Seeing that Gwen was fairly proficient with the terminal, Amber nodded lightly, put away the terminal on which she had received a message, and rose to her feet. "Today counts as completing part of your basic training. Tomorrow, a Valkyrie who will serve as your mentor will come find you and guide you through the remaining procedures.
The mission prompt should have arrived by now. Remember to check it before bed."
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."
Gwen nodded in agreement. Seeing Amber head for the door after finishing speaking, he hurriedly stood and followed her.
"Amber, slow down. I'll see you out."
"There is no need. I have lived at headquarters for decades and am familiar with everything here."
Amber shook her head lightly, indicating that she knew headquarters better than Gwen and You Lan Dai Er combined.
"You went through all the trouble of training me tonight. It wouldn't be right if I didn't even see you out..."
Faced with Amber's blunt honesty, Gwen could only put it that way.
"...All right..."
At that, Amber paused. After giving it some thought and deciding that he did have a point, she slowed down enough for Gwen to keep up with her.
You Lan Dai Er's Seriousness
From the sofa, You Lan Dai Er watched Gwen and Amber walk side by side. She blinked, then quickly got up and caught up to Gwen in a few steps.
"I'll see Amber out too. After all, I learned some knowledge today that I had overlooked before, so I gained something as well."
"Mm, let's go together."
Gwen nodded with a smile.
Listening to the two little ones beside her, Amber felt slightly at a loss in the face of such familiarity. Her pace unconsciously quickened a little more.
Even so, it was still slow enough for Gwen to follow easily.
"Amber, take care. I won't walk you any farther..."
A moment later, after waving Amber off, Gwen turned to the little Dumb Goose beside him.
"Bianca, it's getting late. You should head back and rest too. You still need to get up early for morning training tomorrow."
After knowing each other for a month, Gwen had gained a general understanding of You Lan Dai Er's daily routine through their usual conversations. He knew that, by her normal schedule, she would have already gone to bed long ago.
Hearing that, You Lan Dai Er, who had already been preparing to leave, smiled and nodded.
"Then... good night, Gwen.
Since a mentor will be coming to teach you tomorrow, I won't overstep my bounds.
But remember to get up early tomorrow. I'll take you through morning training."
"Then make sure you calculate the training volume properly. Be careful, or I might make you carry me back..."
Gwen said with a smile, having heard Rita mention You Lan Dai Er's superhuman training regimen.
"Don't worry! I won't make the same mistake again!"
Immediately understanding what Gwen meant, You Lan Dai Er waved her little fist and promised solemnly.
Gwen merely smiled without saying anything.
According to Rita, You Lan Dai Er, who had already been outstanding, had improved even more noticeably through her diligent training lately. Some Valkyries who admired her had sought her guidance, and You Lan Dai Er had generously taught them everything she knew.
The result was that the others found it difficult to complete the training plans You Lan Dai Er provided. Even those who barely managed to do so failed to gain the expected improvements from such excessive training.
Although the training had been stopped in time and no irreversible losses had resulted, You Lan Dai Er still took the matter deeply to heart as a warning to herself.
At the same time, after this incident, You Lan Dai Er gained a clearer understanding that she was different from others.
After returning home and washing up briefly, You Lan Dai Er did not go straight to sleep. Instead, she sat at her desk, recalled the physical data she had seen for Gwen, and began calculating the intensity of his morning training for tomorrow.
Meanwhile, unaware that a single remark of his had sent You Lan Dai Er into overtime, Gwen simply sorted through the things he had bought with You Lan Dai Er that evening, then washed up and went to bed.
According to the knowledge in Gwen's mind, although the Spirit Awakening Scripture could allow one to replace sleep with meditation at night and maintain a state of alertness, it did not require it—
Righteous cultivation was not something to be rushed. What mattered was gradual progress and letting things fall naturally into place at just the right moment.
So, compared with optional nighttime meditation, Gwen preferred proper rest—
Although a month of treatment had allowed Gwen's body to initially break free of its former frailty, congenital deficiencies and years of weakness could not be resolved in a single month.
For example, Gwen was already sixteen, yet he was still much shorter than You Lan Dai Er, who was even younger than him.
Even though Gwen knew that boys normally developed later than girls, he still did not want to take that gamble—
If he lost that bet, he might really end up only one and a half meters tall in the future.
While Gwen diligently slept for the sake of his height, Amber had just delivered her report to Otto.
"So, you have quite a good impression of that child?"
Listening to Amber's report, Otto lightly stroked his chin and asked softly.
"He is a very polite child, and quite intelligent as well."
Hearing Otto summarize her report, Amber nodded in affirmation.
Of course, there was one point Amber did not mention—or rather, had not realized herself. Gwen's face, which bore an eighty-percent resemblance to Otto's, gave him a considerable boost in her favor.
"If even you say that, Amber, then it seems I did not misjudge him..."
Otto laughed twice. Then, amid Amber's slightly puzzled gaze, he gave a light wave of his hand.
