By the time she snapped back to reality, Long Night Moon had already released her hand, naturally pulled out a chair, and sat down beside them.
She rested the black umbrella beside her leg, folded her hands on her lap, maintaining an elegant posture. Her crimson eyes calmly looked at Raven, as if that handshake had been nothing more than a common courtesy.
Raven was jolted awake, retracting her hand as if shocked, cold sweat instantly breaking out on her back.
She looked at Stelle across from her, who remained expressionless, and then at the crimson-eyed girl beside her, who was smiling enigmatically. She felt a sense of absurdity rushing straight to her head.
Raven's heart felt as if ten thousand grass mud horses were stampeding through it, with countless question marks flooding her mental screen.
She felt like she was trapped in a bizarre and fantastical nightmare.
Perhaps the shock was too intense, or perhaps a dark sense of humor, honed by years of living on the edge, was triggered under extreme pressure. Raven looked at the intensely surreal scene before her, and her tense facial muscles suddenly twitched uncontrollably. Then, she let out a quiet "puchi" sound, laughing softly.
The laugh was brief, tinged with self-mockery.
This sudden laughter caused Long Night Moon to tilt her head slightly. Her crimson eyes focused precisely on Raven's face, the faint smile still playing on her lips.
"What are you laughing at?"
Long Night Moon asked softly, her tone betraying no emotion.
"Heh... heheh..."
Raven let out a few dry laughs, raising a hand to cover her forehead, concealing most of her expression and attempting to hide her earlier lapse. "Nothing, really nothing."
She tried hard to make her voice sound normal. "I just suddenly remembered... the private island I was about to buy with a loan a while ago. It seems the market hasn't been great these past couple of days, and the price dropped a bit... I'm just a little happy about that."
She casually fabricated a reason that she genuinely cared about, attempting to gloss over the matter.
"Is that so?"
Long Night Moon's voice remained soft. She picked up Raven's cup of cold black coffee from the table, seemed to glance at it casually, and then put it back down, returning her gaze to Raven's face. "Then Miss Raven should... be a little careful."
She paused. A faint light seemed to flicker deep within her crimson pupils, and the curve of her lips became subtle. She spoke clearly, word by word:
"Make sure it doesn't get... destroyed."
"Boom—!"
This sentence exploded in Raven's ears like a clap of thunder!
The fake smile on her face instantly froze completely, then shattered inch by inch.
The fingers covering her forehead tightened abruptly, her nails almost digging into her skin.
All the previous emotions in her eyes, hidden beneath the shadow of her hood, were instantly replaced by sheer horror!
(The island... destroyed...)
This sentence was like a poisoned ice pick, fiercely drilling into the deepest secret of her heart!
In the Original World Line, Raven's private island was indeed destroyed by the Honkai!
Yet the "Long Night Moon" standing before her—a character from the honkai: star rail universe who theoretically could never know about this "future"—how could she utter those words with such precision and profound meaning?!
(She knows... she knows I'm a Transmigrator?! She knows what happens to the original "Raven"?! Was it because of the handshake... Memory Probing?! Yes, the power of the Path of Remembrance. Long Night Moon might also... No, maybe it's just a coincidence? She just said it casually, and I'm being too sensitive? Yes, that must be it. I mustn't panic!)
A storm raged in Raven's heart, countless thoughts clashing violently.
As a Transmigrator, she had carefully guarded this secret for years, having perfectly integrated herself into the role of "Natasha Ciora."
She absolutely refused to believe, and was unwilling to accept, that her biggest secret could be so easily exposed during a bizarre meeting and a brief handshake!
She slowly took a breath, forcing herself to calm down.
She struggled to piece her stiff expression back together, trying to force out a more natural smile.
She slowly lowered her head, avoiding Long Night Moon's gaze that seemed capable of piercing all pretense, and spoke in a dry voice:
"H-how could that be... Miss Long Night Moon, please don't joke around."
She tried to steer the conversation back to normal. "The place I chose was strictly vetted. It has good scenery and a safe location. How could it possibly be... destroyed? Heheh..."
The last two dry laughs were pale and weak.
Then, she heard Long Night Moon's voice. It was still that gentle tone, yet it slid into her ears like a cold snake:
"But, I never... told you my name was 'Long Night Moon.'"
!!!
Raven's lowered head snapped still, and her entire body seemed to freeze instantly.
(...Ah!)
She frantically replayed the brief exchange—Long Night Moon walked over, said "Hello" to Stelle, then said "Hello, Miss Raven, right?" to her, shook hands, and sat down... She had not introduced herself at all from beginning to end!
She never said her name!
The name "Long Night Moon" had entirely slipped out subconsciously the moment she saw the other party's appearance, based on her knowledge of the honkai: star rail plot!
Cold sweat instantly soaked Raven's back, icy and clammy.
A lapse! A fatal lapse!
Because the impact of the other party's appearance was too great, and the absurdity of "Long Night Moon" being here was too overwhelming, she had completely ignored basic caution!
She had immediately "defined" the other person in her mind, and even blurted out the name!
Now, this fatal flaw had been casually seized upon and... pointed out by the other party.
Raven could feel Long Night Moon's crimson gaze landing on her lowered head like a tangible weight, carrying scrutiny, amusement, and a cat-and-mouse curiosity.
In her ear, Long Night Moon's gentle yet undeniable voice sounded, seemingly closer this time:
"So, dear Miss Raven..."
The voice held a perfectly measured hint of curiosity, but beneath it lay a cold undercurrent. "Could you tell me... where exactly... you learned that name?"
Raven's throat felt clogged, and she stammered, unable to produce a complete syllable for a long time.
Despite having struggled for years in this dangerous world, growing from initial confusion and helplessness into an Elite Mercenary for the World Serpent, witnessing the cruelty of the Honkai, and executing countless dangerous missions, she believed her heart had long been tempered into iron.
Yet at this moment, under the calm gaze of the crimson-eyed girl and her seemingly casual question, she suddenly felt like she had reverted to the terrified, helpless rookie she was when she first transmigrated into this world.
A deep sense of powerlessness seized her—had she changed nothing after all these years?
Was her supposed adaptation and growth still so fragile in the face of true "Anomaly"?
She gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Then, as if giving up a futile struggle, she slowly raised her head, showing a smile of acceptance that what was done was done.
She looked at Stelle, who remained silent across from her, and then at Long Night Moon, who was quietly waiting for an answer beside her.
(Forget it... persisting will only look worse. Maybe I should...)
She sighed softly and spoke in the most relaxed tone she could manage. "Ah, well. I have an occupational hazard: I take my work too seriously. When it comes to information about... uh, relevant members of the organization, I always like to do preliminary research and know everything clearly. It's just to ensure the mission goes smoothly."
She attempted to attribute her knowledge of Long Night Moon to her "professional quality" and "intelligence gathering ability" as an excellent mercenary.
Although she herself found the excuse laughably weak.
But she had to struggle a little.
She could not accept that her identity as a "Transmigrator," which she had guarded for so long and viewed as her biggest secret and final trump card, would be exposed in such a trivial manner during this absurd meeting. She was unwilling to yield.
"Oh?"
Long Night Moon slightly raised an eyebrow, and a trace of amusement, as if she had heard an interesting joke, flashed in her crimson eyes. "Is that right? Then Miss Raven is certainly a...'serious' person."
She emphasized the word "serious," the amusement in her tone barely concealed.
Raven twitched her lips, struggling to maintain the expression of a professional mercenary. "Not at all. Please excuse my familiarity."
She felt her smile was about to freeze and die on her face, and the cold sweat on her back had already chilled completely.
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