In the morning in Nagazora City, sunlight shone through the gaps of the pleated blinds... The white bedsheets reflected the sunlight, making it a bit dazzling. A white-haired girl lay quietly on the snow-white hospital bed.
"Mmm~" The loli-like Theresa was awakened from her deep sleep by the sunlight. She slowly opened her azure eyes, staring blankly at the snow-white ceiling.
"Where is this?!" After being dazed for a moment, Theresa suddenly came to her senses, lifted the snow-white quilt covering her, sat up, and scanned the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Wasn't I... fighting the Fourth Herrscher?!" Theresa clutched her slightly aching head and said as if talking to herself. She remembered smashing a window to escape, and then she couldn't remember anything... It seemed she had a dream, but she couldn't recall it clearly.
"Swish!~" The white curtain that served as a screen was suddenly pulled aside. To Theresa's shock, a boy sauntered in, holding a plate of what was obviously pre-packaged bread.
"Walter?!" Theresa exclaimed, immediately standing up and assuming a defensive posture. The only person she could think of who could walk around freely in a 3A-level Honkai zone like Nagazora City was the First Herrscher she had been pursuing.
"..." Li Xuan was taken aback by Theresa's reaction. What the hell was a Walter?!... He only knew of Watt, who invented the steam engine.
"My name is Li Xuan, not Walter..." Li Xuan casually placed the tray with breakfast on the bedside table and said flatly.
"Li Xuan?... Li Xuan?!..." The loli principal muttered the somewhat familiar name. She suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes glowing as she stared at Li Xuan as if he were a giant panda, a national treasure in a national park.
"Wh-what is it?!" Li Xuan felt a little creeped out by her gaze.
"That's right!" Theresa smiled, struck her left palm with her right fist, and said with some excitement, "You're that 'Chosen One' with the Natural Stigmata that Kiana mentioned?!"
"Kiana?!" After more than half a month, Li Xuan heard the name of that white-haired idiot again. "Didn't Kiana, Mei, and Bronya go missing?!" Even though Li Xuan wasn't in a good mood, he still spoke with some excitement.
"No, they didn't..." Theresa said in a good mood. "They are at St. Freya High School studying how to fight the Honkai and working hard to become [Valkyries]~"
"St. Freya High School?" Li Xuan stared at the proud, arms-crossed Theresa with a look of utter confusion.
"Yes..." Theresa jumped off the hospital bed. She stretched, closed her eyes, and recited as if from a textbook, "St. Freya High School is a specialized training institution for anti-Honkai warriors—Valkyries—founded by Schicksal. It is the main force for organizing and sealing the Honkai. St. Freya High School's headquarters is in Europe, but of course, there are branches in various places. The academy gathers the most cutting-edge technology from all countries in the world and is the foremost fortress in the fight against the Honkai."
"By the way!" Theresa paused her explanation and stared at Li Xuan's arm with anticipation. "Where is your Natural Stigmata? Can I have a look?..."
"..." Just how much of my background did that idiot Kiana sell out?! Li Xuan thought speechlessly. Among the lily trio, Kiana's mouth was probably the loosest. Helplessly, Li Xuan had no choice but to undo the white bandage wrapped around the back of his right hand.
The snow-white bandage unraveled, revealing the bright red stigmata mark on the back of his hand, with the Two Principles Yin-Yang pattern in the center and the Four Symbols pattern on the four sides...
"As expected... a new Stigmata that has never been seen before!" Theresa grabbed Li Xuan's hand as if she had discovered a new continent, staring at it intently, which made Li Xuan a little awkward...
Of course, Li Xuan didn't know what the discovery of a new Stigmata represented for the current Theresa...
"Young man... would you like to sign a contract with me... and become a student at my school?!" Theresa frowned and thought for a moment before suddenly uttering these words under Li Xuan's strange gaze.
"....." Li Xuan, who had just taken a small sip of tea, almost spat it out and barely managed to hold it in. 'Will you sign a contract with me and become a magical girl?' Such a familiar line...
However...
"..." Li Xuan fell silent for a moment, looking at the expectant white-haired loli in front of him. He was somewhat interested in that academy... He really knew less about this world than an elementary school student.
"How can a child like you be in charge?..." Li Xuan glanced at her child-like figure, flat as the Northeast Plain, and leisurely took a sip of tea... Gaining admission to a proper academy isn't that easy.
"A-a child?!..." Theresa's little face turned as red as a tomato.
"I! Am! An adult!" Principal Theresa, who was quite dignified in Yuudachi's eyes, said these words through gritted teeth, her face flushed.
"Pfft!" Li Xuan spat out a mouthful of tea. He looked at the 'adult' before him, who was clearly a little loli in appearance, with a look of horror... Li Xuan had once heard a group of otaku in some Penguin chat group excitedly discussing the so-called 'legal lolis'... He never thought that fate would be so tricky... that such a creature, like a grade-one rare national animal, would appear before him.
"Moreover... I am the principal of the Far East Branch's St. Freya High School!" Theresa said, as if determined to shock him to death. "Are you willing to join our academy?..." Theresa swore that if the guy in front of her wasn't a Stigmata wielder, she would definitely give him a beating.
"Kiana and the others are there!~" Seeing Li Xuan still silent, Theresa became a little anxious. She was determined to bring this kid back to the academy... The value of a Stigmata wielder was simply too high.
"Tuition is free!"
"You'll receive the principal's scholarship every semester!"
"The academy will also cover your room and board!" Theresa kept throwing out promises to entice Li Xuan.
"..." Li Xuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke, "I have one more request..."
"Go ahead..." Theresa said through gritted teeth, preparing herself for an outrageous demand.
"Can you give me 10,000 Honkai Crystals?" Li Xuan stated his request directly.
"Huh?!" Theresa, who was prepared for a perverted request, was completely stunned.
"Is it a deal or not?..." Li Xuan asked, a little impatiently. If not, he might as well stay in Nagazora City and farm Crystals. Yae Sakura's importance was far greater than any academy's...
"Ah? Oh! Yes... as long as it's not for any illegal purposes, I can give them to you..." As the supreme commander of the Schicksal Far East Branch, getting ten thousand Honkai Crystals wasn't a difficult matter.
"Alright... I can go to that academy with you." Li Xuan stood up and walked out. He still hadn't gotten over his mood and was still feeling a bit down.
"Mm... okay." Theresa showed a relieved expression. At least she had recruited another promising prospect for her academy... even though this prospect was a boy...
"By the way!" Theresa suddenly remembered something. She shouted at Li Xuan, who was about to walk out of the hospital room, "Li Xuan-kun, I remember being poisoned, right? Did you cure me?"
"..." Li Xuan's body trembled. After a moment of silence, he said in a hoarse voice, "It wasn't me. You'll find out later..."
"......" Theresa silently watched Li Xuan's departing figure, somewhat dazed...
"Why does he seem so sad?..."
(End of this chapter)