Honkai, I Alone Will Save Everything

Ming Yu spoke somewhat helplessly.

It had to be said that Kiana's appetite was outrageously huge.

Who knew whose genes had caused this? Neither Durandal nor Sirin seemed to have that trait...?

Or was it a habit she had developed from her time wandering?

He glanced once more at Kiana's waist, which could absolutely be described as "slender," and wondered where all the food she ate day in and day out even went...

"Mm-hmm, I heard that. Then this Academy Principal will reluctantly join in on the fun too!"

Theresa sidled over as well.

She had nothing but praise for Mei's cooking.

Even Theresa, who had been doted on by Otto ever since her birth, had only encountered one person in all these years whose cooking could rival Mei's: Rita Rossweisse.

Just then, an emergency communication suddenly popped up beside Theresa.

The virtual screen displayed the words "OTTO SOUND ONLY."

Immediately afterward, the voice of a man Ming Yu knew all too well came through:

"My dear little granddaughter, while you weren't paying attention, some little bugs have already snuck into your academy."

"Grand... Grandpa?"

Theresa was initially surprised, but another communication quickly connected to her terminal.

"Reporting to the Academy Principal: the central database and Mei's dormitory are both under invasion and attack!"

Bitter Beet Soup

"Grandpa, the force invading St. Freya Academy is...?"

Theresa hurriedly asked.

"My dear little granddaughter, aside from Anti-Entropy, who else has the strength to invade territory under Schicksal's control?"

In the combat training grounds, Otto's voice came through the virtual screen beside Theresa in an unhurried manner:

"The underground area beneath the Central Church has already been infiltrated by those people from Anti-Entropy. Theresa, I order you to proceed there immediately and handle it. Under no circumstances can we allow what is inside the church to fall into Anti-Entropy's hands."

"Me, go to the Central Church? But my student has been taken by the invading enemy!"

While communicating with Otto, Theresa rapidly checked the reports coming in.

This was clearly a carefully planned infiltration operation. The attack in the Central Church area and the assault on Mei had occurred almost simultaneously.

Compared with the Central Church, she was more concerned for her student's safety.

"Hehe, the situation over there is quite simple. The two students beside you will be more than enough to handle it."

Otto's voice continued.

Clearly, he had long been aware of St. Freya Academy's situation.

"Kiana and Ming Yu...? But according to the information we've received, the enemy who invaded Mei's location possesses Herrscher-level power... and is suspected to be the First Herrscher!"

Theresa objected.

According to the Honkai energy readings provided by the science division, the intruder possessed characteristics matching Herrscher-level Honkai energy.

So far, only three Herrschers had appeared in this world. The Second Herrscher was already dead, while the Third Herrscher was her student. Therefore, the one who had come to infiltrate them could only be the First Herrscher.

—Unless a Fourth Honkai Eruption had occurred at St. Freya Academy, bringing the Fourth Herrscher here.

And if the enemy truly was a Herrscher-level entity, sending only Ming Yu and Kiana to deal with it was clearly far too dangerous.

After all, during the previous operation involving the Third Herrscher crisis in Changkong City, she had personally gone along with Fu Hua and Himeko, two A-Rank Valkyries, as an S-Rank Valkyrie.

And now they were leaving it to two B-Ranks...

"There is no need to worry, my little granddaughter. The enemy who has come to invade cannot possibly be the First Herrscher. That fellow is already..."

Otto's voice paused, as though he had recalled some old memory, before he changed course:

"Forget it, it's nothing. Rest assured, Theresa. Leave it to those two. They already have experience with this, don't they?"

Naturally, he was referring to how Ming Yu and Kiana had restored Raiden Mei to normal in Changkong City.

"...I understand."

Theresa pressed her lips together and agreed.

The situation was urgent, leaving her no room for further deliberation.

After ending the communication with Otto, the petite white-haired girl abruptly planted the Oath of Judah upright on the ground beside her, then leapt onto it.

This was the Oath of Judah's skateboard mode, which could carry her through the air at high speed.

Before activating it and departing, she instructed her two students:

"Ming Yu, Kiana, I'll leave Mei's situation to the two of you."

"Understood."

Ming Yu nodded, then left with the white-haired girl beside him, heading toward the dormitories.

The time rewound to about half an hour earlier.

"By the way, Bronya, can you cook too?"

Inside the room, Mei asked curiously.

"Of course. Other than that idiot Kiana, there probably isn't anyone who can't cook."

Bronya answered mercilessly.

Back at the orphanage, being relatively older, she had been responsible for feeding the other children most of the time.

