Negotiations / St. Freya Villa

Negotiation

"Ha! This brat is my great-aunt!?"

"You should call me Headmistress!"

Seeing that Kiana was still tied up and unable to believe it, Qin Mo walked over.

"Don't let Theresa's appearance fool you. She's already forty-two, four years older than your mother—"

Before Qin Mo could finish, Judah's chains released Kiana and lashed toward him.

But before they could reach him, Qin Mo dodged the chains as if he had foreseen the attack. Then, with his right hand coated in Armament Haki, he grabbed every last chain in his hand.

The Key of Restraint, Oath of Judah, had been forged using the core of the Herrscher of Reason and possessed the ability to nullify Honkai Energy. Qin Mo had always wanted to test whether it could only nullify Honkai Energy or whether, like Imagine Breaker, it could nullify all supernatural abilities.

But since neither his Haki nor the Hamon within his body had been affected in the slightest, it seemed it could not.

"You actually caught Judah's chains with your bare hands. Who exactly are you?"

Theresa did not continue attacking. Strictly speaking, her earlier attack had only been playful.

"I'm just an ordinary person who wants to fight against the Honkai. So, what about the request I mentioned earlier?"

Qin Mo released the chains in his hand and let them retract as he looked at Theresa.

"Become students of St. Freya Academy?"

Theresa shifted her gaze to Raiden Mei. "This little girl is the Third Herrscher, right? Raiden Mei?"

"Raiden Mei, greetings, Headmistress."

Seeing how polite Raiden Mei was, Theresa nodded. "Such a polite little girl. She's even better than I expected."

Then she looked at Bronya, who had remained silent beside her.

"Bronya's name is Bronya."

Theresa nodded. After all, only one day had passed since the Great Eruption. Much of the intelligence had yet to be gathered, so Theresa merely assumed Bronya was a lucky survivor.

"That's fine. I agree."

Theresa nodded. "However, I have a condition as well. You must accept the academy's supervision!"

"Regarding that, I have another request. No, perhaps calling it a trade would be more appropriate."

Qin Mo suddenly spoke.

"What is it? There can be no compromise on that point. You may seem perfectly normal right now, but you can't guarantee that nothing will go wrong later."

Qin Mo neither confirmed nor denied Theresa's words. "It isn't about supervision. It's a new trade, but I would like to speak with the Headmistress alone."

"Alone? You mean...?"

Theresa looked toward the others.

"Mei, you and Kiana should go outside first."

Mei wanted to say something, but she realized she did not know what to say. In the end, she could only leave behind one sentence. "Please be careful."

"Himeko, you should go out and wait for a while too."

But someone else was dissatisfied with this request.

"Wait! Great-aunt! Qin Mo said you know where that lousy old man is, right!?"

Before she was driven out, Kiana finally remembered the purpose of her trip.

"Siegfried? I do know where he is."

Theresa looked down at Kiana and said, "But if you want me to tell you, there's one condition! Become an A-rank Valkyrie. Since you're going to study here, become Valkyries. Once you become strong enough, I'll tell you."

"Hmph! I thought it would be some difficult condition. As long as I get serious, whether it's becoming a Valkyrie or anything else, I'll show you I can do it."

Theresa nodded. "Confidence is a good thing. Himeko, take them to your dorm first. I'll continue talking with this brat."

After the others left, Theresa sat atop her desk and looked at Qin Mo. "All right, tell me. What is this trade you mentioned?"

"The Far East Branch—no, St. Freya Academy. Do you still remember the ideals it was founded upon, Theresa?"

After the others had left, Qin Mo also sat down on a nearby sofa without ceremony.

"Ideals?"

Theresa frowned, not knowing what Qin Mo was getting at, but she still said, "St. Freya Academy was established to train Valkyries who fight for all that is beautiful in the world. Is there something questionable about that?"

"To fight for all that is beautiful in the world? Heh..."

Qin Mo laughed. "That was clearly just Schicksal's slogan. And if that alone had been enough, Cecilia would not have proposed establishing the Far East Branch, this St. Freya Academy where Valkyries could experience beauty and cherish their own lives. Nor would she have proposed sending her daughter, Kiana, here to study."

