A Thousand-Person Ruler's Personal Opinion

"Tsk, school bullying? This again? Is it some kind of national tradition in this country? Why is it everywhere?"

"Can't be helped. The Far East has its own circumstances. In a place where the victim is universally acknowledged as guilty, what else can be done? So, have you finished reading that child's file, dear Little Theresa?"

A voluptuous, stunning figure lounged in the armchair, the form-fitting Valkyrie uniform not only accentuating her alluring waistline but also clearly revealing pale skin and an unfathomable cleavage—Murata Himeko was a red-haired, enchantress-like mature woman. Her slender fingers clasped the rim of a wine glass as she lazily swirled the liquid, exuding astonishing allure from every inch of her body.

Unfortunately, still a lifelong single.

Theresa slammed the table, her childish voice huffing angrily:

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Principal! It's because you're always so unserious that even my niece doesn't respect me anymore! And stop drinking in the office!!"

"Calm down, it's just past quitting time. Coincidentally, there's a bottle of red wine I left in your cabinet, and coincidentally, a glass I left too. I've been working hard all day—can't I indulge a little?"

"Hmph! Watch yourself next time, especially when outsiders are around. Rein in that drunkard nature of yours!"

Theresa puffed out her cheeks, trying to sound authoritative as she scolded.

Himeko smiled nonchalantly, took a sip, then straightened her expression and said:

"From what we can see now, things are pretty clear. An ordinary Latent Honkai Energy Candidate, after long-term bullying, snapped under extreme suppression... Sigh, that state is indeed easy to lose control. It's happened before, but this time it was just unlucky—those little girls who love to bully others happened to be nearby, and they happened to be tormenting her."

"Mm, pretty much. Though it's absurd, in this country, somehow it feels like something like this was bound to happen sooner or later!"

"Heh, probably. So, what are you going to do, esteemed Principal?"

"What else can I do? Even under secular law, that little girl is a minor—she wouldn't get any real sentence. As for handling it as a Honkai incident—there are mitigating circumstances, and she's a promising talent worth cultivating. Of course, we'll take her in! But since something like that just happened, she still needs observation and education for a while. Can't just throw her straight into the academy."

Theresa said sternly, setting the tone for Anqi's upcoming treatment.

It wasn't hard to tell from her words that she didn't care much about the deaths of those little juvenile bastards.

Despite her innocent, cute little loli appearance, she was still an S-Rank Valkyrie. She'd seen plenty of things, faced plenty of big scenes.

In short, Theresa was a good person, with plenty of compassion. But she knew exactly who deserved that compassion.

Himeko smiled faintly, nodding in agreement with Theresa's judgment, then poured herself another glass of wine and said in a subdued tone:

"But she's also a victim of Changkong City, isn't she? Her parents were in that disaster... After she enters the academy, how will that child, Mei, cope with herself?"

"..." Theresa looked down at the file, silent for a long time.

Chapter 7: Holding Out Is Victory

"Mm... an unfamiliar ceiling."

Anqi opened her eyes to see only a white ceiling and walls, along with light sources embedded in the ceiling and walls, emitting bright yet non-glaring illumination.

'Oh!!' 'She's awake! She's awake!' 'Not in an dissection room or experiment pod—there's hope!' 'Hooray!'

Anqi sat up, rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawned, and tears welled up at the corners.

The selves in the Theater were so noisy!

But since their consciousness and thoughts were all connected, as soon as she woke up, she instantly understood the situation on both sides. So Anqi could also understand why those Anqis were finally relieved.

"Yo! Finally awake. Looks like I came just in time!"

Murata Himeko walked in from the door, which then automatically closed, almost seamlessly blending into the wall.

Clearly, this room had a high level of technology—probably specially designed. But the only person who came in was Murata Himeko, without any weapons or defensive gear... Such treatment was obviously not meant for a Herrscher.

'They haven't discovered I'm a Herrscher!'

Anqi felt a little relieved.

But being in enemy territory, everything was unknown. Anqi could only brace herself, keep a straight face, and try not to show any emotion.

"Quite wary, aren't you? But don't worry, we're not some deranged organization."

Murata Himeko smiled charmingly.

In the empty room, a table and two chairs suddenly rose from the floor. Murata Himeko sat on one chair, facing Anqi, and pointed to the other chair, signaling her to sit.

Anqi stared expressionlessly at Himeko for a while, then got off the bed and sat down opposite her.

Himeko then pulled a black iron rod from behind her, gripping each end with both hands, a bright and warm smile on her face. Then...

"Creak~"

The iron rod slowly bent in front of Anqi's eyes until it was nearly folded in half.

Then, Himeko casually tossed the bent rod onto the table in front of Anqi, the heavy metallic sound indicating its weight and hardness.

"As you can see, we're people who wield dangerous power to protect the world. So you probably understand why we came looking for you, right? I'm Murata Himeko. Nice to meet you."

"..."

Anqi said nothing, listening quietly, her gaze only shifting slightly with Himeko's movements, like a delicate, silent wooden puppet.

She had discovered another use for the Dominion Authority: by focusing all her attention on the Authority rather than her body, she could make her body reveal no emotion at all, like a true puppet.

Himeko was a bit troubled by this uncooperative attitude, then casually tossed out a few photos—the bloody, brutal alley.

"You did this, didn't you?"

"I did. Are you here to judge me?"

Anqi spoke with a blank expression.

These were facts too easy to investigate, impossible to deny. Yet St. Freya Academy should have just as easily been able to trace the earlier causes—those little scumbags had long been isolating and bullying Anqi because of her appearance, and after she lost her parents, it only got worse.

