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ArabicHonkai Impact: My Power Grows When Valkyries Fall For Me — Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Limited Edition Small Cakes
The bell signaling the end of the final class chimed, and as the teacher’s footsteps faded down the hall, the quiet classroom erupted into a lively clamor.
Kiana sprang from her seat the very instant the ringing stopped, her movements a blur of pent-up energy. She hastily stuffed her books into her schoolbag, nudging Lucian beside her with a pointed elbow.
“Hey, are you busy today?” she asked, her voice laced with a subtle, hopeful tremor.
Lucian unhurriedly closed his textbook, his calm a stark contrast to her frantic energy. He looked up at her. “Not at the moment. Why?”
“Then come with me somewhere.” Kiana zipped her bag shut, a brilliant sparkle igniting in her azure eyes. “I found a super delicious dessert shop right near the school!”
“Sure,” Lucian agreed, a small smile playing on his lips. “But… you actually stayed awake through class today?”
Seeing Kiana so animated, he couldn’t resist raising an eyebrow. “If I remember correctly, you’re usually sound asleep by this time every day, and I’m the one who has to wake you up.”
“Can’t I just decide to listen to the lecture seriously for once!” Kiana shot back, puffing out her cheeks in an expression that reminded him of a hissing kitten.
Lucian’s eyebrow remained arched. If Kiana ever managed to sit through an entire lecture from start to finish, the sun would probably start rising in the west.
“Alright, alright,” he chuckled. “Lead the way.”
“Follow me!”
Without giving him a chance to object, Kiana grabbed his wrist, her grip surprisingly firm. She pulled him out of the classroom and into the noisy corridor, weaving through the throng of departing students.
Lucian let her pull him along, a faint smile on his face as they descended the stairs and finally emerged from the main teaching building.
————
The afternoon breeze carried a gentle warmth that invited one to take a deep breath and simply exclaim, ‘What lovely weather.’
But Kiana was clearly not in the mood for a leisurely stroll. She led Lucian on a brisk jog through the campus paths, their feet pounding on the stone as they handled around flower beds. Once they passed through the school gates, she picked up the pace even more.
Dragged along by the determined girl, Lucian followed somewhat helplessly. The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the street, the dark silhouettes overlapping and dancing together.
“Slow down, Kiana,” he called out, slightly breathless. “The shop isn’t going to run away.”
“But their Limited Edition Small Cakes only sell thirty boxes a day!” she retorted over her shoulder, her voice filled with a desperate urgency.
After crossing two more streets, Kiana finally skidded to a halt in front of a charming, well-decorated little shop. A wooden sign hanging above the door was engraved with ‘Sweet Memory’ in elegant cursive script.
As they pushed the door open, a crisp wind chime announced their arrival. The air inside was thick with the sweet, intoxicating aroma of baking. Just as Kiana had warned, the waiting area was packed with people, mostly students from nearby schools and young couples.
“Hmm… there are a lot of people,” Lucian observed as he and Kiana made their way to the counter.
The clerk behind the counter was a young girl with a sweet, welcoming smile. She looked at the two of them and asked, “How can I help you?”
“Two limited edition cakes, please!” Kiana declared, her voice full of hope.
As she spoke, the clerk’s eyes drifted to the empty cake display in the glass counter. She scratched her head, her expression turning apologetic.
“I’m so sorry, but today’s Limited Edition Small Cakes are already sold out.”
“Ah… sold out again…”
Kiana let out a long, mournful sigh, standing there in a daze. The light in her eyes seemed to dim, her shoulders slumping as if she were a deflated balloon. They were too late.
Lucian watched her, a silent shake of his head his only outward reaction. He stepped forward and addressed the clerk. “In that case… I’ll have a Matcha Parfait, please.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Kiana. Seeing the girl still looking utterly crestfallen, he added, “…and a Chocolate Mousse Cake.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.”
The clerk turned to prepare their order.
Lucian found Kiana’s dramatic disappointment both amusing and inexplicably cute. He scanned the crowded shop. “Looks like there are no seats. Should we get it to go?”
Feeling Lucian’s slightly teasing gaze on her, Kiana quickly snapped out of her funk and regained her spirits. “Yeah, let’s eat outside.”
