83. Farewell Aunt, Teacher Himeko?
When the call from an unknown source came through, Theresa Apocalypse, the head of St. Freya Academy, was sitting in the principal's office at the Far East Branch, enjoying the winter heating, sipping on bitter melon juice, and reading manga.
Although as the head of St. Freya, Theresa bore the significant responsibility of nurturing a group of Valkyries for the Schicksal—young women who, while needing to fight the Honkai, were not meant to exist solely for battle but to grow up healthy and well-rounded—well, how should I put it? Humans always need to have their own lives, after all!
And Theresa, this 42-year-old super legal loli, was also enjoying her leisure time.
After all, isn't the reason everyone fights the Honkai so seriously precisely so that all of humanity can work and live without worries?
Bitter melon juice and Houkai Gakuen manga—these things can effectively alleviate the stress brought by busy work. Over the years, Theresa has indeed faced a lot of pressure.
The reason is simple: the Far East Branch, including St. Freya Academy, has always been the most unconventional division within the Schicksal headquarters.
Over a decade ago, Valkyries were primarily seen as Schicksal's warriors. These girls were trained from a young age according to warrior standards, with a level of cruelty far exceeding that of ordinary soldiers, and they suffered extremely high casualty and illness rates.
The reason is simple: aside from a few exceptionally gifted individuals—those born with Stigmata or those with innate high resistance to Honkai energy—most Valkyries had to undergo brutal modifications.
Not to mention the more primitive biotechnological modifications from a century ago, even after the development of artificial Stigmata, Valkyries began to be implanted with these devices, which placed immense strain on their bodies.
Because their bodies were constantly channeling large amounts of Honkai energy, Valkyries who used Honkai to fight Honkai risked falling to the side of the Honkai on the battlefield.
At such times, the comrades who had fought alongside them day and night would have to execute them on the spot as they turned into zombies—a cruel and hopeless reality.
At the same time, the average lifespan of Valkyries gradually shortened as their combat abilities improved. Although most would die in battle before their bodies gave out, those who survived often faced gradual weakening, illness, and painful ends to their lives. Reaching forty or fifty years old was already a rarity.
While almost all Valkyries accepted this fate without complaint—most of them were Honkai orphans with an innate hatred for the Honkai—not everyone could stand idly by.
In fact, at least for now, peace remains the main theme of the world. Aside from the First and Second Honkai Wars, the frequency of smaller Honkai incidents worldwide is not particularly high. Valkyries spend most of their time training or carrying out other Schicksal missions.
Thus, there was once a powerful Valkyrie who hoped that all Valkyries could lead happy lives, no matter how short, filled with joy and fulfillment.
Cecilia Schariac, the legendary woman, Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie—even the likes of "Ragna" or the earlier "Kallen Kaslana," or now, the highly anticipated Durandal, have yet to match her achievements.
As one of the countless adopted and modified "members of the Schariac family" by the Overseer, Cecilia Schariac was undoubtedly fortunate.
She possessed a highly developed form of the Schariac Holy Blood, granting her immense power, unimaginable vitality, and immunity to the bodily harm that Honkai energy typically inflicted on other Valkyries.
This gave her greater value, and in turn, she earned more freedom from Overseer Otto. She was even more fortunate to meet and marry the man she loved, Siegfried Kaslana, and start a family, giving birth to a lovely child.
Her life was perfect, but Cecilia knew this was the luck of the few. Most Valkyries existed only as war machines, living and dying as such.
Many of them were very young, some becoming Valkyries as early as twelve or thirteen. Cecilia didn't want their entire lives to be defined solely as weapons—trained, deployed, and dying. They, too, had the right to enjoy the peaceful world they fought to protect.
Thus, St. Freya Academy was born. Here, Valkyries wouldn't undergo only brutal modifications but would receive gentle and comprehensive education, learning not just how to fight but how to live.
The teachers at St. Freya were also fortunate veterans who had survived the battlefield. They all understood that a life consumed by revenge and anger was not entirely right.
It's not that revenge is wrong, but facing an enemy like the Honkai, it's impossible to rely solely on the vengeance of a single generation to eradicate it entirely. Revenge against a person ends with their death, but revenge against a phenomenon has no end in sight.
This is destined to be a prolonged war. Weapons fueled only by revenge cannot pass on the torch. The veterans hoped that the new generation of Valkyries would be "people," not "weapons."
