Everything fell into place. Purple lightning surged from Mei's bamboo sword, grazing the Herrscher of Thunder's cheek before splitting the tree behind her in two!
"Not bad."
Seeing that Mei could control part of the lightning, the Herrscher of Thunder stopped moving. A satisfied smile appeared on her originally aloof face.
"Decent. You can use this power without triggering a Herrscher reaction."
With her face covered in dust, Mei was both surprised by the attack she had just unleashed and recalling the sensation of wielding lightning.
"Mei, can I trust you?"
The Herrscher of Thunder turned serious again and asked Mei.
"I will do everything I can to protect Kiana."
Having adapted to the power, Mei swung her sword sharply, dispersing the lightning as she answered firmly.
The Herrscher of Thunder merely shook her head. Kiana no longer needed to worry about Mei doing something reckless. She needed to worry about someone even more reckless than Kiana. In that fragment of independent memory...
"No, Mei, you must protect..."
Before the Herrscher of Thunder could finish, a violent buzzing suddenly rang out in her mind! It interrupted whatever she had been about to say.
"Ugh! What is this?"
What was this unexplained attack? No, she wasn't being attacked. There was a problem with Bai Chen's body itself!
Unfortunately, Bai Chen had not reached his final form. Otherwise, he definitely could have...
"Mei!"
Noticing that the Herrscher of Thunder was unwell, Kiana immediately rushed forward and hugged her. The next moment, the Herrscher of Thunder changed back into a pale-faced Bai Chen.
I'm screwed. Did I beat Mei up while transformed?
Mei won't refuse to make that meal tomorrow, will she? I'm a little weak right now. Will she take the chance to get revenge?
The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became.
He would absolutely never transform into a Herrscher again! From now on, he could not judge strength solely by game ratings. That meant he could not transform into the Skyward Ranger either, at least not until he became significantly stronger.
Meanwhile, Mei was thinking about what the Herrscher of Thunder had said before disappearing. Other than Kiana, who else could be in danger?
Bronya? Himeko? Theresa? Bai Chen? No, Bai Chen was impossible.
As the strongest trump card among them, Mei simply could not imagine anything capable of killing Bai Chen, not even a complete Herrscher.
"Bai Chen!! You caused trouble again!!"
The furious Himeko arrived at the scene and stared at the forest, which looked as though it had been plowed over by a bulldozer. Her heart was bleeding!
Himeko snatched Bai Chen from Kiana's arms, grabbed him under both armpits, and lifted him high into the air.
"What the hell did you do?! Why do you look like you're at death's door again?!"
"Exhaustion..."
Bai Chen answered weakly.
"You're relying on your youth and being far too reckless with your body! I have to teach you a lesson today!"
"No! Himeko! Don't! I was wrong! I'll definitely think before I act next time!!!"
Himeko ignored Bai Chen's excuses. Her palm became an afterimage as it smacked against him, making his cries echo through the little forest.
"Click."
Bronya, who had been watching from the side, used her phone to take a precious photo.
Kiana and Mei also tried to persuade Himeko to stop. After all, it had only been an accident.
After it was over, Himeko looked painfully at the damaged trees.
"Looks like my drinking money for next month is completely gone."
"Why do you have to pay, Himeko?"
Bai Chen asked curiously, grimacing as he supported himself against a tree.
"Because Himeko is your legal guardian."
Bronya answered from the side.
"?? Himeko is my legal guardian?!"
Bai Chen was dumbfounded. Himeko was his legal guardian? Since when?
"You didn't know?"
Bronya was the surprised one now. After all, Bai Chen's dorm room was next to Himeko's for that very reason. Had Himeko not told him something so important?
"I didn't know? Himeko doesn't even have a boyfriend, and she's my legal guardian?"
"No, you little brat, are you looking to die?"
Himeko appeared in front of Bai Chen as if she had teleported and punched him on the forehead.
Then, ignoring Bai Chen as he crouched down and clutched his head, she explained:
"When you first arrived, your identity was that of an orphan. Of course you needed a legal guardian, or even handling your enrollment would have been difficult!"
There were not many reliable people in all of St. Freya. They could not possibly let Theresa become his guardian, could they? Just imagining that scene made Himeko want to laugh.
Bai Chen's Daily Life
Bai Chen absentmindedly twirled the pen in his hand, wondering whether he should change what he called Himeko.
He could not keep calling her Himeko forever, could he? Calling her Aunt Himeko would definitely get him beaten up, while calling her sister felt like too much.
"Ugh."
Bai Chen slumped limply over his desk, not knowing what to do.
"Little Bai! I heard headquarters is sending an important person to inspect the teaching environment here."
Kiana popped up in front of Bai Chen excitedly. Who knew where she had heard the news?
"Isn't it just some leader coming to inspect the place?"
Drawing on his experience from his previous life, Bai Chen said indifferently. Wouldn't it just be a few potbellied old men wandering around the school and pointing at things? What was there to be excited about?
"You don't get it. The person coming is an S-rank Valkyrie. There aren't many of them in all of Schicksal."
Kiana put her hands on her hips, sounding somewhat angry. Her dream was to become Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, so she deeply admired S-rank Valkyries.
