With a staggering 50-point intelligence stat in the simulation, Lunelle's learning and comprehension abilities surpassed that of an ordinary person by more than tenfold—and that was just a straightforward numerical conversion.
Not to mention, that sky-high intellect also came with a near-photographic memory, the kind that bordered on terrifying!
So when Dr. Mobius noticed Lunelle focusing intently, reading through her research notes from start to finish, she couldn't help feeling a twinge of surprise—almost as if the little one actually understood all that dense, arcane material.
Still, Mobius quickly brushed off that absurd thought.
Even she herself would get a headache after staring too long at those densely packed notes, let alone someone as young and tender as Seele, both physically and mentally.
Learning, after all, wasn't just about memorizing every theoretical word perfectly, or reviewing knowledge already acquired.
Applying diverse theories into practice demanded time—a long, often tedious process.
So even though Lunelle's efficiency in mastering knowledge within the simulation was downright frightening, her goal from the start had been true proficiency over that vast ocean of information.
In the end, studying entirely on her own, Lunelle spent over seven months in the simulation—corresponding to a month in the real world—before she finally digested every bit of knowledge Snake Lady had handed her.
After all, through her dear wife Snake's research notes, Lunelle hadn't just grasped what was written; she'd absorbed every related piece of expertise mentioned, every specialized term, with terrifying learning speed.
It was no exaggeration to say that by now, Lunelle could confidently call herself "Little Doctor Seele"!
And after cultivating herself into a "Little Doctor Seele" through hard study in the simulation, back in the real world of Honkai Impact, Lunelle's theoretical grades at St. Freya shot up like a rocket.
She went from just a clever, likable student to something like a near-omniscient expert in all things biological.
Once the calmest month from the original plot passed, St. Freya's first major school-wide exam arrived as scheduled.
As part of the logistics department, Lunelle didn't need to take the combat tests required of regular Valkyries like the "Big Three."
But theoretical exams were unavoidable.
Though Lunelle was now essentially a biology-focused doctor, reaching that scholarly level had exposed her to all sorts of foundational theories.
The Previous Era was, after all, the origin of the Current Era's Honkai phenomena—their basic knowledge frameworks were fully compatible.
And Lunelle hadn't just memorized by rote; she'd mastered the knowledge through deep understanding.
So facing a mere high-school-level theory exam was a breeze for someone who'd earned a doctorate from the Previous Era in the simulation.
In fact, to avoid an outrageously high score, Lunelle even played the score-control game—a move only truly capable experts could pull off.
But since she was only tweaking her results slightly, she didn't go for overtly flashy moves, like filling in the right answer only to erase it and putting in the wrong one.
Nah, Lunelle just aimed for around 85 out of 100.
That score, in her mind, placed her squarely in the "good student" category without being too conspicuous.
If she aced every subject in her very first month at St. Freya, someone like Otto or the infiltrating Anti-Entropy leader might take notice—and she'd probably get dragged into all sorts of troublesome messes again.
After a month of low-key development, Lunelle's daily simulations had boosted her Honkai Energy Adaptability in her female guise to the 90-point threshold.
Her stamina in that form had also climbed to 93 points.
Going purely by stats, Lunelle's stamina was nearing the entry level for an A-rank Valkyrie!
She wondered—with her higher Honkai Adaptability, maybe a suitable Stigmata could finally be implanted?
Holding onto a sliver of hope, Lunelle tested her current Stigmata Compatibility again, checking if anything had changed.
Unfortunately, the instrument's results coldly informed her that among all the artificial Stigmata stored at St. Freya, none were compatible with her body.
After being told a second time that she still couldn't receive a Stigmata, Lunelle completely gave up on that path to power in the real world.
She just didn't know whether her simulator might eventually drop some alternative method to grow stronger in place of Stigmata.
As the written portion of the first school-wide Valkyrie exam concluded…
Around the same time, Schicksal Headquarters' quarterly routine physical exams for every active Valkyrie also wrapped up.
"Whew! Went right in. Looks like my luck's not too bad today."
After her check-up, Himeko effortlessly—without even glancing—tossed her medical records folder straight into a nearby trash bin with a perfect throw.
She knew better than anyone just how poor her physical condition was.
If not for Schicksal's mandatory regular check-ups, she'd gladly skip them altogether—out of sight, out of mind.
"Major Himeko… please don't just throw your medical report in the trash without looking at it. This data needs to be collected and regularly reported to headquarters!"
But the bespectacled adjutant who'd accompanied Himeko promptly fished the folder back out of the bin.
Her tone, dripping with resignation, made it clear this wasn't the first time she'd had to give this reminder—and just as clear that Himeko, stubbornly avoiding the truth of her worsening health, had never listened.
After all, if you knew you had terminal cancer and understood it was incurable, would you really want to see exactly how much worse it had gotten?
"It's always worse than the last time. What's the point of looking? I'd rather use whatever time I've left to drink a little more… ahem… to drink more tea."
Hearing her adjutant's habitual reminder, Himeko fell back on her usual retort—but when the word "drink" slipped out, she seemed to recall something, coughed dryly, and quickly corrected herself to "tea."
