This Ten-Pull Is a Little Scary

"Kiana, what's wrong with you?"

Seeing Kiana's hesitant expression, Mei felt even more worried.

"What's wrong with you? You've been acting really strange lately."

"I'm... I'm fine!"

After a quick glance, Kiana sighed and said to Mei.

"I'm just worried... worried about how that stinky old man is doing lately."

"Although he was silly, careless, and irresponsible, leaving me in the snowfield, he was still my dad after all."

"Uncle Siegfried."

After remembering the man who saved her, Mei smiled and said to Kiana.

"Although my uncle lost an arm, he is still very strong."

Instead of worrying about your uncle's safety, you should worry about whether you can pass your exams.

Even if you say you're qualified and have no problem, well...

Recalling the stories and accidents that had happened before, Mei suddenly revealed a playful smile.

"—You said the same thing before."

Upon hearing her closest friend tease her about this, Kiana pouted, turned her head to the side, and said angrily to Mei.

"Hmph, Mei, you don't believe me either, then I'm really angry!"

"Okay, I was just kidding."

However, Kiana, I was just trying to change the subject a little, just like Lin Yu did, and you actually let yourself be led by the nose like that.

I'm really worried that you'll be deceived by others.

"Hey, what are you two little girls doing up so late at night?"

At the door of Kiana's room, Himeko, who had overheard the two chatting, casually walked into the room and looked at the two people in front of her.

"Especially Kiana, staying up so late, I wonder if she'll be snoring in class again tomorrow."

"No way!"

Upon hearing Himeko's words, Kiana immediately responded angrily, then suddenly looked at Mei beside her with a bit of embarrassment.

"Mei, I usually..."

"Don't look at me like that. The whole school probably knows that you sleep in class and sometimes snore."

"Oh, Mei."

Looking at the white-haired idiot in front of her who suddenly seemed to have been struck by lightning, Himeko said helplessly to Mei.

"Sometimes, a white lie is still necessary."

"Well... I think that even if we don't tell you today, Kiana will find out sooner or later."

Mei glanced awkwardly at Kiana, who was showing signs of turning gray, Mei something to Kiana.

"Hey Kiana, you don't have to be like that. After all, aren't you almost done getting rid of this bad habit?"

"But, but..."

Kiana imagined herself fast asleep in class and suddenly wanted to slap herself twice.

Lin Yu was taller than most of the students in the class, so he sat in the last row.

Now, after hearing Himeko's teasing and Mei's awkward words, Kiana has already formed a picture in her mind.

In order to avenge the Honkai, Lin Yu is constantly absorbing all kinds of knowledge that he needs.

So what is the Kaslana clan descendant, who wanted to help Lin Yu and protect others, doing?

Sleeping.

The Kiana of the past hadn't realized these details.

But now, when she looks back on what she did in the past...

Ah, no wonder the senior was looking at me strangely.

No wonder he ended up with the top student and class Class President.

In my senior's eyes, I've probably become the kind of good-for-nothing who relies on talent to coast through life.

Kiana, how could you have fallen so low!

A month ago, you clearly didn't think this way, but now—you've become so lazy that you've completely disgraced the Kaslana clan!

"Alright, seeing how you are, I've already made my decision."

Seeing Kiana's tearful expression, Himeko coughed twice, then her eyes and expression suddenly became extremely serious.

"Kiana Kaslana, I have good news and bad news to tell you."

"Huh? This, this, this..."

Seeing Himeko's extremely serious expression, Kiana, who was on the verge of tears, felt even more panicked.

Even though she had already checked the answers with Yuno after completing the written test and confirmed that her score was correct.

However, under Himeko's gaze, Kiana suddenly felt that she might have filled in the answer sheet incorrectly or forgotten to write her name, which was why her written test score was wrong.

"The good news is that your results were unexpectedly good this time. Not only did you pass the written exam, but your performance in the practical exam was also outstanding. However..."

Upon seeing the relieved smile on Kiana's face, Himeko immediately poured cold water on Kiana's enthusiasm.

"In my personal opinion, you are not suitable to participate in this mission to the Nine Nether of Shenzhou."

"Why!"

Kiana, who had just felt relieved, immediately glared at Himeko like a cat with its fur standing on end.

"This mission was assigned to us by Bishop Otto! And you yourself said that my performance was fine!"

"Himeko! I clearly meet the requirements, why won't you let me participate in this mission!"

"It's very simple, it's because of your current state."

Seeing the annoyed Kiana, Himeko composed herself and asked Kiana casually.

"Since I came in, how many times has your facial expression changed? Have you counted them yourself?"

"... What, what happened?"

"Annoyed, uneasy, lost, irritable... In the few minutes I've been in your room, I've seen your emotions constantly shifting."

