Honkai Star Rail: My Chat Group is Full of Broken Timelines — Chapter 99

Chapter 99: A Ranger’s Welcome

[Galaxy Ranger: What do you mean, go beat up the Antimatter Legion with my dad?]

[Cliffhanger King: Literally.]

[Galaxy Ranger: Huh?]

A cascade of question marks flooded the chat interface, so numerous they threatened to spill out of the screen’s digital confines. Kazuki could almost picture March 7th on the other side, staring at her device with a completely bewildered expression.

He was just about to type out an explanation when a new message popped into the group, crisp and efficient.

[General of the Imperial Guard: It’s quite obvious, Miss March. The Group Leader has encountered the version of your father from his world, and they are currently discussing how to deal with the Antimatter Legion.]

Qingque’s messages always arrived with impeccable timing, like a key sliding perfectly into a lock, instantly dispelling March 7th’s confusion.

[Galaxy Ranger: Oh, oh! So that’s what’s happening!]

Her realization was immediately followed by another, more enthusiastic message.

[Galaxy Ranger: This lady just woke up! You want me to lend a hand? Beating up the Antimatter Legion is my favorite thing to do!]

Kazuki chuckled as he read her messages. No wonder her words seemed a bit dazed; his @ mention had clearly startled her awake, and her mind was still catching up to the waking world.

[Titania II: A fight? Do you need my help?]

Firefly, finding herself without a war to wage, confessed that her hands were itching for a good fight. As the Empress of Glamoth, she lacked the freedom of the Iron Cavalry knights who roamed the galaxy in the name of the Molten Knights. She couldn’t afford to be away from the center of power for long.

Consequently, ever since she last visited Kazuki’s world to detonate a few planets—a recording of which she proudly presented to the IPC upon her return—she hadn’t seen any real action.

[Cliffhanger King: Hang on, I’ll ask if I can bring people.]

Kazuki slipped back into Loretta’s command tent.

“What’s wrong? Is there another problem?” Loretta asked, looking up from her work as Kazuki re-entered.

“Big Sis, I wanted to ask…” Kazuki scratched his head, his tone a bit tentative. “Can I bring my friends along? They also want to help fight the Antimatter Legion.”

He was worried that having several people materialize out of thin air would arouse the suspicion of the Galaxy Rangers. It was far safer to give them a heads-up.

Hearing this, the pen in Loretta’s hand paused. A warm smile then spread across her face. “Bring friends? Of course. As long as they fight for justice in the universe, they are all friends of the Rangers. There’s strength in numbers, and the Antimatter Legion is never an easy foe.”

[Cliffhanger King: The Lead Hunter on my side agreed. You can all come over.]

The moment his message hit the chat, the group erupted in a flurry of activity.

[Pure Beauty Knight: If it’s possible, I would also like to come.]

As a Knight of Beauty, Robin was no stranger to dealing with the abominations of the Antimatter Legion. The chance to tag along with the Galaxy Rangers and aid another civilization in their struggle was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

[Cliffhanger King: Okay, so Firefly, Robin, and March are all in. Anyone else?]

Only two members hadn’t voiced their intentions… or more accurately, only one.

After all, Castorice wouldn’t dare risk Lygus discovering that the factor simulating the Path of the Equilibrium had vanished from her person yet again.

[General of the Imperial Guard: Well, the Galaxy Rangers and the Xianzhou are like-minded partners, both following the arrows of the Reignbow. Since this is a Ranger activity and it gives me a chance to exterminate an army of the Ancestor of Destruction without even leaving my house, I must naturally lend my aid!]

Kazuki had almost forgotten. The Qingque in this chat group harbored a deep-seated grudge against the Path of Destruction. In her timeline, Phantylia’s invasion had led to the successive deaths of both General Jing Yuan and Master Diviner Fu Xuan.

[Fanfic Author: I’m so envious…]

Castorice’s message was a small, sad sigh. Being unable to leave or even enter Amphoreus was a truly terrible fate.

[Cliffhanger King: Butterfly Baby, don’t worry. Since our next major goal is to deal with Emperor the Third, we’ll have to start involving Amphoreus eventually.]

[Fanfic Author: I hope that day…]

Castorice stopped halfway through her message. Did she hope that day would come sooner? Anything involving Amphoreus was bound to be extraordinarily dangerous; wishing for it felt like cursing everyone. But if she hoped it would come later… Ms. Herta, trapped in the Emperor the Third timeline, was still suffering. How could they possibly delay?