As one of the "fortunate" survivors among hundreds of artificial humans, Theresa understood the pain of being a weapon and naturally sided with Cecilia. After Cecilia's sacrifice, Theresa began preparing for the establishment of St. Freya, becoming its head.
After all, since she could never grow up herself, she could only hope to see the children grow.
Of course, not everyone approved of St. Freya's approach. Although the Overseer tacitly allowed St. Freya's existence due to Theresa's requests, many other Schicksal branches and departments believed St. Freya would only produce weak and ineffective Valkyries.
Some even directly referred to St. Freya as the "St. Freya Kindergarten," going out of their way to cause trouble for Theresa, cutting their already limited budget, and dragging her into endless disputes—all of which consumed a significant amount of her energy.
This was also the reason for her immense stress. Drinking bitter melon juice and reading children's manga were just ways to relieve pressure—definitely not because she enjoyed them. Absolutely not!
And, to be honest, Theresa had been in a pretty good mood lately.
After all, her big niece, who had been missing for years, had finally reached out to her. Well, to be precise, it was her big niece's clone.
Initially, when she received Kiana's message, Theresa wasn't sure if she was the "Kiana" or "K-423." Her memories only extended to helping Siegfried and the two little ones escape the Schicksal headquarters.
What happened afterward was beyond Theresa's control or knowledge. She could only gather bits of information from the former Valkyrie assault team. That bastard Siegfried never came to see her, leaving Theresa worried for years.
Well, in any major event, there are always a few clueless, confused little cuties.
However, Kiana was quite open about her identity with Theresa—Cecilia's biological daughter had, like Theresa, had her memories sealed by the Fenghuang Down, renamed Bianka, and become a Valkyrie for Schicksal. Siegfried often tried to rescue her from Schicksal.
As for her, K-423, she had inherited the name Kiana. She wasn't ashamed of being a clone, nor did she resent being a replica. Instead, she took pride in it, believing she could become an S-rank Valkyrie.
This confidence was something Theresa, who had taken a long time to find her own purpose in life, greatly admired. Of course, it could also be because the Kaslanas weren't the sharpest tools in the shed and simply didn't overthink things.
In any case, even though this wasn't the Kiana she had raised from childhood, seeing her almost identical appearance to Cecilia in the video—her clear, sky-blue eyes—Theresa naturally saw her as another big niece and was determined to nurture her into an excellent Valkyrie.
However, there was one thing Theresa found particularly strange.
"Who exactly is the 'old man' this kid keeps talking about…"
Recalling how Kiana always mentioned her "old man," never going three sentences without bringing him up, Theresa couldn't recall anyone fitting that description at all.
At first, Theresa thought it might be that bastard Siegfried, but Kiana casually referred to him as "Uncle Siegfried," ruling out that possibility.
So, who exactly was this "old man"? Theresa couldn't remember anyone else being there at the time. She checked all relevant records, asked everyone involved, but found no mention of another person.
Theresa was an adult, after all. Of course, she couldn't bring herself to ask Kiana for details—it would undermine her authority as the elder!
But every time she tried hard to recall the past, a vague shadow would appear in her mind.
And Theresa always felt—infuriated, absolutely infuriated! Angry, so angry!
For some reason, whenever Theresa thought about this, she found herself super angry!
"Who exactly is this person? Why do I instinctively get so angry? So annoying, I really want to hit someone with Oath of Judah!"
Just as Theresa was fuming, the internal landline phone beside her suddenly rang.
"Ring-ring————"
"…Hello! What! Who is this! Speak quickly, I'm busy!"
Snapping irritably, Theresa quickly realized her loss of composure and adjusted her tone.
"Hello, this is St. Freya Academy. I'm Theresa Apocalypse. Who are—"
Soon, a somewhat flippant and irritating voice came from the other end of the line.
"No need to ask who I am, Headmistress Theresa. You just need to know that in fourteen years, the Third Honkai Impact is coming."
The tone was slightly flippant, carrying a hint of youthful energy.
Faced with this somewhat provocative but not entirely malicious taunt, Theresa, a reliable 42-year-old adult, should have been able to handle it easily. After all, during Schicksal headquarters meetings, she, as the head of the Far East Branch, had faced plenty of disasters.
But, for some reason, a sudden surge of anger shot straight from Theresa's heart!
"Pfft—Who are you, you little brat! Didn't anyone teach you how to speak to adults? Who exactly are you? Identify yourself!"
