Honkai, I Alone Save Everything

Himeko noticed the change in her expression and asked curiously.

The white-haired girl shook her head and replied:

"It's nothing, um, let's leave it at that. Recruit these two children into the academy as well. Later... I'll speak with them individually."

Chapter 15: The Maid

"...So that's how it is."

After learning the aftermath of his fainting from Yae Sakura, Ming Yu understood why he was brought aboard the Hyperion.

It was because he had intercepted that batch of Titan Mechas, and coupled with the timely arrival of the Schicksal team, they had thwarted Cocolia's plan to recapture the Herrscher of Thunder.

Well, although he hadn't met her yet, Ming Yu estimated that Bronya had likely snuck aboard as well, posing as a survivor.

While her aptitude for Honkai energy was far inferior to Kiana and Mei's, compared to the other two, she had undergone long-term training from Cocolia. Naturally, she possessed the qualifications to study at St. Freya Academy.

However, Ming Yu knew that Cocolia, that old hag, would not give up just because of this failure.

In his memory alone, this person stained with blood would continue to try more methods to obtain the power of the Herrscher in the future.

These included, but were not limited to, dispatching clones of the Joyce series to attack St. Freya Academy in an attempt to abduct Mei, planning to use the core of the Herrscher of Death in Singapore to recreate the tragedy of Changkong City, and... stealing the Gem of Desire from Wendy.

It could be said that most of the early events were caused by this person.

On the contrary, Otto, the mastermind behind the mastermind, had hardly caused any trouble during the time the "Big Three" were studying at St. Freya Academy.

After all, that man wanted Kiana to have as happy a time as possible at the academy. The deeper her feelings for those around her, the more likely it was that the obedient Herrscher of the Void he wished to create would appear when the Queen descended.

So, perhaps there was no need to worry too much about what Otto might be up to now...

Ming Yu mused.

Of course, this was only the general information he had, and the future remained uncertain.

In any case, now that he was on the Hyperion's "pirate ship," it shouldn't be difficult to get into St. Freya Academy afterward.

Ming Yu recalled the ability to control electricity and magnetism he had acquired. He extended a finger with interest, wanting to summon an electric current.

Unfortunately, the dancing electric light did not appear at his fingertips as expected.

It seemed that because he had fired that Railgun which destroyed the tactical mecha, he was still in an overloaded state.

This situation could probably be described as being "out of battery."

There was no choice but to wait until he had recovered before properly studying this ability.

"By the way, Miss Sakura, what are your plans afterward?"

Ming Yu looked at the pink-haired girl standing, or rather, floating, by his bedside.

Although their goals were different, this shrine maiden had indeed helped him considerably.

"Ming Yu, you plan to go to what they call St. Freya Academy, right? I... I think I should probably go there too."

Yae Sakura hesitated for a moment before explaining:

"Among the three people who came to rescue you and the other two girls, there was a white-haired girl... I'm very curious. From her, I felt the aura of a close friend I once had."

If nothing unexpected happened, she was referring to Theresa, as the eternally youthful girl truly had Kallen's blood flowing through her veins.

Well, this might be a good thing?

However, she probably wouldn't be able to appear in her true form for the time being, as she was still in a rather weak state.

Furthermore, appearing on this ship with the appearance of a fox-eared shrine maiden would inevitably cause a stir.

"In any case, until we get to the academy, you should temporarily attach yourself to me."

As for what would happen after arriving there, they would deal with it then.

After all, St. Freya Academy was quite large... perhaps Yae Sakura would become a ghost story on campus?

Just then, Ming Yu heard the sound of a door opening.

Yae Sakura immediately dispersed her spiritual body and hid back inside Ming Yu's body.

...Who could it be?

Theresa? Himeko? Or Kiana or Mei...

Right, because he was interrupted by those Titan Mechas, he hadn't had a chance to ask about Mei's condition...

As Ming Yu was thinking, a familiar yet unexpected figure appeared before his eyes.

A black silk maid outfit adorned with roses, short silver-gold hair, wine-red pupils, and an elegant yet polite smile.

Schicksal's S-Rank Valkyrie, Rita Rossweisse!

Why was she here?

Ming Yu was utterly confused.

"You're awake, Mr. Ming Yu."

Rita approached the bed, holding a bowl of nutritional porridge.

"Hello, may I ask who you are..."

Ming Yu asked with a look of bewilderment.

Seeing the other party slightly purse her lips and smile, she replied with a faint smile, "I'm just a maid responsible for taking care of people. You can call me Rita."

...Not many people can withstand your care.

Ming Yu silently grumbled inwardly, then said, "Thank you, Miss Rita."

Unlike people like Himeko and Theresa from the pure Far East faction, and unlike warriors like Fu Hua who, while following Otto's arrangements, had their own ideas, Rita basically represented the Schicksal headquarters, or rather, Otto's will.

