Himeko noticed the change in her expression and asked curiously.
The white-haired girl shook her head and replied,
"Nothing. Um, let's do that. Enroll these two children in the academy as well. Later... I'll talk to them personally, one by one."
The Maid
"...I see."
After roughly learning from Yae Sakura what had happened after he passed out, Ming Yu understood why he had been brought aboard the Hyperion.
Because he had held back that batch of Titan Mechas, and because Schicksal's squad had arrived at just the right moment, Cocolia's plan to continue recovering the Herrscher of Thunder had been thwarted.
Well, although he had not seen her yet, Ming Yu guessed that Bronya had most likely slipped in as well, posing as a survivor.
Although her aptitude for Honkai energy was far inferior to Kiana's and Mei's, unlike the other two, she had undergone Cocolia's long-term training. Naturally, she was qualified to enter St. Freya Academy for study.
However, Ming Yu knew that that old witch Cocolia would never give up after this one failure.
From what he remembered alone, that bloodstained woman would continue trying even more methods in the future to obtain the power of a Herrscher.
That included, but was not limited to, sending Joyce-series clones to attack St. Freya Academy in an attempt to capture Mei, planning to use the core of the Herrscher of Death in Singapore to recreate the tragedy of Changkong City, and... taking the Gem of Hesperia from Wendy.
It could be said that most of the early incidents had been caused by her.
On the other hand, Otto, the mastermind behind the masterminds, had barely caused any trouble while The Three Families attended St. Freya Academy.
After all, that man wanted Kiana to be as happy as possible at the academy. The deeper her feelings for those around her became, the more likely the obedient Herrscher of the Void he wanted to create would emerge when Queen's Advent arrived.
So perhaps there was no need to worry too much about what Otto might do for now...
Ming Yu pondered.
Of course, that was only the general information he knew. As for what the future would truly become, no definite conclusion could be drawn yet.
In any case, now that he had boarded the Hyperion's pirate ship, entering St. Freya Academy afterward should not be difficult.
Recalling the ability he had gained to control electricity and magnetism, Ming Yu raised a finger with interest, intending to summon an electric current.
Unfortunately, no dancing sparks appeared at his fingertips as expected.
It seemed that after firing that Railgun shot that destroyed the tactical mech, he was still in an overloaded state.
This situation could probably be called being "out of battery."
There was no helping it. He could only 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—beside his bed.
Although their goals were not entirely the same, this shrine maiden had indeed helped him quite a lot.
"Ming Yu, you intend to go to the St. Freya Academy those people mentioned, right? I... I think perhaps I should go there too."
Yae Sakura hesitated before explaining,
"Among the three people who came to rescue you and the other two girls, there was a white-haired girl... I care about her. From her, I sensed the presence of a dear friend from my past."
If nothing unexpected happened, she meant Theresa. After all, genuine Kallen blood flowed through that girl who never seemed to grow up.
Well, perhaps that was a good thing?
However, she probably could not reveal herself in her true form for the time being, since she was still rather weak.
Besides, suddenly appearing on this warship as a fox-eared shrine maiden would inevitably cause quite a commotion.
"Anyway, until we reach the academy, stay attached to me for now."
As for what would happen after they got there, they could discuss it then.
After all, St. Freya Academy was quite large... Perhaps Yae Sakura would become one of the academy's ghost stories by then?
At that moment, Ming Yu heard the door open.
Yae Sakura immediately dispersed her spirit form and hid back inside Ming Yu's body.
...Who was it?
Theresa? Himeko? Or Kiana or Mei...
Right, those Titan Mechas had interrupted him before he could ask about Mei's condition...
While Ming Yu was thinking, an unexpected yet familiar figure came into view.
A black silk maid uniform decorated with roses, short ash-blonde hair, wine-red eyes, and an elegant yet courteous smile.
Schicksal's S-Rank Valkyrie, Rita Rossweisse!
Why was she here?
Ming Yu was completely baffled.
"You're awake, Mr. Ming Yu."
Rita carried a bowl of nourishing porridge to the bedside.
"Hello, may I ask who you are...?"
Ming Yu asked, pretending to be utterly confused.
The other party pursed her lips in a faint smile and answered softly,
"I am merely a maid responsible for caring for others. You may call me Rita."
...Not many people could survive your care.
Ming Yu silently complained, then said,
"Thank you, Miss Rita."
Unlike Himeko and Theresa, who belonged purely to the Far East faction, and unlike a warrior such as Fu Hua, who followed Otto's arrangements while still harboring her own thoughts, Rita essentially represented Schicksal Headquarters—or rather, Otto's will.
Therefore, her appearance here must have been at the Schicksal Overseer's behest.
Had she come to investigate the Third Herrscher? Or to monitor Kiana's condition?
Or perhaps... both?
