Honkai Impact: My Power Grows When Valkyries Fall For Me — Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Why Have You All Come to London?

And so, another day passed.

It was noon at Heathrow Airport. Sunlight spilled through the massive glass dome of the ceiling, illuminating the entire departure hall in a brilliant, welcoming warmth.

Lucian stood near the arrivals gate, watching the endless stream of passing travelers with a placid expression that bordered on boredom. He wore a dark gray trench coat that fell to his knees, and his long black hair was tied back in a high ponytail that trailed over his shoulders. His face was a mask of neutrality, but his vivid purple eyes betrayed his true focus, scanning the direction of the exit from time to time.

A slender, imposing figure stood beside him. Long, golden hair was gilded with a warm halo by the sunlight, and piercing blue eyes gazed calmly ahead.

Durandal.

She was dressed in casual clothes today—a simple white shirt paired with dark trousers, topped with a light gray jacket. Despite the ordinary nature of the outfit, the way she wore it projected an aura that wordlessly warned others not to approach. Standing together, the two of them—one dark and quietly observant, the other bright and formidably still—had already become the focus of many curious gazes from passing travelers.

“Are you sure they arrive today?” Lucian finally spoke, a faint note of uncertainty coloring his voice.

Durandal gave a minute nod, her gaze unwavering. “Yes. Rita confirmed the flight information last night.”

Lucian just gave a soft “Oh” and said nothing more.

He honestly wasn’t quite sure why he was even here. In theory, Durandal alone would have been more than sufficient for a simple task like picking people up from the airport. But this morning, Rita had knocked on his door, her burgundy eyes sparkling as she looked at him with a meaningful, knowing smile.

“Mr. Lucian, are you free today?” she had asked, her tone impeccably polite. “Lord Durandal is going to the airport to pick up a few friends. Would you perhaps like to come along?”

At the time, he’d wanted to ask, ‘What would I be doing there?’ But the look on Rita’s face—an expression that clearly said, ‘You’ll know when you get there’—convinced him to simply nod in agreement.

Now, standing here, he was beginning to suspect he had been expertly played once again.

“They’re here.”

Durandal’s voice, calm as ever, cut through his thoughts.

Lucian looked up, his eyes finding the exit amidst the surging crowd. Several familiar figures were just emerging into his field of vision.

At the very front was a girl with silver hair done up in her signature twin braids, a massive, unrestrained smile plastered on her face. She was practically skipping as she walked, her head swiveling in every direction as if she were searching for someone.

The moment she saw Lucian, those brilliant azure eyes instantly lit up with an explosive joy.

“Lucian—!!!”

Kiana’s shout was so powerful it felt like it could have blown the roof off the terminal building. Completely ignoring the stunned stares of the surrounding travelers, she broke into a full sprint, charging straight at him.

Before Lucian could even begin to react, he was struck by a soft, warm body and enveloped in a crushing embrace.

“Lucian, Lucian, Lucian!”

Kiana wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, practically hanging off him as she nuzzled her head against his chest like an oversized, affectionate kitten.

“I missed you so much!”

The force of her impact had knocked him back a step, and he instinctively reached out, his hands landing on her shoulders to steady them both. “Kiana, this is an airport…” he began, his voice a mixture of exasperation and fondness.

“I don’t care!” Kiana looked up, her face tilted towards his, her azure eyes shining with pure, unadulterated happiness. “Anyway, I missed you!”

Looking at her expression, which screamed ‘I am perfectly justified in my actions,’ Lucian suddenly found himself at a complete loss for words.

A soft chuckle sounded from just behind her.

Lucian’s gaze lifted, and he saw Raiden Mei standing a few paces away, a gentle, beautiful smile gracing her features. She was wearing a light purple dress, and her deep violet hair flowed over her shoulders, lending her an even softer, more approachable air than usual.

“Lucian, long time no see.” Her voice was light, yet it carried an indescribable warmth that seemed to reach out and touch him.

Meeting her serene gaze, Lucian suddenly felt a pang of guilt, a complex emotion he couldn’t immediately name. Before he could manage to form a reply, another voice chimed in from the side.

“The Bronya missed Lucian very much, too.”

The silver-gray-haired girl floated silently to his side, her own gray eyes showing no particular emotion. But as she spoke, those eyes were fixed directly on Lucian, as if she were waiting for, and expecting, some kind of response.

