[Training Complete]
"Hah—"
Shimmering beads of sweat splattered across the wrecked floor, as if washing away the world's falsehoods, returning everything to its original state.
With that notification, the world around Seele Vollerei returned to its steel-colored base. Only the scythe, Nursery Rhyme, in her hand remained.
"It's finally over."
The young girl exhaled, mentally calculating the results of the recent battle, and a happy smile appeared on her face.
"I've improved a little again this time."
A month had passed since she joined St. Freya High School.
During this month, aside from basic cultural classes, there was practical combat training like this.
The former was rather difficult for Seele. After all, at Cocolia's Orphanage, she had only learned basic literacy and writing. In essence, she was a Dropout who didn't complete nine-year compulsory education, just like Kiana.
The latter was not particularly difficult for Seele. After all, she had experienced many encounters with quantum monsters in the Sea of Quanta.
After a short rest, the delicate-looking girl walked out of the simulation battlefield and happened to run into Kiana, who had also just finished her training.
"Seele, want to head back together?"
"Mei and the others have probably finished preparing lunch by now. Let's go back and eat too."
The snow-haired girl was carefree, grinning broadly, one step away from throwing an arm around Seele's shoulders like a good buddy.
Kiana had always been like this with people around her, always acting like a boy and making unladylike gestures.
Seele took a towel and wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead, her expression a little hesitant: "Doing this… won't it be a bother for Sister Mei?"
"Cooking for us must be very tiring for Sister Mei."
St. Freya High School and the Far East Branch had many people, so naturally, they had facilities like cafeterias.
If they just wanted to fill their stomachs, they could simply go to the cafeteria to eat. There was no need for Raiden Mei to cook in the dormitory.
After all, anyone who has cooked knows that cooking itself isn't hard. The key is the preparation beforehand and the cleanup afterward; those are the truly troublesome parts.
Kiana replied, "Not really. Mei cooking for us is just incidental."
"As for her real purpose… you're still young, so don't worry about it."
The snow-haired girl's expression turned wistful.
For some reason, she always felt like she had become part of some strange play, but she lacked the evidence to prove it.
Every time she went back to eat, she would smell air freshener in the dormitory, and Mei's face would often be flushed red.
Kiana once suspected that Raiden Mei was being taken advantage of by that guy, but she never managed to catch them in any suspicious act. Over time, she could only suppress the matter in her heart.
She had no doubt it would be the same today when she returned.
Her personal cook, Raiden Mei, would surely be flushed red, her eyes full of spring water, and maybe even have dark hickeys on her collarbones and neck, but she just couldn't find any evidence of Magical Girl fighting the Black Flame Dragon.
What cooking? It was clearly treating her and her other sisters and best friends as part of their play.
Pincer attacked by girls from both sides, truly tragic.
Seele: "Is… is that so?"
Confusion and bewilderment coexisted in her expression.
She was still an innocent child, completely ignorant of the adult world.
She didn't understand what Kiana meant by 'still young'.
It was mealtime, and Kiana was ready to head home.
"Seele, let's go. Let's go back and see what dishes Mei has prepared for us."
The snow-haired girl took the lead, heading with Seele towards the Valkyrie dormitory.
As expected, the dormitory was already filled with the aroma of cooking. Raiden Mei, with an apron tied around her waist, had already set the table.
Just as Kiana had predicted, Raiden Mei had been acting stranger and stranger lately. The dormitory was practically coated in air freshener.
After a hearty meal, Kiana rubbed her bloated belly and sprawled on the sofa like a paralysis.
Seele, looking like she had something to say, sat down next to Kiana, making the girl notice the unusual look on her face.
"Seele, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?"
"No, it's just that I feel Sister Bronya has been a little strange lately."
"…"
Bronya is a little strange?
Kiana touched her head and thought about Bronya's recent behavior and actions…
"Not at all. The Bronya I remember has always been like this, although it seems like she's been playing games a lot less recently."
"…"
A master gamer suddenly not playing games much is indeed a huge problem.
And this situation is common after a major short-term setback, leading to a change in temperament.
Kiana rubbed her chin, thinking about what Bronya had encountered in the past month.
After thinking it over carefully…
"Perhaps it's because you're in love?"
Seele blushed: "N-no, Big Brother Brian and I are not."
Kiana pouted: "Stop pretending. It's already spread throughout the class. That guy has already kissed your lips."
"…"
Seele lowered her head, fiddling with the hem of her clothes without saying a word.
The rumor had already taken root. With three people making a tiger, even something false can become true.
Of course, something like kissing on the lips absolutely did not happen. She only let him kiss her forehead.
