Following her out to quell Honkai incidents was fine at first. But later, when it came to fighting Herrschers, what would happen to ordinary Valkyries from the Immortal Blade squad?
"Looks like this is Schicksal's final line of defense."
"Even if I'm alone, I'll stop you!"
Pretty hype, right? Guess why Sister Tazi said, "Even if I'm alone"?
So long as the Herrscher of the Void did not awaken, St. Freya was paradise.
As cherry blossoms drifted down, the Valkyrie school that produced the most promising future graduates welcomed the first semester of its strongest class.
Raiden Mei Lost
From the very first day they met, Raiden Mei had been deeply wary of Bai Yan.
She had discovered that this vixen possessed abilities that differed from her own approach, yet could still pose a threat.
The day after Bai Yan and Kiana first teamed up and played past curfew, Raiden Mei noticed something was wrong.
It had started when the cooking lady planned to make fried chicken nuggets for dinner, intending for everyone to eat together when they returned that evening.
Then Kiana caught the scent and discovered the prey ahead of time. Half-conscious, she opened her mouth and started eating.
By the time the cooking lady realized what was happening, those chicken nuggets had already entered the stomach of St. Freya's number one foodie.
Raiden Mei began lecturing Kiana.
That was when Bai Yan appeared. Not only did she stop the purple-haired girl mid-sentence, she also had Kiana bring out all the ingredients they had bought yesterday, saying she would make up for the loss Kiana had caused.
As Rita's assistant, Bai Yan had received comprehensive training and guidance from her female superior, learning quite a few skills of questionable purpose from her.
Cooking was one of them.
And so, that evening, Raiden Mei watched helplessly as Kiana's stomach was once again filled by another vixen.
Similar incidents only escalated over the following period.
Raiden Mei discovered that Kiana would occasionally seek out Bai Yan for private chats. Whenever she tried to join them, the two would immediately change the subject, as if they were deliberately hiding something from her.
In truth, they were just planning their next group excursion over the wall. How could they reveal that kind of secret to a respectable person?
In Kiana's eyes, Mei was indeed wonderful, but unfortunately, she never agreed to let her do rule-breaking things like climbing over walls.
She would even twist her ears.
Even my dad never twisted my ears!
That was why Kiana chose to keep it secret.
Bai Yan acted very well. Without changing her expression or tone, she could seamlessly switch to another topic. Kiana was still the one who gave herself away; her acting was far too amateurish.
The moment Raiden Mei's peripheral vision swept over her, Bai Yan learned for the first time what it meant for "a gaze to kill."
She even suspected that, in the character settings she remembered for Raiden Mei, the Herrscher personality had actually been Mei herself all along.
Finally, one afternoon, Bai Yan was blocked at the restroom entrance by Raiden Mei as she came out during break.
There was no one around.
"Who exactly are you?"
Bai Yan was slightly startled inside, but outwardly asked in confusion, "Why would Mei ask that?"
"You approached Kiana for no reason. Don't you think your actions have already exposed your intentions?"
Raiden Mei crossed her arms and lifted her chin slightly. Combined with her natural height advantage, she exuded an imposing aura.
What incredible presence—if Bai Yan had truly been a teenage boy inside, her heart would have started pounding long ago.
Mei did have something of a queenly air about her, though only on the surface.
In Bai Yan's eyes, she even seemed somewhat fierce only because she lacked confidence. This display was nothing more than bluffing.
"Mm, my intentions are the same as yours," Bai Yan said frankly.
Hearing that, Raiden Mei panicked, and her true thoughts slipped out. "No!"
"Huh? So Mei is the possessive type. I thought we were on the same side. What a shame."
You like Kiana, and I like Kiana too. Doesn't that make us allies?
"So, if you don't want people to suspect you of ulterior motives or cause trouble, stay away from Kiana."
"Ah." Miss Bai Yan first sighed, then looked at her with an expectant expression. "Then, Miss Raiden Mei, what price are you prepared to pay?"
Raiden Mei narrowed her eyes.
"Look, you're making me distance myself from the first friend I met after coming to St. Freya. Shouldn't you compensate me?"
"...You have a point. So what are your terms?"
Miss Bai Yan immediately approached Raiden Mei like the wind, took her hand, and wore an unusually intimate expression.
"Then please become my friend, Mei."
Raiden Mei forcefully pulled her hand back.
"No."
Bai Yan's expression immediately changed as she said coldly, "Then I'm telling the teacher."
"You're not allowed to go!"
Raiden Mei's tall figure blocked the only exit, and her gaze grew increasingly frightening.
Yes, teach this girl a harsh lesson! Otherwise, she'll only get more arrogant until she steals her away from your side!
The voice in her mind rang out once more. Raiden Mei no longer had any hesitation. She absolutely had to nip this uncertain factor in the bud!
