Honkai Star Rail: But I can touch Castorice

Marmoreal Palace, Heroes' Bathhouse.

Hyacine, Phainon, and Mydei had all come here and heard Aglaea speak of Derick's situation in the Underworld.

"Ah? How could Derry-dear be…?" Hyacine covered her mouth, speaking in shock.

"I can see that he still held many expectations for the future in his heart, and many ideas. He just brought Suspended Sword City over, and the situation in Okhema has also improved greatly thanks to his efforts. After all that effort, he's to remain in the Underworld forever without even enjoying the fruits of his victory.'"

Mydei and Phainon's expressions also turned somber.

The key was that some things couldn't be voiced. Should they stop Derick? But that would mean letting the souls of the Underworld linger in Styxia indefinitely, becoming wandering, lonely spirits and wild ghosts? Or should they let Castorice, who was also qualified to be the Titan of Death, handle these matters?

All of these were impossible. Derick couldn't bring himself to do it, and neither could Mydei or Phainon. Faced with this unspeakable frustration, both Mydei and Phainon felt a knot of gloom in their hearts.

Mydei said to Phainon in a low voice: "Later, at the training ground, I want to have a good fight with you."

"Alright, I was thinking the same thing." Phainon nodded in agreement.

Aglaea looked at them and continued: "I know you're not feeling comfortable, but this is something that must be experienced on the Flamechase Journey. Derick isn't the first, and naturally, he won't be the last. One day, I too will be sacrificed midway through the Flamechase Journey, and at that time, Phainon, I will need you to take my place and continue this journey."

"I understand."

"Oh, right, if you see Castorice during this time, remember not to say anything to console her. She still believes Derick will come back… Hmm!?" Aglaea was just about to tell the three of them how to comfort Castorice, but as she was speaking, her expression froze, and a look of astonishment appeared on her face.

"Aya, why do you have that expression?" Seeing Aglaea, who rarely showed any expression, suddenly look like this, Tribbie immediately asked with concern.

Aglaea raised her hand: "You don't need to think of ways to comfort Castorice."

Mydei nodded in understanding: "I know, she believes, or rather, is unwilling to believe that Derick can't come back. We will cooperate with her and not let her think Derick isn't returning."

No, you misunderstood! Aglaea looked at Mydei.

She slowly shook her head: "What I mean is, Derick has already returned. Naturally, you don't need to comfort Castorice anymore."

"Wha—!?"

"Ah!?"

"Huh!?"

"Aya? You're not joking, are you?"

Mydei, Phainon, Hyacine, Tribbie—four different faces showed the same dumbfounded expression.

"Although some things are quite surprising, Derick has indeed returned." Aglaea 'looked' at them and said.

"What's going on?" Everyone was somewhat at a loss.

"Let's go and see first," Phainon said to the others.

"Mm."

Inside Derick's room.

Polyxia watched her older sister, who was in the kitchen preparing food. Castorice hummed a little tune as she placed the prepared meat and onions into the pot.

"…" Polyxia hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

She would rather have Castorice cry her heart out, as that would at least allow her to vent her emotions. Seeing her like this, Polyxia was afraid that her sister might go mad one day.

This situation looked extremely dangerous.

'Just one more day, let my sister wait like this for one more day. If she still maintains this mindset, I must tell her the truth again,' Polyxia thought to herself. 'This can't go on, I'm really worried about you.'

Sitting in her wheelchair, Polyxia watched Castorice take out the prepared food along with three bowls and plates. With a puzzled expression, she asked Castorice: "Sister, why did you prepare three sets of tableware?"

"Derick didn't say when he'd be back. I was worried he might return now and want something to eat, so I've been keeping it ready," Castorice said in a serious tone.

'It's over, my sister's condition has worsened,' Polyxia's heart sank as she looked at Castorice's expression.

"Um…" Polyxia couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to say something to Castorice.

