Honkai Impact: My Power Grows When Valkyries Fall For Me — Chapter 71

Chapter 71: An Invitation, Just for Two

A month had passed.

Winter at St. Freya Academy was a slow, creeping thing. The sea breeze at the end of October still carried a phantom warmth from seasons past, though the sun now surrendered to the horizon a little earlier with each passing day.

Lucian stood by the security room window, his gaze lost in the world outside.

A small, potted Devil’s Ivy sat on the windowsill. Mei had brought it over last week, saying it would help purify the air. At the time, Lucian had wanted to point out that the security room didn’t have any windows to open—only a single, drafty doorway—but the hopeful, expectant look in her eyes had silenced him, and he accepted the plant with a quiet thanks.

Indeed, an entire month had gone by, and the door Theresa had smashed to splinters still hadn’t been repaired. According to the Principal, funds were tight.

‘Damned Theresa,’Lucian thought with a wry internal smile.’This is pure, petty spite…’

He pulled his gaze from the window and glanced down at his phone. The screen was dark and silent, with no new notifications waiting for him. He set the device on the desk and looked outside again.

The setting sun had already begun its descent, kissing the sea and painting the buildings of St. Freya in brilliant shades of orange and crimson. The unrepaired doorway did let in a draft that was growing colder by the day, but it wasn’t unbearable.

Leaving his phone on the desk, Lucian began to organize the scattered documents. Once he finished tidying up, he would be off duty for the day. His daily routine in the security room was, for the most part, quite leisurely. The students of St. Freya were remarkably well-behaved. During his patrols, he would occasionally encounter a few ambitious souls attempting to climb the outer wall for a night out, but a single glimpse of his face was usually enough to make them retreat of their own accord.

Apparently, being the guy who was chased by the Principal wielding Judah for an entire morning—and survived—came with a certain reputation.

In short, over the past month, his primary duties had consolidated into a simple loop: patrolling, receiving Himeko’s numerous packages, and running errands for Theresa, which usually involved buying things like bitter melon juice.

Just as he filed away the last document and was about to stand, his phone vibrated against the desk.

He thought it might be Kiana, but when he looked down, the name displayed on the screen was 【Mei】.

【Mei: Are you free tonight?】

Lucian’s fingertip hovered over the screen for a long moment.

Ever since he had given Mei her birthday gift, they hadn’t spent any time alone together. It wasn’t a deliberate avoidance on his part; the timing just never seemed to work out. Kiana was always there, a whirlwind of energy. Bronya was always there, a quiet, observant shadow. And Theresa, somehow, always managed to appear around a corridor corner at the most inopportune moments, sweeping them with a gaze that said, “Oh, just passing by,” but felt like a full-scale inspection.

The days had slipped by in their unhurried rhythm, and this was the first time Mei had reached out to him like this since arriving at St. Freya.

【Lucian: I’m free. What’s up?】

【Mei: I’ve made some new dishes and… I wanted you to try them.】

【Lucian: Sure. What time? Where?】

【Mei: Seven o’clock, at your dorm. I want… just the two of us.】

【Lucian: Okay.】

The sky had surrendered to a deep, velvety darkness by the time Lucian walked the path back to his dormitory. The evening breeze carried the characteristic salt and dampness of the coast, tugging gently at the ends of the hair he had tied back.

Not far away, standing in front of his dorm room door, was a familiar silhouette.

Her deep purple hair was tied into its usual high ponytail, a few loose strands lifted by the evening wind. She was dressed in casual clothes—a soft, cream-colored knit cardigan—and held a large tote bag, her gaze fixed on the sky as if lost in thought.

“Mei? Have you been waiting here long?”

Lucian’s voice gently pulled her from her daze. Mei turned her head, her expression softening as she saw him walking toward her.

“Not very long,” she said, shaking her head as her lips curved into a tender smile. “I just got here. I was thinking you’d be back soon.”

Her fingers tightened slightly around the bag’s handle, her knuckles turning a faint white. Lucian walked up to her, pulling a set of keys adorned with a small, blue cat charm from his pocket, and unlocked the door.

