Murata Himeko hadn't found the specific information she was looking for, but she had come away with an unexpected harvest. Her curiosity regarding Anti-Entropy had grown significantly, though it still paled in comparison to her concern for Hua Yi.
Unfortunately, there was little Himeko could do at the moment to act on that worry. Her only option was to wait until tomorrow, when Hua Yi was scheduled to begin classes, and observe his condition while she was acting as his teacher.
Logging out of her account and shutting down the terminal, Himeko placed it back beside Theresa. Looking at the cute way the other woman slept, she couldn't help but offer a bitter smile.
Theresa was a veteran Valkyrie who had been active long before Himeko's time, a senior in every sense of the word. And yet, how did she manage to look so eternally young? It was enough to make anyone a little jealous.
Despite her thoughts, Himeko suspected that Theresa's existence was the result of a unique set of circumstances that couldn't be replicatedcertainly not by simple skincare techniques. Pushing the idle thoughts from her mind, she slipped out of the Principal's office and began attending to her various duties.
Time trickled by. Afternoon faded toward evening.
Kiana had enjoyed a magnificent, long sleep. Waking up to a delicious meal prepared by Raiden Mei, she felt as if her life was perfectuntil she received a piece of bad news.
Hua Yi, Raiden Mei, and Bronya were all officially enrolling in St. Freya Academy tomorrow. She was the only one left.
If she agreed now, her comfortable, lazy salted fish life would undoubtedly come to an end. But if she refused, a life without Hua Yi and Mei would be far less enjoyable than the one she had now.
As Kiana fretted over the decision, images from the past began to flicker through her mind.
She remembered the desperation of fleeing Nagazora with Mei after the Honkai outbreak. Even with the Artemis' Guardian dual pistols her Aunt Theresa had given her, she had been barely able to escape. Encountering a single flying Honkai Beast had required every ounce of her strength just to eliminate it.
Then there was the sneak attack by that ultra giant Honkai Beast after they had met up with Hua Yi. Its massive frame, ten times the size of a flying Honkai Beast, radiated overwhelming power. With a single strike, it had leveled half a reinforced skyscraper. And yet, a beast like that had been taken down by either Mei or Hua Yi.
Even now, Kiana wasn't entirely sure what had happened at the very end. She had passed out in a rather embarrassing fashion, knocked unconscious by the sheer pressure Mei had suddenly released.
Kiana didn't blame Mei, of course. She just felt humiliated. In the end, she hadn't helped at all; she had been a burden, lacking the strength to even stand as a bystander.
Even if she was going to be a salted fish, she couldn't be a salted fish that dragged others down!
Kiana had her pride. She quickly made her decision: she would go to class with everyone tomorrow and strive to become a powerful Valkyrie. According to Himeko and Theresa, St. Freya Academy was built specifically to train Valkyries.
As for right now, she was going with Mei to visit Hua Yi. She wanted to see how his recovery was coming along.
Arriving at Hua Yi's residence, she knocked and entered. Kiana looked him up and down, but he didn't seem any different. On the surface, there wasn't a single sign of injury.
It was just like before. Even when Hua Yi was practically covered in wounds, Kiana could never sense anything wrong with him.
Since her eyes were failing her, she decided to take a more direct approach.
Kiana leaned in close and carefully poked him with her finger. "Does it hurt?"
The white-haired girl's actions made Hua Yi's eyebrows twitch. At such a close distance, he could feel Kiana's hair brushing against his face. The faint, ticklish sensation was enough to make his heart flutter, and for a moment, he considered engaging in some playful flirting. However, with Raiden Mei and Bronya standing right there, he decided he had better remain a man of integrity.
"It doesn't hurt. The medical department says I need more rest to fully heal, but personally, I feel fine. Don't worry about it."
Kiana was hardly a "good girl" who followed the rules. Back when she fought the Honkai alongside her father, she had never been seriously injured due to his protection, but she had fallen ill before. Her father had told her to stay home and rest, but Kiana never listened. As soon as he left, she would sneak out to fight Deadweights, hoping to ease the burden on his shoulders.
Now, however, she found herself playing the role of the one telling others to behave.
"If the doctor told you to rest, then you should rest. Don't worry, if anyone tries to bully you at school tomorrow, I'll definitely protect you!"
Coming from a girl to a boy, the words should have felt a bit strange, but Kiana looked genuinely cool as she said them.
She looked so dashing that Hua Yi dazed for a split second. Then, he couldn't resist reaching out and pinching her cheek, shattering her cool facade.
"I don't think I'll be the one getting bullied. As for you, make sure you don't perform too poorly, alright?"
"Don't you worry, I'm a"
Kiana had intended to boast of the Kaslana name, but the memory of her poor performance in Nagazora robbed her of her confidence. After imagining the daily life of a student at St. Freya Academy for a moment, she asked a bit nervously, "Does being a student here mean fighting those giant Honkai Beasts every day?"
She assumed that a Honkai Beast's strength was determined by its size. Since she had struggled against a ten-meter flying beast, Kiana didn't think she was ready for the giant onesat least, not yet.
Hua Yi couldn't help but chuckle.
"Of course not. I'm talking about general classes. While the goal is to train Valkyries, the basic academic courses are still taught normally. Combined with Honkai-related knowledge, the theory classes alone might be much harder than those in a regular school, you know?"
"Uh..."
Kiana fell silent.
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