Honkai, I Alone Will Save Everything

Just then, a message came through Ming Yu's personal terminal.

He glanced at it from the corner of his eye; the sender was none other than Theresa.

Ming Yu wiggled his fingers slightly, and the terminal automatically flew into his hand.

"The Principal is looking for me at this hour?"

It's the weekend, and early in the morning too... Could there be an emergency?

He searched his memory, but couldn't recall anything recent.

His eyes fell on the screen. It contained only a short message, ending with a Houm emoji:

"Ming Yu, come to my office quickly. I have an important mission for you!"

"Huh? A mission assigned by the Principal?"

Mei also leaned in.

"Is Ming Yu being sent out on a mission?"

"No..."

Ming Yu stroked his chin and said, "Based on my intuition, this is probably about Kiana."

Chapter 33: Theresa's Assignment

After breakfast and a quick tidy-up, Ming Yu and Mei left the dormitory together.

After all, the Principal had given an order, so it was best to head to her office first.

As the Principal of St. Freya, Theresa's office was located at the very center of the academy.

Arriving at the door of Theresa's office, he gently knocked. After hearing a response from within, he pushed the door open and entered.

What greeted his eyes was a petite figure unchanged for over forty years, and a nun's habit just as timeless.

"Ming Yu, you're here. And Mei too."

"Good morning, Principal."

The two greeted her in unison.

After they were seated, Theresa, as expected, began to talk about Kiana.

"Sigh..."

The petite girl let out a sigh that was uncharacteristic of her appearance, a sigh that carried the weight of an elder:

"With Kiana's current state, I'm almost worried to death."

If her grades aren't up to par, she can't even become a true Valkyrie.

"If only she could put in a third of the effort you and Bronya do,"

Theresa complained.

It wasn't just her lack of diligence in academics; in combat training, she only moved forward when pushed, making very slow progress.

The excellent talent of the Kaslana lineage was completely untapped.

The white-haired girl continued, "I warned her yesterday. If she doesn't pass the make-up exam in two weeks, I'll expel her from St. Freya Academy. I want her to feel a sense of urgency."

"So... Principal, are you asking Ming Yu to tutor Kiana?"

Mei asked curiously.

"Yes, that's right. I can guide Kiana in combat training, but when it comes to academics... I'll have to rely on you peers for help."

Theresa said somewhat sheepishly.

She really didn't have much experience in this area.

Although she was the Principal in name, having been this size since the moment of her birth, she had never experienced formal education and had a life completely different from ordinary people.

Initially, she fought against her other selves as one of the clones. Later, after being accepted by her grandfather and becoming a member of the Apocalypse family, she mostly carried out combat missions and had almost no experience attending school.

Therefore, it was quite difficult for her to tutor Kiana in her studies.

"So that's why you called me..."

Ming Yu stroked his chin.

"Yes, Mei and Bronya are girls, and they're roommates. They probably can't bring themselves to be harsh with Kiana. So, I thought I'd ask you, since you're a boy."

Theresa waved her hand, then said encouragingly, "Don't worry, Ming Yu. I won't have you work for free. I'll give you extra compensation. What do you need?"

With her authority and resources as the administrator of the Far East Branch, she could basically satisfy most of Ming Yu's needs.

"Hmm..."

Ming Yu stroked his chin, thinking of the matter of asking Raven to investigate Ryoma earlier.

Although the commission had been given to her, the payment hadn't been prepared yet.

This was a good opportunity to gather the funds needed to hire Raven.

So, he cleared his throat and spoke to the petite girl in front of him:

"Headmaster, I need money, so I'd like to request an advance on my salary."

He had already planned to find an opportunity to mention this to Theresa, and this was the perfect chance to get it done.

"Money?"

The white-haired girl was slightly taken aback.

This wasn't a big problem; in fact, the request was far too simple.

—Valkyries under Schicksal already had a considerable income.

After all, this was a life-risking profession. Not only did they have to fight Honkai on the front lines, constantly risking their lives, but the implantation of artificial Stigmata and various other human-related experiments were also essentially pre-paying the girls' lifespans to forcibly enhance their combat capabilities.

That Bishop knew very well that he couldn't just rely on faith and conviction to make the girls work, so the material compensation he offered them was quite substantial.

Depending on their Valkyrie rank, the income of each tier of Valkyrie varied.

