Surviving is Victory / Everyone Owed Her

"Sigh, school bullying, this kind of thing again? Is this a traditional custom of this country? How is it everywhere?"

"There's no help for it, the Far East has its own national conditions. In a place that notoriously blames the victim, what else can we do? So, have you figured out that kid's file, my dear Little Theresa?"

A full, stunningly gorgeous figure leaned back against the sofa chair. The snug Valkyrie uniform not only accentuated her alluring waist curve, but also clearly revealed skin as white as snow and a bottomless cleavage—Murata Himeko was a mature woman who looked like a red-haired fairy, her slender, delicate hand hooked around the rim of a red wine glass as she lazily swirled the liquor, practically radiating astonishing attractiveness from every inch of her body.

Sadly, she was still a lifelong solo.

Theresa slammed her hand on the desk, calling out angrily in a childish voice:

"I told you to call me Headmaster-adult! It's all because you never act serious all day long, and now even my older niece often doesn't respect me! Also, stop drinking in the office!!"

"Calm down a bit. Wasn't it just quitting time, and coincidentally there was a bottle of red wine I left in your cabinet, and coincidentally a glass I left as well? I've been working hard all day, aren't you going to let me enjoy myself?"

"Hmph! Pay attention next time, especially when there are outsiders around. Put away that drunkard nature of yours!"

Theresa puffed out her cheeks, scolding with what she thought was majesty.

Himeko smiled indifferently, took a sip of wine, and then straightened her expression.

"Right now, things seem pretty clear. A latent Honkai Energy Candidate living an ordinary life suddenly awakens amidst extreme suppression due to long-term bullying... Sigh, that state is indeed very easy to lose control of. It's not like it hasn't happened before, it's just that this time bad luck struck; those little girls who were used to bullying the weak just happened to be nearby and were in the middle of picking on her."

"Mm, pretty much. Although absurd, in this country, how should I put it, there's a feeling that this kind of thing was bound to happen sooner or later!"

"Hehe, probably. So what do you plan to do, respected Headmaster-adult?"

"What else can I do? Even if handled by secular law, that little girl is a minor; she can't be given any real sentence. As for handling it by Honkai incident procedures—it's understandable, and she's a good seed worth cultivating, so of course we'll take her in! But since something like that just happened, we still need to observe and educate her for a while; we can't just throw her straight into the academy."

Theresa said with a straight face, setting the tone for Anqi's subsequent treatment.

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

Don't let her naive and cute little loli appearance fool you; she was an S-Rank Valkyrie after all, and she had experienced plenty of things and seen many big scenes.

In a word, Theresa was a good person with plenty of compassion. But Theresa could also tell clearly what kind of people deserved that compassion.

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

"Still, she's also a victim of Changkong City, with both parents in that disaster... Once she enters the academy, how is Mei supposed to handle herself?"

"..."

Theresa lowered her head to look at the documents, remaining silent for a long time.

Chapter 7: Surviving is Victory

"Mn... an unfamiliar ceiling."

Anqi opened her eyes to see only a snow-white ceiling and walls, along with light sources embedded in them that emitted bright yet non-glaring light.

Oh!!

She's awake, she's awake!

We're not in an autopsy room or experimental chamber, there's still hope!

Hooray!

Anqi sat up, rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawned, and squeezed out tears from the corners of her eyes.

The Anqis in the theater were seriously so noisy!

However, everyone's consciousness and minds were connected, so as long as she was awake, the situation on both sides became instantly clear to each other, allowing Anqi to understand the relief felt by those other Anqis.

"Yo! Finally awake. Looks like I came at just the right time!"

Murata Himeko walked in through the door, after which the exit closed automatically, almost blending seamlessly with the wall.

It was clear that the technological level of this room was not low, likely specially designed. But the person who came in was only Murata Himeko, and she hadn't brought any weapons or defensive equipment... Treatment like this clearly wasn't meant for a Herrscher.

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

Anqi felt slightly more at ease.

Yet being in the enemy camp meant everything was an unknown, so Anqi could only pull herself together, keep a straight face, and show as little emotion as possible.

"Quite heavy vigilance, but don't worry, we aren't some deranged organization."

Murata Himeko gave an amused smile.

Suddenly, a table and two chairs rose from the empty room. Murata Himeko sat on one chair, facing Anqi, and pointed at the other chair to signal her to sit.

Anqi looked at Himeko expressionlessly, and after a moment, climbed down from the bed and sat opposite her.

At this, Himeko pulled out a black iron bar from behind her, holding each end in her hands with a bright, warm smile on her face, and then...

"Creeeak~"

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

Afterward, Himeko casually tossed the bent iron rod in front of Anqi, letting it make a heavy metallic sound on the table to demonstrate its weight and hardness.

"As you can see, we are people who wield dangerous power and use it to protect the world, so you probably understand why we came looking for you, right? I'm Murata Himeko, nice to meet you."

"..."

Anqi had nothing to say, listening quietly while her gaze only shifted slightly with Himeko's movements, resembling an exquisite, silent puppet.

She had just discovered another usage of the Dominion Authority: if she concentrated all her attention on the authority rather than her body, she could make her body flow with zero emotion, just like a real doll.

Himeko felt a headache coming on due to this uncooperative attitude, and then casually tossed out a few photographs depicting that bloody, tragic alley.

"These, did you do them?"

"I did them. Do you want to judge me?"

Anqi spoke expressionlessly.

These were facts that were very easy to investigate and impossible to deny. Even so, St. Freya Academy should likewise easily be able to trace back the earlier cause and effect—those little scumbags had isolated and bullied Anqi for a long time simply because of her appearance, and had become even worse after Anqi lost her parents.