Lucian was speechless.

He looked down at Kiana, who was still clinging to him for dear life. He looked over at Mei, who was smiling at him with gentle warmth. He looked at Bronya, who was floating in mid-air with a deadpan expression that somehow still conveyed intense focus.

He suddenly regretted coming to the airport. Deeply.

To the side, Durandal stood quietly, a silent observer of the chaotic reunion. Her gaze swept from Lucian to the three girls surrounding him, and her brow twitched almost imperceptibly. She then turned her head to look at Rita, who was standing just behind her.

Rita had one hand covering her mouth, her shoulders trembling slightly as she tried, and failed, to suppress her amusement.

“Rita.” Durandal’s voice was soft, yet it carried a distinct hint of helplessness. “You knew it would be like this, didn’t you?”

Rita lowered her hand, her expression smoothing out into that familiar, perfectly proper smile. “Lord Durandal, I just felt that…” She paused, her gaze landing on the tangled group of four nearby. “Mr. Lucian would be very happy to see them.”

Durandal was silent for a second. Then, she let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh.

“But I am very unhappy.”

Rita simply maintained her smile and offered no response.

Outside the airport, the afternoon sun was just right.

Kiana had finally been persuaded to stop using Lucian as a personal climbing frame, but she still clung tightly to his arm, her entire posture projecting an air of ‘this is my man, and you all see it.’

Mei walked on Lucian’s other side, her pace composed and elegant, glancing at him from time to time with that same gentle smile.

Bronya floated along behind the group, her gray eyes occasionally sweeping over the hand Kiana had wrapped around Lucian’s arm before looking away again, her face unreadable.

Durandal and Rita walked at the very front, quietly leading the way.

“So…” Lucian finally found an opportunity to speak, breaking the strange, charged silence. “Why did you all suddenly come here?”

Kiana answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “A mission, of course!” She puffed out her chest proudly. “Specifically, it’s… uh… Mei, I forgot…”

Her confident declaration trailed off as she realized she didn’t know the rest. She turned to Mei with a look of desperate appeal.

Mei gave a soft laugh and gracefully picked up the thread. “Actually, it’s a mission to find Jiu Xuan.”

[Translator Note: The raw text uses “Jiu You” (九幽), a place name from a different game. The context points to “Jiu Xuan” (旧轩), a character from the Honkai universe related to Fu Hua. We have corrected this based on likely authorial intent.]

“Schicksal Headquarters approved the mission,” Mei continued, “and also required us to come to London first to gather information. After the investigation is over, we’ll head to Shenzhou to find her.”

Lucian’s mouth twitched. There were so many things wrong with Mei’s explanation that he didn’t even know where to begin. A mission in Shenzhou, yet they had to come to England to gather information? What in the world?

Without even having to think about it, he knew Otto Apocalypse must have been behind this convoluted plan.

‘And Himeko is here too?’ he wondered.

He instinctively scanned their group and, sure enough, saw a familiar figure trailing at the very back. Long, fiery red hair was draped casually over her shoulders, a lazy smile played on her lips, and in her hand, she held a… wine bottle?

Himeko met his gaze and, without missing a beat, raised the bottle toward him, waving it slightly in a casual greeting.

Lucian was speechless once more.

Fine. That was Himeko for you.

“So, how have you all been these past few days?” he asked tentatively, deciding to change the subject.

“It’s been alright,” Kiana said, tilting her head as if seriously recalling the events of the last few days. “Mei made lots of delicious food! The Bronya played games every day! And Teacher Himeko drank every day!”

She counted them off on her fingers, her tone filled with a strange sort of pride. “And I’ve been training hard every day! Aunt Theresa said I’m making fast progress!”

Looking at her face, which was practically glowing with the words ‘praise me,’ Lucian couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, Kiana is very impressive.”

Just then, Bronya floated up to Lucian’s side and spoke in her calm, monotone voice. “Idiot Kiana has indeed been working hard lately.”

Kiana beamed.

“Although her exam scores are still at the bottom of the class,” Bronya continued, “at least she didn’t blow up the training grounds this time.”

Kiana’s face instantly turned a shade of crimson that rivaled Himeko’s hair.

“Bronya—!!!”