"All right, Amber. It is getting late. You should go rest too."
"Yes..."
Although she did not understand why Otto was laughing, Amber, already accustomed to obeying orders, nodded and quietly withdrew, her long legs clad in black thigh-high stockings moving soundlessly.
Before long, Otto was once again the only one left in the office.
"Whew..."
Letting out a long breath, Otto stretched and stared absentmindedly at the lights overhead, his thoughts having already drifted far away.
The friendship of the future's strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal, the favor of Schicksal's future bishop's assistant, and a marriage alliance with the Schariac family, which held considerable influence in both the hidden world and the ordinary world.
With these, Otto believed that even after he made his exit someday, Gwen would still be able to live a decent life.
However...
"It still isn't enough..."
Thinking over everything he had prepared for Gwen, Otto still shook his head lightly.
Having been humiliated time and again, Otto understood full well the uncertainty of plans. All of this looked wonderful, but there were still too many variables.
Moreover, even though he had planned everything well, Otto could not be sure whether this child carrying Kallen's blood would stand against him, the villain, just like his mother had...
"I still have a few carefree years. I can do a few more things..."
Looking at the information on the most important Experimental Subject at this stage in a confidential report, Otto lightly tapped his fingers against the desk as he made plans in his mind.
Ring-ring-ring~
At 6:10 in the morning, with dawn only beginning to break, a piercing alarm rang beside Gwen's ear and dragged him out of his dreams.
He slapped the top of the alarm clock, silencing it. Still bleary-eyed, Gwen climbed out of bed, washed his face with cool water, and finally woke himself up.
After washing up and changing into sportswear, Gwen headed out and happened to run into You Lan Dai Er, who was about to knock on his door.
"Good morning, Gwen!"
Her long golden hair tied into a high ponytail with a blue ribbon, You Lan Dai Er looked especially spirited in her fitted sportswear. Seeing Gwen come out, she greeted him with a smile.
"Good morning, Bianca."
Still a little sleepy, Gwen roused himself and returned You Lan Dai Er's smile.
"This is the plan I made last night based on your condition. Take a look and see whether you can accept it."
After greeting him, You Lan Dai Er took several neatly folded sheets of A4 paper from her pocket.
Gwen accepted the papers. Looking at the neat little writing and the somewhat rough but clearly thoughtful plan, he could not help asking in surprise, "Bianca, after you went back last night, you still spent time making a morning training plan for me?"
Familiar Exhaustion
"Of course."
You Lan Dai Er put her hands on her hips and spoke as though it were only natural.
"Your body is already in poor condition. If we do not plan things precisely and you train recklessly, you will only get half the results for twice the effort. You might even damage your vitality."
"Whew..."
After meeting those sky-blue eyes for a moment, Gwen let out a deep breath and said softly, "Thank you..."
With that, Gwen lowered his gaze to the few pages in his hands, which felt heavier than a thousand pounds, and carefully read through the morning training routine You Lan Dai Er had prepared for him.
"You're welcome!"
You Lan Dai Er only felt that she had done what she ought to do. She waved it off casually and waited for Gwen to finish reading.
During that time, several Valkyries who had also gotten up early for morning training passed by.
However, those seniors and classmates who normally loved teasing the straightforward You Lan Dai Er were unexpectedly restrained today. Most merely offered polite greetings before intentionally or unintentionally glancing at Gwen.
After all, in this world, women had a far higher chance of developing resistance to Honkai Energy than men.
Though Schicksal was not without male staff, the gender ratio was severely unbalanced. There were far too many wolves and far too little meat.
Under such circumstances, Gwen, this suddenly appearing beautiful young man, naturally drew countless gazes.
Naturally, Gwen, whose senses were incredibly sharp, clearly noticed every seemingly casual glance around him.
However, having long been mentally prepared for it, Gwen acted as though he felt nothing and simply continued carefully studying the plan You Lan Dai Er had prepared for him.
Gwen's calm composure in the face of strangers watching him also drew even more discussion from the observing Valkyries—
"Wow, he's one of those legendary pretty boys. Could little You Lan Dai Er be about to have some romantic luck?"
"He looks quite steady and mature. Maybe he's a precocious child..."
"I just wonder how his body is..."
"What are you thinking?
He's still a child!"
"What are you thinking?
I only meant that, judging from his build and appearance, he seems to be in poor health..."
As the Valkyries gradually walked away, chatting about both appropriate and inappropriate topics, Gwen, the center of their conversation, folded You Lan Dai Er's carefully prepared plan and slipped it into his pocket. Then he looked up at You Lan Dai Er.
"Bianca, I understand the plan. Let's begin."
"Mm? Don't you need me to explain the key points of the movements?"
You Lan Dai Er froze for a moment and asked instinctively.
"There's no need. I basically understand it."
Gwen shook his head and smiled.
"Just watch me carefully whenever we start a movement. If I do anything wrong, remind me in time."
Although mental strength could not directly make up for Gwen's physical weakness, it could help him learn faster.
Before you continue