— St. Freya · Himeko's Villa —
Kiana lay paralyzed on the sofa as if she had burned out, her head sneaking its way onto Irene's lap. "So tired... This is the first time I've felt that going to school is this exhausting."
"That's because today is the day you actually started attending class properly." Irene leaned back on the sofa, stroking Kiana's head. "And even if you try to sell me your pity, I won't give you a discount on your homework."
"Teacher Irene, do I look that utilitarian to you?" Kiana rolled her eyes, but immediately sat up. "But I really feel so tired."
"Rather than fussing about whether studying is tiring or not?" Irene looked at Kiana, who had sat up, rolled her eyes, and reached out to flick Kiana's forehead. "You'd be better off worrying about your credits."
"Eh, credits?!" Kiana jumped up from the sofa as if hearing this for the first time. "Do I still owe a lot of credits?"
"Did you think you didn't?" Himeko poked her head out from the dining table to look at Kiana. "Think about how many times you've cut class and how many times you've slept through them. How many credits do you think you owe?"
"Don't bring up your last mission with Chiyou. Although that mission gave a lot of credits, it's still not enough to cover what you owe."
"Ah, just kill me then." Upon hearing this, Kiana flopped directly onto the sofa, her entire being instantly exuding the aura of a salted fish.
"Forget it, if there aren't enough credits, then there aren't enough. By the way, the higher my combat record, the faster I'll be promoted, right?"
"Theoretically, that is the case," Bronya nodded. "However, even in normal missions, Kiana is just playing support for the Class Monitor."
After Kiana's enthusiasm for learning surged, it seemed she finally wasn't just hot for three minutes. Since this was the case, everyone was naturally willing to help Kiana.
After all, during missions, Kiana had always been the type of front-row character who volunteered to tank damage and dared to fight and struggle. Her personality was good, even if she had a slight little 'bent' quirk.
But among this group, who didn't count as at least half-bent? It was just that some people hadn't admitted it yet or insisted they were straight. But within the Schicksal Valkyries, people with this quirk were truly not in the minority.
So if Kiana was willing to start making progress, everyone was actually quite happy. The most obvious among them seemed to be Fu Hua, who often took Kiana along on missions.
"That's true too." Hearing this, Kiana seemed even more miserable, turning completely gray. "Just kill me already."
"Saying the same phrase twice makes it useless." Irene patted the grayed-out Kiana on the sofa. "Work a little harder, and maybe you'll make up the credits."
"I feel like you're fooling me, Teacher Irene." Kiana rubbed against Irene's hand. "But I don't seem to have evidence."
"It's been trouble for the Class Monitor to take Kiana on missions these past few days." At the dining table to the side, Mei placed the pastries she had made on the table. "This is a Shenzhou dessert I learned recently. Please have a taste and give me some pointers."
"It is within my duties, so it's not too much trouble. Kiana is also very obedient when completing missions."
Fu Hua looked at Mei and smiled, finally picking up a piece of the dessert to taste carefully. "Mm, the dessert Miss Mei made tastes very good. For someone learning it for the first time, this is quite impressive."
"That's good." Mei placed the tray on the table and let out a sigh of relief. "But Shenzhou cuisine really is a bit troublesome. Looking at descriptions like 'a little bit' really makes one's head big."
"Mm, I'll help you later." Fu Hua nodded. Just as she reached out intending to eat another piece, a pink light screen suddenly appeared before her eyes.
[A-Rank Valkyrie Fu Hua, you have a new mission notification.]
"Mm..." After checking it over, Fu Hua sighed and stood up. "Kiana, I have a mission here with a lot of credits. Do you want to come along?"
"Huh?" Kiana, who had been enjoying Irene's head pats in her grayed-out state, propped up her upper body to look at Fu Hua. "There's a mission? What kind of mission?"
Irene looked up at Fu Hua. At this point in time, an infiltration mission received by Fu Hua, and she wants to bring Kiana along... Hmm, could it be Moon Shadow?
"A very simple infiltration and recovery mission. But because it involves Anti-Entropy, the rating is very high. If I'm not guessing wrong, it should be able to directly make up all your credits."