"Huh?! Major Himeko, I heard you suddenly decided to quit drinking this past month. I thought it was just a rumor, but now… have you been replaced by someone when I wasn't looking?"
The adjutant, who'd expected Himeko to head straight to a bar after the exam, was so shocked she began questioning whether Himeko was even real.
In her mind, the Major was a hopeless, hardcore drinker.
A seasoned alcoholic like Himeko, even knowing it would kill her eventually, should have kept at it stubbornly until the very end.
But now, seeing Himeko genuinely seem disinterested in alcohol…
Good heavens… is the sun rising from the west today?
"Yep! No more drinking, none at all! Who'd have thought having a sweet little thing at home who can't stand the smell of alcohol on me would finally do the trick?"
Seeing her adjutant's stunned expression, Himeko waved a hand somewhat helplessly, putting on the air of a responsible adult who'd sworn off drinking for the sake of the child at home.
But the truth was, for the past month, Himeko had been itching to cuddle up close and get cozy with little Lunelle.
And since she was staying under the girl's roof, Lunelle found it hard to refuse—so she laid down a firm rule about the one thing she couldn't stand: the smell of booze.
Basically, if Himeko-sensei wanted a hug, she had to make sure there wasn't a trace of alcohol on her.
So, in order to come home every day and get a sweet, comforting hug from the adorable Lunelle, Himeko had no choice but to quit drinking.
And every time she got to hold that soft, sweet little girl, the relief it brought to the pain in her body was miles better than just drowning her senses in alcohol.
Even now, when the aches began creeping back, Himeko didn't think once about turning to drink again.
Instead, she'd catch herself daydreaming about those secret, stolen cuddles with Lunelle over the past month—the memory etched deep, wonderfully soothing.
Sure, fantasizing like this about how soft and sweet Lunelle was probably counted as a bit perverted and creepy.
But Himeko had accidentally discovered that whenever she couldn't shake off the pain, letting her mind wander to Lunelle worked like a kind of mental trick—a way to "quench thirst by staring at plums"—and it actually helped suppress the agony temporarily.
The only catch was, each time she used this little emergency method, her longing for Lunelle only grew stronger.
Like right now, after another mental indulgence, Himeko caught herself scheming: once she got home, if she could just get her hands on that adorable little girl, she'd hold her tight and soak up every bit of that unfairly cute presence!
But just as Himeko was sinking into her own imagination…
"Holy—! Major Himeko! T-this… your physical exam data seems off!!"
Her adjutant, who'd been routinely noting down what should have been worsening results to report to Principal Theresa, suddenly widened her eyes as if she'd seen something utterly unbelievable!
Her shock now even surpassed when she'd heard Himeko quit drinking.
"Hm? Just worse than last time, isn't it?"
Hearing her usually calm adjutant suddenly sputter like that, even Himeko—who didn't care much about her own results—felt a stir of curiosity.
She took the report from her stunned subordinate and flipped through it with an air of indifference.
'Could it be my condition's deteriorated so badly I'm about to turn into a zombie?'
'But that shouldn't be! I still ache, but there aren't any obvious signs of zombification on me!'
'Or has the Honkai erosion already dulled my senses, so I can't even tell how far it's progressed inside?'
Outwardly nonchalant, Himeko's mind was racing with grim possibilities.
Looking at the raw data from this checkup, it was still terrible by every measure.
In fact, it looked even worse than the first time she'd been told her body had reached "terminal stage."
But if she were on the immediate brink of death and zombification… well, there was still a little distance to go.
"Tch, I knew looking at this would just ruin my mood. But Adjutant? I'm the one dying here, not you. What's with the fuss?"
Seeing the report conclude she likely had only two or three years left before hitting total collapse, Himeko actually felt a faint sense of relief.
After worrying she might not have long, the thought of a little extra time was more than welcome—who wouldn't want to live a bit longer?
"Major Himeko! You don't understand how bad your data was last time! Based on your previous exam, the estimate was you had at most half a year left… but now the projection says—"
But before her glasses-wearing adjutant could finish, Himeko's hand shot up and covered her mouth, expression serious.
"That's enough, Adjutant… I get the general idea. But let's discuss this later, in private. I'm… feeling a bit tired now."
After silencing her adjutant, Himeko used a subtle signal only the two of them understood to warn her against saying anything more reckless.
Finally catching on that she'd almost blurted out something major, the adjutant quickly nodded in understanding.
With that, Himeko and her subordinate returned to their usual composure and calmly continued toward their original destination.
The whole exchange lasted mere seconds, and Himeko's quick intervention meant no one else noticed anything amiss.
But from those few stunned words, Himeko quickly realized something: her terminally ill body actually showed signs of significant improvement in this latest report!
And Himeko wasn't foolish enough to think she'd done this herself.
This quarter, after the battle against the Herrscher of Thunder, she'd pushed her Scarlet Fusion suit to its limits again.
Under those circumstances, if her condition hadn't worsened further, it would've been a miracle!
Then it hit her: over the past month, the only times her pain had noticeably eased were when she'd been close to sweet little Lunelle.
It didn't take long for Himeko to pinpoint the real reason her "terminal" symptoms were not just alleviating but healing.
'So it was you all along, my dear little Lunelle?'
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.