With the exams just finished, Lunelle remained blissfully unaware that certain unique qualities about her—undetectable to herself—had already been noticed by Himeko.
Thus, Lunelle's attempt to lower her own visibility by controlling her exam scores had, quite mysteriously, ended up being completely pointless.
Still, it was fortunate that her peculiarities had for now only come to the attention of someone like Himeko—a decent person who meant her no harm.
Otherwise, if Lunelle's extraordinary constitution—a body capable of curing Honkai infection through intimate physical contact—were ever exposed…
Given that she currently lacked sufficient strength to protect herself, the best outcome Lunelle could hope for would be becoming a special experimental subject in the fight against the Honkai, literally sliced up for research.
And if things went just a tad worse… well, there was a real chance our adorable Lunelle might be snatched up by those with ill intentions.
Then, if some underworld-style plot accidentally unfolded…
It wasn't impossible that once certain people got infected with Honkai, they'd simply snatch little Lunelle—the "Honkai antidote"—and… use her thoroughly.
She could even end up as some big shot's exclusive plaything or personal punching bag!
Not that you could blame Himeko for thinking along such grim lines.
Even Himeko herself, a woman of some experience, had nearly lost control and succumbed to Lunelle's terrifying allure.
And little Lunelle was so delicate and fragile, utterly incapable of defending herself.
Wasn't she just a walking disaster, a magnet for trouble?
So, after accidentally discovering the miraculous uses of dear little Lunelle, Himeko acted with extreme caution and didn't breathe a word of it to anyone.
Even with her bespectacled adjutant—one of only two people who'd noticed Himeko's secret—Himeko only vaguely mentioned that the unexpected improvement in her condition was due to certain… unspeakable reasons.
Since the medical facility for Himeko's check-up was an independent hospital managed by the Far East Branch personnel, Himeko immediately used her authority to have her adjutant temporarily seal the report showing her improved post-examination physique.
She also had a falsified report prepared for Schicksal Headquarters, one indicating her condition had worsened compared to the previous quarter.
As for all details concerning Lunelle, throughout the entire process, Himeko never revealed the slightest hint to anyone else.
She did a thoroughly responsible job of temporarily shielding that excessively charming little darling, Lunelle.
"Sigh… after all that work, I've managed to suppress this for now, but…"
But Himeko knew perfectly well that her cover-up was merely a temporary stopgap, like drinking poison to quench thirst.
After all, while she'd used her means to falsify a medical report, her suddenly improved physical symptoms could be hidden for a while, but not forever.
Once Himeko passed the predicted latest timeframe for turning into a zombie yet remained alive and well, someone was bound to notice the anomaly with her.
And from there, it was highly likely they'd follow the trail straight to Lunelle!
Even Himeko understood that given Lunelle's uniqueness, even if she wasn't the first to discover it, as time went on, more and more people helped by Lunelle would eventually realize the truth…
For instance, if Otto, the Overseer of Schicksal, directly ordered the Far East Branch to hand over ownership of Lunelle…
With the Far East Branch's current combat strength—basically just Principal Theresa, a former S-rank Valkyrie—how could a single branch possibly defy an order from the Schicksal Overseer?
"To think I've unknowingly dragged my adorable student into this… Tch… What a failure of a teacher I am!"
But the thought that her own actions might cause Lunelle's secret to be exposed prematurely to those in power filled Himeko with profound guilt.
And soon, a previously considered, rather risky idea resurfaced in her mind.
Originally, Himeko had planned to venture into the Chiyou Ruins region of the Shenzhou continent, hoping to find the legendary Golden Divine Key and the ancient Stigmata, to try and fix her own body—battered and broken from the strain of her Stigmata.
But now, realizing that the little one's special constitution could also heal Honkai erosion, logically, Himeko no longer needed to take that risk.
However…
"Sigh… Even if just to provide cover for my improved condition, and to atone for my failings as a teacher, I'm afraid I still have to make this rather dangerous trip to the Chiyou Ruins."
As a responsible teacher, Himeko couldn't in good conscience simply accept such a huge benefit from Lunelle without giving anything back.
Thus, she ultimately decided to proceed with the original mission: heading to the Chiyou Ruins to seek the ancient Stigmata!
Having made up her mind, Himeko—stone-cold sober—returned home lost in thought.
Since Kiana and the other two still had their rather time-consuming combat proficiency tests to complete after the written exams, the house was, quite coincidentally, empty except for Lunelle.
And Lunelle, thinking she was perfectly safe, had deliberately scheduled today's simulation session for this exact window when she'd be home alone, having timed it around her three "wives" combat exams.
'Everyone's taking exams, Himeko-sensei seems to have gone out on business… this simulation session should be perfectly safe, right?' she thought.
So Lunelle promptly transformed into the "Dr. Seele" of the Previous Era civilization and spent another week studying inside the simulation.
But just as Lunelle returned to the reality of the Honkai world, before her lingering allure could even begin to fade…
Himeko, having finished her tasks and headed straight home, walked through the front door into the living room and came face-to-face with the still-radiantly-charming little Lunelle!
In an instant, Lunelle's mind went completely blank!
'This… this can't be right! Why is Himeko-sensei back so early today!? Holy crap!'
"Ah! Hi—… I mean, Himeko-sensei! You're back early today. But you seem to be in a bit of a bad mood…Um, well, I won't disturb you then, I'll just head out!"
Suddenly noticing that Himeko-sensei's gaze, fixed on her, seemed to have grown… just a tiny bit dangerous!
Lunelle felt a vivid premonition of her own tragic fate!
