Girl! Make a Contract with Me and Become a Magical... Valkyrie!

Only then did Xina get a clear look at the petite girl who had spoken.

Bronya had gray hair styled into twin spiral ponytails and gray eyes nearly the same color as her hair. Her legs were fitted with unknown metal armor.

Most remarkably, her feet were not touching the ground. It was as if something were supporting her, allowing the girl to float in midair.

Hehe! That thing looked pretty fun. Once I found a chance to use the Serenity Gem to grow her legs back, I had to get that magical toy from her and play with it...

Xina let her thoughts wander as she thought this.

Following Bronya into the Medical Room, Xina underwent an extremely thorough examination using its equipment.

The moment Bronya saw the test report, her eyes went wide. Trembling, she handed it to Himeko, who had sneaked into the Medical Room to retrieve her hidden alcohol. After glancing at it, Himeko wore almost exactly the same expression as Bronya.

"!"

Why were they making those faces? Had they seen through my identity? That made no sense! I hid it so well, and I sealed all my Honkai energy inside my Herrscher Core...

Watching the two whispering off to the side, Xina nervously clenched her hands. A faint icy-blue glow seemed to flicker between her palms.

Inside the Hyperion's command room, Theresa stared lifelessly at the untouched report before her and the limited-edition manga she had only read halfway through.

She swore she would start writing after just one more page! Really!

Rustle!

That was the sound of a page turning!

Theresa swore this really was the last page...

"Principal, Principal, are you there?"

Just as Theresa was about to break her promise for the umpteenth time, Himeko's call precisely interrupted her page-turning.

"Himeko, what is it?" Theresa asked, somewhat puzzled.

After all, everyone was aboard the Hyperion right now. If anything happened, they could just walk over in a few steps. There was no need to call.

"Principal, what I'm about to say may shock you, so don't lose your composure or get too scared!" Himeko swallowed excitedly as she looked at the report in front of her.

"I'm the principal of St. Freya and an S-Rank Valkyrie. I won't lose my composure, and I certainly won't be scared!" Theresa snorted, proudly raising her head as if she were speaking to Himeko face-to-face.

But... reality slapped fast. As Himeko read the report's contents aloud line by line over the call, Theresa's calm composure, the kind that would not change even if Mount Tai collapsed before her, vanished in just a few breaths.

She took a deep breath and enunciated every word. "Himeko... it isn't April Fools' Day. You're not lying to me, are you...?"

"Why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, come to the Medical Room... Bronya can vouch for it!" Himeko could not even spare a glance for the alcohol within reach. Clutching the report, she sighed softly. "Kiana really is lucky. She picked up a treasure!"

Just as Xina was feeling conflicted and wondering whether she should make the first move and run, Theresa physically smashed her way through the door, making her temporarily abandon that idea...

Seriously, who entered through a door like that? Compared to Theresa's terrifying entrance, Xina felt that even a Herrscher like herself was as harmless as an innocent White Rabbit...

"Hehehe..."

After speed-reading the report she took from Himeko, Theresa wore a strange... no, eerie and frightening smile as she opened the transparent glass door to the isolation area and walked toward Xina step by step.

Mom! This Valkyrie is terrifying! She isn't going to eat Herrschers, is she?!

Xina was terrified and instinctively scooted her chair to the side.

"Hehehe~ Don't be afraid, little girl! I'm not a bad person~"

Seeing the fear written all over Xina's face, Theresa hurriedly backed up several steps and gently reassured her, "Trust me, I mean you no harm. I just want to ask you a few questions!"

"You... ask away!" Xina looked dejectedly at Theresa. She swore that if she had known Valkyries were this scary, she never would have followed Kiana around!

No, that wasn't right! She had barely run at all! Kiana had carried her the whole way...

"Do you have any... close family members left?" Theresa asked cautiously, afraid of touching a sore spot.

Hadn't she asked that already?

Xina eyed Theresa suspiciously and shook her head. "No. Other than my father, who ran off before I was even born, I have no family left."

"Then is there anywhere you urgently need to go, or anything you urgently need to do?" Theresa asked again.

Hm? Something urgent to do!?

Would going to the poles to melt the glaciers, alter the planet's climate, and destroy humanity while I'm at it count?

Honestly, I probably couldn't say something like that so openly, could I?

Xina grumbled inwardly before shaking her head with a miserable expression. "No. I just go wherever life takes me now."

Wow! All alone, no family, no friends, lost in life, no goal whatsoever—she was practically born to be a Valkyrie!

At the thought of how frighteningly high her chances were of deceiving... no, recruiting this genius girl, a flicker of excitement flashed through Theresa's eyes.

