Bronya: Where Is the Person Who Hurt Seele? ( )

Theresa forcefully drove the golden cross into the ground. Golden light flowed across it like liquid, then under her control, it transformed into more than a dozen golden light spears bound with chains and shot toward Raiden Mei.

"Theresa?!" Kiana cried out, but she had no time to react. She had never expected Theresa to attack one of their own, so her response was half a beat too slow.

Flash Sheath - Four Ghosts Annihilation

Just as the dozen or so light spears were about to reach Raiden Mei, an impossibly fast slash met them head-on. Cross-shaped blade light shattered every spear that had approached Raiden Mei!

"What do you mean by this?" Ishiu gripped Wolf Fang in reverse, his expression grave as he looked at the two across from him. He had already positioned himself in front of Raiden Mei.

Although his injured arm had slowed his draw somewhat and nearly caused him to miss the timing, it had ultimately ended without incident.

"Ishiu, move aside! Can't you see that she's a Herrscher?" Seeing her attack blocked, Theresa was so anxious that she practically jumped in place. She pointed at Raiden Mei and shouted.

Ever since Ishiu had brought Raiden Mei down from Cocolia's warship, Himeko had noticed the abnormal Honkai Energy reaction. Without the Anti-Entropy warship concealing her, Raiden Mei—a newly awakened Herrscher who had not yet learned to restrain the Honkai Energy within her—was as conspicuous as a light bulb in the darkness.

That was why Theresa had rushed over in her warship: she wanted to block the Herrscher before she escaped. What she had not expected was for her idiot niece to be standing foolishly beside the Herrscher. The moment she saw that scene, it nearly scared the soul out of her.

"Uh..." Ishiu's mouth twitched. They had just said they couldn't let Schicksal find out, and now this flag had gone up...

"Theresa, wait a moment. I think there's something strange about this." The incredibly well-built older woman spoke at that moment. A ridiculously large greatsword was strapped to her back, and every step made her breasts bounce. It reminded Ishiu of the three Schicksal Valkyries he had met last night. Their armor had seemed rather revealing too.

What was going on? Did Schicksal believe that the less clothing one wore, the higher one's defense became? Then Schicksal's leader had to be some old pervert.

"What's strange?" Theresa asked in confusion.

"Haven't you noticed that the Herrscher hasn't shown any hostility from the beginning?" Murata Himeko raised her chin, speaking in her uniquely seductive yet lazy mature voice.

"Huh? That does seem to be true." Theresa blinked, finally realizing it. She temporarily suppressed her urge to attack and looked toward Raiden Mei.

"Can we sit down and talk?" Ishiu asked.

"What do you want to say?" Theresa asked with a frown.

"Don't worry about what I want to say. Just tell me whether you agree. If you don't, believe it or not, I'll slaughter your precious niece." Ishiu tapped the back of his blade against Kiana's neck, looking at Theresa with open provocation.

"Meow meow meow???" Kiana looked utterly bewildered. With brain cells that only started working properly in battle, she clearly had not figured out what was going on yet.

"You!" Although she knew Ishiu was deliberately messing with her, Theresa's short temper was still infuriated by his arrogant expression. If Himeko had not held her back, she would probably have grabbed Judah and started smashing people with it.

In the end, everyone calmed down and chose to sit in a nearby café.

By now, almost everyone in Changkong City had fled. Those who had not either had been consumed by the Honkai, becoming ashes or Zombies.

This café was relatively intact. Perhaps it had not suffered much of an attack last night. Ishiu helped himself to several bottles of drinks from behind the counter. After fighting all night without food or water, he could finally have a drink.

He gulped down half a bottle before comfortably sitting back down. Looking at Theresa, who was glaring at him like a tiger watching prey from across the table, he smiled. "What? Want a bottle too? What flavor?"

"Bitter gourd flavor, thank you... Wait, this isn't the time for that!" Theresa slapped the table, her cute little face full of annoyance. "So what exactly is going on with this Herrscher?!"

Ishiu shrugged and pointed at the properly seated Miss Mei beside him. "She's just like this. What, does she not meet your expectations?"

