Just then, the white-haired woman who had delivered the appointment letter to the Assault Team led a little white-haired girl toward them from directly ahead.
"Lord Amber."
The team member beside her lowered her head in salute and quietly tugged at the newcomer's sleeve.
Realizing her breach of etiquette, the newcomer hurriedly lowered her head as well.
But then... she felt a curious gaze studying her.
Still, Knowledge Changes Fate (Revised)
At that moment, she was studying the two Valkyries before her with curiosity.
She had not heard any news for several days, and Bishop Otto had not summoned her either. She had thought he had forgotten about the matter.
After all, she could not guess Bishop Otto's thoughts. Who knew whether all those words of encouragement had merely been a whim, or whether he would simply assign her some C-rank Valkyrie?
She truly had not expected Bishop Otto to assign the Assault Team as her instructors.
After notifying her of the news, Amber had specifically introduced the Assault Team to her.
Aside from the Assault Team's captain being an A-rank Valkyrie, two or three of its members possessed the strength of A-rank Valkyries as well, though they had not undergone rank assessments. The remaining members were all among the very best B-rank Valkyries.
It was precisely because the Assault Team possessed such strength that it had been assigned to suppress the Far East, a region plagued by frequent Honkai incidents. If a serious Honkai incident occurred elsewhere, the Assault Team would even be deployed there.
After studying for some time, she already understood what the A, B, C, and D Valkyrie ranks represented. Naturally, she would not make the embarrassing mistake of thinking a Valkyrie's rank was equivalent to her cup size.
Valkyries were generally divided into four ranks: A, B, C, and D.
Ranks could be advanced through assessments.
Only B-rank Valkyries and above were qualified to enter combat. A-rank Valkyries not only had the authority to fight independently and receive missions directly assigned by Headquarters, but could also apply for their own battleships and establish their own combat squads. For ordinary Valkyries, A-rank was the goal of a lifetime.
In fact, Valkyries also had the special S-rank. Of course, S-ranks were rather special, and Schicksal currently had only one S-rank Valkyrie.
Then, she once again marveled at how outrageously attractive the people in Schicksal were.
Even Valkyries were soldiers who frequently entered the battlefield. Strange odors were inevitable, going days without bathing was normal, and without adequate rest, their skin would become extremely rough. After several months, they would look more than ten years older.
She had always thought deployed Valkyrie squads were groups of Muscle Barbies.
Of course, Muscle Barbies could be attractive too.
In her imagination, the Assault Team, which had fought year-round in a place like the Far East, might well have been a group of Gagarans.
Yes, the kind with especially well-developed muscles.
"...The Assault Team?"
But reality slapped her across the face.
What was she seeing?
She had happened upon two Assault Team members in the corridor. One was a gentle older sister with long apricot-colored wavy hair, while the other was a beautiful older sister with red hair tied in a ponytail.
There was not a single flaw to be found in either their faces or figures.
Especially the red-haired older sister, whose face carried a trace of melancholy. She gave her the strange feeling of, Oh no, this is what it feels like to fall for someone.
"We are indeed members of the Assault Team. I never expected Lady Kiana to know us."
The woman with long apricot-colored wavy hair raised her head, gazing at her with eyes overflowing with tenderness. Her voice was just as gentle.
She abruptly shuddered.
That look was especially familiar to her now.
Looking at the woman who radiated maternal affection from head to toe, she shrank back half a step.
Clearly, this was another person who wanted to be her mother.
There was no shortage of people like that in Schicksal now. Even her Little Maids would secretly murmur things like, "Kiki, sleep well. Mom loves you," while she slept.
It had to be said that she had a tragic background that easily tugged at women's heartstrings, along with a beautiful face that easily stirred maternal instincts.
"I heard that Lady Kiana wishes to become a Valkyrie like Lady Cecilia. I believe the Assault Team will certainly be able to contribute to Lady Kiana's dream."
The woman with long apricot-colored wavy hair spoke gently.
Her center of gravity tilted slightly forward. If Amber had not been beside her, the woman would have long since pulled her into her arms.
"...I-is that so? I'm looking forward to it."
No matter what the other woman called her in her heart, the Assault Team's strength had ultimately been recognized by Schicksal.
The Assault Team was to serve as her instructors. Not merely one Valkyrie from the team, but the entire Assault Team. It was clear just how much Bishop Otto had invested this time.
After the Second Eruption, Schicksal had fallen short on manpower. Although there were plenty of Valkyries, there were truly not many who could stand on their own.
Even after making exceptional promotions and raising several Valkyries to A-rank, they still could not be stationed across the entire world.
In many regions, they could only send squad after squad of Valkyries to fill the gap with their lives.
Yet Bishop Otto had now pulled such a main force off the front lines to serve as her instructors. Clearly, whatever Bishop Otto was planning was even bigger...
"Looks like I still underestimated the value of Black Abyss White Flower..."
The only reason she could think of was naturally Black Abyss White Flower.
Unfortunately, she did not know what a Divine Key was and could not accurately assess Black Abyss White Flower's value. Otherwise, she could have used this opportunity to make demands of Bishop Otto.
Even if it were merely securing a little free time for herself, or expanding the range of her daily activities, it would help her future efforts to save True Kiana.