At this moment, Himeko stared directly at the girl in front of her and suddenly sighed softly.

"Kiana, a week ago, I said something to you."

"You must remember that from now on, as soldiers, you will be acting alongside your fellow Schicksal members."

"At the time, I hoped that Lin Yu would take these words to heart and not rush too far ahead and die on the sidelines during missions. But now, I think—you also need to keep these words in mind."

"I, of course I wouldn't do anything reckless!"

Kiana felt she hadn't done anything wrong, but under Himeko's intense gaze, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Of course I believe you wouldn't do anything reckless, after all..."

"—You idiot, even though you sleep in class, make trouble after class, don't do your homework, and like to skip class, there's nothing wrong with your heart."

"I really don't know if you're praising me or insulting me..."

"Of course I'm praising you, because the insults are coming up later."

Himeko was staring at Kiana, suddenly lowered her voice.

"But Kiana, you need to understand something. Sometimes, just because you don't want to hurt others doesn't mean you won't hurt them."

"I can clearly sense that your emotions are very unstable. Whatever the reason, your emotions change far too frequently."

"Valkyrie are essentially warriors who fight against the Honkai, and for a warrior, a calm mind is often more important than his own combat strength."

"If you continue to maintain this unpredictable emotional state, then think about it—if your emotions suddenly change on the battlefield and affect those around you, what will happen to the situation?"

"This... this..."

At this moment, Kiana, facing Himeko's question, helplessly lowered her head and answered softly.

"I have no idea."

"No, you know very well that on the battlefield, your every move will definitely affect your comrades around you."

After saying this without any consideration for others' feelings, Himeko spoke very directly to Kiana.

"I heard Theresa say that you used to hunt Honkai Beast with your father. But now it seems that the main reason you were able to hunt Honkai Beast was because your father protected you too well."

"But now, you are no longer a little girl under your father's protection. As a soldier, you are responsible for yourself, and even more so for your comrades and the people behind you who need your protection."

That cannot be refuted.

Kiana, listening to Himeko's words, was truly unable to refute these very reasonable sermons.

Moreover, she was well aware that the problem truly lay with her.

As a result, a month has passed, and I am still the same as when I was in Changkong City.

A month ago, when my senior went to deal with the Third Honkai Outbreak, I became a burden to him.

A month later, when he was about to head to the Nine Nether, I still couldn't help him.

Kiana Kaslana, what have you been doing all month?!

Realizing that she hadn't become any stronger objectively, Kiana was immediately filled with regret.

However, seeing the regretful expression on Kiana's face, Mei's eyes sharpened, and she immediately spoke to Himeko.

"But Himeko- sensei, I think Kiana should still participate in this mission."

"Oh? Tell me your reasons?"

Seeing the serious expression on Mei's face, Himeko smiled and turned to look at Kiana.

"If your reasoning can convince me, then I'm willing to retract my order."

"It's simple, because I judged that Kiana's power is indispensable to our team."

At this Mei, Mei was thinking at lightning speed as she continued speaking to Himeko.

"In our team, besides me who is in charge of close-range weapon combat, there is Fu Hua and Lin Yu who are in charge of point-blank combat, Yuno who is in charge of controlling the enemy nearby, and Bronya is in charge of long-range attacks and intelligence analysis."

"However, if Kiana, who is responsible for mid-range roaming and support, is unable to participate in the mission, then while the melee units are entangled by the enemy, the ranged units may be ambushed by the enemy."

"If Kiana, who is in charge of providing support, is not here at this time, it may lead to an irreversible outcome."

After hearing Mei's reasons, Himeko spoke calmly to the two of them.

"To be honest, as Valkyrie and Knights, you should be prepared to deal with all kinds of situations."

"And Mei, you yourself know very well that this reason is extremely weak. However..."

After glancing at Kiana, Himeko said with a helpless expression.

"Considering that Miss Kiana is about to cry, I'll retract this order."

"Himeko- sensei! You're so kind!"

"Stop! Don't wipe your tears and snot on me!"

Seeing Kiana rushing towards her, Himeko felt that she should have kept her at the academy after all.

But what Himeko just said was, frankly, just to scare Kiana.

This was a well-known mission personally issued by Bishop Otto. Not only her, but even Theresa, the Branch Leader, did not have the authority to stop this mission.

To actually send a group of D-Class soldiers onto the battlefield... Even if they are indeed quite skilled, they are still greenhorns who have never seen actual combat.

Moreover, among the members of this team, Lin Yu is a crazy person who targets the Honkai when he fights, Mei and Yuno are Herrscher themselves, and they have to suppress their Herrscher Persona when fighting. Kiana just said that her emotions change too frequently, and even if she is very strong, she is in an unstable state.

In other words, the only people I can truly trust in the entire team are the reliable Fu Hua and the calm Bronya.