Therefore, her appearance here must have been due to the will of the Schicksal Bishop.

Did she come to investigate the situation of the Third Herrscher? Or to monitor Kiana's condition?

Or perhaps... both?

"You are quite fatigued, and you need to rest well. Before returning to St. Freya Academy, please rest here properly."

Rita said politely.

"...St. Freya Academy?"

Ming Yu asked knowingly.

"It is an academy that cultivates warriors to fight Honkai. Miss Theresa, the leader of the academy, thinks highly of you all."

Rita said with a smile, "After all, a genuine Herrscher-level Honkai energy signal was detected on you."

"..."

Ming Yu thought for a moment. The reason for the Honkai energy signal was probably due to Yae Sakura.

Although she couldn't exert her authority now, Higokumaru was indeed a genuine Herrscher of Corruption in the past. It was normal to detect Honkai energy fluctuations similar to the Herrscher of Thunder.

In terms of abilities, he had even unleashed a Railgun with considerable power in front of everyone on the Hyperion.

Obviously, from an outsider's perspective, Ming Yu probably had an inexplicable relationship with the Herrscher of Thunder in various senses.

So, was Theresa planning to include both himself and Mei within her scope of surveillance and education...

Wait, would he also have a bomb implanted in his heart that would automatically explode upon detecting high-intensity Honkai energy?

Ming Yu shook his head.

In any case, although there seemed to be various wonderful misunderstandings, his plan to enter St. Freya Academy had indeed been half-successful.

As Ming Yu was pondering alone, a peculiar fragrance drew his consciousness back to reality.

He had been too busy trying to find a way to survive before, and hadn't paid much attention to food.

Now that he was in a safe environment, people, when well-fed and warm, tend to have other desires...

"Rita has some other matters to attend to. Please enjoy, Mr. Ming Yu."

The girl with dark golden hair placed the nutritional porridge by Ming Yu's bed and then politely excused herself.

After watching Rita leave, Ming Yu picked up the nutritional porridge from the bedside table.

He was contemplating the meaning of Rita's visit to his room to talk to him.

—This meticulous Valkyrie never did anything superfluous.

Did she want to observe and gather information about him up close because he displayed unusual abilities during the Changkong City incident?

Perhaps his abilities, which resembled those of a Herrscher, had caught Rita's attention.

While thinking, Ming Yu subconsciously brought a spoonful of porridge to his mouth.

Wait, what is this heavenly delicacy...?!

—I almost forgot, Rita is a top chef on par with Mei.

So, so delicious...

Chapter 16 Interlude: Love = Curse

A few days later, the Mediterranean Sea, high altitude, Schicksal Headquarters.

This cluster of giant floating islands situated over the Mediterranean Sea served as both Schicksal's administrative center and the organization's core research facility.

With the mission to fight Honkai, it operated day after day, without interruption.

Of course, at this stage, the vast majority of ordinary people were still unaware of the existence of Honkai.

All Honkai disasters had been tacitly covered up by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy as natural disasters.

Well, in a sense, they did belong to natural disasters.

And in the center of this floating island, in the command center belonging to the Schicksal Bishop—

"...That concludes the intelligence report on the Changkong City Honkai incident, Bishop."

A tall woman with dark golden hair reported her observations to the other party.

She is one of Schicksal's current S-Rank Valkyries, Rita Rossweisse.

Carrying out a mission entrusted to her by Schicksal's Bishop, she headed to Changkong City under the guise of assisting the Far East Branch in handling Herrscher incidents.

This was a reasonable and legitimate excuse that wouldn't arouse anyone's suspicion.

She perfectly completed the task of searching for survivors, just as she had done in every mission before.

However, what Theresa and the others didn't know was that Rita had arrived in Changkong City much, much earlier than them.

Rita stated methodically, "I infiltrated ME Corp for an investigation. Although most of the operational records have been erased... I was able to find a few clues, enough to prove that this Honkai outbreak was not a natural occurrence, but a man-made disaster."

According to the residual data she obtained, a batch of devices containing high concentrations of Honkai energy had been secretly transported from ME Corp to Chiba Academy under the pretense of providing aid.

"Heh heh... A political power struggle within Anti-Entropy?"

The blonde man leisurely swiped through the screen in his hand, which displayed a list of high-ranking Anti-Entropy officials.

Among them were middle-aged men with glasses who appeared mature and steady, as well as scientists who seemed very young and were already recorded in textbooks.

—Many of them were his old acquaintances, with whom he had clashed many times over the long years. Therefore, Otto understood very well that these old acquaintances could not have done such a thing.

After all, they were a group of unadulterated idealists.

Coupled with the recent news that ME Corp's president, Raiden Ryoma, had been sent to prison for economic corruption, the answer became obvious.

The culprit behind this Honkai outbreak was—

The screen finally froze on a blonde woman.

"It must be her after all, Cocolia, a woman who originated from the Siberian military."