"Of course not! She's a Herrscher! By rights, shouldn't she be wrecking everything and trying to kill us the moment she sees us?"

"And that's what I wanted to tell you." Ishiu's expression became serious. "Do you think Mei is a threat?"

"Uh... at present, apparently not." Theresa frowned, her expression growing serious as well. "I don't know what you did, but she does carry the aura of a Herrscher. Why doesn't she have any desire to attack?"

"Because she's Raiden Mei, not a Herrscher." Ishiu explained succinctly. "And by the way, I've met the Herrscher you mentioned too. She was a pretty cute girl, just a little tsundere. But she definitely wasn't a bad person."

"You mean... her consciousness hasn't been overtaken by the Herrscher's consciousness?" Himeko keenly caught the key point in Ishiu's words.

"Right." Ishiu nodded, looking at Himeko approvingly. "Looks like Schicksal does have reliable people after all. By the way, may I ask your name, big sister?"

"Haha, you really have a sweet mouth, kid." Himeko could not help laughing, then tossed Ishiu a flirtatious glance. "This big sister is Murata Himeko, captain of the Hyperion. You can call me Sister Himeko~"

"Sister Himeko, huh? Hiss—" Ishiu smiled, about to take advantage of the opening and build some rapport, when a sudden pain shot through his foot. Looking down, he discovered that Little Pudding had viciously stomped on it.

His mouth twitched. Just as he was about to say something, a hand grabbed his clothes from the other side. He turned and saw Raiden Mei looking at him with displeasure and a faintly aggrieved expression.

She did not speak, but the meaning in her eyes was obvious, as though she were saying, Well, Ishiu, you won't call me big sister, but you're awfully quick to call someone else that.

Uh...

Seemingly noticing Ishiu's awkward situation, Himeko immediately let out a bell-like laugh. Her breasts swayed in rolling waves, causing Ishiu to look over instinctively.

He swore it was entirely instinctive, because he actually preferred small breasts.

"You said her consciousness wasn't overtaken by the Herrscher? How is that possible?" Fortunately, Theresa spoke up at that moment. Her gaze remained fixed on Raiden Mei, her large eyes filled with doubt.

"Well... I think it may be because she was framed..." Ishiu hesitated before briefly explaining how Raiden Mei had been set up by Cocolia. Naturally, he did not explicitly say Cocolia had done it. She was his mother, after all, so he needed to save her some face. He only said it had been done by a certain high-ranking member of Anti-Entropy.

He had not wanted to say anything at first, but after thinking it over, he felt that failing to explain clearly would only make things more troublesome when they questioned him later and he had no answers.

After all, he did not want Miss Mei to be wanted by Schicksal in the future. Theresa and Himeko seemed fairly reasonable, so perhaps they could settle this privately and avoid exposing the fact that Raiden Mei was a Herrscher.

"I see... an artificial Herrscher? That person is truly insane..." Theresa's expression darkened. She lowered her head in thought, then looked at Raiden Mei. "Then, are you willing to come with us?"

"To... St. Freya Academy?" Raiden Mei asked hesitantly.

"Yes. It seems Kiana has already told you about it, right?" Theresa jumped onto the table, crossed her arms, and looked down at everyone with imposing confidence. "Let me introduce myself again. I am Theresa, Headmaster of St. Freya Academy. I oversee hundreds of students, with abundant teaching resources and funding. The academy is built in the style of a classical European castle. Whether it's the environment or anything else, it's absolutely top-tier. You won't regret coming with us."

"Wait. How do I know what you're saying is true? Are you really willing to accept a Herrscher?" Ishiu asked calmly.

When it came to Raiden Mei's future, Ishiu was extremely cautious. He had already led Raiden Mei into trouble once; he did not want there to be a second time.

"Of course. As long as she isn't dangerous, I can accept her." Theresa spoke nonchalantly. "Besides, even if she really is dangerous, with Judah—ah, no, with this Valkyrie here, dealing with her would be a piece of cake."

"Then how am I supposed to trust you?"