Hearing this, Irene was basically certain that the current mission should be Moon Shadow—that is, the time the Queen came into contact with the Gem of Serenity and awakened for the first time.
Should she get involved in this mission? But there was no reason. After all, this was a mission issued by Schicksal. If she participated without a reason, it would easily attract attention.
"Eh, a reconnaissance and recovery mission?" While Irene was still pondering, Kiana instantly lay back down. "Feels so troublesome. Forget it, I still prefer combat-type missions."
Kiana couldn't work up any interest in missions involving infiltration. They were troublesome and boring, and she couldn't really fight. She would just be semi-dragging everyone down.
She still preferred combat missions where she could fight to her heart's content. That was where she could perform.
"If you really don't care about your credits, you can try skipping it." Fu Hua pushed up her glasses. "Besides, I have already submitted your name."
"Just treat it as a vacation. Leave the rest to me. You count as..."
Fu Hua pondered how to phrase it, but Bronya on the side had already spoken up: "A disguise ornament."
"..." Listening to Bronya's words, Fu Hua pushed up her glasses again and nodded. To be honest, if it weren't for the mission requirements from Otto's side insisting on bringing Kiana, Fu Hua wouldn't want to bring Kiana along either.
Kiana was indeed unsuited for disguise. Rather than making it hard for her, it was better to let Kiana unleash her natural nature; maybe that would act as a disguise in itself.
Hearing that she didn't need to act, Kiana perked up, but then worried slightly: "Then my credits?"
"If you can help me hide or provide cover, your credit share will be very high."
"Then count me in." Since she didn't have to work, Kiana had no objections. Better to hurry up and patch up her credits.
"Mm." Fu Hua nodded, then looked at Irene. Under Irene's strange gaze, Fu Hua spoke. "Teacher Irene, you should have received a mission notification too, right?"
"Huh? Me?!" Irene, who didn't expect to be involved, raised her hand to point at herself. Why was there something for her now?
Has Otto gone crazy, bringing her along? Isn't recovering the 'Gold Coin'—recovering the Gem—just an operation for Otto to test Sirin's state? Why drag her into it?
Confused for a moment, Irene frowned and reached for the communication terminal on the table, only to notice that a mission notification had indeed just been sent.
[A-Rank Valkyrie · Irene, you have a new mission notification.]
[You need to proceed to Singapore to complete the recovery mission together with A-Rank Valkyrie Fu Hua.]
[Due to the involvement of Anti-Entropy and the high difficulty of recovery, multiple combatants are required to be ready to respond at any time.]
[Since Miss Irene possesses an extremely special transformation ability, allowing her to maintain strong combat power without carrying any Valkyrie armor, please pay attention and be ready to respond.]
[Please ensure the mission is completed, ensure the item is recovered or confirm the item is destroyed. For specific mission information, please inquire with A-Rank Valkyrie Fu Hua.]
"It really is." After scanning all the mission requirements at a glance, Irene frowned deeply, but a second later she raised her head and nodded at Fu Hua as if nothing was wrong.
"I understand. Ready to depart anytime."
"Mm... I see. Is it a matter involving Anti-Entropy?" Himeko leaned over from the side, took a brief look, and nodded.
Because it was an infiltration mission.
So they definitely couldn't carry Valkyrie armor. And without wearing Valkyrie armor, Valkyries had no obvious advantage against Titans.
But Irene was very special. Irene didn't rely on Valkyrie armor. Irene's transformation ability allowed her to possess full combat power completely independent of Valkyrie armor.
HQ likely considered this point before dragging Irene along.
As for Kiana, this child was just going to mooch credits, incidentally serving as a disguise prop—an ornament hanging on Fu Hua and Irene.
As long as she could display her usual foolishness daily, there probably wouldn't be too many people suspecting them.
"I'll prepare some items for disguise." Fu Hua stood up and looked at Kiana and Irene. "By the way, do you have any preferred colors?"
"Blue," Irene replied casually, her attention still on the information terminal in her hand. The transformation ability mentioned above wasn't really a problem.
During the A-Rank Valkyrie exam, she had transformed into Pardo in front of everyone. It was exposed during subsequent missions too. After all, this was her ability.
