On the aircraft, Ryn was taking the awakened Chen Tianwen back to St. Freya High School. Chen Tianwu had left in a hurry before his sister woke up.
Chen Tianwu said he was afraid he wouldn't be able to leave if Chen Tianwen woke up. He used Ryn's phone to leave a few messages for her and asked for Ryn's contact information before departing.
However, Chen Tianwu never understood why the contact method was so abstract... For example, find a computer, open a browser, and endlessly search for "Cortana is a pig," while repeatedly shouting "Cortana is an idiot" into the microphone. Doing this a hundred times would allow him to contact Ryn.
After playing Chen Tianwu's voice messages for Chen Tianwen, she had a tear-streaked face and remained silent for a long time. Finally, she dried her eyes and obediently followed Ryn.
The girl appeared very well-behaved and sensible. She didn't cry or make a fuss, nor did she ask too many questions. She just quietly followed behind Ryn.
Sigh, Ryn was actually not used to Chen Tianwen being so quiet. He preferred dealing with lively and cute girls like Kiana and the others.
"Want some candy?" Ryn took a piece of candy from his pocket and offered it to Chen Tianwen.
"Thank you..." Chen Tianwen took the candy but didn't unwrap it to eat. Instead, she put it in her pocket and continued to stand quietly behind Ryn.
Alright, he couldn't handle this. Ryn started to walk away. Rather than standing here awkwardly with Chen Tianwen, he might as well go find the other Valkyries and ask about the situation.
As Ryn was about to leave, Chen Tianwen gently tugged on the corner of his clothes and asked softly,
"Big Sister Ryn, is my brother really okay?"
"..."
Ryn turned around stiffly, his face dark, and asked Chen Tianwen, "Does my voice sound like a girl's?"
Chen Tianwen thought for a moment and replied, "No, it sounds like a boy's."
Ryn: "It doesn't 'sound like,' I am a boy! Call me Big Brother Ryn!"
Chen Tianwen tapped her fingers together and looked at Ryn meekly.
"Oh... but Big Sister Ryn is really pretty..."
"Call me Big Brother Ryn!"
"So, Big Sister Ryn, is my brother okay?"
"He's fine. He's gone to work hard to earn your tuition so you can stay at St. Freya High School. If you really care about him, then study hard at St. Freya and don't let his efforts go to waste."
A fighting spirit ignited in Chen Tianwen's eyes. She said firmly, "Mhm... my brother told me, if I don't become an S-rank Valkyrie, I must never graduate from the academy! So I will definitely become an S-rank Valkyrie!"
"Uh... well, good luck! I believe in you!"
——————————————
"Ah~ why would someone like me have a day where my blood rushes to my head!"
Chen Tianwu frantically grabbed at his hair. When he let go, his hand was full of strands.
"I haven't had a proper rest in days, and I have absolutely no way to get into the underground world..."
"Maybe I should just find a place to drift along and wait for death... No, no, that St. Freya High School's tuition is ridiculously high. For Tianwen, I have to work hard and earn money..."
Chen Tianwu threw away the loose hair in his hand and prepared to head to his next part-time job. To earn Chen Tianwen's tuition, he was now working five or six jobs a day.
Next to his signature dull, cyan dead-fish eyes, were heavy dark circles.
Just then, two punks on the street approached Chen Tianwu. They had been observing him for several days. A young man, alone and drifting in this city, working many jobs a day—he looked like a strong lad.
The punks surrounded Chen Tianwu and said with a wicked grin,
"Hey, kid. You look like you're short on cash. Interested in a big job!"
"How big? I'm not doing it if the pay isn't good!" Chen Tianwu looked at them warily. He didn't believe in pies falling from the sky.
"Heh, big business!"
After saying that, one of the punks grabbed Chen Tianwu and started dragging him away. Chen Tianwu immediately began to struggle fiercely.
Just then, a punk from behind picked up a brick from the side of the road and smashed it on Chen Tianwu's head, knocking him out.
"Had to learn the hard way, this tactless fool. Drag him away!" The leader of the punks kicked the unconscious Chen Tianwu and ordered his underlings to drag him off.
And so, not long after, Chen Tianwu achieved his goal of successfully infiltrating the underground world. However, he wouldn't be gathering any intelligence, because he had been drugged, locked in a cage, and was being sold as a commodity...
Fortunately, an organization called the Thousand Fists Society took a liking to Chen Tianwu, bought him whole, and prepared to train him as an elite agent. Otherwise, Ryn would have seen a headline about an incredible vacuum zone appearing in some underground area.
——————————————
"So... you just brought Chen Tianwen back without her knowing anything?"
"Auntie, first, I must correct a mistake of yours. Chen Tianwen doesn't know 'nothing'! She voluntarily joined St. Freya High School!" Ryn retorted righteously to Theresa's questioning.
Theresa stood on a chair, grabbed Ryn by the collar with one hand, and lifted him up, saying sternly:
"But Chen Tianwen doesn't even know what the Honkai is! Also, what's this about her brother working desperately to earn her tuition? Since when does St. Freya High School charge tuition!"
"We don't charge for tuition or meals... but what about other things? Clothes, daily necessities, and supplements for her mental needs, those are necessary, right! Chen Tianwen is still young. What if she develops low self-esteem because others have things she doesn't, and her personality gets twisted! Besides, the cost of living at the academy is so high, the Kaslana family is still working odd jobs everywhere to make money!"
"That's because Kallen is a troublemaker! She still hasn't paid off the money for repairing the house!"
"Huh? No way! Hasn't she become a big star? She can't even afford to repair a house?"
Ryn was dumbfounded. 'Kallen Fantasy' was such a huge hit, there was no reason Kallen shouldn't be a huge hit too! Otto would definitely have supported her heavily.
"Sigh... she saw on TV those homeless children affected by the Honkai, and in a moment of passion, she took Yae Sakura and Kiana and the others to donate all the money to a disaster relief foundation..."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Yes, how is that not a good thing!"
Theresa sighed helplessly. It would have been fine if Kallen just donated money; that could be considered a good deed. "But why didn't that idiot investigate properly before donating? The foundation Kallen donated to... was a scam group!!!"
That idiot Kiana even went with Kallen to ask Himeko why there was no news after the money was transferred...
The one time the students of St. Freya High School had a rare practical class, it turned out to be to encircle and suppress a scam group and recover the academy's funds. They caught the people, but the money was never recovered. The scammers themselves didn't even know where their money went.
When Theresa found out, she felt her head had grown a size bigger. Kallen and the others' money, the student activity funds, all went down the drain!
Ryn silently took out his phone and looked at the amount that had suddenly skyrocketed recently.
No wonder the money couldn't be traced after it was transferred. Turns out Cortana had intercepted it and kept it for herself...