But just at that moment, a gust of wind entered the room, and two figures appeared. Cipher's voice was heard.

"I say, Castorice, you only thought about Derick coming back. Didn't you consider who brought him back? I'm starving, I need to eat a lot."

Neither Castorice nor Polyxia heard Cipher's words; both their gazes were fixed on Derick, who was beside Cipher.

Polyxia was a mixture of shock, joy, and disbelief. She muttered to herself, "Am I… am I hallucinating?"

"Where would Okhema get so many hallucinations from?" Cipher said to Polyxia, while putting a meat patty in her mouth. After chewing the meat patty a couple of times, Cipher forcefully swallowed it. "Castorice's cooking is really average," she commented.

Castorice really had no talent for cooking. It was better than being completely inedible, but a far cry from truly delicious.

"Let's go, I'll take you out for something good. Your sister brought you back but didn't even get you a decent meal." Cipher pushed Polyxia's wheelchair towards the outside.

Although she wanted to kidnap Derry and take him away to be a thief for life, in this kind of atmosphere, it really wouldn't be right to disturb his time with Castorice.

'My heart is so kind!' Cipher thought to herself as she pushed Polyxia.

Pushing Polyxia out was, on one hand, to give Derick and Castorice space; on the other hand, by taking her out, the bill could then be entirely put on Castorice's tab. Perfect! Cipher always adhered to the principle that a thief never leaves empty-handed.

Polyxia didn't know what Cipher was thinking, but she also felt that staying here and disturbing her sister and Derick would be a bad thing. She obediently let Cipher take her out.

With the two of them gone, only Castorice and Derick remained. Castorice had appeared very calm just now, constantly looking at Derick with a faint smile.

Once Cipher and Polyxia left, Castorice took a step forward and grasped Derick's hand.

The real Derick had returned.

It wasn't that she didn't know what others were thinking; at the same time, Castorice also knew how complicated the situation in the Underworld was. From any logical standpoint, Derick had no chance of returning to Okhema. But she just believed that Derick would come back.

No matter what difficulties Derick encountered, no matter what he had to go through, he would always come back.

Castorice had been under immense pressure these past two days. She had even, countless times, wanted to stop waiting here for Derick to return and instead rush into the Underworld with her scythe to reunite with him.

Now, she had finally received the outcome. Other people's thoughts might be correct for others, but Derick was someone who could create miracles.

Suppressing her excited tears, Castorice feigned ease and said: "How did you get back so quickly? I felt like I'd have to wait much longer.'"

Derick smiled: "Because I missed you, of course, so I figured out a way to sort out the Underworld. I set up a method so that souls entering the Underworld can be processed automatically from now on."

"Mm." Castorice nodded. She didn't understand Derick's words, but as long as he was back, that was all that mattered.

"Come on, you must be hungry. The food I made is just ready, eat up quickly." Castorice invited Derick to the table. Then she remembered her cooking was actually average and added: "Of course, we can also go out for something good."

"Let's save eating out for later. Right now, I just want to eat Sister Castorice's cooking." Derick quickly sat down at the table, reached out, picked up a meat patty, and ate it.

Seeing Derick like this, Castorice also smiled.

Her heart was so agitated that she didn't quite know how to express it; those excited hugs and such felt superfluous to Castorice, like gilding the lily. It was enough to calmly return to their previous life like this.

She sat opposite Derick and also picked up a piece of bread to eat.

As Castorice ate, she felt a gaze from across the table. She looked up and found Derick looking at her with a burning gaze.

Castorice couldn't help but chuckle. Although she didn't know that Derick possessed the power of the Path of [Propagation], she had read in books about the desires a teenager like Derick might have. Looking at Derick's eyes, her cheeks flushed slightly, but in her heart, she was quite willing.

"Wait a moment for me to finish eating."

"Mm." Derick nodded repeatedly.

