"No, I refuse!"
Kiana held up a hand to Ye Feng's proposal. "I hate self-righteous people the most."
"The Tuna is still so full of spirit."
Ye Feng chuckled lightly. "Then I'll just tell you directly. In two years, Murata Himeko… dies."
Kiana's pupils constricted violently.
"What? Teacher Himeko, she… Impossible!"
Ye Feng's words were slow, each one seeming to possess a piercing quality that struck Kiana's heart.
"As a Valkyrie from the first batch of experiments, Murata Himeko's body has suffered irreversible corrosion from Honkai energy. It's already completely wrecked. Even if she lived out her normal lifespan, she probably wouldn't have had many years left. But her death comes from rushing into a battle she never intended to win."
"Nonsense! Never intended to win? Don't make me laugh! How could you possibly understand the kind of determination Teacher Himeko has when she goes into every battle!" Kiana clenched her fists.
"It's fine. I'll give you one more piece of information. Mmm, yes. Raiden Mei. Right here," Ye Feng pointed to his own heart, "has a bomb."
"Eh? What? You said—"
Before she could finish, Kiana's voice stopped abruptly.
It was as if something had receded like a tide. Her once vivid, bright eyes became slightly dull again. Like a poorly edited film, Kiana's actions lost all continuity.
It was like a dream that ended suddenly.
The once-agitated Kiana instantly fell silent and started running towards the library.
The world had returned to its original "trajectory."
"Ah, she's gone back. I was hoping to explain 'usage count' to Kiana. Oh well, maybe next time."
Though he didn't know if there would be a next time.
Ye Feng silently watched the NPC Kiana recede into the distance. After finishing the soup from his noodles, he made a random [Invite].
In a short while, a figure appeared in the St. Freya cafeteria.
She was curvaceous and buxom, with fair skin. The only things she wore were a pair of white lace gloves, stockings, and garters on her legs. The ornate white lace stockings clung tightly to her slender jade legs, squeezed by the garters to create enticing ridges of white flesh.
It was Da Yuexia.
He'd put this outfit on her on Monday and forgotten to change it back.
This sort of thing happened often.
In some loops, the entire campus population would be dressed in nothing but thigh-highs or full-body black stockings.
Ye Feng pulled Da Yuexia down to sit beside him, pressed her head down, and then thought for a moment.
"Let's call Kongming to join us, too."
---o---
"—What? Say that again, clearer!"
In the middle of class, Kiana shot up from her sleep, roaring at the front of the room.
The classroom instantly fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All eyes turned to Kiana.
"Eh?"
Seeing everyone staring at her, Kiana leaned back slightly, breaking into a nervous sweat.
The adjutant instructor at the podium silently pushed up her glasses, the lenses reflecting a stark white light.
"Come to my office after class."
...
Outside the teacher's office.
Bronya, dressed in a dark blue uniform and floating 10 centimeters off the ground with Project Bunny deployed as an invisible armored exosuit, waited.
Mei, in a crimson outfit, looked with concern at the dejected Tuna walking out.
"Kiana, are you alright?"
"It's nothing. But… I think I had a weird dream."
"Idiot Kiana, you must've slept yourself into a daze," Bronya deadpanned.
"It's true. It was a really weird dream. I remember everything that happened in it so clearly…"
As she said this, Kiana's gaze drifted uncontrollably to Mei's chest.
Her direct stare made Mei blush slightly.
"Why are you staring at Sister Mei's chest?"
Bronya inserted herself between them. "As long as the Bronya is here, she will not allow Idiot Kiana to do anything bad."
This time, however, to everyone's surprise, Kiana didn't bicker with Bronya.
"Mei, do you have a micro-bomb implanted in your chest?"
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Mei froze on the spot. Bronya also looked back in disbelief.
Seeing their gazes on her, Mei clenched her fist, held it to her chest, and let out a soft breath before revealing a gentle smile.
"Um, I didn't mean to hide it from everyone. It's just… I couldn't find the right time to tell you. And I didn't know how to bring it up…"
"Eh? It's real?" Kiana's azure eyes went wide.
"Idiot Kiana, what do you mean 'it's real'? Weren't you the one who asked?" Bronya tilted her head.
Mei also looked confused.
Kiana said in shock, "It's from the dream I told you about! The guy in it told me there was a bomb implanted in Mei's heart."
Hearing this, Mei and Bronya found it incredible.
"You said… a dream?"
"Mmm-hmm!" Kiana nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice. "Oh, right!"
"Eh? Kiana, you…"
Kiana pulled at her clothes, revealing her abdomen with its beautifully defined muscles.
"It's really here!"
Bronya looked curiously at Kiana's flat, white stomach, where a strange pattern was imprinted. "What is this? A Stigma?"
Mei's face turned slightly red, her eyes darting away as she said shyly, "Kiana, why would you get… get something like that tattooed on you!"
"It wasn't me, it was the person from the dream. He said he was leaving a Honeysuckle Crest on me to see if it would still be here in the real world… Wait, does this mean it really wasn't an ordinary dream?"
"Honeysuckle Crest?"
"Yeah, that's what he called it. Is it not? Mei, what is this?"
"N-nothing, it's probably just a honeysuckle crest…" Mei murmured, looking away.
Bronya was silent for a moment before saying, "If what Kiana says is true, we should report this to the Principal. It could be related to the Honkai."
"Yeah, yeah, let's go find Grand-Auntie right now. In the dream, she was even dancing on the desks in the classroom."
"The Principal… dancing on the desks…" Bronya tilted her head back, trying to imagine the scene. ￣△￣
"But, will the Principal believe such a bizarre story?" Mei expressed her doubt. Even she found it all a bit… absurd.
"I have proof right here." Kiana lifted her shirt again, showing the Honeysuckle Crest on her abdomen.
"Ooh… Kiana, put your clothes on properly. You're a girl, you know."
---o---
On the other side.
Ye Feng had brought Da Yuexia and Kongming to Theresa's office.
The Principal's desk was very large.
However, as Ye Feng looked at the two "Theresas" lined up beneath him, he kept recalling Kiana's image.
"For some reason… the Tuna has gotten sexier."
Ye Feng pulled out and started walking towards the Valkyrie dorms.
"At this time, Kiana should be playing games with Bronya."
---o---