Honkai, I Alone Save Everything

"…Can I refuse?"

Ming Yu's mouth twitched slightly.

If it were just a regular room, it would be fine, but Kiana and Mei were about to move into Aunt Himeko's dorm.

A room where a single woman of a certain age lived for a long time… the state of it was so bad that just imagining it was unbearable.

He'd rather leave this kind of "blessing" to the Three Families who were preparing to live there.

"How can you bear to refuse Mei? You've bullied her so much!"

The white-haired girl used the black-haired girl beside her as a shield again.

"Uh…"

He was momentarily speechless.

This tactic always worked. Ming Yu softened his tone and asked the black-haired girl beside him, "Do you need my help, Mei?"

"If you're willing to help… stay and have dinner with us after you're done,"

Mei said softly.

Compared to the lively and somewhat mischievous Kiana, Mei was more understanding, possessing a Yamato Nadeshiko-like gentleness.

It was a completely different persona compared to that somewhat wild Herrscher of Thunder personality.

"Alright then, I'll come help you after I've settled in."

Ming Yu nodded.

He didn't know if Mei herself knew about Kiana's "forced" action, but the Herrscher of Thunder definitely knew.

Speaking of that Herrscher girl…

After that "intimate contact," the Herrscher of Thunder's stigma personality had temporarily gone silent and had no intention of reappearing.

Although Ming Yu wanted to call her out and say something, there seemed to be no way to summon her.

For now, he'd just leave it at that…

After a brief conversation with the two girls, the Hyperion was about to complete its landing and prepare to dock within the academy.

As survivors of the disaster, they didn't have any luggage to pack, so they walked towards the battleship's corridor empty-handed.

Along the way, he saw the last survivor.

A petite girl with silver hair in twin tails.

"…"

"…"

They exchanged a glance, neither of them speaking.

In Ming Yu's opinion, she had likely infiltrated the academy following Cocolia's orders.

They had taken different paths, but this girl, who had secretly hidden her identity, had ultimately arrived at St. Freya Academy.

Even though she was still blindly following Cocolia's orders, Ming Yu knew that her true nature wasn't bad.

She and Cocolia were ultimately not on the same path, and they would inevitably part ways someday.

Ming Yu noticed that Bronya was holding another Houm plushie.

"Didn't you give your Houm plushie to…?"

He asked curiously.

Didn't he give it to Little Kong?

"Bronya has many spare Houms."

The silver-haired girl hugged the yellow plushie in her arms and replied calmly.

However, her gaze towards Ming Yu was somewhat peculiar, as if she was thinking about something.

—It was because of him that Cocolia's plan to recover Raiden Mei in Changkong City had failed, with all tactical mechs dispatched by her being destroyed.

Therefore, Bronya had no choice but to follow the original secondary plan and infiltrate the Hyperion as a survivor.

However, from her understanding, this group from the Far East Branch didn't intend to send Raiden Mei to some Schicksal laboratory; instead, they planned to take her into St. Freya Academy for nurturing.

After reporting this situation to Cocolia, she had issued an order: Bronya was to also infiltrate as a student, waiting for an opportunity to act.

If Raiden Mei were to be transported to a Schicksal laboratory in another country, Cocolia would have had many opportunities to make her move.

But if it were St. Freya Academy, it would be much harder to intercept her along the way.

—The distance between Changkong City and St. Freya Academy wasn't that far, and the success rate of her mobilizing troops to intercept her midway right now wouldn't be high.

Furthermore, according to Bronya's feedback, Theresa, who possessed the strength of an S-Rank Valkyrie, was also on the Hyperion. After careful consideration, Cocolia decided to push back the timing for capturing Raiden Mei.

In any case, after a brief interaction, Bronya had quickly befriended Mei and Kiana.

Kiana seemed like nothing more than an idiot, while Mei was very gentle, completely unlike the Herrscher she had imagined.

In addition to that... she also received another mission.

Bronya glanced up at Ming Yu, who was walking a little ahead.

That mission was to observe the man before her... and figure out where the power, similar to that of the Third Herrscher, originated from.

Chapter 18: Miss Yae Sakura, the Earthbound Spirit

"I have to say, Aunt Himeko's dorm is much scarier than I imagined..."

As evening fell, Ming Yu finally returned from Himeko's—no, now it was Himeko and the dorms of the Three Families.

The room of a single woman of a certain age was truly terrifying, especially the assortment of clutter that had been shoved into her closet three months ago.

But then again, Mei's cooking was quite delicious...

After surviving a great ordeal, everything tasted good, let alone the exquisite delicacies prepared by Mei.