"Damn it, I'm Kiana's aunt! Do you think I'd screw over my own niece's friend?" Theresa puffed out her cheeks and glared at Ishiu angrily before looking at Raiden Mei. "Raiden Mei, I'm sure you understand the problem with your current condition. I suggest you come with us not only for your own sake, but also for the world's. If one day you lose control, there has to be someone capable of stopping you. Otherwise, the disaster caused by a Herrscher... after what happened last night, I'm sure you understand that very well."

"She won't lose control," Ishiu corrected.

"You say she won't lose control, and that means she won't?" Theresa rolled her eyes.

"Yes. I said it. I believe in her." Ishiu spoke calmly.

Theresa's mouth twitched. If not for Ishiu being handsome, she would have wanted to kick him.

"Then what would make you willing to trust us?" Himeko asked at the right moment.

"Hmm... I haven't thought of that yet."

"Uh..." Even Himeko was rendered speechless. She pondered for a moment before suggesting, "How about this? Since you're worried, why don't you come to St. Freya Academy with us? If she's right under your nose, we won't be able to do anything to her, will we?"

"Huh? Me, going to your Schicksal?" Ishiu's mouth twitched. "Seriously, officer? I'm with Anti-Entropy. You'd really feel safe letting me in?"

"Heh, you abducted a Herrscher from Anti-Entropy. I don't believe Anti-Entropy would let you off." Himeko smiled alluringly, her eyes gleaming as she spoke. "Even if you are Cocolia's son, I imagine your days ahead will be full of trouble. In that case, why not come to St. Freya Academy? I can guarantee that you will be completely free with us. No one will be able to order you around. What do you say?"

"This..." Ishiu was suddenly speechless. He could hardly say that the person whose Herrscher he had abducted was Cocolia herself...

"Exactly! Brat, come to St. Freya Academy. This Headmaster will absolutely look after you, and I'll even pay you a salary. How about it?" Theresa's eyes lit up at Himeko's words. She gave Himeko an approving look, then began patiently tempting Ishiu.

Although Ishiu had made her quite angry earlier, his strength was undeniably real. He was absolutely no weaker than she was.

She had no idea where this fourteen- or fifteen-year-old kid had gotten such tremendous strength, but with him, she would have a fighter no weaker than an S-rank Valkyrie. At least for now, he could ease her awkward shortage of useful people.

Bronya: Where Is the Person Who Hurt Seele?()

"I'm not interested."

"St. Freya Academy is an all-girls school. Ninety-nine percent of the students are youthful, energetic, beautiful girls."

"...Not, not interested."

"You hesitated."

"Cough, cough..." Ishiu coughed lightly as he pulled his foot out from under Little Pudding's. He had no idea why this girl had such a bad temper.

Still, Ishiu remained undecided about St. Freya Academy. He knew absolutely nothing about the place. If not for Kiana and Mei, he would not even have been interested in learning about it.

"How about this? You don't need to decide whether to accept our invitation right away. Come to St. Freya Academy first and have a look. If it doesn't suit you, we can discuss it further afterward. What do you think?" Seeing Ishiu hesitate, Himeko wisely took a step back to advance. She knew Theresa, as the boss, did not have the kind of overwhelming presence that made people bow in worship at first sight—especially someone capable like Ishiu.

"...All right." Ishiu thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. "But I need to return to Siberia first. I'll go to St. Freya Academy, but not now."

"That's fine." Himeko nodded and pointed at Raiden Mei. "Then Miss Raiden Mei..."

"I'll go with you." Somewhat unexpectedly, Miss Mei spoke before Ishiu could respond.

"Mei..." Ishiu frowned, looking at Raiden Mei in confusion.

"Ishiu, there's something you said before that I agree with very much. Whether something is a pit of fire, you can only know after jumping in." Raiden Mei smiled gently, tenderness flowing in her eyes. "I don't trust St. Freya Academy. I trust Kiana. I trust her, and I trust you. If something happens to me, you'll come save me again, won't you?"

"...Yes. I definitely will." Ishiu pressed his lips together, met Raiden Mei's gentle gaze, and nodded firmly.

"And me! Mei, don't worry. As long as I'm here, nobody will dare touch you. Even if it's Theresa, I'll help you beat her up!" Kiana shouted noisily, only to be smacked on the head by Theresa as soon as the words left her mouth.

