Problem Student?

On the podium.

Himeko glanced at Kiana, who automatically grew drowsy the moment Culture Class began, then at Xina, who had been staring down at her book without moving for ages, seemingly asleep. Her hanging heart was thoroughly dead.

Great. The problem students who don't pay attention in class have gone from one to two.

Himeko looked at Xina with pained regret—sitting there motionless, indistinguishable from sleep except for her open eyes—and decided to try salvaging the situation.

She raised her voice and continued the lecture, hoping to catch the attention of these two "problem students."

"[Honkai] is a periodic disaster phenomenon that occurs in cycles. No one knows why it appears."

"War, plagues, climate disasters, comet impacts—the manifestations of the Honkai are always unpredictable."

"And in modern times, the manifestation of the Honkai is—the Herrscher. Xina, do you know what a Herrscher is? I just covered it."

"Ah! Herrscher, me?" Xina stood up, her train of thought interrupted. She hesitated for a moment, then, recalling the question Himeko had asked, began her "self-introduction":

"The birth of a Herrscher is a manifestation of the Honkai. Every numbered Honkai eruption is inevitably accompanied by the birth of one Herrscher."

"When the instantaneous power output of a Honkai eruption reaches 1000HW or above, one person in that area will survive. That Adept is the Herrscher!"

"The Herrscher condenses a Herrscher Core to obtain the corresponding Herrscher Authority, possessing extremely strong adaptability to Honkai energy. All Honkai Beasts spawned in the eruption zone are commanded by that Herrscher."

"Answer... correct." After confirming that Xina's answer was nearly word-for-word identical to the standard answer, Himeko felt a bit of relief in her heart.

Even if this kid had been spacing out just now... at least she was still listening to the lesson, right?

Thinking this, Himeko couldn't help but let out a long sigh—until the corner of her eye caught Kiana, sprawled across her desk, fast asleep...

Crack!

With a crisp sound, the chalk in Himeko's hand snapped in two, then was thrown with pinpoint accuracy onto Kiana's forehead: "Ki-a-na!"

At her seat, Kiana jolted awake as Himeko's perfectly aimed chalk dart struck her forehead dead-on.

"Ah! What's wrong? Is class over?"

Standing up, Kiana looked blankly at Himeko on the podium, who seemed to be glaring at her with a face full of black lines. Helplessly, she rubbed her cheek, reddened from the desk edge, with the back of her hand.

"Pfft..." The classmates around her struggled to hold back their laughter, making the half-awake Kiana scratch her head sheepishly.

"Kiana, tell me the key time periods of the Second Honkai Eruption! Mei, no hints." Himeko glared fiercely at Kiana, radiating a murderous aura that said, "If you can't answer, you're done for."

"Psst-" Xina deliberately made a small noise to catch Kiana's attention.

"Huh!" Kiana turned her head and saw Xina mouthing words while gesturing with her hands from her seat.

"Hey, that lip shape is... start?" Kiana struggled to make out Xina's lip movements, then looked at the numbers Xina was signaling with her fingers, and tentatively answered:

"The start time of the Second Honkai Eruption is... February 1st..."

"Mm." Himeko hummed lightly, nodded, and said, "Continue..."

"February 2nd, Schicksal personnel arri... arrive at... Babylon Tower..." Kiana answered while watching the gestures.

"Mm, continue..."

"February 3rd, Anti-Entropy and Schicksal form an alliance..."

"Mm..." Himeko couldn't even be bothered to say "continue" anymore; she just hummed a few times and quietly watched the two of them perform their bizarre sign language act.

"..."

Only when Xina had no more gestures or lip movements to convey did Kiana, realizing she had finished answering the question, cautiously look up at Himeko.

"Hmph! Lucky you!" Himeko shot Kiana a glare. "Don't sleep in class next time. Sit down."

"Hehehe."

Kiana smiled sheepishly, then sat down... and promptly started getting drowsy again...

To this, Himeko could only shake her head and continue the lecture...

"Ding ding dang..."

Time flew by. Xina had just sorted out her messy thoughts when the crisp sound of the bell ending class came from the end of the hallway.

Himeko checked the time on her wristwatch, closed her textbook, and tucked it under her arm: "Alright, it's getting late. That's all for today's lesson. Class dismissed."

At that, Kiana, who had automatically woken up a minute before the bell, had already packed her things and, the moment Himeko said "dismissed," sprang up from her seat like a spring.

The contrast between her lively energy after class and her half-dead state during class was stark, leaving Xina with a very puzzled expression.

"Xina, idiot Kiana has always been like this. You'll get used to it after a while." Bronya, sitting in front of Xina, packed her things and reminded her with a blank expression.

"Hey, what are you two whispering about? Xina, come on out!"

In the blink of an eye, Kiana had already dragged Mei to the classroom door.

"When did you get from the middle of the classroom to the door? With that creepy movement speed, are you secretly the Herrscher of the Void or something..."

Xina muttered to herself about Kiana's ghost-like post-class behavior, then turned to look at the other classmates' unflappable expressions.

At that moment, she seemed to understand something.

So the classmates were this calm because they were already used to it, huh.

After packing her things, Xina and Bronya walked toward Kiana and Mei at the door.

"Hey, Xina, don't leave just yet. Your assessment results are out—remember to stop by the Headmaster's Office in a bit."

Himeko, who had come back, blocked the classroom door and spoke softly to the few little ones in front of her.

"Aunt Himeko, you're saying my aunt actually finished grading Xina's assessment in just one morning? I thought she'd drag it out until next week!" Kiana stared at Himeko in disbelief, as if the efficient Theresa Himeko described was a complete fabrication.

"Well... actually, Headmaster Theresa, she..." Himeko's eye twitched, as if she wanted to salvage Theresa's battered reputation.

But in the end, Himeko reached a consensus with Kiana: "Fine! You're right, I feel like it's fake too. How could Theresa's work efficiency possibly be that high? With her personality, she definitely works for one minute and then rewards herself with three minutes of manga!"

Xina: "..." So this is how you all see the Headmaster? Scary! Scary!

Mei: "..." Seriously, you two gossiping about her like that—is that really okay?

Bronya: "..." While what you're saying does have some truth to it... you can't just keep roasting her like that, either.