It was a dark and windy night. Two white-haired figures quietly opened a room door like thieves, and after a short while, they slipped back out from the room.
The two continued running like thieves until they reached a terrace before finally stopping. Irene looked at the moon on the horizon. "Say, was it really necessary for us to be this sneaky?"
"Aren't we worried about waking Himeko up?" Theresa stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Irene. If they had woken Himeko up, things wouldn't have been so easy today.
Nine times out of ten, Himeko would have tried to fight them. Although Irene had Judah and Himeko couldn't possibly beat her, avoiding trouble was definitely better than inviting it.
In fact, they had only sneaked a peek to confirm Himeko was asleep after the nurse left, verifying that the sedative had taken effect.
Then, Theresa had dragged Irene to the nurse's station to get a painless injector before sneaking back.
Being so careful, they naturally didn't cause any trouble. The painless injector successfully completed its mission, delivering all the remaining serum into Himeko's body.
Just like when Irene injected herself back then, after the injection, Himeko immediately slept even more soundly. Her tightly furrowed brows relaxed; it was clear at a glance that she had obtained extremely high-quality sleep.
Theresa looked at Irene and asked, "How effective will that potion be? Will there be any side effects or anything?"
"I've already finished the injection, and only now you ask if it's too late?" Irene shrugged, looking at the painless injector in her hand before handing it to Theresa.
"As for side effects, there aren't any. It's hard to say exactly how good the effect will be, but it will certainly solve the immediate crisis."
Although it wasn't a complete dose, those three-quarters of the potion would essentially pull Himeko's Honkai Resistance above the passing line.
As long as she reached that passing line, the load brought by the Artificial Stigmata and the issues of Honkai corruption could be resolved.
Once Himeko's Honkai Resistance went up, her body would have a chance to breathe and repair the areas eroded by Honkai energy. Himeko's physical condition would definitely improve.
However, this would take a little time for Himeko to gradually adapt to her new body. As for whether Himeko would discover any issues—the wood is already made into a boat; it's too late to change anything now.
Besides, as long as she and Theresa didn't say anything, how would Himeko know it was their doing?
Theresa took the injector; she just needed to return it to the nurse's station later. There was no need to worry about any residue inside.
With Schicksal's technology, the contents of the injector were certainly dispensed completely, without a single drop left behind.
As for the bacterial issues during the operation, Irene had also used 'Mirror Sync' to adjust Judah, slightly binding the surrounding environment. It was hard to say if it was a perfectly sterile operation, but it certainly wasn't a germ-infested one.
"Speaking of which, Irene, who do you intend to give that remaining one-quarter of the potion to?" Theresa casually put the injector into her pocket. "Do you really not need me to contact Grandpa?"
"No need for now." Irene shook her head. "I already have a candidate in mind. And I believe that in the near future, you should be meeting one of them."
If she remembered correctly, the Anti-Entropy Invasion arc should happen right after this. Although this time Himeko was merely hospitalized, Cocolia likely wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.
Moreover, Irene was here now. As long as Cocolia believed Irene had the ability to save Seele, Cocolia would absolutely not turn a blind eye.
So, in one villa, there were two people Cocolia needed. In terms of surface combat power, one needed bed rest, leaving the other two as her targets.
One was Bronya, and the other was a student from the Kaslana Family. Cocolia knew what she had to do; or rather, if she waited any longer, it would be too late.
As someone from Anti-Entropy, Cocolia should be clear on exactly how high the combat power of a Herrscher who has fully mastered their Authority is. Her strongest trump card right now was nothing more than that clone of Joyce.
But a clone is just a clone; it isn't something created by a certain 'Condensing Ice' user. Thinking of fighting a Herrscher head-on with that is completely impossible.
Furthermore, that clone didn't even replicate the Herrscher of Reason's abilities. Joyce had probably carved the abilities of the Star of Eden directly into his DNA.
"..." Theresa looked at Irene for a moment, thought it over, and nodded. Irene was someone from the future; she must have already thought about what to do. Theresa just needed to cooperate.
