"Principal, shouldn't your concern be that this girl named Seele actually has the power to punch through the Sea of Quanta?" Himeko reminded her.
"Oh, right." Theresa slapped her forehead, finally realizing it. Just what in the world is the origin of this Seele? To be able to punch through the Sea of Quanta with her bare hands?
She must be some kind of deity!
"Several years ago, due to an experiment, Seele entered the Sea of Quanta, and her whereabouts have been unknown ever since," Bronya explained. "The Bronya has been constantly trying to find a way into the Sea of Quanta to bring Seele back. It seems that the future Bronya succeeded."
"However, the Bronya is certain that the Seele of the past did not have the power to break through the Sea of Quanta. If she truly had such power, she would not have been trapped there for so long. Therefore, the Bronya can only deduce that Seele must have had some kind of fortuitous encounter within the Sea of Quanta to have obtained this power."
"Then which answer should we choose for this question?" Raiden Mei asked, troubled.
Just like the question before last, this one provided no information at all. The answer couldn't be analyzed from the question alone; they could only guess.
"Let's just pick one randomly. There's no way to analyze this," Theresa said, exasperated. "Who the hell knows how many punches Seele used to break through the Sea of Quanta."
"Principal, let the Bronya answer this question," Bronya said.
"This... how about I do it instead?"
"There is no need. Since this question is about the Bronya, it is only right that the Bronya answers it."
Theresa knew what Bronya meant. Since the answer could only be a guess, there was a high probability of getting it wrong, and the person who answered incorrectly would lose a year of their lifespan. Bronya wanted to bear that penalty herself.
Theresa wanted to use her authority as Principal to make Bronya listen. After all, such a risky task should be handled by an adult.
But before she could say anything, Bronya answered the question directly.
"System, the Bronya chooses D!"
[Answer... correct.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained one dose of H-12 Physical Restoration Serum.]
[H-12 Physical Restoration Serum: Capable of repairing all damage within the human body, restoring it to its optimal state.]
"No way! You guessed that one right too?"
Kiana looked at Bronya in astonishment, wondering when this little pipsqueak's luck had gotten so good.
Seeing that her answer was correct, Bronya's tense nerves immediately relaxed. Although she had been prepared to lose a year of her life, getting the answer right was obviously for the best.
"Bronya, how did you think to choose D?" Kiana asked curiously.
"There is nothing to say. It was simply because option D had the highest number," Bronya said, reaching out to accept the reward from the system.
"Principal, this is for you."
After a moment's thought, Bronya handed the Physical Restoration Serum to Theresa.
"Why are you giving it to me?" Theresa paused, not reaching out to take it. "This is the reward you earned by answering the question. You should keep it for yourself."
"This serum should be of great use to you, Principal, correct?" Bronya looked at Theresa. Her tone was calm, but her eyes were sincere.
In the past, when she was with Anti-Entropy, she had been like a tool, carrying out all sorts of cruel missions.
But after coming to St. Freya High School, she had met many kind and gentle people and had been treated with gentleness by many. All of this was thanks to Theresa. Therefore, Bronya had always held a deep respect for her.
Besides, they were both fanatical lovers of Homu, kindred spirits in that regard.
Therefore, Bronya wanted to do something for Theresa. The moment she received this precious serum, her first thought was to give it to her.
"Bronya, I appreciate the thought." Seeing the sincerity in Bronya's eyes, Theresa felt a wave of gratification, but she smiled and shook her head.
"If it were before, I would have accepted it without hesitation, because Himeko's body couldn't have held on for much longer."
"But things are different now. Her body has already recovered. So now, it would be better for you to keep this bottle of serum for yourself."
"But..."
"Oh, come on, Bronya, don't hesitate. Auntie already said so, you should use it yourself. Don't you want to be able to stand on your own two legs again?" Kiana also chimed in.
"That's right, Bronya. You need to think about yourself too. Besides, you were the one who answered the question correctly. It rightfully belongs to you," Raiden Mei said with a smile, gently stroking Bronya's head.
"...The Bronya understands."
Looking at everyone's gentle gazes, Bronya opened her mouth, but in the end, said nothing, simply burying this touching moment deep in her heart.
However, she didn't drink the serum right away, because an image had already flickered to life in the system's space.
Seeing the screen appear, the group immediately stopped their conversation and focused their attention on the video.
On the screen was a dim and deathly silent space.
Below, there was a deep and lightless ocean that seemed to stretch on endlessly.
And in the center of the sea, a pillar of colorful light descended from the sky. On a stone path not far away, two girls were desperately running toward it.
They ran with all their might, as if something was chasing them from behind, not daring to stop for even a moment.
And these two girls were, of course, Bronya and Seele.
But just as they were about to reach the pillar of light, several purplish-black tentacles shot out from the sea. They moved with incredible speed, wrapping around the leg of Seele, who was slightly behind. Seele only had time to let out a startled cry before she was dragged backward by the tentacles.
"Seele!"
Bronya immediately turned back, grabbed Seele's clothes, raised the dagger in her hand, and viciously severed the tentacle!
But that brief delay was all it took. More tentacles surged up from the sea, swarming toward Bronya and Seele from all directions, as if to trap them here forever.
Bronya held Seele's hand and used every ounce of her strength to evade the tentacles. She finally managed to leap into the pillar of light, but she was still entangled.
Seeing more and more tentacles closing in from all sides, Bronya knew they couldn't continue to be tied down like this.
She glanced at the terrified Seele, gritted her teeth, and with all her might, threw Seele out from the encirclement of tentacles.
Seele's body flew like a kite, drifting back and forth in the air. The last tentacle was still wrapped around her hand, and that same tentacle was connected to Bronya's wrist.
"Sister! Sister Bronya!"
As if sensing what was about to happen, Seele screamed Bronya's name.
Bronya simply returned her a smile, then resolutely used her dagger to cut the tentacle that connected them.
"Seele, I'm sorry..."
---o---
Author's Note:
(PS: Seele in the summer event is so cute! I really want to hug her, hold her, and lift her up high! Also, Senti's look with the sunglasses and bared-teeth grin almost made me die laughing, lmao)