You Invited Me, I'm in Honkai, Leveling Up Stats

Without a doubt, this weathered middle-aged man was Siegfried, the former Caslana patriarch, who had secretly protected Kiana all the way from Russia to the Far East.

Perhaps he hadn't given it much thought before, but when Otto played the family card, Siegfried finally realized with clarity that he was not only an unqualified husband and father, but also not a qualified patriarch.

Besides his wife and daughter, he had also let down his own mother—

Although it was against his will and he had no choice, he had truly thrown away the hundreds of years of honor of the Caslana family.

Because of this, although Siegfried was angered by Otto's manipulation of the Caslana family, he surprisingly didn't harbor much ill will towards Gwen, and even felt sympathy—

In Siegfried's view, whether Gwen was a genuinely lost member of the clan or an experimental subject created by Otto, she was merely a pawn used against him. To bear the honor of the Caslana family that he himself had lost, she was just a pitiable child.

Even more so, Siegfried harbored some hope that the unverified information in the intelligence reports was true.

If that were the case, at least Gwen could once again shoulder the honor of the Caslana family—

Although Siegfried was rebellious since childhood, the honor of the family was deeply ingrained in his heart. Whether it was his acts of bravery while running away from home or his teachings to Kiana, the honor of the Caslana family had influenced him.

Chapter 75 Theresa: This is too hard for me

His youthful escape from responsibility, his shameless return to the family as a young man, his drunken despair after his wife's death, and finally his blatant defection...

Even if Siegfried could comfort himself by saying that he had educated the artificial Herrscher nurtured by Otto into a Caslana with a sense of justice, and that he had done nothing wrong, and that allowing Otto to continue his experiments would only bring greater disaster to the world, he could not deny that in the worldly sense, he had completely disgraced the thousand-year honor of the Caslana family!

As the saying goes, "Some things weigh nothing until you put them on the scale, then they're too heavy to lift," Siegfried, who subconsciously avoided this matter, wouldn't even think about it if no one brought it up.

But when Otto played this card of family honor, it almost suffocated the man who had once almost torn apart the Second Herrscher, and who, even in his weakened state, was about to revive.

In this small, cramped room, Siegfried's burly body was curled up, as if he were not the strongest man in the world, but that little boy who hadn't yet thought of running away from home...

Under the immense pressure, after two bottles of beer, Siegfried was already hopelessly drunk, collapsing on the tatami mat and clutching the twin pistols he had taken with him when he defected.

In a daze, Siegfried seemed to return to the time when he first saw these Heavenly Fire Judgments from his mother, and saw the figure he could now only find in his dreams—

"Mom... I miss you so much..."

This time, the battle-scarred man did not dream of his wife who died in battle, but of his mother who died young, as if he had become that child again...

Meanwhile, at the St. Freya Academy's tarmac in the Far East, a white-haired, blue-eyed girl dressed in an exquisite nun's habit, as cute as a doll, stood before several outstanding students and Valkyries who had been rigorously selected, waving goodbye to the red-haired older sister who had come to see them off:

"Himeko, while I'm away, St. Freya Academy will be in your care!"

Although it looked like a heartwarming scene of a young girl going off to study and waving goodbye to her family, the smile on the lips of one of the protagonists, Himeko Sarugami, carried a hint of helplessness.

However, despite her reluctant smile, Himeko still chose to give Theresa plenty of face in front of the students and subordinates—

"Yes, while you're away, I'll manage St. Freya Academy well.

This time, all branches have selected their most outstanding Valkyries to go to headquarters for training. Theresa, when you get to headquarters, remember to keep an eye on the children and don't let them get bullied."

Although Himeko believed her students were all excellent, she also knew that compared to the new Valkyries trained in the high-intensity military training of other branches, the children from the Far East branch were still too immature.

And young people were bound to be hot-headed. If any conflict arose, the children from the Far East branch would likely suffer. That's why Himeko didn't stop Theresa, even though she knew Theresa was personally leading the team and intended to dump all her accumulated work on her.

"Don't worry."

Hearing this, Theresa puffed out her small chest, patted it firmly, and with a proud smile on her lips, "Who dares to bully my people at headquarters? Don't they know who I am?"

"Alright, alright, Principal Theresa is invincible, happy now?"

To this, Himeko could only smile and tease, then glanced at her watch and said, "It's almost time, you should board quickly. I need to get back to work."

