"That is how everything transpired."
Back at St. Freya Academy, Himeko reported the general details of her mission to Theresa. Upon hearing that Kiana had been given the Honkai Energy Detector Watch and the Artemis' Guardian dual pistols, Theresa felt a significant weight lift off her shoulders.
"Well done, Himeko."
Murata Himeko's gaze drifted across the numerous display screens in front of Theresa. Watching the various indices fluctuating on the monitors, she couldn't help but furrow her brows.
"Has the Honkai Energy concentration in Nagazora not decreased significantly despite the devices we deployed?"
"No. The rate of decrease is quite slow, which is suspicious," Theresa replied. "Fortunately, the current concentration is no longer a lethal threat to ordinary humans or animals. For now, we'll increase the operating power of those devices to see if we can improve the situation. If that fails, we may have to begin preparations to evacuate the citizens of Nagazora."
Theresa recalled certain possibilities, and her expression suddenly tightened. If her suspicions were correct, her original plan to let Kiana live out her life as an ordinary person would be completely impossible to achieve.
In truth, ever since she had given Kiana the Honkai Energy Detector Watch and Artemis' Guardian, events had slowly begun to drift away from the plan.
Just what kind of role is Grandpa Otto trying to make Kiana play...
At that moment, far away in Nagazora, Hua Yi had no idea that his actions had caused Bishop Otto to shoulder yet another "blame pot."
Bronya was currently studying at Senba Academy as an exchange student. Nominally, she was there to inspect the academy's teaching standards on behalf of ME Corp.
Considering the potential for more internship slots or even a full sponsorship from ME Corp in the future, the high-level officials at Senba Academy were extremely cooperative. This had resulted in Bronya entering Senba Academy even before Kiana did.
Hua Yi had no intention of hiding his existence forever. Choosing an appropriate time, and with Raiden Mei's cooperation, he met Bronya outside the gates of Senba Academy.
"Unknown object approaching. Radar monitoring fully activated."
Bronya's initial reaction was not particularly friendly.
Standing to the side, Raiden Mei smiled and tried to get Bronya to relax. In her eyes, Bronya's "radar monitoring" comment was just a bit of chuunibyou roleplay. After all, the girl appeared completely unarmed; if she were carrying a radar, surely it would be visible.
"This is Hua Yi. He is my... well, he is a very good friend of mine."
Hua Yi rolled his eyes at Mei's introduction, but now was not the time for debate. From his perspective, a blurry silhouette had briefly manifested in the air behind Bronya before vanishing again.
Was that Project Bunny 19C? How unique.
"That's right. I'm the kind of 'best friend' Mei could trust with her life and her future the highest tier of friendship possible. So please, don't be so guarded against me."
Hua Yi followed Mei's lead to introduce himself further, then asked with feigned nonchalance, "And you are?"
Since it was their first meeting, it was only natural to ask about her background. Besides gaining Friendship Points through contact with Bronya, Hua Yi also hoped to learn something about ME Corp's plans.
"Bronya Zaychik. Foster daughter of Cocolia, the CEO of ME Corp. I have entered Senba Academy to handle internal corporate affairs. My hobbies are trading stocks and gaming."
Bronya provided an exhaustive introduction, speaking as if she were reading from a file and reciting it. Mei, listening from the side, couldn't help but speak up.
"Trading stocks? Bronya, you actually know how to trade stocks?"
"Yes. Bronya has already accumulated some capital. In the future, I intend to acquire a game company I like. That way, I can ensure they produce more fun games."
Mei was left speechless, stunned by the massive financial resources and grand ambition Bronya displayed in just a few short sentences. Hua Yi, who already knew about Bronya's legendary feats outside of her role as a Valkyrie, remained calm deep down, though he allowed a flicker of surprise to show on his face.
"That is truly impressive."
Throughout this brief exchange, Hua Yi noticed that Bronya's answers were airtight. Although she said a lot, not a single word touched upon anything substantial. The only link was the phrase "internal corporate affairs," but Hua Yi knew better than to recklessly pry into another company's private business. His plan to fish for intel from Bronya had reached a dead end.
Still, they had officially met, and he had gained some Friendship Points along the way.
While Hua Yi knew that Cocolia's stance at the head of ME Corp put her at odds with his own path, he was willing to believe in Bronya. At the very least, he didn't believe Bronya would still want to follow Cocolia's plan to seize Raiden Mei's Herrscher Core after becoming her friend.
Setting aside his various concerns, Hua Yi continued to chat with Bronya and Mei in a casual manner.
"Actually, I really enjoy gaming as well. Perhaps we'll run into each other in a game someday."
Bronya was not a talkative person. She rarely initiated a topic and usually played the role of the respondent. Hearing Hua Yi's words, her eyes brightened slightly, though she simply gave a plain nod.
A dozen minutes later, Bronya took her leave.
Mei turned to look at Hua Yi. "Is Bronya that special? You actually asked me to act as an intermediary and keep the contact so secret."
"Special? Of course she's special. An emotionless 'Three-Noes' beauty don't you think that's a very cute trope?"
This answer left Mei stunned for a moment before she broke into a helpless smile.
"While there might be some logic in what you say, I don't believe for a second that's the only reason you're acting."
"You're not even going to argue? Do you really see me as some sort of wanton lecher?" Hua Yi looked hurt.
"Fine, fine. If you don't want to say, then forget it. If you were just a simple lecher, I'd actually feel more relaxed... Though having said that, you'd better not actually become like that, okay?"
"Don't worry," Hua Yi replied. "I'm definitely not that simple."
"...Sometimes it's really hard to tell if you're using a double entendre or not."
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