Shocking! A Man in the Woods and a Valkyrie... / I Am Rita, Merely a Vice-Captain!

By the time Ling Feng and Mei returned to that cold drink shop, Bronya and Kiana were still playing games!

They had eaten, drunk, and had fun all day, so it was about time to head back. They went to the mall's storage counter to retrieve the things they had bought that morning, then the four of them returned to the academy together. Too bad it wasn't sunset right now, or perhaps they could have let their chuunibyou souls burn and composed a poem!

Chapter 35: Shocking! A Man in the Woods and a Valkyrie...

"Haah... the exams are finally over..."

On Monday, Kiana lay limply across her desk, looking utterly worn out...

From morning until now, she had gone through two grueling exams that had completely drained her. Fighting Honkai Beasts aboard the battleship the day before yesterday hadn't even been this exhausting...

"Come on, Kiana. Hurry and go eat. We still have the practical assessment this afternoon!"

Mei remained as calm and composed as ever. Before becoming a Valkyrie, she had already been a top student. Written exams were practically effortless for her, and even now, she still ranked first in her year!

Bronya was also an academic ace. Her nearly mechanical memory put her on par with Mei, and the two had spent years competing for first and second place. But when it came to team average scores, Team 233 could only rank in the middle. There was no helping it—Kiana dragged down their scores far too much...

As for Ling Feng...

He had taken the exams too, but... Chinese and math had not been much of a problem, and he knew quite a bit about Honkai-related knowledge. But history... what the hell did he know about that? And why did Valkyries even have to study history?

Besides, although it might have been a little late to ask this, why were the writing and language of this era exactly the same as those of his own time?

At lunchtime, the four of them were once again eating in their usual seats at the academy cafeteria. But Kiana still missed the feast they had had yesterday at noon. She really wanted to go again, though the owner's expression had not looked too good when they left...

"Hey, Ling Feng!"

A girl suddenly appeared behind Ling Feng and gave him a pat on the shoulder!

"Hm?"

Ling Feng silently turned around and took a look. He seemed to recognize her—no, not recognize her exactly. He had just seen her before. She seemed to be a girl from his class, but Ling Feng did not know her name...

"I heard that as long as we let you touch our breasts, you'll imprint four-star Stigmata for us. Is that true?" the girl asked curiously!

"Huh?"

Ling Feng froze. What the hell? What did she mean, touching breasts in exchange for imprinting four-star Stigmata? When had he ever said that?

"What's going on, Ling Feng?"

Mei immediately became wary as she quietly looked at Ling Feng. She had heard two key words: four-star Stigmata and breasts...

"Slander, Mei! This is absolutely slander! I've never said anything like that!"

Of course Ling Feng had to deny it, because he had never said such a thing in the first place. And with Mei right in front of him, he absolutely could not admit it. He hurriedly said to the girl, "Hey, if you keep spouting nonsense, I'll sue you for slander! I solemnly declare that there is absolutely no such thing!"

"Eh... but... it's written in the campus daily..."

The girl quietly held her phone out in front of Ling Feng. Ling Feng immediately snatched it over and saw what was on it...

First, the headline was eye-catching: "Shocking! A Man Gropes a Valkyrie in the Woods, but the Truth Is Actually..." Beneath it was a high-definition photo. The people in it were naturally Ling Feng and Yuqi, and their pose was exactly from that night, when he had taken the initiative to attack Yuqi's left breast...

The small text below said that Yuqi had asked Ling Feng to imprint a Stigmata for her, while Ling Feng had demanded to touch her breasts. Only then had the two reached an agreement...

Ling Feng: "..." What the fuck was this? Which bastard editor wrote this? Get out here! I swear I won't beat you to death!

Suddenly, Ling Feng felt two waves of killing intent. He turned around and looked...

At some point, Mei and Kiana had pulled out their katana and Water Sprite. Mei in particular smiled very kindly as she said, "Assistant, what is going on here? Could you give me an explanation?"

Even the way she addressed him had become polite, which was enough to show just how much Mei's attitude had changed...

Kiana had also disengaged Water Sprite's safety and aimed it at Ling Feng from point-blank range. "Mei, I told you this guy was no good. I never thought he'd really grope people..."

Bronya also deployed Project Bunny's cannon and said expressionlessly, "Bronya does not know why everyone is angry, but Bronya only needs to follow Mei's actions!"