Kiana didn't pay much mind to Seele's reaction. After all, this little cutie's personality was just this shy, filling people with the desire to protect her weakness.
It was precisely because of this that Kiana and Seele's relationship was unusually good.
What can you do? No rough-and-tumble guy can refuse a cute girl calling him 'big brother' in a super soft voice.
It's like how Northeastern guys can't resist sweet and soft Southern little potatoes.
It's a sweetness that goes right to the bone.
As for Bronya's matter…
Emmmmm…
Not playing games, a lot on her mind, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, walking with a limp…
Kiana had a flash of insight. Combining this with the Inner World Protagonist's unbridled style, she found the most likely answer.
She clapped her hands and said, "I think… maybe your Sister Bronya unlocked her defeat CG."
Seele: "…"???
Defeat CG, what's that?
Having never heard of this term, Seele was a little confused: "Kiana, what is that?"
Born in the remote Siberian snowfields, with no internet in Cocolia's Orphanage, and trapped in the Sea of Quanta after the X-10 experiment…
Seele's life had been one of constant displacement, so naturally, she didn't know about the one-night love story between a magical girl and a tentacle monster.
Realizing she had misspoken and was leading a pure child down the wrong path, Kiana's face instantly showed an awkward smile.
"It's just a figure of speech, you don't need to worry about it."
Seele continued to press, but Kiana had no intention of explaining in detail, no matter what.
Are you kidding? A pure child like this is rare in St. Freya High School, and in a Valkyrie dormitory with a Blondie, she's practically a cryptid.
You know, one woman is equal to five hundred ducks, and St. Freya High School, where women hold an absolute majority, is full of ducks.
Where there are women, there is drama, and there is also a lot of risqué gossip among women.
A pure child like Seele must be protected.
Seeing that Kiana had no intention of explaining further, Seele, though full of doubt, didn't press the matter. She could sense that it was for her own good.
But the curiosity that had been piqued was not so easily suppressed. Seele silently made a decision in her heart.
"Other me, let's go investigate what this 'defeat CG' is."
Great Detective Seele Vollerei, making her grand debut!
'Seele': "Whatever you want."
The pressing matter she needed to study now was not playing house with this little fool, but figuring out how to get her out of this den of demons unscathed.
In 'Seele's' eyes, every single person here was an accomplice to that stinking man.
'Seele' said no more. Seele returned to her room, opened her computer, and prepared to learn about the 'defeat CG' Kiana had mentioned.
The girl, not very familiar with computers, stretched out two fingers, one from each hand, and used her unpracticed one-finger-pecking technique to type on the keyboard, searching for the information she wanted on a search engine.
"Sister Bronya's defeat CG…"
The search results started off very normal.
But as she scrolled further down…
"Wh-what is this?"
The image of a magical girl, unable to defeat a tentacle monster and unlocking her battle-damaged outfit, made Seele blush crimson.
No wonder Kiana didn't want to explain to her what this so-called defeat CG was. It really wasn't knowledge that a pure girl like her should be exposed to.
But when she thought of her Sister Bronya…
"Seele must be brave!"
It's just a picture, it's not like it's happening to her.
Compared to the monsters in the Sea of Quanta, this so-called tentacle monster was just small fry.
Sensing that things were taking a bad turn, 'Seele' was about to intervene, but Seele had already bravely made her decision.
The spectacular battle record of the magical girl and the tentacle monster began to play, achieving a double kill, making both girls blush furiously.
"This… this is the defeat CG Kiana was talking about…"
Her knees pressed together, Seele, who had stumbled into the world of adults, had a moist sheen in her eyes.
The girl's face was flushed, and she felt hot all over. The heart in her chest was pounding against her eardrums.
She thought the previous CG was the limit, but she didn't expect there to be even more.
But for her Sister Bronya's sake, she had to keep watching no matter how shy she felt. Only then would she know what happened to her Sister Bronya.
After watching the entire twenty-minute video, although both girls still felt a bit hot, their shy feelings had gradually subsided.
After all, there were no outsiders here, just Seele and Seele.
In the black screen at the end of the video, 'Seele', who had also finished watching, spoke before Seele did: "Tentacle monsters can be used for this kind of thing? How come I didn't know?"
As she spoke, dark-colored tentacles appeared behind her, black and red, looking moist and slick.
"Instead of using them for such shameless things, I prefer to use these tentacles to tear our enemies to shreds."
Thinking of that 'ripping' sound, 'Seele's' expression gradually took on a look of pleasure.
She was a complete sadist, the type who could be the S even in the BDSM circle.
Seele didn't comment on 'Seele's' rather rough words and actions, only pondering what might have happened to Bronya.
