Just two days after Kiana reluctantly accepted Himeko as her teacher, people from Schicksal Headquarters, as expected, came knocking.
Of course, although it was a "visit," Otto still respected his granddaughter Theresa and notified her in advance to bring Himeko, which saved her from having to return to her acting role sooner.
However, to be safe, Anti-Entropy still fabricated a complete set of grave-sweeping traces.
As expected, Himeko, returning to Headquarters, was greeted by Archbishop Otto, but what he said was more of a formality.
While the news of the Stormtrooper Valkyries' disappearance was a devastating blow to most Valkyries, for Otto, it was probably limited to a feeling of "regret."
On one hand, Otto is the same; on the other, things are different now than four or five years ago.
The strength of Schicksal is slowly recovering, and A-rank Valkyries are no longer as scarce as they were before.
For example, Wendy, who is still a child, will become an A-rank Valkyrie in two to three years.
She will join the Oceania Branch and become the best A-rank Valkyrie in the branch.
While Wendy's exceptional talent helped, the requirements for Valkyrie advancement are indeed declining now.
So, Otto's feelings of regret are still understandable.
"Well, at least from the objective perspective of a third party, that's how it is."
"What a useless sacrifice."
After the meeting ended, Himeko exhaled a breath in the hallway and wiped away the tears she had shed over the past few days.
Since she wasn't actually heartbroken, Himeko was now focused on analyzing Otto's attitude.
The attitude of Otto made her feel deeply wronged.
"Let's save the complaining for later, after all, this is still Schicksal territory."
"True."
Although Tian Shi was there to protect her, she couldn't let her guard down.
Himeko suppressed her resentment, quickened her pace, and began looking for someone.
"What? Rita was transferred?"
Himeko was a little surprised by the news she received from the training ground.
"Yes, Rita submitted an application to the superiors yesterday and was taken away this morning."
The instructor in charge of training the new recruits had a good relationship with Himeko, so he didn't hide anything and even patted her shoulder.
"Besides, I heard about what happened to your team... my condolences."
"I see."
Himeko left after showing a practiced expression of sadness.
Half of the missions failed.
She has a request from Ragna: for Himeko to try and recruit Rita and Bianca.
But now it seems they were too late.
So, Rita has already started assassin training, huh?
Tian Shi reflected silently.
Nothing can be done in this situation, although there is still a Bianca left.
However, this was a desirable, but not essential, addition, so Himeko was not overly disappointed.
Himeko then went through the retirement formalities, claiming psychological issues, a reason most would understand.
She was given the green light, and in the end, in the office, they simply told her to go home and wait for the results.
They even asked, quite considerately, if she needed to enter a sanatorium to recover.
In the afternoon, Himeko went to pay her respects at the monument Schicksal had erected for the assault troopers.
There were many bouquets... The most eye-catching sunflowers, obviously, were placed by someone.
"Seriously, why couldn't that kid wait for just one day?"
Himeko sighed sadly.
It's fine. They haven't lived in vain all these years in Schicksal. There are still plenty of people commemorating them.
After a brief rest at Headquarters, Tian Shi finished his work.
Then, escorted by a special person, Himeko arrived at Bianca's orphanage. However, since she was accompanied by others, she could only helplessly give Bianca the "bad news."
Although she couldn't bear to see the little girl's sad expression, Himeko had no other choice.
The little girl really looks the same as five years ago...
Himeko could only offer words of comfort and encouragement while leaving a few clues for Bianca before leaving.
"Although, given Bianca's state of mind, she probably wasn't even in the mood to understand these clues, was she?"
Both tasks failed.
After returning to Schicksal Headquarters and telling Ragna these things, Ragna could only sigh regretfully.
With the aftermath completely settled, Himeko and Ragna settled down and began their lives as teachers at St. Freya Academy.
...
[One day, after class, Himeko suggested you have a tablet and impersonate an AI. You thought it was a brilliant idea and agreed.]
[And so, you begin to integrate into Himeko's class as an Artificial Intelligence.]
