Three days later.
"Principal Theresa, I'll leave you to watch the house~"
Himeko, wearing her Void Drifter Valkyrie armor, looked at Theresa with a relaxed smile.
"Dammit! I want to see the Quantum Sea too! What's actually inside there?!" Theresa looked at Himeko's smile as if she were heading off on vacation and instantly felt a surge of frustration.
"Principal, unfortunately, you cannot enter the Quantum Sea. Only a small number of people with special constitutions are able to."
Xia Qi, standing beside Himeko, said expressionlessly to Theresa.
"Huh?"
"This actually happened in Bronya's world too."
"Is that so... how cruel..."
Theresa's expression stiffened, then crumpled into dejection.
"Waaaah! I want to go too!"
Kiana couldn't help but shout from the side, her face full of reluctance.
"Kiana..." Raiden Mei smiled helplessly as she tried to soothe her. "That place is too dangerous. If we went, Teacher Himeko would have to split her attention to protect us."
"Actually — Mei, Kiana, Fu Hua — come with us."
Himeko turned around and said it plainly, leaving Raiden Mei momentarily stunned.
"Teacher Himeko, but..."
"Don't worry, Sister Mei."
Xia Qi spoke up calmly. "Bronya will protect you all. And the Overseer of Anti-Entropy has agreed to deploy defenses in Qiong Yu City to prevent the Reformist faction of Anti-Entropy from interfering."
"That's right." Himeko nodded. "After all, once Fu Hua and I leave, the Far East Branch's defensive capabilities will be somewhat reduced. Qiong Yu City may actually be a bit safer than staying behind right now."
"Yay! Awesome!"
Kiana immediately cheered.
Xia Qi, watching her from the side, turned something over quietly in her mind.
She was wondering whether, if things inside the Quantum Sea weren't too dire, she might create some virtual World Bubbles and let Kiana catch a glimpse of herself from other world lines.
For a Herrscher, capturing the information emanating from various World Bubbles within the Quantum Sea — and observing other worlds through them — was not difficult.
And if that proved impossible...
Xia Qi seriously considered whether to reconstruct the story of the Honkai Gakuen 2 she knew into a bubble and let Kiana experience it firsthand.
No...
That wouldn't work either. Kiana would definitely fall apart. If at all possible, she would let the story that was supposed to unfold in the Quantum Sea play out naturally before Himeko and the others.
"Hey, hey! You're all leaving me here alone to watch the house! No way!"
Theresa couldn't help but shout again.
But Himeko had already turned and begun leading everyone toward the Valkyrie battleship ahead. She glanced back with a smile:
"Can't be helped~ After all, Principal, you are the core of the Far East Branch. This operation is being kept secret from headquarters, so if they sense anything unusual, you'll be the one who has to manage it. The most critical role in this plan is yours, Theresa~"
"Huh? Really? I'm the most critical?"
Theresa paused, then visibly straightened, a sense of mission washing over her.
"...Bronya, is Auntie like this in the future too?"
Kiana sidled up to Xia Qi and asked in a low voice, curious.
"I didn't expect you to notice that, Kiana."
Xia Qi turned to look at her, genuinely surprised.
"Heh heh! Of course!" Kiana immediately broke into a proud grin — and just like that, Xia Qi's surprise evaporated entirely.
Thinking Idiot Kiana had finally gotten smarter was my mistake.
Xia Qi turned away and quickly moved to Bronya's side, lowering her voice. "Bronya, when we enter the Quantum Sea, stay close to me."
"Yeah, Bronya understands."
Bronya nodded seriously.
"Then how do we find Seele?"
"Through Project Bunny." Xia Qi said softly. "Our Project Bunny was originally the final gift Seele gave us when she quantized, so it has a special connection with her. We can use that connection to find her."
Saying it aloud, Xia Qi wasn't entirely confident.
Project Bunny 19C was the power of reconstruction found within the Stigma, shaped into a gift by Seele. It would resonate with Seele's Stigma, and Xia Qi planned to use that resonance to locate her.
But the problem was, she didn't know whether Kevin had already captured Seele.
If he had...
It would be very, very troublesome.
Even so, for some reason Xia Qi had a vague feeling that inside the Quantum Sea, there might be more than just Kevin and Seele.
Something else. Something extremely important.
She couldn't quite grasp what it was, and the elusiveness of it made her frown slightly, a puzzled expression flickering across her face without her realizing it.
"Bronya, are there things we need to be aware of once we're inside?" Himeko walked over and stood beside her. By now they had all boarded the Valkyrie battleship, which had lifted off and was making its way toward Qiong Yu City.
"Yes. If anyone starts to feel unwell, dizzy, or experiences any other negative symptoms once we reach Qiong Yu City, please say so immediately."
Xia Qi said seriously.
"Is this... related to the constitution you mentioned earlier — the one that makes some people unsuitable for entering the Quantum Sea?" Himeko asked, her brow furrowing slightly.
"That's right."
Xia Qi nodded and added: "The deeper we go into the Quantum Sea, the more Quantum Shadows will appear."
"Is there any pattern to it?"
"No. So we need to find Seele as quickly as possible."
Xia Qi answered calmly.
"Alright."
Himeko nodded, then reached up and rubbed her temples with a look of quiet concern. When she looked at Xia Qi again, her expression had grown serious.
"So. Once we enter the Quantum Sea — or perhaps when we reach Qiong Yu City — it's time you told us about the great danger lurking within the Eye of the Deep Sea. The one that even you, a Herrscher, find troublesome."
"..."
Xia Qi was quiet for a moment, then said softly:
"Regarding this matter, Teacher Himeko... Bronya also thinks it's time."
At her words, everyone drew closer, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and tension.
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