"Although Cecilia is gone, you still successfully established this academy."

"..."

Theresa, who had been sitting on the desk, jumped down halfway through Qin Mo's words and stood at eye level with him on the sofa.

"Who exactly are you? Why do you know about this!"

There were quite a few people who knew that Cecilia had proposed St. Freya's ideals. Many of those in Schicksal who had participated in the campaign against the Second Herrscher knew.

But the latter part had been an agreement made privately between Theresa and Cecilia.

"I already answered that question earlier, didn't I? Of course, I did not bring this up to expose your secrets. I simply wanted to ask, Headmistress, do you believe St. Freya has accomplished what was agreed upon back then?"

Theresa folded her arms and snorted.

"Isn't St. Freya Academy standing right here?"

"Haha, that's not what I mean. You have indeed given those Valkyries an excellent living environment, allowing them to enjoy the beauty of life while studying and training. But in order to become Valkyries and avoid being corroded by Honkai Energy, they have no choice but to have artificial stigmata engraved onto their bodies."

"Artificial stigmata may keep them from dying to ordinary Honkai Energy corrosion, but they come with enormous side effects. Pain, shortened lifespans, even physical collapse. Isn't that right?"

Theresa looked into Qin Mo's eyes, unable to understand why he was bringing this up. Artificial stigmata were Schicksal secrets, but it was not strange for him to know about them. After all, he even knew about matters between Cecilia and herself.

"So what are you trying to say?"

"It's simple. I can help them reduce the pain caused by their stigmata and extend their lifespans. I can't say I can completely eliminate the side effects of stigmata, but I can strengthen their vitality instead of letting them be dragged to death by them."

St. Freya Villa

"A new technology? There's no point telling me about this. Although I'm in charge of the Far East Branch, I don't understand technology."

"Of course not. If it were that, I wouldn't have come to you. Besides, I have no desire to deal with your grandfather, Schicksal's Overseer. I think you understand why."

Qin Mo shook his head. "What I'm about to show you is a power born from humanity's deepest instincts, a miracle hidden within the human body: Immortal Ripple!"

"Immortal... Ripple?"

Just as Theresa was feeling puzzled, she saw Qin Mo take a deep breath. Brilliant golden light bloomed from his palm.

She warily raised Judah in front of herself, only to realize, "There's no Honkai Energy reaction? This isn't Honkai Energy? How did you do that?"

No matter how Theresa looked, there was no device on Qin Mo's hand that could emit light.

Qin Mo did not explain. Instead, he looked around, fixed his gaze on the fish tank nearby, and extended his index finger to touch the surface of its water.

Theresa clearly saw golden, lightning-like energy envelop the fish tank. Then, with only one finger touching it, without even gripping it, he lifted the fish tank.

No! He had not lifted the fish tank! He had lifted the water inside it, and even the goldfish within were unaffected.

"This... how did you do that!?"

No matter how Theresa thought about it, she could not understand how Qin Mo had done it. She had sensed no Honkai Energy reaction, and the fish tank belonged to her. It could not possibly have contained some hidden mechanism.

Theresa even ran over and plunged her hand into the water. Watching the goldfish scatter away from her hand, she withdrew it.

She stared silently at the water droplets on her hand.

"This is Immortal Ripple, also known as Hamon. Its principle is to generate ripples in the blood through a specific breathing rhythm. Just as dropping a stone into water creates ripples, this special breathing method creates ripples within the human body and produces immense power."

Qin Mo returned the water to the fish tank and looked at Theresa. "Ripple does not possess much destructive power, but it was never a force of slaughter. It comes from the vitality of the body. Ripple can relieve pain, extend lifespans, slow aging, and keep someone from looking old even at an advanced age."

"Oh, though that is not something the Headmistress needs. Other girls should care about it, though."

Theresa, who had been trying hard to understand Qin Mo's words, immediately flared up upon hearing the latter half. "That's why discussing a woman's age is a huge taboo!"

She let out a long breath. "But that is merely your word. I have not seen any of the other effects you mentioned."

So Theresa could play little tricks too, Qin Mo thought silently.

"That's true. But the power I've mastered while traveling the world is not limited to this. The other one has visible effects."

