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ArabicHonkai Star Rail: My Chat Group is Full of Broken Timelines — Chapter 41
Chapter 42: The Naming of Guinaifen
They were ushered into a spacious cabin where several long tables had been arranged. Seated behind them were a number of Xianzhou officials, their expressions impassive. One, clad in the distinct robes of the Divination Commission, was engrossed in a scroll, their head bowed as they scanned its contents. The scroll itself was a mix of densely packed characters that pulsed with a faint, ethereal glow.
“Lancelot, survivor from Planet Camelot, current age twenty-seven.” The Divination Commission official finally looked up, their gaze sweeping over him with a calm, penetrating weight.
“Your homeworld was destroyed by the Antimatter Legion. You led a group of one hundred and thirty-seven survivors, drifting through the starfields. Due to a critical lack of supplies, you plundered the starship of the ‘Winged Flame’ Merchant Group yesterday…”
The official’s report was unnervingly thorough. They not only recited Lancelot’s history but also detailed which starports they had docked at, how many vessels they had been forced to switch between, and even the exact amount of fuel they had siphoned from an abandoned space station the previous month.
Only then did it dawn on Lancelot. This so-called ‘Divination Commission’ hadn’t just investigated them; they had peeled back every layer of their lives, leaving no secret unturned.
“Although you committed acts of plunder, you took no lives, and there were extenuating circumstances.” The official set the glowing scroll down upon the table. Their voice was not loud, yet it carried with perfect clarity to every corner of the room. “Considering your home was destroyed and you lacked a proper upbringing from a young age, the Xianzhou Alliance has decided to exercise leniency.”
A collective breath was held. Even the perpetually grinning Gawain fell silent, his hands balling into tight, nervous fists.
“All members of the ‘Camelot Pirate Crew’ are hereby sentenced to undergo labor reformation at the Xianzhou Luofu Juvenile Correctional Facility for a period of three years.”
The official paused, letting the words sink in before adding, “During this period, you will be educated in interstellar law and essential survival skills. Those who demonstrate exemplary performance may apply to join the Xianzhou or choose to depart on their own upon completion of their sentence.”
Lancelot stood frozen, certain his ears were deceiving him. No death penalty? No exile into the cold void? They were being offered… a chance to start over?
“Is… is this real?” Guinevere whispered, her voice trembling. Her wide eyes, which had been clouded with fear, now shone with a brilliant, disbelieving light.
“The Xianzhou never lies,” the official replied, a faint, rare smile touching their lips. “You committed a wrong, but it was born of desperation, not malice. It was not a grievous offense. Focus on your reformation.”
A sudden, joyous whoop erupted from Gawain, who began thumping Lancelot’s shoulder in a fit of unrestrained excitement. “See! I told you! I told you everything would be fine!”
Lancelot looked at his younger siblings, at the smiles that were once again blooming on their weary faces, and the throbbing ache in the back of his neck seemed to lessen considerably.
He turned back to the official and bowed deeply, his voice choked with emotion but firm in its resolve. “Thank you, Xianzhou… We will reform ourselves. We will not betray this forgiveness.”
As he walked out of the cabin, Lancelot looked up, his gaze drawn to the distant sea of stars visible through a viewport. For the first time in a very long time, he felt that the future might not be as dark as he had imagined.
Not long after being led from the trial cabin, he ran into Kazuki standing at the end of the corridor.
Kazuki was in conversation with Tingyun. Soft light filtered through a nearby porthole, illuminating the pair. Tingyun’s moon-white, elegant robes shimmered with a gentle luster, a perfect complement to the graceful sway of her fluffy fox tail.
As the chief of the ‘Winged Flame’ Merchant Group, she had observed the entire trial. Lancelot knew, with a certainty that settled deep in his gut, that their remarkably light sentence could only have been passed with the assent of this powerful woman.
And Tingyun’s assent, he suspected, was likely due to the suggestion of the young man standing beside her.
The Xianzhou might be just, but it was not known for being soft. Pirates who plundered a merchant convoy would not normally be treated with such clemency, let alone be offered a path to join the Xianzhou. That was an opportunity most beings in the galaxy would fight and die for.
Looking at Kazuki, a sudden, deep understanding washed over Lancelot. He stopped in his tracks. Though his hands were still bound in glowing energy cuffs, he struggled to drop to his knees, lowering his head until his forehead nearly touched the polished deck. “Thank you… Sir.”
If he could have prostrated himself fully, he would have done so without a second thought.
Kazuki was startled by the sudden gesture and quickly reached out to help him up. “What are you doing? Get up, quickly.”
“I know that without your intercession, Sir, we could never have received such an outcome,” Lancelot said, looking up at him, his eyes swimming with a mixture of immense gratitude and deep shame. “I believe in the justice of the Xianzhou, but this forgiveness… this was a gift from you.”
He was not as simple-minded as Gawain. The moment the Divination Commission had read the verdict, he had sensed the impossibly gentle hand behind it. What pirate who raids a Xianzhou convoy gets a mere three years of labor? Someone had to have pulled strings.
“Why thank me?” Kazuki scratched his head, his gaze shifting past Lancelot to Guinevere, who stood hesitantly behind her brother. “If you want to thank someone, you should thank your sister.”
