Adam: Who understands my pain? Xing: I do.

In the combat simulation room of the作战模拟室 (Combat Simulation Room), the newly formed Fire Moth squad was conducting their first combat exercise.

Kiana, dual-wielding pistols, fired several data-formed blood blossoms onto the defending Maniacs. Mei weaved through the Maniacs, her Katana prioritizing the decapitation of Ranger-type Maniacs.

"Prioritize the ranged units!" was the thought of the two, having taken quite a few unexpected hits that morning.

Not far away, Bronya controlled the Heavy-Duty Rabbit 19C, unleashing artillery fire on the newly appearing Honkai Beasts. The mosquito-like Rush-type Honkai Beasts, leveraging their small size, high speed, and sheer numbers, quickly closed in on **'s flank.

"Bang!" Xing used his greatsword like a tennis racket, swatting a Rush-type Honkai Beast away like a mosquito. One hit sent a whole group flying.

This sword is so heavy! Xing felt his hands swell. While lifting it was easy, swinging it was another matter entirely.

"Bronya, we do this, and then this..." the two little ones discussed tactics.

More Rush-type Honkai Beasts surrounded them. Xing tossed his greatsword to Bronya. "Now!"

The Heavy-Duty Rabbit 19C grasped the hilt, calculated the direction and force, and threw it. The greatsword spun in a circle, flying into the Honkai Beast swarm and turning a large number of Rush-type Honkai Beasts into data fragments.

The agile Xing quickly followed up, picking up the sword that had fallen to the ground after its power dissipated, and continued to hack at the remaining Honkai Beasts. Though I'm tired, I can't stop. Bronya provided covering fire from a distance, a truly good teammate.

"Xing, lend me your sword!" The white-haired ball of fluff ran over, unceremoniously yanked the sword away, and ran back, leaving Xing clutching his arm. A true bad teammate.

She excitedly looked at the Natural-type Honkai Beast that was about to throw a bomb. "Don't you know how to play catch? Watch me hit this back for you!"

"Wait, Kiana!" Xing called out to stop her, but it was too late.

The Bomb, glowing red, was thrown forcefully by the Natural-type Honkai Beast. The girl swung her sword with all her might, and then... there was no then.

The Bomb exploded the moment it met the sword, blasting the bug back again. Why "again"?

"..." The three fell silent.

After this—

"Why did it turn out like this?" Kiana muttered, holding a cup of ice water.

"Idiot Kiana, you got yourself killed, and you dragged me and Xing down with you, getting us sliced by Ninja-like Maniacs," Bronya criticized unsparingly. Do you know how hard that teleporting guy is to deal with?

"Haha, don't worry about it. It's not like no one's done this before," the attendant from the combat simulation room said, bringing over several drinks to comfort them.

These four kids were really proactive. In previous years, new students hadn't even reported for duty by this time, and they were already in combat simulations. (Since they had nowhere else to live, they were forced to stay in the dorms.)

"Oh, right, do you guys know that this year is very special~" the attendant said mysteriously.

"Huh? Why?" Kiana, Mei, Bronya, and Xing instantly became interested. It's true that gossip is a girl's nature, but something seems off here?

"Hmph, hmph, you really don't know. And thanks to my good information, I got the scoop from my sisters in the admissions department ahead of time. This is huge news: St. Freya will be welcoming its first male student this year!" the attendant exclaimed excitedly.

Kiana: (¬_¬)

Mei: ~~(¬ ¬) ~~~

Bronya: (¬_¬)

Xing: (ー`´ー)

"So, aren't you surprised? What are those expressions for?" Seeing the four of them looking speechless, completely failing to meet her expectations, the attendant grew anxious.

"You don't believe me? It's true! The sisters in admissions guaranteed it to me. You guys don't understand the significance of a male student, do you? Let me tell you..."

Kiana looked at Xing, wanting to laugh but not daring to, because he had his hand on the hilt of his sword behind his back. Although she probably could beat him, that was assuming it was a one-on-one fight...

The expressionless Duck Duck nudged Xing and whispered, "Is she talking about Xing?" The shota nodded. "There aren't any other boys, so it must be me."

"Senior, do you know what he looks like?" Kiana felt like she was about to burst out laughing and tried to change the subject.

The attendant became even more animated. "My sisters said this person has an extraordinary background. He was picked up by the Headmaster while fighting an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. He's tall and strong, with a dark complexion..."

Kiana couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter. Even Mei covered her mouth and snickered. As for Bronya, she had no emotions. Wait, why did she turn her head?

"Nonsense! What I heard was that he's a handsome and dashing... beautiful man!" Another attendant on duty retorted.

Xing pulled Bronya along and quietly left. If they stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to control his greatsword.

"Hahaha! I'm dying of laughter! What would their expressions be if they knew the person in question was right beside them?" Once outside, Kiana finally let loose.

