"It's me! Why are you acting like some shy little kitten?"
"..."
Anqi saw who it was as well. She slid down from the wall, moved behind Himeko, grabbed the hem of her clothes, lowered her head, and blushed furiously.
That entire reaction had not been an act.
Anqi was most afraid of someone suddenly touching her from behind. It would trigger a stress response.
Himeko puffed out her cheeks and tried hard not to laugh as she led the step-by-step-following Anqi over to the students.
"Ahem! I'm glad to see that no one asked for leave or skipped today's training class. As your homeroom teacher, though it's a little late, I need to introduce a newcomer to you all—come on out, it's your time to shine!"
Himeko reached behind her, grabbed the little blonde hiding there, and lifted her out, letting her sway in the air as if she were holding a soft strip of cloth.
Her petite body seemed weightless. Her fair little cheeks were slightly puffed, seemingly expressing her tiny dissatisfaction, while her soft golden hair made her look like the ultimate adorable pet one could hold in their arms and pet to their heart's content.
"Hehe! Cute, right? You all noticed Anqi's performance earlier. She has excellent physical qualities and reflexes, but she's a little too shy around strangers. Don't bully her, okay~~"
"Of course we won't! Himeko Ma... Teacher, you don't know this, but she was super impressive this morning! She had all the theory teachers grinning from ear to ear!"
Kiana gave a silly grin, swiftly changing her words before the killing intent in Himeko's eyes could become any more obvious and saving her own life.
Himeko raised an eyebrow, drew Anqi closer while still holding her, and poked her cheek.
"Really?"
"Hmph!"
"All right, all right. It was my fault for startling you. How about I apologize?"
"Fine."
"Then get back in formation. Today's lesson is about to begin... But since you just enrolled, your foundations are completely blank. We need someone with solid basics to guide you... Hmm, who should it be?"
Himeko's gaze swept across the group.
Several students with better grades instinctively straightened their backs. They seemed quite interested in Anqi and eager to get acquainted with her.
"Me, me, me! Teacher Himeko, pick me!"
Kiana was the most proactive of them all. She raised both hands and waved them around, hopping up and down, clearly overflowing with enthusiasm for teaching Anqi.
Himeko ignored Kiana entirely, her beautiful amber-red eyes eventually lingering between Fu Hua and Raiden Mei.
Fu Hua had ranked first for years, with an incomparably solid foundation. She could even substitute as an instructor without issue, so helping Anqi catch up would naturally be effortless.
But Raiden Mei was no slouch either, and Himeko could clearly tell that she very much wanted this opportunity to build a better relationship with Anqi.
"Mei, you teach her. Fu Hua, I'll still need you to oversee today's tactical movement training."
"Yes, Teacher Himeko!" ×2
Raiden Mei answered with delighted surprise, while Fu Hua remained as steady and composed as ever.
Thus, under Himeko's guidance, the main group began learning tactical movements.
Raiden Mei led Anqi to a smaller area nearby.
"Anqi, what we're learning is a set of hand-to-hand combat movements that Schicksal has refined over many years. It can greatly develop our physical abilities, and it also provides effective ways to generate force in real combat. The others have already studied it for more than half a year, so you may have to work hard for a while to catch up."
"Oh... But is it okay for you not to practice with them?"
"It's fine. I've already mastered the entire set of movements. It's only a matter of proficiency, so I won't fall behind in class."
Raiden Mei clapped her hands together and tilted her head. Her dainty, lovely smile and her gentle, smiling eyes made it seem as though her entire body were glowing.
"Thank you."
Anqi scratched her cheek and spoke softly.
Oho, she's really good at this!
What a dazzling Yamato nadeshiko!
I'm dead from the cuteness!
Stop messing around! The good stuff is here! Everyone, learn!
That's right, train until we drop! With thirty times the experience, I'm invincible!
Starting today, the great Thousand-Person Ruler is taking the path of real combat and professionalism!