But thinking things might not have reached the worst point yet, she decided to pretend she hadn't noticed the dangerous glint in Himeko-sensei's stare.
She got up, planning to emulate a certain double-agent and make a swift escape!
"Lunelle, you can't leave just yet."
But the moment Lunelle stood up, trying to act normal, Himeko—who had been watching her intently—reached out and blocked her path.
As Himeko-sensei drew closer, Lunelle, trembling from a primal instinct for survival, found herself being backed steadily into a corner.
Soon, the utterly sweet and tempting little Lunelle was cornered against the wall by Himeko's increasingly intense gaze.
"This… this isn't right? Himeko-sensei, you… didn't you just get a hug this morning when you left?"
Knowing there was no escape today, Lunelle could only voice her feeble protest.
At that moment, Lunelle had no choice but to adopt her softest, most delicate tone, hoping that Himeko-sensei wouldn't get carried away and end up squishing fragile little her right then and there!
"Sweet little Lunelle, you really know how to make trouble... for your teacher~! Since I've caught you today, I'll have to collect a little interest in advance."
Seeing the little cutie before her fluster so adorably—almost unfairly so—from just a slight scare, Himeko couldn't hold back.
She stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Lunelle's impossibly slender and soft waist, and pulled the girl entirely into her embrace.
Then, she tumbled with Lunelle onto the nearby sofa.
Eagerly, Himeko began the intense, close contact she'd been anticipating all the way home—a long-awaited session of snuggling with darling little Lunelle.
Lunelle, who was always 'posing and preening' in front of her various 'wives,' tempting others, had finally met her match this time.
She was getting a taste of her own medicine.
Still, for a little temptress like Lunelle, if she were ever caught and held by someone with… equipment... she'd likely end up being thoroughly 'cooked' on the spot, turning into something like a 'cream puff drizzled with strawberry jam'!
Luckily, while Himeko-sensei was a bit older, she was also a dazzling beauty—not the type with any 'equipment.'
So, in the end, Himeko simply buried her face contentedly in the crook of Lunelle's neck, breathing deeply the sweet scent that belonged to Lunelle alone.
But in her emotional state, Himeko couldn't quite control herself, leaving a series of marks all over the exposed skin of Lunelle's neck.
As for Himeko's affectionate advances, Lunelle—who hadn't even reached the threshold of an A-rank Valkyrie—could only submit and endure the whole time.
Even though, at least on the surface, Lunelle still had the 'absolute defense' of being under eighteen, she couldn't help but fear that any disobedience might provoke an already heated-up Himeko-sensei into doing something even more… indecent!
After all, during the brief period of being caught and snuggled intensely by her 'wives,' Lunelle had learned one thing: the more she resisted when they were in that passionate, close-contact state, the bolder they became in teasing her.
So, it was better to just lie back and take it from the start.
It wasn't like she had the ability to resist anyway.
And so, poor little Lunelle was pinned on the sofa by the chance-met Himeko-sensei and subjected to a fierce, storm-like barrage of kisses.
As the one being 'handled' by Himeko-sensei, afterward Lunelle could only feel that the delicate skin above her collarbone had been thoroughly attended to by the overexcited teacher.
Even without looking in a mirror, Lunelle could imagine the pitiful sight—her exposed skin almost entirely covered in densely packed lip marks.
Wuwuwu... I'm... I'm not pure anymore, wah wah wah...
This wasn't the first time Lunelle had been caught and 'handled' due to her excessive charm, and she was truly speechless about her own uncontrollable, terrifying appeal.
Even when shearing sheep, you know not to keep shearing the same one over and over!
But she really hadn't done anything wrong!
Why did it seem like every beautiful 'wife' was fixated on 'handling' her and her alone?!
At that moment, Lunelle couldn't help but reminisce about the simulation—about her 'wife' Mobius, who, even when facing the full terrifying charm of her 'Seele' form, had remained entirely focused on her work for a full seven months.
And then there was her other 'wife,' the weakling Elysia, who would get even more shy and scared than she did if Lunelle tried to get a little closer.
Lunelle wasn't entirely sure why Elysia, who should have been a top-tier 'gal pal' leader, always acted so afraid of close contact whenever Lunelle wore her 'Seele' persona.
But it was precisely Elysia's weakling reactions and Mobius's indifference that allowed Lunelle—who saw herself as the 'husband' in these dynamics—to reclaim a tiny shred of dignity and security in the simulation, a small sense that she wouldn't just be pinned down and 'handled' at any moment!
After Himeko-sensei had her fill of kissing, a disheveled Lunelle flusteredly fled back to her own little room to deal with the 'strawberry marks' that now seemed to be everywhere on her body.
Fresh from replenishing her supply of 'Lunelle essence,' and with some growing suspicions about Lunelle's unique constitution, Himeko—still warm from their contact—carefully began to assess what changes were occurring within her own battered body after the close encounter.
Focusing inward, she quickly realized that the Honkai Energy concentration within her, which had been nearing a dangerous state, had indeed noticeably improved after snuggling with Lunelle.
"So it really is like this…"
Having verified her suspicions through the changes in her own condition, Himeko watched the pure, flawless figure of the little one with complex emotions.
Before this, she had held onto a sliver of hope that her guess might be wrong.
But faced with ironclad evidence, even if she wanted to find excuses to absolve Lunelle, there was simply no way.
After all, she couldn't just ignore the facts, could she?
"Darling little Lunelle, consider this the interest I'm collecting for keeping your secret this time!"
But the thought that she'd likely be inseparable from this adorable, alluring little creature in every sense for the rest of her life solidified Himeko's resolve. She secretly made up her mind.
--+--
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.