Those memories filled with darkness and terror would evoke killing intent even if recalled by the now more mature and calm Anqi.

Only for this slaughter, the current Anqi felt no guilt whatsoever.

Except that in front of Himeko, she always had to put on a bit of a facade.

St. Freya's faction was very kind, and therefore, winning their pity would make her very safe.

Beneath Anqi's expressionless and cold posture, thirty Anqis were discussing countermeasures.

Hearing this, Himeko smiled. What she feared most was Anqi closing herself off and resisting communication. Only when someone was willing to open their mouth to speak was there a possibility of understanding and untying the knot in their heart.

Using a tone as gentle as possible, Himeko said:

"Don't worry, I know the root of the wrong doesn't lie with you..."

"No, they deserved to die, and I indeed wanted to kill them, I just didn't expect it to take that form. If you want to do something to me, just go ahead. I'm already sick of hypocritical communication."

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

Himeko maintained her smile and spoke with total composure.

In Himeko's eyes, Anqi's reaction was like that of a frightened little hedgehog, pointing its spikes outward simply to protect its fragile and pitiful self. This also completely matched the personality description Himeko had deduced from the files.

Thus, Himeko attempted to pacify her, saying:

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

Having said that, Himeko pulled a few more books from behind her and placed them on the table.

"Modern History of Schicksal", "Fundamentals of Honkai", "Chronicles of the Saints"... These are all easy-to-understand introductory readings, but they are enough to reveal some truths about history and the world. I'll give you time to calm down, and I hope you can read these books. I'll come look for you tomorrow. We'll arrange for meals to be delivered on a regular schedule, the bathroom is over there, and if you have any other needs you can call out directly, and we'll accommodate them based on circumstances."

"Then goodbye for now, little one."

Himeko stepped out of the room.

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

While sharing the field of view, several Anqis focused on reading and memorizing the contents of the books, while the remaining Anqis chattered away in the theater.

"The situation is much better than expected. It looks like not only did St. Freya fail to discover the Herrscher identity, but they also have a high probability of wanting to recruit the outside me."

"We should be thankful that we are in the Far East, being noticed on St. Freya's turf."

"So should we stay?"

"Mn, staying will undoubtedly increase the risk of being exposed."

"Not necessarily! The fact that we possess Honkai Energy is obviously something we can't hide anymore. In this kind of situation, not staying at St. Freya is what's truly dangerous!"

"That's right. Staying at St. Freya as a student means we at least don't have to worry too much about scheming and plotting for the time being, and we can calm down to study necessary knowledge and technology."

"St. Freya's moral baseline is very high. They're much easier to deal with than forces like Otto, World Serpent, or Anti-Entropy's Radical Faction!"

"And we can get all clingy with everyone cute!"

"...Drag her off and shoot her!"

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

First, the external Anqi would maintain the persona of an autistic girl who had suffered deeply from bullying, taking the opportunity to join St. Freya and absorb necessary knowledge from the academy.

Second, ten of the Anqis in the theater would cautiously return to the real world one by one, and then use various methods to travel to different continents, hiding away in remote, uninhabited corners as final resurrection save points in case the theater fell.

In short, just like before: surviving is victory!

Chapter 8: Everyone Owed Her

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

At lunchtime, Himeko was happily enjoying her potato and beef brisket, while opposite her, Anqi acted as if she were completely indifferent to the delicacies, simply flipping through a book quietly like an emotionless robot.

After taking a few bites to stave off her hunger, Himeko smiled and said:

"Food is heaven for man, Honkai Energy can't replace meals, you know!"

"..."

Anqi raised her head slightly, her purple eyes gazing coldly at Himeko.

Actually, she was already drooling on the inside, she was just relying on the Dominion Authority to keep her expression cool.

Gulp, so fragrant, I want to eat...

Calm down! I have to maintain the sensitive, autistic persona!

But it really smells so good!

True, come to think of it, St. Freya's cooks wouldn't be flown in from Europe by airfreight; they most likely hired locally. But the characteristic of Far East Cuisine is that you never feel full, and it definitely wouldn't satisfy the quantity needed by a Valkyrie reserve student at St. Freya. And the closest place to St. Freya, besides the Far East, is...

Shenzhou Cuisine!

Otto doles out so much pampering to Theresa, he definitely arranges the best when it comes to dining...

Shenzhou Cuisine cooked by a Shenzhou Chef!

Ah! I can't take it anymore, one bite, even just one bite would be fine!

Most of the Anqis were about to lose it.

Herrschers didn't need to eat, but the bodies the Anqis were using were human after all. Even if they wouldn't starve to death without eating, the physiological sensation of hunger was still very real.

And it had been far too long since they last had a good meal. Yesterday's save-point plan hadn't officially started yet, and right now there was only one Anqi outside, forced to face aromatic Shenzhou Cuisine without being able to touch it. This was nothing short of torture.

Inside the theater, a bunch of Anqis were rolling around on the ground.

The most miserable one, however, was the real-world Anqi, because she was the one directly facing the temptation, and not only could she not roll around, she also had to focus on maintaining her persona.

"Slurp~"

Losing focus for just a moment, Anqi's mind wandered, her eyes drifting unconsciously toward the food as she dizzily let out a slight slurp of drool.

The Anqis in the theater quickly reminded her.

Anqi snapped to her senses, her expression swiftly returning to cold indifference as she continued flipping through her book expressionlessly.

"Pfft!"

"What are you laughing at?"

"I remembered something happy."

"Boring."