[However, you later realize you made the wrong decision and Himeko begins to have you substitute for her in subjects you are not good at from time to time.]
[At first you didn't notice anything wrong, after all, subjects like chemistry are not Himeko's forte, at least compared to physics.]
[But as time went on, Himeko started using you like a PowerPoint presentation to teach her regular classes... You began to feel that something was wrong: if this continued, who would be the teacher, Himeko or you?]
"Himeko, I have a question for you."
"Huh?"
Himeko, who was eating sunflower seeds, was taken aback.
"How much is 123 multiplied by 123?"
"Why are you suddenly asking this kind of question? Let me calculate, three times three... two times three... one times three... and then..."
The Caltech doctoral student put down her sunflower seeds and began counting on her fingers.
"..."
Are you really a doctor?
Unable to contain himself any longer, Tian Shi tapped Himeko on the head.
"You even count on your fingers when multiplying such a simple three-digit number! Your degree certificate is crying!"
"Himeko, have you been too decadent these past few years?"
Tian Shi asked from the bottom of his heart.
While a peaceful life can be demoralizing, you've gone a bit too far, haven't you?
"Ah... really? Don't I also lead teams on missions and stuff like that?"
After all, St. Freya Academy is the Far East Branch and trains Valkyries, so leading teams on missions is quite frequent.
"No, that's not what I meant..."
"I haven't missed any daily training, and I can already hold my own against the captain."
"Mmm..."
Tian Shi knew this and could also tell that neither of them held back during the simulation training.
So, looking at it this way, has Himeko really been progressing these days?
No, isn't there something wrong with this logic?
"But you've reached the point of needing to count on your fingers even to multiply two ones, twos, and threes."
Tian Shi went straight to the heart of the matter.
"Hmm... actually, I can solve it without counting on my fingers... cough, this is enough."
After Tian Shi said that, Himeko really felt a little guilty.
Thinking back to when I first entered university, I could do mental calculations of three or four-digit numbers in an instant.
Now...
Time flies, and we all get older...
Unable to bear it any longer, Tian Shi hit Himeko on the head again.
"You're twenty-one! It's the prime of life!"
"Well... mind your own business..."
Himeko continued cracking sunflower seeds.
"Himeko, you now have 99% of the charm of your single elder predecessors."
Tian Shi's words immediately paralyzed Himeko.
"Seriously? I'm not in as much of a hurry to find a man as my superiors."
It must be said that this phrase hit a nerve with Himeko.
Once upon a time, Himeko's goal was to avoid becoming like her predecessors, who ended up in such a sorry state.
"It's not that you have to search the world for men to be considered a 'leftover woman.' There is something called 'elegance'."
Tian Shi continued to press.
"Look at yourself in the office, legs crossed, eyes like a dead fish, eating sunflower seeds—where do you look like a 21-year-old girl?"
"Fine..."
That's undeniable.
Himeko took out a mirror and looked at herself from left to right.
She had to admit that she was indeed very different from when she was young...
In short, Himeko back then was a vibrant high school student, while Himeko now is a late-stage university student.
She seemed completely demotivated by anything.
"Well, well, the goal is to get motivated, right? So we need a goal, don't we?"
"For example, making that brat Kiana's grades the best in the class?"
"Your goal is making me even more demotivated, okay? Can you suggest something achievable?"
When Kiana's grades were mentioned, Himeko's eyes twitched involuntarily.
If we're talking about "falling into depravity," that brat Kiana has fallen into depravity even faster than her, okay?
Simply put, Kiana was in the top ten of her class in the first monthly exam after entering school, but this result... well, it only applies to the first monthly exam, but it's still much better than the result in the original timeline where she had to retake the first monthly exam.
But Kiana's performance continued to decay after that: clearly, Kiana's "novelty" had worn off.
Now, Kiana's grades are firmly at the bottom.
By the way, Kiana's personality has also changed from "wildcat" to "tsundere house cat."
