Now, although there were still a few days until Kiana's makeup exam, St. Freya Academy had officially entered its vacation period. For the students, this was a great thing, providing ample time for rest, entertainment, and further training.
For Evan, this vacation added a troublesome matter.
Drawing from the Friendship Supply required Friendship Points, and acquiring Friendship Points necessitated daily contact with Valkyries and reserve Valkyries. Contacting Raiden Mei and the others wasn't difficult; he saw them all when eating together. And although Principal Theresa had many duties to attend to, she still came by from time to time to taste Raiden Mei's cooking or to drink bitter melon juice at the drink stand.
Evan couldn't understand Theresa's obsession with that bizarrely flavored drink. He just actively approached her from time to time when he spotted her, chatting with her for a bit. Theresa didn't seem to resist; in fact, she seemed quite happy and even wanted to treat Evan to a few cups of bitter melon juice. Evan firmly refused this offer.
The trouble was Fu Hua. With the school on vacation, students no longer had classes together. Without actively seeking her out, Evan had no opportunity to contact Fu Hua.
With Fu Hua's personality, if Evan found an excuse to approach her every day, in her words, it would be "offering courtesy for no reason—one is either a traitor or a thief."
But ignoring Fu Hua for the entire vacation was also unacceptable to Evan. The Friendship Points alone would be much less. Fu Hua herself wasn't the type that needed to be distanced from and guarded against.
So, this day, Evan came to Fu Hua's training room.
In St. Freya Academy, once one became a qualified Valkyrie, they would have their own training room. Fu Hua, being both the class monitor and an A-rank Valkyrie, was no exception. Although she came from Schicksal, Theresa wasn't wary of her. On the contrary, she showed a considerable degree of trust.
After all, most of the people at St. Freya Academy were formerly members of Schicksal who later followed Theresa to become independent. If one were to be suspicious just because of that, then everyone would be a suspect.
"Is there something you need, Student Evan?"
Inside the training room, Fu Hua, who had taken off her plano glasses and fully revealed her exquisite and beautiful face, was seriously practicing her boxing. Seeing Evan arrive, she asked.
"I'm taking advantage of the vacation to familiarize myself with the environment of St. Freya Academy. I heard this is Class Monitor Fu Hua's training room, so I came to take a look. I'm sorry for not informing you beforehand. Am I disturbing you?"
"Training should have a proper balance of work and rest. Otherwise, it does more harm than good. Student Evan coming over to chat with me gives me a chance to adjust my state. I would only thank you; you don't need to apologize."
Fu Hua wore clothes of the same material as the normal student uniform but in a style more inclined towards martial arts attire, exuding a heroic and dashing temperament. After a slight pause, the eighteen-year-old-plus-countless-months eternally youthful and invincible beauty continued.
"I heard Kiana is doing remedial studies recently?"
"Mm, she's reading history books, trying to pass the makeup exam."
"Is that so."
Fu Hua seemed unwilling to discuss Kiana's matters too much. She glanced at Evan and quickly changed the subject.
"During the previous exam, you used a greatsword against the enemy in the combat test, displaying very good skills. However, compared to your skills, your strength is even more exaggerated."
"It's probably because I'm exceptionally gifted."
Evan didn't expose the existence of the Stigmata in his body, conversing casually with Fu Hua. Then he noticed the gauntlets or bracers on Fu Hua's hands and spoke.
"Class Monitor Fu Hua seems to use gauntlets as a weapon?"
"Mm, why?"
"Compared to other weapons, gauntlets have a higher requirement for physical fitness, right? After all, swords and blades can rely on sharpness to kill Honkai Beasts, while gauntlets seem to rely solely on the user's strength. Yet you still became an A-rank Valkyrie. Class Monitor Fu Hua's strength must be immense."
Evan was curious whose strength was greater: Fu Hua's or Theresa's.
"I don't rely solely on strength, but use internal force... that is, by utilizing Honkai energy to increase killing power. I call it the Way of the Heart's Fist. What I was just practicing was Inch-Force: Heaven Breaker."
Fu Hua didn't hide it and told Evan the matter, causing Evan to contemplate whether he should take this opportunity to learn the Way of the Heart's Fist from Fu Hua, but he quickly gave up.
Regardless of whether she would agree, even if she nodded, Evan didn't think he could necessarily learn it. This was a more profound skill than swordsmanship. If it were something that could be learned easily, the other students at St. Freya Academy should have mastered a move or two. After all, in class, Fu Hua never refused others' requests for help.
Besides, he had also figured out a set of methods to use Honkai energy to temporarily enhance his physical fitness and supplement his stamina consumption.
While thoughts flowed through Evan's mind, Fu Hua seemed to remember something and spoke.
"I heard you were seriously injured when you first came to St. Freya Academy and received treatment for quite some time. Have you fully recovered now?"
This was pure concern, and also one of the reasons why Fu Hua, despite keeping a certain distance from everyone in class and seeming aloof and difficult to get along with, still had extremely high popularity.
She always got to the point when speaking, giving people a clean and neat feeling. Fu Hua was that type of person.
"Mm, fully recovered. Thanks for your concern. My physical fitness is quite good."
Evan's answer, however, didn't put Fu Hua at ease. The girl walked to Evan's side and observed him from a closer distance.
"The greatsword techniques you displayed in the combat training, although perfect, that heavy weapon should put a considerable burden on you. You can't be careless. If you leave hidden injuries, it will plague you for life."
"Speaking of which, Class Monitor Fu Hua, have you said such things to Himeko?"
Although he had already asked, Evan quickly got the answer himself. With Himeko's personality, she would absolutely not give Fu Hua a chance to learn about her physical condition.
Noticing the way Evan addressed her, Fu Hua raised an eyebrow.
"I have indeed said similar things. Also—Himeko? According to your position and identity, Student Evan, you should call her Teacher Himeko or Major Himeko."
"Ahem, actually, my relationship with her is quite good privately, so calling her Himeko is fine. She herself doesn't object."
Evan felt that with his current relationship with Himeko, calling her Teacher or Major in normal situations would be a bit distant. He decided to just slightly reveal their relationship to Fu Hua now.
After a brief silence, Fu Hua showed a somewhat complicated expression.
"It seems I was meddling in others' business. Sorry... Student Evan, you've been at St. Freya Academy for several days now. Do you feel that I am a bit too rigid and inflexible?"
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