Thousand-Person Ruler's Personal Opinion

Kiana refused to give up, leaning closer and reaching out her hand to Anqi.

"Smack!"

Kiana rubbed the back of her reddened hand and stomped her foot in annoyance.

"What are you doing~~"

"Scare!"

"I wasn't going to hit you!"

"Scare!!!"

Anqi made claw shapes with her hands and let out a threatening sound, like an angered cat—Don't come any closer, okay? Even though I'm just pretending, I'm a sensitive, vigilant, shut-off cat right now. Even though I feel bad, I'll really scratch you!

"Scare!"

"Come out here!"

The two of them remained in a stalemate by the wall.

It wasn't until Himeko, unable to contain her laughter, walked over and put an arm around Anqi's body that she was led away from the corner.

Anqi nestled obediently into Himeko's intoxicatingly soft embrace, holding back the urge to grin foolishly and drool with great effort.

Himeko, however, provocatively raised an eyebrow at Kiana, who looked unconvinced.

"It seems my charm is a bit greater, little girl. You're still too green!"

"Hmph! I don't believe it!"

Kiana scratched her head, her eyes darting around. Suddenly, the corners of her mouth turned up, as if she had a good idea.

That night, Anqi, just like the night before, squeezed into Himeko's bed.

However, tonight, besides Himeko, there was also a similarly fragrant and soft ball of white fur in the bed.

"Hehe, I finally caught you! You tried to hide from me!"

Kiana rubbed Anqi's cheeks. The soft, squishy texture was simply irresistible.

Anqi: "( ? ? ? )..."

What else could Anqi do? Under Himeko's soothing presence, she could only "painfully" "endure" Kiana's closeness.

In the following days, she was forced to continue "painfully" "enduring" the closeness of Raiden Mei and Bronya, not just in bed, but even during bath time. It was truly "unbearable"!

And so, Anqi finally, and naturally, integrated into this unique little family. She also signed the enrollment agreement, becoming a classmate of Kiana and the others.

Chapter 13: Anqi, Eager to Learn

"Sigh, I've finally finished everything that needed to be done. Does this count as completing a mission? I want to apply for an allowance and a vacation!"

Himeko placed Anqi's enrollment agreement contract on the Headmaster's desk and said to Theresa with utmost seriousness.

It should be mentioned here that St. Freya Academy trains Valkyries, so the students actually hold positions, namely, Valkyrie reserves. Since it's a position, there's a certain remuneration, as well as an obligation to undertake missions, and even a risk of casualties, hence the need for an agreement contract.

Theresa took the agreement and glanced at it, confirming Anqi's signature, then said with a roll of her eyes:

"Stop with the useless talk! Tell me, what do you think of that child?"

"Haha, she's cuter than I imagined. Perhaps it's because I was the first person to patiently interact with her and break down her defenses after her sudden ordeal, so she's developed a sort of imprinting effect. She's quite dependent on me. How should I put it? She's a child with strong vigilance, but not inherently bad. Don't forget she saved Kiana, who was chasing her, once."

"Is that so? A cute child! Sigh!"

Theresa leaned back against the chair, resting her hands behind her head, and sighed. "But it's a pity she's also a victim from Changkong City. The revenge for her parents, and all the painful experiences of the past six months... I can't bear to imagine how she'll react when she learns the truth."

"This is why you arranged for her to be with me, isn't it?"

"Yes. Rather than her directly viewing Mei as the root of all evil when the time comes, I'd rather she get to know Mei and understand Mei beforehand. Perhaps, if she knew what kind of child Mei is, when that day comes, she'll be able to grasp more easily—that Mei isn't the true culprit. The ones she should truly hate and eliminate are the Honkai itself!"

Theresa whispered with dark eyes, seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories.

Himeko walked to the windowsill. Without comforting Theresa, she raised her glass to the moon, a look of confidence on her face.

"I believe in them. Kiana, Mei, Bronya... and Anqi, they will all become students I'm proud of. I believe they will handle all of this!"

"I believe so too! This is the very meaning of St. Freya's existence!"

Theresa chuckled, opened a drawer, and openly started flipping through a manga. It wasn't work hours, after all, so she wouldn't be lectured by Himeko for reading manga at this time!

Anqi successfully enrolled and began attending classes.

Kiana was quite happy about this. On the first day, she proudly patted her chest and said:

"I'm your senior! Since you've just enrolled, if there's anything you can't keep up with, feel free to ask me!"

"No need."

"Oh, don't be shy, we're good roommates!"

"With your intelligence, I can hardly imagine a time when I'll need your help."

Anqi shook her head with a serious expression.

Kiana naturally felt unconvinced, and then, class began.

"Ahem! Students, for today's history class, we'll be discussing the revolutionary war from five hundred years ago that changed Schicksal's history. Now, does anyone know where the old Schicksal headquarters was located at that time?"

Teacher Yang, a refined and amiable man, stood on the stage, gazing at the students below with a kind and encouraging look.

Kiana sat up straight.

"Psst! Listen, if you sit straight enough in this situation, the teacher usually won't call on you!"

Kiana's lips moved, and she whispered to Anqi sitting beside her in a very, very small voice.

Anqi turned her head, gave Kiana a plain look, and silently raised her hand.

"Oh? New student Anqi, have you already previewed the material? Haha, it's okay if you get it wrong. Just for this proactive learning spirit, I'll give you extra points! Come on, you answer."

"In the current Kolosten Town."