Himeko basically gives Kiana extra lessons every day, but Kiana really has no interest in it.
Like a cat, Kiana is only interested in new and exciting things, and her motivation significantly decreases once the novelty wears off.
Himeko's imagination of Kiana as a cat playing with a ball of yarn does not seem out of place at all.
"I don't care, as the leader of the alliance, my only responsibility is to assign missions, do you understand, Himeko?"
"Hey! This is tyranny!"
"You're right, if you don't like it, hit me."
"..."
...
In 2013, Wendy graduated from St. Freya Academy and joined the Pacific Branch.
That same year, Himeko's class received a transfer student.
"Come on everyone, let's give a warm welcome to our transfer student, Fu Hua from Shenzhou."
Himeko wrote the characters "Fu Hua" in Shenzhou, Japanese, and English on the blackboard.
"Hello everyone, I am Fu Hua."
A smart-looking girl with short gray hair walked into the classroom.
"From Shenzhou, expert in martial arts and cooking, I hope to have your guidance in the coming years."
"…"
"So handsome!!"
The teenage girls in the classroom looked at the quiet and serene Fu Hua in front of them and seemed to fall in love with her in an instant.
These girls...
Himeko pursed her lips as she looked at the embarrassing state of her students.
Although this young lady is quite cool, to be honest, I wasn't bad in that aspect back then, was I?
And speaking of handsome... Himeko looked at Tian Shi.
If this guy appeared in front of these young ladies, wouldn't they be completely head over heels for him?
But then again... this girl is actually an A-rank Valkyrie.
Are Schicksal's A-grade items becoming less and less valuable?
"If she suddenly attacks now, she could knock you down with a single punch."
Tian Shi seemed to read Himeko's thoughts and said calmly.
"If it were a head-on fight, even with full strength, it would only take three to five blows."
"..."
Wait, is she really that strong?
"This is her strength after being severely injured in the Second Honkai War."
Tian Shi added.
Despite her past, Fu Hua is now undoubtedly an S-class Valkyrie.
"...?"
The Second Honkai War? Her age seems a bit strange, doesn't it?
"Just by looking at the surface, how can you know that Siegfried calls Reanna grandma?"
Tian Shi chuckled and then looked at Fu Hua in front of him with some emotion.
If we talk about who his closest student is, it is undoubtedly Fu Hua.
She is a cultured and reasonable person, capable on the battlefield and in the kitchen, and an incredibly considerate daughter.
What is unknown is how much of her memory Fu Hua still retains; if she is unlucky, she might not remember anything at all.
After all, the damage to Fu Hua's memory was extremely severe.
"Himeko-sensei? Himeko-sensei?"
Himeko snapped out of her daze at Fu Hua's call.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's nothing."
Himeko struggled to process the fact that her new student was an old monster while assigning Fu Hua a seat.
"Fu Hua, please take the second-to-last seat by the window."
It turns out to be Kiana's desk partner.
"Understood."
Fu Hua nodded and then sat down as Himeko had arranged.
After Fu Hua sat down, Himeko slowly began to speak.
"Alright everyone, please turn to page 63 of your textbooks. Today we will discuss..."
"Fu Hua! What part of Shenzhou are you from?"
"Fu Hua! What do you like to eat?"
"Fu Hua! We'll go to the playground later when we have time..."
"Uh... excuse me, there are a few things I don't understand and I'd like to ask Himeko-sensei for help. Could you excuse me for a moment, please?"
Faced with her enthusiastic classmates, Fu Hua reluctantly declined their offers while struggling to get out.
But when she got out, Himeko was nowhere to be found.
That figure... that figure...
Although I don't remember it, I'm sure the phantom figure next to Himeko-sensei is definitely someone very important to me.
Fu Hua suppressed the headache caused by the memories and activated the Fenghuang Down plume.
That figure... that figure... found!
Even Tian Shi forgot that as long as one possesses the Fenghuang Down, they can see Tian Shi's phantom figure.
"Himeko-sensei! Please wait a moment!"