[Cliffhanger King: In any case, whether that day comes early or late, we still need to be prepared. We need to have a strategy discussed and ready before then, right?]

Understanding her predicament perfectly, Kazuki stepped in to ease her conflict.

[Fanfic Author: Exactly… Lord Kazuki really knows the right thing to say.]

Castorice’s reply carried a evident sense of relief. On her end of the screen, she let out a soft sigh and sent a chibi emoji of a smiling butterfly into the chat.

[Titania II: You just wait!]

Firefly’s message was a playful huff, and a teleportation request immediately appeared on Kazuki’s screen.

He couldn’t accept it just yet. He first approved the requests from Robin and March 7th.

On the open ground outside the tent, a faint blue light began to glow. The light coalesced, gradually forming two distinct figures.

Robin was clad in a suit of silver-white knight’s armor, its surface etched with complex, flowing patterns. The longsword at her waist emitted a soft, gentle light, and her entire being radiated an aura of holy resolve.

March 7th, by contrast, looked like she had stepped out of an old Western holofilm, but the large bow slung across her back created a charmingly mismatched aesthetic.

Only after the two of them had fully materialized did Kazuki approve Firefly’s request.

The moment Firefly appeared, her eyes immediately locked onto Kazuki, narrowing into a glare. But seeing Robin and March 7th standing beside him, she simply let out a small “hmph” and decisively grabbed his arm in a silent, possessive gesture that staked her claim.

March 7th watched the display with a touch of awkwardness, subtly nudging Robin’s arm. Robin shot her a helpless look in return, though the corners of her lips were twitching with a suppressed smile.

“Ah, wait… You’re actually Miss Robin!” March 7th stared at the armored knight for a few more seconds before the realization finally struck her with the force of a thunderclap.

“You only just realized the Pure Beauty Knight in our group is the Robin?” Kazuki wore a look of dawning, and slightly amused, realization. He had assumed that even if the group members didn’t know every detail about one another, their basic identities were common knowledge. He hadn’t expected March to be completely in the dark.

“Aiya, I just… I never connected the dots!” March 7th scratched her head, a blush creeping up her cheeks. Then, her eyes lit up as she rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a record. It was an album Robin had released in her early years; the cover was slightly worn, a clear sign of having been handled with loving care for a long time.

“Miss Robin! I’m your fan!”

“March is my fan?” Robin looked genuinely surprised, but a gentle smile soon graced her features. “But… I’m not the big star Robin you’re familiar with.”

“I don’t know the real big star Robin anyway!” March 7th declared, holding out the record with eyes full of hopeful expectation. “But I’m familiar with my fellow group member! Miss Robin, can you give me an autograph?”

For March 7th to produce a Robin album out of nowhere was a surprise. If this Robin signed it, this album would become a one-of-a-kind collector’s item, the only one in the universe.

“Hehe, my old man has always been poor, but he never wanted me to go without. When we were being hunted, our ship didn’t have an internet connection, so he scrounged up an old record player for me. It came with a few records when he bought it, and your songs were in there, Miss Robin… I listened to them while we were on the run, while I was helping him fight the bad guys. To me, your singing is the soundtrack to some of the most important moments of my life!”

March 7th recounted the memory with a bright, genuine smile, as if recalling the most beautiful time of her life.

Robin’s fingertips, resting on the edge of the record, trembled slightly.

She looked at the light shining in March 7th’s eyes—it was a reflection of a pure, warm memory, completely at odds with her own long-held perception of the ‘big star Robin.’ She had always felt that identity was an illusion, a fragile bubble that could offer no true salvation. But at this moment, this worn-out record made her suddenly realize that the past she had so deliberately tried to abandon might have unknowingly given strength to others.

“So there was such a story…” Robin’s voice was tinged with a newfound emotion. She took the pen from March 7th’s hand and, with a solemnity that surprised even herself, signed her name across the album cover. “Thank you, March. Perhaps… perhaps it’s time for me to face that ‘big star’ identity properly.”

“Is everyone here? Then it seems I’ve arrived late…”

Just as Kazuki approved the ‘General of the Imperial Guard’s’ request, a familiar voice—though now imbued with a slightly more mature and stable timbre—sounded from beside him.