"That's correct! And do you know what happened there?"

"Kolosten Town was not only the old Schicksal headquarters back then, but also the site of the most brutal battles in the revolutionary war. According to the books..."

Afterward, the class listened as Anqi recounted over ten minutes of Kolosten Town's history, from the main course of the revolutionary war, to the decision to relocate the headquarters, to the subsequent arrangements for Kolosten Town and its current appearance. She covered everything comprehensively and in great detail.

"Student Anqi, you don't need to participate in this history test. I'll give you full marks."

Welt said with a face full of relief. It wasn't easy. History class was usually the least popular minor subject among St. Freya students. Even diligent students like Raiden Mei and Fu Hua only managed to get decent scores. It was truly rare to have a student who had previewed all the main content of the chapters in advance.

"Mhm, this way I can free up time to learn more. Thank you, teacher."

Anqi sat down with extreme composure, unfazed by the admiring glances of her classmates.

Inwardly, she was already dancing.

'I'm a researcher who fought through thousands of troops to get into this prestigious academy, so my academic ability already surpasses ordinary people. Now I have a full 30 independent thinking circuits to learn together.'

'My 30 clones each have their own duties: some are memorizing key points by chapter, some are memorizing and understanding the overall content, some are practicing and consolidating through exercises according to the learning progress, and some are engaging in discussions and expanded research.'

'Your maximum effective learning time per day is six to seven hours, while mine starts at three hundred hours!'

'Foolish mortals, witness the rise of the learning god!'

'Ohohoho~~'

Furthermore, this wasn't considered showing off.

Anqi's so-called low-key behavior was primarily aimed at avoiding excessive attention from forces like Otto, World Serpent, and Anti-Entropy. Would a high-achieving St. Freya student warrant their attention?

Perhaps only Otto would include her in Kiana's sacrifice list because Anqi was living in the protagonist group's dorm. That was all. As for sacrifices offered to Kiana, Otto wouldn't meticulously protect them, but he wouldn't waste them carelessly either.

Therefore, being a learning god at St. Freya was actually quite safe.

Anqi flipped through her textbook, contemplating that she would need another four to five weeks to fully grasp all the theoretical courses for the entire year.

And she had deliberately displayed her strong learning ability for a reason.

Anqi glanced out of the corner of her eye at the slender figure with an upright posture to her left, as if she could see the air around her filled with an aura of meticulous seriousness and rigor. Then, Anqi subtly curved her lips.

"Ring ring ring!"

The pleasant school bell rang before anyone realized it.

"Thump!"

Kiana suddenly sat up straight, causing her desk and chair to shake.

She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth where she had fallen asleep, a tuft of hair on her head lazily swaying back and forth, seemingly indicating her still-hazy consciousness.

Then, Kiana suddenly leaned towards Anqi, placing her hands on Anqi's shoulders, her face filled with astonishment.

"Didn't you just enroll, Anqi?"

"I'll be able to memorize all the liberal arts subjects in two more weeks. As for the science subjects, a considerable portion overlaps with what ordinary schools teach, and I'm also quickly sorting through it. The gap between people is sometimes greater than the gap between a person and a dog, understand?"

"...Are you insulting me?"

"Hmph!"

Anqi proudly puffed out her chest, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.

She had to admit, teasing Bronya was incredibly fun and she couldn't stop.

Then, she was tightly hugged by Kiana, who began to rub her face and head in a playful manner.

"Yosh yosh yosh~~"

"Let me go..."

'Don't stop!'

Anqi said with a blank expression, "resisting" with all her might in Kiana's soft and warm embrace.

Chapter 14: The Innocent and Kind Anqi

The morning was for theoretical classes, while the afternoon was for training and practical combat classes.

In fact, the afternoon's content was the more important curriculum.

No matter how thorough the theory, it only serves to provide some guidance on the battlefield. Combat ability is the key factor in determining victory or defeat, and even life or death. Even for a logistical Valkyrie who wants to stay away from the front lines, combat power is one of the most important indicators.

Therefore, as the grades at St. Freya increase, theoretical classes are reduced, and practical combat classes are significantly increased.

In short, Anqi, followed by the protagonist group who had unknowingly doted on her, entered the locker room. She expressionlessly admired a feast before changing into a training outfit that resembled a swimsuit.

"Huh? Anqi, is that drool on the corner of your mouth?"

"The training uniform touched my lips,"

Anqi explained with a straight face.

Kiana chuckled and slung an arm around Anqi's shoulders, leading her to the training grounds without a shred of doubt.

It had to be said that even excluding the protagonist group, the average appearance of St. Freya students was outstanding, one in ten thousand.

After all, most of them carried the superior genes of owners of Stigmata from a previous era, making it difficult for them not to be good-looking.

So, Anqi silently shrunk into a corner, peeking out only half her head to observe the expanse of smooth, rounded thighs and the various beautiful curves.

"Ah... this is nice... Of course, the best is my Mei... Ehehehe..."

Kiana, dressed in a white, form-fitting swimsuit-style outfit, squatted beside Anqi, grinning foolishly at the beautiful girls stretching in front of them.

"..."

Anqi silently moved to another corner to observe—she couldn't let anyone discover she was also a pervert; it would ruin her persona.

Then, Himeko, who had come to teach, suddenly slapped her on the back.

"Eek!?"

Anqi yelped, instantly scrambling up the wall from the corner, looking down at a stunned Himeko, baring her teeth and claws in a threatening manner:

"Boo!!!"