And at that moment, he felt a pressure on his calf. Looking down, he saw Castorice extend her small foot, clad in a white silk stocking, and press it against his calf, rubbing it gently.

Derick glanced under the table, then looked at Castorice who was still eating, unsure what kind of expression to make.

Although Castorice's expression was relatively calm, the tips of her ears had quietly turned red. This was also the first time she was trying such a bold move. When she wrote fan fiction, she had also written about this kind of teasing. But now that it was her turn to try it personally, she was still very inexperienced.

Castorice continued to play with Derick's calf while silently eating. Derick endured it all.

Only after finishing her meal did Castorice retract her foot. She stood up silently and took Derick's hand.

"Alright, I'm done eating." Castorice playfully pinched Derick's cheek.

At this moment, Derick felt like he was about to burst, as if he'd turned into a fire-elemental. Seeing Castorice like this, Derick naturally wouldn't hold back any longer. He embraced Castorice and walked towards his small bed.

Castorice looked at Derick's somewhat reddened eyes, her heart filled with both apprehension and anticipation.

But then, her expression turned to astonishment.

"Hey? Wait, the stockings can be taken off, you don't need to tear them!"

The stockings that had survived last time were not going to make it this time.

…

Outside the house, Cerces, sensing Derick's arrival, was preparing to come over to check on his condition and obtain the Titan of Reason's energy from him. But just as She reached the door, She heard sounds from inside.

Although Castorice tried hard to suppress them, she still couldn't help but make sounds. And the bed in Derick's house—its quality wasn't too good when Iason bought it. Of course, even if it were good, it couldn't withstand the physique of a Chrysos Heir. The shaking sounds made it seem like it was about to fall apart.

As the Titan of Reason, Cerces naturally understood such matters. She knew exactly what was happening in the room at that moment.

…You guys just got back! Are you in such a hurry?

Cerces stood at the door, unsure how to react. Going in was definitely impossible; She wasn't that thick-skinned. But just leaving like this didn't feel right either. So, She waited outside.

After waiting for a while, the commotion inside hadn't ended. Cipher and Polyxia returned.

Seeing Cerces, Polyxia greeted her happily: "Calypso, what are you doing here?" Calypso was not only Cerces's current alias but also Her name in the previous world before She became the Titan of Reason.

"Um…" Cerces didn't know how to explain what was happening inside.

"You're not too embarrassed to see Derry, are you?" Cipher started walking forward, but after two steps, she also stopped. "Alright, indeed, one shouldn't go see."

Her expression was quite unpleasant.

No, I gave you space to pour your hearts out to each other. But you skipped that step entirely and fast-forwarded to the next! If I had known you'd do this, I wouldn't have gone out. I should have kept an eye on you to see if you'd still do it!

Polyxia looked at Cerces, then at Cipher, not understanding why they were acting this way. After a few seconds, she also realized.

"…" She covered her mouth, at a loss.

"What should we do next?" she whispered to Cipher, afraid of disturbing the situation inside.

"We can only wait," Cipher said helplessly, shrugging.

Cerces and Polyxia could only nod. This time, it became three people waiting outside.

"These two, how can they take so long…" Cipher grumbled impatiently after waiting for a while.

Just then, she saw a few more people approaching in the distance.

Mydei, Phainon, Hyacine, and Tribbie were coming over. After learning Derick had returned, they wanted to ask about the situation.

Seeing them approach, Cipher quickly got up and ran over.

It was one thing for Cipher, Polyxia, and Cerces to hear it. But Mydei and Phainon, two men, how could they listen to such things for no reason? And Tribbie—although Cipher knew she was very old, her mentality was still that of a child most of the time. Who would let a child listen to this for no reason?

"Don't come over yet!" Cipher rushed in front of them and said.

However, as she said this, a question was forming in her mind. She could stop Mydei and the others from coming to listen, but that seamstress in the Heroes' Bathhouse—she should be able to perceive everything clearly through her Golden Threads, right?

_____

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