I Am the Saintess of Heavenly Mandate Chapter 19

21. Please take good care of me, impressive little lady (revised)

Fortunately, Captain Ragnar only got a bit carried away and soon let her go.

"Ahem, anyway, let's start with warm-up exercises. Since this is the beginning of training, we don't need to set the difficulty too high—just jog along the edge of the training ground."

Training Ground 11 wasn't large, but one full lap was still fourteen hundred meters.

"By the way, our team's new recruit will be training with you too."

As he spoke, Ragnar pointed at a red-haired woman sitting on the ground with a look of utter despair.

Though this new recruit was determined to become a Valkyrie, she had originally been a research shut-in, deeply immersed in her studies, and had even produced results—otherwise, she wouldn't have earned her doctorate at such a young age.

And it was a doctorate from Caltech, no less.

"Hello, pretty big sister. Let's do our best together later."

"Captain, what exactly is this adorable creature? She's so polite—can I take her home and keep her?"

The red-haired woman exclaimed in surprise, never expecting such words.

"New recruit, stop that bold idea right now, and get up off the ground immediately. How much more face do you want to lose in front of Lady Kiana?"

"Oh..."

The new recruit knew her slacking time was over, so she had to get up from the ground and obediently stand behind Captain Ragnar.

"Lady Kiana, let's begin the warm-up exercises."

Since she had shown up early at the training ground, Captain Ragnar naturally didn't mind starting the lesson ahead of schedule.

"I'm counting on you, Captain Ragnar."

The warm-up exercises were meant to prepare for the upcoming training and prevent injuries during the process. Captain Ragnar explained them to her in great detail.

After completing the warm-up under Captain Ragnar's guidance, she and the Assault Team's new recruit began jogging along the outer edge of the training ground.

The Assault Team's new recruit was an adult after all, and before long, she had left her behind.

Worried that she might get injured during training, several Assault Team members followed behind her. With a Valkyrie's physical capabilities, even if she accidentally fell, those members could quickly reach her side.

In truth, it was also because she was running very slowly.

By the time she finished one lap, the Assault Team's new recruit had nearly completed two.

But as soon as that new recruit finished two laps, she was panting heavily, hands on her hips.

And when she finished two laps, the new recruit had also ended her fourth lap, leaning against the wall as if she had nothing left to give.

"I never expected Lady Kiana to run twenty-eight hundred meters on her first try."

"Come on, let's bring water. Don't let Lady Kiana get dehydrated."

"Got it. Hey, wait—Lady Kiana hasn't stopped."

Several Assault Team members wore stunned expressions.

For an eight-year-old girl, jogging twenty-eight hundred meters was already a significant amount of exercise.

"Lady Kiana, please wait. You've just started training; overexertion isn't suitable for you."

Seeing that she indeed wanted to go for another lap, the Assault Team members who caught up quickly reminded her.

"Your body is still developing in all aspects. Excessive exercise can easily cause serious damage."

"Doesn't the Schicksal organization... have drugs that quickly restore physical stamina?"

Stopping her training was out of the question.

Every time she thought of what K423 had endured, even though she was now tired and suffering, strength to persevere surged from within her body.

"Lady Kiana, such drugs heavily drain the body."

"But then when will I ever get stronger?"

Ending training after just two laps—how many years would it take for her to pin Bishop Otto to the ground and beat him up?

Her urgent desire to grow stronger didn't conflict with the persona Bishop Otto had crafted for her, so naturally, she wasn't afraid of him suspecting her motives.

If asked, she would say she wanted to become the strongest Valkyrie, like her mother.

If asked again, she would say that only the strong could possess beauties, and she was determined to be that kind of strong.

"Lady Kiana, rest assured. Jogging is foundational—as long as you persist daily, it will take effect. But today's training session isn't just jogging."

Otherwise, why would the Assault Team's class time take up an entire morning? Even with her short legs running slowly, a fourteen-hundred-meter jog took fifty minutes, and two laps took an hour and forty minutes—but there was still plenty of time left in this lesson.

Captain Ragnar was also worried she might push herself too hard, so he set aside the new recruit and came over to persuade her as well.

"Since Captain Ragnar says so..."

With even Captain Ragnar advising her, she naturally couldn't keep forcing herself to continue running.

Just as Captain Ragnar and his team members had said, her body was still small, and even training couldn't be excessive, or it would only harm her.

"That's good. Lady Kiana, take a rest and rehydrate. Originally, you were only supposed to run one lap today."

"I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Kiana-sama, you don't have to do this."

Captain Ragnar was also quite helpless.

Clearly, he was at a loss for how to handle her politeness.

"Kiana-sama, after you've rested, we'll start with twenty push-ups, twenty sit-ups, and twenty squats."

Ragnar tried to speak in the gentlest tone he could muster.

Though he had heard many rumors about Kiana, most of them seemed to rely on sensationalism to fool people, and Ragnar had never believed them from the start.

How impressive could an eight-year-old girl really be?

Even if the girl's mother was a hero, that didn't mean the girl herself had to become one.

Stories about her participating in an experiment to become the strongest Valkyrie, only to suffer memory confusion due to an accident—tales that would make anyone who heard them sad and anyone who saw them weep.

Even Captain Ragnar had quietly joined the secret club "Let Mom Love You Again."

But he never expected her to actually push herself this hard.

The rumors were true.

The daughter of the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal, Cecilia, was as noble as her mother.

A lofty soul must surely reside within this young body.