The bitter melon juice she had just been drinking was spat out in a spray. Theresa instantly crushed the glass in her hand, though her small hands—capable of tearing apart Honkai beasts—remained completely unharmed.
"Wow, no need to be so angry—Headmistress Theresa, don't get so worked up all the time. You might bring on early menopause. Oh, wait, I forgot—you haven't even hit puberty yet, have you? Let me guess, you were just drinking bitter melon juice?"
Theresa's aggressive reaction during their first conversation caught even Gao Qi off guard.
This little girl was exactly the same as she was six years ago! And even more prone to losing her temper now.
And to think, during that simulation, he had deliberately provoked Theresa just to see her lose her cool. Seeing her angry was kind of amusing.
But this time was different—this was his first time meeting Theresa. Although… it wasn't entirely impossible?
Suddenly, Gao Qi recalled the earlier conflict between Hua and Mobius. Could it be that this simulation followed immediately after the last one where he had angered Theresa? Was it the same simulated world? Gao Qi felt that it might... actually be possible?
Thinking this, Gao Qi tentatively began to inquire.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry, Headmistress Theresa. I'm Gao Qi. Don't you remember me? Your good friend! I even bought you that Honkai costume set!"
Gao Qi only knew that Kiana had transferred to this school, but for the past half of his time, he had been enjoying his romantic days with Mei, and the other half was spent thinking about how to avert the Third Honkai Eruption. He hadn't looked for Kiana.
After all, he believed that the current Kiana was incredibly happy, a ray of sunshine among sunshine, super optimistic. She didn't need his help like she did in Tianqiong City. She might even have a little fan named Asakura Miyuki. So, Gao Qi wasn't in a hurry to find her—what if he was mistaken for a creepy old man!
But now, if the world Gao Qi simulated was the same one where he had raised Kiana...
In an instant, a smile spread across Gao Qi's lips.
Leaving Kiana, being unable to witness her growing up step by step, had always been Gao Qi's regret.
Although Gao Qi hadn't hidden anything from Kiana, allowing her to be proud of her identity and not be troubled by the names K423 and Kiana, Gao Qi believed his precious daughter's future achievements would be limitless.
However, there was one thing Gao Qi had ultimately deceived Kiana about: her father had left her forever. To counter the rampaging Herrscher of the Void, after overusing the power of the Serenity Gem, he had completely dissipated.
Gao Qi knew that even the most skillful deception would one day be exposed. Kiana would eventually learn of his death.
Gao Qi only hoped that by then, she would be strong enough to bear the outcome of his departure. But no matter how much he believed in the Kiana he raised, Gao Qi always worried about her future—would she be saddened by his death? Would she do something foolish?
If these two simulations were on the same worldline, then... perhaps Gao Qi hadn't lied!
Gao Qi could return as her father and reunite with her...
However, Theresa's response soon dispelled Gao Qi's speculation.
"What Gao Qi? Never heard of him! I don't know what your intentions are, but falsely claiming a Honkai outbreak is no joking matter. I understand that those who know this number aren't ordinary people, but you need to provide sufficient evidence."
Though furious, no matter how hard Theresa tried to recall, she could only remember a blurry figure. She couldn't remember who this man, so familiar and immediately mocking her, claiming to be Gao Qi, was. Yet her instincts kept telling her:
Believe him.
Theresa shook her head. She couldn't trust someone she had never met so easily.
Hearing her words, Gao Qi felt both relieved and a little disappointed.
If Theresa didn't know him, then this probably wasn't the world he had hoped for.
"Evidence? If Schicksal needed evidence to act, you would have been wiped out centuries ago, Miss Theresa. Learn from your grandfather. As long as suspicion exists, act immediately to eliminate potential threats. That's the most appropriate approach."
Pressing his chin, Gao Qi thought for a moment and casually offered a reason.
"However, if you want a reason, I can give you one. You should remember that back in Siberia, the Second Herrscher once possessed four Gems. But she only created three 'Pseudo-Herrschers': Fire, Wind, and Death. They caused you quite some trouble, right?"
Gao Qi recalled his past experiences of becoming a Herrscher three times. He knew that, strictly speaking, he had only become a "Pseudo-Herrscher," still far from being a true Herrscher.
After all, he was just cramming at the last minute, with limited innate talent—neither the Kaslana nor the Schariac bloodline, nor any innate Stigmata.
Raiden Mei's Herrscher transformation, however, was the result of a plan years in the making, inevitably producing a true Herrscher!
