"Wait a minute, both of you!"
Theresa suddenly remembered something and stopped the Kaslana Valkyrie with monstrous strength just as she was about to drag the purple-haired girl out the door.
"Kiana hasn't gotten involved with any more strange people out there, has she?"
Knowing Kiana's apparent popularity, Theresa's mind raced with possibilities. She looked nervously at the two before her.
The Headmaster before them seemed to recall everything—from the day the wandering Kiana was first brought to the Academy, to her recent reunion with her "Auntie," to Kiana's constant threats of "I'm running away tonight!" Along the way, Kiana had managed to attract a whole host of bizarre characters—and nearly every single one was a heavyweight.
At the top of the list was the "Auntie" she'd practically picked up for free—an aunt who was who-knows-how-many years younger... or maybe older... than Theresa herself. Who the hell knew when Grandpa's daughter was actually born? The Schicksal Young Sovereign, Snow Apocalypse.
Then there was the strange assortment of Herrschers: the Third Herrscher, Raiden Mei; the Fourth Herrscher, Wendy; and even Muninn and Huginn, agents of some unknown god with an unclear allegiance.
At the bottom of the list was Anti-Entropy's Saintess, Bronya—no, soon she'd probably be called the Acting Leader of Anti-Entropy. Mr. Welt and Mr. Joyce seemed to think highly of her. And last but not least, there was Houraiji Kyuusyou, a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie who never seemed to take anything seriously.
"But that grinning fool... during the attack on Schicksal a week ago, she was scheming day in and day out, just like Grandpa. You could say half the credit for me ending up in this position goes to her. If I'd stuck to my original plan, the Far East Branch would be wandering the world by now."
This is hopeless. Why can't I have anyone normal to deal with? Mei is the only reasonable one... Oh, and Ninti!
Wait! Ninti is Snow's adopted daughter, which means she's my peer, right? ...And where the hell is Snow anyway?! Why am I the one pulling all-nighters for the Schicksal she's supposed to be leading?!
"Dammit, what is this Second Schicksal, a demon's lair?! It's filled with nothing but monsters and freaks!"
The more Theresa thought about it, the angrier she got. She slammed her hands on the table, startling the two women before her.
"Huh?" Durandal looked completely bewildered.
"Well, it is a demon's lair," Kyuusyou said, nodding matter-of-factly. "People call it the 'Herrscher Academy' for a reason."
"Ugh... Never mind that. Have either of you seen any strange people around Kiana?"
"Strange people? Hmm, does a pair of purple-haired girls who look almost identical to the Second Herrscher from the year 2000 count? Except they're younger and about a billion times cuter."
"Oh, and there's also a girl with bluish-gray hair. Schicksal's profile comparison confirmed she's the human form of Benares, the Second Herrscher's Judgment-class companion Honkai Beast."
Kyuusyou thought for a moment and described the trio she always saw accompanying Kiana.
"Let's see... One of them, a little Sirin who looks about twelve, uses some kind of weird magic... Hey, don't look at me like that, Dodo. You've seen it plenty of times yourself—whatever that little one says basically comes true."
"Who's talking about magic?" Durandal shot Kyuusyou an annoyed glare. "And you're sure that little girl is only a little cute?! Rita practically freezes in her tracks whenever she sees that kid!"
"What the hell?! Military Police!!!"
Hearing that her precious little darling was being targeted by a certain maid, Houraiji Kyuusyou instantly went on high alert. Someone's trying to steal my precious little cabbage!
"Ahem, she just freezes in her tracks! She freezes, but she hasn't actually committed any crime yet!" Durandal quickly defended her adjutant.
"So you admit the next step is a crime, don't you?!" Kyuusyou retorted. "Today, Rita Rossweisse just freezes in her tracks. Tomorrow, I don't even dare to imagine what she'll do! I don't even dare!"
"Alright, alright... you two, stop fighting... Rita just really loves children. You'll get used to it, Kyuusyou."
"So, one is a young Sirin whose words become reality. What about the other one?"
"The other one is likely the Sirin we faced during the Schicksal War," Durandal explained this time, rubbing her temples as she recalled the other chibi Sirin with lingering dread. "Kiana somehow managed to separate her from herself and stuff her into a chibi-style doll. That unlucky girl is the complete opposite of the adorable little one—I can't even comprehend how such foul language can come from such a delicate little mouth. If you let her roam free, she'd probably give people brain hemorrhages from sheer rage."
"To make that adorable little one and Miss Kiana herself seem so popular, this foul-mouthed chibi doll Sirin's contribution isn't just significant—it's practically a war-winning achievement."
"Fortunately, she's usually held immobile by that human-form Judgment-class Honkai Beast, Benares, so she can't run around causing trouble. That makes her... barely tolerable, I suppose..."
"Uh... probably?"
Durandal averted her gaze guiltily, recalling how her squad members had recently replaced all the training dummies in the practice field with images of that chibi doll.
"Be bold. It's absolutely impossible."
Kyuusyou, who had also encountered Doll Sirin, rolled her eyes.
"If she were brought aboard the Hyperion, we'd have her hanging outside the bridge as a teru teru bōzu by the next day."
"Sigh... one little angel, one little delinquent... and a dragon girl. Kiana, are you trying to bring all sorts of strange characters into the Academy... no, into Schicksal?"
Theresa sighed deeply upon hearing this.
"So, is there any other news?"
"Hmm, I've got nothing else..."
Kyuusyou shrugged, indicating she had no new intelligence for the moment. Durandal, however, seemed to recall something and brought it up.
"I do have one more thing... It seems Miss Kiana has a new companion who doesn't appear in any Schicksal population records. Based on her appearance, she resembles a Kaslana—after all, only the Kaslana family seems to have that kind of white hair. Her eyes are quite unique, though. Not blue, but a cyan shade with a hint of green..."
Durandal took out a small recording device and displayed a photograph.
"This unidentified girl was occasionally sighted by members of the Immortal Blades' Second Squad. According to their report, she seemed to be secretly observing Miss Kiana. After being spotted by the Second Detachment, she quickly vanished."
"Vanished? You couldn't stop her?"
Theresa stared at the white-haired girl in the photograph, puzzled.
"White hair... She does look like a member of the Kaslana family."
"But we couldn't find any record of this girl in the Kaslana family genealogy..."
Durandal shook her head.
"That's the problem..."
"Oh, right, one more thing—"
Kyuusyou suddenly remembered something as she watched the other two discuss.
"For some reason, Kiana has sprouted a pair of cat ears... Um, they're, you know, really cute?"
Durandal's expression shifted to one of perfect understanding.
"Indeed—"