"Everyone, say goodbye to Teacher Himeko."

Hearing this, Theresa's rising momentum immediately weakened, and she turned her gaze to the girls behind her and said.

Hearing this, the girls immediately said in unison, "Goodbye, Teacher!"

Their voices were not earth-shattering, but they carried the unique aura of soldiers.

However, within this aura, there was a discordant note—

Amidst the energetic voices, there was a somewhat cold voice, which even the steady voice of Fu Hua beside her couldn't suppress.

"..."

Looking at the black-haired girl in the group, who exuded a cold aura and had an icy expression, Theresa habitually opened her mouth to reprimand her:

"Huohuo..."

However, after just calling out the girl's name and meeting the girl's stubborn red eyes, Theresa chose to give up, as if nothing had happened, and waved her hand—

"Let's go!"

With Theresa's order, the ten Valkyries and reserve Valkyries, selected by St. Freya Academy, began to board the plane in formation.

Even the black-haired girl, who looked very cold, didn't cause any more trouble and boarded behind Fu Hua.

"Sigh..."

After all the girls had boarded, Theresa finally let out a long sigh—

Being the principal was too difficult for her. She had to rack her brains to squeeze in leisure and relaxation time for the students within the required training volume, and also had to coordinate the students' relationships, trying to prevent the campus bullying prevalent in the Far East from spreading to St. Freya Academy and causing problem children. She also had to take care of these problem children, leaving her exhausted both physically and mentally every day. It was rare for her to steal a moment of leisure to read a comic without having to guard against Himeko...

"Theresa, keep an eye on Huohuo. Her personality makes her an easy target for bullying."

Unaware that Theresa was already mentally dissecting her, Himeko glanced behind Theresa to confirm everyone had boarded the aircraft. Only then did she step closer and whisper, "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Theresa nodded, her small face etched with seriousness.

"I'm going to headquarters this time to see if Grandpa has any ideas. After all, he's the best at manipulating people."

Even though passing off her problematic student's issues to her grandfather was a highly dangerous move, Theresa, having exhausted all other options, decided to try this last resort—

While Theresa herself had been ostracized as a child, meeting Cecilia had resolved all her problems. Theresa had plenty of experience with being bullied, but when it came to resolving it, she had some methods, though their effectiveness... well, they certainly hadn't worked on the black-haired girl in their group.

The girl's full name was Wuse Huohuo, born into an ancient family in the Far East. Legend had it that they were once a renowned demon-slaying clan in Shinon, but they fell into decline and were gradually forgotten due to a calamity known as Honkai. It wasn't until Destiny's influence officially expanded into the Far East that this family, rediscovered by Destiny, was revived and integrated into Destiny, adopting the surname "Wuse."

Due to family circumstances, Wuse Huohuo was disliked and ostracized by some students from lower-class backgrounds, which gradually made her become cold and distant.

Chapter 76: Day XXXX Since Cecilia's Departure, I Miss Her

If not for the care of Theresa, who poured her energy into the students' psychological well-being as both the headmistress and the director of the Far East branch, and the comfort provided by Himeko, a good teacher, Wuse Huohuo would likely have developed severe psychological issues under the overt and covert bullying. Instead, she was merely cold.

Theresa had certainly considered ways to help Wuse Huohuo overcome her difficulties. However, having also experienced ostracism herself, Theresa knew that such problems couldn't be solved through mere administrative means. After trying all the methods she had used in the past without success, Theresa, at her wit's end, decided to try and replicate her past experience with Cecilia.

However, the very first step of her plan proved to be a major hurdle—

She couldn't find anyone like Cecilia, who was both gentle and powerful, and possessed high prestige, to help Wuse Huohuo out of her predicament. Theresa understood that without these conditions, the person attempting to help would only find themselves in an awkward position. But finding someone like Cecilia was far from easy. Thus, Theresa's plan had to be put on hold.

Later, Theresa managed to find a "youthful and vibrant" alternative—

Fu Hua, a student from Shenzhou. While nowhere near as gentle as Cecilia, her strength was enough to make the primary instigators of Wuse Huohuo's bullying hide their intentions. Furthermore, with her androgynous, handsome appearance and steady, reliable personality, she had earned the trust of others, making her a passable "youthful and vibrant" version of Cecilia.

