I Am the Saintess of Heavenly Mandate Chapter 16

There really wasn't even time to rest.

Although the Far East frequently experienced Honkai incidents, the number of occurrences in recent years had been clearly abnormal.

The newcomer wanted to fight alongside them, but she hadn't undergone the modification surgery yet—let alone fighting Honkai Beasts, the Honkai Energy emitted by them alone was enough to kill her.

Of course, if she had high Honkai Energy resistance, she could naturally ignore the Honkai Energy radiating from the Beasts.

But just over a month ago, she had been an ordinary person who had just obtained her PhD from the California Institute of Technology, so naturally she had never been tested for Honkai Energy resistance.

Whether she could become a Valkyrie, she herself wasn't confident.

"Schicksal, huh..."

Her motives for joining the Assault Team were naturally impure.

And Captain Ragnar had recruited her into the team knowing those motives. For the captain of the Assault Team, she was naturally immensely grateful, but to achieve her own goals, she didn't care what means she used.

A few days later, the Assault Team, having completed their handover, returned to Schicksal Headquarters.

For the trainees at headquarters, the arrival of the Assault Team, with its massive track record, naturally stirred up a frenzy. Many candidates wanted to join the Assault Team.

Whether it was Captain Ragnar or the other members, they were all very popular among the candidates.

But when a new appointment order came down, all members of the Assault Team looked at each other in bewilderment, clearly not expecting their vacation to have such a catch.

"T-To be a teacher?" Ragnar was a bit dazed. "...And for that Lady Cecilia's daughter?"

18. Absolutely Tragic (Revised)

Wasn't it supposed to be a vacation?

Ragnar blinked at the appointment order, hoping the woman before her would give her an explanation.

If it were just being an instructor for the trainees, Ragnar wouldn't have resisted so much.

Being an instructor for a bunch of rookies, in her view, was also a vacation—at least in the short term, Ragnar didn't want to stay in that godforsaken place in the Far East.

But being an instructor for rookies and being an instructor for Kiana Kaslana were two completely different things.

"Lord Amber, I think you should find someone else, really... I believe my abilities are limited, and I shouldn't be able to teach Lady Kiana."

Although Ragnar rarely returned to Schicksal Headquarters, she had still heard the name Kiana Kaslana.

After all, she was the inheritor of the bloodline of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie and its former strongest warrior.

From the moment Kiana Kaslana was born, everyone had placed great expectations on her.

Back when news broke that Cecilia Schariac had married the Kaslana family's playboy Siegfried, almost every Valkyrie squad and candidate wanted to kill Siegfried.

As the strongest Valkyrie, Cecilia Schariac was undoubtedly the object of admiration for all Valkyries and candidates.

In other words, she was their big sister in their hearts.

Thinking of their admired big sister marrying a playboy with such a bad reputation as Siegfried had caused quite a stir at the time.

According to a certain member of Cecilia Schariac's original Snow Wolf Squad, the playboy Siegfried had groped quite a few Valkyries' backsides at Schicksal Headquarters and often harassed the candidates...

He even famously said, 'The Herrscher is nothing—this guy is the Valkyries' greatest enemy.'

Incidentally, Bishop Otto laughed for days when he heard that.

Although the name Siegfried Kaslana had become taboo within Schicksal, Siegfried Kaslana was indeed Schicksal's strongest warrior.

To everyone, the union of Cecilia and Siegfried was seen as a political marriage.

Combining the bloodline power of the Schariac family and the Kaslana family to create the strongest warrior.

Of course, that was just the nice way of putting it.

Things like the two great families joining forces, or Cecilia and Siegfried having long since pledged themselves to each other, or the divine descendant of the strongest Valkyrie and the strongest warrior, or...

To put it in simpler terms, it was breeding.

But the plan for the strongest warrior quickly fell through.

In the second year after Kiana Kaslana was born, the Second Eruption broke out on the Siberian Snowfield.

Then Cecilia perished alongside the Second Herrscher, Siegfried defected from Schicksal, his name becoming taboo within the organization, and then Kiana suddenly fell gravely ill and was brought back to Schicksal Headquarters by Bishop Otto for treatment.

Only recently had she heard that Kiana, cured of her illness, underwent experiments to become the strongest Valkyrie like her mother, only to lose her memories of the past few years due to an experiment accident.

Absolutely tragic.

When Ragnar heard these news, she couldn't suppress the maternal instinct welling up inside her.

She had especially wanted to hold Kiana and say, 'Kiki, Mom loves you.'

But when this appointment order came down, Ragnar realized this matter wasn't as simple as she had thought.

Although she didn't know the details behind it, this was definitely a huge pit that would bring nothing but trouble if she got involved.

"Captain Ragnar, this is the Bishop's order."

The expression behind Amber's golden crystalline goggles didn't change at all, clearly not surprised by Ragnar's refusal.

In truth, it didn't matter when Kiana became the strongest Valkyrie.

But the timing of this was extremely delicate.

If Kiana grew stronger, Black Abyss White Flower would naturally remain at Schicksal Headquarters, and the Schariac family would naturally be displeased.

But if they failed to make Kiana stronger, causing Black Abyss White Flower to be taken away by the Schariac family, then Bishop Otto would naturally be displeased.

So, either way, someone would have to be offended.

Ragnar naturally didn't want to anger either side, but she just sighed as she looked at the appointment letter in her hand.

She knew she had been played by Bishop Otto.

