Honkai Star Rail: My Chat Group is Full of Broken Timelines — Chapter 18

Chapter 18: First Time at the Ten-Lords Commission, What’s the Protocol?

Just as Miss Liu Ying’s grip tightened on Kazuki’s hand, a sudden, thunderous round of applause erupted from the onlookers.

“What a show! You deserve a reward for that!” a burly, full-bearded man boomed, casually flipping a Strale towards them. The arrow-shaped metal coin struck the bluestone pavement with a crisp, metallic clink before skittering to a stop.

“So powerful! Truly amazing!” another voice called out, followed by the clatter of a second Strale.

“Eh…” Miss Liu Ying finally snapped back to reality. Her cheeks instantly turned a shade of crimson so deep they seemed to have been roasted by the lanterns of Aurum Alley. She threw her hands up to cover her face, the tips of her ears flushing a delicate pink as a wave of mortification washed over her. She wished for nothing more than for a crack to open in the ground and swallow her whole.

Kazuki, however, was already a veteran of the stage. Seizing the opportunity, he gave a deep, theatrical bow to the surrounding crowd. “Thank you all for your generous support!” he announced loudly. “What you just witnessed was a new storytelling segment I’ve been rehearsing, titled ‘Rebirth: My Time as an Empress in Grammar.’ It’s still in the polishing stage, but if you’d like to hear the full version, you can find it at the ‘Persimmon Audio Center’ near the Starskiff Haven central hub in the future. I guarantee you’ll enjoy it!”

“We’ll definitely be there!”

“Got it, Persimmon Audio Center, right?”

The crowd responded with warm smiles and laughter, the tense atmosphere from the Mara-Struck incident dissolving in an instant. This little “farce” had, against all odds, found a respectable conclusion.

Kazuki took the chance to pull Miss Liu Ying into the shadows at the end of the alley, just beyond the prying eyes of the crowd.

“The people from the Ten-Lords Commission will probably be here soon,” he whispered, his voice laced with a newfound urgency. “You should go back first. Come back once the heat has died down, alright?”

Miss Liu Ying’s identity wouldn’t survive a background check. If the Ten-Lords Commission took her in for questioning, her true nature would inevitably be exposed.

She nodded, the bashfulness in her eyes yet to fade. But beneath it, a satisfied smile rippled across her face, as if she were savoring a piece of sweet candy. “Mm… also, thank you, Group Owner Kazuki. I was… very happy today.”

She had never imagined that one day, on a strange and distant planet, she could eat such delicious grilled wings, hear such a moving “story,” and hold someone’s hand with such deep peace of mind.

At that moment, a sense of relief washed through her heart like a warm current, soothing the places that had been stung by the harsh truth just moments before.

“Then I’ll be going,” Miss Liu Ying said, waving at him. Her figure began to grow transparent, like a firefly melting into the morning mist, and then she vanished into the air without a sound.

Kazuki stared blankly at the spot where she had disappeared, the faint, cool sensation of her touch seeming to linger on his fingertips.

Not long after, the rhythmic tread of heavy boots echoed from the distance. A squad of Netherworld Envoys from the Ten-Lords Commission, clad in their somber, ink-colored uniforms, arrived on the scene. They moved in a protective formation around a black-haired, red-eyed puppet Judge—it was none other than Xueyi.

‘It’s her,’ Kazuki realized. Xueyi was originally responsible for the security of this district. With a Mara-Struck incident occurring in Aurum Alley, it was only natural for her to be the one to handle it.

The unconscious Tian Hong was quickly bound by the Netherworld Envoys with specialized chains, clearly a type of dharmic tool designed to suppress the corrupting power of the Mara.

Xueyi began to question the people present one by one, her voice as cold and clear as jade striking stone. After listening to the various accounts, she nodded and scanned the crowd with an impassive gaze.

“Those of you who participated in subduing the Mara-Struck patient just now, please follow us back to the Ten-Lords Commission for a period of observation,” she announced. Her tone was calm, yet it carried an authority that brooked no argument. “The Mara-Struck condition may present concurrent risks. This is a routine procedure. Please cooperate.”

The natives of the Xianzhou were, by and large, a law-abiding people, and that was doubly true for the warm-hearted individuals who had bravely stepped forward. The several people who had intervened earlier all voiced their assent. Kazuki raised his hand as well—he had indeed participated, and there was no point in hiding it. The small group followed the Netherworld Envoys through the winding alley, heading towards the nearby Ten-Lords Commission branch office.

