Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of St. Freya Academy and fell across the spacious hallway. The young man stopped outside an office, took a deep breath, and gently knocked on the door.
"Come in." A gentle voice, tinged with childishness, came from inside. The young man pushed the door open and entered, but the spacious office was empty.
Just as he started to wonder, the voice came from beneath the desk again. "Where are you looking? I'm right here!" The young man stepped closer and sure enough, saw Theresa, who was so short she was easy to miss when seated in her office chair. She looked thoroughly annoyed.
"Sorry, sorry, Headmistress. You're just so short—oh, no, I mean, you sit so low that I didn't see you," the young man said with an ingratiating grin.
"Forget it. I doubt you'd dare say anything outrageous. Sit down." Theresa pointed to the chair in front of her desk and handed him a student ID.
He took the ID. It had only a few simple lines: Name: Sheng Jiu; Sex: Male; Class: St. Freya Academy, Class 8, Year 2014. Beside them were Schicksal's logo and a headshot.
"All right. Someone will come by shortly to show you around the academy and your classroom. Wait here. Oh, and you're the only male student at St. Freya now, so cheer up." Seeing Sheng Jiu staring at his ID, Theresa assumed he was dwelling on unpleasant memories from the past. She set down the manga she'd tucked into the file—Homu's Great Adventure—and tried to comfort him.
"No, Headmistress. I was just wondering which volume of Homu's Great Adventure you're on—"
"Drop dead!"
A book titled Hyperion Maintenance Manual shot toward Sheng Jiu's face. He ducked, avoiding it. "I-I wasn't reading manga! I was looking through the combat readiness files!" Theresa's cheeks flushed bright red when she realized he'd caught her in the act.
"Auntie! I'm here!"
Just then, the office door flew open, and a white-haired bundle of energy came charging in. "Auntie, what did you want me for? Did you agree to let Bronya pay me back for the instant noodles?"
"Kiana! How many times have I told you to call me Headmistress while you're at the academy?!"
Theresa stood on the other side of the desk, looking as if she might draw Judah for some reason. Kiana didn't dare say another word. She lowered her head and stood obediently to one side. "Auntie—oh, I mean, Headmistress. Did you need me?"
Seeing Kiana bow her head, Theresa let out a helpless sigh and pointed to Sheng Jiu, who was sitting nearby, looking bewildered. "Let me introduce you. This is Sheng Jiu, a new student at St. Freya. He's been assigned to your class, so show him around and help him get settled. You'll be classmates from now on, so get along, okay?"
Only then did Kiana notice Sheng Jiu, whom she'd overlooked earlier. She looked from him to Theresa, her voice rising an octave. "Huh? Seriously? Auntie, didn't you say St. Freya only accepted girls? Why are you taking boys now? What if some guy steals Yae Sakura away?"
"Ahem. This is the office, Kiana. Please watch what you say."
Kiana's blunt remark in front of Sheng Jiu left Theresa a little embarrassed. She tapped the desktop lightly. "Sheng Jiu is an exception. His Honkai Energy adaptability is 95 percent. How many men in the whole world do you think have such high compatibility? That's why I made an exception and let him enroll. As for your second question... I refuse to answer. All right, hurry up and take him away. I still have work to do."
Kiana looked as if she wanted to say more, but Theresa had already dismissed them. After seeing Theresa's kindly threatening smile, Kiana turned to Sheng Jiu with a disgruntled look. "You. Come with me."
"O-Okay." Sheng Jiu hurried to his feet and followed Kiana out of the office.
"Hey, is your compatibility really 95 percent?" Kiana asked, giving Sheng Jiu, who was walking beside her, a curious look.
"Uh, I guess so. I'm not sure how accurate that machine is."
The white-haired girl beside him was pretty, lively, and outgoing. For some reason, Sheng Jiu felt he could trust her. Kiana held out her hand to him. "Never mind. Since you're in our class now, we're classmates. I'm Kiana Kaslana."
Sheng Jiu quickly shook her hand. "I'm Sheng Jiu. I look forward to getting along with you."
"I heard you're from Changkong City too. Which school did you go to?"
"I didn't go to school. I lived in an orphanage. As far back as I can remember, my parents weren't around."
Kiana hadn't expected that answer. She lowered her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"Hey, it's fine. It's nothing. Maybe my parents are just busy and don't have time to visit me." Sheng Jiu smiled cheerfully.
Kiana saw that she and the guy seemed to get along, so she patted Sheng Jiu's shoulder warmly. "From now on, everyone at this academy is your friend. If you need help, just ask. I'll do everything I can. But you're not allowed to steal Yae Sakura from me, or I won't go easy on you!" As she spoke, she showed him what she considered a very impressive fist.
Sheng Jiu smiled and shook his head. "I don't even know who Yae Sakura is. How could I steal her from you? Introduce us sometime, and I'll help you figure things out."
"That's even worse!" Kiana shook her head like a rattle. "Why?"
"What if you take one look at Yae Sakura and fall in love with her? No way, no way!"
"Do I... really look like the kind of guy who falls for someone that easily?"
"You really do! Aren't most men just womanizers?"
"..."
Inside the nearby classroom building, Theresa watched the two of them getting along and nodded with satisfaction before turning away.
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