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ArabicHonkai Star Rail: My Chat Group is Full of Broken Timelines — Chapter 13
Chapter 13: An Adorably Robotic Firefly
“Is it just something you’re not used to?” Kazuki asked, studying Firefly’s profile as she stared blankly at the moon hanging in the artificial sky. He thought for a moment, concluding it was the only logical reason. For a Firefly who had yet to join the Stellaron Hunters, a Firefly who had not become Titania II in this timeline, combat was almost the entirety of her existence. Peaceful nights like this were likely a foreign concept.
“Mm…” Firefly nodded gently, her voice barely a whisper. “On Glamoth, sleep isn’t a necessity for the Iron Cavalry. Our bodies are configured so that even going months without rest won’t affect our health. Most of us only sleep to relieve the fatigue after intense combat… Back in the cave, I had already rested enough before waking up, and chatting with you all wasn’t tiring at all, so…”
So, she naturally felt no sleepiness at all.
“Well, since you’re not tired, there’s nothing we can do about that,” Kazuki said, pushing himself to his feet and patting the dust from his clothes. “How about we go out for a walk instead?”
“Out?” Firefly was taken aback, a flicker of confusion passing through her clear, glass-like eyes. “Are we allowed to go out at night on the Luofu?”
In her limited experience, the nights on Glamoth belonged to the military. Civilians were strictly forbidden from being outside; the streets were forever populated only by patrolling Iron Cavalry and their cold, imposing armor.
“Of course we can.” Kazuki smiled as he pulled open the courtyard gate. “And you don’t need to worry about the streets being empty, either. You have to remember, this is a Xianzhou ship. The Luofu alone has a permanent population in the hundreds of billions. For the Xianzhou people, the difference between day and night is just a matter of which hours they’re accustomed to being active. The old rule of ‘working by day and resting by night’ was abandoned long ago, ever since the ships first left their home planet.”
Still looking somewhat bewildered, Firefly followed him out onto the main road. The sight that greeted her instantly made her eyes widen.
A dazzling web of neon lights and holographic signs was woven between the towering, ancient-styled buildings. The streets were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people, a vibrant chorus of vendors’cries, joyful laughter, and the low hum of passing starships filling the air. The entire district was bustling as if a grand festival were underway. This was utterly different from the’night’ she knew—there was no grim, killing aura, only a evident, lively energy that pulsed with life.
She instinctively reached out and grabbed the hem of Kazuki’s clothes, her fingers clutching the fabric tightly, like a small child visiting a sprawling city for the very first time.
“Where are we going?” she asked quietly, her gaze still reluctant to leave the shimmering, ever-shifting lights.
“To the Department of Terrestrial Balance,” Kazuki replied. “Your current situation is no different from that of an illegal Outsider. Without registering your identity, you won’t even be able to ride the public starships—and some areas within the Exalting Sanctum require starship travel to reach.”
“Mm, I’ll listen to you,” Firefly nodded, offering not the slightest objection. She might not have understood the full significance of registering an identity, but she inexplicably trusted that Kazuki would not harm her.
Kazuki led her through the bustling crowd to the Exalting Sanctum branch of the Department of Terrestrial Balance. Unlike more specialized departments like the Artisanship Commission, the Department of Terrestrial Balance, as the agency dealing most frequently with Xianzhou residents, had branches in every major abode. As one of the most densely populated abodes on the Luofu, the Exalting Sanctum’s branch remained brightly lit and busy even late into the night.
Considering Firefly lacked any legally recognized identity certified by the Interstellar Peace Corporation, Kazuki walked directly to a familiar workstation in a quiet corner—the desk of an Executive from his own clan.
“Young Master?” The Executive looked up, his eyes widening slightly when he saw who it was. He hurriedly stood, his tone respectful yet tinged with a formal restraint. “What can the Department of Terrestrial Balance do for you?”
The moment the man spoke, Kazuki felt that unfortunate, thick barrier of status being erected between them.
But now was clearly not the time for such sentiments. Kazuki gestured to Firefly, who stood just behind him, and tried to keep his tone as natural as possible. “This is my friend, an Outsider. She didn’t enter through the Jade Gate when she came to the Luofu, so her identity hasn’t been entered into the Xianzhou system yet. Could you please help her with the registration?”
The words were tactful, but the meaning was clear enough: This is an illegal immigrant without legal status. Please help me sort it out.
The Department of Terrestrial Balance Executive was a smart man. He glanced at Firefly, then back at Kazuki, and didn’t ask a single extraneous question. His fingers flew across the light screen as he skillfully pulled up the backend archives. He quickly found a suitable record—the file of an Outsider who was biologically confirmed dead but whose household registration had not yet been officially canceled by the Department.
The affairs of Outsiders after their death were not managed by the Ten-Lords Commission, so there was always a considerable degree of flexibility with such files.
“Young Master, what is your friend’s name?” the Executive asked, looking up from his screen.
“Firefly,” Kazuki said. “The ‘fire’from a dancing flame, the’fly’ from a moth drawn to it.”
“Firefly… a good name,” the Executive muttered while entering the information. “Place of origin, date of birth, these…”
“You’re the expert, just make something up,” Kazuki said, not wanting to be an amateur telling a professional how to do his job. He simply entrusted the matter entirely to the man’s discretion.
Soon, a small, automatic camera popped up from a slot under the desk and with a soft click, took a headshot of Firefly. Having probably never seen a camera before, she was clearly startled and nervous during the photo. Her eyes were wide and round, her lips pressed into a tight, straight line.
Not long after, an identity credential printed with the photo was handed to Kazuki.
“A bit robotic,” Kazuki couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at the picture on the new ID.
Though Firefly didn’t understand what ‘robotic’ meant, she instinctively felt it wasn’t a compliment. Her cheeks puffed out slightly, making her look like a wronged little animal.
“But…” Kazuki’s tone shifted, softening as he leaned in a little closer. “It’s still quite cute.”
Firefly’s cheeks instantly flushed a brilliant red. She hurriedly lowered her head, her gaze fixed on her own toes, unable to say a single word for a long time.
The night breeze blew in through a nearby open window, carrying the savory aroma from distant food stalls. It also stirred her silver-white hair, which hung over her shoulders, causing it to shimmer with a fine, silvery light under the glow of the office lamps.