Chang Yuan looked at Airi, his eyes full of helplessness.
He had known all along that following Airi would make him a target sooner or later.
He just never expected that day to come so quickly. He had not even been here for a full day.
"Hehe~? Yuan, I believe in your strength."
Airi patted Chang Yuan on the shoulder and encouraged him.
Compared to the others, Chang Yuan truly was pitifully weak.
But compared to these people, while he could not necessarily defeat all of them, he could at least take on ten at once.
So for now, no one could possibly take Chang Yuan's position as vice-captain.
"Good grief. Fine. If anyone refuses to accept it later, come and try me. I'll let you know whether I deserve this position."
Helplessly, Chang Yuan could only leave them with those words.
And without question, the members of the First Squad secretly made up their minds to spar with Chang Yuan when they got the chance.
"Let's go. We'll take a look at our dorms. Though I remember men and women live separately, so don't be unable to sleep because you aren't with me, Chang Yuan~?"
"..."
Chang Yuan rolled his eyes at Airi's teasing and followed after her.
What a joke. How could he possibly be unable to sleep at night just because Airi was no longer there with him?
That was absolutely impossible.
That night...
"..."
In the six-person dormitory, where he was the only one present, Chang Yuan stared at the ceiling with reddened eyes.
Damn it, he really had insomnia.
Could it be because he had always shared a room with Airi before, and now that his sleeping companion was suddenly gone, he could not sleep?
"Sigh, give it a few days. I should get used to it after a few days."
Chang Yuan sighed helplessly, then got out of bed and continued practicing his Cun Xin Quan Fa.
Now that he possessed the Honkai resistance of an A-rank Valkyrie, he would be letting down that dose of Honkai resistance medicine if he did not push his stamina and physical abilities to their limits.
What he did not know was that Airi was also suffering from insomnia. Her situation was just a little better, since at least someone else was in the room with her—namely, a certain red-haired woman.
"Himiko, I can't sleep. Do you know any bedtime stories?"
Airi turned over and asked the woman reading a book in the bed across from her.
"No. The books I read are all science books, not storybooks."
Himiko shook her head.
"Ugh, I was even laughing at Yuan today, wondering whether he would have insomnia after losing me. I never expected I'd be the one with insomnia."
Airi felt like crying without tears.
She could already imagine how Chang Yuan would laugh at her if he saw her dark circles the next day.
"Yuan? Airi, is the person you keep mentioning your boyfriend?"
Hearing such an intimate form of address, along with the meaning behind Airi's words, Himiko's curiosity as a woman was immediately aroused.
"Of course not! Yuan—Yuan is my family, my most important, most important family."
For some reason, Airi felt a little embarrassed and hurriedly denied it.
Though she had never been in love, Himiko had at least picked up some theoretical experience from books, and she saw right through everything.
She gave Airi a meaningful glance, then smiled. "So he's just family. Still, it's obvious that you two have a very good relationship."
"Of course. Not only is Yuan my most important person, I'm definitely his most important person too. We traveled together from a very young age.
"We traveled together for over ten years. That was the happiest time of our lives."
As she recalled the past, Airi did not even notice the slight upward curve of her lips.
But Himiko noticed it clearly.
Tsk, tsk. How was that family? She could not even remember their time together without smiling. She clearly liked him.
Still, Himiko did not point it out. Airi herself had said it was not like that, and it would be inappropriate for an outsider like her to press the matter further.
"You traveled together since childhood? Then you're childhood sweethearts? I really envy you. If only I'd had family like that when I was young."
"Hehe~? It's not too late now, Himiko. From now on, you're my good friend too."
"Airi, I suddenly feel like your good friends are awfully cheap."
"Are they? Ahem~? Then are you willing to be my cheap good friend?"
Airi did not mind in the slightest.
Himiko was amused by her words.
But she also felt warm inside.
She felt that Airi possessed a kind of magic that made people unable to resist wanting to get close to her.
"Sure. Then we're cheap good friends. Please take care of me from now on, cheap friend Airi."
"You too, my cheap Himiko."
Pfft!
They looked at each other's serious responses, then both burst out laughing at once. Fortunately, they were the only two people in this six-person room.
Since the Flame-Chasing Moth had not yet expanded in scale, both captains and ordinary squad members generally lived six to a dormitory.
Though the Flame-Chasing Moth had been established by the upper echelons of various continents, the Honkai had not yet become known across the world.
As a result, their organization remained highly secretive, and they could not expand recklessly.
Before they knew it, Airi and Himiko grew sleepy as they chatted.
They tacitly stopped talking and went to sleep.
Only Chang Yuan was still training.
The next day, at the Flame-Chasing Moth training grounds.
"My, my, Chang Yuan. Looks like you really did have insomnia last night. Ahem~? Without me by your side, you really couldn't sleep."
Seeing Chang Yuan's faint dark circles, Airi teased him softly.
Since she had become sleepy while talking to Himiko the previous night and fallen asleep, she had no dark circles or bloodshot eyes.
So Airi could now openly laugh at Chang Yuan.
"..."
Chang Yuan had nothing to say in response to Airi's teasing, because it was the truth.
Fortunately, it was not as though he had gained nothing. At the very least, he could feel his strength improving. Not by much, but barely enough.
He estimated that after another month of training, he would reach the threshold of a B-rank Valkyrie. In three months, he would possess the strength expected of an A-rank Valkyrie.
At that point, he would be able to fight any Honkai Beast other than a Herrscher. He would no longer be someone who could only hold Airi back.
He would have the ability to stand beside Airi.
Of course, all of that was merely the foundation. What he needed to do was either become even stronger—strong enough to surpass Finality.
Or find another way, a possibility that would allow Airi to live.
Before you continue