"I understand. Leave the teaching of Lady Kiana to us, the Assault Team."

"Captain Ragnar, I entrust Lady Kiana to you. After lunch, I'll bring her over."

With that, Amber turned and left.

Watching Amber's back, if she were drunk right now, Ragnar wouldn't hesitate to flip that retreating figure the middle finger.

"Captain, is this matter really that troublesome?"

"Yeah, definitely troublesome. It's not like Schicksal Headquarters lacks stationed Valkyrie units. Pulling an A-rank Valkyrie to teach Lady Kiana wouldn't be hard, but they specifically chose us, who applied for leave."

Though with too little information, Ragnar couldn't deduce the ins and outs of this affair, this was a hot potato the Assault Team couldn't carry.

"I'll contact a friend."

Unable to think of a solution, Ragnar could only turn to a friend for help.

"Oh, it must be Lady Theresa."

"At times like this, only Lady Theresa can be counted on."

"Right, a reliable legal loli!"

"Theresa?"

Hearing the name from the other team members, the newbie on the Assault Team was very confused.

It wasn't the first time she'd heard that name, but she hadn't expected the captain and the team members to trust that person so much.

"Newbie, Lady Theresa's full name is Theresa Apocalypse."

"Theresa Apocalypse? What's so special about that name... Ah, the three great families."

The newbie suddenly opened her mouth wide, not expecting it to be such a big shot.

Since her motive for joining Schicksal wasn't pure, she had naturally done her research—after all, she was originally a shut-in researcher.

If not for a sudden Honkai incident that killed her father, she might have pursued a doctorate and become a scientist alongside him.

Of course, she believed her father's death was suspicious, and to investigate the truth, she wanted to join Schicksal.

So she had firmly memorized the information on Schicksal's three great families.

"The captain actually knows someone from the Apocalis family? Who exactly is this Theresa Apocalypse?"

"Xiao Ji, don't underestimate the captain. She's an A-rank Valkyrie, after all. There aren't many A-rank Valkyries in Schicksal right now, and just the title of A-rank brings a huge network of connections."

One of the Assault Team members said.

There were plenty of rich people in this world, and most of them valued their lives, but only Schicksal's Valkyries could protect them from the frequent Honkai incidents every year.

Even if Ragnar did nothing, many politicians and wealthy individuals would still try to curry favor with her.

After all, it was a matter of their own lives.

"Otherwise, where do you think our daily feasts come from? The salary Schicksal pays us isn't enough for one meal."

"Don't get me wrong, we didn't take money—we just had them send some ingredients and alcohol."

"As for Lady Theresa, she's the Grand Bishop's granddaughter."

"Hiss!!"

The newbie sharply sucked in a breath.

The seniors spoke one after another, clearly not wanting her to misunderstand Ragnar, since this was an effect of the system itself—not something she could completely refuse even if she wanted to.

But that last bombshell completely stunned her.

"Captain Ragnar actually knows someone like that?"

"Of course, they've even fought together."

"Lady Theresa even owes Captain Ragnar a favor."

At this point, they definitely had to hype up Captain Ragnar—though in their eyes, it wasn't hype, just telling the truth. Captain Ragnar was both adorable and formidable.

"Leave this to Sis Ragnar."

"Xiao Ji, this is your first time at Schicksal Headquarters. Let me show you around and introduce you to the place. The port where our Assault docked is the air harbor exclusively for Valkyrie units."

A drunkard who, when intoxicated, could mix vodka and whiskey together and pass it off as Oolong Tea, became a caring big sister when she wasn't drinking.

She was also one of the few who knew that the newbie wanted to join Schicksal.

"...Then I'll leave it to you."

The new member of the Assault Team naturally wouldn't refuse the suggestion.

"But everyone else..."

The other team members were already sprawled out on the sofas and beds in the break room. Some had even pulled out a game console from somewhere, claiming a game called Kallen Fantasy had just been ported to the platform—as diehard fans, how could they miss this chance?

Others suggested heading to the grand bathhouse for a soak. A few members who hadn't bathed in days got so excited they started stripping as they walked, barely held back by the two people beside them.

"It's just the two of us going for a walk. They definitely don't want to leave the break room right now—oh, except for the bath group, who love soaking."

"What's that supposed to mean? Liking baths is a crime now?"

"Exactly, exactly. This is the finest culture the Far East has to offer."

"Too bad the headquarters doesn't have hot springs. Speaking of which, didn't the captain drill one up last time?"

The bath group chatted cheerfully about hot springs as they headed toward the headquarters' grand bathhouse.

The team member assigned to guide the newcomer let out a helpless sigh, looking like someone resigned to a mischievous little sister's antics.

"Let's go, Himeko."

Under the other's guidance, the newcomer began to learn about Schicksal Headquarters.

Schicksal Headquarters was a massive cluster of floating islands suspended over the Mediterranean Sea. It served as the administrative center of Schicksal and the organization's most core research facility. The headquarters comprised nine main islands, named after the nine realms of the World Tree in Norse mythology.

The area they were in now was [Valhalla], colloquially known as the Hall of the Slain—the primary zone where Valkyries and their candidates lived and operated.

Valhalla belonged to one of the nine main islands, [Asgard].

"I knew Schicksal was impressive, but I never imagined it was this impressive."

The new member of the Assault Team kept exclaiming in awe.

She truly hadn't expected the Schicksal headquarters to be built on a group of floating islands.

A thousand words condensed into one: Holy shit.