When executing missions, it was inevitable that she couldn't keep it hidden forever.
But others might not understand Otto, yet how could she not? Fu Hua's own combat power was sufficient to complete this mission. Even with Titans, Fu Hua could solve it.
Under these circumstances, why add her for no reason? To put it plainly, half of this mission was Otto's deliberate indulgence, and half was Otto wanting to see what level Kiana had reached now.
Otherwise, Irene felt that even if that doctor was a divinely gifted genius with potential as a special agent, trying to steal such an important material from Schicksal and fleeing all the way to the snowy plains before being caught was impossible.
After all, that doctor wasn't the Cat. The Cat could truly walk through a heavily guarded base as if no one was there, conducting reconnaissance while conveniently bringing out the mission target.
Ah, if that doctor really brought the thing out himself, either the entire research institute had water in their brains at the time, or Otto had water in his brain.
"Mm, blue and white?" Kiana didn't think that much about it and just casually reported a color.
"Mm, understood." Fu Hua nodded, then looked apologetically at Mei. "Sorry, I have to leave first. I'll teach you how to cook other Shenzhou dishes next time."
"It doesn't matter." Mei shook her head. "The mission is important. Squad Leader, please stay safe too."
"Rest assured." After Fu Hua nodded, she turned and left.
"Teacher Irene, do you know what is being recovered this time?" Kiana lay on the sofa, looking curiously at Irene. "Since it's related to Anti-Entropy, is it some research data?"
"Hard to say. I'm not clear either." Irene shook her head, frowning tightly. "Only Fu Hua knows the specific mission details. I have to listen to Fu Hua's command on this side too."
"Mm, it is indeed quite mysterious." Himeko also looked curious. Generally speaking, for this kind of mission, even if Irene was a support operative, she should know the mission details.
But only Fu Hua knew the complete mission. She wondered what exactly was being recovered.
"Not sure." Irene put away her phone. "But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Anyway, my part of the mission should be quite relaxing. with good luck, maybe I won't even need to make a move."
[But it's not that simple, right?] Kallen spoke up in Irene's mind. She understood Otto fairly well; Otto always had a purpose for what he did.
With the Celestial present, it didn't look like two assistants would be needed no matter how you looked at it, even if the Celestial was much weaker now.
A starving camel is still bigger than a horse; a small elephant is still an elephant. The Celestial of the past could repel the entire Schicksal crusade army with just one person and two fists. Even if she was weaker now, she shouldn't fear some Titan.
They had already seen those Titans inside Chiyou's body. Their strength was passable, but they shouldn't be enough to hinder the Celestial from doing anything.
Then, since that was the case, Otto's motive for bringing Kiana and Irene along was worth suspecting.
Irene's mental entity nodded, her brows also locked tight: [Yes, I know why he's bringing Kiana, but I still can't figure out why he wants to bring me.]
[So Sister Irene, what exactly is this mission?] Pardo also leaned in with a curious face. Irene actually hadn't told them too much, and they had tacitly refrained from asking.
After all, they weren't omnipotent. They could provide suggestions during events, but if they offered suggestions blindly, it would only affect Irene's thinking.
[It's to recover the Gem of Serenity. As for bringing Kiana, it's to observe the current growth status of Kiana as Sirin, and as the replica of the Second Herrscher.]
Hearing Irene's words, Lixue, catching the keywords, suddenly spoke up: [Miss Irene, you said Kiana is the Second Herrscher, the replica of the Herrscher of the Void.]
[Yes.] Irene nodded. [The purpose of the good deeds Otto does...]
Irene's mental entity looked toward Kallen. After receiving Irene's gaze, Kallen pointed at herself: [Is this for me too?]
[Mm.] Irene nodded. [This is also one of his plans. To change your death.]
[Wow, this guy is too strong, isn't he?] Pardo scratched her head. [Everything he does is for Sister Kallen.]
[Otherwise, how could he be called the Pure Love Warrior?] Irene looked at Pardo and shrugged. She intended to say something else, but then stared straight at Pardo.
[I think I roughly know why he wanted to find me.]
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