"Now, the Conquest Gem—yes, the one taken by Anti-Entropy—has been implanted into a suitable candidate. Soon, when this gem takes effect... what emerges won't be some minor Pseudo-Herrscher."
Gao Qi stopped halfway, knowing that Theresa, having experienced that battle, would understand the significance.
Sure enough, the voice on the other end fell silent. Anyone who knew this much must have experienced the Second Honkai War firsthand. Theresa just couldn't remember who it was. "Gao Qi" might just be a fake name...
"You mean Anti-Entropy using the Conquest Gem will lead to a Herrscher's emergence? Cocolia, no... Raiden Ryoma too—"
Being in the Far East, Theresa understood Anti-Entropy's power distribution. Raiden Ryoma's ME Corporation dominated here, and Cocolia's radical faction also influenced the Far East. Einstein and Tesla could hardly intervene, and the Anti-Entropy leader could only command them superficially.
Theresa had always suspected these guys would pull something big. It seemed possible.
"Of course, your precious niece is also in Nagazora City. She's living quite happily now, so maybe you don't need to worry too much. Regardless of your reasons, start evacuating Nagazora's citizens as soon as possible. Don't think about stopping the Honkai. You know the outcome of the last attempt. You don't have a second Cecilia now!"
"What! Hey, how do you know— Hey, Gao Qi, I warn you, if you dare lay a finger on Kiana, I'll—"
After his final warning to Theresa, Gao Qi hung up. He didn't hear what Theresa said in her anger.
He knew that even if Theresa wanted to prevent the Honkai, Anti-Entropy's interference would make significant progress impossible.
Then, he picked up his phone and dialed another number.
"Hello, is this the Anti-Entropy headquarters? Please connect me to Miss Einstein. We need to discuss something important—saving the world."
Saving the world and protecting the people could be left to Anti-Entropy and Schicksal. But protecting important people... Gao Qi would handle that himself.
——————
"Hey, hey! Gao Qi! Explain clearly, you jerk! Last time you said the same thing, and we all thought you died! You— Ugh!"
Hearing the dial tone, Theresa felt a surge of rage. Some long-forgotten words suddenly spilled out.
But then, Theresa clutched her head, feeling her mind churn, yet completely unable to remember why she had said that.
"My... my memories were altered. By whom... Grandpa?"
Theresa suddenly recalled that her memories had once been altered by Otto, making her believe Cecilia had truly died from exhausting her power and life force.
But how could the Legendary Maiden die so easily? The Schariac blood contained the world's most resilient power.
And Cecilia was the strongest of her time. Even if she dispersed her blood to save others, with timely rescue, she might have lost her powers but at least survived.
However, the simultaneous Honkai Fission Bombs forced her to burn her life force to protect Siegfried.
Theresa could remember that years later, as if in a cycle, someone had also burned his life force to protect Kiana. She should know... Why couldn't she remember!
The glass shards in her hand were ground into powder. Finally, Theresa took a deep breath and dialed the internal line.
"Connect me to Teacher Murata Himeko... No, first connect me to—Teacher Ragna."
——————
Five minutes later, the door to Theresa's office was shoved open. A woman in a maid outfit, carrying a greatsword, with gentle features, followed a fiery, short-haired woman who strode in briskly.
"Theresa, you said there's an emergency in the Far East? Ragna and I have mobilized the assault team immediately. The Hyperion is ready to depart at any time."
This female teacher with golden eyes exuded a mature woman's aura, but Theresa knew she was much younger than Ragna beside her, only in her twenties. Yet she bore the resilience of a seasoned warrior, clearly battle-hardened.
"It's not that urgent yet. First, I wanted to ask, Ragna—back when you handled the Herrscher of the Void incident in the far north... did you encounter someone named Gao Qi? He just called me, notifying—"
After a moment's thought, Ragna shook her head.
"Gao Qi? Sorry, Headmistress. My memory of that mission in the far north is unclear. I only remember someone calming that child and giving me the Serenity Gem..."
However, compared to the puzzled Ragna, Himeko's reaction was suddenly intense.
"Wait, Gao Qi! You said Gao Qi?!"
Her golden eyes widened, filled with shock. She then grabbed Theresa's shoulders and shook her vigorously.
"I... I remember him! I should... remember that name! I forgot who he is, but that name is definitely important. Let's go, we depart now!"
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
Please support the original author: warboss
Raw: 崩坏模拟器,你找的人是我么?