The moment Bronya had been abducted, her time had frozen. Her ideals, her wishes, her future—all of it had been sealed away by her own hand in that instant.

And now, more than a decade later, having finally found Bronya, Alexandra’s halted time had begun to move forward once more.

The woman’s past wishes surfaced one by one in her mind.

A flower garden where blossoms could be picked all year round. A journey across half the globe to visit Machu Picchu. A diamond necklace. A different dress for every single day... and so on.

"Heh... that’s quite a lot."

Elias blinked and silently committed those wishes to memory.

"...I am a woman, after all."

Alexandra paused slightly before remembering that this unbelievable boy could read minds. Embarrassed, she scratched her head.

Now that she had found her daughter, she was no longer someone whose heart had turned to ashes. She no longer resented the world. She wanted to continue living for a long time.

Because of that, her gratitude toward Elias was even deeper than he had imagined.

"Very well. It seems your mentality is as young as your appearance. But before fulfilling those wishes, I still hope you will reunite with Bronya and acknowledge each other."

Elias shrugged, then spoke seriously.

"I..."

Alexandra’s gaze wavered, her hands unconsciously clenching. But she knew her silence was meaningless.

After all, the white-haired boy sitting before her was, at least for this moment, the man who understood her heart better than anyone in the world.

"Would it really be right for me to do that?"

"..."

"That child is already living happily without me. She has found what she wants to do, and... she has someone like you by her side. So... even without me, my Bronya will be just fine, won’t she?"

Alexandra said with a bitter smile.

Even if she had found her daughter, what could she do now? She was incapable of anything. She struggled even to support herself. If she acknowledged her daughter and stepped into her life—

Would she not only become a burden?

"In the future, I’ll find a way to settle down nearby. As long as I can occasionally look at that child from afar, that will be enough. If that’s all, I’ll be perfectly content."

"So... my daughter, my Bronya—I entrust her to you from now on."

Alexandra stood up and bowed deeply to Elias.

"I’m sorry. You’ve shown me so much kindness, yet it seems I have no way to repay you. I may have nothing now, but if there ever comes a time you need me, please give the order."

"Ah—please don’t do that. After all... from a certain perspective, you and I are family now."

Elias spoke with a complicated expression. Good heavens. Alexandra was, at the very least, his mother-in-law. What kind of mother-in-law bowed to her own son-in-law and said she would do anything?

He quickly pressed her back into her seat.

"And even if you hadn’t said so, I would take good care of Bronya. She’s already someone very important to me. But... I have no intention of becoming your substitute."

If it were merely paternal affection, Elias had given that to Bronya in the past. But their relationship was no longer like that. And as for maternal love—there was no substitute for it.

"But someone like me..."

"Stop belittling yourself, Alexandra. I can responsibly tell you that Bronya has always longed to find her mother. And the Bronya of today is even kinder and more wonderful than you imagine."

Elias looked directly into the duck mom’s eyes, his tone carrying even a hint of pride.

Alexandra froze for a moment, a surge of pride welling up within her. Yet precisely because of that, she became even more hesitant.

"So my Bronya has already become so outstanding? If that’s the case, then someone like me is even more—"

"Hey. Stop."

Watching Alexandra still unable to make up her mind, Elias felt an inexplicable irritation. He cut her off directly and grasped her shoulders with both hands.

"I truly don’t understand what you’re struggling over. You spent more than ten years searching for Bronya—walking through hundreds of cities, asking countless people!"

"Mrs. Alexandra, you have every right to be proud of yourself. You are the best mother in the world."

"So good that... I’m even jealous of Bronya."

At this moment, Elias’ eyes were filled with envy and jealousy toward Bronya.

After all...

This so-called savior who had reversed countless tragedies and rescued the Previous Era and hundreds of bubble worlds—

Was still nothing more than an orphan with no father and no mother.