After they finished discussing everything, Theresa and the others prepared to leave. Before they did, Ishiu pulled Mei into a corner.

"What is it, Ishiu? Is there something else you want to tell me?" Raiden Mei asked curiously.

"Yes." Ishiu nodded and said softly, "Mei, give me your hand."

"Okay." Although she did not know what Ishiu intended, Raiden Mei obediently held out her hand.

Raiden Mei's hand was beautiful, pale as jade, smooth and delicate, with a wonderfully warm touch. Its only imperfection was perhaps the light calluses on the inside of her thumb, traces left by her years of sword practice.

Ishiu took Raiden Mei's hand, closed his eyes slightly, and called for the system.

Coordinate Movement

Raiden Mei suddenly felt her palm grow slightly hot. When Ishiu released her hand, she saw that a mysterious sword-shaped pattern had appeared on the back of it.

At the center of the pattern was a small sword, while beside it was a pair of spread wings. It looked extremely cool.

"What is this?" Raiden Mei looked at the pattern that had suddenly appeared on the back of her hand in surprise. If she did not know Ishiu was not the sort to do pointless things, she might have thought he was performing a magic trick for her.

"It's a kind of location coordinate." Ishiu explained, "As long as it's on you, if you encounter danger, you can call my name in your heart, and I'll arrive instantly."

This Coordinate Movement ability was the reward the system had given Ishiu after he completed the mission to save Raiden Mei.

The reward's function was simple and direct. He could plant a coordinate in advance at a location or on a person, then teleport directly to it regardless of distance or space.

However, such an overpowered ability was not without limitations. He could only plant three coordinates at the same time. Once he planted a new one, a previous coordinate would disappear. In simple terms, he could only teleport back and forth among three designated locations.

Furthermore, he could only teleport to each coordinate once per day.

Overall, Ishiu was very satisfied with this mission reward. See? The wool came from the sheep, and it was perfect for Miss Mei.

This way, even if Miss Mei encountered danger at St. Freya Academy, he could immediately go and rescue her.

"Something this amazing? As expected of you, Ishiu." After her brief surprise, Raiden Mei accepted it.

"It's nothing." Ishiu smiled and checked the time. "All right, Mei. You should go with them now."

"Mm." Raiden Mei nodded, but she did not leave. Instead, she opened her arms to Ishiu and embraced him.

She brought her lips close to Ishiu's ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Ishiu, thank you. Thank you for appearing in my life. This past month with you has been the happiest time of my life."

After saying that, she raised her head and gently kissed Ishiu on the forehead.

"I hope we can always be together from now on..."

After saying that, Miss Mei ran away without looking back, leaving only Ishiu standing there in a daze amid the lingering fragrance of a woman.

Holy shit?

Miss Mei just kissed me?

This isn't a dream, right?

Ishiu touched his forehead. The spot felt slightly damp, as though her warmth still remained.

Uh...

"You seem very happy?"

Out of nowhere, while Ishiu was still somewhat dazed, Little Pudding's voice rang beside his ear, seemingly devoid of any emotion.

"Of course I'm happy! Other than my mom and those little kids at the Orphanage, this is the first time in my life another girl has kissed me!" Hearing the voice, Ishiu answered almost instinctively.

"Is that so?"

Bronya walked over to Ishiu expressionlessly. One small hand reached toward his unguarded waist, then twisted hard.

"Ah! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Bronya, what are you doing?!" The intense pain immediately snapped Ishiu out of it. He hurriedly pulled Bronya's hand away and lifted his shirt to look. Damn, in just a few seconds, she had already twisted his skin red. This little girl had really shown no mercy.

"I'm helping you come to your senses. Stop filling your head with unhealthy things." Bronya said coldly. She was in a bad mood right now. It was infuriating. She had not expected Raiden Mei to take advantage of Ishiu behind her back. Fortunately, Bronya had acted faster and earlier... otherwise, this time she would have suffered a huge loss.

Seele would probably be happy if she knew, too, right?

"Unhealthy things? What are those?" Ishiu asked in confusion.