Juviel and Hua had been cuddling quietly when she finally spoke up, her tone soft but serious. “Juviel, I want to return to the present.”

He looked at her, unsurprised. The System had already mentioned she was helping a friend when they summoned her.

[Your next line would be “Is it possible to send her back?”] 

"Is it possible to send her- Hm."

[Well, yes], the System replied. 

[But we’re too broke right now. We can afford two trips at most, so it’s best to wait until we wrap things up with Terminus. Also, I’ve slowed time in the Current Era by around 20 times, so she doesn’t need to worry too much.] 

Juviel relayed the message. “I can send you back, just not yet. But when the time comes, I’m going with you.”

Hua smiled. The idea of him joining her gave her genuine comfort. Kiana, her friend, had been too afraid to reach out to her friends. Maybe this time things could be different.

“And don’t worry about the time difference,” he added. “Time in the present is slowed down.”

Juviel rubbed her head. That small gesture reassured her that Kiana hadn’t been overtaken by the Herrscher within. That relief washed over her. It had already been over six months here since she arrived, and Kiana had only just begun stabilizing when she was pulled away.

[Although I trust her friend can manage, we need to help sooner rather than later.]

"Didn’t see you this proactive when we summoned her..."

[I actually stopped time completely at first. But then I couldn’t sustain it. Dropped to 50x, then 30x, then 20x. We either find more SP or the time difference will disappear altogether.]

That made Juviel pause. The System’s power was clearly fading, her injuries worsening. Rushing the next Eruption, which was six months away, was the fastest way to get a ton of SP at once, but it would also mean facing a Herrscher that was 120% stronger. That was not an option, especially with the Will of Honkai acting strangely.

"How long have you stopped time since her arrival?"

[About three months.]

"Three months!? So until we met Terminus?"

[Correct. Then 50x for one month, 30x the next, and 20x after that. We’re currently in the month slowed by 20x.]

“Wait—so how many days have passed in the present since she arrived?”

[About 3 days.]

“Three days!? You squeezed six months into three days!?”

[I’m just that good. Well, used to be.]

Juviel exhaled sharply. The System loved to brag, but this time it might not be just talk.

“Juviel, how many days have passed since I arrived?” Hua asked. Her voice was tense, worry apparent. 

“About three days,” he answered.

That relieved her immensely. Although their souls were bound, she couldn’t feel Kiana anymore. Maybe the timeline distortion was interfering. What scared her more was the idea of Kiana having to fight Sirin alone.

She chuckled at a stray thought—if her soul belonged to Juviel now, and Kiana’s was still linked to hers... did that make Kiana his Valkyrie too? 

“Why are you giggling?” he asked when she let out a small laugh.

She coughed, feeling a bit embarrassed for giggling like that so she deflected. “No reason. Anyway, Juviel, could you help this girl from Sapphire City?”

Her friend. The one she'd failed to save. But not this time. She handed him a feather that held her friend's appearance. 

Juviel nodded. Hua exhaled and added, “Zombies started appearing frequently around this time too. It would be wise to prepare.”

Herrschers we're already an issue, now there's another apocalypse? Juviel sighed and replied, “I’ll notify the MOTHs.”

Grateful and happy to see him take it as seriously as she wanted him to, she gently held his hand. “Be careful.”

He kissed her, then left the Dorm, squinting as sunlight hit his face. Hours had passed. But he didn’t regret spending them with her.

Before departing, he updated Sakura and Rin. Rin, naturally, didn't want him to go and threw a tantrum. Ice cream solved that. Sakura was more subtle in her protest, but a kiss resolved that too. She did eye him suspiciously, more confused than suspicious though.

“Why do you smell different than last night?” she asked.

“New perfume,” he mumbled, already sweating.

Rin interrupted like the timely best friend he always wanted in his life. “Brother-in-law! This is the big sister who made that chocolate video!” She pointed at a video from the ‘QuantumCooking’ channel.

Juviel squinted. That chef looked like Acheron, albeit with a lab coat and was wearing glasses. But it couldn’t be. Acheron would never make something that unholy. Right?

"Speaking of Acheron, where’s her Target Quest?"

[Still thinking.]

"Don’t tell me you’re too broke for rewards."

[... Sometimes I just want to smack you.]

He laughed. Then warned the girls not to leave alone, especially with zombies lurking. Of course, he only mentioned it to Sakura, there wasn't a need to scare Rin about it. Sakura promised to be more careful and not let Rin out of her sight.

After hugging them both, he headed back to Nagazora. He missed his other Hua, and of course his student Elysia and the serene Aponia.

[What about Mobius?]

"Her too."

He chuckled wryly as he glanced at her Trust Percentage. 

[Trust Percentage: 52%]

That was already quite high. It had taken months to get there, and it hadn’t moved much since. It hovered between 50% and 55% forever.

[You have pleased Mobius for +1080 +1080 +1080 Favorability Points!] 

[Additionally, her Trust went up. Current Trust Percentage: 75%!]

"Huh? What!? How!? My gacha like luck triggered or something? We were literally talking about her just now!"

He was very curious, although he was tempted, he still didn’t change his plans. Hua, Elysia, Aponia first. Mobius later.

[She’s just human, Juviel. She’s bound to worry when you disappear for more than a week after going to fight a Herrscher.]

"No. She doesn’t care much for humans. I see it in her eyes."

[You’re not exactly human, so why's that your concern? Plus aren't you curious why her Trust for you went up? Meet her after Hua at least. Fulfill future Hua’s request. Reduce casualties.]

"... You got me. Fine, I'll go after spending time with Hua."

He apologized mentally to Elysia and Aponia, then pulled out his recently gotten phone; March's phone. His old phone was gone. This new one? Intergalactic. He had no idea how to use it apart from the text messages and calls to existing contacts. But adding new contacts? He had no clue! 

"Can I contact Aponia directly through our link?"

[Yes, but it’ll cost all your SP.]

"...1000?"

[1000. 500 if you use that phone as a medium.]

"Why isn’t it free?"

[Maybe next update. For now, new Daily Salvation Quest: Give your seat to the pregnant woman in front of you. Reward: 2,000 SP.]

"Easy."

He stood and offered his seat with a smile. “Here you go, beautiful lady.”

She blushed. “Thank you.”

[I said give her the seat. Not your heart.]

"Sorry, habit."

Still, something felt off. She wore a ring, was supposedly pregnant and married, yet acted like a schoolgirl.

[You forgot about the title which makes you attractive to women over 20.]

"Mobius barely noticed."

[If it didn’t work, she’d have kicked you out from the start.]

Fair.

Twenty minutes of banter passed before the train arrived. Distracted, he never contacted Aponia, maybe this was done on purpose by the easily jealous System... But he didn't know that, of course. He was about to step off when he felt a tug on his shirt.

It was the woman. Shy, she handed him a note with her number.

He felt tempted, but he remembered the agreement he had with the System. No relationships or flirting unless it was with Salvation Targets.

“Sorry, I’m taken,” he said politely.

But her reply shocked him as she grinned enthusiastically: “Same, but that’s not stopping me, is it?”

Juviel blinked. Even the System was stunned.

"I need an exorcist."

He took the paper out of politeness, smiled at her, making her leave him alone thinking he thought alike to her. Then he bolted the second she looked away.

"No way I’m dealing with such a freaky woman!”

[Wise choice.] 

(Sorry for the short chapter y'all, I was sleepy when I wrote this.)