"?"
Hearing Fu Hua's voice, Himeko turned her head with a mix of caution and surprise.
Although Himeko admitted she hadn't used her brain much in recent years, the sudden appearance of this "old monster" who was concealing her identity at the school looked like a spy sent by Headquarters, didn't it?
Now she has suddenly found me...
However, Himeko had no choice but to respond in this situation.
"What's wrong, Fu Hua? Is there something you don't understand in class?"
"No, Miss Himeko, your lessons are excellent, but... may I ask, sir, who are you...?"
Fu Hua turned her gaze towards Tian Shi.
Tian Shi: "..."
Only then did Tian Shi belatedly remember the Fenghuang Down.
(Ah... I actually forgot about that... But is it necessarily a bad thing? But it seems Fu Hua has indeed forgotten a lot.)
"Looks like you're being sought out."
Himeko turned sideways, somewhat surprised, but upon closer inspection, it seemed quite reasonable.
No wonder this guy looked at Fu Hua strangely during class.
"Me? My name is Tian Shi, do you remember me?"
Tian Shi introduced himself to his student in a very open and generous manner.
"Tian... um... so familiar..."
Fu Hua frowned.
"Could you elaborate further?"
"Further details... I am your teacher, the one from 50,000 years ago."
"It seems there is such a figure in my memory..."
The fragmented memories brought Fu Hua a terrible headache.
"Master Tian...?"
I vaguely remember using this term to address someone.
"Yes, what else can you recall besides this?"
"I'm sorry, I don't remember anything else."
After uttering the words "Master Tian," Fu Hua's expression eased considerably.
"But you said fifty thousand years ago..."
Fu Hua knew she had lost most of her memories from 50,000 years ago.
Now, when the other person talks about it, I always feel like it's not real.
"Master Tian, could you tell me what happened 50,000 years ago?"
"You are discussing very complex historical topics..."
Himeko complained.
"Forget it, let's talk in the office, this is no place for chatting."
Naturally, Tian Shi and Fu Hua raised no objections to this, but as soon as they arrived at the office, Himeko bumped into Ragna.
"Ragna?"
Fu Hua pushed up her glasses and looked with some surprise at the woman holding textbooks in front of her.
"Hmm? Who are you, student...?"
Although Ragna had heard of Fu Hua's reputation from her predecessors in Schicksal, this was the first time she had met her.
"Fu Hua, an A-rank Valkyrie from Schicksal Headquarters, just transferred to St. Freya Academy today."
Fu Hua introduced herself frankly and openly.
"Um... you must have mistaken me for someone else, my name is Kleika."
"Wait, wait, wait! Why is the A-rank Valkyrie from Headquarters walking around so casually? And why did she call me so easily? Himeko, how do you work? And what does this transfer mean?"
"Isn't that right?"
Fu Hua tilted her head, slightly confused.
"I saw you with your mother more than ten years ago, although you've grown a lot, I think, generally speaking, I don't mistake people."
"???"
Ragna was completely bewildered.
What did she mean by "I saw you more than ten years ago"?
You're just a teenager this year, aren't you?
Childhood playmate?
No, if she were a childhood friend wouldn't I remember her?
"This person looks exactly like Reanna," Himeko explained.
"Ah..."
Ragna understood.
"Reanna?"
Fu Hua looked at Himeko with surprise.
"I vaguely remember that name..."
After all, these two had been colleagues for over a hundred years, although Reanna didn't much like that distant immortal from Shenzhou back then.
"So, ah, Senior Fu Hua, what brings you here today?"
Ragna finally understood how Siegfried felt when he was with Reanna.
Fortunately, Fu Hua doesn't care much about her colleagues and her memory is severely damaged, so she's not like Reanna, who can talk about your ancestors.
"It's nothing," Fu Hua said, shaking her head.
"I wanted Master Tian to tell me about my past, if you're interested, you can stay here and listen, by the way, I heard about you and your team a few years ago..."
"Well... to be more specific, there are some difficulties."
Ragna forced a wry smile.
"Besides, Schicksal... no, it's nothing."
Considering the other party's feelings, Ragna still did not express her opinion about Schicksal.
Fu Hua tilted her head slightly, seemingly puzzled; in some ways, Fu Hua was indeed somewhat disconnected from the lower-level Valkyries.
"Don't worry. But speaking of which, what is your relationship with the Alliance Leader...?"
"If I heard correctly, is the senior in front of me calling my Alliance Leader, Master Tian?"
"Of course, professor and student, Ragna, if you're interested, you can sit and listen, Hua, do you mind?"
"Ragna is family, and her character is quite reliable, so there's nothing wrong with letting her participate in the conversation."
"Me? I don't care."
Fu Hua remained as indifferent as ever.
"Then I will respectfully accept your offer."
Ragna thought for a moment and then sat down decisively.
After all, these kinds of secrets from our predecessors are not something one can casually listen to.
"Then I'll begin: it was a dark and stormy night fifty thousand years ago..."
"Hey! That joke is outdated."
"But it was definitely night, or rather, early morning?"
...
For the next two hours, Tian Shi recounted his past with Fu Hua in the office, hoping to awaken some of Fu Hua's memories.
Okay, Fu Hua's memories were not dormant, but rather "burned out."
Pointing out history and asking Fu Hua to recall it was quite difficult.
This highlights the importance of being able to identify valuable items.
However, judging by Fu Hua's appearance, she hasn't completely forgotten it—some "ashes" remain.
"Is that so..."
