The Real Cheat Code in Honkai Is Alicia! Chapter 34

With no other choice, Gwen returned home carrying breakfast for three. Yet the aroma wafting from the kitchen made him feel that buying breakfast out of habit had been a rather foolish thing to do.

"Mm, Gwen, you're back?"

Hearing the sound from the living room, Raiden Mei called out from the kitchen:

"Go wash your hands first. Breakfast will be ready soon."

"Okay."

After reflecting on it for a moment, Gwen set down the three portions of breakfast and returned to the en-suite bathroom in his room for a shower—

Even though the temperature in Schicksal's training grounds was well-controlled, after more than an hour of morning training, Gwen had inevitably worked up quite a sweat and needed a proper wash.

By the time Gwen had finished washing up, changed clothes, and come downstairs, Raiden Mei was already seated at the dining table waiting for him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mei."

With a greeting, Gwen sat down across from Mei.

"Sorry, Gwen. I didn't know you would bring breakfast back. There were still a lot of ingredients left from what Miss Rita brought last night, so I just..."

Seemingly a little embarrassed that she had made breakfast even though Gwen had bought some, Mei spoke softly.

"I'm the one who should apologize. I forgot to tell you about it.

Besides, you meant well, Mei. There's no need to apologize."

Gwen merely waved his hand casually.

"Eat up. We've got a busy day ahead of us."

"Mm, then I'll dig in."

Nodding, Mei—now dressed in the outfit Rita had brought over the previous night—lost the apologetic look on her face. Seeing that Gwen seemed to really like the breakfast she had made, she smiled slightly, murmured softly, and began enjoying her own cooking as well.

At the same time, Alicia, who had gone quiet for over an hour, popped up again—

"Mm...

A love-filled breakfast made with a beautiful girl's feelings... just looking at it is making my mouth water, you know~?"

"Unfortunately, I still don't know how to share my other senses with you, so all you can do is look."

Gwen answered Alicia with a smile, though his hands never paused.

"Ugh... Bullying poor, weak, helpless Alicia is prohibited!"

The girl's puffed-up voice appeared in his mind, making Gwen practically picture the pink-haired girl puffing out her cheeks and glaring at him.

"Is it?

I'm only sharing Mei's heartfelt breakfast with my new friend."

Gwen replied with a laugh in his mind, making the girl with puffed cheeks feel like taking a bite out of him...

In truth, Raiden Mei had only been forced to hone her cooking skills during the six months she spent in Unit 80, when she had often cooked for herself. Her cooking now was nowhere near anything extraordinary—

At least from Gwen's perspective, it was still inferior to Rita's, merely at the level of home cooking.

Still, since Mei had put in the time and effort to make it, Gwen naturally would not hurt the girl's feelings.

"Wasting food isn't advisable."

Under Mei's somewhat stunned gaze, Gwen ate both the breakfast Mei had prepared and the three portions he had bought, then calmly explained:

"And for me, this food won't cause any trouble."

As he spoke, Gwen stood up and called out:

"Let's go, Mei. It's time to head out. We still have a lot to do today."

"Mm, coming right away."

Ignoring the second consciousness that was once again complaining in his mind, Mei gave up on washing the dishes immediately. After washing her hands, she put on her coat and followed Gwen out the door.

Following the terminal's directions, Gwen and Raiden Mei found Amber, who was handling Mei's enrollment procedures. Under Amber's guidance, they began their tour of Schicksal Headquarters for the day.

The overall process was not much different from what Gwen had gone through before. The difference was that Gwen had completed these procedures and formalities gradually over the course of two months, while Raiden Mei had to rush through all of them at once. Thus, the two of them followed Amber around for most of the day, only finishing all the examinations and procedures at two-thirty in the afternoon—

To Raiden Mei's relief, although there had been many examinations, none of the terrifying scenes she had imagined from movies took place.

Choukai's Increased Night Shifts

After the examinations were complete, Raiden Mei received her own Schicksal terminal. As for her personal uniform, it was still being rushed into production.

"Congratulations, Miss Raiden Mei. As of today, you have officially become a Schicksal trainee Valkyrie.

You now have the right to receive all education and training available to trainee Valkyries, as well as the corresponding benefits.

In light of your special circumstances, until you officially become a Valkyrie, you will remain under the direct command of A-rank Knight Gwen and be accountable to him for all your actions."

After handing the Schicksal terminal, which had already been loaded with her information, to Raiden Mei, Amber finished speaking to her before turning to Gwen beside her.

"Mr. Gwen, as of today, until she becomes an official Valkyrie, all education and training for trainee Valkyrie Raiden Mei will be your responsibility, and you will bear the corresponding accountability.

Can you accept this?"

"Of course."

Gwen answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Authentication complete."

Nodding, Amber tapped a few times on her terminal, then said to Gwen and Raiden Mei:

"You've both worked hard. Today's mission ends here.

You both have my contact information in your terminals. If anything comes up, you can contact me directly.

As for now, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave. I hope the two of you get along well from here on."

"Thank you for today, Miss Amber. See you next time."

Seeing that Amber had no intention of making small talk, Gwen did not try to keep her. He knew that this secretary actually handled most of the work belonging to her superior, Bishop Otto. After saying goodbye, he watched her leave.