Ling Feng: "..."

"Well, I want to explain, but I'm afraid you won't believe me if I do..."

With three B-rank Valkyries pointing weapons at him, Ling Feng truly felt like crying without tears. Everyone had been so gentle before. How could they turn on him so fast...

"Try us!"

Mei still wore a brilliant smile, but that smile was enough to make one shudder...

Seeing the three of them brimming with killing intent, the C-rank Valkyrie girl suddenly felt the urge to run away. But her phone was still with Ling Feng, and she could not bear to leave it behind. At the same time, she did not dare ask Ling Feng for it back...

Under the three girls' threats, Ling Feng could only explain what had happened that night when he had pressed Yuqi's fingerprint. Naturally, he did not mention taking the initiative to attack her other breast. In short, Ling Feng's point was that he had been forced into it...

"This Yuqi went a little too far..."

Mei quietly put away her katana and rubbed her chin as she thought. Her instincts told her that Ling Feng was not lying...

"A little too far? She went way too far! Using such a method!"

Kiana looked thoroughly displeased. She could not explain why she was upset, but she just was. Extremely upset!

"Um, so... can I have my phone back now?"

Only then did the girl timidly ask...

"Sorry, here!"

Ling Feng hurriedly returned the phone to her, then said righteously, "But everything written there is fabricated. What I said just now is the truth, so there's no such thing as imprinting Stigmata just because someone lets me touch their breasts. I've never said that..."

"Oh..."

The girl looked a little disappointed. Then, with longing in her eyes, she asked, "Um... if I let you touch me once, could you imprint one for me? I... I really want a powerful Stigmata!"

"Uh... this..."

Ling Feng really wanted to reject her outright, because that was not what he meant at all. But he could not bear to refuse her either...

Suddenly, he felt two more waves of killing intent...

"Sorry, I can't!"

Ling Feng decisively chose to refuse. He stuffed the phone into the girl's hands, then put on a shamelessly encouraging expression and smiled. "The path of a Valkyrie is a long one. You have strong Valkyrie potential. I believe that even without relying on Stigmata, one day you'll become a powerful Valkyrie. Keep it up!"

"R-Really?"

For all these years, she had almost always been at the bottom of the rankings. This was the first time someone had ever said something like that to her, the first time someone had encouraged her like this. Little stars immediately appeared in her eyes!

"Of course. Look into my eyes. Do I look like I'm lying to you?"

Ling Feng looked at her with complete sincerity...

"Mm, I... I'll work hard. Thank you!"

The girl gave Ling Feng a deep bow, then proudly left the cafeteria...

Chapter 36: I Am Rita, Merely a Vice-Captain!

"Um... was that okay?"

Ling Feng turned back to Mei and Kiana and asked timidly...

"Is it really okay to lie to her like that?"

Mei seemed to feel a little guilty...

"Yeah, she..."

Kiana also looked somewhat guilty, her face conflicted. "She's actually pretty pitiful. She works so hard, but her grades are always so bad. What you did this time was a little too much!"

Ling Feng: "..."

"Hey, why is it my fault again? Didn't you two stop me from imprinting a Stigmata for her?"

Ling Feng suddenly felt the urge to cough up blood. These two girls changed their faces at terrifying speed. They had been overflowing with killing intent just moments ago, but in the blink of an eye, it had become his fault...

"We never told you not to imprint one for her, did we?"

Mei spoke as she thought it over. "I just didn't want you to use... ahem, that kind of method to imprint one for her. If you want to help her, you're not allowed to do anything strange. You can only imprint it properly, and besides..."

"I don't think imprinting one for her would be a bad thing. The rumors about you have probably already spread throughout the academy. You could clear your name by helping her imprint one for free. It's just that... if you do it for free, there will probably be lots of people coming to ask you for help later. That would be troublesome!"

"Does Bronya need to help?"

Bronya spoke up as well. She was holding her phone and said, "This report was only posted recently. Bronya can use hacking techniques to take it down and delete it, or alter its contents!"

"Then Bronya, hurry and change it! Tell everyone the truth and let them see Yuqi's true colors!"

Kiana decisively told Bronya to act. This would not only clear Ling Feng's name, but also teach Yuqi a lesson. Though it could not really be called teaching her a lesson, since she had brought it upon herself!