"Alright, this matter is finished. Let's go rest first." Irene reached out and patted Theresa's head. "Trust me. Okay, it's getting late, go to sleep."
"Mn." Theresa nodded. Watching Irene prepare to turn and leave, Theresa fell into deep thought for a moment before speaking up. "Irene, if there is anything you need me to do, you can tell me. I will do anything."
Irene turned back, a light smile on her face. "Rest assured. If there really is a place where I need Theresa, I absolutely won't be polite."
"As for what Theresa just said, I accept it. If I really have something I need Theresa to do, you must make sure to do it."
"Mn."
*
Because of the Honkai corruption incident, Himeko finally got a break. Today, she was rarely seen wearing pajamas in the dormitory.
Sitting on the sofa drinking beer, Himeko watched TV, but she was somewhat absent-minded. The reason lay in Theresa, who seemed to be sitting to the side, glancing at her from time to time.
Seemingly annoyed by the staring, Himeko put down the beer in her hand and looked at Theresa helplessly. "My dear Principal Theresa, if you have something to say, just say it."
"Or is it that you're finally so thirsty you want to make a move on me? Then I apologize, I have no interest in you..."
Before Himeko could finish her sentence, Theresa grabbed a throw pillow from the sofa and hurled it at her. Himeko hurriedly tilted her head to dodge. "Hey, hey, don't get angry."
"I am concerned about you!" Theresa wore a puffy, angry expression as she sat back on the sofa. After all, the efficacy of Irene's potion was still too uncertain.
Although she believed in Irene, a potion capable of enhancing Honkai Resistance concerned more than just Himeko. Theresa needed to understand exactly how effective it was.
Theresa had also made Himeko undergo another physical examination. Discovering that the symptoms of Honkai corruption had receded significantly proved that Himeko's Honkai Resistance had indeed risen. Irene's potion was effective.
"I was just making a joke." Himeko shrugged, looking at Theresa. After thinking for a moment, she chose to continue teasing. "After all, I'm really not into lolis..."
Watching the pillow thrown by Theresa, Himeko wanted to dodge with ease again, but unexpectedly, another pillow flew into her evasion path, hitting her squarely in the face.
"Himeko, you never stop, do you?!" Theresa stood with hands on hips, puffing her cheeks at Himeko. "Don't think just because you're injured right now that I won't beat you up."
"Alright, alright, calm down, calm down." Himeko clasped her hands together above her head in a gesture of mercy. "Forgive me this time. Next time you read comics during work hours, I can pretend not to see it."
"You... when have I ever read comics during work hours?!" Theresa, seeing Himeko's utter lack of remorse, sat back down on the sofa, fuming. "Forget it, I won't bicker with you. How does your body feel now?"
"Mn? Just the same as usual?" Himeko picked up her beer and took another sip. "Mn, though I do feel my body is a bit lighter than before."
"Then do you want to go for another checkup?" Theresa looked at Himeko. "Doing more checkups is better than doing none, right? It's free anyway."
"Huh?" Himeko looked at Theresa with a face full of confusion, setting down the beer she had just picked up. Judging by her movements, she was considering whether to walk over to Theresa and feel her forehead to see if she had a fever.
"What is wrong with you exactly, Theresa?" Himeko looked at her. "Could it be that my checkup report was actually terrible? Am I about to die or something?"
"Ah! Teacher Himeko is dying!" Just then, Kiana's scream came from the doorway. Himeko and Theresa turned to look.
At the door, the three musketeers—Kiana and company—who had finished class, were returning with Irene. It was obvious Kiana had overheard the last sentence.
"Auntie Himeko, you absolutely can't die!" Kiana pounced directly over. "It was clearly just a small injury, wasn't it? How did it suddenly... Ouch!"
"You white-haired dumpling, don't talk nonsense." Himeko squinted, her eyes filled with extreme speechlessness as she looked at Kiana. "Do you only listen to half of what people say?"
"That's right, Kiana, don't speak recklessly." Irene walked in slowly. "Himeko's body hasn't reached that extent yet, and I believe it won't in the future either."
