"...Help me? How are you going to help me?"
Himeko's tone suddenly became a little agitated—not happy, but tinged with faint anger.
It was the frustration of having a secret discovered, and the indignation of being casually given hope.
To give someone hope and then disappoint them only leads to a deeper kind of despair. It's better never to have had hope at all.
"Sorry, I got a bit impulsive just now. But please don't say that kind of thing again. Caring for others is a good thing, but overreaching concern will only hurt people further."
After saying this, Himeko's expression dimmed. She finished speaking, then stood up, intending to leave, but Evan grabbed her hand.
"I don't think I'm overreaching. Bronya should have told you—I once reversed someone's zombification. Since artificial Stigmata are also products related to Honkai energy, there's a chance their condition can be changed."
Himeko recalled what Bronya had said before: that Evan had saved a garrison member on the Nagazora border who was on the verge of turning into a zombie. That was also a kind of miracle. At present, whether at St. Freya Academy, Schicksal, or Anti-Entropy, they could only use various methods to halt or slow that process; no one could directly reverse it.
Evan had already created one miracle, so he really might be able to create another.
Himeko's heart, which had almost sunk into lifeless stillness, suddenly stirred again—then was quickly pressed down. She didn't dare to hope too much, for fear of being too disappointed later.
"Do I need to prepare anything?"
Even though she kept warning herself, Himeko still showed impatience and had already revealed her desire for Evan to act immediately.
"Prepare a private room. I need to see your back."
"..."
Himeko, who had been a little excited, suddenly looked at Evan with a scrutinizing gaze.
"You're not just using this as an excuse to cop a feel, are you?"
"This time, I'm serious."
"'This time'? So you're admitting there was a time you weren't behaving yourself?"
Himeko teased him lightly, then quickly composed herself and took a deep breath.
"If it's just showing my back, and the one seeing it is you, I suppose that's not too much of a loss for me... Come with me."
The two walked through St. Freya Academy—not back to Evan's or Himeko's home, but to a hall filled with all kinds of training equipment.
"This is my personal training area. I'll go into the changing room first. You only come in when I call you, got it?"
"Got it."
Evan nodded, looking very honest.
He really hadn't planned on peeking. Now that he was at St. Freya and everything was moving in the direction he wanted, he wasn't so lacking in self-control.
Five minutes later.
"Come in."
The tightly closed door of the changing room opened, and Himeko's voice came from inside.
Evan did not blush or hesitate like some pure-hearted schoolboy. He pushed the door open and walked in without fuss.
What he saw was Himeko in something like a school-issued swimsuit for students at a pool, but with some subtle differences.
Simply put, the amount of exposed skin was far less than he had imagined. Aside from revealing the Stigmata on her back in a very clever way, everything else was wrapped up securely, with only her calves and arms bare.
"What, are you disappointed?"
Sensing Evan's gaze, Himeko casually spun once in front of him, then said:
"This is the combat suit I wear under my armor. Since the armor needs to fit closely to allow free movement, wearing ordinary clothes under it would cause a lot of inconvenience. You've stared long enough—how about a review?"
Her voice was full of playful amusement.
Evan was silent for a moment, then raised his thumb.
"Miss Himeko has a great figure."
"...Save the flattery for later. For now, see if you can improve my situation. Considering you didn't sneak a peek at me changing earlier, I'll be sure to thank you properly afterward, no matter what."
Well then. As expected of a training area reserved solely for Himeko, there even seemed to be something like surveillance installed.
Evan didn't say more. He turned his gaze to the artificial Stigmata on Himeko's back and, without changing his expression, opened the virtual interface.
Just like when he'd seen Kiana's Artemis' Guardian pistols, he saw a virtual option. But instead of the previous "Enhance", this time there were three "Repair" buttons—one for each Stigma.
He had still been hesitant before, worried that using his gold to enhance or evolve an artificial Stigma would strengthen all of its effects, side effects included—meaning the burden might worsen rather than disappear, which would be the very definition of making things worse.
But seeing the word "Repair" put his mind at ease.
As expected, artificial Stigmata and natural Stigmata were different. Repair should fix the flaws within.
Repair required 10,000 gold. Since this was a different kind of change from enhancement or evolution, Evan had no way of using it to judge the star rating of Himeko's artificial Stigmata.
Three Stigmata meant a total of 30,000 gold. Evan had been hoarding coins without spending them; now he had just enough.
After a brief pause, Evan theatrically placed his finger on Himeko's back and, with a thought, spent 10,000 gold to repair one Stigma. While carefully feeling for any shift in the Honkai energy, he tentatively asked:
"How do you feel?"
"I think it feels a bit lighter... tch, I just took painkillers. It doesn't hurt right now anyway. How am I supposed to notice any subtle changes? Did you do something?"
Himeko's comment made Evan feel a pang in his heart. He'd just burned through ten thousand gold coins—what was with this completely flat reaction? Shouldn't Himeko be shouting "I feel better than ever before!" and then tearfully offering herself to him in gratitude?
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