St. Freya, the warm cradle of Rulers, long live it!
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Inside the quiet and elegant manor villa, Young Lady Anqi rubbed her soft waist, supported herself against the wall with one hand, and continuously sucked in cold breaths.
"Extreme stretching really doesn't suit me yet. This body is such trash. We're both human bodies enhanced by Ruler power, after all."
Anqi rubbed her waist and complained in frustration.
But it did not matter. This identity was primarily a tool for providing all kinds of resources, so even if this body had terrible aptitude and only became slightly stronger after enhancement, it was still completely irrelevant.
A wealthy young lady only needed to be elegant, beautiful, and know how to spend money. What did she need combat strength for? That would not fit her character setting at all!
At that moment, the old butler in an immaculate suit pushed open the door and entered with a stack of documents.
"Young Lady, these are the final asset transfer contracts. Once you sign them, you will officially inherit the Tachibana Clan's family business."
"Mm. Oh, right, have my two brothers breathed their last yet?"
"Uh, according to news from two hours ago, the two young masters have already..."
"The old man must be furious, right? Those were heir candidates he carefully raised, yet they sent people to assassinate each other and ended up dying together. What pathetic deaths... Don't you think?"
Anqi stretched lazily as she asked.
The old butler stood there blankly like a statue without the slightest response, and Anqi had not expected one anyway.
As for hypnotizing those two "brothers'" subordinates and having them act according to "orders from above," directly causing this outcome... That never happened. Little Anqi was innocent, cute, and kind. How could she do something so awful?
"All right, hire some professional managers for me next. I want to interview them personally. Honestly, I don't have time to waste on these trivial matters anymore. Secure the inheritance quickly, then I'm going on a trip around the world."
"Oh, I nearly forgot. It isn't an inheritance yet..."
"That makes no difference. After all, my two esteemed brothers made thorough arrangements. Very soon, it will become a real inheritance."
Anqi smiled sweetly.
The other twenty-nine Anqis also curled their lips almost in unison.
Anqi Peeping at the Class Monitor
"Ha!" ×N
"Hah!" ×N
"Heyah!" ×N
Within the vast, level Theater of Domination, a row of Anqis in loose martial arts uniforms practiced Schicksal's basic combat techniques with synchronized shouts, their fists and kicks swift as the wind. Every movement honed the body's flexibility as much as possible while consuming immense stamina, allowing them to unleash the greatest physical force.
As expected of Schicksal. This combat art was scientific, which made it useful.
"That's about enough. You're all familiar with the stances now, so split into groups. Half of you, start channeling Honkai Energy. The other half, explore how to mobilize more muscular strength. Martial arts are ultimately meant to be used. Since we're not afraid of dying, then find the strongest attack methods at any cost!"
One Anqi walked past while reading a book, speaking to the martial arts training group without even looking up.
Then another Anqi walked past while flipping through a book, saying absentmindedly:
"Think about our enemies. Think about this life-threatening Ruler identity. Then think about how we only have a measly thirty clones right now! If we don't raise our combat power, with these little tricks alone, the future big bosses will wipe us out in minutes!"
"Comrades, our lives are already in grave danger!"
At those words, both the main martial arts training force and the smaller group continuing to delve into theoretical knowledge were filled with fierce fighting spirit.
Grind!
All of you, grind harder!
In both of Anqi's lives, she had believed in herself rather than fate. As long as she worked hard enough, she would definitely have the last laugh!
In the real world, at St. Freya Academy.
Amid the thin morning mist, a bespectacled girl in a short-sleeved athletic outfit and shorts ran across the field at a steady high speed. The white vapor surrounding her was difficult to distinguish as mist or moisture evaporating from her body.
Fu Hua finished her usual twenty-kilometer morning warm-up run and stopped at one corner of the field. Her slightly hurried breathing returned to calm after she walked for a moment.