Qin Mo silently switched character cards.

"Ripple exists to extend Valkyries' lifespans. As for this power, it exists to improve their chances of survival. I call it Armament Haki!"

"Come on, attack me, Theresa!"

In an instant, Qin Mo's arm was covered in Haki and turned black.

"Attack? Fine!"

Perhaps because she wanted to settle some personal grievances, Theresa directly pulled a spear from Judah and thrust it at Qin Mo.

Clang!

The spear pressed against Qin Mo's palm without moving an inch. It did not even scratch his skin.

"This is Armament Haki. Haki is a power born from the human body's spirit, made tangible. Armament Haki can increase defense and destructive power, and it can also be transmitted through the body onto objects."

After blocking Theresa's attack, Qin Mo plucked a leaf from a nearby potted plant. The leaf was instantly coated in Haki and turned black. Then he used it like a blade and slashed it against the flowerpot.

The once-fragile leaf forcibly tore a smooth cut through the flowerpot, as though it had been sliced by a sharp blade.

"This is the increase in destructive power. What do you think?"

Theresa returned the spear to Judah. "Is this your bargaining chip? Then since this is a trade, what do you want?"

"Let me make this clear first. The Far East Branch has no money. If you want money, you'd be better off asking Grandfather."

Qin Mo smiled. "Do I look like someone who cares about money? I only have three requests."

"First, you are not allowed to hand our group over to Schicksal headquarters. We came here not because of Schicksal's name, but because of this Far East Branch built upon Cecilia's legacy, and because of you."

Qin Mo remembered something he had often heard in his previous life: you could trust Theresa's character, but not Theresa's intelligence.

So he had to make an agreement in advance. As long as it was agreed upon, Theresa would not break her word.

"Of course, that won't be a problem. Since you are students of St. Freya, protecting students is my duty as Headmistress. What's the second?"

"Second, you are forbidden from informing Otto about me. You can make up an excuse and say I'm an ordinary person who knows Ripple and Haki."

Qin Mo had exposed quite a few things along the way in order to seize the initiative. If he were standing before Otto, that man might even guess his entire background. But Qin Mo was much more at ease with Theresa and Himeko. It was not that he looked down on their intelligence; Otto was simply too monstrous and too scheming.

"That isn't a problem either. What's the third?"

"Third, Mei and the others and I don't want to live in the dormitories!"

"If you don't live in the dormitories, where will you live? We agreed that someone must supervise you, and you cannot leave this island either."

Qin Mo shook his head. "What I mean is, I need you to build a villa for us to live in. Of course, I have no objection to whoever you arrange to live with us. As long as everyone has their own room, it's fine. Even if the Headmistress wants to move in personally, I have no problem with that."

"Ha! A villa?!"

Theresa immediately jumped up. "Even this Headmistress doesn't have a villa to live in! St. Freya Academy doesn't even have such a building. Do you know how long it would take to build one from scratch!"

"With Schicksal's technology, it can be finished within a week."

Seeing Qin Mo's unhurried expression, Theresa gritted her teeth. "Do you know how much it would cost to use Schicksal's technology? The Far East Branch doesn't have that kind of money."

"I think if you sold Ripple and Haki—no, even if you only sold Ripple to your grandfather, perhaps you wouldn't even have to sell it. Just give it to him, act cute a little, and wouldn't however much money you wanted be irrelevant?"

Hearing Qin Mo's words, Theresa seriously considered it. As someone in her forties, Theresa felt no psychological burden whatsoever about pretending to be young, and acting cute was even less of an issue.

After all, she only looked twelve, while Otto had always looked like that as well.

"Fine, I agree. But I also have a request and a question."

Good. She agreed. Qin Mo let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had once read forum posts compiling Honkai Impact 3rd background information while trying to learn about the protagonist's identity. Otherwise, with his habit of skipping the story as soon as he started a game, he truly would not have found a topic to create this air of mystery.

"A request is only natural. What is it?"

"I want you to become a teacher at St. Freya and teach Ripple and Haki! After all, the earlier request only said you had to join. It never said you had to become students."

Theresa looked smug, as if she had gained some great advantage.

"A reasonable request. I agree. And the question?"