"Tall and strong, with a dark complexion, puff!" Kiana looked at Xing, laughing heartlessly.

Why do you have to be so good-looking? And you're still a child, so your gender isn't obvious.

Xing's face darkened. He almost took out Mortal Tribulation Difficult to Cross, and could only hug the Crimson Kite to relieve his sorrow.

However, he didn't know that the nightmare had only just begun.

"Hey, have you heard? A boy is coming to St. Freya." That night, the four heard people discussing it in the cafeteria.

"I heard too. What's his background?"

"They say he's the Headmaster's illegitimate son! The St. Freya gossip columns are going wild."

"That's not right. I heard the Headmaster poached him from Schicksal headquarters – a genius who reached A-rank Valkyrie at such a young age. The Headmaster even sacrificed herself to get him..."

Xing suddenly understood how the protagonist of After the Fall, Adam, felt.

It got even more ridiculous later—

"Did you hear about that man?"

"The man who conquered Headmaster Theresa and Teacher Himeko, and is now planning to conquer St. Freya Academy?"

This world doesn't really do the whole "harem" thing for men.

"They say that man was originally the Bishop's second son, but because his elder brother seized power, he came to St. Freya for the Headmaster's protection to ensure his safety."

What kind of palace intrigue plot is this?

"...That man ate a King-class Honkai Beast alive in front of the Headmaster and even mumbled that it was too salty."

I might actually do something like eating a Honkai Beast alive in the future.

"This person descended from the sky riding lightning. The Headmaster was greatly alarmed and asked, 'Who are you?' This person proudly replied, 'I am the Crown Prince of Judgment...'"

This is exhausting.

For the three days before school started, whenever Xing was moving between the dorm, library, cafeteria, and combat simulation room, he could always hear various rumors about himself. Each one was more outrageous than the last. Those girls really had vivid imaginations.

On the last night, as Xing dragged his exhausted body back to the dorm, he bumped into Welt, who was returning after buying bird's nest soup. Perhaps because they were of the same gender, this student was assigned a room opposite the history teacher, Welt.

"You're working pretty hard, kid. Be careful not to push yourself too hard. You're still young, and it's not good to ruin your health." Welt looked at the almost lifeless Xing with a bit of pity.

Even such a young child had to carry weapons? He couldn't help but think of himself.

"Thank you for your concern, teacher," Xing replied weakly. He put down the greatsword he'd carried all day after entering the room and almost collapsed onto the floor. Kiana's energy was too much; she had dragged the entire team into the combat simulation room, training them relentlessly until they dropped.

After a hot shower, all his soreness eased, and he felt like he was in paradise.

He took out the lemon water he had bought earlier from the refrigerator and gulped down a large mouthful. So refreshing!

After feeding the Crimson Kite, Xing planned to go to bed, but a knock on the door interrupted him.

"Who is it this late?" Xing opened the door in confusion and looked up, only to see a giant golden cross.

Judas?

"Why are you holding your head so high?" a voice filled with resentment rang out. Xing lowered his head and saw a loli with white hair and blue eyes.

"Headmaster?" Seeing a face that looked a tiny bit similar to his own, Xing was a little stunned.

"This seems to be the first time you're seeing me, so why do you know I'm the Headmaster?" Theresa found a flaw. Theresa charged forward!

"Doesn't the teacher interface on the terminal have your picture?"

Theresa, KO!

Why would Theresa come to find Xing at this time? Let's shift our perspective back one hour—

The diligent Headmaster of St. Freya Academy, Theresa Apocalypse, was still working diligently late into the night. Look, she was carefully flipping through documents. Wait, why were these documents full of pictures?

"Theresa." Himeko entered with a report.

"Waaah!" The power of an S-rank Valkyrie was evident at this moment. In almost an instant, Theresa swiftly pulled open a drawer, shoved the Humo manga inside, and closed it, then picked up a document to pretend.

"Theresa, were you sneaking glances at Humo manga while on duty again?" As her old friend, Himeko knew this legal loli like the back of her hand.

"How could I... This Headmaster is working very diligently!" The white-haired shorty's gaze darted around, and her voice was not loud, clearly lacking confidence.

"Aren't you going to pay attention to your illegitimate child? Everyone at St. Freya Academy knows about your relationship now."

Theresa's fur bristled with anger. "Illegitimate child? Those girls are just spreading rumors. You believe that too? We're both from the Kaslana family; it's not strange for us to look alike, is it?"

"Oh~" Himeko looked at her meaningfully and slowly placed a report on her desk. "Then how do you explain this?"

"What is this?"

"Out of curiosity, I took a strand of your hair from your bed and had it compared with that kid's DNA. Turns out I found something unexpected."

Theresa quickly scanned the report, her gaze stopping at the last line— "Confirmed: Mother-child relationship."