“Sigh.
Finally got everything done.
Does this count as completing a mission?
I want to apply for a bonus and time off!”
Himeko placed Angel’s enrollment agreement on the principal’s desk and said to Theresa with mock formality.
A quick note: St.
Freya Academy trained Valkyries, so the students effectively held a position, that of reserve Valkyries.
Since it was a position, it came with compensation, mission obligations, and even the risk of injury or death.
That was why contracts and agreements were required.
Theresa took the agreement, glanced at it to confirm Angel’s signature, then rolled her eyes and said:
“Save the nonsense.
Tell me, what do you think of the kid?”
“Haha, she’s cuter than I expected.
Since I was the first person to patiently reach out and break through her defenses after her sudden trauma, she developed something like an imprinting response.
She’s quite dependent on me.
How should I put it?
She’s a very wary child, but not a bad person at heart.
Don’t forget, she saved Kiana once, even though Kiana was chasing her.”
“Is that so?
A cute child!
Sigh!”
Theresa leaned back in her chair, rested her hands behind her head, and let out a sigh before continuing:
“But she’s also a victim of the Nagazora disaster.
The grudge of her parents’ death, plus all the suffering she’s endured over the past half year.
I hate to imagine how she’ll react when she finds out the truth.”
“That’s precisely why you placed her in my house, isn’t it?”
“Yes.
Rather than her immediately seeing Mei as the source of all evil, I’d rather she get to know Mei beforehand.
Perhaps if she learns what kind of person Mei really is, when that day comes, she’ll be better able to understand that Mei isn’t the true culprit.
The real enemy we should hate and destroy is Honkai itself.”
Theresa murmured with a somber look, as if recalling some unpleasant memories.
Himeko walked to the window.
Instead of comforting Theresa, she raised her glass to the moon and said with a confident smile:
“I believe in them.
Kiana, Mei, Bronya…
and Angel.
They will all become students I’m proud of.
I trust that they’ll handle this.”
“I believe that too.
That’s what St.
Freya exists for.”
Theresa giggled, pulled open her drawer, and openly started reading manga.
It wasn’t work hours anyway.
Himeko couldn’t scold her for reading manga now!
…
Angel successfully enrolled and began attending classes.
Kiana was quite happy about this.
On the first day, she puffed out her chest with pride and said:
“I’m your senior, you know!
Since you’re new, if there’s anything you can’t keep up with, just ask me!”
“No thanks.”
“Oh, don’t be shy.
We’re roommates after all!”
“Given your intelligence level, I find it hard to imagine a situation where I’d need your help.”
Angel shook her head matter-of-factly.
Kiana, of course, took offense.
But then class began.
“Ahem!
Class, today’s history lesson is about the revolutionary war five hundred years ago that changed Schicksal’s history.
So, does anyone know where the old Schicksal headquarters was located at that time?”
The gentle and refined Teacher Yang stood at the podium, looking at the students with kind and encouraging eyes.
Kiana sat up straight.
Psst!
Listen to me.
In situations like this, if you sit straight enough, the teacher usually won’t call on you!
Kiana murmured in a very small voice to Angel, who was sitting next to her.
Angel turned her head, gave her a flat look, and silently raised her hand.
“Oh?
Our new student Angel, have you already previewed the material?
Haha, it’s fine if you get it wrong.
Just for that proactive learning spirit, I’ll give you bonus points.
Go ahead, give it a try.”
“The old headquarters was located in what is now Kolosten.”
“Correct!
And do you know what happened there?”
“Kolosten wasn’t just the old Schicksal headquarters.
It was also the most brutal battlefield of the revolutionary war.
According to the books, back then…” The class then listened to Angel give a detailed account of Kolosten’s history for over ten minutes, covering the main course of the revolutionary war, the decision to relocate the headquarters, the subsequent arrangements for Kolosten, and its present state.
It was comprehensive and thorough.
“Angel, you don’t need to take the test on this section.
I’m giving you full marks.”
Welt said with great satisfaction.
This was a rare moment.
History was generally the least popular subject among St.
Freya students.
Even diligent students like Raiden Mei and Fu Hua only managed to score decently.
He never expected a student to have fully previewed the main content of the chapter in advance.
Truly a rare find.
“Good.
That frees up time for me to study other things.
Thank you, teacher.”
Angel sat back down with absolute composure, completely indifferent to the admiring looks from her classmates.
In truth, she was already dancing on the inside.
I’m a researcher who fought my way into a top-tier institution.
My academic ability has always been above average, and now I have thirty independent thinking threads studying together.
Thirty clones, each with their own role.
Some memorize key points by chapter, some handle overall comprehension, some do practice problems to reinforce learning, and some engage in discussion and extension research.
You humans get at most six or seven hours of effective study time per day.
I get over three hundred hours!
(T/N: The math isn’t mathing, but we let it ride.)
Foolish mortals.
Witness the rise of the academic prodigy!
Ohohoho~
Besides, this wasn’t really drawing attention to herself.
Angel’s so-called “staying low-key” was fundamentally about avoiding excessive scrutiny from forces like Otto, World Serpent, and Anti-Entropy.
Would a top-performing St.
Freya student warrant their attention?
Probably only Otto would notice, simply because Angel was living in the same house as the main cast, and he might add her to the list of sacrifices for Kiana.
But even then, Otto wouldn’t go out of his way to protect her, nor would he casually waste her.
So being an academic prodigy at St.
Freya was actually quite safe.
Angel flipped through her book, calculating that it would take her another four to five weeks to fully master all of the grade-level theoretical coursework.
And her deliberate display of exceptional learning ability had a purpose.
Angel glanced out of the corner of her eye to her left, at the slender, upright figure sitting there.
She could almost see the air around her radiating a meticulous, serious, and rigorous aura.
Then, Angel’s lips curled up almost imperceptibly.
Ring!
The sound of the dismissal bell rang before anyone realized it.
Thump!
Kiana suddenly sat up straight, jolting her desk in the process.
She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
A tuft of hair lazily swayed atop her head, signaling that she was still half-asleep.
Then Kiana abruptly leaned over to Angel, placed her hands on her shoulders, and said in astonishment:
“You just enrolled, Angel!”
“I’ll have all the humanities memorized in two weeks.
The sciences overlap considerably with what’s taught in regular schools, and I’m quickly sorting through those too.
Sometimes the gap between people is bigger than the gap between humans and dogs.
Get it?”
“…Are you calling me stupid?”
“Hmph!”
Angel puffed out her chest with pride, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
She had to admit, teasing the little bug was incredibly fun.
She just couldn’t stop.
Then Kiana grabbed her in a tight hug and started squishing her cheeks and head in frustration.
“There, there, there~~”
“Let me go…”
Don’t stop!
Angel said with a blank expression, putting up a fierce “resistance” in Kiana’s soft, warm embrace.