It was only after coming here, where there was someone like Mei whose cooking skills far surpassed her own, that she had become like idiot Kiana and only needed to eat.

"Ahaha... I suppose that's true. Then, Bronya, would you like to try making a dish tonight?"

The purple-haired girl suggested.

"...Bronya?"

The silver-haired girl was slightly taken aback.

Recalling the instructions Mother Cocolia had given her earlier, Bronya fell silent for a moment before agreeing.

"...Alright. Bronya will make some borscht."

No sooner said than done, the silver-haired girl headed into the kitchen and began cooking.

Her movements were extremely practiced. Whether it was a kitchen knife or a dagger, she wielded either with ease.

Carrots, potatoes, and onions cut into small chunks...

Along with her secret treasure—

Bronya pulled a cold preserved item from beneath the bed in her room.

"Bronya, what is that...?"

Mei looked curiously at the can she had brought into the kitchen.

The can in Bronya's hand bore Russian writing, and its design was one Mei had never seen before.

The silver-haired girl answered quietly.

"This is... canned beef."

It was a habit she had retained from her past life as a soldier. No matter when or where, she would hide some food beneath the bed wherever she lived.

It was emergency rations, so she stored foods that could keep for a long time.

Although life at St. Freya Academy was quite good, the girl had still kept up this habit.

Well, in Bronya's opinion, Mei, who had lived a privileged aristocratic life since childhood, had probably never eaten food of this caliber.

"All the ingredients are in. Now we just need to wait half an hour before it's ready to eat."

Bronya looked at the pot of soup as it gradually came to a boil.

"Mhm, it smells so good."

Mei leaned closer and gently inhaled the fragrance rising from the pot. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned and walked out of the kitchen while saying, "Ah, right! I'll go look for some paper and a pen in the living room to write down how to make this!"

She was very enthusiastic about learning to cook. However, most of the dishes she made were from the Far East, and she had indeed rarely encountered foreign-style dishes like Bronya's before.

Bronya nodded noncommittally, watching the pot seriously as she thought about something.

Whenever she watched these familiar ingredients rolling and boiling in the broth, images from the past would always flicker vaguely before her eyes.

Life at the orphanage had not been very good, so borscht had been something the children ate often.

Rosalia and Apricot had long since grown tired of such food. They ate it almost solely to fill their stomachs, and every time, they wore expressions of disgust.

But Seele... after finishing it every time, she would smile and tell her, "It's so delicious, Big Sister."

That blue-haired figure seemed to appear before her eyes for a brief moment, only to vanish again in an instant.

"..."

Before putting on the lid, she quietly turned back to glance at Mei, who was searching for paper and a pen in the living room.

From inside her clothes, Bronya took out a small bottle of white powder.

It was a drug with a powerful sleep-inducing effect. So long as she poured it into the borscht and had Sister Mei drink it...

—she would be able to effortlessly complete the task Mother Cocolia had assigned her, allowing the intruder she had arranged to take Raiden Mei away from St. Freya Academy.

For Seele's sake... Bronya ultimately decided to obey Mother Cocolia's orders.

A moment later, after tasting a few spoonfuls of the borscht, Mei quickly became drowsy, just as Bronya had expected.

Not long after she lay down and fell asleep on the sofa, the dormitory doorbell rang.

Bronya had been about to get up and open the door when, with a bang, the sturdy door was blasted away by some kind of repulsive force and crashed directly onto the living room floor.

After the billowing smoke dispersed, a hooded man strode in without a care in the world.

He had dark blue hair and eyes, bandages wrapped around his neck, and a frivolous, utterly fearless expression.

For some reason, Bronya found herself deeply annoyed by the man before her.

She looked at the unexpected visitor and asked expressionlessly, "You're the one Cocolia sent..."

"That's right, it's me. You can call me Joyce."

The man named Joyce replied casually.

Joyce... Bronya was no stranger to that name.

Rather, no one affiliated with Anti-Entropy could possibly have never heard the name of the legendary First Herrscher, Welt Joyce.

An artificial Herrscher... Recalling the term Cocolia had once mentioned, was the man before her a clone of that First Herrscher?

A flood of information flashed through Bronya's mind in an instant.

Perhaps because he relied on his extraordinary strength, he did not care that destroying the door might draw the attention of the academy's surveillance system.

He entered the living room, his gaze falling upon the purple-haired girl already unconscious on the sofa, before saying, "Looks like you handled things well. Come on, I'll take you back to Cocolia's territory."

The man calling himself Joyce extended a hand. The authority to control gravity poured forth, and Mei's sleeping body rose from the sofa, floating at his side.