Honkai, but Behind the Scenes

"Miss Schrödinger, do you think choosing Hera will make Prince Paris happy?"

The smile on Rita's face remained unchanged.

"No." 

Schrödinger played with the apple in her hand and shook her head.

"I haven't said that... But at least, the myth has confirmed that Aphrodite couldn't give Prince Paris happiness, right?"

"..." Rita felt as if she was hit by a self-destructing truck.

"But of course, the goddess Hera was going to be played by Shakespeare herself... Seriously, why should I get involved?"

Schrödinger quickly let out a bored sigh, took the apple, and left.

"..." Although Schrödinger turned and left, Rita still felt annoyed.

"Eh... what are you talking about? Mythology?" Bianka seemed completely confused.

"That's right, Lady Bianka. I have to prepare dinner first, excuse me."

"Oh..." Bianka nodded dully.

This probably counts as a breakup?

Though Tian Shi felt this ending was quite good...

"Was the atmosphere a bit strange just now?" Bianka reacted belatedly. 

"Does everyone want to eat apples?"

Isn't this a complete lack of reaction?

"Um... probably, but, anyway, thank you for today's matter."

"?" 

Bianka had a question mark on her face.

Seeing that Bianka had helped him, Tian Shi sighed and explained, "Because dividing an apple isn't just about an apple. Although I know dividing it equally is the best strategy, I can't say that."

This matter isn't as simple as dividing apples!

After Shakespeare left, to put it kindly, the apple's meaning became "courting"; to put it bluntly, it became "courting." 

In this situation, even if Tian Shi wanted to divide it equally, he couldn't say it directly: the occasion and atmosphere weren't right.

"I don't know."

Bianka thought for a moment and shook her head. 

"But, Sir Guardian Angel, who do you think Prince Paris, according to the myth, should give the golden apple to?" 

For some reason, Bianka felt she wanted to know the answer.

"From a mythological perspective, I think this is a dead end. Even if Paris is eloquent, he can't change the outcome, because women are primarily emotional creatures, let alone goddesses? And they are Greek goddesses with capricious moods... So, unless Paris can conjure two more golden apples out of thin air, it's a dead end either way." 

Tian Shi sighed, recalling Shakespeare's foolish play again.

"But then again, according to the performance in the myth, if you choose among these three... Perhaps choosing Athena is the option where I can live the longest, probably."

"Why?"

"Because Athena is more reasonable?"

"Wow..."

"Of course, when it comes to mythology... fortunately, this was just a tasteless play by Shakespeare..." 

Tian Shi sighed with extreme weariness, even though he had nothing resembling a heart.

Bianka turned her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

[After several days of sailing, propelled by the swift ocean currents, you successfully arrived at the Yucatán Peninsula.]

[After landing on the island and exploring, you encounter a girl dressed like a primitive man, although in theory, the other party should be from the Mayan civilization.]

[The other party once considered you "federal people," but after brief communication, she confirmed your identity as "wanderers" and asked for your help, promising that after this, you can let her... ahem, her village do whatever they want.]

It makes no sense for you to say that...

[Upon entering the village, you encountered a group of primitive people dressed in the same way as those invading the natives. They considered themselves "civilized," but Miss Bianka's fists were not at all.]

[Or rather, more civilized than them.]

[After repelling the enemy, you were warmly welcomed by the village chief, Tazumar. At the same time, you learned that the girl who asked for your help was the village witch, Iknar.]

"Guh... How, how spicy!"

Bianka took a bite of the tortilla in her hand and immediately choked up with tears. 

"A dignified A-rank Valkyrie will never lose to a Chili or anything like that!"

"If you change the dialogue a bit, she'll turn into the defeated knight..." 

Tian Shi complained: "But if you can't stand spicy food, it's better not to eat it. In general, if you have this kind of reaction in your mouth, it's very likely your backside will too the next day."

"Don't say such disgusting words!"

"This is the sincere advice of an elder," Tian Shi sighed.

The girl dressed in primitive attire looked at Bianka, who was flushed from the spiciness: "Miss Bianka, who are you talking to?"

"It's just Rita's and my Guardian Angel..."

Bianka pursed her lips and looked at the tortilla in her hand. 

"But this tortilla is delicious. The lean meat, fat, and tomatoes are all grilled just right! It's just that I wasn't mentally prepared and it suddenly got spicy. It's nothing serious!"

Anyone could see the stubbornness on Bianka's face.

"Well, I'm serious. If you force yourself... Miss Bianka, you wouldn't want your backside to burn tomorrow, would you?"

"Guh... It's just a few chilies..."

Obviously Bianka had already given in, but she wouldn't back down out of stubbornness and didn't want to admit defeat with the tortilla in her hand.

"In that case, I'll ask the grandma village chief to prepare a pot with more chilies." 

Shakespeare continues to derive amusement from the suffering of others.

"Gup..."

"Alright, alright, Rita, please ask the village chief to leave some tortillas from the next pot without the chili." 

Tian Shi couldn't bear it anymore: he still hadn't forgotten the last time Shakespeare tricked him!

"Understood."

[Compatibility with Bianka +5%]

"But then again, they've already made it less spicy for our taste..."

Tian Shi compared the tortilla in Bianka's hand with the tortilla in the native Iknar's hand, and the amount of peppers was obviously very different. 

Hearing Tian Shi's words, Bianka's stubbornness returned, and she reached out and picked up the tortilla she had bitten into.

"No, even so, don't stop... Although I won't stop you if you really want to add an unforgettable memory to your backside, after all, it's good for you to accumulate more life experience at your age."

In the end, Tian Shi's voice already contained a hint of anticipation for a good show.

"..."

My backside or the "dignity" of an A-rank Valkyrie?

After all, it's still my backside.