Only then did Bai Chen suddenly realize that this was a Valkyrie academy. He could not compare it to a school from his previous life.
"Whoosh!"
Bai Chen nervously stood up from his seat. An S-rank Valkyrie was coming to inspect the academy? There were only a few S-rank Valkyries publicly known at headquarters. Otto was not coming to pull something, was he?
No, Bai Chen felt that he needed to sound Fu Hua out.
"I don't know."
Fu Hua gave him an excellent answer.
"No way."
Without getting any useful information, Bai Chen said regretfully. That guy Otto was definitely up to no good. He could not clash with him yet.
"I only report information to Otto regularly. You know Otto too. He rarely tells me anything unless it concerns me."
Fu Hua placed her hand on Bai Chen's chest, synchronizing her memories with the Feather inside him. Then a trace of surprise appeared on her face. She had not expected Bai Chen to have gone through so much recently.
"Still, diligence leads to mastery, while idleness leads to ruin; success comes from careful thought, failure from thoughtless action. Bai Chen, you have become lazy these past few days."
Having observed Bai Chen's training over the past few days, Fu Hua sternly reprimanded him.
"Yes, sorry."
These past few days, he really had neglected his combat training because of Himeko and his loss of control during transformation.
"Words are useless! Since school is over now, make up everything you missed these past few days!"
Having made up her mind, Fu Hua dragged Bai Chen toward the training ground. Bai Chen's strength concerned their agreement, and she would not allow him to slack off!
"No!!"
Bai Chen reached toward the distance in despair. His usual daily training was already at his limit. If he had to make up the previous progress too, could he really get back before dinner?
"Wow, does Lady Fu Hua like younger guys?"
"True, little brother Bai Chen is quite lovable. If it were me, hehehe..."
"Ew, stay away from me."
The other students watching nearby discussed Bai Chen and Fu Hua. As qualified gossipers, they had already imagined several fanfics.
After the sun set, Bai Chen returned to the dorm in a sorry state. He had thought he would only get leftovers today.
Yet when he entered the kitchen, Bai Chen caught a faint scent of cherry blossoms. Yae Sakura was busy in the kitchen.
"Bai Chen, you're finally back."
Having just finished, Yae Sakura smiled as she placed the food on the table, signaling Bai Chen to come taste it.
"I saw you leave to train with Lady Fu Hua today, so I knew you would return late. That is why I took over Miss Mei's work and prepared it for you in advance."
Bai Chen eagerly stuffed the food into his mouth. The delicious flavor instantly struck his starving taste buds. It was a different kind of deliciousness from Mei's cooking.
"It's so good, Sakura! I've never tasted anything like this."
Bai Chen praised her while shoveling down food.
Yae Sakura merely smiled. "Then I'll cook for Bai Chen often from now on."
Looking at the child before her, who was much smaller than she was, Yae Sakura revealed an expression of heartache and faint nostalgia.
In truth, Yae Sakura had always wanted to repay Bai Chen's kindness, but whenever Bai Chen got into trouble, she had no way to help. Thus, she had continued taking care of him in daily life.
The more Yae Sakura cared for Bai Chen, the better she came to understand him. She discovered that he could be truly reckless at times, making people worry about him.
"I heard that Yuno, the girl you saved, is enrolling tomorrow. It seems she moved into the dorms tonight."
Unless Bai Chen called for her, Yae Sakura practically stayed beside Theresa every day. Naturally, she learned the news earlier than anyone else.
"Huh? Has she gotten over her psychological trauma?"
Bai Chen asked in surprise. Since returning, there had been almost no news about Yuno, and he had worried that she might become depressed.
"She hasn't completely recovered, but she's doing relatively well."
Yae Sakura looked at Bai Chen, a faintly unnatural expression appearing on her face. However, it vanished in an instant, and Bai Chen did not notice it.
"That's good. Professional matters really should be left to professionals."
As he sighed, Bai Chen also recalled his confrontation with Yuno. It had been absurd that he had angered someone with trash talk while trying to talk them down.
What a convenient ability. As long as he beat her up, it would work.
If he encountered something similar in the future, there would be no need for pointless talk. He could just beat them up and leave the therapy to someone else.
"Do you need me to scrub your back after dinner?"
"No!"
Bai Chen felt that those people sometimes absolutely treated him like a child! They had no sense of personal space! Although he did have a child's body right now, his soul was not a child's!
Afterward, the exhausted Bai Chen lay back down on his bed. With all his strength drained away, he quickly drifted into sleep...
Then he had a nightmare!
In the dream, he had lost his transformation ability and actually faced Herrscher Yuno again.
The crazed Yuno wrapped Bai Chen's body in vines, leaving him completely unable to resist. Without his special abilities, Bai Chen was like livestock waiting to be slaughtered before her.
"Aren't you strong? Now you're at my mercy!"
Yuno moved the trapped Bai Chen before her, cupped his cheeks, and smiled with a flushed face. Her predatory gaze unexpectedly filled Bai Chen with fear!
Bai Chen then woke from the bed with a pained expression and glanced outside. It was already light.
Though it had been an exhausting dream, he had still barely managed to get a good night's sleep...
Then Bai Chen discovered that he could not move. Someone was inside the covers!
Before you continue