Those memories, steeped in darkness and fear, still stirred murderous intent in Anqi, even now that she was more mature and composed.

This killing alone, at this moment, Anqi felt no guilt.

Still, she had to put on a bit of a show in front of Himeko.

The St. Freya faction was very kind-hearted, so as long as she earned their pity, she'd be safe.

Beneath Anqi's cold, expressionless facade, thirty Anqis were discussing their next move.

Hearing this, Himeko laughed. What she'd feared most was Anqi shutting herself off and refusing to communicate. Only if she was willing to speak was there a chance to understand and untangle her heart.

Himeko said in the gentlest tone she could muster:

"Don't worry, I know the root of the problem isn't you..."

"No, they deserved to die, and I did want to kill them. I just didn't expect it to happen that way. If you want to do something to me, just get on with it. I'm tired of fake conversations."

"Little one, you're not being very cute."

Himeko kept her smile, speaking with calm composure.

Anqi's reaction, in Himeko's eyes, was like a frightened little hedgehog turning its spines outward, only to protect its soft, pitiful core. And this perfectly matched the personality profile Himeko had inferred from the data.

So Himeko tried to soothe her, saying:

"The power you've awakened is extremely dangerous and hard to control—we have plenty of experience with that. According to our rules, someone in your situation usually isn't given excessive punishment—provided you cooperate with us. Let's start with honest communication."

After speaking, Himeko pulled out a few more books from behind her and set them on the table.

"A Modern History of Schicksal, Fundamentals of Honkai Energy, Biographies of the Saints... These are easy-to-understand introductory reads, but they're enough to reveal some truths about history and the world. I'll give you time to calm down, and I hope you'll look through these books. I'll come find you again tomorrow. We'll arrange regular meal deliveries, the bathroom is over there, and if you need anything else, just shout loudly—we'll see what we can do."

"See you later, little one."

Himeko left the room.

Inside, Anqi sat in a daze for a long time before finally opening the books.

Sharing a common perspective, several Anqis focused on reading and memorizing the book content, while the rest chattered away in the Theater.

"The situation is much better than we thought. Looks like St. Freaya not only hasn't discovered the Herrscher identity, but they're probably trying to recruit the me outside."

"We should be glad we got noticed in the Far East, on St. Freya's turf."

"So, do we stay?"

"Hmm, staying would definitely raise the risk of exposure."

"No, that's not right. The fact that we have Honkai Energy clearly can't be hidden anymore. In this case, not staying with St. Freya would be the real danger!"

"True. Staying as a student at St. Freya means we don't have to worry about too many schemes and plots for now, at least, and we can calmly learn some necessary knowledge and skills."

"St. Freya's moral standards are pretty high. It's way easier to get by here than with Otto, the World Serpent, or the Anti-Entropy Radical Faction!"

"And we can get close to all the cute girls!"

"...Drag him out. Execute him!"

After a collective brainstorming session, the Anqis made two decisions.

First, the Anqi on the outside would maintain the image of a traumatized, bullied, withdrawn girl, conveniently join St. Freya, and absorb necessary knowledge from the academy.

Second, ten of the Anqis in the Theater would carefully return to the real world one by one, then use various means to reach different continents, hiding in remote, uninhabited corners as a final resurrection save point in case the Theater fell.

In short, one sentence: lying low is victory!

Chapter 8: Everyone Owes Her

"I heard you didn't eat anything all day yesterday. What, the chef's cooking not to your taste?"

At lunchtime, Himeko was happily enjoying her potato beef stew, while across from her, Anqi seemed indifferent to the food, quietly flipping through her book like an emotionless robot.

After a few bites to take the edge off her hunger, Himeko said with a smile:

"Man cannot live on bread alone, and Honkai Energy can't replace food either!"

"..."

Anqi lifted her head slightly, her violet eyes staring coldly at Himeko.

Inside, she was already drooling, but she was relying on the Dominion Authority to keep her expression cold.

'Gulp, smells so good, I want to eat...'

'Calm down! Gotta keep up the sensitive, withdrawn persona!'

'But it really smells so good!'

'Indeed, if you think about it, the chefs at St. Freya wouldn't be flown in from Europe. They're probably hired locally. But the problem with Far Eastern cuisine is that it's never filling—it definitely can't satisfy the appetites of St. Freya's Reserve Valkyrie students. And the closest place to St. Freya, besides the Far East, is...'

'Shenzhou Cuisine!'

'Otto dotes on Theresa so much, he'd definitely arrange the best meals...'

'Shenzhou Chef-made Shenzhou Cuisine!'

'Ah! I can't take it anymore. Just one bite, even one bite would be enough!'

Most of the Anqis were barely holding back.

Herrschers didn't need to eat, but the Anqis were still using human bodies. Even if they wouldn't starve to death without food, the physiological sensation of hunger never went away.

And it had been far too long since they'd had a proper meal. The save point plan they'd thought up yesterday hadn't even started yet. Right now, there was only one Anqi outside, facing fragrant Shenzhou Cuisine without being able to take a bite—it was sheer torture.

In the Theater, a crowd of Anqis was already rolling around on the floor.

But the most agonized was the Anqi in the real world, because she was the one directly facing temptation. Not only could she not roll around, she had to focus on maintaining her persona.

"Slurp~"

For a moment, Anqi lost focus. Her eyes unconsciously drifted toward the food, and her expression went blank as she sucked back a bit of drool.

The Anqis in the Theater quickly snapped her out of it.

Anqi's spirit jolted. Her expression swiftly returned to cold indifference, and she continued flipping through her book with a blank face.

"Pfft!"

"...What are you laughing at?"

"I thought of something funny."

"...Boring."