Unresolved Regret

"Mhm. Your body is very healthy. Although you were briefly eroded by Honkai Energy, there are no lasting effects."

After checking Su Qing'an's physical data, Changguang nodded in satisfaction.

"The data from this time is very valuable for reference. Although the composite sword - Xuanwu - is broken, being able to withstand three levels of attack for one second before melting is already a huge improvement. After all, it's a mass-produced weapon, and this is pretty much the limit for it right now."

The limit Changguang Changchuan mentioned was naturally not the true limit. As long as she wanted, she could still improve the strength of mass-produced weapons, but further improvement would have little meaning. Ultimately, with her skill level, specializing in high-level weapons was the right path.

"Alright, Fu Hua, your mission is also complete. Report to the Headmaster, and you'll be fine."

"As for you, leave your sword here. Come pick it up in three days. I'll do my best to forge a good sword for you based on your physical data." The girl patted the shoulders of the boy sitting on the ground, a confident smile of a top blacksmith on her face.

"Then I'll trouble you, Miss Changguang." Su Qing'an replied. He could vaguely recognize the blacksmith before him as a character from a set of stigmata in the game.

Combined with this famous name from Japanese history, it was not difficult to imagine how powerful her craftsmanship was. The fact that [Calming the Tempest], a weapon of great significance to him, could be reforged by her hands was an unexpected joy.

After the two left, looking at the wreckage of the weapon on the ground, Changguang Changchuan muttered to herself, "Fortunately, although there was a deviation from expectations, it wasn't too much. If it had been worse, I would have had to use anti-Honkai serum to inject him."

"In that case, I'd probably be scolded by that short, protective little brat Theresa."

Her fingers caressed the fragments of [Calming the Tempest], and the girl narrowed her eyes as if she had seen something interesting. "It's Shenzhou's sword forging technique. It's been a while since I've been there, but the forging skill of this sword can unexpectedly give me some inspiration."

"Then I'll just get serious and go all out again."

Completely ignoring the fact that she hadn't slept for days, Changguang Changchuan said excitedly, then walked towards the forging platform.

In every sense, this woman was a pure blacksmith. Compared to fighting the Honkai and protecting the world, crafting the best swords and blades in the world was what she cared about more.

"Headmaster Theresa, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." The girl said after reporting Changguang's mission results.

"Hmph. That guy is still so willful, making my cute students test such strange and dangerous weapons. I'll cut her funding sooner or later to make her a little more restrained."

Saying something that was likely impossible, Theresa gestured for the boy to lower his head. When he obediently complied, she patted his head with her young, tender hand, a cute expression of "I've got your back" on her face.

Normally, Theresa was too approachable at the academy, appearing lacking in authority. Some students even saw her as a cute little child.

Therefore, for serious and stern individuals like Su Qing'an and Fu Hua, although she seemed a bit unaccustomed and overwhelmed on the surface, she was secretly a little proud.

Even though she wasn't the type to put on airs, being treated this way made her feel happy involuntarily. This feeling was different from the joy of mingling with the students.

However, in Theresa's heart, all her students were important.

Understanding her own innocence, she didn't want to abandon it. For this utopia she had built, she was willing to become a Rakshasa when necessary. The title of former S-rank Valkyrie was not just for show.

"Headmaster, Sister Himeko must have told you about my willful request, right?" Su Qing'an said.

"Mhm. You want to go back to Senba Academy to see it again," Theresa said, her smile fading. She looked directly at the boy's face and asked with some confusion, "What's the reason? You should know that you're the only survivors from Changkong City. What's the point of you going back? There's only ruins and wandering Honkai Beasts left there."

"Even if there were your friends there before, now they're just lost corpses or Mortals," the girl said indifferently, her words piercing the core of the issue like a scalpel.

"Satou Yunona was an ordinary high school student, just my ordinary friend," he said, his dark eyes calm, his tone indifferent. "I know she's dead, maybe a corpse, maybe a Mortal."

"I understand all of this. It's just that I can't find peace without seeing it one last time."

"Can't find peace?" The girl silently repeated Su Qing'an's answer, only to find herself speechless for a moment.

Can't find peace. What a pure and pointless, naive and meaningless reason.

But the woman named Theresa Apocalypse could not refute it. Wasn't she also founded St. Freya Academy because she couldn't find peace?

In January 2000, for the innocent children in Babylon Laboratory, she applied to her grandfather for an artificial island in the Far East, intending to establish an academy here to teach girls with Honkai Energy adaptability how to control their powers.

The reason was simple: to allow them to return to normal life one day, or to become excellent Valkyries.

But as time passed, although this original intention remained unchanged, another reason was added.

In Destiny, Valkyries were like tools of war. Their lifespans were like the expiration dates on food in the eyes of those in power.

They continuously and relentlessly used those children as weapons against the Honkai. The so-called Valkyries were like cheap goods, constantly thrown into the meat grinder of the Honkai. Disposable consumables were nothing more than this.

For the Valkyries who left this world at a young age fighting the Honkai, and to find peace for herself, unable to accept Destiny's actions, yet unable to find a better way to fight the Honkai, she could only persist with St. Freya Academy, a somewhat deformed Valkyrie training school within Destiny.

It was simply impossible not to have students as willful as herself, given her own willful nature.

Finally, Theresa Apocalypse nodded and said, "Heh heh, although it's indeed a meaningless and willful request, I agree."

"However, you can only go after Changguang finishes forging your weapon."

"Don't let her unreliable appearance fool you, her craftsmanship is top-tier in the world. With the weapon she reforges, you'll be safer when you go out."

"Mhm. Thank you, Headmaster Theresa." Su Qing'an naturally wouldn't refuse such a suggestion that was entirely for his safety.

In this world, gradually being destroyed by the Honkai and teetering on the brink, building bonds with people he would never have met, a strange feeling arose in Su Qing'an's heart.

If it was a world like this...

Then he seemed to have a reason to protect it.