To be honest, he’d initially just felt the pirates’ methods were oddly familiar. It wasn’t until he saw Guinevere’s distinctive orange-red hair and tear-streaked face in the holding cell that he fully confirmed who this group was.
“My sister?” Lancelot was stunned. He turned to look at Guinevere, who seemed just as bewildered. Her beautiful eyes were a clear picture of confusion, silently asking, ‘Why me?’ even as the tips of her ears began to turn a quiet shade of pink.
A sudden, wild thought sparked in Lancelot’s mind. ‘Could it be… this Sir has taken a liking to Guinevere? If so, it wouldn’t be a bad match at all…’
“Huh?!” Guinevere finally processed the implication, her cheeks instantly flushing a brilliant, burning red that spread all the way down her neck.
She was already a striking beauty, but her shy, flustered appearance gave her a new, stunning charm, like a peach blossom adorned with dewdrops after a spring rain.
“If… if Sir does not find me unworthy, Guinevere…” She bit her lip, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum, yet laced with a startling note of seriousness. “…is willing…”
Her whispered words were cut short by Tingyun’s light, musical laughter.
“If Little Kazuki wishes to form such a fine match with this young lady, perhaps he should first ask for Lady Fu Xuan’s opinion on the matter?” Tingyun remarked, her eyes dancing with amusement as she savored the unfolding spectacle.
“Ah… I, well…” Kazuki was struck speechless. He hadn’t chosen his words carefully, and now he was paying the price.
“Alright, alright, I understand.” Seeing him begin to sweat with anxiety, Tingyun smiled and decided to smooth things over. “Little Kazuki simply felt that your sister has a pure and kind nature and shouldn’t be implicated in this. You shouldn’t read too much into it.”
Lancelot finally let out a sigh of relief, but he couldn’t help but glance at Guinevere again. The girl had her head bowed, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her worn clothes. The blush on her face had yet to fade, and hidden deep within her downcast eyes was a faint, almost imperceptible flicker of disappointment.
Perhaps, in her heart, she had seen this as a subtle ‘hero saving the beauty’ scenario. Unfortunately, the hero in question seemed to have no such intentions.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” Kazuki said quickly, eager to steer the conversation away from the treacherous misunderstanding. “You’ll all be living on the Xianzhou soon. You can’t keep using your original names forever. How about I give you some proper Xianzhou names?”
“Then we thank you, Sir, for bestowing us with names,” Lancelot replied with solemn gravity. In his homeland, a child’s name was a sacred gift, typically given by a godparent. To him, the young man before them was not so different from a savior.
Kazuki pondered for a moment, then looked at Lancelot. “You shall be called… Lán Shiluò.” It was the direct, phonetic transliteration of ‘Lancelot’ he’d seen in an old book once.
“Lán Shiluò…” Lancelot repeated the name silently, then nodded with grave acceptance. “Good. I will remember it.”
Next, Kazuki’s gaze fell upon Guinevere, and a genuine smile bloomed on his face. “How about you be called Guinaifen? ‘Gui’ for the auspicious cassia tree, ‘Nai’ which means ‘to be,’ and ‘Fen’ for fragrance. It signifies a character as resilient as a fine tree and a spirit as lovely as a floral fragrance.”
“Guinaifen…” The girl repeated her new name, and her eyes, once downcast, slowly began to light up. A fresh blush crept onto her cheeks, but this time it was tinged with pure joy. “Thank you, Sir. I… I like it very much.”
“That’s a well-chosen name,” Tingyun praised from the side, her tone warm. “Much more elegant than ‘Lán Shiluò.’ It captures faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance all at once.”
Kazuki smiled, then turned to Gawain, who had been standing by, unable to get a word in. “As for you, you’ll be called Gao Wen.”
“There’s one for me too?” Gawain was taken aback for a second, then broke into a wide grin, showing a row of pearly white teeth. “Gao Wen? Sounds pretty impressive! Alright, I’ll take it!”
Kazuki offered a few more reminders about the rules of the Xianzhou: the correctional facility’s daily schedule, the nature of their labor reformation, and who to seek out if they encountered any difficulties.
Lancelot committed each point to memory. It wasn’t until the Cloud Knights came to gently urge them along that he, along with Guinaifen and Gao Wen, bowed one last time to Kazuki before following the soldiers onto the transport vessel.
Watching the small ship slowly depart, Kazuki stood on the deck of his own vessel, feeling suddenly a bit dazed.
Tingyun walked over to stand beside him. “What are you thinking about?” she asked with a smile.
“Thinking that perhaps this is the Xianzhou’s true nature,” Kazuki said softly, his eyes fixed on the gradually receding ship. “Not just the sharp, vengeful edge of The Hunt, but also the warmth of tolerance.”
Tingyun nodded in agreement, her fox tail swaying gently behind her. “After all, everyone makes mistakes sometimes, don’t they?”
The starship rumbled back to life, charting a course towards the next starfield.
Kazuki knew this brief encounter with the pirates might just become the most memorable part of his journey. It was just… he truly hadn’t expected that, by a complete twist of fate, he would meet Guinevere and, in place of Sushang, become the one to give them their Xianzhou names.
Indeed… in the vastness of the galaxy, you truly never knew who you would meet next.