When Fu Hua finally left the arcade for the second time, she was wearing a smile. In her hand, she clutched a doughnut as if it were a priceless treasure.
After parting with Hua Yi, she had returned and bought twenty coins, giving her ten more tries. That doughnut was the prize she had won on her sixth attempt. In that moment, she felt a sense of satisfaction like never before, and her spirits were instantly lifted.
She didn't use the remaining coins for the lottery. Instead, she used them to try out other machines. They were quite interesting, and she decided she could use this place for recreation after training sessions.
Given her current peak state of mind, she felt she could achieve twice the result with half the effort in whatever she did. It turned out that balancing work and rest was truly effective. She was grateful to Hua Yi for discovering this place.
Fu Hua's steps were light and brisk. The staff member watched her disappear into the night, then finally unable to suppress her curiosity, she took a few coins from the counter and walked over to the lottery machine. She dropped two coins in.
"Congratulations! You have won..."
Hearing the electronic chime, the staff member wore a look of utter speechlessness. After a long silence, she muttered to herself.
"So, there really wasn't anything wrong with the machine. It turns out a person's luck can actually be that wretched."
Despite a fifty percent win rate, the girl had to pull six times after returning to win. If you added the ten failed pulls from before, that was sixteen pulls for a single prize. Such bad RNG was unheard of.
The staff member felt like her horizons had been broadened.
Well, whatever.
Shift's over. Time to go home and sleep. The arcade had two big spenders today, and business was good. It was a fine day. At this rate, she wouldn't have to worry about the Principal ordering the arcade to be shut down.
The employee locked the doors and walked away, vanishing into the night just as Fu Hua had.
After a long period of silence.
On the small path behind the arcade, a semi-transparent, illusory fox let out a frustrated growl at the figure beside it.
"Sakura, are you insane?! This is St. Freya Academy, an institution dedicated to fighting the Honkai in the Far East. Even if you, a mere Pseudo-Herrscher, have accumulated power over five hundred years that rivals a true Herrscher, coming here is a death wish! Even if you could destroy everything here, Schicksal is still waiting for you. Have you forgotten?!"
"Those two just now... they seemed to be having a lot of fun here."
The beautiful miko, with cherry-blossom hair reaching her waist and a unique pair of fox ears, murmured to herself as if she hadn't heard a word the giant fox said.
Her behavior made the fox even more irritable.
"Didn't you hear me?! This is St. Freya Academy! Once you expose your existence, you will face endless attacks until the day you die! Do you think anyone will be soft-hearted enough to just seal you away again?!"
Yae Sakura's gaze turned distant.
"I never intended to hurt anyone. I just wanted to see that girl who looks like Kallen, and check on the current state of the Herrscher who awakened in Nagazora."
"What, you think the Herrscher brought to St. Freya is still alive? Five hundred years have passed and you're still as naive as ever, Sakura. Have you already forgotten the fate of the Pseudo-Herrscher that appeared in Nagazora later?"
Yae Sakura glanced at the snarling fox, then looked back at the night sky.
"Higokumaru, you know that Pseudo-Herrscher was originally just a mindless Zombie spawned by force from Honkai energy. I am different from it."
"In the eyes of St. Freya Academy, there is no difference between you and a monster."
The fox known as Higokumaru retorted with irritation.
Having long grown used to Higokumaru's attitude, Yae Sakura remained calm.
"Then let us make a bet. We'll wager on the status of the 3rd Herrscher. If she was killed after being brought to St. Freya, I will leave immediately. But if..."
"If she's still alive, then what? Tell them you are Yae Sakura, a Pseudo-Herrscher who has lived for five hundred years and just recently broke free from a seal? You're asking for death!"
"I'm tired, Higokumaru. I'm weary of these days. Now that a girl who bears so much resemblance to Kallen has appeared before me, I cannot ignore her. Even if it costs me my life, I will not hesitate."
Sensing the death wish in Yae Sakura's voice, the fox became frantic.
"You're crazy! You've gone mad!!"
Yae Sakura tapped into her power, dispersing the semi-illusory fox beside her.
Over the long centuries, Sakura had grown from the weak miko who couldn't resist Higokumaru's will into a powerful Pseudo-Herrscher capable of contending with it.
However, she could only contend. If Higokumaru truly fought to the death, Sakura wouldn't be able to do much. The reason the fox vanished so easily now was that things hadn't reached a breaking point yet. It didn't resist with all its might to avoid making too much noise and drawing the attention of St. Freya Academy.
Five hundred years had long since fused Yae Sakura and Higokumaru into a single entity. They shared glory and loss alike. If Sakura died, Higokumaru would not be spared. That was why it had reacted so violently to her words.
Closing her eyes and releasing her perception, Sakuraas a Pseudo-Herrscher of five centuriescould sense Honkai energy with extreme precision. The distinct Honkai energy of a Herrscher, combined with the unique rhythm possessed only by a Herrscher Core, was as conspicuous as a lighthouse in the dark to her.
A moment later, Yae Sakura opened her eyes in surprise.
"How is this possible? St. Freya Academy actually has three separate Herrscher signatures?!"
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