Ming Yu, savoring the taste of the meal, found his room following the guidance of the terminal given to him by Theresa.

Since it was his first day at St. Freya Academy, there were still many procedures to handle, so Theresa hadn't arranged anything for him and the three girls to do.

Specifics like entrance exams or other processes would have to wait until at least tomorrow.

"...So this is my dorm."

Ming Yu stood before a luxurious villa.

Standing at the entrance, the facial recognition system identified him and the door automatically opened.

From the outside, it looked no different from Himeko's villa.

However, as the only male student in the entire school, there were certain advantages.

—For instance, this entire empty villa was allocated for his sole residence.

In this academy, which was primarily led by women, he was the only male student, and male staff were even scarcer.

Well, it wasn't entirely for his sole use, though...

After entering the room, Ming Yu turned and closed the door, then spoke as if to the air, "Miss Sakura, you can come out now."

As his words fell, the spirit of the cherry-blossom-haired girl coalesced once more, appearing by his side.

That's right, this shrine maiden would also have to temporarily reside here. He couldn't just leave her, who was like a ghost, at the academy.

If he did, St. Freya would quickly have ghost stories circulating about it.

"Are all houses like this now?"

Yae Sakura looked around with curious eyes.

For this girl from five hundred years ago, everything modern here was quite novel.

After the passage of a long time, even though it was still the same Far East, everything was unfamiliar to Yae Sakura.

After a while, she withdrew her gaze and joined Ming Yu in the living room.

"This... is St. Freya."

"Mhm, an academy under Schicksal... uh, if I were to put it in terms you could understand, it's like a barracks combined with a private school?"

Ming Yu thought for a moment and explained to Yae Sakura.

Within this academy were Valkyries and prospective Valkyries.

In addition to the basic cultural knowledge that ordinary youths would need to learn, there was also practical combat training against Honkai.

Therefore, it served as both a school and a basic training camp.

Yae Sakura nodded and said, "I think I understand what kind of place this is."

"Once I've settled in, I'll help you find some information about Kallen and Schicksal."

Although she was a girl possessed by the Herrscher of Corruption, because Yae Sakura and Higokumaru were currently extremely at odds, she couldn't use her related powers.

Otherwise, she could probably infiltrate St. Freya Academy at will to find the information she wanted.

And as a shrine maiden from the old era, she likely wouldn't be able to operate any modern electronic devices at the moment.

"...Thank you for your trouble."

Yae Sakura thanked him softly.

She then added with a hint of worry, "By the way, Ming Yu, do you really not need my help?"

She had already lifted her possession of Ming Yu, and thus the pseudo-Herrscher power on him had also vanished.

Because she had been revived in Changkong City, where a Honkai outbreak had occurred, the girl wasn't optimistic about the safety of the current world.

"It's fine, I have my own plans, and besides, it's relatively safe here at St. Freya Academy."

Ming Yu nodded.

This was something he had to propose himself, after all, he couldn't always rely on Yae Sakura's strength to fight.

Now that he had obtained his own combat power, he should focus his research and development in that direction from now on.

Moreover, if this shrine maiden continued to be attached to him, it would inevitably cause some inconvenience.

Especially concerning his trump card of regression, as well as other abilities he might possess now and in the future, it would be better to avoid drawing attention to the reason for them as much as possible.

"In short, if you're willing, you can stay here for now."

This luxurious villa looked like it could accommodate quite a few people, more than enough to house Yae Sakura.

Speaking of which, this probably also meant avoiding Yae Sakura's death ending... right?

Ming Yu narrowed his eyes, recalling the course of events in the original timeline.

After Mei left Changkong City, the Honkai energy remaining in the city spontaneously gathered towards a certain gifted girl in Senba Academy, attempting to catalyze her into a new Herrscher.

If he remembered correctly, that Pseudo-Herrscher's name was Yuna.

Yae Sakura, who was still wandering there at the time, saved Theresa, who had been injured by Yuna, and in order to save her, merged all her strength and life force into Theresa's body.

Well... now, that probably wouldn't happen again.

However, the emergence of a new Pseudo-Herrscher was indeed something that could be considered and dealt with in advance...

Otherwise, without Yae Sakura's sacrifice, Theresa would likely have met her end in Changkong City not long after.

It was just a pity that he didn't know the exact time of Yuna's emergence as a Pseudo-Herrscher, so he could only pay a little more attention to information regarding this matter in the future.

"Yes, I will temporarily stay here, like an [Earthbound Spirit]."

Yae Sakura nodded.