Chapter 02

The Orphanage

When Seria mentioned the children, the expression on her face softened noticeably. There was even a faint trace of pride in her eyes.

“With a guardian like you, I’m sure this orphanage will only continue to get better.”

“Mm, thank you. I’ll do my best.”

They chatted for a little while longer. Seeing that lunchtime was approaching, the girl politely asked to take her leave.

“You’re leaving already? Where are you planning to go? If it’s not too far away, I can walk you there.”

Seria’s question left the girl frozen in place.

She had no money to her name, nor did she possess anything that could prove her identity. The moment she stepped out that door, the only things waiting for her were starvation or freezing to death.

“Don’t know where to go?” Seria asked gently. “Then why not stay here for now? Judging by the look of you… it seems you have your own unspeakable difficulties.”

Her words were like a ray of sunlight shining down on the girl. A smile finally appeared on her face.

“Thank you. I won’t freeload here. I can cook, mend clothes, and make little toys.”

“Really? Then it seems I made the right choice.” Seria smiled warmly. “By the way, what should I call you, my adorable young lady?”

“Xiling… I think that’s my name. There are still many things I can’t remember clearly.”

And so, Xiling settled into life at the orphanage.

With her exceptional cooking skills, nimble hands, and endless stream of creative ideas, she quickly became one of the children’s favorite people.

“Big Sister Xiling! Tell us a story!”

“Big Sister Xiling! My toy broke. Can you fix it for me?”

“Big Sister Xiling! I’m hungry! I want something to eat!”

“Big Sister Xiling…”

Sometimes, even Xiling found it difficult to keep up with the children’s overwhelming enthusiasm. Whenever that happened, Seria would step in and help divert some of the attention.

Today, however, something a little unexpected happened.

A newly arrived little girl with pink hair attached herself to Xiling’s side. Although Xiling had dealt with plenty of energetic children before, this girl’s enthusiasm was on an entirely different level, leaving her completely caught off guard.

“Big Sister Xiling, you smell so nice! How do you do it?”

“Big Sister Xiling, your hair is so pretty! Can I touch it?”

“Big Sister Xiling, your arms are so soft! Can I hug you?”

“N-No problem… You can do all of that… but could you get down first…?”

Hearing the little girl’s familiar voice, along with her signature pink hair and pink-violet eyes, Xiling finally realized exactly where she was.

What she hadn’t expected, however, was that Elysia’s hopelessly girl-loving personality had already manifested itself at such a young age.

And judging from the situation…

It was already a rather serious case.

“Oh no… If she keeps developing like this, Elysia is definitely going to charm—and trouble—a whole lot of girls in the future.”

But this wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

If Elysia was still this young, then it meant the Honkai disaster was still a long way off. There was still plenty of time to prepare.

“Thankfully, I haven’t forgotten everything I learned before. Otherwise I’d really be in trouble.”

As she recalled the events of the Honkai storyline, Xiling couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

Looking back over the entirety of the Previous Era, fewer than five people had ultimately survived. And every one of them possessed extraordinary adaptability to Honkai energy.

As for herself?

She was just an ordinary transmigrator with no cheat system, no overpowered physique, and no special abilities. She would become out of breath after walking only a short distance.

Forget about saving anyone.

Simply surviving would already be an enormous challenge.