"Ahahaha, sorry, I heard Teacher Himeko say that sentence as soon as I came in, and I got scared." Kiana scratched her head. "It really wasn't my fault."
"Next time, don't just listen to half a sentence." Irene knocked Kiana on the head. "Oh, right, I haven't told you the news from the past two days."
"Good news?" Kiana rubbed her head and turned back to look at Irene. "What good news?"
"Nothing much, just about the credits this time." Irene patted Kiana's back. "Because of Chiyou, this mission definitely can't be counted as a regular archaeology mission."
"So your credits have been largely replenished. At the same time, this mission can also serve as strong evidence for your promotion to A-Rank Valkyrie later."
"Eh? Really?!" Upon hearing this, Kiana's face instantly lit up with joy, but then she became somewhat puzzled. "Wait, the owed credits were only replenished by 'a large part'?"
"Otherwise?" Theresa nodded as if it were a matter of course. "In this battle, from strategy to execution, the combat was the main focus. Wasn't this mission mainly handled by Irene?"
"Also, Bronya was responsible for signaling, and you and Mei were only responsible for clearing the path. Naturally, your contribution was lower, so the credits replenished will naturally be fewer."
"Mn, that makes sense." Hearing Theresa's words, Kiana nodded. She admitted this fact; after all, Irene had basically carried them the whole way.
Bronya was responsible for contacting the outside world and guiding artillery fire. The Class Monitor, with just a pair of fists, held off a thousand enemies, sharing the pressure of the vast majority of minions and quite a few elite enemies.
Meanwhile, she and Mei could indeed only clear small fries along the way. By the end, Kiana's dual pistols couldn't even break the enemy's defense; she could almost only be effective when using melee combat.
It could even be said that the damage Mei dealt was higher than hers.
I'm still too weak.
This thought flashed through Kiana's mind. Along with this thought came the promise she had made with Theresa a long time ago: to become an A-Rank Valkyrie.
Only by becoming an A-Rank Valkyrie would Theresa tell her where that stinking dad was. But Kiana didn't know exactly how strong an A-Rank Valkyrie was.
The only references she had were the Class Monitor, Teacher Himeko, and now Irene.
Undoubtedly, in practical combat classes, she had sparred with the Class Monitor more than once, and almost every time she was beaten black and blue. It was the same with Himeko.
She hadn't won a single time. And Irene's performance inside Chiyou needed no mention; that was a level Kiana couldn't catch up to even if she spurred a horse. If only by reaching that state could one be an A-Rank Valkyrie...
Then, the gap between her and the achievement of 'A-Rank Valkyrie' was truly too wide. This absolutely wouldn't do; she still had to go find that stinking dad to settle the score.
Kiana wasn't someone who hid her expressions. The trace of melancholy brought about by this train of thought was caught by Theresa's eyes.
"What's wrong? Kiana." Theresa looked at Kiana. "Why that expression on your face? You'll definitely have to make up credits later, but..."
Theresa hadn't finished speaking when she was interrupted by Kiana. "No, Auntie, that's not what I wanted to say. I just wanted to say... I'm still too weak right now..."
"I feel like I can't do anything. I feel like the distance to becoming an A-Rank Valkyrie is a bit far..."
Standing behind Kiana, Irene listened to her words. She pulled Kiana to sit on the sofa nearby, looking at the gloomy-faced Kiana, and reached out to pat her head.
"Why say that? What makes you feel that you can't do anything right now?"
Kiana opened her mouth and turned to look at the gentle-faced Irene. "I want to become an A-Rank Valkyrie, but I feel like I haven't made any effort for this thing I want to do."
Kiana knew her performance in class. Apart from combat class, her grades could be described as a complete mess, and skipping class was a common occurrence.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have owed so many credits. And now, she suddenly felt as if she had wasted a lot of time.
Irene wore a gentle smile on her face as she looked at Kiana. "So you want to break free from the current situation? You want to put in the effort or grow for it?"
Kiana nodded vigorously, as if wanting to demonstrate the resolve she had finally made. "I feel I shouldn't go on like this anymore. At least, I want to become an A-Rank Valkyrie first and complete the goal I should complete."
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