She would give her a warning later. Just scare her a little.
Miss Bai Yan's expression changed again. Suddenly, she clasped both hands over her chest and shrank back two steps, stopping only when her back hit the corner wall.
Then the girl cried out, "Y-you, don't come any closer!"
"Huh?"
Raiden Mei froze. Just as she was about to say something, a voice behind her nearly scared her into breaking out in a cold sweat.
Kiana shouted, "Don't bully Xiao Yan!"
Mei instinctively turned her head, but in that instant, she only felt a shadow flash past her.
The next moment.
Miss Bai Yan was already clutching Kiana's arm with tearful eyes, trying her best to hide behind her while peeking fearfully at Raiden Mei.
Kiana patted Miss Bai Yan's hand reassuringly, then raised her eyes, ready to sternly reprimand the bully.
Then she stopped.
"Mei, why is it you?"
"I—" Mei was momentarily speechless.
"N-no, it's not Mei's fault. It was my way of doing things that rubbed Mei the wrong way. I'll definitely be more careful next time. Please don't fight because of me."
Raiden Mei: "..."
"Mei, why are you bullying Xiao Yan?"
"I was only—"
"Kiana, M-Mei actually didn't..." The quieter Bai Yan spoke, the more she seemed to lack confidence, as though she could not lie at all. Even an idiot like Kiana could hear the fear of retaliation in her voice.
Kiana turned to look at Bai Yan and found that she kept timidly glancing at Raiden Mei, looking utterly frightened.
"Mei, what exactly happened?"
"..."
Seeing Raiden Mei's face flush red while she could not offer a single explanation, Kiana frowned, sensing that things were not so simple.
"Xiao Yan, what exactly happened?"
"F-forget it. It's not a big deal. I'll be careful to avoid Mei from now on. She dislikes me anyway."
Bai Yan's voice was not loud, but it was just loud enough for Raiden Mei to hear, making her even more furious.
She had no moral high ground in this matter, so she could not voice her grievances. And in truth, she had not done anything substantial. Now she could only suffer in silence.
"Forget it, forget it." Kiana waved her hand. "Mei, I think you might have misunderstood her. Xiao Yan is a really nice person. If there's a problem, you can talk it out properly."
She could help solve her homework problems, and she could even find ways to make Auntie turn a blind eye after they snuck out to play. How could she possibly be a bad person?
It had to be a misunderstanding.
"Xiao Yan, Mei, let's end today's matter here. Let's head back together. There's only one more class before school ends."
Kiana gave Bai Yan a meaningful look, then whispered, "We have plans tonight, remember? We're taking on Bronya together!"
"Mm!"
Receiving an affirmative response, Kiana happily took Bai Yan's hand and quickened her pace as they left, calling for Mei to hurry up and follow them.
Watching their clasped hands, Raiden Mei clenched her fists.
Kiana: I Want to Improve So Badly!
The room was filled with the wails of controllers. The images on the large screen flashed continuously as the battle grew intense and thrilling.
Two against one, but their opponent was Bronya.
Bai Yan had never met her, because by the time Bronya joined Cocolia's orphanage, Bai Yan had already run away.
Seele might have mentioned her.
Her photo might also have appeared on one of Cocolia's wanted posters or blacklists.
Bai Yan had not worried about it before, but now that might not be the case.
Since they had met, Bronya had stared at her every so often.
It was terrifying.
When we're playing games, I won't nitpick your title of "Duck," but now you should call me Siberia's famous assassin, the "Ural Silver Wolf"!
Bronya put down her controller and lightly waved her little fist without expression. "Bronya defeated Team Kiana-Yan four to two."
"Ahhh! So close! We were just this close to winning!"
Though she wailed aloud, Kiana's face was filled with excitement, because they really had come so close.
Even though it was two against one, she had had a blast today.
At least they had won two rounds!
Raiden Mei silently watched the entire match from the side, without the slightest change in expression.
After the match between the three ended, Kiana grabbed two controllers and ran over to Mei's side, beginning today's hands-on introductory game lesson.
The purple-haired young lady had found her special niche. This place could be left to her.
"Mei, Mei, did you see that just now? Xiao Yan and my coordination! If the little runt hadn't figured us out at the end, we would've won!"
"Is that so? It was indeed very cool..."
Bronya glanced at the lively Kiana, jumped down from her chair, and ran over to sit close beside Bai Yan.
"Big Sister Xiao Yan."
"Mm?"
"Want to watch that?"
"Sure."
A top player, hacker, mech enthusiast, and military buff—how many men could those four labels attract?
Bronya had all of them.
If Cocolia had not been so fond of conducting experiments, Bai Yan would not have run away. Wouldn't it have been nice for everyone to live happily together?
Take Bronya, for example. When she looked for someone who shared her interests, she had still ended up finding Bai Yan.
Before you continue