Floating Islands Above the Mediterranean

"Another mission accomplished~" the white-haired girl chirped, skipping along the land bathed in dawn light. Her hair bounced and fluttered in the air with each joyful leap.

The young man adjusted the strap on his shoulder, securing the katana on his back, and offered a similarly relaxed smile.

Suddenly, the girl turned around and yelled from afar, "Big—lazy—bones, hurry up! This lady wants ice cream!"

Sheng Jiu chuckled helplessly and quickened his pace to catch up with Kiana…

A month had passed since Sheng Jiu, Kiana, and Theresa returned from Changkong City. By now, Sheng Jiu and Kiana were capable of handling small-scale Honkai Beast suppression missions in surrounding areas. They had just finished a mission to suppress the living dead in Hokkaido and were returning to St. Freya Academy.

"So tired, so tired! Yae Sakura, I'm so hungry~" Kiana collapsed onto Yae Sakura as soon as she entered, acting spoiled.

"Idiot Kiana, Bronya and Yae Sakura just finished a mission too." Kiana felt pressure on the back of her head and angrily pushed away the muzzle of the Heavy Trooper Bunny. She retorted indignantly, "Tch, this lady and the big lazybones just took on a mission to hunt living dead. Do you even understand the value of that mission!"

"Bronya and Yae Sakura took on a mission to hunt Honkai Beasts. Idiot Kiana isn't qualified to take on that mission."

"You!"

"Alright, alright," Yae Sakura quickly intervened, "You've worked hard. Sheng Jiu, Kiana didn't cause you any trouble, did she?"

Sheng Jiu opened a can of iced cola and waved his hand with a smile, "It's fine, Yae Sakura. Ms. Grasshopper is quite reliable, no… Ouch!"

"Who are you calling Grasshopper!" Kiana lunged at Sheng Jiu with flailing arms, but he dodged her nimbly.

"Okay, okay, you two, come eat," Yae Sakura said gently.

At the dinner table, everyone ate and chatted, the atmosphere harmonious, but only temporarily.

"Hey, hand over your chicken leg, or don't blame me for being rude!"

"What? You already ate the one Yae Sakura gave you, and now you want mine? Not a chance!" Sheng Jiu desperately resisted Kiana's chopsticks, determined to protect his chicken leg.

Their chopsticks soon began a battle on the table, fighting from beside the black pepper steak all the way to the miso soup, still evenly matched. The battle finally ended when the Heavy Trooper Bunny's claws clamped down on both their hands.

"Huh? Where are Himeko and the Headmaster? Why aren't they here?" Yae Sakura asked Bronya curiously, looking at the two empty seats at the table.

Just then, the door opened, and Theresa and Himeko walked in with heavy dark circles under their eyes.

"Eh? Why do you two look like pandas?" Sheng Jiu stared at the two as they sat down, looking incredulous. "I thought you two usually finished work right at nine."

"Don't even mention it," Himeko said, reaching for a can of beer, but Theresa slapped it away. She could only glumly stir her miso soup, "Headquarters just sent a message asking our Headmaster to go to HQ for a detailed report on the mission to hunt a Pseudo-Herrscher. And you know, our Headmaster is completely clueless about these things, so she dragged me along all night to write the report."

Theresa's cheeks flushed like ripe apples. "I-I'm not clueless, I just asked Himeko to help me brainstorm. What are you all laughing at! And you, Sheng Jiu, you're coming with me too. The people at HQ said they want to check the various indicators of Jueying!"

"No, Headmaster, I want to go back to sleep. Tomorrow is the weekend…"

Three hours later, Kiana and the others reluctantly bid farewell to Sheng Jiu and Theresa as they boarded the Hyperion.

Kiana fumbled to straighten Sheng Jiu's uniform, like a worried mother fussing over her son, "Listen to your superiors when you get there. I'll take good care of your snacks. Oh, and remember to bring me that shrimp pizza from there! And also, I heard the tomato and cheese pasta at HQ is delicious, so remember to pack some for me…"

"Got it, got it. We're leaving now, bye!" Sheng Jiu waved from the window. Everyone watched as the white behemoth slowly ascended and disappeared from view.

Sheng Jiu lay down in his cabin on the Hyperion and quickly fell asleep… A few hours later, a sleeping Sheng Jiu was woken by Theresa, "Wake up, we're almost there."

"Mmm? Oh, let me see… What?!" The view outside the window made Sheng Jiu's jaw drop.

The battleship had sailed over the Mediterranean Sea, and before them lay a vast expanse of floating islands, so grand in scale that Sheng Jiu mistook it for an entire floating city.

"That's right, this is Schicksal's headquarters. Schicksal's headquarters is a massive cluster of floating islands above the Mediterranean Sea. It's Schicksal's administrative center and the organization's most core research facility. Its mission is to fight the Honkai, and it operates day in and day out," Theresa said proudly, pointing to the floating islands below. "Alright, let's prepare to land."