“Come on in. It’s getting a bit cold out here.”

The door closed softly behind them, sealing out the cool night air and the distant murmur of the sea.

The entryway light flickered on. Mei lowered her head to change into the guest slippers, her long hair sliding over one shoulder, the silky ends brushing against her wrist.

“…This is the first time I’ve been to your place.”

Her voice was quiet, laced with a hint of nervousness he could feel more than hear. She had been to this dormitory building before, but never further than the entrance. This was her first time stepping into a boy’s private room.

“It’s nothing special, really.” Lucian, having already changed his shoes, took the heavy bag from her hand and turned to switch on the living room lights.

A warm, yellow glow filled the space. Mei finished putting on the slippers and looked up.

…It really was nothing special.

A sofa, a coffee table, a desk. In the corner sat a game console that Bronya had strongly “suggested” he acquire. On the coffee table, a few old books on Honkai Energy theory lay open, a bookmark tucked somewhere past the middle.

They were simple, ordinary traces of a life being lived. It wasn’t the excessively tidy, soulless “standard model apartment for a single male” she might have imagined, nor was it the chaotic mess she might have feared.

Mei’s gaze lingered for a moment on the open books before she looked away.

“…It’s tidier than I thought.”

“Did I seem like an untidy person in your eyes, Mei?”

“Eh? No, it’s not like that…” she stammered, shaking her head hurriedly as the tips of her ears bloomed with a faint pink. “I just… I thought that if a boy lives alone, he might be a little more casual about things.”

‘He doesn’t live alone,’a small, mischievous part of Lucian’s mind supplied. He looked at Mei’s earnest, innocent expression and swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.’Bronya comes over for night raids all the time.”Sorry, Mei,’ he thought with a pang of guilt.’Bronya’s way ahead of you. My mouth is practically worn out from her kissing…’

“…I try to maintain it well enough,” Lucian said, lightly brushing the topic aside before looking at the bag in his hand. “This is…”

“Let me. It’s full of ingredients.”

Mei reached out, her fingertips resting lightly on the bag. But she didn’t pull them back immediately.

Lucian looked down. Her hand was resting on his, and he felt her give it a gentle, almost unconscious squeeze. Her fingertips were slightly cool, no doubt from standing in the night wind for too long.

He didn’t move. Mei didn’t withdraw her hand either, though the faint pink on her ears had begun to quietly creep across her cheeks.

“…It’s a bit cold,” she said softly, as if offering an explanation, or perhaps just to fill the charged silence between them.

“Mm,” Lucian hummed in response. He turned his hand, his palm closing around hers. The tote bag swayed gently between them.

He felt Mei’s fingers curl slightly in his palm as the chill on her skin was slowly warmed away by his touch. She didn’t pull her hand back, merely lowering her long eyelashes, letting him hold her like that.

“…Should we start cooking?” Lucian asked, though his tone made it less of a question and more of a gentle suggestion.

“Okay.”

In the kitchen, Mei placed the bag on the counter and began taking things out one by one.

“I originally wanted to prepare everything in advance, but some dishes are better stir-fried fresh…” she explained as she lined up several food containers.

There was pre-cut shredded meat, marinated chicken thighs, a few plump tomatoes, and a small, firm block of tofu.

“You prepared all of this beforehand?” Lucian asked, standing to the side as he watched her methodically arrange the ingredients.

“Yes. I thought doing it after I arrived might waste time, so I got everything ready,” Mei said. From the bottom of the bag, she pulled out a folded apron. She lifted it, but as she was about to put it on, her eyes met Lucian’s.

“Need a hand?” he offered.

“Sure.”

She turned around, presenting her back to him, her deep purple hair cascading over her shoulders.

Lucian took the apron. He reached around her waist, his arms bracketing her slender frame, and gently tightened the ties behind her back.

Mei lowered her eyelids. Through the thin fabric of her cardigan, she could feel the faint brush of his fingertips against the small of her back, sending an indescribable tingle through her.

“…There, all done.”