Honkai: Star Rail – Banner Character, Delivering Knives to the Player [64]

Stelle gradually noticed the noise, turning her head with confusion.

"Clara? Sounds more like robots moving to me."

Lingzhou: "Rivet Town’s dangerous. Robots are protecting her all the way."

But what’s the little girl doing here alone?

Guessing at the likely reason, Lingzhou glanced at the supplies in front of him.

Hook’s eyes lit up immediately, sprinting toward the stairway.

"It's her! Clara came here too!"

"Warning, warning! Threat detected—protecting Clara, initiating active defense—"

"Perkins, stop! Hook isn’t bad!"

The mechanical warnings were immediately followed by an anxious, tender voice.

Two small figures, one taller and one shorter, appeared escorted by several robots.

"The big brother with grey-white hair…and the grey-haired sister…"

Clara looked startled upon seeing Lingzhou and Stelle. But soon after, her gaze shifted to the pile of boxes beside them, noticing medical supplies at the surface.

Lingzhou had been observing Clara the whole time. Seeing her reaction confirmed his guess.

This child was genuinely kindhearted and pure.

Had she been born thousands of years earlier, she might’ve naturally walked the Path of Compassion.

"Clara, you need these medical supplies, don't you?" Lingzhou gestured toward the materials.

"Eh?" Clara froze momentarily, clearly surprised Lingzhou had guessed correctly.

After a few seconds, she seemed to realize something, gently biting her lip.

"Right…the Great Mine conflict caused many injuries. More miners hurt than ever… If only everyone could get along peacefully…"

Mentioning the mining conflict, eight- or nine-year-old Hook became visibly disheartened.

Because of the conflict, Natasha hadn't had a chance to rest yet.

As the leader of the Moles, Hook had originally planned to help Natasha somehow.

But then she accidentally overheard Natasha anxiously muttering about a severe shortage of medicine.

She was on her way to Rivet Town for medicine when she met Lingzhou and Stelle, instinctively deciding to protect them along the way.

Now they'd found some medicine, not yet discussed distribution, and learned Clara also needed it…

Children in the Underworld all had difficult lives. Hook might’ve been young, but she fully understood why Clara needed medicine.

Many Vagrants living near Svarog’s camp had come from Rivet Town. A number of them had joined the Great Mine conflict—injuries were inevitable there too.

Sensing something off in the mood, Stelle changed the topic, partly to ease the tension and partly to satisfy her curiosity.

"Clara, who exactly is Svarog to you?"

"Mr. Svarog…he’s Clara’s family."

Clara didn’t hide anything, answering honestly.
"I met Mr. Svarog when I was very small. He took me in and raised me, making me his family."

So that's how it was.

Stelle recalled what Lingzhou had told her earlier, quickly following up:

"Is Svarog preventing people from the Underworld—especially Wildfire—from leaving through the Furnace Core passage?"

Clara froze, lowering her gaze, silently nodding.

Stelle: "Why?"

Clara: "Mr. Svarog only trusts his own calculations… He always says communicating with humans is highly inefficient."

"According to his calculations, the Surface is already unsafe. He thinks everyone would be better off staying underground."

Stelle’s brows tightened. "It’s not like the underground’s safe either, the way things are."

Let alone if you factor in that lunatic Cocolia. She felt even more dangerous than the Fragmentum creatures.

Clara: "Mr. Svarog says it's his duty to preserve humanity in the Underworld. He doesn't want to watch humanity hasten its own demise."

Lingzhou: "Clara, may I ask you one question?"

"Yes, big brother."

"This world is nearing its end. Would you rather see everyone struggling desperately to save themselves, or quietly waiting underground for death?"

Clara stood frozen.

After a long pause, her fists clenched tightly.

"Clara will do her best to convince Mr. Svarog. One day, he’ll understand…"

Lingzhou crouched down, meeting Clara’s gaze gently.

"But you don’t know when that day will come, right?"

"Fragmentum creatures have already begun appearing near the outskirts of Boulder Town and the Great Mine."

"Soon, they'll reach the town center. By then, nowhere in the Underworld will be safe for humans."

"In other words, maybe everyone here can wait—but this world can't afford to."

"When that happens, not only will everyone die, but you and your family won't be spared either."

"I believe most people want to live looking forward to tomorrow, not passively await death."

Clara nervously tugged at her sleeves.

She knew every word he spoke was true.

Lingzhou gestured toward himself and Stelle.

"She and I aren't even from this world. We could wait until it’s destroyed, then deal with the disaster’s source afterward."

"Our mission would be accomplished either way. But we're not heartless machines."

"The Nameless don't want to watch a world perish because of internal strife."

"Svarog refuses to speak with locals—but what about outsiders like us?"

"We have the capability to stop the Fragmentum’s spread, but first, we must find its root cause."

"The root of the Fragmentum has been deliberately concealed. Svarog is preventing people from saving themselves. If this continues, not even an Aeon’s envoy could save you."

Clara remained silent for a long time, her expression growing increasingly distressed.

Seeing this, Stelle secretly sighed in sympathy.

Svarog couldn't understand human emotion, stubbornly trusting only his calculations.

Poor Clara was stuck painfully between two sides at such a young age.

"Clara…" Hook finally couldn’t resist stepping forward, grasping Clara’s hand.

Lingzhou wouldn’t force a child barely into her teens to immediately make such a heavy choice.

"Take the medicine you need first. The injured are more important."

"I’m sorry, big brother… Clara can’t promise to persuade Mr. Svarog. But…"

Her eyes slowly filled with determination.

"But Clara will tell him what you've said. If Mr. Svarog agrees to meet you, I’ll come to Boulder Town immediately to find you."

"Thanks for helping us, Clara." Stelle patted her head gently.

Clara softly shook her head, unwilling to take the supplies.

"You worked so hard to find these medicines. Clara can’t just take them…"

Hook jumped in: "We already checked everywhere nearby. All the medicine's here."

"If you keep looking elsewhere in Rivet Town, you’ll waste time and probably won't find any."

"Right, Big Brother Lin…Lingzhou, Sister Stelle?"

Lingzhou nodded, not bothering to correct Hook’s slip-up this time.

He’d long noticed that Hook’s reason for coming to Rivet Town was also gathering medicine for Natasha.

Since their goals aligned, there was no need to divide supplies awkwardly.

After hesitating a moment, Clara sighed faintly.

"Alright, I’ll take some medicine first…but I promise I'll find an equal amount to give back later."

Even now, Clara refused to accept charity.

At that moment, Lingzhou’s attention shifted again, glancing strangely behind him.

It couldn’t be that those two were also here looking for medicine, right?

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This is a fan translation of 崩铁：卡池角色，给玩家发刀 by 三十度幻. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!