A few minutes later, the two of them walked out of the shop, their packaged desserts in hand.
They walked slowly along the street, turning down a quiet, tree-lined path that led to a small community park. Finding an empty bench, they sat down under the dappled evening light.
“I still couldn’t get it today,” Kiana mumbled, more to herself than to him. She took a bite of her mousse cake, though her tone didn’t carry as much disappointment as before.
Lucian raised an eyebrow. Looking at her dejected expression, he asked curiously, “You’ve tried and failed to buy it before?”
“Yeah,” she admitted with a sigh. “They only sell thirty a day, after all. My dorm is pretty far from here. I can’t come in the morning because of school, there’s not enough time to go back and forth during the lunch break, and by the time I can get here in the afternoon, they’re long gone.”
“I see…”
Kiana forked another piece of chocolate mousse into her mouth, her eyes narrowing in satisfaction. “So it’s all about luck,” she said, her voice slightly indistinct.
Oh, Kiana, he thought with an inner smile. It has nothing to do with luck. By your very design, you’re practically the Empress of Fortune.
He really wanted to say that out loud, but he figured she would just think he was crazy, which would probably ruin his carefully cultivated image.
So, he kept the thought to himself. He silently scooped a spoonful of Matcha Parfait into his mouth, the cool, slightly bitter-sweet taste melting on his tongue. He had never actually eaten this before. The only reason he’d ordered it was because, in an anime he’d watched in his previous life, a certain white-haired, cat-like girl had an absolute obsession with it.
His gaze drifted to the twin braids of Kiana’s white hair, which swayed slightly with her movements. He suddenly asked, “Then why did you specifically ask me to come with you today?”
Kiana’s hand, holding the small fork, paused in mid-air, a piece of mousse cake hovering just before her lips.
She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she slowly put the piece of cake into her mouth, her chewing motion a bit more deliberate than usual.
“Because… I had a dream yesterday.”
Kiana’s voice dropped, becoming quiet and low. Her fork began to unconsciously poke at the remaining cake on the plate.
“A dream?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, her gaze falling to the tips of her shoes. “I dreamed of myself, of Mei-senpai, and a lot of other people I didn’t know. We… we defeated something.”
She paused, her expression growing distant. “Then there was a memorial service. A lot of people were there. My parents, some of Mei-senpai’s eccentric friends… everyone except…”
Kiana’s head lifted, and she looked at Lucian with a deeply complex gaze.
“The person being memorialized… was you, Lucian.”
The air seemed to freeze in that instant.
Kiana’s words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring ripples deep in Lucian’s heart that refused to settle.
A memorial service… for him?
This didn’t sound like the carefree Kiana he knew, the girl who lived in the moment and rarely worried about such heavy things.
‘Was it the influence of the Herrscher of the Void’s will?’ he wondered. But that didn’t add up. According to Kiana’s description, Mei’s ‘eccentric friends’ had to be the Flame-Chasers. Sirin had never been to the Elysian Realm; she wouldn’t have memories of them.
Kiana’s eyes watched him without blinking. There was no hint of a joke, no sign of a prank. There was only a mixture of confusion, unease, and an indescribable seriousness.
He heard his own voice ring out, steady in a way that felt somewhat forced. “Dreams are always the opposite of reality, Kiana.”
“I know!”
Kiana’s volume suddenly rose, a sharp edge of frustration in her tone. “Dreams aren’t trustworthy at all! Sometimes I even dream about being chased by a giant Homu!”
She said this, then suddenly looked up, her gaze locking onto his. The afterglow of the setting sun was captured in her pupils, revealing a rare clarity and a stubborn resolve. “Lucian, promise me one thing.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Don’t die.”
Those two words were spoken very softly, yet they carried the obvious weight of her sincerity.
Lucian was stunned for a moment. A helpless smile then touched his lips.
“Kiana, no one can guarantee they won’t die.”
“I know,” she said, her voice even lower than before, but somehow clearer. “But I just want to hear you say it.”
“Alright.” Lucian nodded, looking directly into Kiana’s earnest, pleading eyes. He spoke with a formality that felt both strange and necessary. “I promise you, I won’t die ‘easily’.”