She cleared her throat, coughed twice, and held out her hand to Xina. "Girl, would you like to make a contract with me and become a magical gi... no, a Valkyrie?"

"?!"

Bronya's lips parted slightly. Upon hearing Theresa's outrageous words, she could not even maintain her usual calm expression. She could only barely remain standing with Heavy Armor Bunny's support.

Himeko, who had been listening from the side, covered her face with one hand, unable to bear watching. Principal! Who persuades a little girl like that? If you can actually trick this girl into joining St. Freya, then I, Himeko...

"Can I ask why you want me to become a Valkyrie? Could it be... I..."

"Here." Theresa took the test report and placed it in Xina's hands. Xina could not understand the thing anyway; all she saw was a bunch of As and Ss.

"Let me explain!" Theresa pointed at the data on the report.

"We just gave you a comprehensive examination and discovered that your Honkai energy adaptability has actually reached the level of an S-Rank Valkyrie. Some of your other figures are a little weaker, but they also have tremendous potential. You could say you're a prospective S-Rank Valkyrie."

S-Rank Honkai energy adaptability?

Well, of course. She was a Herrscher. It would have been strange if her Honkai energy adaptability were low.

"Alright, I accept!" Xina agreed without a second thought. As far as she was concerned, as long as her identity as a Herrscher had not been exposed, it was fine. She had no one to rely on anyway, so what difference did it make where she went?

Still, the biggest reason she agreed to stay was because she wanted to learn more about that... very different Third Herrscher.

Why could they both be Herrschers, yet she could loaf around and give up without a care in the world...

"Huh? You agreed?"

Only now did Theresa seem to realize how ridiculous what she had just said was, and she became a little unsure of herself. But what surprised her even more was that Xina had actually agreed so easily.

"Yeah!" Xina nodded and looked at Theresa in confusion. "Could it be... you wanted me to refuse? Fine, then I refu... mmph..."

Before Xina could finish speaking, Theresa had already leaped up from the floor and covered Xina's mouth with her hand. "Don't refuse, absolutely don't refuse!"

"Fine..." The emotionally stable Xina pursed her lips and tilted her head to look through the battleship's porthole at the congested traffic below.

Although the "rampaging Target" had indeed caused considerable casualties during that time, during the gap between her and Target's outbreaks, more than seventy percent of the people in this world-class metropolis had successfully escaped.

"Principal Theresa, could you give me some time to go home and pack my things?"

"No problem! Go home and pack first. Once you're done with what you need to do, it won't be too late to handle your enrollment procedures!"

Thinking she had found a future S-Rank Valkyrie, Theresa was in an excellent mood and readily agreed while patting her chest. What she did not know was that the moment she agreed, Xina's lips curled slightly, and her gaze shifted from the traffic below to Theresa.

After that little test, Xina had confirmed that her identity had not been exposed.

Because if her identity had been exposed and the Valkyries intended to trick her over and kill her, they would never have agreed to let her return home to pack.

Yet Theresa had agreed.

It had to be said that this S-Rank Valkyrie was rather... careless. A Herrscher had just appeared, yet she was still willing to let an unknown person like Xina join them.

She was practically a big idiot!

Of course, Xina's request to enroll later was not simply a test of Theresa's attitude. She was also doing it to lie low.

The appearance of a Herrscher followed by the loss of the Herrscher's trail was a huge matter. Whether it was Anti-Entropy, where Welt was, or Schicksal, to which the Valkyries belonged, they would definitely send people to investigate.

Still... so many people had fled Singapore. Even if both sides investigated carefully, it would take forever to check every last one of them.

As long as she waited for the initial attention to die down, enrolling at St. Freya would naturally draw far less notice.

Meanwhile, after imagining the wonderful life of having two S-Rank Valkyries stationed at the Far East Branch, handing all her work to Xina, and becoming a hands-off manager who read manga every day, Theresa nearly laughed aloud.

She pulled Himeko, who had just reached for the liquor bottle, over to Xina and said, "Oh, right, Himeko. Once Xina enrolls, let her join your class!"

"Huh? Mine?" Himeko hid the bottle she had just picked up in Theresa's blind spot and gave Xina a friendly wink.

"Hello, I'm Murata Himeko. I mainly teach courses related to Valkyrie combat. I look forward to working with you in the future."

"Hello, Himeko... Teacher." Xina hesitantly greeted Himeko.

An A-Rank Valkyrie. Her strength is decent, but in theory, she poses no threat to me...

Recalling the strength Himeko had displayed while dealing with Target earlier, Xina secretly breathed a sigh of relief.