A Valkyrie of rank A already had an annual salary exceeding one million euros.

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Of course, Ming Yu, currently a B-rank, didn't earn as much, but it should be more than enough to cover whatever amount Raven might demand.

After all, Schicksal was truly wealthy.

Hmm... Sometimes Ming Yu wondered if Raven could have saved up for a villa and an island earlier if she had joined Schicksal instead of World Serpent...

As the Bishop's own granddaughter, the Far East Branch received the most funding annually among all branches.

Theresa was actually quite well-off financially.

Therefore, she didn't hesitate much and said directly:

"Then it's settled. I'll advance you a year's salary based on the A-rank Valkyrie standard."

—Problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all.

True to her word, with a flurry of operations on her end, Ming Yu received a deposit notification on his terminal.

Looking at the string of numbers, Ming Yu silently thought, "The boss is generous," before looking up and asking:

"Headmaster, where should I start?"

"Hmm, let's start with history, where your grades are the worst. Don't worry, I'll also grant you some special permissions to help you, so you won't be overworked."

Theresa quickly tapped on the virtual panel in front of her, and Ming Yu's terminal chimed again.

Ming Yu looked down; it was permission to access the Schicksal database.

"I've opened up a portion of St. Freya's database to you and Kiana. It contains records of this world's Honkai history and features immersive scene reconstructions."

Theresa said with a hint of pride:

"Compared to just reading books, this way will surely make a more lasting impression on Kiana, right?"

She had gone to great lengths to help her unruly niece grow a little.

"I understand."

Ming Yu nodded.

If it were according to the original timeline, this task should have been handled by Bronya.

What started as a simple tutoring session, due to Kiana's Kaslana bloodline, had inadvertently triggered hidden truths about the execution of Kallen, and even led to Otto's personal appearance.

However, after returning from Changkong City last time, because he had arranged for Yae Sakura to provoke Bronya, she had been in low spirits, and likely wouldn't be able to concern herself with Kiana's affairs right now.

In any case, what followed was likely not going to be a simple tutoring journey.

Taking Kiana into the database would inevitably attract the remote attention of Otto.

In other words, this might be his first encounter with that Schicksal Bishop.

Chapter 34: I Remembered an Old Acquaintance

After accepting the task assigned by Theresa, Ming Yu returned to their dormitory with Mei.

Although he came here to mooch meals every day, this was his first time arriving at this particular time.

As soon as they entered the door, they saw a certain single woman of mature age with fiery red hair lying on the sofa, fast asleep.

It was likely from drinking again last night.

—Himeko, who had fallen asleep on the sofa at some point, was now in a state that could only be described as disheveled.

Large swathes of skin were exposed. Her pajamas, barely fitting, could only cover her vital areas due to her restless sleeping.

Her face was also flushed from drinking, making her look even more beautiful and alluring, as if she had applied blush.

Ming Yu glanced at her once and then wisely averted his gaze.

Well, after all, there was someone beside him...

"Wait... Ming Yu, you're not allowed to look!"

As expected, Mei quickly reached out and covered his eyes.

"Okay, okay, I won't look, I won't look."

Ming Yu said helplessly.

After confirming that he really wasn't looking, the purple-haired girl jogged over and, picking up a thin blanket from another sofa, covered Himeko with it, preventing any accidental exposure and allowing her to rest well.

Then, Mei stood up and turned back to say, "I... I'll go prepare lunch. Ming Yu, go upstairs and find Kiana. She's in the room in the middle of the hallway."

Ming Yu nodded and, taking the two stuffed toys that looked like Houm dolls, which Theresa had given him, went upstairs.

Pushing open the door to Kiana's room, he saw a white-haired girl fast asleep on her bed.

Various books were scattered around the bedside, suggesting she had been studying intensely to catch up.

For comfort while sleeping, her twin ponytails had been let down, spreading messily across the bed.

Looking closely, if she didn't speak, she could indeed be considered beautiful.

But the moment she opened her mouth, it was a beauty untouched by the pollution of knowledge.

Ming Yu thought for a moment, then extended a finger, aimed at Kiana's leg sticking out from under the covers, and shot a small jolt of electricity.

"Ah—!"

Startled by the shock, the white-haired girl sat bolt upright.

Upon seeing that it was Ming Yu, she clutched the blanket tighter and scrambled to the corner of the bed.