But she simply could not estimate Black Abyss White Flower's value. Going to Bishop Otto with random demands under such circumstances would be nothing but seeking death...
Since Bishop Otto had already cloned one K422, he could naturally clone countless K422s.
She did not believe she was truly that important.
"Forget it. I'd better not probe that bastard Otto's limits..."
In the end, she still lacked knowledge related to Divine Keys, which was why she could not negotiate terms with Bishop Otto.
However, Bishop Otto would never arrange lessons on Divine Keys as part of her education.
"Knowledge really does change fate..."
After bidding farewell to the two Assault Team members, she followed Amber to the Assault Team's lounge.
"Lord Amber, hello. Could this be Lady Kiana? Hello, Lady Kiana. I'm Ragna Rodbrok. Please take care of me from now on."
Once Captain Ragnar finished introducing herself, her thoughts abruptly came to a halt.
"Sister Laguna, you scared the young lady."
"Huh? My tone was perfectly normal just now..."
Laguna was deeply frustrated. She was perfectly normal right now.
Just then, she came back to her senses and blurted out, "Why are you dressed as a maid?!"
Pfft!!
Hahahaha!
Pfft!
The other members in the lounge immediately lost control of their expressions.
"...Out of in-interest." Laguna's cheeks reddened.
"That's a wonderful interest."
Although Captain Ragnar seemed embarrassed, she still wanted to praise her.
Beautiful people looked good in anything. That Maid Dress was also very lovely, so naturally the two complemented each other.
"Ah, thank you for the compliment."
Being complimented on her hobby by an eight-year-old child, Laguna suddenly felt the urge to dig a hole and bury herself in it.
"...I should have changed clothes."
Feeling as if she had created a new piece of embarrassing history, Laguna was in low spirits and could not help muttering softly.
She happened to hear the muttering and smiled. "Captain Ragnar, I mean it. You look very beautiful in that outfit. I was stunned just now."
Of course, she would never say that when she first saw Laguna dressed as a maid, she had thought she was a strange person.
"Lady Kiana~~ Thank you for the compliment."
As she spoke, Laguna finally could not hold herself back. She scooped her into her arms and pressed her head against her chest.
"Wuwu, she's so sensible it breaks my heart."
"I heard she even forgot what Lady Cecilia looked like because of that laboratory accident. How pitiful."
"Those crazy scientists never have a few who aren't messed up. Hmph, once I get the chance, I'll definitely deal with them for Lady Kiana."
The other members in the lounge began shedding tears as well.
A little girl who had lost her parents was actually so considerate of others. Clearly, she had suffered quite a lot within Schicksal too.
Many members from Schicksal Headquarters wanted to rush over and hug this lonely little girl.
"..."
Honestly.
She wanted to beat Bishop Otto more and more.
Why had he given her such a character setting for no reason?
She was about to become the inspirational chicken soup of every Valkyrie and trainee in Schicksal.
Anyone unaware of the truth would think she had been crippled by a laboratory accident, yet still wished to become the strongest Valkyrie who protected the people like her mother. After being healed by Bishop Otto, she had become the Assault Team's student and taken her first step toward becoming the strongest Valkyrie.
(ノ=Д=)ノ┻━┻
She was so angry she could flip a table.
Of course, her training would begin tomorrow. For now, she had merely come to specifically visit the captain of the Assault Team and her members.
However, the Assault Team was not fully assembled at the moment.
Some were wandering around the Valhalla area with newcomers, while others had gone in groups to soak in the public bath.
If Amber had not checked the time and then reminded Captain Ragnar, she might not have been able to escape from the embrace of that group of Valkyries with nowhere to direct their maternal affection.
Although she had always dismissed Bishop Otto's brainwashing lessons with contempt, at that moment, she truly felt grateful that Bishop Otto had arranged the course for her.
As for the material in those brainwashing lessons, it was only meant to fool ignorant little girls who did not understand the situation.
After the first lesson ended, Amber began arranging a new schedule with the blonde older sister.
After all, beginning tomorrow, her mornings would be entirely reserved for the Assault Team.
The blonde older sister who taught her looked regretful at the moment. It was obviously impossible for her not to feel a little conflicted.
But the ones taking her class were the Assault Team.
The blonde older sister was herself a fan of the Assault Team and wanted to train alongside them. Naturally, she was incredibly envious that Kiana had an entire Assault Team serving as her instructors.
When night came, it was naturally time for the three-way meeting.
However, tonight's three-way meeting had encountered a small accident. Although accidents often happened during these meetings, this one nearly caused her and True Kiana to lose their minds.
The moment they entered that space filled only with darkness, she and True Kiana saw each other. Right afterward, they noticed K423 crying nonstop.
Because K423 still only knew how to cry, she and True Kiana naturally had not paid attention to her. That was why they had not immediately noticed what had happened to K423.
Once the two realized that tonight's crying sounded especially unusual, they turned, intending to scold K423, only to discover that K423's right arm was wrapped in layer upon layer of bandages.
She and True Kiana grabbed K423 and tore the bandages from her arm. Both their pupils abruptly contracted.
Underneath the bandages were no fewer than thirty needle marks.
Hmm, the Three Sisters Together (Revised)
The moment she and True Kiana saw the needle marks on K423's arm, they immediately understood what this Crybaby had gone through.
"Wait!!"
Before you continue