"Kiana said Sister Bronya unlocked her defeat CG, which should mean she encountered something similar."
There are no tentacle monsters at the Far East Branch, and the only male in the Valkyrie dormitory is very gentle; he couldn't be a tentacle monster in disguise.
'Seele' pouted, sneering at Seele's naive thoughts: "Little fool, stop being so naive. Your Sister Bronya, just as I said before, has definitely been ruined by that guy."
"Just think about it. Although you, little fool, haven't said anything about your engagement, your Sister Bronya has always wanted to go back on her word."
At the mention of 'engagement', Seele's face turned a little red, but she still mustered the courage to listen.
"Your Sister Bronya can't beat that guy, and you have no intention of leaving this place. Plus, your natural Stigma will attract a lot of ill-intentioned attention."
"For your safety, your Sister Bronya has to stay here, even if she's not very willing."
"And the price she owes that man for rescuing you has not yet been paid. Plus, that guy has never made any excessive moves on you…"
Brian's intimate actions with Raiden Mei were hardly concealed, and Raiden Mei was well aware of Seele's relationship with him.
Although 'Seele' couldn't quite understand this adult world, she could see the huge trickery involved.
It was clearly Bronya who was taking on everything in Seele's place, limiting that guy's actions towards Seele to this extent.
Otherwise, with this girl's naive personality, she would have been tricked into bed a hundred times with just a few sentences.
"…"
The silent girl had a complicated expression.
The winding world of adults was still too difficult for her to understand.
The girl looked up, her gaze fixed on the replaying "Magical Girl vs. Tentacle Monster," and made her decision.
"No matter what has happened to Sister Bronya, Seele must find out!"
Only by figuring out what happened can the problem be solved.
Ahead lies the goblin nest, but Seele doesn't know.
Having made her decision, the girl was exceptionally resolute. She stood up, determined to uncover the truth.
"Other me, let's go find Sister Bronya together."
"You say that as if I could leave you."
The girl took a brave step forward, pressing on towards the goblin nest, its location unknown.
Seele knocked on Bronya's door and stood outside waiting for her sister's response.
After a short while, there was a rustling sound from inside.
The door opened, and a girl with Twintails peeked her head out: "Seele, what do you need me for?"
Bronya's head was sticking out at an angle, one could imagine she was talking to Seele in an awkward position.
Seele: "Sister Bronya, Kiana mentioned the magical girl's defeat CG to me during dinner, and I wanted to ask you what it is."
Instantly, Bronya's expression darkened, with a hint of embarrassment.
That Kiana, the idiot whose brain is made of paramecium, actually dared to say such things to her sister. She truly has a death wish.
For the sake of her sister's physical and mental health and safety, Bronya had no intention of explaining: "Seele, this is some impure knowledge. You can only learn about it after you become an adult, okay?"
Bronya reached out a hand to pat her sister's head, her face full of a warm smile.
For the cutest sister in the world, she had truly given a lot.
"Sister Bronya, why is that?"
Seele, who had not come for this purpose in the first place, was persistent. "Seele is already an adult, and has experienced many things. I'm not a child anymore."
Seeing Seele's unusual persistence, Bronya was also in a difficult position.
Although this kind of thing was bound to happen sooner or later, Bronya felt it was still a bit too early to open up a new world for a child who was only in her teens.
"Seele, this knowledge is too advanced for you. You're still young, you can learn about it later."
The time was ripe, and Seele began to show concern for Bronya herself: "Sister Bronya, it must be very uncomfortable for you to talk to me in this position."
"How about… you let me in and we can talk, okay?"
Little Seele's big, watery eyes blinked, making it almost impossible to refuse.
But Bronya was indeed in an inconvenient position right now and could only refuse with a heavy heart: "It's okay, I'm also a Valkyrie certified by Schicksal. Even the most awkward posture is not a problem for me."
"Then Sister Bronya, you should still come out and talk to me. It's really bad for your body to do that."
"Alright, alright."
Unable to win against her sister, Bronya could only silently stuff her popsicle back into her shoe.
"Seele, I'm out."
Bronya walked out of her room and closed the door.
She felt the sweat from her feet filling every crevice of the popsicle in her shoe, making her feel out of place.
The indoor exercise just now was too intense, so much so that she was almost covered in sweat.
She would need to be more careful next time and not do such physically demanding exercises when Seele was about to visit.
Otherwise, if her sister discovered her embarrassing side, her dignity as an older sister would be at stake.
Bronya thought this, but failed to notice the gradually deepening gaze in Seele's eyes.
'Sister Bronya, you… you are deceiving Seele.'
…
PY transaction.
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