Hokuto spoke seriously, with a solemn expression on his face.
Kiana, hearing this and seeing his sincere demeanor, couldn't help but ask hesitantly:
"So... what exactly do I need to do?"
"Specifically," Hokuto explained, "just adding a little more detail to the main story."
At this point, he shifted tone and expressed concern for Kiana.
"I'll tell you how next time. For now, you just finished recording this segment—you should rest."
An emperor doesn't mistreat a weary soldier; Hokuto wasn't about to have Kiana push herself further when her state was clearly poor.
Hokuto's reminder suddenly made Kiana pause.
A wave of exhaustion surged up from deep within her.
"You're right~~"
Her energy visibly drained, and even the two thick braids at the back of her head drooped lifelessly. "I should take a break."
While saying this, Kiana began walking toward the door of the recording booth.
Halfway out, she suddenly stopped and turned back to ask Hokuto:
"There's no more painful scenes coming up... right?"
She really wanted Hokuto to tell her that she'd never be "cut" again.
Unfortunately...
"There might be one more? But it's a different kind of feeling—pretty sweet, actually."
Hokuto gave it some thought and responded.
Upon hearing that, Kiana—already deeply tired—blacked out for a second.
What? One more time?
As for the part about "pretty sweet," she wanted to believe it... but couldn't quite convince herself.
Isn't the sugar in Honkai Impact 3 always sprinkled over shards of glass?
Hokuto could tell what she was thinking just from her expression.
He walked over and patted her on the shoulder.
"Don't overthink it. Go rest."
After a pause, he added:
"Besides, thinking about it won't help anyway."
Kiana: "..."
Left speechless, Kiana left the recording booth accompanied by Mei and the others.
The rest of the staff also gradually exited, except for one person—
Someone who moved against the flow of people, stepping into the booth from outside.
"I couldn't find you at the office just now, so I figured you'd be here."
Rita walked right up to Hokuto.
Before he could ask why she was looking for him, she continued crisply:
"The research you asked for regarding overseas game companies—I've finished it."
She handed over a stack of documents.
Hokuto flipped through them and looked surprised.
"Not just the Sakura Country?"
"Mm. I believe we're now fully capable of launching Honkai Impact 3rd simultaneously in multiple countries."
"Then let's go with a multi-country launch."
"Don't you want to think it over a bit more?"
Rita had full confidence in her report but still hadn't expected Hokuto to agree so quickly.
"I trust the judgment of professionals."
Hokuto's natural display of trust made Rita glance at him twice.
Her lips curved into a graceful smile as she playfully winked and said:
"If Hokuto said here that he trusts the judgment of Rita Rossweisse... it would be quite a bonus point."
"...?"
"Remember that, Hokutosan"
Miss Rita, you're really good at this.
...
...
Hokuto left the overseas matter in Rita's hands—he had plenty on his own plate.
And so, two weeks passed.
The Language of Rosemary event had concluded three days ago with the release of the final segment.
This event differed from past Honkai Impact 3rd events.
There were no complex stages for players to challenge, no bosses to face, and it wasn't an energy-draining affair like Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom.
In this event, players were like "audience members" facing a stage.
Their only task was to quietly enjoy the performance and uncover the truth.
Specifically, it played out like a detective novel.
The player received an invitation to a certain place—only to stumble into a murder case.
From there, the player had to investigate and deduce the killer.
As a result, the Honkai Impact 3rd official forums were filled with posts speculating who the murderer was.
Was it Bronya, who had lost the use of her legs?
Was it Seele, who seemed to have become a ghost?
Or was it Joffrey Joyce, who appeared completely harmless?
Each player had their own theory, arguing passionately.
No one could convince anyone else.
Of course, there were also joke posts like "Serval deserved it—serves you right for being so sassy," and "There's not a single Schicksal member in the Schicksal Research Institute?"
In the end, once the full story was released, players realized—
All their guesses were correct.
The truth was that it was a "group crime."
Seele, Joffrey, and Bronya had all taken part in the murder.
So after finishing the story, players jokingly dubbed Language of Rosemary as "The Brat Trio's Revenge."
Besides the intense plot, the ending easter egg—featuring Rita and Starlit Astrologos—was equally thought-provoking.
From the players' perspective, excluding unrelated mini-events,
Honkai Impact 3rd now had two storylines running in parallel:
One is the main world—the world of Kiana and her friends.
The other is the "Captain-related" world found in event stories.
These were hot topics on the forums not too long ago.
Why only not too long ago?
Because just a few days back, the official Honkai Impact 3rd update notice dropped again.
Lately, the forums had been buzzing about the new upcoming main story.
1. Main Story Update:
New main story Chapter 23: The Solo Stage will be released soon.
I know players are wondering why we're only getting one chapter this time.
We haven't come up with a good excuse—cough, I mean, it's too complicated to explain.
Anyway, Chapters 24 and 25 will release next week.
Seele: This time, it's our spotlight!
2. Main Story Side Event Update:
New mini-drama Seele's One-Day Adventure will be available.
Bronya: There's sweet moments between Seele and Bronya in this one! Look forward to it!
(Can you take the knife away from my neck now?)
3. Online Concert Project:
miHoYo plans to host a grand online concert next month.
Click the link below for details.
Link: [link]
4. Honkai Impact 3rd International Launch!
5. Bug fixes
6....
Hokuto had added new scenes to Chapter 23.
Specifically, he incorporated the Black Flame of the Frozen Abyss segment—where Dark Seele battles Herrscher of Sentience—into the main story.
As for the side skit Seele's One-Day Adventure, it couldn't be dropped in midway through the Herrscher fight. That would completely ruin its effect.
Sugar in Honkai Impact 3rd was already scarce—he couldn't let players miss out.
Clearly, Hokuto had thought a lot on behalf of the players.
He firmly believed:
His "love" for the players... was simply a bit deeper than most.