"I look forward to seeing you again."

With a nod, Amber turned and departed. Her distinctly futuristic cape made her seem far more imposing than her actual frame.

"How did it feel, Mei?"

After Amber left, Gwen stretched his body and asked Raiden Mei, who had visibly relaxed as well.

"It felt... much smoother than I imagined."

Raiden Mei hesitated before answering.

"Heh... you'll get used to it in a few months."

With a light laugh, Gwen could more or less guess what Raiden Mei was thinking, but he did not say much. Instead, he led her toward the Institute St. 1504, where he was assigned—

Although he was now part of Schicksal's combat unit roster, Gwen's official post still belonged to the Institute St. 1504, and Choukai was still his boss—

The downside was that he had to bring Choukai meals. The upside was that he received two paychecks, while his work mostly consisted of occasionally assisting Choukai in testing new equipment.

When Gwen brought Raiden Mei to the Institute St. 1504, he discovered that Choukai was fast asleep in the small lounge beside her office. Her breathing was steady, and she was clearly sleeping soundly.

Checking the equipment operation logs with his access privileges, Gwen found that Choukai had been working continuously from last night until noon today. She had probably only gone to sleep because she truly could not hold out any longer.

"That's rare. Choukai actually pulled an all-nighter."

Gwen murmured softly. Rather than entering the lounge and disturbing Choukai, he showed Raiden Mei around the Institute St. 1504.

"Gwen, is the Choukai you mentioned the lady in the lounge?"

Raiden Mei asked curiously.

Raiden Mei had heard of the name "Choukai," which was fairly well-known in Far Eastern history.

"That's right. She's the director of Institute St. 1504: Choukai XVII. Her real name is Elizabeth MacSmith, but out of habit, I call her Director Choukai.

Besides her own specialty, Choukai is also responsible for developing certain cutting-edge weapons. My job here is to help her test those weapons.

Still, given how infrequently high-end weapons are developed, I'm basically getting paid for nothing."

Considering that Mei still seemed prone to overthinking, Gwen continued:

"Across all of Schicksal, Choukai's abilities rank among the best.

Of course, while Choukai's enthusiasm for scientific exploration is more than a little unusual, she isn't a bad person overall. Don't imagine her as one of those mad scientists from the movies—

What kind of mad scientist still goes to the beauty salon twice a month?"

"..."

Blinking, Raiden Mei instantly felt the air of mystery surrounding Choukai in the lounge vanish without a trace, making her seem far more real.

The moment that thought surfaced, Raiden Mei instinctively looked toward the lounge, only to find that the red-haired beauty who had been sleeping soundly was already up and about to push open the door.

"Hmm?

Long time no see. Finished dealing with your other matters?"

Still bleary-eyed, Choukai showed no dissatisfaction at seeing Gwen seated in her spot. She casually greeted him, washed her face at the sink nearby, and only then seemed a little more awake as she looked at Raiden Mei.

"This must be Miss Raiden Mei that Bishop Otto mentioned?"

"Hello, Miss Elizabeth. I'm Raiden Mei. I'm currently under Mr. Gwen's command and nominally attached to the Institute St. 1504."

When Choukai looked at her, Raiden Mei stood up and calmly introduced herself.

With Gwen's earlier introduction, Raiden Mei—whose horizons had never been narrow to begin with—did not feel intimidated.

"Mm... finally, someone who knows to call me by my real name."

Choukai smiled and nodded at Raiden Mei.

"If you called me Choukai too, I'd probably start thinking I'd actually changed my name to Choukai."

"Hah... don't sweat the small stuff."

Gwen laughed and waved a hand, decisively changing the subject.

"Come to think of it, did you pick up some new project?

You actually stayed up all night. That's not like you."

"Hah... it's not a new project. It's just that there was something on that little girl you brought back before that caught my interest."

Yawning again, Choukai casually said as she pointed at a room:

"If you're interested, go take a look yourself. I'm heading back to catch up on sleep. Remember to bring me dinner tonight. Bye~"

With that, Choukai casually skipped work to go catch up on sleep.

"..."

Hearing Choukai mention a "little girl," Raiden Mei's gaze sharpened as she instinctively looked toward that room—

Though certain thoughts had surfaced in her heart, she still cared about Kiana.

"Don't worry. It probably isn't Kiana."

Gwen patted Raiden Mei on the shoulder and explained:

"Given Kiana's condition, she shouldn't be here.

Choukai was probably talking about that little girl Cocolia sent to attack us."

"That child..."

Raiden Mei instantly Breathed a Sigh of Relief, but at the mention of a certain Twin-Turbine Duck, she could not help but frown—

Though they stood on opposing sides, that did not stop Raiden Mei from feeling even greater contempt and hostility toward Cocolia for sending such a little girl onto the battlefield.

"Don't underestimate her."

Gwen warned:

"According to the information, that child was trained as a child soldier from an early age. She even made quite a name for herself, earning the title of the Ural Silver Wolf.

If this had happened before, and she had approached you by taking advantage of her identity as a vulnerable child before launching an attack to capture you, the odds of you escaping would have been very low."

"...I understand."

After a moment of silence, Raiden Mei nodded, her expression solemn as she committed to memory the first lesson Gwen had taught her—