However, although Fu Hua agreed to Theresa's request, her personality meant she couldn't provide Wuse Huohuo with the same level of comfort that Cecilia had given Theresa. She could only offer simple kindness to Wuse Huohuo, as she did with everyone else, and try to alleviate some of her troubles.

The result was that after half a year, while Wuse Huohuo's situation had slightly improved, it remained far from ideal, and her personality hadn't changed much. She had simply gained Fu Hua as a friend she could talk to, in addition to her previous solitude— much like Fu Hua's attitude towards others around her: neither close nor distant.

This outcome left Theresa with a wry smile, abandoning her plan and once again reminiscing about Cecilia. Coincidentally, news arrived from headquarters about the opening of an advanced training program, which sparked the idea in Theresa to ask her not-so-good grandfather if he had any solutions. In Theresa's opinion, Wuse Huohuo's current personality could cause even greater problems if she were to enter active duty. Compared to that, begging her grandfather wasn't such a big deal.

Moreover, if anyone had connections, it would be headquarters. Not to mention the three great families, but which families that survived her grandfather's Great Purge hadn't faithfully sent their talents to headquarters? Perhaps in a headquarters filled with kindred spirits in a different sense, Huohuo's personality issues could be resolved. With such expectations, Theresa bid farewell to Himeko and boarded the plane to headquarters.

On the plane, watching the white clouds drift by outside the window, the young headmistress, troubled by how to educate her problematic student, sighed silently once more. Although she placed great importance on her students' psychological development, Theresa's return to headquarters this time wasn't solely for Wuse Huohuo, a student she had high hopes for.

Theresa had received the same information that Siegfried had obtained through Anti-Entropy. She was suspicious of this news, which her grandfather had likely deliberately let her know. She doubted both Gwen's rapid promotion to A-rank within two years and his identity. Theresa herself was a product of genetic engineering, which made it hard for her not to suspect that the rumored genius living in seclusion shared her origins and was being used by her grandfather as a pawn for the Caslana name.

Furthermore, Theresa strongly suspected that her grandfather was planning to leverage this situation to lure out Siegfried, who was somewhere out there. Both Otto's potential preparations to manipulate the dwindling honor of the Caslana family and his suspected move against Siegfried fueled Theresa's urge to return to headquarters and see her grandfather, whom she hadn't met in years. These three matters combined ultimately led Theresa to decide to return to headquarters—

In Theresa's view, Wuse Huohuo had the potential to become a new S-rank in the future, and it would be best to resolve her personality issues to prevent greater tragedies on the battlefield later on. Although Theresa, as the clan leader of the Apocalipsis family, had no interest in family matters, her knowledge of history made her unwilling to see the Caslana family, which had protected humanity for generations, be further manipulated by her grandfather after their decline. As for Siegfried... if not for Cecilia's sake, Theresa wouldn't bother with him at all...

With her heart full of worries, Theresa watched the clouds outside, her thoughts drifting further away...

"Headmistress? Headmistress?"

A calm voice, accompanied by a gentle shake, woke Theresa, who had unknowingly closed her eyes. However, this gentle way of waking someone clearly didn't allow for immediate clarity. Rubbing her sleepy eyes with her small hands, Theresa mumbled, "Cecilia, have we arrived yet..."

"Principal, we've arrived at headquarters. Everyone has disembarked and is waiting for you."

Watching Theresa's childlike behavior, which matched her appearance, Fu Hua remained calm and reminded her.

"Huh?

Ack!"

Theresa, finally snapping back to attention, let out a surprised yelp before quickly covering her mouth and widening her eyes nervously.

Only after realizing Fu Hua was the only one in front of her with a calm expression did Theresa breathe a sigh of relief. She straightened her clothes, stood up, and waved her little hand:

"Let's go."

Theresa believed she understood Fu Hua well enough to know she wasn't the type to spread gossip.

In this situation, rather than trying to explain and making herself awkward, it was better to pretend nothing had happened.

After disembarking, Theresa once again, with no small amount of patience, repeated the precautions before leading the students toward the dormitories arranged for the trainees of the Far East Branch by the system.

Theresa felt a pang of melancholy seeing so few familiar faces on the way, thinking how things had changed. But as they approached the dormitory building, her pupils suddenly constricted—

At the intersection ahead, a young man with white hair and blue eyes, dressed in a black training uniform, was strolling toward them carrying two plastic bags.

Comparing him with the photo she had seen, Theresa immediately confirmed his identity. It was Gwen, one of the main reasons she had come to headquarters.