After listening to Tian Shi's explanation, Fu Hua showed a thoughtful expression.
"The moth chasing the flame... Younger brothers and sisters... Möbius..."
Fu Hua had a vague memory of all this, but... it wasn't very deep.
But a throbbing sensation somewhere in her body told Fu Hua that what this Master Tian... no, what her Master said was not simply fabricated.
That was truly something I experienced firsthand.
For example, what kind of food does my junior sister MEI make?
"Thank you very much, Professor."
Fu Hua bowed respectfully to Tian Shi; this inexplicably gave Tian Shi the feeling that Fu Hua was fourteen years old again.
"I never expected something like that to happen... Ah, a love triangle, your life is too exciting, isn't it?"
In comparison to Fu Hua, who sincerely expressed her gratitude, Himeko appears a little sullen at the moment.
I take back what I said several years ago! This guy is not at all someone lacking a romantic life!
Himeko felt her "leftover woman value" soaring in an instant.
(This girl... is so easy to understand...)
Ragna shook her head silently.
Was her colleague destined to become a spinster prematurely?
Fortunately, my condition wasn't too serious...
(Why does this look like a scene from a movie?)
Fu Hua's expression was also slightly bewildered at this moment.
"And speaking of which, it's about time for lunch, how about I prepare lunch for everyone?"
Fu Hua instinctively wanted to dispel that sense of déjà vu.
By the way, why did she find herself quite adept at this kind of thing?
"Lunch... Ah, it is time."
Fu Hua's mention made Himeko and Ragna realize the current situation.
"Alright."
Himeko nodded, slightly disappointed.
Well, it's not exactly discouragement, as she really couldn't muster enough courage if she genuinely wanted to.
"Speaking of which, if that's the case, why are you still a student, Hua?"
She is Tian Shi's student, and she undoubtedly teaches better than I do. Why is she still studying at St. Freya after all?
Himeko thought to herself, feeling a bit resentful.
"I... infiltrated St. Freya Academy under Otto's orders, if I become a professor, it will bring trouble to Otto."
After thinking for a moment, Fu Hua decided to rat out Otto.
Although theoretically choosing Otto is more in line with Fu Hua's current interests and her contract with Otto.
But her intuition told her that she should trust Tian Shi.
Intuition is a completely irrational thing and even contrary to reason, although reason itself may agree with the choice.
"As expected."
Tian Shi didn't mind this situation.
"Then, Fu Hua, you can continue studying at St. Freya Academy... Ah, and if you have time, take care of your desk partner."
"My desk partner..."
Fu Hua's mind conjured the image of a white-haired girl slumped on her desk during class, drooling all over the table.
I shook her twice, but it had no effect.
"Her? Okay."
Fu Hua did not ask any further questions.
Since Tian Shi had said it, she would simply do as he instructed.
However, once Fu Hua learns Kiana's name, she should understand Otto's purpose in sending her to infiltrate.
"By the way, what would you like to eat? Do you mind if we use the cafeteria kitchen for a while?"
...
"Good morning, dear sister!"
"Good day."
"My dear sister looks incredibly elegant today!"
"..."
Are all girls this age so lively?
Fu Hua, who was being called "Big Sister" by her classmates, felt helpless.
She didn't quite understand why she was so attractive to girls her age.
Something doesn't seem right here.
As Fu Hua thought this, she looked at the latest monthly exam results, and as expected, she ranked first.
Fu Hua felt there was nothing surprising or boastful about this result; perhaps... this was the only way to do Master Tian justice?
Then, Fu Hua walked to the bottom of the list and, as expected, saw her desk partner's score... Kiana Kaslana.
The worst student...
Although Fu Hua considered herself accustomed to all sorts of things, she couldn't help but push up her glasses at that moment.
This result shouldn't surprise me.
It would be surprising if Kiana passed her exams someday, wouldn't it?
Fu Hua sighed tiredly, then took out her books and finished the homework, adjusted her glasses, and began waiting for class to start.
Fu Hua could also see that although Himeko's teaching level was already quite good, it was still different from her own expectations. Did she need to guess where this expectation came from?
Not long after, Himeko entered the classroom and began her lesson.
"Yawn... I'm a little sleepy."
Less than ten minutes into class, Kiana started dozing off.
Fortunately, Kiana finished her homework, which brought Fu Hua some relief.
"That brat..."
Himeko gritted her teeth as she looked at Kiana, who was dozing at the table.
"I thought you were already used to it."
Tian Shi said this half-jokingly.
"Used to it, my foot! Just you wait until I get my hands on her during tutoring tonight..."
Himeko is a little irritable today.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it; Kiana has always been at the bottom of the class."
Himeko's private lessons never stopped, and Kiana's poor performance never wavered.
Himeko grew angrier the more she thought about it and flicked a piece of chalk directly onto Kiana's forehead.
"Mmm..."
Kiana looked up, somewhat confused, and then, seeing Himeko's angry expression, she immediately shrank back.
Although she wasn't very interested in studying, she still held Himeko in high regard.
After all, she doesn't like studying much, but she knows perfectly well who treats her well.
Kiana then adopted a slightly ingratiating expression.
Himeko's anger subsided a little when she saw Kiana's slightly fawning look.
But this can't go on forever...
Himeko turned her head and continued the lesson.
In reality, Himeko thinks it would be better to let her own captain train Kiana.
But this feels like admitting defeat.
Mmm...
In this situation, shouldn't Tian Shi step in?
He also told her she was slacking off, but hasn't he been slacking off all these years?