"Your body is rather fatigued, so you need proper rest. Before returning to St. Freya Academy, please rest well here."
Rita said politely.
"...St. Freya Academy?"
Ming Yu asked despite knowing the answer.
"It is an academy that trains warriors to fight the Honkai. Miss Theresa, the academy's leader, thinks highly of all of you."
Rita said with a smile,
"After all, genuine Herrscher-level Honkai energy signals were detected from your body."
"..."
Ming Yu considered it. The reason for the Honkai energy signal was probably Yae Sakura.
Although she could not use her Authority now, Higokumaru had once indeed been the genuine Herrscher of Corruption. It was only natural that she could be detected emitting Honkai energy fluctuations comparable to those of the Herrscher of Thunder.
As for his abilities, he had fired a fairly powerful Railgun in front of everyone aboard the Hyperion.
Clearly, from an outsider's perspective, Ming Yu probably had an inexplicable connection to the Herrscher of Thunder in every possible sense.
So Theresa intended to place both him and Mei under surveillance and education...
Wait, would he also have a bomb installed in his heart? The kind that automatically exploded whenever it detected high-intensity Honkai energy?
Ming Yu shook his head.
In any case, although there seemed to be all sorts of wonderful misunderstandings, his plan to enter St. Freya Academy had indeed succeeded halfway.
As Ming Yu pondered alone, a strange fragrance pulled his awareness back to reality.
Previously, he had been entirely occupied with finding a way to survive, so he had paid little attention to food.
Now that he was in a safe environment, people really did start thinking about desire once they had enough to eat and wear...
"Rita still has matters to attend to. Please enjoy, Mr. Ming Yu."
The ash-blonde girl placed the nourishing porridge beside Ming Yu's bed, then politely took her leave.
Only after watching Rita leave did Ming Yu pick up the nourishing porridge from the bedside table.
He considered why Rita had specifically come to his room to speak with him.
—That meticulous Valkyrie never did anything unnecessary.
Because he had displayed unusual abilities during the Changkong City incident, had she come to observe him up close and gather information about him?
Perhaps the Herrscher-like powers he had displayed had caught Rita's attention.
While thinking, Ming Yu subconsciously fed himself a spoonful of porridge.
Wait, what was this heavenly delicacy...?!
—He had nearly forgotten that Rita was a top-tier chef on Mei's level.
It was... unbelievably delicious...
Interlude: Love = Curse
Several days later, above the Mediterranean, Schicksal Headquarters.
This enormous cluster of floating islands situated above the Mediterranean was both Schicksal's administrative center and the organization's most vital research facility.
With fighting the Honkai as its mission, it operated day after day without pause.
Of course, at this stage, the vast majority of ordinary people still knew nothing about the existence of the so-called Honkai.
Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had tacitly used natural disasters as an excuse to cover up every Honkai catastrophe.
Well, in a sense, they really were natural disasters.
And at the center of these floating islands, within the command room belonging to the Schicksal Overseer—
"...That concludes the intelligence report regarding this Honkai outbreak in Changkong City, Overseer."
A tall ash-blonde woman reported what she had seen and heard to the man before her.
She was Rita Rossweisse, one of Schicksal's current S-Rank Valkyries.
Entrusted with a mission by the Schicksal Overseer, she had headed to Changkong City under the pretext of assisting the Far East Branch in handling the Herrscher incident.
It was a reasonable and legitimate excuse, one that would not arouse anyone's suspicions.
She had perfectly completed her task of searching for survivors, just as she had completed every mission in the past.
What Theresa and the others did not know was that Rita had arrived in Changkong City far, far earlier than they had.
Rita continued in an orderly manner,
"I infiltrated ME Corp to investigate. Although most operational records had already been erased... I still found traces enough to prove that this Honkai outbreak was not a naturally occurring event, but a man-made disaster."
According to the remaining data she had uncovered, a batch of devices containing highly concentrated Honkai energy had once been secretly transported from ME Corp into Chiba Academy under the guise of donated supplies.
"Heh... A political power struggle within Anti-Entropy?"
The blond man leisurely swiped across the screen in his hand. Displayed upon it were Anti-Entropy's senior figures.
Among them were a bespectacled middle-aged man who appeared mature and steady, as well as scientists who looked remarkably young despite having long been recorded in textbooks.
—Quite a few of them were old acquaintances of his. They had clashed many times over the long years, so Otto understood that these old acquaintances could not possibly do such a thing.
After all, they were idealists through and through.
Combined with the recent incident in which ME Corp president Raiden Ryoma had been imprisoned for financial embezzlement, the answer was obvious.
The culprit behind this Honkai outbreak was—
The screen finally froze on an image of a blonde woman.
"So it was her after all. Cocolia, the woman from the Siberian military."
Before you continue