Captain Ragnar found that he had instead become her little fan... no, given his age, it should be big fan.

Captain Ragnar smiled wryly as he corrected a few of her wrong movements.

She still didn't know that Captain Ragnar had become her fan. She had just finished twenty push-ups, twenty sit-ups, and twenty squats, and was already exhausted.

Her knees felt like a newborn fawn's, trembling uncontrollably.

After applying some ointment, the morning lessons came to an end.

Incidentally, the training volume for that new recruit from the Assault Team was exactly twice hers. She wondered if the Assault Team's captain had done it on purpose.

She still didn't know the new recruit's name even now.

One member with wavy apricot-colored hair really liked calling their team's new recruit "Little Hime."

The next day, when she arrived at Training Ground 11, this new recruit from the Assault Team introduced herself.

"Allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Murata Himeko. I joined the Assault Team a month ago. Please take care of me, impressive little girl."

22. Hardworking to the Point of Heartache (Revised)

Before she knew it, Murata Himeko had been at Schicksal headquarters for half a month. She gradually grew accustomed to the heavy daily training, and Captain Ragnar even started considering whether to increase the training volume.

The most important indicator for becoming a Valkyrie was resistance to Honkai Energy.

Whenever a Honkai outbreak occurred, it was accompanied by a massive release of Honkai Energy. Ordinary people exposed to high concentrations of Honkai Energy would quickly be corroded and die, or could even be transformed into Deadmen.

Murata Himeko underwent a Valkyrie aptitude test at headquarters, and the result showed that her Honkai Energy resistance wasn't particularly high.

Even if she became a Valkyrie, she wouldn't be all that impressive.

Of course, Murata Himeko was very satisfied with this result.

Though the value wasn't high, as long as it met the standard, that was enough. Captain Ragnar naturally applied for the Valkyrie modification surgery on her behalf.

Thinking that she would soon undergo the Valkyrie modification surgery, Murata Himeko trained even harder, to the point where even the other members of the Assault Team admired her determination to become a Valkyrie.

Honkai Energy resistance couldn't be improved just by exercising the body.

But a strong body could accommodate more Honkai Energy.

The Valkyrie modification surgery itself used Honkai Energy to strengthen girls who had Honkai Energy adaptability.

The higher a girl's Honkai Energy resistance, the more dosage she could withstand, and that also represented her upper limit as a Valkyrie.

Murata Himeko didn't have such talent, but a strong body could indeed raise that upper limit a bit.

So no matter how outrageous the training volume Captain Ragnar arranged, she gritted her teeth and pushed through.

After all, she really wasn't some genius, so if she didn't even put in the effort herself, how could she expect to get the returns she wanted?

In this world, effort might not bring returns, but without effort, there would definitely be no returns.

"Little Hime, take a break."

"Wait a moment..."

Murata Himeko raised her hand to stop the senior with wavy apricot-colored hair.

Her gaze quickly passed over several team members and landed on that small figure.

The other's performance not only impressed her but also stunned the entire Assault Team.

An eight-year-old girl trained until she was physically exhausted every time before leaving, and if it weren't for a group of little maids helping her, she might not even have the strength to leave this training ground.

"I can still keep going..."

A few days ago, she could still stay two laps ahead of this little girl, but today, the gap between her and the girl was only one and a half laps.

If she didn't work harder, she might soon be left behind by this little girl.

"Ah, that child—her hard work is heartbreaking to witness."

The woman with apricot-colored wavy hair naturally noticed the little girl being followed by several members of the Assault Team.

Their captain had set a training limit for the little girl; completing half of it would suffice for her daily regimen, yet the little girl, driven by her own will, finished the full amount every single day.

Murata Himeko nodded. "I always thought those rumors about her were just propaganda from Schicksal, but I never expected them to be true."

Having been at Schicksal headquarters for half a month, as a newcomer to the Assault Team, she had naturally encountered quite a few of Cecilia's little fangirls.

If anything, Schicksal headquarters had never lacked for Cecilia's admirers.

Many of these young fans might not know the Snow Wolf Squad or what Cecilia's husband was called, but they knew Cecilia's preferences inside and out.

Because of this, Murata Himeko had always believed that the rumors about Kiana at headquarters were a kind of fan effect—since she was Cecilia's daughter, everyone loved her.

At just two years old, she had endured the tragic loss of her mother and her father's betrayal.

But fate seemed to mock her by afflicting her with an incurable disease. If not for Bishop Otto's intervention, Kiana would have long since died of illness.

Of course, Kiana contracted that incurable disease after her father's betrayal; it was also around that time that she suddenly vanished mysteriously, leading many within Schicksal to believe her father had taken her away, until Bishop Otto recently announced that she had recovered.

Even so, fate still refused to let her go.

From early childhood, influenced by her mother, Kiana aspired to become Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, yet she lost her past memories in an experimental accident.

"Seeing how desperately she trains, how could anyone think those rumors were false?"

As long as she hadn't reached her daily training limit, Kiana would keep pushing forward.

Over these days, many Valkyries and trainees had come to watch, and though the Assault Team members persuaded them not to interfere with Kiana's training, her sheer intensity in training had spread thoroughly among the Valkyries and trainees.

"Speaking of which, Captain, you've joined a secret club called 'Let Mom Love You Again,' haven't you? Can I join too?"

Murata Himeko asked the woman with apricot-colored wavy hair out of curiosity.

After all, this senior was already a member of that secret club.