"Hoo~~"
Fu Hua parted her lips slightly, and the breath she expelled pierced through more than ten meters of fog like an arrow. Then she spread her legs, bent her knees, naturally extended her palms, and began a set of boxing techniques so familiar that they had become instinct.
At times still, at times moving, the flowing motions of her limbs resembled a dance. They did not seem to contain any force, nor was there any sound of air being torn apart. Yet the sea mist around Fu Hua surged and churned with her movements, as though drawn by a magnet, clinging to her fists and palms as it drifted and soared.
In a daze, the mist following Fu Hua's movements seemed to transform into a swimming dragon, or perhaps a flying sword winding around her, beautiful and endlessly mysterious.
Fu Hua had no fixed, complete sequence when she practiced. She moved entirely as she pleased. More accurately, she herself was the ancestor of martial arts in Shenzhou. The movements she made by instinct were already the most standard boxing techniques.
Only when a vermilion sun slowly rose from the horizon did the dawn light pierce the fog and shine upon Fu Hua as she trained, making it seem as though she herself were glowing.
Normally, Fu Hua would enjoy that first touch of dawn, cast her mind into the ethereal and selfless world of her inner lake, and move with inspiration until she was satisfied.
But today, before the dawn had even passed, she stopped, turned around, raised her head, and addressed a large tree beside her.
"Anqi, you've been staring at me like this for several days now. Is there something you need from me..."
Whoosh!
The thick branches and leaves atop the tree swayed.
Fu Hua caught a fleeting shadow dart into the nearby grass in an instant, then disappear along a blind spot in her field of view.
A fallen leaf slowly drifted down from the treetop where Anqi had vanished.
Fu Hua kept her gaze fixed in the direction Anqi had disappeared. She casually reached out, caught the leaf between two fingers held like a sword, then rubbed her brow in puzzlement.
"Could she be holding a grudge because I knocked her out back then?"
"Wouldn't it be enough to just say so? There's no need to hide in the dark and watch me for several days straight."
"Although it was necessary for the mission at the time, we are classmates now. Perhaps I should find an opportunity to apologize to her in person?"
Fu Hua considered how she should change the situation.
In truth, Fu Hua had experienced being followed and watched before at the academy. The culprits had been a group of younger girls calling themselves her fan club, including quite a few classmates. Though Fu Hua could not understand their way of thinking, after patiently talking them through it, she had still persuaded them to stop those irrational actions.
So this matter should not be difficult to resolve. That was what Fu Hua thought.
"You went to peek at the class monitor again today? Morning, ahh~~"
Kiana came downstairs in fuzzy slippers, still bleary-eyed and yawning as though she could never get enough sleep.
"I wasn't peeking. I was just observing! Hmph!"
Anqi puffed out her cheeks unhappily while pouring a cup of warm water and handing it to Kiana.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp! Ah! That hit the spot! Thanks, little Anqi~~"
Kiana held the empty cup, suddenly wrapped Anqi in a hug, and began rubbing and nuzzling her, something that had gradually become part of her daily routine.
Pressed against Kiana's soft, warm, pool-like chest, Anqi inhaled that faint, intoxicating fragrance and unconsciously narrowed her eyes in enjoyment.
"Under my chin... Scratch a little lower... Yes... That feels so good..."
"There, there, there! Such a good girl, such a good girl!"
"Mm... Keep going... Don't stop... Hey! I'm not a cat!!"
The Anqis in the Theater once again served as a rationality alarm, pulling Anqi out of her indulgence.
Anqi escaped from Kiana's embrace, glared at her indignantly, then took the cup Kiana had drunk from into the kitchen to wash it.
So scary!
Why is she so soft and so fragrant? Is this some legendary succubus constitution? Is that why I fell into it so easily?
No, no, no. I think we should first reflect on our own lack of self-control.
But she's that ultimate, invincible, insanely adorable little tuna!
Before you continue