"Let's not do that..."

After thinking it over, Ling Feng still refused. He smiled and said, "Yuqi has her own reasons for wanting to become stronger. She was just being a little foolish. She isn't a bad person. Besides, everyone already knows about the Stigmata imprinting, so... let's just leave it like this. That way, no one should come looking for me to imprint Stigmata anymore, right?"

Ling Feng did not want to shift the blame onto Yuqi, because the aftermath would be rather troublesome!

Besides, Ling Feng did not want to imprint Stigmata for too many people. His body was already relatively fragile. Using energy too frequently would just accelerate his own death. So he might as well use this report to disguise himself. That way, no one should come looking for him to imprint anything. After all, girls definitely would not want to be groped!

Of course, most importantly... Ling Feng was afraid that Yuqi would reveal how he had attacked her other breast. If that happened, Mei would definitely give him a vicious beating...

"But your reputation..."

Mei seemed somewhat unwilling. She did not deny that Ling Feng had a point, but she also cared about his image. If they did not clarify things, Ling Feng would really be seen as a pervert...

"I don't really care. As long as you all know the truth, that's enough!"

Ling Feng basically did not care about his image. As long as Mei, Kiana, and the others believed him, that was enough. Why should he care about his image in front of people he did not even know? It was not like he was some celebrity...

"It's done!"

Bronya spoke again. "Bronya has used Project Bunny's computer to delete the report and infiltrated the publisher's computer to format it!"

Ling Feng: "..." What the hell, that was fast...

Still, deleting it was fine...

"But what if they have backups and repost it?"

Mei did not think the problem had been solved. She asked, "Bronya, can you find out who the editor is?"

"Bronya has already found her!"

Using Project Bunny's computer, Bronya deployed a holographic screen displaying a portrait of a blonde girl along with all her information, including her class and home address...

"Ling Feng, Kiana, go back after you finish eating. I suddenly remembered that I have something to do!" Mei smiled slightly. She did not even finish her meal before quietly leaving the cafeteria...

Ling Feng: "..." Uh... why did he have such a bad feeling about this...

Not long after, Mei returned. Ling Feng did not ask what had happened, but such a gentle and adorable girl like Mei definitely would not have gone to threaten the editor...

And so, the matter came to a temporary end!

That afternoon, the assessments continued. The written portion had already been completed in the morning, so naturally, the afternoon was for practical combat!

Although fighting simulated Honkai Beasts was also an assessment, it was ultimately just a simulation and could not fully display a Valkyrie's combat ability. Therefore, that afternoon's assessment would consist of one-on-one combat practice...

Himeko and Theresa were both present, along with an unfamiliar maid in black stockings. She wore a black-and-white maid uniform, black silk stockings, and an unknown hair accessory. She stood quietly to one side, and no one knew what she was there for...

Still, she looked pretty cute...

"Ahem!"

Once everyone had arrived, Theresa first cleared her throat, then said, "Students, today is assessment day. The Schicksal headquarters has also sent someone to observe, so I hope everyone will work harder and properly display your strength!"

As she spoke, Theresa introduced the maid beside her. "This is the liaison officer sent by headquarters, Rita Roseweisse. She is the vice-captain of Immortal Blades, Schicksal's strongest team!"

"You flatter me, Lady Theresa. I am merely Lady Durandal's adjutant!" Rita gave a slight bow and replied with a smile. She spoke slowly, giving off a gentle and courteous impression. Just as expected of a maid!

Theresa merely rolled her eyes at her and did not say anything else. Merely an adjutant? An S-rank Valkyrie, and she called herself merely an adjutant? What a joke...

"Anyway, that's all. Everyone, do your best!"

After saying that, Theresa showed no intention of leaving. Clearly, she intended to observe the assessment as well. In truth, she did not know why Rita had come to St. Freya Academy, nor did she want Rita here, because Rita was Otto's person!

However, on the surface, they were all part of Schicksal. Theresa could not exactly drive Rita away, so she could only let Rita observe. She just did not know what this dangerous maid was plotting?

"Rita... she seems pretty nice..."

Ling Feng quietly admired her. Maids were the best. He wondered whether that outfit was expensive. Did Mei not have many clothes suitable for wearing now? Maybe he could ask Mei another day and see whether she wanted to buy one...