"Hehe… let's see what good stuff I can get out of Kiana!"
Levi eagerly clicked the "Claim Reward" button, his excitement growing as radiant light flared across the screen.
'Would it be the Herrscher of the Void's core? Or the Kaslana family's monstrous strength? Or maybe their gun-fighting technique?'
Or perhaps, what he needed most right now, Honkai resistance.
He glanced at his arm, his heart full of anticipation.
[Ding! Congratulations! You've obtained: Kaslana's Stomach!]
"…?"
Staring at the message on the system screen, Levi fell silent for a long moment before slowly typing a question mark.
He rubbed his eyes, closed the panel, reopened it, but it still said Kaslana's Stomach.
Out of all the useful abilities Kiana had, he just had to get the most useless one.
Still, Levi wasn't discouraged. This was just his first time; not getting something good was to be expected.
If he tried a few more times, no matter how bad his luck was, he'd eventually get the ability he wanted.
And besides, this "Kiana's stomach", or rather, Kaslana's stomach, might not actually be as useless as it seemed.
[Kaslana's Stomach!]
[Description: Your stomach seems to connect to another dimension. Food begins digesting the instant it enters. With such a powerful digestive system, you can resist certain poisons.]
Reading the line "resist certain poisons," Levi consoled himself.
"Well, now I can take a part-time job at the Alchemy Division testing potions without worrying about getting poisoned."
The Alchemy Division paid good credits for potion testers, since no one really knew what the medicines would do, it was dangerous work.
If you were unlucky, you might end up drinking poison and reporting to the underworld right then and there.
So yeah, high risk.
But for someone with "Kiana's stomach," that was nothing.
'Go on, poison me!'
'Let's see whether your poison is stronger or my stomach is!'
———
In St. Freya Academy's infirmary, Raiden Mei lay unconscious on the bed, her eyes closed.
Kiana sat quietly at her bedside, watching her sleep.
They had left Changkong City that morning, and by the time they reached this place, called St. Freya Academy, it was already noon.
During all that time, no matter what Kiana did, Mei wouldn't wake up.
Thinking something might be wrong with her body, Kiana had rushed her here to the infirmary.
Now, the diagnosis was complete, they were just waiting for Himeko to return with the reason for Mei's coma.
Looking at the girl on the bed, Kiana couldn't have imagined, no matter how she thought about it, that this person would be chosen to become a Herrscher.
And this "St. Freya" place… it seemed to be a gathering place for Valkyries.
Without Levi possessing her anymore, Kiana felt uneasy surrounded by so many Valkyries.
She was afraid they'd discover she no longer had that power, and beat her to death on the spot.
"Maybe I should ask Levi for help?" She muttered softly.
Didn't he say that if she ever ran into trouble, she should find him?
Just as Kiana was debating whether to contact him, footsteps echoed down the hallway outside.
Click!
The infirmary door opened, and Himeko stepped in holding Mei's medical report, her expression strange as she glanced at the unconscious girl.
Then she looked at Kiana beside the bed and said, "Don't worry. She's just overexerted herself, her body went into a protective state. Once she's had enough rest, she'll wake up."
Himeko handed Kiana the report, though Kiana couldn't make heads or tails of it.
She pretended to read it seriously, then placed it on the nightstand, murmuring a quiet "thank you."
Himeko nodded and leaned against the wall in the corner, her gaze drifting back to Mei as she recalled what the doctor had told her.
The amount of Honkai energy inside Raiden Mei's body was far beyond human levels, almost enough to confirm that she wasn't human at all, but a Herrscher.
Meanwhile, Kiana's Honkai energy readings were completely normal. In fact, her physical stats showed she was an excellent candidate for a Valkyrie.
That left Himeko, who had seen Kiana's power firsthand back in Changkong City, utterly dumbfounded.
So… she'd mistaken the Herrscher?
The purple-haired Raiden Mei was the Herrscher, and the white-haired Kiana was just an ordinary person?
But then why had Ai-chan detected Herrscher energy from Kiana during the battle in Changkong City?
'Could Ai-chan have malfunctioned?'
Himeko frowned, thinking it over.
Then something occurred to her. "Oh right, Kiana, someone's coming to see you soon."
"Who?" Kiana blinked, confused. She wasn't with Schicksal, didn't know any Valkyries, who would come looking for her here?
"Your aunt."
"…?"
Just as Kiana was about to ask since when she'd had an aunt, hurried footsteps sounded again in the hallway.
Bang!
The door burst open, and a short white-haired girl appeared in the doorway.
"So you're Kiana?" the newcomer said, scanning her up and down before nodding. "Looks like it, you really take after your mother."
"You know my mom?!"
"Of course I do! I even held you when you were little!"
The girl straightened her slightly rumpled nun's outfit. "Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Theresa Apocalypse, headmaster of St. Freya Academy."
"And also your aunt."
Kiana's jaw dropped as she stared at Theresa, who had calmly declared herself both headmaster and aunt.
She remembered seeing the massive scale of St. Freya from the air earlier, to be the headmaster of a place like that, Theresa must be loaded.
"And as for what St. Freya does… I think you've already guessed, it's a school that trains Valkyries."
"Theresa…"
Himeko called her name, and Theresa turned to look. Himeko gestured toward the unconscious Mei with a nod.
"The doctor already told me about her," Theresa said.
She stepped out into the hallway and brought in the massive golden cross, Judah.
With Judah here, even the strongest Herrscher would be brought to justice.
Seeing Theresa carry Judah in, Himeko relaxed a little.
"I was starting to think you hadn't prepared anything."
"Hmph! That just means you don't know your headmaster well enough!" Theresa huffed, tilting her head proudly.
Something suddenly occurred to Himeko, and she asked cautiously, "By the way, Theresa… about the Hyperion's crash..."
"I already know about that," Theresa cut her off. "And I've decided on your punishment." She crossed her arms.
"Your salary's cut in half this month!"
"What?! That wasn't even my fault!"
"Stop complaining! Be glad I'm not making you pay for the repairs yourself! Do you have any idea how much the maintenance crew charged me for fixing the Hyperion?!"
Listening to their back-and-forth, Kiana's gaze drifted toward the golden cross in Theresa's hands.
Apparently, this "Judah" thing was meant to keep Mei from going berserk.
But honestly, could a single cross really stop a rampaging Herrscher?
Kiana seriously doubted it.
And from their conversation, she also realized something else, Theresa might not be as rich as she'd thought.
After all, if she'd already resorted to cutting employee wages to cover expenses… how rich could she really be?
As the two adults continued talking, movement stirred on the bed, Raiden Mei was starting to wake up.