After all, if something happens to my backside, my dignity as a girl will be ruined...

[After a short and pleasant meal, you learned from Iknar that the next ten days are all Mayan civilization festivals, and primitive civilization festivals are often inseparable from gods.]

[Therefore, Iknar spoke about the Mayan gods and then discussed "faith."]

"Speaking of which, Miss Bianka, the Guardian Angel you mentioned before... is he a god?"

The primitive girl asked cautiously; the makeup on her face did not conceal her beauty.

"Yes, there was a nun who called me a god..." Tian Shi chuckled nostalgically. 

"But that was a long time ago. But there's no relationship between gods and me. After all, I'm not omnipotent and I can't grant wishes."

"Is he more of a friend than a god?"

Bianka thought for a moment and replied. 

"That person really can't be explained with our existing knowledge... Though I don't have much knowledge either." 

Bianka rarely acted as if she were intelligent, but it didn't last for more than two seconds. 

"In short, I don't think that person is a god... What do you think, Rita?"

"Sir Guardian Angel... I don't think he's a god either. Of course, I can't explain his existence either."

"Why?" 

Confusion appeared on the Mayan girl's face: couldn't this inexplicable and mysterious existence be a god?

"Well... because I think that if Sir Guardian Angel were truly a god, the world would have been at peace a long time ago, wouldn't it??" 

Rita smiled with a pure smile that left Iknar speechless.

"I really envy you." Iknar saluted the air with a complicated expression. 

"For us, gods are beings who do what they want... Do you remember the general who claimed to be civilized? In a way, he wasn't wrong: we are, indeed, barbaric believers." 

Iknar looked depressed.

"The sun god Kinich Ahau and the corn god Hun Hunahpu require people to perform bloodletting rituals to nourish them; the rain god Chaac needs to eat fresh children when he is weak, and the patron saint of our people, Ix Tab, also needs us to pierce our tongues with ropes to help her appear." 

Iknar saluted the air with a complicated expression. 

"In our opinion, gods are beings who can do what they want... Do you remember the general who claimed to be civilized before... In a way, what he said was not wrong, indeed we are savage believers." 

Iknar showed a gloomy look. 

"The sun god Kinich Ahau and the corn god Hun Hunahpu require people to perform bloodletting rituals to nourish them; the rain god Chaac needs to eat fresh children when he is weak, and the patron saint of our people, Ix Tab, also needs us to pierce our tongues with ropes to help her appear."

"..." Bianka fell silent after hearing Iknar's narration.

"The Mayan civilization has always belonged to the Neolithic, and they are undoubtedly a primitive people... It's normal for them to have a tradition of human sacrifice," Tian Shi explained lightly.

"This is absolutely ridiculous."

"But this is what we can do... Pray to God to allow us to survive here."

"..."

-------------------

Night

"Worried about that girl?"

Tian Shi asked softly, looking at Bianka who was restless in the room.

Obviously Bianka couldn't concentrate at all now.

"This reminds me of my first mission, the annoyance I felt in the helicopter while waiting for the order to attack."

"Then go find her." Tian Shi didn't mind Bianka's irritability. 

"Bianka, although I'm not a proponent of violence, you should know that you are the strongest person on this ship. With my help, not even Schrödinger will be able to defeat you."

"But, this is someone else's village..."

"Yes, this is a private matter of the village, but now you have the power to trample on the rules; although I must repeat it once more: I am not advocating violence, because its reckless use will only lead people to the abyss of destruction." 

Tian Shi said softly; in fact, the current Bianka is actually more immature than Fu Hua back then. 

Fu Hua is actually the kind of person who, whenever necessary, even if she knows the process is wrong, will still grit her teeth and execute it to get the correct result. 

And Bianka... was too obsessed with the complete correctness of things, so even though she had an extraordinary capacity for execution, she still seemed indecisive in many things... unless it was an emergency like Jimmy's disappearance.

"But sometimes, outdated rules can only be overturned by force, because you can't force fools to listen to you unconditionally." 

Tian Shi said softly. 

"Learning knowledge is about making fools understand your reasoning, and using force is about making fools willing to listen to your reasoning."

"What kind of explanation is that?"

Bianka frowned, as if she didn't understand, but the annoyance on her face had diminished considerably.

"By the way, being a strong person also means you have the power to set the rules, just like Otto."

"Your example isn't really reassuring."

After spending more time with Tian Shi these days, Bianka no longer trusted Otto as much.

"But oh well, this power must be used with caution... right? After all, I don't want to become that... evil dragon from an RPG."

"That's right, the choice is yours."

"..." Bianka fell into deep thought.

Although Tian Shi clearly told her that she already had the power to "do whatever she wanted," Bianka didn't become arrogant or complacent, but quickly weighed the pros and cons. 

This was probably the moment her mind worked fastest— Bianka chuckled to herself.

"Anyway, human sacrifice isn't a good thing, is it?"

"They say it's human sacrifice, how can it be a good thing? The only thing I can accept are animal blood sacrifices, like the slaughter of pigs and sheep. That girl should also be aware of the shortcomings of their beliefs." 

Thinking about it, Aponia was so naive that she prepared three animals for him back then, though he couldn't eat them at all.

"It wouldn't be good for Sir Cervantes to hear what you're saying." Bianka also smiled. Cervantes was a serious Christian.

"But... what do you mean by that? Aware of the shortcomings?"

"Perhaps it was an illusion, but upon leaving today, I saw determination in that girl's eyes: the determination to end this barbaric belief."

"Really? 

Using the oracle method?" 

Bianka rarely showed her intelligent side and instantly understood what Tian Shi meant.

"But it's a shame. As an A-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, how can I watch such a cruel sacrifice method appear before me? If I don't stop it, this is an injustice, right?"

[Compatibility with Bianka +15%]