Kazuki was placed in a separate room. The furnishings were spartan, consisting of only a wooden table and two chairs. He knew someone would come to question him soon. Everyone had seen Miss Liu Ying with him; now that she was gone, he would certainly be pressed for answers.

He opened the chat group. After returning, Miss Liu Ying had specifically tagged Robin to express her gratitude. His own private chat interface also held a new message from Robin.

【Pure Beauty Knight: I’m sorry, Group Owner. I realized in hindsight that sending the data directly might have been inappropriate. Miss Liu Ying didn’t have any issues, did she?】

【Cliffhanger King: There were some twists and turns at first, but don’t worry. Everything is fine now.】

【Pure Beauty Knight: It seems I still have a lot to learn from you, Group Owner…】

【Cliffhanger King: We’ll learn from each other and progress together.】

Kazuki closed the chat interface. Just as he set down his communicator, the door was pushed open.

A Judge with dark circles so heavy they seemed to be sagging down her cheeks walked in. It was Hanya.

“Kazuki, Xianzhou native, residing in the lower districts of the Exalting Sanctum, twenty-two years old, passed the adulthood examination… is this information correct?” Hanya asked, flipping through the dossier in her hand. Her voice was tinged with the raspy edge of sleep deprivation.

Kazuki wasn’t surprised. The Ten-Lords Commission governed the cycle of life and death for the Xianzhou people; pulling up his identity information was as easy for them as flipping a hand. “That’s correct. Judge Hanya, if you have any questions, please go ahead.”

“You know me?” Hanya lifted her eyelids, a flicker of surprise in her weary eyes. Although she and Xueyi often went on missions together, Xueyi was usually the one in the public eye. Not many people recognized her.

“I’ve seen you walking with Judge Xueyi on the street before,” Kazuki answered, his tone neither humble nor arrogant. “The two of you make for a striking pair. My memory is fairly good, so I remembered.”

Hanya nodded slowly. This person must have seen her and her sister the last time they were out amongst the living.

She sat down at the table and tapped a fingertip on the dossier. “First, the Ten-Lords Commission commends you for your brave actions. You can collect one thousand Strales as a reward at the front desk when you leave.”

Kazuki gave a slight nod. It seemed she didn’t intend to make things difficult for him.

“Secondly…” Hanya’s tone shifted, and her gaze sharpened into a fine point. “According to statements from witnesses at the scene, you had an Outsider companion with you. She was the one who kicked the Mara-Struck patient, Tian Hong, unconscious. But she was not among the people Xueyi brought back. As her companion, can you explain this?”

“She is my friend, and she is indeed an Outsider,” Kazuki admitted without hesitation. Lying to the Ten-Lords Commission was utterly futile. “It’s just that… there are some issues with her status. She hasn’t been able to process the legal entry procedures, so she left early.”

“An Outsider without legal status,” Hanya murmured, making a few notes in the dossier, her tone flat and unreadable. There were quite a few such people within the Xianzhou’s borders, most of whom came seeking the secret to immortality.

She looked up, her gaze fixed on Kazuki. “Can you tell me why she can’t process the procedures?”

“Her home… it suffered a Swarm Disaster.” Kazuki let the sentence hang in the air. For a Ten-Lords Commission Judge familiar with the common knowledge of the galaxy, that half-sentence was explanation enough.

The hand Hanya used to hold her pen paused mid-stroke. A flash of understanding crossed her tired eyes. “…Then there really is no way.”

Civilizations ravaged by The Swarm were often gnawed so clean that not even a trace of their existence remained. Where could one possibly obtain an identity certificate from a world that was no more? To have survived at all was already a stroke of incredible fortune.

After that, Hanya asked a few more minor questions before letting him go, not even requiring him to stay for observation to see if any Mara-Struck symptoms would appear.

After all… who would ever expect a young man in his early twenties to have a Mara-Struck outbreak? The very thought was enough to make Judge Hanya laugh.

Kazuki collected his one thousand Strales—a reward for his bravery—from the front desk. When he finally walked out of the Ten-Lords Commission branch office, the horizon was already turning a pale white, and a cool morning mist drifted through the alleys.

“Ah,” he murmured with a sigh of emotion, “it’s already dawn…”