The "Stelle" sisters were a pair of ice-queen beauties with a unique temperament.
This speculation quickly became a consensus among the girls.
After all, the "Stelle" sisters' aura of detachment, which was completely out of sync with the noisy environment, and the occasional glimpse of their calm demeanor, were not something an ordinary shopkeeper could possess.
These qualities were indeed easy to associate with a good upbringing or an extraordinary background.
Coupled with the fact that they could quickly open such an original shop in a prime location in the living area...
"They're definitely not ordinary people!"
"Could they actually be down-on-their-luck, low-profile young ladies from a prestigious family?"
Similar flights of fancy spread through the girls' minds.
And out of respect for this "speculated identity," or perhaps out of fear that their overly boisterous words and actions might offend the "well-bred sisters," the girls actually toned down their previous unbridled clamor during the rest of the meal.
Not only did their conversation volume decrease, but the topics also became slightly more "proper," and they even proactively passed the spoons to the two of them twice.
However, in the experience of the two Shus, this "consideration" was merely like turning down "deafening rock music" to "still noisy pop music." The core torture had not been alleviated much.
And the thought of having to return to the battlefield that was [Hmoe Random Play] after this meal to face the potentially even larger afternoon crowd and all sorts of tricky questions made the two of them feel a wave of darkness.
Just as the two were eating without taste, inwardly wailing and preparing to get up and bid farewell to this "fan club dinner table hell," the girl with the headband, who seemed to be the leader of this small group, suddenly clapped her hands, her eyes shining as she looked at them.
"Oh, right! Stelle sisters, you have to go back to the shop this afternoon, right?"
Alarm bells instantly went off in Shu's mind, but in the end, he could only nod stiffly.
"Then let's go together!" the girl announced excitedly. "We don't have much to do this afternoon, so we'll go support your new shop! Boost your sales! Consider it a welcome gift for joining the 'Kiana Energy Station'!"
The other girls also began to chime in.
"Yeah, yeah! The more, the merrier!"
"We can help greet the customers!"
"And see what other good stuff you have in your shop!"
BOOM—!
It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck them.
The sky was falling.
You mean I still can't get rid of them after this meal?!
And not only can I not get rid of them, but I have to bring this "enthusiasm" back to the already precarious shop?
Shu imagined the scene of this group of overly energetic fans flooding into [Hmoe Random Play]...
The sky was really falling.
But they still had to force a smile on their faces that looked grateful but was actually on the verge of collapse.
"W-Welcome... thank you..."
No one heard the dryness in their voices, only the enthusiasm of a group of fans "helping each other."
Thus, under the lifeless "leadership" of the two "Stelles," a small team of cheerful Kiana fans left the cafeteria like a school field trip and marched back to the living area.
Their target: [Hmoe Random Play]!
When the shop's warm yellow sign came into view again, the fans let out a small cheer.
"This is it! [Hmoe Random Play]! The name is so cool!"
"Let's go in and have a look!"
The girls eagerly pushed open the glass door and flooded into the shop.
And then—
Collective silence.
It was a silence of being shocked into speechlessness.
The focus of the customers who had taken a quick glance in the morning and the "inspection team" that had come specifically at this moment was completely different.
The girls were in no hurry to find specific merchandise. Instead, they began to carefully examine every corner of the shop, and this examination dealt a critical blow to their eyes.
"My god... this renovation... these lights... the texture of these shelves..." the twin-tailed girl murmured, touching the mirror-smooth surface of the display counter. "This is definitely not something an ordinary renovation team can achieve... these seams, these curves..."
"Look at these discs!" The short-haired girl pointed at the several walls full of clearly categorized and neatly arranged film and television disc racks, her voice trembling slightly.
"The complete collector's edition of "Homu Art Online"... the limited director's cut of "Homu Slayer"... the numbered first-press limited edition of "Homu Genesis"...
"So many of these are rare items that I've never even heard of, or have only seen pictures of in old forums from before the Honkai! Where... where did they get them?!"
But what was most eye-catching were the exquisitely crafted and astonishingly detailed Homu figures and models that were used as decorations in various places.
From a life-sized Homu knight armor to a palm-sized yet lifelike chibi scene of the历代 Homu protagonists, from a Homu mecha full of mechanical beauty to a graceful and ethereal Homu immortal-style figure...
Every single one was a work of art!
The girl in the fan group who was in charge of drawing the badges and had been a veteran Homu otaku before the Great Honkai was now standing in front of a glass cabinet displaying a "Homu Art Online - Black Swordsman" figure, as if she had been hit by a petrification spell.
She was almost pressed against the glass, her eyes wide, even holding her breath.
"No... impossible..." Her voice was extremely soft, with an incredulous tremor. "The design of this 'Black Swordsman' is the ultimate hidden appearance from the third expansion of the game, 'Hollow Fragment.' The officials never released any merchandise for it...
"And this paint job, this kind of dark metal pattern and the energy flow effect on the sword... this is definitely not the precision that can be achieved by factory mass spraying!
"This shadow transition, this highlighting... it's the advanced technique of brush painting plus multi-layer glazing! And... and—"
She took a sharp step back, her gaze sweeping over the other figures in the shop, the shock on her face turning into a kind of horrified realization.
"And look! All the figures! There are no traces of factory packaging, and no brand logos at all!
"The joints are so new there isn't a single trace of wear or assembly scratches! The surface coating has an unbelievably uniform gloss...
"This... this doesn't look like old stock dug out from a warehouse at all, it's more like..."
She turned her head to look at the two "Stelles" standing behind the counter, their expressions still stiff, a complex light of awe and fanaticism intertwined in their eyes.
"...more like they were just made recently! Even... custom-made and handcrafted!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the other girls instantly understood the meaning.
In this era of scarce resources and a nearly paralyzed industrial system, it was already as difficult as climbing to the heavens to get well-preserved old-era Homu discs, and to possess such exquisite and obviously "brand new," high-quality Homu figures...
My god!
Turns out she's the second coming of Nuwa!